Playing with Fire Read online

  “That’s it?” I looked surprised. “I guess I can do that.” I took the bikini from her. It was basically two pieces of string. I held it in my hand and took a deep breath. Did I really want to prance out of a cake in a string bikini? Not really. “Do you have any other options?” I asked Starr hopefully. “I’m not sure this is going to compliment my body.” I laughed awkwardly and Starr and Crystal started laughing. “Is that a yes?” I asked hopefully.

  “Girl, just put the bikini on.” Crystal rolled her eyes. “It’ll be fine. And make sure to take your glasses off.”

  “Oh?” I bit my lower lip. “I left my contacts at home.”

  “Girl, I don’t care if you left them in an elephant’s butt.” Crystal rolled her eyes. “You ain’t going out there with no librarian glasses on.”

  “Not unless it was part of your dance routine.” Starr added. “These men, they love them a dowdy librarian turned sexpot.” Starr started getting excited as ideas started popping out of her. “Throw the glasses onto a guys lap and then start taking everything off.” She nodded, her eyes wide as she gazed at my body. “Yup, a bunch of them would love that. They’d think they’d died and gone to nerdy heaven.”

  “Yeah, no way am I doing that.” I said quickly, in case they decided to make that a mandatory move. “I won’t be able to see much without my glasses and I would just fall and trip.”

  “You don’t need to see nothing. And they’d be happy if you fell into their lap and wiggled around.” Crystal responded and then she just rolled her eyes as she looked at the expression on my face. I knew both of them were wondering why I’d even come for the night if I was such a prude. “Just hurry up and put the bikini on. We gotta go out in a bit. If we’re late, the guys will be mad and we’ll get docked a couple hundred dollars.”

  “Okay.” I sighed and looked around. “Is there a changing room for me to put this on?” My voice drifted off as they both looked at me once again as if I were crazy. “Or I can just change here.” I sighed and undid my jeans. Hailey really owed me. This was going to be so awkward. I didn’t care if I was only popping out of a cake, a bunch of random guys were going to see me in a string bikini that left absolutely nothing to the imagination. I cringed as I pulled the top on. It was so small I knew my boobs would pop out with one wrong move. The only saving grace was my nipples were covered, barely. I pulled the bottoms on and frowned as I realized my ass was hanging out completely in the thong bottom. I would never wear a bathing suit like this normally. And when I say never, I mean not even if someone gave me $100. I laughed to myself as I realized I was doing it for five grand though. Oh the humiliation. Thank God, there was noone there that I knew to witness my shame. If I’d known I’d have to wear this tonight, I would have done a billion squats and lunges.

  I looked down at my body and ran my hands over my stomach. No one could ever mistake me for a Victoria’s Secret model. And I had a feeling I wasn’t going to be getting any information from any of the bankers at the party by staying back in the crowds. It wasn’t even realistic for me to think I could go around dancing and asking if anyone knew anything about insider trading on Wall Street. Like who asks those questions at a bachelors party? I was stupid for even thinking it would have been possible.

  “Don’t worry, girl.” Starr looked at me with a smile. “These guys don’t want sticks and bones. They like women with a bit of meat on them.” She stared at my stomach and then ass and I tried not to take offense. I wasn’t unhappy with my body, even though I knew I could have lost a couple of pounds or twenty.

  “Uh, thanks.” I smiled back at her, not sure if was a compliment or not. Even though I was comfortable in my own skin, I didn’t want to be referred to as someone with a bit of meat on her. I wanted to be thin and beautiful with a flat taut stomach, and defined abs wouldn’t hurt either, though I knew that wasn’t something to be worried about right now, as I couldn’t turn back time.

  “Hey, do you guys have any bronzer?” I asked quickly, thinking about a magazine article I’d read, saying you could add some definition to your body using makeup. Maybe I could fake it a little bit.

  “Yeah, here.” Crystal handed it to me with a nod. “You’re looking a bit pale.”

  “It’s for my stomach, not my face.” I responded, my face burning.

  “Oh, oops.” She made a face at Starr, and they both laughed.

