"Come on handsome… one song." The young woman's breath tickled his ear as she wiggled in his lap in a move that was clearly meant to be seductive. Edward mustered a smile as he rested his hands on her hips and tried to ease her off of him.
"Thank you, but I'm good," he said politely.
Edward had been far too transfixed by Bella's performance to notice the eager look in one of the dancers eyes as she caught sight of him and had high-tailed over to him by the time the dance was over to entice him with her own private dance. Most of the strippers here conceded in the past when Edward had thanked them but brushed their offers aside. But this one here was a persistent little devil and he was finding that he was quickly running out of ways to tell her no politely.
"I'll make it worth your while." She promised him, her fingers trailing down his chest and just brushing her fingertips against the zipper of his pants as she gave him a coy smile.
"Thank you, but really, no." Edward tried again. "As it is, I'm—" he suddenly spotted Bella, naked, stalking over to them her clothes clutched to her chest in what appeared to be a half-hearted attempt at modesty. Why did she look angry? But he didn't have time to mull over that; he knew an opportunity when he saw one and he intended to seize it.
"I'm taken! Yes." He gestured to Bella who had suddenly stopped before them, a touch of confusion being mixed in with her initial anger. "B- Isa promised me a dance earlier this evening and I intend to collect."
When Edward glanced over at Bella again, the full extent of her appearance hit him and he found his own face darkening. "What are you wearing?" he demanded. Or rather it should have been 'What aren't you wearing?' The leering stares of the patrons around them were obvious and he found himself irked that she hadn't thought to get herself decently clothed before she joined them outside like this. Of course, he didn't seem to notice the full extent of the irony of his thoughts. How modest could a stripper working at a strip club look? And how was her nudity any different down here than up on the stage?
Bella looked down at herself. She was pretty sure she wasn't wearing anything… She had to refrain herself from rolling her eyes. Instead she looked up at Edward, and deadpanned. "Oh my God, it's like one of those dreams where you go to work and then everyone's staring at you and you look down at your naked!" She opened her mouth in mock horror.
He firmly hoisted the stripper off his lap and grabbed Bella by the arm. "Changing room. Now." He said tersely.
"I'm a stripper Edward; it's my job to not wear clothes." She told him as they walked down the hallway toward the back. The bouncer hadn't been there to prevent Edward from entering the back stage areas, and the change rooms were deserted of all girls, which meant they were alone. Edward dropped his hand from her arm.
"Why do I have to put my clothes back on when I'll just have to take them off again?" Bella turned so that she was looking up at Edward, an eyebrow arched defiantly..
"Because I say so," he said exasperated. Edward still had his arm on her and allowed his eyes to briefly slip down her curves before he blanched at his own actions and turned away.
"Get dressed, Bella." Edward sighed.
A tremor of excitement passed through her as she saw Edward's eyes flicker down her body but she scowled unhappily when he looked away, as though disinterested.
"You're not my father." Bella's back stiffened. "You can't tell me what to do."
He rolled his eyes as he strode for the door. The last thing he wanted was to be caught in the girls' dressing rooms. "I'm not telling you to join a convent. Just put something on. Jesus, it's not that hard." He scowled.
Once Edward had left the room, Bella let out a deep breath. He was so goddamn infuriating. Of course, Bella had intended to put her clothes back on; after all when someone paid her to dance for them, they expected the strip tease. It was all a part of the act! But she hadn't liked the outrage that had crossed Edward's face when he'd spotted her fresh off the stage, standing there with nothing on except for the white, knee-high socks and her six-inch, black, patent leather stiletto shoes.
She slipped the clothes back on, tied the black tie around her neck and quickly checked her appearance in the mirror. Her wig was still on, her hair in pigtails. The good thing about wearing a wig was that she didn't have to worry so much about it falling out-of-place.
Happy with her appearance, Bella exited the hallway only to find that Edward had in fact waited for her. "You've seen me take my clothes off a thousand times, you could have waited in there with me."
Edward's lips turned down in a frown but he did not say anything.
She regarded him curiously, wondering what it was he wanted. After a small pause she cocked an eyebrow. "So did you want a dance or are you just here to look pretty?"
I think he's there to look pretty. He does a very good job at it, so why stop?
If you review I will post a longer chapter next time... Okay, I'll post a longer chapter if you review or not but I do love to hear what you're thinking about the story! :)