I Can't Stand You

Salute / Complete Opposites - Ebisu

When he arrived, Katsu wasn't behind the counter.  Instead, there was thumping music playing as she lazily swung her body around the stripper pole in the corner.  He stopped in front of the stage and watched her; she acted as if he wasn't there. There was no one in the store but the two of them.

"I thought you had a date tonight."

"I did. It's over."

She slowly flipped her body to the side, holding onto the bar gracefully as she completely stretched out her arms.  She pointed her toes and then did a split in midair before pulling her body back into the pole. He grinned at her.

"You may be in the wrong business."

She laughed at his quip.

"I've made a lot of money dancing in the past, but I've had to give half of it to the asshole running the club.  I'm in a much better place, mentally and emotionally.  I'm my own boss, I make my own hours, and I get to teach women how to empower themselves."

"You think this is empowering?"

"You're saluting me right now-"

He was.  He tried to hide his erection discreetly as she spoke.  He began to say something witty, but Katsu flipped upside down on the pole and motioned for him to come closer.  He complied.  She spoke to him quietly.

"If I wanted the comeback from you, I would have wiped it off your lips."

He felt his jaw drop as she took the opportunity to take the glasses from his face and put them on, giving him a smart-ass smirk.

She had won.

He watched as she spun down the pole skillfully before flipping back upright, still wearing his dark glasses.  He was fully erect and kind of dazed by her show.  And also enjoying this feeling of awe and powerlessness.  She was teasing him, holding his glasses hostage, and he was enjoying it.

"Is that who blackened your eye? Your date?"

"No, what makes you think that?  I'm a shinobi.  I was, uh, injured during training. You know, after our lunch date..."

He was blushing, which made her grin.

"Because you said you had a date and then came to the porn store afterwards.  I figured a good date would've spent the night."

"Maybe I'm not like that."

She rolled her eyes playfully.

"Maybe you're not."

She ground her body against the pole, her glasses still on his face. He was still aching from his anti climatic tryst with Iyomi and Katsu's private dance was really gassing him up.

"You know, if you want to just hang out, we can do that.  You don't have to buy something every night."

He felt himself blush even harder, now grinning slyly.

"How do you know I'm not a raging porn addict?"

She laughed

"I don't.  But I would imagine that there would be less talking and more just buying and leaving."

Bing-bong.

"Hey, Kat-"

The voice behind him stopped.  Katsu looked up.

"Hey, Z!"

Katsu broke the trance by hopping down from the pole and gently placing his glasses back on his face with a grin. The moment was over. For a few beautiful minutes, he was witness to the most beautiful dance he had ever seen.

He actually stayed for a few minutes and spoke to the two women, not embarrassed to be here for the first time.

***

"What's wrong with you?  You look awful.  And frustrated.  And who blackened your eye?"

Anko was right.  He was both tired and frustrated.  He never did get off last night, and edging had given him blue balls.  He was sore and engorged, having gone straight home and passing out before jerking off. And frustrated that not only had he called his one night stand the wrong name, he had also allowed himself to be treated like a love sick customer by Katsu.

 But, he was really starting to like Katsu.

"It was a long night.  I had a date with a woman from the bar and called her the wrong name in bed."

Anko laughed, snorting.

"Ah, so you earned it!"

Taking his glasses off, he put his face in his hands.

"It should've been great, but it wasn't.  It wasn't great, even before I called her the wrong name."

"So, whose name did you call her?"

He muttered his answer through his hands.

"Katsu."

"What?  Katsu?"

"I've been going to the Kat's Meow a lot in the evenings.  Since I was caught in the ladies bathhouse."

He was actually telling someone. Anko chuckled.

"I'm glad I'm no longer single.  Getting laid in the wild is a nightmare.  Do you know Katsu, or was that more of a slip?"

He sighed.

"I know Katsu.  She has a lot of opinions and she's fucking annoying.  She teases me every time I walk into her shop."

"Katsu's a cool chick.  And she's gorgeous.  But, I wouldn't expect you two to get along: you're complete opposites.  You're pretty by-the-book and she's wild."

She grinned as he continued.

"I think I also went on a lunch date with her yesterday. And it was really nice, which probably threw me off for my real date."

Anko started laughing.

"You went on a date with Katsu?  Stop!  You're going to make me piss myself!"

He rolled his eyes as he continued with his paperwork, grinning. He couldn't stop thinking about Katsu on that pole.