Page 44 of Space Oddities

My body can’t help but respond. “You sure?” Worries drift away as I press my lips to hers.

“Mmmm,” she hums against my mouth, sliding her tongue inside while her small hand wraps around my rising hard-on, her thumb swirling the pre-cum at the top.

I groan, my mind blanking with pleasure. Not a thought of my parents, Trish’s insecurities, or my tentative grasp on this illusive woman is in my mind.

It’s filled with the sensation of Trish’s body against mine. The seductive sounds of her breath in my ears. The rhythmic beating of our hearts pounding into the night.

Eleven

Midpoint

Trish

Someone is singing.

I vaguely register the country duo Big and Rich passing out hundred-dollar bills. It isn’t until everyone is drinking Crown and getting down that I have my first moment of conscious lucidity and realize my phone is ringing.

And based on the song playing, it’s Rose. How she managed to get into everyone’s phone and give herself this particular ringtone is beyond me.

Feeling more groggy than usual, probably from all the sex last nightandthis morning, I slide my arm out from under my pillow and clumsily swipe my thumb across the screen. “Hello?”

“Morning, sunshine!” Rose’s way too chipper voice screams at me. “Get your lazy ass up, we’re exercising today!”

Pulling the phone away from my ear, I try to blink more fully awake. “Exercise? Since when do you exercise?”

“Since I got a Groupon.”

Even though the idea of my billionaire friend searching for Groupons makes me smile, I snuggle deeper into Ian’s covers. “How ’bout you take a rain check, sugar?” I yawn, closing my eyes again, my body deliciously sore from the exercise routineIanput me through.

“How ’bout I come kidnap you? The exercise studio is on your side of town. I’ll swing by your trailer and get you.”

“No, no.” I sit up, wide-eyed. “Don’t trouble yourself. I’ll, uh, meet you there.”

“You sure?”

“Yes.” I nod vigorously though she can’t see me. “Absolutely.”

“All right then, sugar tits. I’ll send you the addy. See you in an hour.” Then she’s gone, having hung up to do whatever other crazy things Rose West does while I slump over in bed, heart going like a hummingbird’s wings.

* * *

“A strip club.”We both parked under the towering “Heartbreakers” sign. The unlit red neon is making me anxious and uneasy. Lead lines my stomach as I glance over to the nondescript beige brick building.

The bitter sense of déjà vu makes me nauseous.

“Well, yeah.” Rose, who in true Rose fashion has committed to her surroundings, body glitter and all, huffs. “What better place to have a pole dancing exercise class than a strip club?” She tosses her teased-out hair, glitter cascading off of her in waves. “It’s kind of genius when you think about it.” In the morning light, her metallic leotard gives off rainbow-like prisms. She looks like some sort of post-apocalyptic Jane Fonda with her sapphire blue fishnets under her one-shoulder leotard leading down into clear, four-inch platform heels. And the girl is working it.

A glance down at my own plain black leggings and pink sneakers leaves me feeling oddly undressed.

Ihatethat feeling.

“Come on. We don’t want to be late. What if all the best poles are taken?” Rose struts forward. And though I’d rather be anyplace other than a strip club, I follow, worried she might fall or twist her ankle.

Despite my concern, with barely a wobble, Rose manages to deftly maneuver across the parking lot on her own. By the time we enter the shadowed doorway, I’m coughing from walking in the wake of Rose’s glitter trail.

Rose looks down at her skin, now sparkling like a Twilight vampire under the rotating, multi-colored ceiling lights. “Cool.”

“Hello, ladies!” A tiny, busty woman catwalks down the center stage in a red string bikini and heels. “I’m Angela. I’ll be leading the class today.” In a lithe move that could’ve been considered ballet, she bends down at the edge of the stage, one hand gripping the edge, and swings her body off, landing softly in front us on her six-inch platform heels. “I’m so glad you could make it.” She eyes Rose, her face lighting up in a smile. “Love your outfit.”

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