Chapter Forty-Seven
Max
“Hang on a second. So, you’re telling me, our cute, little, innocent Lucy-Lou, works in there?” Fallon asks as she points to the dimly lit door.
“Yep,” I say, trying to hide the smirk on my face.
I love it when people underestimate her.
I bet none of them would have guessed in a million years that this is where she’d be dancing.
I can just picture the images going through their brains right now, because I had the same ones when I first found out.
Visions of Lucy grinding down on some sleezy old farts lap that has to pay to have a good time.
“Piss off. There is no way.” Tommy adds in, amusement clear on his face. He genuinely thinks this is a joke. He is in for the shock of his life soon.
“I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to see this,” Blair says as she rubs her hands together.
She is bloody loving this. Almost as much as the man hovering behind her.
Jenson has been like her shadow ever since we got back from Menorca, and Blair seems to like it.
He leans down and whispers something in her ear, making her blush a deep shade of pink.
I have never seen her look flushed before, so whatever he said must have been absolute filth.
Shaking my head, I make my way inside and over to my usual booth.
Now that is a line I never thought I’d say, especially as a taken man.
But seeing as my girl is now the star of the show, I like to be front and centre at any opportunity I get.
Watching her dance in any capacity is one of my favourite things to do.
Sara and Riley are already at the booth waiting for us. Bottles of alcohol and mixers were covering the table in front of them.
“This looks like a part-ay!” Gracie claps as she scoots in beside them.
“Well, we gotta celebrate our star the right way.” Sara grins. “I can’t wait for you to watch her.”
“I can.” Tommy huffs, pouting as he sits beside Maya.
I’m desperate to go backstage and see her before she starts, but I know how she likes to prepare herself before she performs. I imagine she’ll be doing her stretches right about now, probably in those sexy little gym shorts of hers.
I haven’t even seen her yet, and already I’m excited to get her home.
We don’t have to wait long before the DJ announces Sugar to the stage.
As the curtains begin to open, Ariana Grande’s voice singing ‘Dangerous Woman’ filters through the speakers.
This isn’t one I’ve seen before, and she never told me she was doing something new tonight.
God, this woman loves to keep me on my toes.
Within a few seconds, the curtains are open enough to see her.
She’s wearing a glittering, deep purple lingerie set tonight, with matching garters and stockings.
Her legs are crossed in the air whilst she hangs upside down, her back facing us.
Her red ringlets sway as she floats in the air, looking all the more vibrant in the spotlight.
She is my very own Jessica Rabbit, and fuck if I don’t love it.
“Oh, my God. That cannot be Lucy, can it?” Maya gasps, but my eyes are too fixed on the stunning woman on the stage to gauge if that is a good or a bad thing.
She starts to dance, the hoop slowly rotating as she moves. Her make-up is more sultry than usual, and her moves are more precise. She looks like a dream. And from the noises going on around me, I know it’s not only my dreams she’ll be featuring in tonight.
The beat is sensual, her moves matching the tone perfectly.
Not that I’d expect anything less from her.
She’s unbelievable. No matter what she does, I’d be unable to take my eyes off her.
Lucy isn’t the type of person to brag about what she can do or how well she can do it.
So, it took a lot of convincing to get her to agree to letting everyone know about her job.
I knew they’d love it just as much as I do.
From the reactions I can hear around the table, I wasn’t wrong.
The girls are hooting and cheering her on, as the men are sitting quietly, astounded.
I glance over at my brother, and poor Tommy doesn’t know where to look.
His eyes are bouncing between Lucy, me, and his drink. I hide my chuckle behind my fist.
Just before the curtains close, Lucy meets my eyes. Giving me a quick wink and a flirty smile. This girl knows she’s getting it tonight.
“Well, I never expected that,” Fallon says, slightly out of breath from all her cheering.
“Our girl was hot as hell out there!” Gracie applauds, her face beaming. “Is she on again?”
“Yeah, in about an hour or so,” Riley answers. “She’s only doing two tonight whilst you’re all here.”
“Whilst I’m here, you mean,” Sara says as she leans into his side and stares up at him dreamily.
He leans in to kiss the top of her head.
“Yes, baby, while you’re here.”
“So… What did you think?” Lucy says as she comes up behind us.
She’s smiling, but it isn’t quite reaching her eyes. She’s nervously twisting her fingers together in front of her, looking down at her feet more than at the rest of us.
“You were incredible!” Fallon jumps to her feet and rushes her.
The rest of the girls follow, pulling her in tight and passing her along to the next.
“I can’t believe you didn’t let us know sooner. This is the best show I’ve ever seen you do.” Maya adds, her grin wide.
“You have got to teach me how to do that shit. You looked sexy as fuck, girl.” Blair says, and Gracie nods behind her.
“Oh, my god. You should do classes! I know so many of our salon clients would come along.”
“That is such a good idea. We even have the spare room at the back you could use.” Maya says, excitement clear in her voice.
“Really? Do you think enough people would be up for that?” Lucy asks, biting her lip to hide her grin.
She has told me more than once how her dream would be to have her own school.
If it takes using their backroom to build up her confidence, then at least it will give me enough time to find her ideal studio.
Lana is going to hate me tomorrow when I drag her into helping me deal with this.
Hopefully, she loves Lucy enough not to moan too much.
“One hundred per cent!” Gracie squeals. “Look, you already have your first four customers right here, and I bet some of the girls backstage would want to come along too.”
Lucy's face lights up the more the girls go on. I know how amazing she would be; she just needs to believe in herself a little more, too. On a more selfish note, this would keep her here, with me. Still doing what she enjoys, but not running away at the first opportunity that comes her way. I have a feeling that she’s sick of running anyway.
“Enough about me. Maya, Tommy, are you ready for the wedding planning to commence?” Lucy asks, squeezing my hand as her excitement runs through her. “I’ve never been a bridesmaid before!”
“I can’t believe it’s finally happening,” Maya says as she gazes up at her very soon-to-be husband.
“It can’t come soon enough,” Tommy answers before gripping Maya's chin and leaning in for a kiss.
Fuck, I have never been so jealous in my whole life. Not of who he is kissing, of course. But to be marrying the love of my life. I want to claim Lucy as my own. To put my ring on her finger and give her my last name, once and for all.
From the way Lucy is staring longingly at the two lovebirds in front of us, I’m assuming she’s thinking the same thing.