Alec Hardy was not happy. He had found out recently his wife was having an affair and the case he was working on, a particularly complex case of two missing girls was getting nowhere. He'd been experiencing some chest pains and gone for a check-up and been told to take it easy. Bloody doctors, they were all the same but he was prescribed some pills to take and they had helped when he remembered to take them and he'd been fine for a while but the case was getting to him.
At least he was rid of his cheating wife, she had left him and gone to move in with her new boyfriend, taking their daughter with her but at least he got to see her at weekends. He had been trying to get the house exchanged for a flat and thought it would be easy enough, someone would want to move into a three bedroomed house surely?
Finally, he had got a letter from the council for him to go look at a two bedroom flat but it was terrible so instead, he found one through a letting agency and moved most of the furniture in and gave some away to a local charity and finally settled down to being single again. He hadn't bothered filing for divorce, he had let her do that, they had officially separated and agreed over their daughter.
It was coming up to his birthday, not that he celebrated it, only for his daughter's sake and this year, he wasn't even going to bother. It was on a Thursday this year so Daisy wouldn't be around anyway and it would be too late by Saturday, she stayed overnight every other week but he remembered not this week. He heard the others planning something and hoped he wouldn't be included. He was becoming a recluse and never even bothered going out for a drink on Friday nights any more, mainly because he shouldn't drink, well maybe the odd half pint, then he would buy his own non-alcoholic and no-one ever knew the difference.
Alec was about to leave when three of the male DS's cornered him. They all went by first names after they had officially stopped work and since they were on their way out, came into his office.
"So, birthday is it then Alec? You coming out with us? We were going to take you to this little club we know of, you'll like it, trust us."
"Trust you lot? Never. You'll have me going to a strip joint or something."
One of the others spoke up. "Come on, you'll have a good time, what else do you have to do? Go home to your empty flat on your birthday? We can't allow that. Come on, it's after eight, we can all share a cab, leave your car here."
They didn't have to remind him he was going back to an empty flat, did they? He got up and picked up his jacket, the three men stood in the doorway, they had him trapped.
"We're not letting you out until you agree so forget it. You got some money on you, it costs to get in."
"Why don't we just go around to the pub on the corner?" Alec asked, trying his best to get out of it.
"No way! You'll enjoy this much better."
Alec reluctantly gave in, he would get no peace until he agreed and did he really want to spend his birthday alone? He had no idea where they were taking him as the cab drove through the town centre and into the back streets, finally pulling up outside a club with a flashing neon pink and blue sign that read 'Pinkies' and Alec instantly knew what they were up to, getting him in a strip joint but as they got out, he saw a sign for 'Exotic Dancers' with photos of a few of what he supposed were their best-looking dancers, the rest were probably plain and hidden by subdued lighting to hide their less than perfect looks.
One of the dancers stood out from the rest, billed as the 'Star Attraction of the month' but Alec thought she was probably the star attraction full stop, for any month. The name above the photo was just 'Rosepetals' and the photo itself was of a young blonde woman posing sideways with her leg on a wooden chair. She was only wearing a skimpy outfit, some cheap plastic petals on her even skimpier bra and she was showing off her leg and hip. On her leg was a black and pink frilly garter, one hand was on her hip and the other draped on the back of the chair and she had the most beautiful smile Alec had ever seen.
Under the photo it read 'Come inside and see Rosepetals dancing or swing above the bar area on the floral swing or maybe catch her in the cage and stare at her all night. Dare you put money into her garter? Dare you even put money in her g-string? Bet your mates to dare go on stage and tuck money in her g-string but she only takes 50 notes if you do!'
Alec thought about turning around and calling another cab back to the station but he was already being grabbed by the arm and pulled towards the kiosk to pay to go in. His colleagues had conspired to pay for him since it was his birthday but the first round of drinks was on him, which he agreed because he only intended having one, he doubted he'd get served if he asked for non-alcoholic and would probably get thrown out.
As they queued to get in, he wondered why women would even want to display themselves to the men who came in but was it any different from the women who frequented street corners? At least in a club they were reasonably safe and he saw a list of rules clearly stating what men were allowed or not allowed to do once they were inside and everyone seemed to be reading them. At least the women were reasonably gainfully employed, not leaving it to chance and from what he read, thankfully in large print so he didn't have to get his glasses out, men were most definitely not allowed to touch any of the women's anatomy except to place money under their garters. He cringed at some of the rules, wondering really what type of men came here and how the woman put up with it.
They finally got in and Alec bought a round, getting a bottle of the least alcoholic lager he could name and the men all went to find a table, under the swing Alec noted, an oriental woman swinging backwards and forwards performing various aerobic feats showing off her rear. Alec didn't think she was particularly attractive from what he could see of her face but men were standing on chairs and trying to tuck 10 notes under her garter as she passed by, slowing down when a man waved a note at her.
A woman was in a gold cage, sitting and standing around and doing various ordinary things like stretching and leaning over to move the chair and Alec just zoned out. It wasn't really his 'thing' and he planned on getting out as soon as he finished his drink and his three colleagues were suitably amused with something and wouldn't notice he was missing. He could make the excuse up he was going to the bar and slip out without them noticing, they wouldn't remember in the morning anyway.
He had almost finished his drink, he'd only been in for about forty minutes when a man announced in a boring voice that Rosepetals was about to come on stage so he put his drink down and decided he may as well see what all the fuss was about until a crowd of men got up and stood in front of the stage and he couldn't see. He knew the men weren't allowed to whistle at or cat-call any of the women, they showed their appreciation by cheering or not as the dancers took their places and giving them money.
The spotlight came on the small stage, showing a pink wooden chair and then it moved to the edge and hung for a few seconds before a bare leg appeared in the beam and Alec could just about see through the crowd the woman who the leg belonged to saunter up to the chair and rather seductively take off the pink silky robe she was wearing. The men were still cheering as she placed the robe just as seductively on the back of the chair and stepped forward.
