There was one thing for certain – after tonight, Edward was never going to be able to look at the poles at the fire station the same way again. He watched as Bella climbed the pole, wrapping her long tanned legs around it, before sliding slowly and suggestively to the floor. To think that Bella, his stubborn and downright infuriating Bella, was currently the most lusted after person in the entire room – and for good reason.
Edward's eyes darkened with each skimpy piece of her costume that was shed, revealing her swaying, nubile body. Her performance tonight was particularly raunchy, and he felt the hot wave of lust surge through his body as he watched her rub herself against one of the members in the audience. What a body, he thought he gritted his teeth as he shifted in his seat, his erection straining painfully against his jeans. On most nights he could usually control himself, lock down on those desires so that they didn't mess with his head – but not tonight.
He watched her move about the stage, oozing sexual energy. Edward hated himself for admiring the sway of her hips, hated himself for imaging what it would be like to cup those small, pert breasts in his own hands, to think of how it would feel to have her moaning and writhing on top of him, riding his hard cock like she was now riding the pole. He gripped the sides of his chair, scowling at the forbidden territory that his lewd thoughts had led him to. He wasn't here to watch her dance. He was here to confront her – something he couldn't very well do with a raging boner.
Edward closed his eyes and tried to count his breaths, trying to think of something, anything other than the sight of the sexy siren on stage. He tensed his quadriceps, the muscles in the fronts of his legs, so that the demand of blood in his legs would override the need for blood in well, other places. He ran through the list of images in his mind: Chernobyl babies with their skin peeling off from radiation, wrinkly old people doing it on a kitchen table and when that didn't seem to do the trick, he tried to conjugate as many French verbs as he could remember from back in his college days – certainly a harder feat than one would think).
With the situation under relative control now, he opened his eyes. Bella was making her way around the stage, collecting tips from appreciative patrons. This was his chance. Edward leaned forward to place his offering on the stage just as she came around. He watched her lift her head up with a ready coquettish smile before horror flickered in her brown eyes.
He tilted his head, keeping his expression impassive, and here she seemed to freeze for a moment. The corner of Edward's mouth lifted up with just a ghost of a smile as he leaned back in his seat. As bad as it was for him to admit, catching Bella off guard like this was more amusing than he'd thought it would be.
Bella recovered quickly enough, although she hesitated a fraction… Maybe she could continue walking past him, leave his offering on the stage, and take to the pole once again. Her eyes flickered down to the twenty; was it worth it? It was just one dance, and it definitely wasn't as though she was repulsed by him. Appearance wise, Edward had it going on. And she'd be a liar if she said she'd never fantasized about what it'd be like to be with him.
It only took her a moment to make her decision; she squatted down, her legs widened, and she picked up the tip, attaching it under the tie on her ankle. She crawled on her hands and knees until she was right at the edge of the stage. Her hand reached out to stroke the side of Edward's face as he leaned forward. She situated her body, much like she had with the younger boys on the opposite side of the stage. Her torso swayed in time to the music as she continued with her routine; her hands swept down her body, touching her skin, playing with her breasts. Her eyes watched his as they swept down her body, taking her all in, and an unwelcome pang of desire hit her. Her skin blazed hot. Her nipples were already hard from the air conditioning that blasted in the place, but they hardened to painful points now as Edward's eyes raked over her.
He held himself completely still as Bella leaned in towards him, her long hair brushing his cheek and tickling his neck through the open collar of his dark shirt. He could smell her perfume, a familiar citrusy scent mixed in with her shampoo.
Stripping was all an act: the things she told the boys, the clothes she wore, the way she looked at them as though she desired them, even her name. It was all an act. And she would play the part now, for appearance's sake. But as she leaned forward, her cheek brushed against his stubble, and shivers rippled down her spine.
He clenched his jaw as her lips moved closer, ghosting over his cheek in an appearance of a kiss, only to have her lean in to to whisper, "What the hell are you doing here, Edward?"
"I could just about ask you the same thing, sweetheart," Edward murmured pleasantly, his own lips brushing against the tip of her ear.
"Not that it's any of your business, but I work here," she murmured back as she continued to sway. His lips tickled at her ear, and Bella felt a hard lump forming in her throat at the sensation.
Edward pulled away.
Bella was well aware of where her erogenous zones were, her earlobe being a particularly sensitive one, but Edward pulled back, and Bella caught the gleam in his eye.
