Out of Bounds (The Summer Games #2)(76)

“Yes, this is my first time here.”

The song was winding down and I glanced up in time to watch the woman step past the curtain, disappearing backstage. In her place, a new woman appeared, a little less beautiful and a lot less confident than her predecessor.

I narrowed my eyes watching her, fighting back the urge to stand and replace her.

“This place is pretty cool, isn’t it?”

Owen was running the knuckle of his middle finger up and down my arm, trying to gain my attention. Couldn’t he tell how bored I was? How badly I wanted out of this booth?

“Where are you going?” Lexi asked.

My body had moved on its own. I was standing.

“Oh, umm…I need to go to the bathroom. I’ll be right back.”

She frowned, not quite believing me.

“Do you want company?” she asked.

“No.”

I slid past her, ignoring Owen’s protests.

The stage was about to be empty again and it was beckoning me forward with its hazy red glow.

“Brie,” Noah said, reaching out for my hand as I brushed through the crowd. Apparently he hadn’t gone back to his friends. He’d been waiting for me and I bristled at the thought. I wasn’t his responsibility.

“Where are you going?!” he shouted over the crowd.

He’d find out soon enough.

Although the décor inside the club suggested that it represented hell, I understood now that it wasn’t a place for us to pay for our sins. It was a cathedral in which to celebrate them.

The second dancer walked off the stage, and I knew I only had a moment to act. The stage was a few feet off the ground, tall enough that I had to push up using my hands like I was getting out of a pool. The crowd cheered as I swung one leg up and then the other. They assumed I was a drunk girl about to make a fool of myself for their enjoyment.

“Oh shit, this is going to be good.”

“Dude, I bet she’s shitfaced.”

The song pouring through the speakers faded out as a new one started. I swayed my hips, getting a feel for the music. It was a song I recognized and loved: “You Don’t Own Me” by Grace, featuring G-Eazy. How f*cking fitting.

“Brie, what are you doing? C’mon, get down,” Noah said with an admonishing tone from the end of the stage.

He was reaching up for me, all but horrified to see me up there.

Poor little Noah. What would he say if he knew the ways in which Erik had corrupted me? I smirked at the thought. He’d run screaming for the hills. Noah needed to learn what women wanted, and the song playing overhead only emphasized that point.

I walked backward to the pole with a seductive smile. A few low whistles from the crowd egged me on, but Noah stood there with crossed arms. When I reached behind me for the pole, he tugged a hand through his hair, exasperated.

Dancing on stage at a club this packed wasn’t for the faint of heart. I had hundreds of eyes on me, and though phones were prohibited, word would surely still spread through the village. Brie Watson danced on stage. Brie Watson spun around the pole and…dare I say…she enjoyed it. I’d deny it all of course. Without proof, there was nothing they could do, no real story to sell to the press.

I used my hands to steady my upper body as my hips swayed back and the forth. The cold metal hit my backside every time I moved, reminding me of where I was, what I was doing.

I owed a lot to my early years of ballet—my balance, rhythm, and flexibility. Sure, my mom had enrolled me in those classes with the purest of intentions, but as I rolled my hips and slid down that pole, I smiled. I knew my body and I knew how to use it to my advantage. Usually I was performing for judges with crossed arms and hard stares. Up on that stage, I was performing for hungry eyes. Every time I caught a mouth gaping or eyes doing a double take, it spurred me on. Owen’s words replayed in my head.

You’re the most gorgeous girl in this club.

“Brie, get down,” Noah insisted.

I slipped a hand from the pole and ran it down my body from my neck to my navel. Even though my hand was small and gentle, I closed my eyes and pretended it was Erik’s. He knew how to touch me. He knew how to make me beg for more. I wondered what he would do if he saw me up on that stage, running my hand up my thigh for everyone to see, and when I opened my eyes, I saw him.

Erik.

My gut clenched as I blinked twice, trying to ensure he wasn’t just a figment of my imagination. He was a few yards away, standing in the middle of the crowd and watching me. I paused for a moment, faltering on my heels, and then his eyes smoldered in a silent challenge.

He wasn’t going to rip me from the stage and he wasn’t going to admonish me for being up there. He wanted to celebrate the wicked sensuality I craved, and it was up there, on the stage that I saw a piece of myself reflected back to me in Erik. We were so similar, he and I.

The sleeves of his black button-down were rolled to his elbows and I took in his strong forearms as I dipped down the pole, slowly spreading my knees wide. My dress hiked up my thighs, but my panties covered me as much as my leotards did.

Noah’s head nearly exploded, but Erik stepped closer, weaving through the crowd to get to me.

My stomach fluttered as I stood back up and spun around the pole, pressing up onto my tiptoes and then letting my head fall back as I dipped into a backbend. The red haze lingered overhead, casting my skin in devilish light. I stood back up and spun around, pressed my back to the pole, and met Erik’s gaze again as I trailed my fingertips up the sides of my body. My skin tingled beneath my touch. I stroked my neck and collarbone, and then I tugged on the strap of my dress, toying with it.