Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Shannon
I meet Jamie in the parking lot at The Sixth Floor. He’s out front with Preston, Tucker, Drake, and Trent waiting for Bex Bryant and Taylor Bradshaw. I’ve heard of the girls in passing but have yet to meet them. Bex lost a bet to Preston earlier. Her dare was to dance in the competition.
A few of my sorority sisters ate some bad Chinese food and have been in the bathroom all day, so Bex and Taylor are doing us a huge favor.
Abby was having a stroke earlier over our sisters missing the contest. She had everyone in our chapter house panicked.
When I told Jamie through text, he offered me a solution.
“Shannon.” Jamie taps me on the shoulder to catch my attention and then points at two unusually tall girls who are approaching us.
One with long blonde hair stands next to Preston, the other of equal height with brown hair at her side.
“This is Bex.” Jamie points to the blonde.
“And her friend, Taylor. They’re the girls I told you about. ”
“Oh, hey.” I close the distance between us, greeting them with a friendly smile. “You two are such lifesavers.”
“I don’t know how to dance,” Bex admits.
“Yes, you do.” Taylor smacks her arm. “Bex is being modest.”
“Okay, fine.” Bex holds up her hands. “But if we lose, don’t blame me.”
Taylor moves forward, close to invading my personal space. “So, what do you need us to do?”
“It’s nothing special. Just have fun. We have a few moves we’re planning to do. But we don’t have to do anything choreographed. Move your hips to the beat and do whatever feels natural to you.”
“Are we ready to go inside?” Jamie asks me.
I nod. “Yeah, all set.”
The Sixth Floor, a two-story club on the Philadelphia waterfront, is the hottest spot in town. Colored lights shoot through the white cloud of smoke filling the club. The air is thick, so heavy and dense that it’s hard to breathe.
I inform the bouncer we’re part of the competition, and he leads our group through the crowded club. It’s an old warehouse converted into a large, open room with long wooden bars on each side and stairs which lead to the VIP area.
After we say our goodbyes to the men, Bex and Taylor walk next to me behind the bouncer.
We navigate a narrow hallway, moving to the right to allow girls with trays of drinks to pass.
The bouncer stops in front of a red door at the end of the hall and pushes it open to reveal the dressing room.
Girls in short skirts and tank tops flock to the mirrored dressing tables.
They take turns applying makeup and fixing their hair.
Some girls walk around in their panties and no bra. The bouncer stares at the naked girls, holding out his hand for me to enter the room, his eyes not leaving the girls. Already irritated, I blow past him. Bex reads my mind and slams the door in his face.
The bass thumps through the club, and even in the dressing room, the music vibrates beneath my five-inch heels.
Girls gather in front of a long row of vanities, forced to share with each other.
On nights like these, when the entire Greek community comes together, the claws come out.
Two girls are already fighting over the last can of hairspray.
“One minute,” a woman yells from the corner of the room with a clipboard in her hand. “Let’s go, ladies.”
A minute later we’re ushered inside the club where girls are dancing inside cages suspended from the vaulted ceiling. To win the contest, we have to dance on top of a long mahogany bar at the center of the club. Everyone can see us as we climb onto the bar.
“No touching!” the bouncer yells at a guy who tries to grab Taylor’s leg.
Holding on to the pole in front of her, she shakes him off. The bouncer grips him by his shirt and pushes him further into the crowd surrounding us.
I slide my hand down the metal pole. It’s slick with sweat, the bar wet from drinks spilled on the wood.
The announcer says a few words, and then the DJ’s beat fills the club, causing the room to come to life.
The people below us are dancing and drinking, grinding on each other as we work the poles.
Abby and Jordan came up with our choreographed routine. It’s the same ass-shaking bullshit they force us to do every time. I love to dance. When I cook, I sing and dance, which is why I want to name my bakery Shake-and-Cake. But dancing on bars isn’t the same. This is stupid and degrading.
I sway my hips from side to side, following the lead of my sisters. The song is almost over, so close to the finish line, when a girl in our group trips and falls forward. She tumbles into the arms of a tall, dark-haired guy I recognize—Preston Parker.
Shit, I think when I see Bex in front of him.
She just cost us the prize, and for that, Abby will have my head.
I glance down the bar at Abby, who has an angry scowl plastered on her face.
She orders the rest of us to finish the song, pretending as if Bex didn’t kill our shot at winning.
My sisters and Taylor do as she says, even though we know it’s over.
Once the song ends, another group exits the dressing room to take our places. We’re expected to hop down from the bar, thrown into the mass of people who are now reaching for us. Strange fingers slide down my arms, and I cringe from the feeling of their skin against mine.
Eventually, I hit a wall, my hands landing on a man’s chiseled chest, rock hard from his bulging muscles. Staring up at him, I smile when I look into his eyes.
Jamie’s expression mirrors mine. “You were awesome,” he says. “And you looked fucking hot.” He takes my hand and rubs it over the front of his jeans to feel his bulge. “This is what you do to me, Shan.”
“Still thinking with the wrong head,” I quip.
“When you’re wearing this,” he says, fingering the thin strap of my skimpy tank top that rides up my stomach. “How can I think with any other head?” His eyes fall over my body to my bare thighs and the tiny spandex shorts which are barely covering my ass.
Taylor taps me on the shoulder. “Hey, where did Bex go? Have you seen her?”
I scan the crowded club, searching the space where Bex and Preston were a minute ago. Turning to face her, I shake my head. “They were just here.”
“Probably went back to the house,” Jamie says.
Taylor looks annoyed. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah,” he says without hesitation.
“Did Bex say something to you?”
Jamie shakes his head. “No, I know Preston. We have a signal.”
Taylor’s face scrunches in anger. “But we came here together…”
Drake appears at her side and clamps his big hand on her shoulder, his enormous frame invading the surrounding space. “I can take you home.”
Taylor shakes him off, staring up at Drake as if he has a disease. Do they have a history together? She seems awfully annoyed with him. Or maybe it’s the fact her friend bailed on her without another thought. I would be mad too.
“I can Uber it back to campus,” Taylor says to Drake.
“Don’t be stupid,” he says. “I can drive you.”
“Don’t call me stupid.” She snarls at him and then slips through the crowd with Drake chasing behind her.
“What’s up with them?” I ask Jamie.
He shrugs. “Beats me. I don’t think they ever hooked up.”
“Taylor doesn’t seem to like Drake all that much.”
“She’s probably heard all the rumors about him and has enough sense to stay away.”
“What rumors?”
“I’m surprised none of your sorority sisters have told you… or shown you.” I stare at him confused, and he continues, “Drake sends dick pics to just about every girl on campus. I’m surprised there’s not a SnapChat account dedicated solely to his dick.”
I shake my head, laughing. “That’s gross. What kind of girl would go for that?”
Jamie extends his hand to me, and I weave my fingers between his. “I know you would never go for that.”
“True, but I’m not opposed to seeing your dick pop up on my phone.”
Jamie winks. “I’d rather show it to you in person.” He wraps his arms around me, his muscles squeezing me tight against his chest.
Dipping his head, he brushes his lips against my earlobe. He must know I love it when he does this because he does it often. His erection digs into my back as we dance, his hands falling to my hips. We rock to the music, allowing the beat to take over.
The more time I spend with Jamie, I want to be his girlfriend. He makes me feel special and wanted, as if I’m the only girl in the world. No one has ever made me feel this way, and I want it to last.