a catwalk of sorts, but instead of showing off their clothes, the girls shed them. And there were men—some eager, some bored—watching them in the chairs lining the sides and curved front of the platform. I hadn’t really paid more than a passing glance to any of them as I felt myself yawning and checking the time. River would be awake now and screaming for his bottle.
“Don’t you dare call them,” Jamie warned.
“Who?”
“The girls. River’s fine, but you’re not.” Jamie clapped me on the shoulder. “Let’s have some fun, brother.” A girl who was actually dressed in a pencil skirt and blouse introduced herself before leading us across the club. Finding myself agreeing with Jamie, I followed my friends up another set of stairs, this one shorter. This level was like a loft, but instead of one section, there were three, each designed to look like a bedroom suite. Rather than ordinary bedroom furniture, however, there was a small round platform with two high-backed armchairs on each side and a short catwalk extending from the platform and disappearing behind the curtains.
“I hope this will be to your liking, gentlemen.”
As soon as we nodded, she walked away, and we took our seats. Drinks appeared a moment later despite Ever, Jamie, and me being underage. I didn’t question it and lifted the glass of bourbon. “So tell me,” I shouted to Jamie over the music. “What is the point of being here if none of you can get lap dances?”
Before he could answer, a girl strutted through the blue curtains. She wasn’t wearing much—a gold G-string and the matching top. I forced myself to watch the leggy stripper in a strawberry blonde wig as she seductively danced her way down the short catwalk. She had her top off before she even reached the round stage where she swayed and climbed and flipped to four songs—it was the longest twenty minutes of my life.
And then came another blonde.
The second dancer’s hair was darker, and her legs weren’t as long, but she reminded me of someone with her brown eyes. Noticing the provocative motorcycle uniform and Ever’s tight expression, I realized what Jamie was up to. He’d obviously called ahead and set this up. When the two girls started to dance with their bodies pressed close, and the taller dancer began to undress the chick in the biker getup, I choked on my drink. Ever looked two seconds from punching Jamie, who couldn’t be more amused by his own antics.
I wasn’t even surprised when the girls finally disappeared, and out came a brunette in a long, white veil, matching lingerie and a garter around her ankle. She descended the short steps of the stage to give Wren a lap dance per Jamie’s request, but the look Wren gave her had the dancer scurrying back up to the stage. Her movements were jerky during the first song thanks to Wren scaring the shit out of her, but by the second song, she’d seemingly forgotten all about it.
Lou would probably carve Wren’s eyes out just for looking, so a lap dance was definitely out of the question. The dancer disappeared after three songs, and I realized we hadn’t tipped any of them.
“Don’t worry. It’s covered,” Jamie announced, reading my mind.
I ignored him as I eyed the curtain. After ten minutes passed without a Tyra look-alike appearing, I exhaled. I felt my friends watching me, but I didn’t even give a shit if they knew how relieved I was. I probably would punch Jamie. Getting tossed out on my ass wasn’t even close to being a concern.
Dan appeared along with some girls carrying a two-tiered cake with sparklers and Congratulations, Wren! written on the frosting as if it were his birthday. “Since you won’t take a lap dance, how about several?” Jamie said before waggling his brows.
Suddenly, more girls appeared, surrounding Wren’s chair before he knew what was happening. He’d been too busy scowling at the cake. None of the girls got too close, but there was nothing Wren could do as they waved their tits and stripped their clothing in front of him. I just hoped Jamie wasn’t dumb enough to still be around when it was over.
The song ended, and the girls disappeared. Wren sat perfectly still, watching Jamie and Dan as they whispered back and forth. I wouldn’t be surprised if Wren were planning just how slowly he wanted to kill Jamie. Dan began nodding enthusiastically before pulling his radio and speaking into it.