  “It’s fine.” I sighed. “I haven’t been able to tan much recently.”

  “It’s fine. Many guys like the pale look.” Crystal made a face, her dark olive skin glowing as she looked me up and down. “Peaches and cream, they call it. You can call yourself Peaches tonight.”

  “Sorry, what?” I frowned.

  “Your. Name. Tonight. Will. Be. Peaches.” Crystal said slowly. “If any of the guys ask you.”

  “Oh, okay.” I shrugged and applied the bronzer to my stomach, hoping to give it definition. The color was much deeper than my own skin color and I frowned as I applied it to my skin. It almost looked like dirt. I was about to rub it off, but Crystal started speaking to me again and I could tell from the look on her face that she didn’t want to be bothered with me asking her where I could find some tissue paper and water to wipe it off.

  “Unless you’d rather be called something else?”

  “Like what?”

  “What about tight pus—“ she began, and Starr giggled and touched her shoulder.

  “Be nice, Crystal. We still need Peaches to jump out of the cake. That was a requirement for the night. They wanted three girls, remember?”

  “Fine.” Crystal rolled her eyes. “You ready?”

  “I guess so.” I took my glasses off and put them in my handbag. “What do I do?”

  “Wait here. We’ll get the cake. Just sit in it and jump out when you hear a loud bang.”

  “Okay.” I nodded. “That sounds simple enough.”

  I sat in the cake listening to the music booming and the sounds of a lot of men talking. I was starting to feel hot, and I could feel the sweat running down my body. I tried to shift, but there was nowhere to move. And then I heard a loud bang. “Is this the signal?” I muttered to myself as I sat there. I heard another bang and then popped up out of the cake. “TA DA!” I screamed as I jumped up, the cake flying everywhere. My eyes were fuzzy as I looked into the room, but I could tell everyone was staring at me.

  “You were supposed to wait for the loud bangs,” Crystal screamed at me as I stepped out of the cake awkwardly.

  “I heard the bangs,” I said feebly as I listened to the bass of a rap song playing in the background. Was that the bangs I’d been hearing? I made a face and then tripped forward as I clambered out of the cake. I felt two hands grabbing hold of my arms as I tripped, and I looked up and saw a slightly blurry masculine face looking down at me. “Sorry.” I mumbled and looked away. I couldn’t really make out what he looked like.

  “No worries.” His voice was deep as he stood there in front of me, his hands still on my arms. His fingers pressed into my skin, and I shivered slightly at the feel of his cool hands on my warm skin. “Do you need a hand?”

  “No, I’m fine. Thanks.” I pulled away from him and then looked for Crystal and Starr to see what I should do now. However, they were both busy giving two guys lap dances. Hmm.

  “Do you need help?”

  “I’m fine.” I shook my head and bit my lip. I could see my five grand going down the drain if I just stood there. “I’m trying to figure out what to do.”

  “Maybe you should give a lap dance?” He suggested with a hint of humor in his voice.

  “I don’t think so.” I shook my head as I looked around the room at all the men in their business suits.

  “A regular dance then?”

  “I guess so.” I sighed. “This sucks,” I muttered.

  “Sorry, what?” He leaned towards me, and I stared into a pair of bright steely blue eyes mere inches from my face.

  “Nothing.” I swallowed as I focused in on h
is face. Now that he was closer I could see him more clearly and he was very attractive. In fact, he was hot.

  “Your friend is looking at you. I suggest you get to work,” he whispered into my ear, and I turned and saw Crystal giving me a death stare. I sighed and started moving back and forth to the rap song, trying my best to dance in time to the beat.

  “Hey sexy.” An overweight balding guy whistled at me from a few yards away. “I’ll have a lap dance for a stack.”

  “A stack?” I repeated back at him and took a step back.

  “A stack of hundreds.” He grinned and held up a wad of cash. “What’s your name?”

  “Peaches,” I said hesitantly. I really didn’t want to give him a lap dance. Not even for hundreds.

  “Come on over, Peaches.” He whistled. “I like my peaches with cream. You can be the peaches and I’ll provide the cream,” he joked, and I froze. Was he saying what I thought he was saying?

