He swung his ankle off of her, then gestured to me. “Now you try.”
I balked. I mean, it looked fun and all, but I was worried about looking stupid. It was fine, practicing all these moves and pretending like it could happen in real life.
But who was I fooling? I couldn’t handle a hot and heavy makeout session without freaking out. Imagining doing this to Charlie… it would never happen. I’d chicken out before I even started.
I waited too long to respond. Ivy tilted his head, like he sensed something was wrong.
Ivy got off Kallie’s lap and strode right up to me. He grasped me by the shoulders and looked me in the eyes. “Ava,youare the only person who gets a say on what happens to your body. You never, ever have to do anything you don’t want to. Don’t let some asshole from your past or in your present dictate what you want to do with someone you love— or even just someone you’re interested in. Give in to desire and take control. You have all the power, andyoucall the shots. Don’t ever let anybody tell you different.”
Ancestors, it was like Ivy knew. Oberi nudged me, as if encouraging me to give it a shot. Kallie observed as I swallowed nervously. “Okay. I want to try.”
I approached Kallie, then began to circle her. I carefully put my ankle on her shoulder and leaned in, hoping I didn’t break a leg, or show off my hoo-ha. I slid into the splits, though Kallie burst out laughing.
“What?” I asked.
“Your face,” she giggled. “You’re concentrating so hard, it looks like you’re constipated.”
My mouth dropped open. “Screw you!”
“Focus, ladies,” Ivy reminded us. “Ava, lean forward. Slowly, so you drag out the tension.”
“Don’t suffocate me with your giant tits, bitch,” Kallie mumbled, leaning away from me.
I huffed. Kallie was far from a good participant.
“Make sure your hair drapes across his shoulder,” Ivy said. “Menlovethat.”
I tilted my head so some of my hair fell across Kallie’s shoulder, but most of it ended up in her face. Kallie got a chunk of my hair in her mouth and gagged. I drew my ankle off of her, because I didn’t want to get spit on me, but I swung my leg to the side so quickly I accidentally ended up kicking Opal in the face. I gasped and put a hand over my mouth.
“Ow! What the hell!” Opal said, holding her nose.
“Sorry!” I said. Opal brought her hand away from her face. Her nose wasn’t bleeding, but it was a little pink.
Ivy sighed. “Ava, turn around. Try shaking that cute butt of yours on Kallie’s knees. Men like that.”
I bent over, but Kallie put her foot on my ass and pushed me over. I went sprawling forward, and she and Opal laughed.
“Hey, that wasn’t bad!” I said with a giggle. Oberi whinnied, like she thought my tumble was funny.
“Not bad at all,” Ivy confirmed. “You’re nearly a pro.”
“I’m just worried about messing up,” I confessed as Ivy pulled me to my feet.
“Don’t worry about it. The first lap dance I gave, I stuck my heel into the guy’s foot. Ruined the whole thing,” Ivy said. “Now look at me. I’m a natural.”
I blew a wayward strand of hair out of my eyes. “I just don’t knowwhereI’m going to do this. I don’t want a guard to walk in and ruin it.”
“Feel free to use the room. It’ll be available around four o’clock,” Ivy offered. “Just be a good little bad girl and make sure not to miss curfew.”
“What areyouusing it for?” Opal asked, though it was more like an accusation.
“A boy’s gotta make money,” Ivy said with a shrug. “I’m already accepting new clients, if anyone’s asking.”
Opal scowled. She clearly didn’t approve, but before she could say anything more, Ivy clapped his hands. “Now, let’s get to work!”
* * *
Ivy had Kallie and I bending, twisting, and shaking our butts for the better part of an hour. By the time he finally let us loose, I was exhausted. Pole dancing was aworkout.I didn’t have to wonder how Ivy kept such a great figure. If we kept these secret lessons up, I was going to be built by the time I knew how to dance like a master.
