by Logan Chance
“Yes.”
“This is great. The Trifecta will totally help us now,” Sindy says.
“I’m not so sure. Actually maybe we should just leave,” I say, still looking at the door making sure Axel isn’t coming yet.
I met Sindy and Lacey when I first started dancing. They were the only two girls who were nice to me. We became friends instantly and haven’t left each other's sides since. When I got pregnant with Fel, and had to move clubs, Lacey and Sindy didn’t think twice to follow me. Because of their loyalty, I knew I was going to have to swallow my pride in order to ask the Trifecta to help us.
“Are you crazy? We’re not leaving,” Lacey says, her eyes wide and searching the club.
Of course I’ve heard of the Trifecta. It’s the whole reason we’re here. Hell, everyone in Vegas has heard of the Trifecta, and it’s because of their success that I allowed the girls to drag me out to the club tonight on my only day off this week.
We concocted a plan to become the female version of the Trifecta, the Triplets. The three of us are the exact opposites of each other. I’m the blonde fantasy. Lacey’s the black-haired, tanned skin vixen fantasy. Making Sindy the short red-haired fantasy. We’re the Triplets—at least one of us is your dream woman.
We came out tonight to scope out how the Trifecta moves on stage. To get an idea of how we should choreograph our routine. We were kind of hoping to catch one or more of their attention, so we could talk to them in order to learn even more.
But, now I want nothing more than to go home and hide. I can’t ask Axel for help. Not after I made a fool of myself by thinking he wanted to sleep with me.
“This is like a fairytale,” Lacey says with eyes wide like we’re at some adult version of Disneyland. “You move next door to a meanie who yells at your daughter, but then you find out he’s actually your prince.”
“He’s coming over here,” I hiss, stopping Lacey from planning out our wedding.
They both shut up and the three of us watch Axel move through the crowd. Women reach out to touch him, but he doesn’t stop for any of them. His attention’s set on me and he has determination written all over his beautiful face. I swallow hard when he’s halfway to me. My cheeks flame red just thinking of how stupid I was when I chastised him for looking at me like a piece of meat. I must have sounded so condescending when I told him I was an exotic dancer and he wouldn’t understand.
When he reaches us the determination on his face turns into amusement. “Fancy seeing you here, neighbor.”
“Hi, I’m Lacey.”
“I’m Sindy with an S.”
“Well, hello Lacey and Sindy with an S,” Axel says, shaking each of their hands, his eyes never straying from mine.
“The three of you are amazing on stage. We’d love to get some pointers from you. We’re dancers too,” Sindy says, still not letting go of Axel’s hand.
I intervene by extricating Sindy’s claw-like grip from Axel. “Sorry, she gets a little excited.”
“Ask him,” Lacey says, not bothering to be nonchalant.
“Ask me what? I’m taking your friend. I promise to bring her back.” Axel moves around me, taking my hand as he leads me away from the front row as my girls follow.
“Where are you taking me?”
“Is that what you wanted to ask?”
“Well, it is right now.”
Axel glances back at my friends. “Why don’t you girls go get a drink. Tell the bartender to put it on the Trifecta’s tab,” Axel says, still not answering my question.
Lacey and Sindy stand there with questioning looks. I love them because I know they won’t abandon me if I tell them to stay with me.
“I won’t hurt her I promise,” Axel says, noticing they aren’t moving.
“It’s ok. Get me a drink too.” They both wink at me, giggling and pushing each other as they walk away.
“Sit,” Axel says, pointing to a chair further away from the stage.
“Why?” I ask, wishing I hadn’t sent my friends away. Being alone with Axel is a very bad idea.
“Because I’m going to give you a lap dance.”
“What? Why?” my voice screeches out.
Axel laughs and gently pushes on my shoulders. My already weak knees don’t even attempt to keep me standing. I land with a thud on the chair. Axel leans down his mouth skimming my neck until he reaches my ear. “To make up for looking at you like you were a piece of meat.”
