Page 19 of Off the Charts
One of the dancers came over and introduced herself to me. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to realize this was the person Harmoni was talking about having history with because they hadn’t taken their hands off one another since she sat down.
I blocked them out and entered a world of my own, dancing to the music in my seat. The more I danced, the more my body started to feel a sudden rush of heat. It felt like the liquor was causing it for about a minute, but when the hairs on the back of my neck started to rise, I scanned my surroundings. There weren’t many people in VIP, but when my eyes cut to the left, I found the culprit.
Mr. Denver.
He was dressed in all black from head to toe making black and pecan become my favorite colors. From how the diamonds on his neck, ears, and wrist danced under the dim lighting of the club, I knew there wasn’t shit moissanite about them. When our eyes met again, I knew he’d been watching me for some time because I could see his shoulders relax. His tongue traced his bottom lip, making a chill hit my spine.
Shit.
One arm was stretched out on the couch and the other was around the cash in his hand. Two dancers were shaking their ass in front of him and from the blank expression on his face, I couldn’t tell if he was focused or bored. He flicked a wad of cash in the air making it rain on them then gave me his eyes again.
He nodded his head in the opposite direction, a signal for me to come to him. I thought I was seeing shit until he curled his finger once in my direction. If I was sober, I would’ve been stubborn and told him absolutely not, but the liquor erased all that. Turning in Harmoni’s direction, my eyes widened seeing her with the stripper’s nipple between her lips as she straddledher lap. Not wanting to disturb them, I shot her a text letting her know I was a few sections over then stood pulling my dress down to no avail. My thighs were eating it up and I lowkey loved it.
The closer I stepped; embarrassment filled my veins because all I could think about was the picture. I was giving myself the ick all over again. I wanted to run to the bathroom and gag. There were probably so many parents that threw themselves at him, so sending it likely felt planned. The thought alone made me want to turn around, but when I looked down, my feet were steps away from his section.
He stood, extending a hand to me which I accepted, and he helped me up the two stairs. I slid onto the couch with ease, putting a little distance between where he originally was, but he sat directly beside me. The woodsy cologne he wore had a pear undertone that damn near made me moan.
“Miss Lane,” he greeted me.
“Mr. Denver,” I said in an amused tone trying to hide my unsteady breathing. I was about to move away again, but he caught my hip and slid me closer, so our legs were now touching.
“It’s loud in here and I don’t like raising my voice, mama. It’s good for us to be close. Is that okay with you?” His lips were just a few inches shy of my ear. I nodded. “Good and Mr. Denver is for the hallways. We in the real world, Miss Lane. My name is Vayce.”
I pulled back so we could be face to face. I extended my hand. “Jersei.”
He accepted it with a smile, showcasing his straight teeth. The nigga was fine in his work clothes but seeing him in whatever designer he wore had me feeling like a dog in fucking heat. His pecan skin was littered in detailed tattoos from the lower part of his neck to his wrist. Vayce had a different glow to him. I don’t know if it was the fresh Caesar cut and his deep waves or the fresh sneakers on his feet, butdamn.
“Jersei,” he repeated, taking down the rest of whatever he was sipping. Without saying a word, he ordered another round with the move of his finger before giving me his attention again. “This don’t look like your cup of tea. What you doing out in The Grove on a Saturday?”
My brow raised. “I could say the same about you. I feel like I just saw my favorite teacher out or some shit. It’s like you know they have a regular life but to see it, it’s kinda weird,” I chuckled, and he flashed a smile. “Nah, Zion left for the summer this morning and so I wouldn’t be sulking, my cousin brought me out, but as you can see, she is busy.”
Vayce looked past me and into Harmoni and I’s section. I kept my eyes on him because I didn’t want to see whatever they were currently doing. His brows raised. “Honey your cousin?”
“Yep. Our mamas are sisters.”
“Small world,” he threw a fresh stack then handed me one. I peeled it and started throwing bills on the dancers. “To answer you, I’m celebrating a successful school year. Summertime is my time to recharge and connect back with myself. I never go out during the school year. I like to focus. The strip club is my start of fucking off.”
“Hmph,” I nodded, throwing more money. “Feelz is definitely the place for that.”
He didn’t respond, but I could feel his eyes on me.
“Nah, mama. It’s not confetti. You throwing the shit like you throwing bread at birds,” he chuckled, taking the stack from me. I tried to fight my laugh because looking at it, it lowkey did. I watched as he peeled some ones and demonstrated how to maneuver my wrist. “Think of it as more of a release. Let that shit flow. Try it,” he handed me the rest of his stack.
I repositioned my body and released the bills with a slight flick of the wrist as Vayce just showed me. When I looked back at him, he was grinning like a proud parent.
“Much better.”
I appreciated him teaching me versus judging. As I was preparing to throw more, he grabbed my wrist midair and hovered over my ear again.
“I want to let you know that you make everybody in this bitch look regular, Jersei,” he pulled back, allowing his eyes to travel the length of my body, spending extra time on my legs before finding my eyes again. “Black is your color.”
The heat from my body was now radiating between us and from how his eyes shifted, I knew he felt it too. To not make our interaction awkward, I played it cool. “I appreciate that, Vayce. I mean you ain’t too bad in black yourself,” I yelled over the music, thumbing the bills nervously from his gaze. He gave me a smile. I was enjoying his company, but the elephant I created wouldn’t allow me to fully be in the moment, so I spoke up.
“Look, I promise I did not try to send you that picture. I was moving too fast when I was swiping and I believe it selected it. That is not who I am. I apologize.”
His hand went across the stripper’s ass ahead of him twice before giving me his eyes. “I’ve already accepted your apology, so we don’t have to keep having these same conversations. We good. I believe you.”
I sighed, studying his body language. He was moving like nothing happened at all before I said anything. All my overthinking seemed to be for nothing. Vayce didn’t give a fuck, so I was trying to let it go.
