The Club

"Hey, Tanya. I thought I'd find you here." Jason walked down to the beach and greeted his girlfriend. Things had been good between them lately. They had been having fun, which was a nice change from all the fighting they usually did. Jason sat beside her on the sand and she kissed him. "Hey, Jase. What's up?" Jason laced his fingers through Tanya's as he replied. "Well… my mom's going out tonight… Do you want to come over?" Tanya leaned against him and sighed heavily. "I can't Jase. I have to work." Jason tried not to look disappointed as he shrugged. "It's okay. Next time, maybe. What are your plans for today?" Tanya turned over and kissed down Jason's neck slowly. "I plan to spend the whole day with my gorgeous boyfriend." Jason groaned. "I have to meet Danny. I promised him I'd help him with something." Tanya pouted. "No fair." She stood up and pulled Jason to his feet. "So I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yes. I guess so." He brushed some hair off her face, kissed her lightly on the forehead and said "I'll see you tomorrow." And he turned and ran off down the beach. Tanya smiled as she watched him go. She really was the luckiest girl in Falcon Beach. She didn't know how she got so lucky with Jason. She was glad she did though.

"Jason! Over here!" Danny called as he made his way over to him. "Thanks for coming, man. I had no idea how I was going to get this thing home." Jason looked at the thing in question and wrinkled his nose. "Uh… Danny? What is it?" Danny looked at his best friend and laughed. Danny and Jason had been best friends since they were little kids. They were more like brothers. "It's a work of art! It's… You know… Hell, I don't know. Erin liked it so I got it. It's her birthday present. Cost me an arm and a leg." Jason viewed the 'art' critically. "It looks like someone got a few boxes, stuck them together then threw up on them." Danny laughed again. "Don't tell Erin that. She said it would go perfectly in the lounge room."

"Oh… Sorry." Jason said slightly embarrassed. Danny clapped him on the back. "That's ok, buddy. Now help me get this sucker home. It might not look much but it weighs a ton!" The boys moved the work of art with great difficulty to the back of Jason's truck. "There!" Jason said as he wiped the perspiration off his forehead. "It's all done! Erin better like it!" Danny grinned at him. "She will. Trust me." The boys jumped in the truck and drove over to Danny and Erin's place. When they got there they unloaded the 'art'. Erin came in and screamed, jumping on Danny. "Oh my God! Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you! It's just what I wanted!" She kissed him then went to look over her present. "Tanya's working tonight. You want to do something later?" Jason said to Danny. "Uh… sure! Erin's going to her parents for her birthday dinner anyway." Jason gave him a quizzical look. "Why aren't you going with her?" Danny whispers so Erin can't over hear. "Her parents hate me. And I'm not fond of them either. It's better this way. Erin gets quality time with her folks and I get to hang out with you! It's win-win!" Jason smiled at his friend. "I'll pick you up at 7. There's this new club that's opened. I want to check it out. It's supposed to be good."

"Okay. I'll see you then, Jase."

Jason arrived at Danny's and they left. "Is Erin okay about you going to this new club?"

"Yeah she's okay. A few of her friends are going and she said if she finds out I got up to anything dodgy she would kill me." Jason laughed. "What about you? What did Tanya say?"

"Um… I… uh… didn't tell her. I haven't seen her."

"Do you think she would care?"

Jason scratched his chin as he thought. "I don't think so. As long as I'm with you, how much trouble can I get into?" By the time they arrived at the club it was in full swing. A big guy was standing at the door. Jason and Danny tried to walk past him but the guys hand shot out stopping them. "Sorry fella's. We're full up tonight." Jason gave him his best 'I'm innocent and not here to cause any trouble smile.' and said. "Come on. Two more won't matter, will it?" The bouncer stepped in front of them. "I said we're full up. Now take a hike." Jason glared at him. "Come on, Jase. Let's go." Danny said pulling him away. Jason reluctantly left. They walked around the back of the club, back to the truck. "What an asshole." He muttered. Danny sighed. "So what do you want to do now? Go back to your place and drink?" Jason looked around. "There's got to be a way in there." Danny sighed again. Jason really didn't like being told no. He used to get Danny into a lot of trouble when they were kids. He still got them in trouble. Jase jumped up on a dumpster and pulled himself up onto a small shed. "Come on Danny!" Danny hesitated then followed. "I knew we'd do something to get in trouble." Jason grinned. "Relax." Then he jumped over and grabbed onto the clubs balcony and hoisted himself up. "See! Easy as pie."

