by Cyan
Copyright 2002 by Cyan
All Rights Reserved; No Redistribution.
"Oh Hi," said the girl in front of me, turning. We were at a drug store downtown. She was young and pretty, perhaps twenty. You know, sometimes somebody greets you and you draw a blank and you could just die. But somehow I sensed she couldn't quite place me either.
Her expression changed. "Oops, sorry, I was sure you were someone else," she said and turned away.
But that moment a bell rang in my head. Almost. "No, I think I know you," I said.
"No," she said, showing a nervous smile as she briefly turned to answer.
I remember so well that moment in the store: I 'd become absolutely certain I knew her and somehow the fact that I sensed she didn't want to acknowledge it made me want to press on. Then it all came to me.
* * *
"I can't believe I'm doing this," Sandy said. "It's definitely a rule of mine..." But after our awkward little meeting, she had been the one to suggest this and I had nearly an hour before I had to be back at work. We sat in the restaurant awaiting lunch. "But of course it's different, being you. Who knew I'd be talking to you like this?"
She seemed a little at a loss for words and I quite understood, since the two of us had never spoken in our lives. I grinned. "You have a day job?" I asked.
She laughed. I mused that she spoke perfectly well. "Here," she said, indicating the mall we were in. "But the extra income is a huge help." When I said nothing, she nervously said "I've got a baby."
And a husband? the thought came to me, but I was certainly too polite to put it to her that bluntly. "And yes, he's long gone," she said, obviously divining my thoughts.
I guess it's more than I thought about them, and perhaps I didn't wish to think that much about them. But Sandy was different. "I don't mind it," she said, looking apologetic.
"No, no, I think it's--fine." I said, thinking about her job. I realized I'd been about to say wonderful. It's funny how you try to be careful with your words.
"So what's your story?" she said, seeming to brighten at the prospect of putting me on the spot a bit.
I laughed briefly. I felt a little misgiving but I sensed it was safe to tell her and I knew I owed her. "Oh it's a deal with my husband, Graham." I mused about me and Graham a moment but then realized I was woolgathering. "He's got his ideas of a night out and I suppose I have mine. Ages ago we decided that once a month he'd pick an evening's entertainment, anything he wanted, and once a month it would be solely my decision. And to tell the truth, he lives up to his end of the bargain."
She grinned. "As do you," she said. "And you come to see us."
I looked at her again, thinking about how much to say. "Yes," I said. "Oh he tried some other stuff, renting videos and such, but he seems to truly enjoy your show."
"You could allow him to come alone."
"No, I couldn't. Well, we did talk about that, but I'm positive that it's better if he's not going off without me. At least to something like this. And our deal seems enough to keep him happy and like I said, I don't mind just once a month. And he enjoys the fact that I'm there and the truth is, I kind of like that he does."
The waitress brought the lunches so we paused. When the waitress had left, I noticed Sandy give me a slightly devious look. "And do you enjoy it?"
I laughed. "The million dollar question," I said. I thought about how to frame my answer. "It's funny, but in a way I do. I never could have imagined it, but you watch it over and over again and you notice things. Some girls obviously had some dance training and despite what they are doing, they pay attention to their movements." Feeling almost embarrassed by my choice of words, I added: "I mean above and beyond the obvious."
She had a rueful look. "Yeah, I remember dance lessons," she said. "Mom was so proud. I never thought I'd be using them professionally."
Sandy was definitely one of the ones I'd suspected. "And I also have to admit," I added, wondering why I was saying this, "that knowing what you girls are trying to do, I find myself judging how well you're succeeding."
"Succeeding?" she said.
"Well, how seductive you're making it." She looked at me. "Not..." I said, suddenly knowing I needed to add something. "I'm not into it or anything, I mean I'm not lesbian, but..."
She smiled. "I know," she said, "I mean, I kind of suspected you were there just because he was."
I knew I needed to explain more. In particular, the ten dollar tip. "I'd noticed you," I said, feeling nervous. "I guess I told Graham I liked your dancing best. He was the one who suggested I..."
