Page 3 of Charlotte
2
CHARLOTTE
“Here we are!” Aubrey, Kara's maid of honor, announces to the packed limo filled with already drunk bridesmaids, Kara, and me.
I glance out the window. The line of people standing outside of the club covers most of the sidewalk, all the way down to the corner of the street. The building looks nondescript without a sign on the front. If the limo hadn't just pulled to a stop in front, I don't think I'd even have known this was anything but some random building.
“There’s no sign,” I point out.
“Of course not,” Aubrey says. “The Velvet Rope doesn’t need to broadcast that it’s here. Its reputation does all the work for them."
I'm not sure about how a dance club can have that big of a reputation, but I'm not much for going out, so what do I know? We all file out of the limo. The wind picks up and blows the veil Kara's wearing into her face, and she fumbles with it.
“Ugh,” she groans. “I hate this thing.”
“You have to wear it,” Aubrey insists. She sways a bit as she stands there.
I’m pretty sure that I’m the only sober person in the group right now.
I was the last to arrive at Kara’s apartment tonight, despite showing up when I was told to be there. Most of the women in the bridal party were already a few shots in, and I wasn't in the mood to try and play catch up.
“Let’s go,” Aubrey calls to the group and walks over to the bouncer at the door. She greets him like they are old friends and points to the rest of us. “They’re all with me.”
He unclips the velvet rope and waves us through. The crowd, which weirdly looks like only women standing in line, starts to complain. I put my head down and follow the group inside.
There is a dark hallway that opens up into a large open space that is nearly packed. There are tables all around what looks like a stage.
She pulls off the veil and places it on me. “Be a doll and hold this for me?”
The headband the veil is attached to squeezes my head, and I can already see why Kara isn't too excited about wearing it.
“I don’t see the dance floor,” I say to Kara over the loud music.
She gives me an odd look. “Why would there be a dance floor? The guys do most of the dancing on the stage.”
“The guys?”
Kara bursts out laughing. “Oh my gosh, you don’t know where we are.”
I look around the club. “The Velvet Rope.”
“Yes, but do you know what this place is?”
“Umm, a dance club.”
Kara wraps her arm over my shoulder and leads us to the table that the rest of our party is already sitting. It’s right in front of the stage, easily the best place in the club. Aubrey's connections exceed just her knowing the bouncer at the door.
I start looking around and notice the wildly suggestive pictures of nearly naked men on the walls, lit up by spotlights. I glance around at the other patrons in the club and see that, like the line outside, it's filled with only women.
Oh, wait a minute—this is a male strip club.
“Charlotte doesn’t know where we are,” Kara announces to the table as she sits down and pulls me into the seat next to her.
I want to correct her that I know exactly where we are now, but before I can, the lights in the club dim. A spotlight shines onto the stage and a man wearing low-hanging pants, no shirt, and a blazer walks out. The crowd goes crazy, clapping and cheering for him.
He smiles and holds up the microphone to his mouth. “How are all you ladies doing tonight?”
The crowd gets louder in response. Finally, the man introduces himself and starts laying out all the ground rules.
