Funnily enough, with the chaotic ambiance of the restaurant, we fit right in, like a piece of living art. Every patron in the place turned their heads to stare at us, though. Pushing aside the feeling of everyone's eyes on me, I followed my sister up the stairs to the bar. The six of us scooted into a booth, with Jenny, Kate, and Rachel on one side, Cheyenne, Anna, and I on the other. The fresh-faced waiter who arrived seconds later was clearly impressed with our outfits. "Hi, I'm Gabe. I'll be your server this evening." Pointing his pen at our penis-inlaid boas, he smirked, "Bachelorette party?"
Pulling the boa off, I placed it on the seat beside me. Flaunting phallic shapes at a family restaurant probably wasn't the best idea, young eyes and all. On the limo ride over, I'd made my sister put her penis necklace in her purse and promise me that she wouldn't use her straw or sucker here. She'd grudgingly agreed.
Tossing her arm around me, Anna beamed at Gabe. "Yep, my girl's tying the knot, so we need to get her lit!"
Gabe turned his blue eyes to me. "Congratulations."
Surprisingly, his gaze shifted over my face. Wow, was he checking me out? "Thanks," I murmured. "We're celebrating her recent wedding too." I turned to Anna. "I still can't believe you married Griffin."
Anna rolled her eyes. "Let it go. You're worse than Dad." I had to laugh at that comment. It was highly unlikely that Dad knew about Anna's marital status. I doubt she'd even told him that she'd left Seattle yet.
Gabe's smile widened. "Sisters?" Leaning toward us, he gave everyone a grin, then focused solely on me. "I know just what you guys need. Mind if I pick your drinks?" He winked at me as he straightened, and my mind froze. He really was hitting on me.
"Uh, no, go right ahead." Not knowing what else to do, I gave him a polite smile.
Leaning around me, Anna told him, "It's been a while since I've been one, but make mine a virgin, 'kay?" She rubbed her expanded belly and Gabe pulled his eyes from me to glance at her.
He nodded, his eyes instantly returning to mine. "Will do." He stood back up and pointed his pen at us again. "You ladies don't go anywhere. I'll be right back."
After he walked away, all of the girls looked at me simultaneously. "He was so checking you out!" Jenny exclaimed.
I sank into my chair and fingered my bright hair. "No, he wasn't." I giggled at the end of my sentence. Yeah, he was. Well, unfortunately for Gabe, I wasn't single. No, I was about to formally marry my rock-star sweetheart, whose searing good looks were insignificant in comparison to the beauty inside his soul. He was as close to perfect as one human being could be, and he was mine. I was beyond blessed.
Gabe returned a few minutes later with huge, crazy-shaped glasses full of something fruity and strong; I cringed a little after taking my first sip. Gabe winked at me again. "That should properly prep you for your evening."
I thanked him, then ordered some chicken strips. I was going to need a good base in my stomach if this drink was any indication of how the night was going to turn out. Gabe flirted with me throughout the remainder of our meal. Needless to say, I received the most attentive service that I'd ever received at a restaurant. The girls teased me about it relentlessly. Gabe was cute, so I was flattered, but Kellan had my heart and I wasn't interested. When Gabe handed me the receipt when we were finished, his number was on it. My eyes were wide as I looked up at him. He shrugged. "Just in case it doesn't work out."
I was so surprised that he'd done that, my only response was, "Thanks." Collecting myself, I added, "I think it's going to work out, though."
Gabe looked disheartened as I stood to leave him. I was so used to seeing that expression of disappointment on female faces as Kellan walked away that it was bizarre to see it directed at me. A thought struck me as I showed the receipt to my sister outside. If we'd been playing the game Kellan and the boys played when they went out, I would have won tonight. Just the thought made me giggle while the rest of the girls let out loud hoots and hollers.
Wondering what he would say, I snapped a picture of the receipt and texted it to Kellan with the message I won! I hoped he would find that funny, and not worry about what I was doing. But if I was willing to trust him with strippers, than he'd have to trust me too. And he did.
He didn't text me back, but I didn't expect him to. He was in the middle of a show, probably just about done with his set. It was strange not to be there, listening to him play, but I was enjoying my girl time. I wasn't sure where we were headed next, but I was slightly buzzed from Gabe's drink, so I didn't much care. Anna gave our limo driver a swift kiss on the cheek, making the older man blush. Feeling benevolent, I kissed him on the opposite cheek.
Where we ended up going was a strip club. I frowned as the car pulled up to the bright pink neon flashing a pair of female legs so that it looked like they were kicking. I cringed at the name of the club-Pole Palace. Glancing over to Anna, I firmly told her, "I have no interest in watching a bunch of half-naked women flirt with married men."
Anna let out an exasperated sigh. "Where's your sense of adventure, Kiki?" With a sly smile she added, "You will like this, trust me."
Not sure if I should trust my up-for-anything sister, I hesitantly stepped out of the limo. At the last minute, I told the driver, "If you see me running from the building in terror, please take me home right away."
The driver smiled at me as he held the door open. "Absolutely . . . Kiki."
Once again dressed in our penis gear, the group of us gathered under the front awning. Jenny and Kate seemed fine with going somewhere else or going inside; Rachel seemed just as dubious about this place as I was. Cheyenne was smiling. When I glanced at the front door of Pole Palace, I noticed the huge sign propped on an easel beside it and shook my head. Ladies Night! Come on in to see the hottest men in town! I should have known.
For some reason, it did make me feel a little better to know that we were going to be watching half-naked men flirt with married women. It seemed more innocent. I still felt horribly embarrassed about the whole thing, though, especially since I was dressed like a Bratz doll. "Anna, are you serious?"