"Yeah, it's easy for you." Danny muttered. He jumped and caught the balcony. He was climbing up and he slipped but Jason grabbed him and pulled him over. "Are you alright?"

Danny brushes himself off. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's get this over and done with." They opened the door and navigated there way downstairs to the bar. They ordered a couple drinks and found a spare table. "This is different." Danny said. "What's the stage for? Are they going to have some sort of a show? Like when we were kids and your mom took us to that restaurant with the stage and they had those stupid people in animal costumes running around. We had no idea what was going on and you were bored so you threw your hotdog on the stage and one of the actors slipped on it and hurt his back and they kicked us out." Jason laughed. "Yes. Sort of like that." Danny rolled his eyes. "Okay, I was joking. I'm not stupid. I know this is a strip club. Otherwise what's the pole for?" He laughs. Jason takes a sip of his beer. "Good. Because I was starting to worry…" He grins at Danny. The music starts and a girl comes out on stage. The lights are low and she starts dancing. She's tall, has brown hair and a great body. Some guys at the next table are making rude unnecessary comments. It's annoying Jason but he keeps his mouth shut. "Woo hoo! Oh yeah! Shake it honey! Wouldn't you like to go home to that?" The lights go up and Danny says "Hey isn't that…" a cold dread washes over Jason. He grimaces as he looks up at his girlfriend dancing on stage. "You can come over to my place and dance like that for me anytime!" The loudmouth man yells again. Jason stands up. "Hey! Why don't you shut the hell up?" The loudmouth man staggers over to Jason and gets right in his face. His breath stinks of alcohol. "What's it to you, punk?"

"There's no need for it. Now shut your mouth before I shut it for you." The guy lunges at him, knocking him to the ground. They struggle and Jason manages to get on top and is about to hit him when Tanya jumps off the stage. "Jase, No!" She grabs his arm and Danny helps her pull him off the guy. The bouncer rushes over from outside. "What's going on here?" He spots Jason and Danny. "Hey! How did you two get in here?" He grabs their shirts and drags them outside. "If I catch you two near hear again I'm calling the cops!" The boys walk back to the truck. "I can't believe it! Tanya's a…"

"Shut up, Danny!" Jason's still fuming. He takes a deep breath and sighs. "I'm sorry man. I didn't mean to snap at you."

"It's okay. What are you going to do now?" Jase thinks for a minute then says. "I'm going to go home, and get really, really drunk. Are you coming?"

"Sure." They jump in the truck and go back to Jason's.

Jason was just starting to drift off to sleep when he heard a noise. He lay there, listening as the door creaked open and someone slid in. "Jase? Are you awake?" He sighed and turned over to look at the clock. It was 1 o'clock. He had to be up at 6 for a wakeboarding session. "What do you want Tanya?" She walked over and sat on the edge of his bed. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you."

"You're sorry? So that makes it okay?"

"No! But I knew you would react like this!"

"You're working in a strip club! How am I meant to react to that?"

"I don't know. Jason, please…" She strokes the side of his cheek but he pushes her hand away.

"That guy… Guy's like him. They're assholes. You don't want that. Why did you do it?" Tanya wipes away a tear and sniffs as she replies. "I needed the money. I owe this guy a lot of money. Money I don't have." Jason takes her hand and strokes it. "Why didn't you come to me? We could have worked something out." Tanya yanks her hand away, stands up and sighs in frustration. She starts pacing the room. "What good would that do, Jason? You don't have the money." He jumps out of bed and wraps his arms around her from behind, hugging her tight. "We would manage. We would find the money somewhere." Tanya takes a deep breath to calm down. "Jase… I'm not talking a couple of hundred dollars here… It's 30 grand."

"What?! How did you get in that much debt?" He spun her around to face him.

"My modelling agent says I owe him money. He set up a job and I didn't show and he says I have to pay for it. I'm so sorry…" Jason hugged her to his bare chest. "It's okay. We'll think of something."

"It's not your problem, Jase. It's mine."

"We're in this together. I want to help you."

"I love you so much Jason…" She cries.

"I love you too." He kisses the top of her head, and then pulls her into bed. He wraps his arms around her cuddling her close as they drift off to sleep….

To Be Continued