any clothes. Some men have women on their laps. Some are near the stages with money.
Cee Cee and I exchange a nervous glance. Then I turn behind us. Each of the doors we passed were entrances into private suites. Some of the suites have shades pulled. Some of them are half-open. Some are entirely up, revealing lap dancers. They are filled with black leather couches, matching armchairs, and each have similar stages with poles in them.
Star takes both our hands and pulls us over to a table. We sit.
"So, this is a strip club," I blurt out.
"It's not just any old dirty strip club," she says, as if I insulted her.
"I didn't mean—"
"This is a private, members-only, highly vetted gentlemen's club. All the members submit tax returns and net worth statements verified by their accountants. A billion dollars is the requirement. Members and dancers get STD tests monthly."
"So, men would pay Jasmine for sex—"
"No, I didn't say that," Star sternly reprimands Cee Cee.
"I'm not following then," Cee Cee replies.
"Every woman here has choices. She always can accept or deny the request."
"The request?" I ask.
"Yes. See that woman over there?" She points to a blonde woman giving a man a striptease in the middle of the room.
"Yes."
"That's Tiffany. And you see that man in the corner? The one with the blue suit coat?"
"The bald one?" I ask.
Star smiles. "Donald has Rockefeller in his blood."
"The real Rockefellers?" Cee Cee gapes.
"Yes. He wanted a lap dance from Tiffany. She doesn't like him very much, but she does like his money. She said no. He offered her two thousand dollars."
"For one dance?" I gasp.
"Yes. If you say no several times, the price always increases."
"How?"
"These are men who are used to getting what they want. No one tells them no. Tiffany could just tell him ten thousand because that's what she will eventually get from him. But instead, she took five from Ted over there and insisted they didn't go into the suite. She knew Donald would be drooling and more desperate than ever to give her what she wants. And he wants it private, in his suite. So she'll insist it's double for the suite, and he will pay, thinking he's getting something the others can't have."
"So it's a sick, twisted, rich person's game?" Cee Cee asks.
Star laughs. A waitress sets a drink down in front of us, and Star picks it up and takes a sip. "A little. These men want beautiful women surrounding them who don't bring them drama. Some are trust fund babies, and some are self-made. Half of them have enormous pressures at work. They don't want to deal with the issues relationships bring. They are here to blow off steam."
"So, she does have to sleep with them?" Cee Cee asks again, and I don't blame her. Star even said they always get what they want, so my thoughts echo Cee Cee's.
"That's up to Jasmine."
"I don't understand," I say.
"You will be approached. You can always say no, or you can sometimes say no. Or, if you really want, you can always say yes. It's always up to you."
"Why would they be okay with us saying no?" I ask.
Star's eyes turn to slits. "These men are rich. They are cocky and looking to relieve stress. They are not rapists. They know you have the choice and hold all the cards. It's the only time in their lives they don't have complete control. But I won't lie. It is a challenge for some of them to see if they can get the girl they want into their bed. So you must be prepared for them to continue to approach you even when you've already said no."
Blood pounds hard between my ears, and I gaze around the room. Then I freeze when I get to the suite positioned in the center of the room. Colton stands at the window. His jacket is off, sleeves rolled up, and forearm full of tattoos in full view. He takes a sip of his scotch and focuses on me.
"He doesn't invite women into his suite," Star says.
I jerk my head toward her. "What? How is that possible?"
"He almost always stays in the bar area unless he has out-of-town business colleagues he's entertaining. Those men are all STD tested before they come in here as well. They also have to sign a release agreeing to the rules and aren't allowed to make any agreements that involve my girls outside the club."
"But the other members can?" Cee Cee asks