Dimitri didn't realize this was what Christian had in mind for his bachelor party. Maybe he should have caught on when the latter said he wanted to go to Las Vegas, but then again Lissa would never agree to this. Dimitri didn't even know if she knew this was what they were doing. If she did... Phew, she would not be happy.
Walking into the strip club, Dimitri immediately felt completely out of place. He'd never been to one before, he had too much respect for women to degrade them like that, so he had no idea how to act.
"Well, this is a first," fellow groomsman Adrian said, cupping his hand on Dimitri's shoulder. "I didn't think I would ever see Dimitri Belikov nervous."
The other men in the group laughed as they all took turns delighting in how scared and uncomfortable Dimitri looked. He rolled his eyes at them, flinching just a little when Eddie forcefully clapped him on the back.
"Come on, let's go in," Christian said. The four men walked further into the strip club and Adrian headed off to order them all drinks.
"Is Lissa okay with this?" Dimitri asked Christian.
"Yeah, she knows I'm not going to do anything with anyone," Christian said, shrugging. "And anyway, the girls got their own stripper so they can't complain."
'The girls' included Christian's fiancée Lissa, Eddie's girlfriend Jill, and their friends Mia and Sonya. The group of eight had been friends for a few years since they met when Lissa and Christian got together. Eddie, Lissa, Mia and Jill all knew each other for years before Lissa began to work at the same company as Dimitri, Christian, Adrian and Sonya. Lissa and Christian hit it off very quickly and within days of meeting were already dating. She introduced her friends to the others and they all became very close very fast. Dimitri had never had so many friends and he couldn't voice how grateful he was.
He was thirty, quite a few years older than most of the friend group, and for the first twenty or so years of his life he was quite a loner. He wasn't good at making friends, letting people into his life, but for some reason this group of people snuck past just enough. He was really happy to have them all in his life.
"Alright boys, let's get our seats," Adrian said.
They sat in some chairs near the stage at the front and one of the waitresses told them that the next show would be starting in just a few minutes. Dimitri felt his palms beginning to sweat so he kept trying to wipe them off on his jeans with no success. He could feel the heavy gazes of the women around them but as it was something all of them were used to, he didn't let it bother him.
The four of them were considered very handsome, as they had been told by all of the women they worked with, so Dimitri made himself learn to ignore the attention very quickly. It was kind of off-putting sometimes but deep down, he liked it a lot of the time. He worked very hard on his body; he worked out twice a day and ate very healthily, so it felt nice when people appreciated it.
The lights suddenly dimmed, pulling him out of his thoughts, and when the performer walked out on stage, Dimitri immediately forgot how to breathe. She was... exquisite. The most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his entire life. She had long, thick dark hair hanging down her back, sultry brown eyes, soft almond-coloured skin, and god damn, the most heavenly curves. She looked like she was sculpted by the gods and in that blood red lingerie set... Dimitri was in love.
He turned his head to see the other guys' reactions and they were all staring at her with wide eyes. Adrian made eye contact with Dimitri and just mouthed a 'wow' which Dimitri had to nod to. He had no other words either.
Looking back at the woman, his stomach twisted when he realized that she had gotten closer to him. He suddenly felt unworthy of being in her presence, there was no way he could compete with someone so gorgeous. His heart was racing and he desperately tried to will his growing erection away. He couldn't believe he was getting turned on just from the sight of this magnificent woman. He'd never experienced that before.
The performer looked down at him and he swore that she faltered for just a second during one of her moves. He felt like he needed to look away, if not to make her more comfortable than for his sanity, but he couldn't tear his eyes away. It should be illegal to look away from such a work of art.
Her routine consisted of a lot of pole work, it seemed like she had a lot of upper body strength, and although it was amazing, Dimitri barely watched. The whole time he was just staring at her face. He was entranced.
And it seemed she was having the same problem. Throughout the entire performance, she kept looking back down at him and whenever she would, her eyes would smoulder over even more and she would send him the sexiest smirk. Those smirks would send his heart racing a mile a minute but then she would follow them up by running her hands down her body and throwing her head back with a silent moan and Dimitri would once again stop breathing. He was so turned on, so hard in his jeans, he thought his arousal would never go away. Would his legs even work when he tried to leave? He really didn't know.
Unfortunately the woman's performance ended far too quickly for Dimitri's liking and with one last sultry grin and wink to him, she left the stage. The lights came back on and the other men in the audience began discussing her performance but Dimitri was frozen still, staring at where she'd once been standing.
"Dimitri, you alright, man?" Eddie laughed, placing a hand on Dimitri's shoulder. That snapped him out of his trance just enough for him to inhale sharply and start breathing again.
