Abby Ryan has her whole life planned out, up until graduation that is. As a journalism student at the University of Southern Washington, she has one goal in mind for her last semester of senior year: secure a scholarship for graduate school. But whe...
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I honestly thought singing karaoke on stage twice would be the most adventurous thing that I'd do tonight, but when Nia spotted the bright neon lights of the strip club down the street, I knew things were about to get a whole lot crazier.
I didn't even have a chance to try to steer her toward something else because the second the words left her mouth, Luke threw an arm around her shoulders, and they both drunkenly led our group across the street toward the club.
I caught Jenny's smirk as she pulled James along behind her. He was doing a great job of convincing Jen that he didn't care if they went in or not, but when he looked over his shoulder at Tristan with the most excited smile I've ever seen, I couldn't hold back my laugh.
When I follow Jenny inside, the change in energy is palpable.
The building is dimly light, apart from the enormous catwalk-like stage in the middle of the room, decorated with poles every few yards. The spotlights above the stage are flashing a kaleidoscope of colors, perfectly timed with the song's rhythm playing loudly through the speakers. The air catches in my throat at the sight of the three girls on stage, swinging seductively on the poles. Some of them are in lacy underwear, similar to what I wore last night for Tristan, while others don't have tops on at all.
The guys jog down the aisle of tables, dropping down into the seats in the front row, and when I hesitate by the door, Tristan squeezes my hand. I know he's about to tell me that we can leave if I want. That we can walk around the strip or go back to the restaurant and wait for everyone to finish up here, but when I catch the smile on Nia's face from across the room near the bar, I know I can't leave her.
She looks over her shoulder, and when her searching eyes find mine, she smiles at me and points to the front row as if to say, save me a seat!
I nod, giving an encouraging smile, one that I hope shows how proud I am of her for how well she's doing tonight. If I were her, I'd also be incredibly drunk, but I'd be back at the hotel racking up our room service bill while ugly crying into an entire carton of ice cream.
But that's not Nia.
Nia doesn't process heartbreak like the rest of us mere mortals.
James wraps his arm around Jenny as he leads us down the aisle toward the rest of their teammates, and when he leans down to whisper in her ear, she tilts her head back, smiling up at him as she slips her hand into his back pocket.
The guys have already claimed most of the front row seats, but we fall into the empty chairs near the end of the stage. Jenny sends James to sit on the other side of Tristan so Nia can sit next to her, and when he drops down between Tristan and Luke, the freshman's excited commentary echoes down the row as three new dancers enter the stage.
"I love strip clubs." Nia beams as she rounds the corner with a stack of cash and an entire bottle of tequila. "You're going to love it, Abs. It's so empowering to see those women get on stage and take control. To have an entire room of men drooling over them." She laughs as she drops into the seat on the other side of Jenny. "And it's a great way to learn new moves. Just pay attention to what they're doing so you can recreate it later." She winks at me before tilting the bottle back, taking a few long pulls of the tequila.
