Page 62 of The Risk Taker
I swirl the amber liquid in my glass and glance around the bar to take in the group of loud girls partying around me. I try to find the one I’d just danced for in a private party room off the main bar. I’m not really sure why I’m looking for her. She’s just another girl in a sea of women I dance for once in a while.
My gaze lands on her, sitting at the other end of the bar, uncomfortable, nervous and so goddamn beautiful my dick swells.
Okay, maybe I do know why I’m looking for her. I’ve been doing this gig for a long fucking time, and none of the girls I danced for were ever like her. The guys and I started dancing at parties to for cash when we were in college, and well, maybe my reasons had more to do with rebellion than money. The business flourished and spread to other states, and even though none of us need the money, we now dance when we have to fill in, or for kicks. But I’m tired of flying around, putting on a mask and shaking my cock in some drunk girl’s face. But this girl, well, she’s been nursing a drink for the last hour, and doesn’t seem at all like the kind who would enjoy a half naked guy shaking his junk at her.
I catch her gaze, and hold it for a minute. She quickly turns away and my cock swells at her shyness. Shit. She’s way too young and innocent for me. I have no idea what her story is or why her friends would hire me to dance for her twenty-first birthday, and I should leave it at that. If I knew what would good for me, I would.
But, fuck it. I rarely go with what’s good for me, which is why I’m sitting on a goddamn bar stool in Virginia sipping on a scotch when I should be back at Penn State, grading papers. I’m bored with that job, too. But dear old dad is the dean, and while I had different career aspirations, both he and mom pushed me into education—hence my rebellious stage.
I swallow the rest of the liquid, let it burn its way down my throat. I don’t normally stay for a drink after a gig, but tonight, I don’t know, there’s something about the birthday girl that’s throwing me off. I pick up the backpack at my feet, the one stuffed with my dance clothes and mask, a necessity for me now. I’m a fucking psych professor, for Christ’s sakes. Ever hear of a code of conduct? Yeah, well, I’m violating every rule I promised to uphold.
I really need to give this shit up.
I toss the bag over one shoulder and stand. The heat in the room, as well as the mixed scent of alcohol and perfume, washes over me. I’m anxious to get the hell out of here. Looks like the recipient of my dance is, too.
I push through the lively crowd, and slide in beside her at the bar. Her body goes stiff, and shit, I’m pretty sure I’d do anything to help her relax.
“Hey,” I say.
She nibbles her bottom lip. Sexy as hell.
Fuck me.
I shift, and lean on the bar so she can’t see my swelling cock.
“Hi,” she says.
“Not really your scene, is it?”
She crinkles her nose. “Am I that obvious?”
“Yeah, a little bit.” I take a glance around. “Want to get out of here? Walk the beach?”
Her back stiffens, and her chest juts out, her lovely nipples pressing against the silk of her blouse. “I don’t even know you.”
It’s true. She doesn’t. I was in costume when I danced for her, so no way can she know I’m the guy her friends hired to shake it in her face. I take in her wide blue eyes. So fucking innocent she’s killing me.
Desperate to put her at ease, I shrug. “I don’t know you either. How do I know once we’re outside you won’t try to get me out of my clothes and have your way with me?”
She smiles, and it rocks my fucking world. “I really could use some fresh air...”
I pick up on her hesitation. “Pass me your phone.”
What the fuck am I doing?
Breaking all kinds of rules tonight, that’s what I’m fucking doing.
“Why do you want my phone?” she asks as she slides it across the sticky bar top.
I hold it up, and take a selfie. “There, now you have my picture. If I try anything you don’t like, you’ll have my mug shot
for the police.”
She looks at me like I’m a bit insane. Maybe I am, because I should really leave this alone. She reaches for her purse, and I say, “Do you need to tell a friend?”
Her gaze flickers to the dance floor, but none of her friends are paying any attention to her. Girls are supposed to look out for one another when partying—come together and go together. But it doesn’t look like she’s made that pact with any of these drunk party girls. She frowns, a hint of loneliness ghosting her eyes, and my heart squeezes. At least she’s in good hands with me. She’s sweet and innocent and I don’t—okay I do, but won’t—want anything more from her than a conversation.
“Yeah, let’s get out of here,” she says.