"She was..." He couldn't finish.
"Gorgeous? Sexy? Ethereal? Literally a piece of heaven walking on earth?" Adrian supplied. Although he was married and loved his wife more than anything, he had a hard time getting over his playboy ways and often said things about other women he probably shouldn't. In this instance he was entirely right though so Dimitri nodded once. He licked over his lips as he looked back at the stage and felt a rush of disappointment that he didn't know if he'd see the woman again.
"Do you think she's the woman who will finally win the heart of Mr. Dimitri Belikov?" Christian asked with a teasing grin on his face.
Oh, trust him, she already had. He was ready to get down on his knees right now and pledge his life to her, she was so amazing.
The other guys seemed to be absolutely delighted with his response to the dancer and Christian even went so far as to ask one of the waitresses if she did lap-dances. When the woman said she did, Christian asked for one with the evillest smirk on his face.
Dimitri was confused for a few minutes, why would Christian order a lap-dance for himself when he told Lissa he wouldn't do anything, until they all turned to smirk at him and he realized it was for him.
"N-no, I don't think-"
Before he could finish his sentence, the angel of a woman walked out of the back and over to their group. She greeted them all politely, enthusiastically asking about Christian and Lissa as the former was wearing a 'Bachelor Party' sash, but when it came to Dimitri, she smirked again.
"Well, hello," she said. Her voice was practically a purr and Dimitri had to physically stop himself from moaning aloud.
"H-hello," he croaked out. She laughed at that and let her eyes rake over his body once before coming back to rest on his face.
"He's the one I requested you for," Christian told the girl. "He was very impressed with your show."
"Oh, yeah?" Her eyes never left Dimitri once and the visible lust in them set his body on fire. "Well, then it's my lucky day. Not often that such tall, dark and handsome men come in here."
Dimitri opened his mouth to say something, anything, but words escaped him. It wasn't until she walked closer and swung a leg over his chair that he managed to regain his voice.
"W-wait, out here?" he asked.
"Yeah," she said. She studied Dimitri's face for a second before letting out a delightful laugh. "Don't tell me you're shy."
Shy? Maybe a little but that wasn't his main concern. He just didn't want his friends to see him so turned on and having this woman rub up against him would definitely make him that. He tried to school his emotions in the way he was good at, but it seemed like she could see through it if the way she smiled gently at him was any indication.
"Don't worry, I'll be gentle," she promised. She placed her hands on his shoulders and rolled her hips, causing her to brush against the still-present hardness in his jeans. His breath stuttered in his throat but luckily he managed to catch the moan that threatened to spill so he bit down on his lip to stop any more.
"What's your name, handsome?" The woman asked.
"Dimitri," he grunted.
"Sexy. With a name and an accent like that I'm going to assume you're not American."
"Russian."
He worried he was being rude, only giving her short, one-word answers, but he didn't let himself say anything else for fear of pure embarrassment.
The woman let her hands slide down his chest and they dug into his abs which she seemed to enjoy. Her eyes flickered down to where her fingers lay and when she looked back up at his face again, he could see more lust than he thought possible. It was obvious that he affected her as much as she affected him and Dimitri was amazed. Someone as ethereal as her deserved someone better than some anti-social loner like him.
She slid off his lap to walk behind him and Dimitri realized he hadn't yet asked her name. If she knew his it was only fair that he knew hers, right? So he asked.
"Well, here I go by Shadow." She said that loud enough for the other guys to hear, too, but it was obvious she didn't want them to hear her next words. She moved her head in closer to Dimitri's so her mouth brushed against his ear and in the huskiest whisper, said; "But my real name is Rose."
Rose. Of course. It fit her perfectly. Roses were one of Dimitri's favourite flowers; beautiful but if you treated them wrong they would hurt you. Although he didn't know much about this woman, he could tell she was the same. He wouldn't want to be on her bad side, she could definitely hold her own.
Rose walked back around to his front and got down on her knees, placing her hands on Dimitri's knees. They slid up his thighs and the touch left Dimitri tingling even through the thick material. Rose lifted her lower body as her hands slid higher up Dimitri's chest until they were on his shoulders and she was bent over him, face to face. Her movements stopped as their eyes met and Dimitri had no idea how long they were just staring at each other but he did know that if he didn't look away soon, he would have to pin her down and kiss her.
He broke the eye contact first and felt a thrill when Rose took a shaky intake of breath as she pulled her hands off him. It seemed the lap-dance was over and Dimitri didn't know whether he was relieved or disappointed.
