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His smirk fell on Emily as he stepped onto the platform, but his gaze once again flickered to me, then Vlado, then me again. He held my eyes, then jumped onto the pole.
Lithely, and as if gravity weren’t a thing, he scrambled up the pole to the top. Not missing a beat of the song, he flipped and spun around it, his legs and body a blur of movement as the pulsing lights in the club reflected off him.
He spent the next minute or so working the pole, his feet never touching the ground. He alternated between complex moves that were pure art and bumping and grinding sinuously to the music.
As the song neared the end, Angel flipped so he was upside down, his extended legs gripping the pole, his arms out at his sides. This version had to be a remix, and rather than fade out, the famous string part overlayed the outro.
Without warning, Angel seemed to lose his grip. He slid down the pole, racing toward the stage floor head first. My breath tore from my lungs.
“No!”
“Oh my god!”
“Shit!”
Vlado sprang forward, as if to try to catch the dancer before he smashed into the hard floor.
The whole crowd drew in a sharp gasp but then, in a move that defied the laws of both physics and reason, Angel came to a sudden stop on the pole, his head only inches from the stage.
Time slowed. Vlado laughed and applauded enthusiastically as he settled back in his seat. The rest of the crowd seemed frozen, like me. We all gaped at Angel as he hung there while the last few notes of the song played.
The music shifted into an instrumental of a classic ballad I vaguely recognized. Angel put his hands on the floor and flipped off of the pole, a huge smile on his flushed face.
As Emily and Vlado clapped and cheered for him, the others in the club followed suit.
I sat there like a statue, my heart still pounding from that reckless move.
Angel jumped onto the platform and knelt in front of Emily. She giggled like a schoolgirl as he held out his hand for hers. He kept his smile playful as he kissed her hand, but the look he shot me was filled with heat and appreciation.
Em held out her hand in a “just a second” gesture and made grabby hands at me with the other.
Vlado already had a small stack of bills ready and passed them to me. I gave them to Emily.
Angel waited as she peeled off a few and motioned for him to stand. Still grinning, he moved closer so she could slip the bills into the top of his briefs.
Rather than watch my sister grope him, I dug my wallet out of my pocket and thumbed out a bill.
Angel glanced at my hand when Emily finished tipping him and shot me a teasing smirk.
I held the bill out to him. He moved to stand in front of me, but rather than slide the bill into his briefs, I pressed it against his hand.
Angel’s smile faltered but was back so fast I wouldn’t have noticed if I hadn’t been so taken by his beauty.
His big blue eyes and mop of blond hair fit his moniker, but his smile was transformative. Vlado was the only person I knew whose smile completely changed their face. Angel’s was big and bright and so stunning it was hard to look away.
Eventually, Angel broke our eye contact and turned back to the stage, where the line of women waiting for their turn on the platform grew and grew.
“Well, big brother, you still want to spend the night on your phone?” Emily said knowingly.
Ripping my eyes from Angel, I looked at my sister. “I suppose I can take a few hours off.”
The server from before appeared, a fresh glass of champagne and a plate of chocolate-covered strawberries on his tray.
Only then realizing I hadn’t touched my drink, I picked up my sweaty glass and sipped the cool liquid, barely tasting it as my mind spun.
Could Angel be the answer to my dilemma?
* * *
