12. Hannah
Chapter twelve
Hannah
A week later Amelia shows up again after dinner to babysit. Jack and Viv bounce around her, excited, while Aiden tries to play it cool. But I can see the smile he's trying to hide, too.
It's our first night trying out what I'm calling "Book Club." I invited my friends, Sarah and Courtney because I think they're the two that would handle it the best. Sarah's a filter-free ball of energy, while Courtney is more of a hot-mess mom than I am. They're not the stuck-up, better-than-you, PTA queens, so I think they'd actually enjoy themselves. Sarah's husband is a traveling pharmaceutical rep, while Courtney's husband plays golf all day, every weekend day, leaving her essentially a married single parent.
Dressed up a little, I giggle as we pass the line gathering on the sidewalk and walk up to the club doors. I don't recognize these bouncers, but Matty told me he gave them all my name and picture and that I was VIP, so I take my chances.
"Boss," one of them says with a nod to me, as he opens the doors.
"Boss?" Courtney asks, giggling, as the line outside shouts their disapproval. "So, the Book Club thing was kind of my idea. I'm friends with the owners and wanted to see if there was something here."
"Where are we going? What's a good idea?" Sarah asks as we make our way through the foyer.
We queue up at the bar behind the crowd and wait for it to disperse. That is until Ben sees me and waves me over .
"Let the ladies through, please!" He shouts over the din. Bodies grumble as they shuffle to make space for us.
"Thanks, Ben!"
"Heya sexy mama. Here for book club? I hear Santiago's about to go on. What can I get you ladies?" Oh God, he makes it sound like a strip show.
Which is actually a brilliant idea. I'll have to chat with the boys about that later.
Sarah and Courtney can't restrain their excitement at the VIP treatment we're getting. We order our drinks and I go to pay but Ben waves me off with a frown.
"You trying to get me fired? What do you think Matty would say if I charged his ladies?"
I laugh and thank him before putting a 100 in his tip cup.
We giggle as we sip our drinks and head through the back and down towards the stairs. Two big burly bouncers guarding the hallway simply nod at us as we pass.
"God, did you see the biceps on that one?" Sarah whispers, not so very quietly.
I can't help but laugh. I feel lighter than I have in a while.
Finally, Sarah grabs my arms to stop me. "What are we doing here, Hannah? Is this where you drug us and sell our body parts on the black market?"
I laugh. "No. We're here to watch hot, sweaty men pummel the crap out of each other." I say, opening the last door with a flourish.
Sure enough, Santiago's in the ring, already slick with sweat, shirtless, in just his athletic shorts and barefoot. Black tattoos cover copper-colored skin. God, just looking at him makes my ovaries ache. He moves with such grace and confidence, I know he's just toying with his opponent.
"Ladies," Matty says smoothly, as he greets us. "We have a table reserved for you over here, with an excellent view of the ring. And Patrick here, will be your designated server. Ask for anything you want, all on the house."
I tip up and give Matty a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you, baby," I whisper.
I turn to gauge Sarah and Courtney's reactions. Their mouths both hang open, eyes wide, as they take in the scene and suddenly I'm less confident that this was a good idea.
Do I push them out and forget the whole thing? Or feign confidence and sit?
"Holy shit, I think I just got pregnant," Courtney whispers. And I laugh. Okay. This was a good idea.
I guide them to the table, getting strange looks from the other men watching. But I don't mind. I know Matty and Santiago would never let anyone bother us.
"Holy fuck balls. Is this what you were talking about? Book Club?"
I shrug, a little proud of myself. "I figured, us moms are married, not dead. What's the harm in going to a weekly 'book club' and leaving our kids with their dads or a sitter, and getting a show?"
"Holy shit, you're a genius."
"Yeah? You think other moms would want in on this?"
"Fuck yeah, it's like Magic Mike...meets fight club."
I laugh as my eyes catch Santi's in the middle of the ring. He grins, winks at me, and gets to work beating the shit out of his opponent easily.
With a right, left, right combo that is so fast it's blurry, Santiago's opponent goes down and doesn't move again.
Santiago's done with his opponent, though, and hops the ropes before the ref is even done counting down.
With a confidence that I swear is new to Santiago, he strides over, grins down at me, grips the back of my chair, and lowers his hips to mine, grinding on my lap.
Fuck, that's hot.
I can't help but blush. This gorgeous man, more than ten years younger than me and 1000x out of my league is half naked, sweaty, and grinding on me like a fucking male stripper.
I can't help but laugh and run my hands up his sweaty chest.
"Hey, baby," I whisper, so fucking happy to see him.
That is until I see Sarah reach over and try to stroke his arm. I frown and bat her hand away.
"Mine," I growl.
She holds her hands up defensively but continues to stare. "I gotta get me one of those." She whispers.
'Having fun?' Santi mouths as he continues his lewd striptease on my lap.
"Fuck yeah, I am," I say, reaching around, grabbing his ass, and sitting him fully on my lap.
He's heavy, but my thighs are thick.
He's sweaty and smells masculine but my hormones have pure lava flowing through my veins. Before I can get too carried away, though, he gives me a kiss on the cheek and a wink before turning back to the ring to fight again.
"So what do you think of my little business venture? The owner says I can keep the proceeds from 'lady's nights'. Think other women would come? I was also thinking we could set up a night or two for like a Magic Mike show?"
"Oh my God, yes! My book club girlies will eat this up!"
I smile. "I'll text you guys some graphics or things you can send with all the details to promote it. If it gets big enough we could do like Facebook ads or something."
Sarah grips my shoulder and gives it a little shake. "You're so fucking smart! I wish I had thought of this!"
I laugh off her praise. We spend another few hours, chitchatting, ogling the men, and drinking.
It's crazy to me how quickly my life had gone from the lowest point to something that was feeling quite like the highest so quickly.