Stripped Bare (kakashiXsakura)

chapter 6

It was hard to tell what time it was inside the windowless room she now called home, but upon waking, Sakura guessed it was around seven thirty, her internal clock more accurate than most.

She could hear the even breathing both to her right and above and knew her roommates were still sound asleep. That didn't surprise her considering they had probably been dancing until late last night.

Sakura rolled over and quietly recalled just what she had seen the night before and knew time was ticking away before she would have to do the same thing. Her fellow dancers had made it look so easy to dance gracefully before a crowd while shedding clothing, and if she wanted to keep up with them, she would have to find a way to practice. Now was the perfect time while everyone was asleep and chances were she wouldn't have to worry about anyone watching her, especially Dajuku.

She silently climbed out of bed, figuring the ratty sweats she had borrowed from Misaki would work just fine for practicing, not to mention the room was freezing cold and Sakura wondered if the owner was so much of a cheapskate that he didn't even bother to heat the place.

She padded to the bathroom to brush her teeth and hair and wash her face and emerged again without seeing another soul. The common room was empty and so was the dressing room downstairs and when she entered the darkened space of the club's main room, she could see that it too was vacant.

The room still smelled smoky and slightly of sweat and alcohol, but all evidence of last night's festivities had been disposed of, spilled alcohol mopped up, cigarette ashes wiped away and now it was just as Sakura had first seen it yesterday, empty and quiet with just one light over the main stage by the wings pushing the shadows away another couple of feet.

Tentatively, she walked onto the raised platform, not making a sound in her bare feet and let her fingers brush against the cool metal of the center pole. From up here, the club looked even smaller, but she knew that when gazing over the sea of scruffy faces that would probably be watching her eagerly, the same space would seem immense.

She began to walk slowly around the pole, letting one hand grip it firmly and pulled away a little, giving and taking body weight against the tall rod as she got a feel for being on stage. She recalled how the girls had climbed the pole the night before, wrapping their bodies around it gracefully before spiraling back to the floor. While it seemed easy enough, Sakura figured it didn't hurt to give it a try before she had an audience.

Facing the pole and grasping it with both hands, Sakura effortless hoisted herself up and climbed until she was near the ceiling a good ten feet in the air. Clenching her thighs tightly around the pole, she let go with her hands and arched backwards in what she hoped was a sexy and graceful pose like what she had seen the night before. While she had no idea what she looked like, she found that her muscles only had to work minimally after all the rigorous training she had endured.

She was able to arch back so far that her hands once again found the pole and after a little fumbling, she was able to grab it in a way that allowed her to support her weight and release her legs to circle around to wrap around the bar again before sliding easily back down to the ground.

Well, if that's all there was to it, then there was no need to be nervous. She had this whole pole dancing thing down thanks to well developed muscular control and strength.

Her confidence boosted, she tried again, walking around the pole like she had seen the others do to gain a little momentum to lift herself off the ground. The pull she gave herself with her arms produced more spin than she expected and she nearly spun herself right off the pole with the amount of centrifugal force she produced before gripping desperately and bringing herself to a halt.