“It’s ok.” My voice comes out all breathy, and there’s no way to hide it. After Felicity’s dad, I thought I was broken. All the gorgeous men who hit on me at work never did anything for me. Having Axel lean over me and whisper in my ear has me more turned on than I’ve ever been before.
“Then, let’s just say this is for me.” Axel takes my arm, lifting it into the air, skimming his fingers down it, causing goosebumps to break out over my entire body from just his touch. He bends down, moving my hair back while whispering in my other ear. “Because I’ve wanted to touch you since the moment I saw you.”
The sharp inhale of air surprises me, and I feel the smile form on Axel’s lips. He moves around and straddles my legs. His magnificent chest is right in front of me. My hands move, without permission, needing to touch him. Axel stops me, placing my wandering hands on the chair.
“You know the rules. No touching.” He smirks as he grinds into me.
“I thought maybe I would get a neighborhood discount.”
He groans, his hip thrust off a little as if I put him off his game. “If you touched me right now I wouldn’t be able to restrain myself. It’s best you keep your hands to yourself when there are so many people around.”
I gaze into his buring green orbs, biting my lip against the moan, wanting to escape as he moves his body over mine. His hips move over me in an intimate seduction. He never takes his eyes from mine as he grinds his hard pelvis into my heated flesh. When the song comes to an end, we’re both panting.
He leans in close enough for me to feel his breath feather across my cheek. I lick my lips, wanting him to kiss me. Needing him to kiss me. “You’re more than a beautiful body. I’m sorry I stared at you and made you feel less than. I would never do that, because I know how it feels. I wouldn’t want to make anyone feel that way.”
“But you did stare at me,” I say, leaning closer into him, wanting to touch him even if it has to appear innocent.
“You caught me off guard. I was ripped out of bed by screaming only to find a goddess had moved in next door.”
“A goddess, huh?”
“Yeah, I mean your mom is gorgeous.”
I laugh as Axel gets off me taking his heat with him. “See you later, neighbor.”
Lacey and Sindy run up to me as most of the drink they brought me sloshes over the side of the glass. It doesn’t matter, Axel’s lap dance makes me feel more drunk than any alcoholic beverage ever could.
“Wow, that was so hot.”
“Did you ask him?”
I shake my head. My body still hasn’t returned to pre-Axel lap dance.
“Of course she didn’t ask him,” Sindy says, handing me my half-spilled drink. “She was too busy making dry hump babies.”
“It’s ok. At least we know where they live now,” Lacey says.
I swallow my drink in one gulp. “Are you ready to get out of here?” I ask, wanting to get home to assess everything that’s happened tonight.
“Oh yeah, somebody wants to get home to their neighbor,” Lacey says with a smile.
“It’s not like that.”
“Not yet. I can’t wait to help you pick out your wedding dress,” Sindy says as she orders our Uber.
The whole ride home I can’t stop thinking about the way Axel moved against me. Lacey and Sindy chatter about the Trifecta and how much energy they have at each show. If we could bottle up just a fraction of that energy for our shows we’d be set. How do they do it?
We drop Sindy off first, and my mind is still all over the place as
I say goodbye.
I’m silent the whole way to Lacey’s place, remembering every little thing about the way the Trifecta moved on stage.
“We’re coming over to your house soon. We’re going to get your sexy neighbors to tell us all their secrets. We’ll be the talk of Vegas,” Lacey says, pulling me from my thoughts.
“I’ll let you know what day is good, and we’ll get together to take over the world.”
Lacey leans in leaving sloppy kisses on my cheek before shutting the door and skipping with all the carelessness of a drunk girl toward her apartment. I laugh a little as the Uber drives away. When we get to my place, I refuse to let myself glance anywhere near Axel’s house. I’m still hot and bothered from his lap dance. I wasn’t ready to sift through the feelings he caused just yet. Axel’s lap dance destroyed me, and I think about my own lap dance maneuvers, wondering to myself if I even have what it takes to turn him on like he did me. I guess there’s only one way to find out.