"Well thanks," she said. "We'd wondered about you. You don't mind my saying this? We notice the ladies, not that we're bi or anything, but after all those guys a lady is something different. I knew you were straight." She smiled, "or barely bi at most." I gulped and felt the need to deny the possibility, but said nothing. "For me, I think it's perfectly fine if all a woman indulges in is an occasional daydream and enjoys a show a tiny bit more than she lets on."
I thought about setting her straight, but somehow I didn't. "So you're bi?" I found myself asking.
"I used to think so," she said, suddenly lost in reverie. Then brightening, she said: "but I definitely need a thing that women don't give you."
That certainly put it in a nutshell. "How did you get into stripping?" I asked, bluntly. I'd become very curious.
She laughed, and glanced around as if to see if anyone were close enough to have heard. "Like I said, I have a responsibility. Mom always thought I'd be in college now, but--I was stupid and so sure I'd found true love. And she certainly didn't leave me much and I haven't seen my Dad for fifteen years." She said nothing for a minute, but I didn't respond. "I should get out of it, I don't plan to stay in it, not like some of those girls. As you can tell, I didn't go for enhancement, not that I could possibly afford it. It'd probably help me careerwise," she said with a laugh.
"Are you saving for college?" I asked. Yes it had been obvious that she wasn't enhanced and frankly I'd been surprised to find that not all the dancers were huge-chested.
She looked distant. "Too many bills for that."
"What do you want to do?"
"I guess that's the thing, I don't know." Then she grinned, "You know, I actually thought about running one of these clubs. Believe me, I know the business inside and out now, or at least how to put on the shows. But there is an end to the business that makes me nervous." I tried to think of it: someone like Sandy as proprietor of a strip club. "I tell you, I could get the right kind of acts, they'd look good and the guys would go for 'em too, I'm sure."
I laughed. "Probably not the career you thought you'd be going into."
"It's just a thought, not something I'd even actually want to do. I guess I get to thinking about it because I watch the place running every day. But it would give me the chance to try some of my ideas."
"Ideas?"
She laughed. "Yeah, I told the boss that we should have a 'no men's night'. No men allowed."
"Except the strippers," I said.
She laughed again. "Oh no, it would be the same shows."
I thought about it. "For lesbians?"
"No, for straight women. Like you, who are curious about what their men are up to. To watch. Kind of like when the lingerie stores have their men's nights so they don't have to be shopping in front of women." I was amazed that she seemed caught up in the idea. "We could even have a vote to pick their favorite act." I looked at her dubiously. "We couldn't do it a lot, but we could pick some slow nights and give it a shot," she said, defending her idea. "It could turn into something." Then seeming to come back to reality, she added: "Maybe."
We'd paid our bill and walked out. It wasn't too crowded so it wasn't hard to talk a bit more. "All straight women..." I said, still not seeing it.
"Sure, there'd be some who were a touch bi, like you," she said, "and they'd like it but probably wouldn't advertise that fact. Listen, I have to get back to Lanier's, I appreciated this so much."
This time I couldn't let it slide. "I'm not bi," I said.
She grinned, and waved for me to follow her. In just a couple of steps and through an employee's-only door, I found myself in a deserted hallway. Then she turned to me suddenly and I found my back to the wall. She took my face in her hands and kissed me.
Her eyes were closed. As sudden as her movement had been, she applied no pressure, her soft lips simply against mine. It was such a sweet kiss. She made no move to invade my mouth. For seconds I stood there in shock.
And she withdrew. Throwing me a knowing smile, she left without a word, back through the door out into the mall.
I stood there a moment, leaning against the wall to catch my breath. Somehow she'd appeared very turned on as she left. A few seconds would be enough to compose myself and I'd manage to face the mall public and get back to work. I thought about the next time Graham and I visited the club, that she'd be there, dancing, seeing me, remembering this.
It was a definite stirring I felt.
That week, the thought kept crossing my mind that I could choose to use my next night to go to the club. I'd look at Graham, knowing I could never actually do such a thing.
Cyan Stories
Erotic fiction, sex stories, for erotica lovers.