He's enjoying this! She realized. A small scowl formed on her lips at the thought. Well, two could play at that game, and Bella knew that she could be a very good player.
In a move that echoed the one she'd done earlier, Bella placed two hands on either side of Edward's head to keep him still and leaned forward, brushing the tips of her breasts over Edward's rough stubble. The sensation was, quite alarmingly, very stimulating, and Bella's body began to react in a way that had never happened before, at least not while she'd been stripping.
He closed his eyes, gritting his teeth as Bella's nipples trailed across his stubble and up against his lips.
Heat welled up between her thighs, and a fluttering sensation deep in her womb made Bella squirm uncomfortably, and she found herself guiding her breasts against Edward's mouth, something she so rarely did, the tips of her nipples brushed his lips.
No! Pull away, Bella. Her subconscious warned her, but Bella was so overcome with the sensations of dancing like this with Edward – Edward her neighbor! Pull away!
Almost reluctantly, Bella moved back. She tried to keep her face calm and seductive but she knew it would be difficult to hide her arousal. She just hoped that Edward didn't use it against her.
When he opened his eyes, they had darkened to a smoky charcoal as Edward watched her sway before him.
They were well into the third and final song, which meant that Bella was nearly finished with her routine. In a few quick maneuvers, Bella swiveled on the stage and pushed herself up until she was back on her feet again. She glanced over at Edward, who was watching her, his eyes dark with desire and a look that made her pussy clench. Her hips swayed in time to the sensual beat, and her fingers lowered down her body, pushing the skimpy fabric of her bottoms down her legs and move over the long stiletto heels of her shoes.
She bent at the waist as she went, her long hair spilling downward. Her actions exposing her pink, swollen sex in a move that she'd never actually done before. This sort of move was certainly a popular dance move, but usually the other girls would perform it with at least a layer of clothing in the way.
His jaw was clenched as his eyes drifted over the curves of her ass to the glistening of her... Jesus Christ. He was torn between watching her and abruptly walking away.
Once her panties were removed, Bella turned around again and stepped closer to the edge of the stage, standing directly above Edward. She knew that he'd have the best view in the house. She knew that he'd be able to see how wet she was, but she also knew that she'd won. Edward's eyes were glazed over, dark and heavy with lust. And she knew that while Edward hated her, there was some part of him, a big part, if Bella could discern from looking at his crotch, that at the very least, wanted her for her body.
And that certainly was satisfactory enough.
Smirking, Bella turned on her heel and flounced over toward the pole center stage. She had about a minute and a half left of her song and quickly glancing around, she could see half a dozen young men waving their bills around at her, wanting a little piece of the action. A quick assessment and Bella made note of the men who waved larger bills at her. She memorized their faces. She would leave them but would approach them later and try to convince them to buy lap dances from her. The boys who waved five-dollar notes at her now would get her brief attention, and she'd take their money. She strolled around the edge of the stage, walking slowly, smiling sweetly at the men who offered her monetary gifts and dancing for all of twenty seconds in their presence before moving on.
As the song was nearing its end, Bella realized that she'd have to make her exit. She blew a kiss to her patrons and gathered her clothes. Her eyes met with Edward's for a brief second, and she saw a hard and determined look there.
Spotting the next girl to perform at the bottom of the stairs she gathered her clothes in her arms and made her exit, strutting naked but confidently off the stage.
In the safety of the changing rooms, Bella relaxed. She strode toward her locker and dropped her costume in her bag because she wouldn't need it again that night. She picked up her regular baby doll negligee and matching underwear and then turned to face the full length mirror.
Glancing at herself naked in the mirror, Bella couldn't help but judge herself. Her boobs were too small in comparison to some of the other girls; her hips were too narrow, and she could see some of her ribs poking out.
Bella glanced away. This wasn't the time to be feeling down about herself. After all, hadn't she just had a bunch of men waving bills at her, proving how desirable she was? She glanced over her shoulder at herself and wondered what it was they saw.
Taking a deep breath, Bella did her best to rid her mind of the negative thoughts. She was Isa. Isa was confident, sexy and in control. Isa wouldn't see the bad parts about herself; she'd only see the good. She'd see exactly what it was that the men in the crowds saw in her.
I am confident, sexy and in control. With a firm nod, Bella quickly got redressed and headed out the door of the changing rooms, ready to make more money.
That debt wasn't going to repay itself.
Debt? What debt!?
The plot thickens!