7
Axel
The air is hot and sticky, and I should go inside where the air conditioner pumps its icy wind. Instead, I sit out here on the porch swing my dad bought my mom for one of their anniversaries, waiting like a chump for my neighbor to come home. I finish my beer reaching over to pop open another one. Yes, I’m fully prepared to wait Emma out. It’s time to talk.
I straighten in my seat when a car stops in front of the house I’ve been staring at since I got home. Emma gets out and I watch as she walks to her house. Her shoulders are back as if she’s having trouble keeping her focus off my house. I shake my head, a tiny bit freaked out at how bad I want that to be true. After a fortifying swig from my beer, I clear my throat, and call out her name.
The tiny scream and jump makes me smile. I’m glad I left the porch light off. Her hand is over her chest as if she’s trying to keep her heart inside. I watch her, holding my breath, the indecision on her face as she weighs her choices, wondering if she should continue to her house or if she’s going to acknowledge me.
“I promise to be good. I just want to talk,” I say.
She crosses the distance between us, squinting her eyes since I’m still shrouded in darkness.
I let out the breath I was holding, squeezing the beer bottle in my hand so I won’t reach out and touch her. The lap dance was a huge mistake. Big.
Being so close to her, touching her, left my dick hard to the point it hurt. Seeing Emma in the front of the stage changed my whole night. I’ve always been the defective Trifecta, hating going to the club and being viewed as an object instead of a person.
Only, tonight, when I saw Emma poured inside a tight purple dress, I wanted her to see me as a man. A man who was worthy of releasing her from that sexy garment. I wanted her to lust after me, like all the women at the club who can’t resist running their fingers over my bare chest, do. The women who go home and finger themselves to the thought of me. I wanted Emma to orgasm with my name on her luscious pink lips.
The tight smile is the best I can do when she makes it up the steps. Her eyes adjust to the dark as I watch them roam over me, taking in the porch swing, and beer dangling from my fingers.
“Why are you sitting in the dark like some creepy weirdo?”
A laugh burst from me as I scoot over on the swing, patting the empty space beside me. “It’s too hot to turn on the lights.”
“Why aren’t you in your house with the air conditioning?” She sits down next to me, surprising me further when she takes the beer from my fingers. And then, she raises it to her sinful lips and drinks. She hands me back the bottle. I place it to my lips wanting to get a taste of Emma that’s lingering on the rim. It’s there, a hint of her. I savor it as much as I can without looking like the creepy weirdo she mentioned. I even resist licking the edge of the glass to get the remains of her taste.
“So?” Her prompt makes me lick my lips before answering.
“I wanted to talk to you.” My voice is husky just from the tiny taste of her. I can’t imagine what it would be like if I had the real thing. She’s dangerous, and I don’t see a way to get her out of my skin.
“Stalking me?”
“Says the girl who just happens to show up at my work.”
“I had no idea you were part of the Trifecta.”
“That’s what they all say.” She opens her mouth to argue, but stops when she sees the smirk on my face. “I know you didn’t know I was a Trifecta. Although, I will admit it hurt a little not to be recognized.”
“How did you know?”
I use the tip of my shoe to push against the porch, making the swing slowly rock back and forth, grinning as I push the swing again. “The shocked look on your face kind of clued me in.”
“I feel dumb not putting it together.” She shakes her head.
“At least I know you weren’t just eyeing me like a piece of meat.” I tease her, using her own words against her. And if we’re being honest, words I’ve said over and over again while stuck in the club, rubbing baby oil on my chest.
“I’m sorry I accused you of that.”
Now I wish I had turned the light on. The peevish tone in Emma’s voice makes me wonder if her cheeks blush from her apology. “So, I guess you do know what it’s like to be an exotic dancer.” Her shoulder bumps into mine, teasing me.
