28. Xander
An hour later we’re at some random strip club in the industrial part of town, next to a twenty-four-hour check cashing joint and a vape shop.
At the door, we hand cash to the bouncer for the cover and walk inside. I frown at the red lighting throughout the whole interior.
“Jesus, that’s obnoxious,” I mutter, squinting.
Sophie chuckles beside me. “Did you expect something nicer? It’s a strip club called Lolly Gaggers.”
I smile down at her. “I guess you’re right.”
I glance at the main stage. It’s lined with what looks like bright white string lights along the edge. There’s a pole in the middle, one on the far side, and another on the other side. It narrows into a runway that runs all the way to the middle of the space, which is surrounded by chairs and tables. There’s a pole at the end of the runway too.
“Wow. There’s a lot of poles in here,” Sophie murmurs.
I chuckle and scoop her hand in mine. We weave through the crowded space in search of a table. Some slow jam I can’t remember the name of pulses through the sound system. Strobe lights of every color flash all over the stage as a dancer walks over and performs.
We find a decent-sized table at the far end of the main stage with enough chairs for all of us and sit down. I catch Sophie looking at the dancer as she spins around the pole before dropping into front splits on the floor.
Her eyes go wide. “Whoa. She’s really flexible.”
I laugh. “Definitely impressive.”
The server stops by and we ask for a round of shots and a few mixed drinks. I make sure she gets water for Sophie and ask for a glass of whatever decent whiskey they happen to have.
I watch Sophie gaze around the place.
“First time at a strip club?” I ask.
She smiles at me. “Of course it’s my first time.”
I lean closer. “Are you comfortable? We can leave if you’re not into this.”
She shakes her head, her smile bright. “No, I wanna hang out for a while.”
I lean down to kiss her cheek. “It’s cute how excited you are to be here.”
“I missed out on a lot of things because I was in school so much. I want to experience this. Even if it’s a little weird.” She glances around again. “Wow, every surface of this place is black onyx. And glittery.”
I laugh. The waitress drops off our drinks. I take a sip of whatever well whiskey she brought me, pleasantly surprised that it’s decent.
Theo hops up to tell the DJ he wants to sign up for amateur night. I shake my head and laugh to myself. When he comes back, Blomdahl is smirking at him.
“You’re really gonna do it?” he says to Theo.
“Of course I’m going to do it.” Theo sits back down. Maya shakes her head and laughs at her husband.
Ingrid wrinkles her nose. “I really don’t want to watch my cousin strip naked.” She groans. I laugh.
Theo reaches out over and pats his cousin’s shoulder and grins at her. “Just be sure to look away when I’m on stage.”
Ingrid makes another groaning sound, but it’s clear she’s joking. She heads to the ladies’ room.
The dancer finishes her performance and everyone claps.
EDM music pulses in the background. “Alright, everyone! It’s amateur night! Anyone who wants to strut their stuff on stage, sign up here at the DJ booth,” he says. “And let’s get some ladies up here, okay? Because so far there’s only one dude who’s signed up.”
Our whole table bursts out laughing. Theo flashes a smug smile and lets out a, “Yeah!”
Just then the smile fades from Dakota’s face and her jaw drops to the floor as she looks toward the entrance.
“Oh no…” she mutters.
I turn and see her brother Del stomping toward our table, glaring. Behind him is McKesson. What are they doing here?
Del walks over to Dakota. “What the hell are you doing at a strip club?” he barks at her.
Dakota frowns. “I’m an adult, Del. I can be here if I want to.”
He glances around the space, his face twisted in disgust. “You seriously want to hang out in a place like this?”
“What’s wrong with this place?” Theo asks, smirking at Del, clearly egging him on.
Del glowers at him. “No surprise to find you here,” he mutters.
Theo rests his hands behind his head and aims a smug smile at Del. “I’m performing here tonight. You should stick around and watch.”
When Theo winks at Del, I burst out laughing.
Del looks at both of us like we’re insane. He turns back to Dakota. “This is the kind of stuff you wanna do?”
I frown at him. What the hell is this guy’s problem? Fine if he doesn’t want to hang out at a strip club. I mean, I get it. They’re not everyone’s vibe, but it’s such an asshole move to shame people for going to one.
His sister rolls her eyes. “Del, stop. I told you I’m sick of your protective big brother crap. I’m not a little kid anymore. You don’t get to boss me around and tell me what I can and can’t do.”
I sip my drink and look at him. “No one’s forcing you to be here, man. You can leave.”
Del aims to glare at me. “This doesn’t have anything to do with you, so why don’t you shut your mouth.”
I return his glare and stand up. “You’re the one who barged in here and interrupted us.”
Del moves toward me, but McKesson claps a hand on Del’s shoulder, pulling him back.
“Chill, man,” he says to Del.
“I’m having a conversation with my sister. Back the fuck off,” Del barks at me.
I step closer to him. “What exactly are you going to do about it?”
I know I shouldn’t provoke him, but I can’t help it. It’s one thing for this guy to be a menace on the ice. I can handle that just fine, it’s my job to. But for him to show up uninvited during our free time when we’re all just trying to have a good time so he can talk down to us, pisses me off.
Del jerks out of McKesson’s grip and bumps my chest, eyeing my nose. He smirks. “How the nose? Broken hopefully?”
“You didn’t break it.” I twist around and glance at Sophie, who’s still sitting down, her blue eyes wide with worry as she looks between Del and me. “My girlfriend fixed me right up.”
