Page 50 of A Little Kissing Between Friends

Bet.

Cody turned toward me, a little uncertainty on his face. Clearly, he hadn’t been expecting that from Poppa, and to be honest, neither had I. But it was all good. I was at work and lap dances were a part of my job. I only ever skipped out on dancing for Cody because Poppa clearly felt a way about it and always gave me more than whatever he offered so that I didn’t lose out. If she wanted to be an asshole because I chose work over a movie night, then she made the decision easy for me. I wasn’t turning down money to kiss her ass.

Instead of saying anything, I climbed into his lap, straddling his thighs. His eyes widened in surprise, and he immediately shot a glance over my shoulder.

“Don’t look at her,” I commanded directly into his ear. Tightening my thighs, I leaned forward and pressed my breasts into his face. “I want your eyes on me while I ride you.”

“Oh fuck,” he whispered, making me giggle.

Good. I needed him to know that he’d fucked up. A dance from me wasn’t just a game he was playing with his sister; it was an experience that he’d never forget.

I rolled against him, moving with the down beat of the song, which was slower than the faster pace of the lyrics. Planting my knees in the oversized armchair on either side of his hips, I bounced in his lap as if I was actually riding his dick, making sure I held his eye contact the entire time. I was no longer thinking of anything beyond the man beneath me and giving him something he’d never forget for the rest of his life.

Biting his lower lip, Cody lifted his hands, reaching for my waist, but I grabbed them and pressed them against the arms of the chair.

“No touching,” I reminded in a firm but easy tone.

Standing, I turned around and bent at the waist, putting my ass right at his eye level. His answering groan was exactly what I needed to hear. I shook my cheeks from side to side a couple of times before bending my knees and slapping my ass onto his lap. The heavy thud that sounded with each connection was like music to me. Each slap the distinct ka-ching of an old-school cash register. Five hundred dollars for three to four minutes of work was already mind-blowing, but the potential for more wasn’t anything to sneeze at. The way I could feel him harden beneath me felt like a bank deposit. In three years of dancing at Sanity, I learned that if you could turn a man on, you could empty his pockets.

I finished my dance by settling into an elevated split, balancing each of my legs on either arm of the chair while I held his knees and made my ass clap in his face. Then I swung my legs over to one side and stood up. When I looked down at him, I almost busted out laughing. He sat there dazed with his eyes glossed over, staring at the space over his lap that I’d just vacated.

Bending, I spoke directly into his ear. “You okay?” I didn’t usually ask, but this was Cody. I knew him beyond the club and actually cared about him. I might’ve also went a little harder than I usually did because his sister had pissed me off. Just a little bit though. Nothing too crazy.

Except, with Cody staring up at me with stars in his eyes, it was possible that I’d overdid it. He’d gotten dances from other women, but I’d never seen him look like this before. I prayed he didn’t start acting weird after this.

He nodded and I chose to take him at his word, but when I tried to walk away, he grabbed my wrist again. Eyebrows lifted in question, I turned back to him just in time to see him fish that roll of money out of his pocket and slide the entire thing into my garter. Grinning, I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, which I never did, but again, this was Cody.

“Thank you, Cody.”

Clearing his throat, he waved me off. “Yeah, yeah. You earned that and more. Get away from me, though, ’cause I’m two seconds away from sliding my Amex in there too.”

I busted out laughing and did as he said. Only pausing for a brief second when I glanced over at Poppa for the first time since before I started the dance, only to see that she wasn’t where I’d last saw her. Her chair was empty. That took a little of the wind out of my sails. Her disappearing like that felt like a slap in the face. She knew this was just work for me, and she really couldn’t get mad after pushing the decision off on me when she never hesitated to make it herself every other time.

Feeling justified in my actions didn’t make that little ache at the implications of what her absence meant go away though. I needed to take another turn about the room, but instead, I headed to the back to clear my head. After drinking some water, emptying my garter into a sack in my locker, and using the bathroom, I was ready to hit the floor again. When I stepped into the hallway, Milly was coming in my direction from the main floor.

“Oh, hey,” she said, lifting the tablet in her hand into the air. “I was just looking for you. You have a private dance waiting for you in Tranquility.”

Nodding, I shook out my arms and rolled my shoulders back as if I were shedding the distraction of the crap with Poppa like an unwanted blanket. It didn’t take me long to make my way to the private rooms. There were three, each in graduated sizes with names that made you think you were in a spa instead of an adult club. Serenity, Tranquility, and Relaxation were all decorated in soothing earth tones with plants and lighting that invoked a different type of vibe from the one present on the main floor.

Pulling open the door to Tranquility, the midsize room, I froze in the doorway and seriously contemplated spinning on my heels and heading back out front.

Poppa stood in the center of the room with her eyes trained on me. I couldn’t read her expression, but seeing her was a punch to the gut that was a mix of confusion, apprehension, and desire. Oh, and annoyance. Because why the hell did she look so damn good in a sleeveless basketball jersey and sweat shorts when she was being an asshole? She was supposed to be less attractive to me right now, but that was anything but the case, and that annoyed me.

“What are you doing here?” was the first thing out of my mouth when I finally stepped into the room and closed the door behind me.

Sucking her teeth, she folded her arms across her chest.

“Shit, I could ask you the same thing.”

Pursing my lips, I counted to ten. Clearly, she was spoiling for a fight but I’d have to disappoint her, because I wasn’t here for this shit.

“I’m here because you paid eight hundred and fifty dollars for me to dance for you in this room.”

“And I’d pay ten times that to keep you from grinding on Cody like you wanted to fuck him right there in front of everybody again.”

I threw my hands in the air. Now we were getting somewhere.

“It was a dance, Poppa! It’s my job to be grinding on folks. You knew that when you met me and it’s never been a problem before, so what’s the problem now?”