  “She’s with me.” The guy in front of me pulled me into his arms. “Right, Peaches?”

  “Uh, yeah.” I nodded slowly. “Sorry, he asked me for a dance first.”

  “Whatever.” The bald guy turned away, looking annoyed.

  “Thanks,” I whispered to the guy in front of me and tried to step back. “That was a close one.”

  “Where are you going?” His voice dropped, and his expression looked serious. “I want my dance.”

  “Oh, you were serious?”

  “I’m always serious.” He smiled at me for a few seconds and then spoke again. “What’s your name?”

  “Evie,” I said as we walked back to his chair. “I mean Peaches.”

  “Evie Peaches.” He grinned as he sat down on a couch in the back of the room.

  “Peaches.” I made a face. “That’s my dancer name.”

  “Okay.” He patted the seat next to him. “Sit down, Peaches.”

  “I thought you wanted a dance?”

  “We can get to that later.” He patted his chair again. “Let’s talk first.”

  “Uh, okay.” I sat down next to him, feeling awkward in my tiny bikini. I sat back and tried to hold my breath in to make my stomach look flat.

  “You okay?” He frowned as he looked at me.

  “Yeah, of course,” I said stiffly, my body burning in shame as he stared at me. Not only was I feeling self-conscious, I was also feeling embarrassed and like I wanted to cry.

  “Are you new to the dancing business?”

  “You could say that.” I nodded.

  “Don’t worry.” He grabbed my hand. “You can relax.”

  “You don’t want a dance?” I asked hopefully as I looked back at him. Maybe he’d just let me sit here and talk to him the whole night. Maybe he’d feel bad for me because I was new and obviously not in the same class of girls as Crystal and Starr. Maybe he’d be one of those nice guys who thought stripping was degrading to women.

  “No, I want you to dance.” He grinned and licked his lips. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

  “Oh, okay.” I sighed and made to get up.

  “Not yet, though.” He shook his head. “And not here.”

  “Huh?” I frowned at him. “When and where? I’m not a hooker, if that’s what you’re thinking. I’m not about to go to your car and do anything.” My voice trailed off as I looked back at him. This man looked gorgeous and rich. Surely he didn’t need to pay for any favors from someone like me. He could get a lot more for free from far more beautiful women. “I’m not giving you a blow job.”

  “I don’t want you to go to my car.” He shook his head and smirked slightly. “Tell me, Peaches, why are you working here? You look so uncomfortable.”

  “I’m working this party for a friend.” I sighed and made a face. “I know how that sounds. Cliché, right? Broke college girl trying out stripping for fun or whatever. But I’m not in college, and this isn’t fun. But I am broke, and my roommate told me I would make five grand for the night.” I shrugged. “And she said no sex or anything, so I figured how hard could it be?”

  “So you’re new to all this?”

  “Yeah.” I nodded. “Couldn’t you tell?”

  “I could tell when you burst out of the cake you had no idea what was going on.” He laughed.

  “Yeah, Crystal and Starr didn’t look too impressed.” I groaned as I thought back to the two girls’ expressions. “But hopefully, they didn’t notice.”

  “I doubt anyone really noticed,” he spoke again. “Most of the guys are wasted.”

  “Yeah, it’s a bachelor’s party.”

  “I kinda noticed that.” He laughed and I blushed. He reached over to me, and his fingers trailed down my neck. I held my breath as I wondered what he was going to do next. Please don’t let him try and grope my breast, I thought to myself. And please don’t let him try and reach even farther. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do if he tried to finger me or something. I closed my eyes for a second, wondering what I should do, when he sat back.

  “You look nervous.” His voice was soft as he whispered into my ear. I opened my eyes and gave him an awkward smile.

  “No,” I squeaked out, thanking God his fingers were no longer on me, though my body wasn’t as happy. My body had quite liked his warm fingers on my skin, caressing me.

  “How about that dance now?” He sat back in the chair and smiled as the music changed. A loud fast number I didn’t know was playing, and I stood up nervously.

