Chapter Five — Alex
The butterflies in my stomach grow stronger and stronger as I walk hand in hand with Callum towards the nondescript building. We’re in, objectively, a seedy part of town, a part I’ve never been to before. I have the clamps in my purse.
The fact that Alex and Callum have completed his part of the challenge, but I haven’t, hangs over me. He told me he has something planned for me but didn’t elaborate. Although I’m getting a good sense of it now.
Wherever we’re about to go, that’s where he wants me to perform my part of the challenge. Ever the gentleman, he told me that I could also do it in the car. Hell, I’m sure if I asked him to go home or do it in private, he’d be fine with that too.
But this is more exciting for both of us. Does it put me at a disadvantage? Probably. But I’m confident I can win anyways. If I’m being honest, winning is kind of the last thing I care about right now.
I’m just in the moment. I want to experience everything.
After you, Callum says, as he opens up the heavy door.
I smile at him and enter into the dark room.
It takes my eyes a few seconds to adjust. There’s smoke that lingers, and everything is dark.
The floor feels sticky. There’s music, a kind of thump-thump, bass type of music.
And then there’s the lights. They’re almost blinding. I look in that direction and notice a stage. It takes a few seconds for the glare of the lights to dissipate, a few seconds until I can make out exactly where we are. We’re in a strip club, I think at least.
“Are we in a strip club?” I asked Callum. “A gentleman’s club,” he says.
I roll my eyes. And he laughs. “Is that okay? If you don’t want to be here, we can leave.”
I look at him, and in that moment I feel safe because I know he means it. But I’m genuinely excited. It feels dangerous, a little bit taboo and exciting.
“I’m okay,” I say quietly. “Have you been to a strip club before?” he asks.
I shake my head. “You’re such a good girl,” he says. “It’s partially why it’s so fun corrupting you.”
My cheeks turn red. And he squeezes my hand.
“Follow me, sweetheart,” he says. He walks towards a booth in the back. I slide in beside him on the red vinyl seat.
What do you think he asks, nodding towards the dancer on stage? She’s tall, maybe 5’8 or so. Slender with huge tits and short black hair. She reminds me of a punk Snow White. She’s pretty, I say. What do you think?
I asked Callum. “Nowhere near as beautiful as you,” he says.
The waitress comes by. “Best glass of Pinot Grigio and whatever scotch you’d recommend,” he says.
He places the order without looking at me.
In another lifetime, I would have been annoyed, but I kind of like that he ordered for me.
It is exactly what I would have ordered for myself.
As soon as the waitress is out of earshot, he places one of his hands on my thigh and leans down to whisper in my ear.
His hand creeps slowly up, teasing the hem of my dress.
I clamped my legs together, and he moves his hand so that his pinky finger is in between them, teasing me. My breath hitches.
“I’d like you to try on your little present now,” he says. My heart stops. You mean “Mm-hmm,” he says.
He smells like mint and bad decisions. So quickly, so quick I almost don’t notice it, his tongue darts out of his mouth and quickly licks my ear.
I feel a spasm between my legs. I feel a bit lightheaded, but where I say, “No one can see,” he says, “He grabs a menu and props it up in front of me. No, they definitely can’t,” he says!
Better be quick, he says. She’ll be back with our drinks soon.
I take a deep breath and fish out the clamps in my bag. I pull them out and hold them in my palms, feeling their weight. Am I really going to do this? This is crazy. It’s not even putting them on that I’m nervous about, it’s what happens after, because they will be visible.
“She’s coming,” he whispers. His hand creeps higher up my thigh, and my entire body tingles.
I take a deep breath and go for it. I pull down the front of my dress, and then my bra cups quickly clamping my left nipple and then my right. I do it so quickly that it takes a second afterwards for the pain to kick in. It’s not intense, but it hurts.
I quickly pull my lace bra cup over the clamps, and then my dress. Then I look down. It’s pretty visible. At least we’re in the dark, but still, if anybody looks at me, they’ll be able to tell.
I fold my arms across my chest. Callum looks at me. “Arms down, sweetheart,” he says, “but,” I whisper. “But this is what you get,” he says, whispering back. “You wanted me to punish you, admit it. That’s why you waited more than 30 seconds to text me back.
This is exactly what you wanted. And now you’re getting it. So put down your hands and accept your punishment.”
Instead of being a little brat, he says, his hand creeps up even higher, towards my underwear. His pinky touches the front of my thong, and I squirm.
The waitress is a few meters away. He leans in. “Are you turned on?” he asks. He says it quietly, but not that quietly, it’s loud enough that there’s a possibility she could have heard. Which embarrasses me.
I shake my head. “Liar,” he says. One of his fingers slips underneath my thong and brushes against my pussy lips. I feel the wetness. He pulls his finger away and then raises it slightly in the air. He doesn’t do anything dramatic, but I see it there glistening.
The fact that the waitress might be able to catch on horrifies me.
She comes towards us and I just try and make my face look neutral.
“Here you go,” she says, setting down Callum’s scotch first. Then she turns to me.
“And here you go.” She places my wine down, and at the last second glances towards me.
I notice her eyes land on my chest and her eyebrows raise quickly.
It’ll only last half a second though before her face goes back to neutral.
“Let me know if you need anything else,” she says, nodding and then turning away. See, Callum says after she’s gone. “No, no big deal.” She noticed, I hiss. He shrugs.
“So that was embarrassing,” I say. “Good,” he says. “I like it when you’re all hot and bothered around me. I like watching you get flustered.”
His hand goes under my dress again, and this time he inserts one finger. “You’re fucking soaked,” he says. “You’re such a little liar.” He pumps one finger in and then two. I gasp.
“It’s almost unfair how easy this is going to be,” he says. I narrow my eyes at him.
“You wish,” I hiss. “Mr. 3 minutes and 17 seconds.” He chuckles. “You’re right. That was an embarrassing performance on my part. But still, I think you’re going to be much, much more pliable.”
Wait, I say, as I take a sip of wine. He begins slowly rubbing his thumb around my clit. “That’s not fair,” I say. “You’re getting to work me up beforehand.” He shrugs. “Who said life is fair?”
I just look at him. If you’d prefer, we can go into a private room.
“A private room, I ask?” You know, he says, “Dancers will take clients into private rooms.” Oh, I say, “Everything, it’s dawning on me.” “Okay, I say quickly.”Sure.”
I start to get up, but he grabs my arm. There’s just one thing he says: “What, I ask?” “They only really let you into a room if you pay for a dancer,” he says.
“How do you feel about that?” I look at him, not sure if I’m understanding the implication.So you want to “Make you come while a stripper watches,” he says, finishing my thought.
“Or helps,” he says, smirking, “your choice.” My cheeks flush red.
Tell you what he says, since I’ll admit that this isn’t exactly the same conditions under which I did my part.
I’ll give you a minute head start. How does that sound?
You mean my timer will start at a minute? He nods exactly. I mull it over. I still think this is winnable for me.
And also, I’ll admit there’s a part of me that’s curious. The idea of a stripper being there, another woman, it’s kind of hot. It feels taboo. And I do kind of want to try it. “Okay, I say, nodding. Let’s do it.”