The Strip - Max

38 / Ten Plus One

I stepped into the party room a few minutes before my start time, looking like I might have gotten lost on my way to a business meeting. Tonya stood behind the bar and popped the cap off a beer as all eyes found me and followed my movements. I made my way through the group, saying hello and searching out Roman. I gave him a little extra attention, wrapping him in a hug as I thanked him for organizing the event.

Tyler was mingling and chatting with the men that would spend the evening with me. He seemed comfortable. I wondered if I would be entertaining ten plus one. Since that lap dance class, three years earlier, our relationship had become flirtier. We never reprised that event, but it definitely still held a place in the forefront of our minds. None of the other girls kissed him on the lips or flirted with him the way I did. He didn't look at the other girls the way he looked at me.

"Are you sticking around to watch?" I asked as my fingers trailed down Tyler's chest.

"I'll probably be in and out from time to time," he replied.

"Mmmm, in and out. I like the sound of that," I said as I winked at the man beside Tyler.

The way we interacted may have made it seem like we were more than just employer and employee, and we were. We were more than just friends. My heart belonged to Dan and Tyler's was trapped in a void the size and shape of Chantel. We spoke about it a few times over drinks. He couldn't explain it himself, but he was hopelessly lost in her. To most people, he hid it well, but the trail of broken relationships he entertained over the years were the result of a desire that seemed impossible to fulfill. He didn't talk about her to anyone else and I often wondered if she even knew.

"I'm just going to head over to the stage and get ready to kick this party off," I said.

I wore a tight fitted skirt that, if it were left to grow a little longer, might have become a respectable businesswoman's pencil skirt. A white button up blouse gave that work attire appearance but perhaps the black lace bra visible underneath foiled my disguise.

The squeaky start of Dirty Minds by Boy Epic echoed through the room for seventeen seconds, drawing everyone's attention towards me as I strutted towards the center of the stage. I ran my hands down my legs as the word "thighs" hummed in the air, then dropped to a squat when prompted by, "get low." The movements of my choreography fit to the lyrics. I was bent forward and tracing my fingers up from my right ankle on "back to the sky" and pressed my fingers against my sex on the question, "do you want it in?"

As much as I enjoyed doing the performance, I had to agree with the words in the chorus, "I'd rather have sex."

The song was my new favorite at that time. It usually ran as the third song of my set. The lyrics are suggestive and seductive, the rhythm perfect for that part of my show when the final piece of clothing is shed. During this performance I would only remove one item; the mask I had slipped on before I stepped onto the stage. The men wanted to participate in stripping me naked, and I was more than willing to let them have their fun. I did, however, set some rules. None of my clothing was to be torn, and none of it was to be pocketed as a souvenir.

I strolled the stage and the men settled in to watch me move. As the end of the song neared, I moved between the participants, caressing faces and arms, and occasionally squeezing a butt or two. Tyler had joined Tonya behind the bar, but I could see him watching as he did when I took to the stage in the lounge. He had never watched me during a private session or a party like this. A hint of worry fluttered in my mind. Would witnessing the things I would do in that room with those men destroy the odd connection we had?

I found my way around to Roman and requested his assistance with the button up blouse that hugged my torso. He happily lent a hand or two, popping open the buttons then pushing the fabric off of my shoulders and letting it gently fall down my arms. I moved on to another and draped the blouse over his shoulder before the man next to him was put in charge of my skirt.