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A wave of revulsion clashed with a stubborn spark of hope. Marriage wasn’t part of my future equation, regardless of who I was involved with. “You know that’s never going to happen.”
“A pity. You’d be a smoking-hot bride.”
I snorted and rolled my eyes, shoving playfully at him.
“Does he know about all of this?” Auggie gestured to the poles with a sweep of his arm before pointing between the two of us.
“Not really.”
“Are you going to tell him?”
“Eventually. I told him at the start that I can’t give him sexual exclusivity, but I didn’t explain any further than that.”
Auggie’s expression turned serious, and he snared my hand in his. “Are you holding off on that because you expect him to react poorly? Do you think Mr. Green Flag is anti-sex work?”
“Hard to say. His brother was a heat helper, and he didn’t have an issue with that, but Heat Helping isn’t the same as what we do. And he could be fine with sex work in general and be anti-me doing it. That’s definitely happened before.”
Auggie nodded thoughtfully. “I’ll kick his ass for you if he turns out to be a jerk.”
I snuggled into his arms, ignoring the sheen of sweat on his skin. “I know you would.”
“If he turns out to be a dick, then I can hook you up with the adorable new student I have at the studio. He’s obviously hung up on someone, but maybe he’s open to starting a pack.”
“Auggie, baby, I can’t handle a relationship properly with one person. What makes you think I could handle a pack?”
“I’m putting it out there for the universe. You deserve to be happy.”
“Don’t get sentimental on me. I’ve been way too up in my feelings lately. Let’s run through the routine one more time.”
I’d been performing with Auggie for almost three years at this point. We knew how one another moved, and we had more options open to us when I performed with him rather than some of the girls. Auggie was lanky, but he had a lot of power packed into those lean muscles. It let us pull off a lot of tricks that had the audience cheering.
Most of the time he and I were on pole together, but he’d been coming to my aerial silk classes since I started teaching and we were getting close to being able to perform on those, too.
Someday my body wouldn’t be able to keep up with the training, but I was going to make the most of every day, and make as many dollars as possible playing into the fantasies of the rich patrons who frequented the omega club. Teaching classes and working in finance during the week was all part of my plan for security. If I had my way, by the time my clients dropped off and performing brought more pain than pleasure, I would be so established in my career it wouldn’t matter. The club more than paid for all of my bills, but I wasn’t delusional. I knew that money wouldn’t last forever and I would be ready when the gravy train ended.
“Get out of your head.” Auggie slapped me on the ass before we leapt into a dual spin.
When we came to the end of the first section, we were face-to-face, with only the pole between us, legs entangled to keep us both aloft. I focused on each move, trying to pour sensuality into my limbs, moving in a sinuous wave, making it all look effortless, even though it was hard as fuck. I dropped to the ground at the end of the second set and shook everything, sucking in a deep breath to release the lingering tension.
“You should invite your boy to a performance. Knock his socks off at one of your headliners.”
“Well, I’m not inviting him this weekend. Maybe the one in a couple months.”
“Chicken.” Auggie bawked and poked me in the ribs. “You gotta rip the Band-Aid off.”
“I like my Band-Aid where it is, thanks.”
Auggie shrugged. “Gonna hurt more the longer you leave it.”
“I got you both smoothies.” We turned to see Candy marching into the studio with a smoothie cup in each hand. “Green and healthy.”
“Thank you, sweets.” Auggie kissed her cheek and stole his smoothie, passing the other to me.
“Thank you, Candy.” I sipped away at the concoction, pondering our upcoming headliner show. I performed every weekend at the club, but I always made the most money at the shows where I was the draw. My stage name, Selene Stardust, was highlighted on the club’s sign alongside Auggie’s, Angel Fire. The sign wasn’t necessary to draw in people since the club was so exclusive. Membership fees alone were ridiculous, and they made sure the members always knew who was performing.
“Are you still going to take clients?” Auggie asked.
“I have been. My sister’s university isn’t going to pay for itself. My regulars know I’ve been taking fewer clients anyway so they’ve been bidding higher. A win-win for me. Less work and same money.”
