Scandalous Read Free Page A

the girls. Nothing else -- except for the bar -- mattered.
    But here, the emphasis seemed to be on the club itself. There were cloths covering the tables, pictures hanging on the walls, and fresh flowers all around. Flowers in a place where men took off their clothes? I guess here, because they were catering to women, the atmosphere mattered as much as the dancers.
    I took a sip of my ginger ale and turned around. Most of the women had left; I guess it was just going to be our group who would have the pleasure of mixing with the strippers.
    Kyla and the rest of the girls were still giggling and cackling, even though there was not yet a dancer in sight.  
    Silly women.
    But then, he came out. Mr. Chocolate. He was the first one.
    The women clapped as he stepped into their midst, but with just a smile and a nod, he made his way away from where Kyla and her friends stood and came toward the bar. It was as if he was looking for me!
    Behind him, the other dancers came out and kept the women's attention away from Mr. Chocolate. So for at least a moment, I was gonna bask in the presence of perfection all by myself.
    He didn't even look my way as he leaned against the mahogany bar and said, “ Doug, get me a hit. ”
    A hit? What was that? Whatever it was, I wanted to be the one to give it to him.
    One of the things that made me so good at being a stripper was that I always played it cool. I kept my feelings to myself -- something I'd been doing for the last few years, ever since my mother passed away. After going through her death, there was no one and nothing that could get to me.
    But all of my cool was gone right now. Just because I was only inches away from this fine thang. I was staring and raking my brain for the right thing to say, but I couldn't think of anything. Dang! I was acting like all the other women who were here.
    Mr. Chocolate had reduced me to a silly woman.
    Maybe I needed to turn away for a moment. Maybe I needed to break my eyes away so that I could get myself together. I had never been attracted to any man so instantly. It was like I'd known Mr. Chocolate from before.
    I turned away, but only for a couple of seconds before I allowed my eyes to wander, inching down his body bit by bit, until my eyes settled on his shoes. My assessment: he wore a size thirteen, at least.
    I sighed as he turned toward me.
    “ So, you're here with that party? ”
    Okay Jasmine, I thought to myself. Don't lose any cool points. I took a sip of my soda and let a couple of ice chips settle onto my tongue before I responded.
    “ Actually, yes, ” I said, totally composed, totally faking it. “ The party is in my honor. ”
    “ Ah! ” He took a sip of the golden liquid in the screwball glass in front of him. “ Well then, happy whatever to you. ”
    “ Thank you, ” I said, glad that he hadn't asked me what kind of party I was being honored with.
    He held his hand out to me. “ My name is Roman. ”
    I couldn't help it. I laughed.
    “ So that's funny? ” he asked, though he didn't look like he was insulted. His beautiful green eyes sparkled like he wanted in on the joke.
    “ No … not funny. It's just that I'm not surprised. ” I paused. “ Roman … as in a Roman god? ”
    He took a longer sip of his drink before he said, “ No, Roman as in empire! ”
    I laughed louder this time. This was my kind of man, 'cause I was all about being on top of everything.
    “ So, ” he said. “ What's the occasion? What are y'all celebrating? ”
    It took me a couple of seconds to calculate my answer. I'd already made the mistake of telling him the party was in my honor, but I could easily say I was celebrating a birthday. The problem with that, though, was that there were too many witnesses here, which meant there were too many chances that he'd speak to someone who would tell him different. So, the truth -- which didn't always work out so well for me -- was what I was left with.
    “ It's a bachelorette party. ”
    His eyebrows