Dance For Me (Strip in the City, Book 2)

11 • Hot Admission

Tan

I rolled my lips together, smoothing out my lip gloss as I closed the door to the private room.

What in the mother-loving hell just happened?

Not only was that the wildest sex I'd ever had, but it was the most connected I'd felt to anyone while doing it. As much as I tried to ignore the little voice in my head that said this was a one-time thing that meant nothing, the satisfied feeling coursing through my body argued otherwise.

That wasn't hookup sex. That felt like something more. Didn't it?

Was Romeo staring at the door, wishing I would leap on his back again? Was he waiting for me to drop the act and tell him I wanted more from him than sex?

My back rested against the metal door, and my fingers inched toward the handle. It was stupid, but part of me wanted to go back inside and tell him how I felt.

I heard a door slam, and my heart sank. Romeo wasn't waiting for me. He was gone.

Leave it to me to connect with someone who never wanted me in the first place—typical Tan.

I shook my head and pushed off the door, forcing myself to put one foot in front of the other like I hadn't just had an out-of-body experience.

Romeo's thick voice pounded inside my skull like he was still inside me. Each step taunting me. "You're not performing anymore, are you, baby? This is the real thing, isn't it? You coming undone like a good little girl for me."

I mean–who the hell did he think he was, fucking me like that and then sending me on my way? Who had the audacity to say those things and not ask for my number?

Someone who is keeping to the rule of the one-night stand, obviously, I told myself.

Romeo was chill about the whole thing, which was exactly what I was supposed to be doing. Not coming undone, thread by thread, as I made my way to the tangle of limbs occupying the seat where Maren and West had been.

I rolled my eyes, even though seeing them glued together made me smile.

My friends were in their desperately-in-love, can't-keep-our-hands-off-each-other phase, and I was happy for them. Happy, but jealous. Even though I needed to keep all my focus on ballet, being around people who were so in love reminded me that the only thing I was good enough for was hookup sex in the back of a strip club.

When West and Maren didn't notice me standing beside them, I set one hand on my hip and cleared my throat. "The floors are sticky enough without your help."

West sputtered out a laugh as he slowly broke apart from her. His almond-shaped eyes crinkled in a grin. West was easy to smile and quick to laugh, unlike the man who just destroyed me. No–not destroyed. Just...raised my standards.

Maren wiped the corners of her mouth and shook out her long red hair, taking a moment to clear the hearts from her eyes. "So, how was Romeo?"

How was Romeo? The first words were complicated, hot, and unavailable. But I didn't think that's what Maren meant. She wanted an objective report of his skills.

"Good," I sputtered out. "Really good. And different than I expected him to be." My friends stared back at me, unsure what to make of my stuttering answer. "In a good way," I rushed to say. I shook out my hair and rolled my shoulders back, cheeks heating with embarrassment. "I mean, he surprised me in a good way."

Talking about Romeo made me uncharacteristically warm and caused butterflies to flutter away in my stomach.

"That sounds...promising," Maren said, twirling a strand of her hair around a finger. "So, what did he say? Does he want me to represent him?"