I have to stop myself from grabbing her, hauling her on my lap, and grinding her into me. I’m shocked at the intense reaction my body has to her. Nobody has ever gotten under my skin this deep, or this fast. Draining the last of the beer, I set it down on the porch.
“I shouldn’t have stared at you the way I did.” The anger in my voice has Emma shifting her body so she can look directly at me.
“It’s fine.”
“No, it’s not. I hate the way women paw all over me, acting like they can stuff their numbers down my shorts and rub their perfume on me. I don’t want to treat anyone that way.”
Emma puts her hand on my knee and my dick jumps to attention, straining to get closer to her long fingers. I resist the urge to squirm away from her, hoping she doesn’t notice the bulge in my jeans. “Those are some harsh words there.”
I like that she doesn’t laugh, or make fun of me.
Only my brothers, Clara, and Willie know my true hatred toward dancing. If the other dancers found out how much I hated it they would tease the fuck out of me, so I do my best to hide my disgust while I’m at work.
“Was it always that way?” she asks.
I shake my head wishing I brought one more beer outside. “No, I wasn’t as into it as Ben was, but I dabbled in the perks. Ben has settled down now that he fell in love with Clara. He was the wildest of us all. Damien wasn’t as bad as Ben, but he brought his fair share of club junkies home.”
“What stopped him?”
“He got sick of it. He isn’t a saint, but he took a step back when we got closer to buying Willie’s. Now he’s all business. No time for women.”
“Wait? You guys are buying Willie’s?”
I smile, leaning back and pushing the swing again. “Yeah, Willie was the one who helped us become the Trifecta. He made us an offer that we would work for him getting the club to be the best in Vegas, and then he would sell it to us. It’s the only thing keeping me on the stage.”
“That’s amazing. I would love to have my own business.”
The wistfulness in her voice makes me want to help her dreams come true. Once again, I’m struck on how much I want to help this woman I barely know.
“I can’t wait. We’re waiting for some trademark stuff to come through, and we have to get a couple more inspections, but it’s coming along nicely.”
“I’m glad you’re getting out of it.”
“Me too. What made you get into dancing?”
Her face goes tight, letting me know I stepped on a nerve. She looks down at her hands and fumbles with her fingers.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”
“Why do you hate it so much? I me
an, I get you hate the women acting like they own you, but is there more to it?”
I can hear the desperation in wanting to change the subject, so I give it to her. “A couple of reasons really. I had a girlfriend and she couldn’t handle my job even though I promised her I was loyal.”
Emma squeezes my knee again making my dick almost explode. “Ah.”
“And then, I had a stalker. A woman who lived in a fantasy world, and thought we were meant to be together. Her texts and phone calls started to get out of hand, and when I went to the police they didn’t take me seriously. It took her breaking into our house and climbing in my bed for the police to do something.”
“That’s awful, but I kind of get it.” Emma removes her hand.
I almost want to grab it and bring it back, but I don’t. “How’s that?”
“I’ve just had one of your lap dances, and I can totally see why a woman would want you all to herself.” Once again I wish the light was on, because the huskiness in her voice makes me want to see what expression she’s wearing.
“Is that so?” I ask with a growl in my voice. The temptation of her words is almost too much. Well, soon I’ll only have to give lap dances to the women of my choice. No more randoms.”
“I’m proud of you. I know how hard it is to get out of the business.”
“I’m glad it will be over soon too.” I hate that she changed the subject again. “We’ll have the club, and we’ll be able to look after our dancers so they won’t be disrespected the way we were.”
“Speaking of.” She smiles and I raise a brow.
“Speaking of what?”
She stands from the swing and takes my empty bottle from my hand, setting it down on the porch. “I have to give you payback.”
“Payback for what?”
Emma faces me and her eyes hold me still. I think I may be holding my breath in anticipation to what she will say.
“For the dance.” And then, as if she hears a slow beat in her mind she turns away from me, bending over at the waist and popping back up so her blonde hair tumbles down her back.