"Well, there you go," she said. Dimitri allowed himself another look at her and… Wow. Her chest was heaving, soft breasts bouncing so invitingly, and she kept licking over her lips to regain some moisture on them. He felt a rush of pride that he was able to garner such a reaction from her and he couldn't help but hope that he was the only one who had been able to do so. It was probably wishful thinking but he could tell that Rose was interested in him.
"Thank you, Shadow," Eddie said, giving Dimitri a knowing grin.
"You're very welcome," she replied. "How much longer are you guys in town for?"
"Just tonight. We go back to California tomorrow morning."
"Aw, what a shame. Well, I'm glad you came in tonight and I got to meet you." She turned her attention to Christian for a second and smiled. "I hope your wedding goes well."
"Thank you," he said. His eyes flickered to Dimitri for a second who was still staring at Rose with a look of wonder on his face. "Hey, would it be possible to get a picture of you and Dimitri?"
"Oh." Her eyes widened just a little, obviously taken aback by the request, and Dimitri quickly turned to glare at his friend. "Sure, I guess."
Whether it was an off request or not she didn't say but it must have been one she hadn't heard often before. She didn't say anything, though, as she walked back over to Dimitri and plopped down sideways on his lap, winding her arms around his neck and slinging her legs over his. Dimitri barely had time to neutralize his expression before Christian snapped a picture of them.
Dimitri was hyper aware that right at that moment Rose was sitting directly on his crotch. If she hadn't known he was hard before then she certainly knew now. Unfortunately her position also meant her breasts were basically the only thing in his line of vision and they were practically begging for him to look at them. He tried not to, he really did, but he was a thirty-year-old man who hadn't had sex in years so his self-control really was not the best. He let himself have one quick glance and just that made his dick twitch in its confines. He prayed that Rose didn't notice.
It would seem she did because after one last picture - a kiss on the cheek picture! - she quickly slid off Dimitri's lap. Oh god, he thought, now she thinks I'm some disgusting creep. There goes any chances with her.
"Well, I have to get back to work," she said, keeping her focus on the other guys rather than Dimitri. Dimitri was heartbroken that she refused to look at him. He fucked up.
"What time are you off tonight?" Adrian asked. He was giving Rose his signature flirt smirk but to Dimitri's relief she didn't seem to be falling for it.
"3am. You planning on sticking around?"
"Ah, not until 3 unfortunately. We have to be back home at 10 so we're leaving super early."
Rose pouted, whether just for show or because she was actually disappointed Dimitri didn't know, and it was so sexy. What he wouldn't do to bite that bottom lip, suck it into his mouth and let his tongue run all over it and savour the taste.
"It was nice to meet you guys," she said, sounding sincere about it. She then turned to look back at Dimitri and her smirk reappeared. "And it was really nice to meet you, Dimitri. If you're ever back in Vegas, come find me."
With that, she walked off and Dimitri was left staring at where she once stood again. Oh, so maybe he didn't fuck up.
"Man, she was so into you, Belikov," Adrian said, smacking Dimitri on the back a couple of times.
"It doesn't matter, I won't see her again," Dimitri said. That was what he had to tell himself anyway. He couldn't get hung up over her, no matter if she was the woman he thought he could spend the rest of his life with. The chances of that happening were so low and he wasn't going to hurt himself over it.
"Never say never," was all Adrian said.
—
The guys hung around the bar for a few more hours but when it hit midnight they decided it was time to go. They were going to have to wake up in just a few hours to start driving back home and they didn't want to be a wreck.
Dimitri hadn't seen Rose the rest of their time there and as much as he didn't want to be, he was disappointed. He'd hoped for just one more quick glimpse of the gorgeous woman but unfortunately the world was cruel. He had to accept that meeting her was a one-time event.
As the guys were packing up their things, someone suddenly walked up beside Dimitri and slid a piece of paper into his hand. He looked over and his eyes widened when he saw Rose standing there with an excited grin on her face. She looked him up and down once more, seemingly impressed with his six-foot-seven height, before turning to walk away again with a wink.
Dimitri held onto the note until the four guys arrived at their hotel and as soon as he was in his and Adrian's room, he sat down on the bed and opened it.
In beautiful print handwriting was, You're super sexy and I would like to keep in contact. Call me. With 10 digits and three x's written below. He let out a short laugh, shaking his head in disbelief that she actually did like him, but he already knew he was going to call her. It would be such a waste to leave their relationship unanswered.
Author's Note
Hey guys, I hope you liked this! I'm going to write a second part about them meeting again, obviously, so look forward to that! Thank you for reading :)