With an ear-to-ear grin, she turned toward the bouncer. "Yep."
Jenny, Kate, and Cheyenne giggled and followed after her. Rachel and I looked at each other, shared a moment of mortification, then sucked up our inhibitions and followed after our more gregarious friends. The place was jam-packed with women of all ages. They were hooting, hollering, and shouting at the greased-up studs on the stage. The men dancing were gyrating and hip thrusting in a suggestive way that made me a little uncomfortable.
Wondering if Kellan would be okay with me being here since we hadn't talked about me going to a strip club, I grabbed Anna's arm. "Do you think Kellan . . . and the boys . . . will be okay with this?" I indicated some shirtless male servers posing for pictures with some very friendly female patrons.
Anna quirked a smile. "I think they'll be fine with it."
I wasn't quite sure, and I felt a little guilty about being here. I didn't plan on doing anything with any of these beefy, well-cut guys, but Kellan didn't know I was here, and it felt dishonest that he didn't know. I pulled out my phone to call him, and Anna snatched it away from me. "He won't mind, Kiera, and I told him where we were going. He was cool with it." She indicated the stage. "He's the one that found a place with male dancers tonight."
Surprise washed through me, but only for a moment. Of course he'd arranged this. Kellan wanted me to have a good time with my friends, and by the looks of the tittering women around us, being here was a very good time. Kellan also loved embarrassing me, and when a man wearing pants so tight they left nothing to the imagination asked me if I wanted a drink, I was very embarrassed.
Laughing, I finally accepted that being here was okay and relaxed with my friends. Anna sat us at a table near the front of the stage, and a couple of drinks into it I was hollering along with the rest of the girls in the audience. The dances were amusing, and yes, sexy as hell. My favorite part about it was the costumes. We'd had a fireman, policeman, and a construction worker so far. It was beyond ridiculous, and I couldn't stop laughing. Then a man dressed like a cowboy stepped out onto the stage.
He was wearing a bandanna around his mouth like he was a bandit and a black cowboy hat pulled low over his eyes. One of his hands was holding the tip of his hat, the other rested by his side. He was wearing a vest with nothing on underneath it, and his muscles had a light sheen to them, like he was slathered in oil. Like any good cowboy, he was wearing chaps . . . over a pair of dark spandex briefs. He was hot, and a hush went over the crowd. Just the way he stood there while he waited for the music to start was seductive, and I had a feeling he'd be good at riling up the crowd.
A heavy beat filled the air. I recognized the song as one of Rhianna's provocative hits. When the beat started, the cowboy lifted his eyes and stared at the crowd. I sputtered on the drink coming up my penis straw. "Oh my f**king God!" I screeched that, and Jenny, Kate, Cheyenne, and Rachel all twisted to stare at me like I was insane. Anna was holding her sides, laughing.
I couldn't even answer my friends' questioning looks, because I recognized the pair of seductive dark blue eyes sweeping the crowd. As his h*ps started swaying and the crowd started yelling, those familiar bedroom eyes locked right onto me. I couldn't see his mouth, but I knew he was smiling at me. I wanted to crawl into a hole and die, but I couldn't stop watching him. What the hell was Kellan doing here, in a strip club, dancing?
As he really started getting into his act, I stopped caring. Kellan was a natural seducer and was intoxicating to watch as he moved across the stage-a stage he owned just as much as when he was singing. Sliding and shaking, he worked his way back and forth across the front. When he stopped at our table, he slowly and seductively removed his vest. My heart was going a million miles an hour. When he tossed the fabric at me, I almost didn't have the reflexes to catch it. With his perfect chest on display, the crowd went nuts. With his tattoo of my name across his heart on display, my friends turned back to me, wide-eyed; they knew about Kellan's tattoo. Astonished, Jenny asked, "Is that . . . ?"
Fearing being overheard, she didn't say his name out loud. She didn't have to either. We all knew who she was referencing. As I weakly nodded that, yes, it was Kellan up there shaking his booty, they all started laughing. Anna let out an earsplitting whistle. Yes, my husband was stripping.
Just like when the D-Bags played, Kellan worked the crowd. He let the girls touch him, but backed off when they got too close or too friendly. He ran his hands over his own slick skin, caressing himself in ways that I was sure most of the audience was fantasizing about touching him. Halfway through the song, he ripped off his chaps to thunderous applause. I buried my face in my hands, mortified and turned on. I could not believe he was doing this, and at the same time, I wasn't surprised; it was exactly something Kellan would do.
Toward the end of the long song, Kellan sauntered my way. He was now only dressed in cowboy boots, tight spandex shorts, his face-concealing bandanna mask, and his cowboy hat. Holding my breath, I hoped he got to keep the outfit. Kellan jumped off the stage to land right beside our table. Women leapt at the chance to touch him, but he grabbed me and pulled me to my feet. As nearby patrons cursed in jealousy and hollered in approval, Kellan finished his tantalizing dance by grabbing my leg and hooking it around his hip. I instinctively conformed to his body, and for a moment forgot that we were the center of attention. Kellan dipped me when the song was finally over. When he pulled me up, our faces were inches apart. I could see his fast breath under his mask; it matched mine. Not caring who was watching, I kissed him through the fabric. His eyes fluttered closed as his hands traveled over my ass. The crowd erupted into shrieks.
Remembering that we were being watched, I reluctantly pulled away from him. Laughing, Kellan told me, "You probably shouldn't turn me on in this outfit. I may get arrested."
Laughing, I pushed his slick chest away from me. "I cannot believe you just did that."