Del mutters a curse. A second later, McKesson drags him to the edge of the bar. He starts talking to Del. The whole time Del is glaring. I can’t hear what McKesson is saying since he’s too far away and the music’s too loud, but I’m guessing he’s attempting to talk Del down. Good. The guy needs to chill the fuck out.
I sit back down in my chair and notice Dakota aim a sheepish look at her drink. “I’m sorry, you guys.” She looks at us. “I should have never told my brother I was coming here. He can be a real jerk sometimes.”
I wave a hand. “It’s okay. It’s not your fault.”
Theo offers a sympathetic smile to Dakota. “It’s all good, don’t worry about it.”
Maya reaches over and pats Dakota’s hand. “I’ve got two older brothers. They pull the overprotective act on me sometimes too. I get it. It sucks.”
Dakota aims a grateful smile at her for understanding what she’s going through. “He just treats me like a baby sometimes. It’s so annoying.”
“It really is,” Maya says.
I feel bad for Dakota. As much as it sucks clashing with Del Richards on and off the ice, it must really fucking suck being his little sister.
When I look over at McKesson and Del, I see that Del’s glare is dialed back a bit. He glances at our table. I notice his gaze lingers on his sister for a long moment before he looks back at McKesson. A few seconds later, Del walks out of the club while McKesson walks over to our table and sits down.
“Damn, dude. You tamed the beast,” I joke.
Dakota looks at him in awe. “You got him to leave! You’re my hero!”
McKesson flashes a small smile at Dakota. “Yeah, well, the only way I got him to leave is by promising him that I’d stick around and make sure that you got home okay.”
Dakota rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling. “I can live with that,” she says, her tone teasing. She grabs an empty chair from a nearby table and pulls it next to her. He sits down.
“I’d rather have you here than Del anyway,” she says, grinning at him.
McKesson’s smile relaxes as he looks at Dakota.
Just then Ingrid comes back from the restrooms and sits down. “What did I miss?”
Everyone starts talking at once, explaining how Del was just here.
Ingrid listens with wide eyes. “Whoa.”
Sophie turns to me. “I don’t think Del had to twist Sam’s arm to get him to look after Dakota,” she says to me in a soft tone.
“What do you mean?”
“Because he has a crush on her. Can’t you tell?”
When I glance over at Dakota and McKesson, I notice the way his gaze lingers on her. Not like he’s leering or being creeping. But more like he’s in awe of her. I never noticed that before. He doesn’t look at anyone else like that when I’ve hung out with him, now that I think about
“Huh.” I smile at Sophie. “I think you’re right.”
Just then the song playing over the speaker system fades, replaced with a booming EDM beat.
“Alright, you sexy people! It’s time for all you amateurs to show off your skills on the stage!”
Everyone cheers.
“Our first amateur of the night is…Theo Thompson!”
Our table hollers for Theo, who’s grinning.
Ingrid makes a face. “I’m going to the ladies’ room again. Text me when it’s over.”
Maya laughs and says she will. Ingrid walks off. Theo leans down and kisses Maya before jogging up to the stage.
“Oh, holy shit…” the DJ mutters over the PA system. “You’re Theo Thompson from the Bashers.”
Everyone at our table cheers and claps.
Theo grins even wider, not one bit embarrassed. “That’s me.”
“Damn, okay then,” the DJ says.
The beat of some familiar-sounding hip-hop song pulses through the club. Theo sways his hips along with the music.
When I see a bunch of women make a beeline for the stage, cash in hand, I laugh.
Theo grins and winks at them, right as he peels his shirt off and tosses it aside. He moves closer to them and crouches down so they can shove cash down his pants.
I whistle and clap for him. He flashes a thumbs-up at me while gyrating his hips. I glance over at Maya who’s giggling.
“Your husband missed his calling,” I tease. She laughs even harder.
She jumps up to join the other ladies near the stage. When Theo spots his wife, a wide grin splits his face. She waves a twenty at him and he walks over to her, leans down, and kisses her.
I look away as their kiss turns hot and heavy.
“Wow.” Sophie gazes at them, her eyes wide. Her cheeks turn pink and she quickly looks away. “This is like foreplay for those two.”
I chuckle. “Looks like it.”
The song ends and Theo takes a bow while everyone cheers for him. Maya and Theo, who’s still shirtless, walk back over to our table, holding hands.
Blomdahl lets out a low whistle at all the cash stuffed into the pockets and waist of his jeans.
“You cleaned up, dude,” he says to Theo.
Theo shrugs like it’s no big deal as he digs cash out of his pants. The DJ announces the next amateur performer, an attractive woman who looks like she’s in her mid-twenties.
She does a few swigs around the pole, earning cheers from the crowd.
I glance over at Sophie, who’s staring at her.
She turns to me, a knowing smile on her lips. “That looks like fun,” she says.
The corner of my mouth hooks up in a smile. “Does it?”
She bites her lip and nods. “I’d need a bit of liquid courage to do something like that though…” Her gaze falls to my glass of whiskey.
I raise my eyebrow at her, intrigued. What exactly is she getting at?
“You hate the taste of alcohol,” I say to her.
She nods. “Yeah, but I remember you said you know how to drink it so that it doesn’t burn so much. Can you teach me?”
She looks at me. Her eyes are crystal blue heat. Her smile turns teasing and she bites her lip.
She looks so cute and sexy and coy right now that it takes my brain an extra second to put it all together.
And when I finally do, my dick starts to get hard.
I lean closer to hear, careful to keep my voice low so no one else hears me. “You want me to teach you how to shoot whiskey and then you wanna strip for me?”
Her half-smile turns full and she nods. “Yeah.”