Dressed only in white shorts covering her lower anatomy and some pink what looked like flowers covering her skimpy top, the woman began to sway to the beginning of the music and kept time as the beat increased. From what he had heard, each dancer did two turns, one fast then one slow and then was replaced a few minutes later by another dancer but he could now only see her head since someone had changed their position, probably to get a better view.
Alec picked up his bottle and walked across to the stage to see the woman making her moves and men were now silently watching her, well the ones that weren't trying to stuff 10 notes under her garter. Eagle-eyed bouncers were stood at either side of the circular stage for those who got a bit carried away and fancied their chances of staying longer on the women's legs than was necessary to tuck the note under the garter.
He saw one man doing just that and one of the bouncers gave him a shove, rather painfully, on the shoulder. The man just laughed and went back to his place but Alec imagined if he did it again he would get dragged out unceremoniously. They were all getting egged on by their mates, trying to come up with a 50 note between them and choosing who was going to dare go up to her but non of them ventured up on stage.
The woman was just slowing down to the end of the song and the men began cheering again. The woman's stare was mutual, she probably zoned herself out and concentrated on the music and her dancing.
A few seconds later, another song started, a slower one that Alec recognised and she started dancing more slowly this time to 'Careless Whisper' and Alec was captivated. She was more graceful this time, taking her time at coming out of the twists and turns of her dancing and he had never seen a woman look more fascinating in his life, certainly not his ex wife, she had never gone in for anything like that, not even to tease him when they were actually together.
The song finished and the woman stopped, turned around to the chair slowly and retrieved her robe, putting it on just as seductively as she had taken it off. Alec had finished his drink without realising as she slouched off the stage to an uproar of cheering and a garter stuffed with notes.
He would have to wait another hour before she came back on but he was going to stay. He went back to the bar and while he was waiting to get served, saw the three men he had come in with trying to catch the attention of another woman who was now up on the swing. He spotted his brand of non-alcoholic lager and asked for a bottle, it cost twice as much as the regular brands anyway and the management probably didn't mind stocking it at that price.
Just under an hour later, having re-joined his now much less than him sober colleagues who asked why he was still drinking from the same bottle, he was waiting for the blonde to come back on stage and casually made his way to stand near the front before the crowd gathered again. He had noted the last two women hadn't had as big a crowd but they were still getting money from the punters but non of them had attempted to linger like they had done previously.
The announcer called Rosepetal's name and the men came hurrying forward to get the best spots but Alec had beaten them to it, just where she would stand and maybe just about see him, not that she would even notice. He had let his appearance slip slightly since his divorce, sporting two day's growth of beard and his fringe almost covering his right eye, he brushed it back absent-mindedly just as the spotlight moved from the chair to the side where he had just seen a glimpse of the woman being escorted by one of the bouncers who he supposed was there to fend off anyone straying behind the stage and from the dressing room area.
Being nearer, he first saw her leg, then the rest of her followed and she looked even better close-up as he took a sip of his drink and watched her taking off her robe. Now she was a wearing a leopard-skin printed outfit and she took her place at the front of the small stage and began to move to a different tune than earlier, moving fast, in time to the music which was now Madonna's 'Beautiful Stranger' and that was what Alec thought she was and the way she moved was mesmerising.
More cheering followed as she came to a stop, Alec was still silent as a few men next to him were fishing in their pockets to double-check they didn't have a 50 note they had missed earlier. She started to move again, slowly and Alec didn't recognise the tune, he was too busy watching and found his hand wandering on its own to his pocket and fishing a 10 note out and before he knew it, he was quickly tucking the said note under the garter, fleetingly touching her leg as he did but he was quick enough to remove it before the bouncers saw him as she bent her knees just enough for him to do so.
He had stepped back, realising what he had just done, like it had been a slow-motion scene from a film and only just realising he had actually done it. He would never have believed himself capable of doing such a thing, he never went in for that kind of thing, he had certainly never been to a place like this before and he hoped his colleagues hadn't seen him or he would never live it down and plus, his ex wife would get to know about it and would stop his daughter's visits, such as they were.
He hadn't thought about it, he had just done it but he was right at the front and was probably hidden by the crowd as she moved her hips at him, well it seemed like it was at him. The music came to a stop and she turned around, just the very thin strip of material covering her behind as she put on the robe.
Alec knew he was just one of the crowd and one of the many who had tucked money into her garter and had not stood out from the rest. Most of the men were younger than him probably though some did actually look older but she would never even have looked as he had touched her leg for a second. He wondered what it would be like to touch her leg for longer and for her to dance only for him.
She left the stage as gracefully as she had entered and he found himself staring at the spot she had disappeared into the darkness for a few minutes, unaware he was the only one still standing there. He shook his head to snap himself out of it, his colleagues had moved and were now around the other side of the cage watching another woman stretching and yawning but he wasn't interested. He bought himself another drink and found an empty table to wait another hour until it was her turn to dance again and then, he was going to do something really stupid.
He had heard men saying the two bouncers backstage let you in to meet the dancers if you paid them twenty quid but that Rosepetals never saw anyone and more than a few had tried and some had wasted that amount just trying. Apparently, the girls told the bouncers at the beginning of the evening if they were taking visitors or not and sometimes they conveniently forgot or sometimes they would just turn them away, depending if the men were good looking or not but it still cost you to find out.
He had read the rules, there weren't that many but they were quite frank no sex in the dressing rooms was one of them and he supposed that was how they kept their licence as a dance club and not a strip joint but Alec wasn't going backstage for that purpose and was going to ignore the fact that she never saw anyone because he wasn't even going to pay.