  “You can do this,” I whispered to myself, though I had no idea what I was supposed to do. Was he expecting me to take my clothes off? Was he expecting me to rub myself all over him? Was he expecting he’d be able to touch me? I wanted to groan as I started dancing in front of him, my face burning a deep red. He sat there, his eyes watching me like a hawk as I moved back and forth awkwardly.

  “Don’t be nervous.” He growled as he grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him. I stumbled into his lap and adjusted my position so I was straddling him. That was a mistake. I could feel his hardness between my legs and I bit down on my lower lip as I felt myself growing wet. This was so embarrassing, and I knew he could tell I was turned on because he was grinning as he stared at me. His hands lay on my hips gently, and he started rocking my body back and forth. He seemed to be getting harder and harder beneath me and I averted my eyes from his. I was starting to feel turned on and that confused me and made me feel a little bit slutty.

  “Just dance on my lap.” He leaned forward, and his tongue licked my ear. “That way we’ll both feel good.”

  “I don’t know,” I mumbled as I moved around on his lap. I could feel him growing harder beneath me and his hands were sliding down my ass. I was starting to see how easy it was for the lines to become blurred in situations like this. I felt like I was dry humping him on a date that I wanted to lead to sex. In fact, I was starting to feel more turned on than I normally felt before sex with someone I was dating. It really made me feel like I was a bit of a slut. Was I basically getting a guy and myself off for money? I groaned as I felt the man moving me back and forth faster. My breasts were hitting his chest now, and I felt him slide down in the seat a bit, so my breasts were slapping his face. I tried to push his hands off my hips, but he just shook his head.

  “No, don’t stop,” he muttered, and I licked my lips nervously. I was the one giving him the dance, but he was definitely the one in control of everything happening.

  “I think I have to stop now,” I whispered hoarsely as I felt his mouth on my nipple over my bikini and his fingers were now squeezing my ass as I moved back and forth.

  “Not yet,” he groaned, and I felt his hand between my legs for a second as he undid his zipper. “Ten more seconds,” he muttered, and I realized he had pulled his cock out of his pants and it was now sitting between my legs as I moved back and forth. I jumped up after two seconds as I felt his fingers sliding my bikini bottoms to the side and the tip of his hardness right next to my wetness.

  “No way, Jose.” I shook my
head and looked down at him. “Sorry, I can’t continue with this dance.” I readjusted my bikini bottoms and blushed heavily.

  “What if I offered you twenty grand to finish it?” He sat there staring at me with narrowed eyes.

  “No, sorry.” I watched as he tucked himself away again. I looked away again as I thought about the size of him.

  “What about one-hundred thousand dollars?”

  “To finish a dance, or to have sex with you?” I mumbled shocked as I stared at him again. Was he for real? A part of me felt horrified that I was even considering his offer.

  “A hundred thousand to finish the dance.” He smiled at me and stared at me expectantly. “Whatever that means to you.”

  “With your you-know-what out?” I tripped over my words, feeling like an immature teenager.

  “Yes, with my cock out and between your legs. Your bikini bottom would be off,” he said shortly. “No penetration, though.”

  “No,” I said softly. “Sorry, I can’t do that.” I shook my head and sighed. “As much as I’d like to make a hundred grand, I can’t do that.”

  “Are you sure?” He asked me softly. “I’d pay you in cash.”

  “I’m sure.” I nodded and looked down at the floor. A hundred grand would go a long way. And it wasn’t even sex. Did mutual gratification and no sex count as prostitution? Would I really feel that cheap?

  “Good.” He grinned as he jumped up and took my hand. “Come with me.”

  “Huh?” I looked up at him in confusion.

  “You passed my test.”

  “What test?” I blinked at him feeling dazed.

  “I’ll explain more later. Let’s go and get your stuff.”

  “What?” I frowned, feeling confused. “What are you talking about?”

  “We’re leaving.”

  “I can’t leave. I haven’t gotten paid yet.”

  “I’ll give you the five grand for tonight. Go and grab your stuff, put your clothes on, and meet me outside in ten minutes.”