AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Jazz sighed. “We can definitely teach you how to do the striptease, honey, but as for the pole, it took Daisy here months to master the technique. Same for me. Unfortunately, he’s right.”
Colby’s satisfied grin made me want to smack it off. “Fine, then they can show me the striptease.”
“What the hell for? You said you don’t have a boyfriend, right?”
I tossed him a sexy smile. “No, I don’t, but I’m sure my next one will thank me plenty.”
Both girls cracked up.
“Tell you what. You want to bet, then fine, we’ll bet. You have fifteen minutes to learn the pole. If you can hang upside down, then we can stay here as long as you like. On the other hand if you lose, we leave without the striptease lesson, and you let me pay for your school out in LA.”
Holy raised stakes. “What? No way.”
“Why not? You want to stay in Los Angeles but can’t afford to do it if your parents won’t pay for school. This solves the issue.”
I hated having this conversation in front of the two girls, and my face must’ve conveyed that.
“Ladies, can you give us a few minutes?” he requested, without taking his eyes from mine.
As soon as the door shut, I started pacing and rambling, not daring to read anything into the motivation for his offer. “Look, I know you mean well, and I appreciate it, but there’s no way I’d allow you to pay for my school. Truth be told, I never wanted to get my MBA in the first place, but my mother insisted, and I figured if she was paying, I’d go since I didn’t have another plan. It would be a complete waste of your money for something I don’t really want.”
“Okay, then let me pay for music school instead.”
Colby was one of the few people who knew my ultimate dream had always been music. I had a decent voice; however singing in front of others wasn’t something I could actually do. “Even if I entertained the idea of having you pay, I wouldn’t be able to audition.”
“Why not?”
What was this? Admit-every-possible-insecurity-to-your-crush-day? “Because I get stage fright.”
He scoffed. “Yeah, right. Nothing intimidates you.”
I laughed dryly. “How can you say that, knowing I was unable to stand up to my mother or Rebecca earlier?”
He patted the cushion beside him, and I took a seat on the couch. “Your mother even scares me if I’m being honest. And you’re not intimidated by Rebecca. You simply don’t possess the superpower for fighting evil.”
I giggled, bumping his shoulder affectionately. “Sometimes I call my mom my kryptonite, so I guess that’s fitting.”
“See there. Every superhero has a weakness.”
“Soooo, now we’re in a strip club without strippers or drinking, talking about the very people I’d hoped to forget this weekend. I have to say my expectations of you taking me to Vegas are falling way short. I should at least have a buzz on by now.”
His eyes twinkled. “You’re right. Let’s call the ladies back in. Practice the pole, get your shaving tips, and then we’ll save the betting and school discussions for later.”
“You’re going to watch me?”
He shrugged. “I’m only here to supervise and ensure you don’t hurt yourself. I shouldn’t have used the babysitter word, though especially after what Rebecca said earlier—sorry.”
“It’s okay. Supervise away, then.”
After calling the girls in, I asked Jazz if we could get started.
“Honey, if you can’t support your weight on the pole, it won’t matter what we show you unfortunately.”
I slipped off my heels and grinned. Having been in lacrosse for the last fourteen years had given me great upper-body strength. Most of my confidence however, came from the fact that I’d taken a dozen strip aerobics classes on campus with my teammates and had already mastered climbing up. I demonstrated to the whistles and grins of both girls.
Colby didn’t say anything, choosing to sit back sipping his bourbon with a carefully masked expression on his face.
Ten minutes later, I was sweating in my designer dress, but had the hang of it for the most part.
