MidReal Story
Unexpected Hearts: A Stripper's Dinner Date
Scenario: A stripper decides to go on a dinner date with her patron, trying to make a change in his life.
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Emily Carter
stripper with a heart of gold, friends with Jake and wary of his intentions, slender with long black hair, compassionate yet guarded
Jake Thompson
regular patron at the strip club, interested in Emily beyond her job, muscular build with short brown hair, persistent and secretly lonely
Lisa Morgan
Emily's best friend and fellow stripper, supportive of Emily's decision, petite with vibrant red hair, outspoken and loyal
I’m not a bitch, I swear.
But sometimes I can be a little cold.
I have to be.
It’s the only way I can survive in this world.
If I let my guard down for even a second, someone will take advantage of me.
Someone will hurt me.
Someone will break me.
I can’t let that happen, so I keep my heart locked up tight and never let anyone in.
Except for Jake, that is.
He’s the one person who’s been able to break through my walls and see the real me—the girl who’s desperate for love and affection, the girl who just wants to be held and told everything will be okay, the girl who’s been hurt so many times she doesn’t know if she’ll ever be able to trust again.
Jake knows all of this about me, and yet he still comes here every week and watches me dance on stage like it’s no big deal.
I swear, if Jake weren’t so damn sexy, I’d tell him to get lost.
But he is.
Sexy as hell.
Everything about him from the top of his muscular shoulders to the bottom of his thick, powerful thighs is pure perfection, and I can’t help but be drawn to him every time he walks in the door.
He’s been coming here for two months now, and for two months, he’s been watching me perform my set and then leaving without saying a word.
You’d think that would make him just like all of the others, but it doesn’t.
There’s something different about Jake, something special that makes me want to know him more than I’ve ever wanted to know anyone.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had my fair share of offers to get to know the guys who come here better.
They always want to take me out for a drink or back to their place for a little fun, but I never say yes.
I can’t.
It wouldn’t be right.
But with Jake …
I’m not sure what it is about him that makes me feel this way, but it’s there all the same.
And as I finish my set tonight and catch his eye from my perch on stage, it’s stronger than ever.
I don’t know how long I’ve been dancing—I never do when I’m up there—but I’m eager to get back to my dressing room and take a shower before the lunch crowd comes in.
I give Jake one last smile then head off stage just as the next girl is coming on.
The club is packed tonight, so it takes me longer than usual to get back to my dressing room.
I wind through the throng of people milling around the bar and stop at the bar to pick up my water bottle before heading off in the direction of my locker.
The air in here is thick with smoke and alcohol, and it takes all my energy not to gag as I make my way down the row of lockers.
Before I can make it to mine, though, I feel someone’s eyes on me, and I turn around to see Jake watching me from the back corner of the bar.
He’s nursing a beer in his hand, but he hardly looks at it as he takes a long sip then sets it back down on the counter in front of him.
There’s something in his eyes as he watches me that makes me feel like he actually sees me, like he gets what I’m going through and doesn’t judge me for it.
It’s not like this with all of the guys who come in to watch me, but it is with Jake, and I can’t help but wonder what it would be like to have him in my life—what it would be like to have him hold me at night and tell me everything will be okay again.
I’m not sure, but I know that I’m not ready to find out just yet.
It’s almost two o’clock when I finally make my way back up to the VIP section after my performance, and all of the other guys who were up there before have already left for the night.
All except for Jake, that is.
He’s sitting at the bar with one elbow resting on the counter in front of him and one hand tucked into the pocket of his jeans, and when he sees me walking toward him, he looks up from his beer and smiles.
“Hey there,” he says, nodding toward an empty stool next to him with his head.
“I was wondering when you were going to make your way back up here.”
“A good girl always finishes her work before taking a break,” I say as I slip my bag off my shoulder and set it on the stool next to me.
“Is there something you wanted?”
“Just this,” he says as he slides a hundred-dollar bill across the counter toward me.
“Care to join me for a drink?”
My heart skips a beat as I stare at the money that now lays between us on the counter, and for just a moment, I consider telling Jake no.
We’ve never done this before—never talked outside of the confines of this club—and part of me is scared that maybe this isn’t such a good idea.
But then I remember how much money is sitting on that counter, and I push all of my reservations aside as I slide onto the stool next to him and lay my purse on the floor by my feet.
It’s not like we haven’t been doing something similar for weeks now anyway.
There’s no one else in the club who makes me feel like Jake does when he looks at me like this—like he can see right through my clothes and into my soul—and part of me can’t help but wonder if maybe he can …
But then I remember where I am and what I’m doing, and I push those thoughts aside as I smile back at him then pick up the hundred-dollar bill from the counter between us and slip it into my purse without counting it first.
I’ll do that later when I’m alone in my dressing room with no one watching me …
The way Jake is right now …
“So, where to tonight?”
I ask later as I slip off my heels and slip them back on before heading toward the exit after my final set of the night.
“Is anyone else going?”
“That’s a lot of money you’re leaving on that counter,” Lisa says from behind me as she finishes reapplying her red lipstick at her vanity mirror then grabs her black leather jacket from her hook on the wall to toss over her bare shoulders before heading toward the door behind me to leave for the night.
“I don’t care,” I tell her honestly.
“I have enough already.”
“But you could be going home with so much more than what you have,” she says over her shoulder as we walk through an empty hallway toward the stage door exit as I shrug into my coat to shield myself from the bitter February wind as soon as we step outside.
It’s true, but she already knows that isn’t what I care about anymore …
“Hey, Carter, don’t forget about your man waiting out here for you,” the bouncer says as we walk toward him, stopping at the door as he gives Lisa and me both a lopsided grin as he crosses his arms over his chest to stare at us, waiting for us to leave before he locks up behind us and heads to his car parked in the small lot out back behind the building to go home for the night too after a long shift of making sure all of us strippers are safe from harm inside these walls …
“What man?”
I ask in surprise as I step out into the cold to find Jake leaning against his car as he waits by his passenger side door with his arms crossed over his chest, his dark eyes fixed on me as he watches me approach him with an unreadable expression on his face, even though he has a thin-lipped smile on his mouth as he waits for me …
Jake is always waiting for me.
I just thought he always left when I did, but it’s not like we’ve ever talked about it before either …
Most of the other men do.
They know better than to try and talk to us outside of working hours, but Jake has never been like most of the other men who come in here …
“Just you, beautiful,” he says as he pushes off his car and heads toward me to meet me halfway in the parking lot.
“Why are you still here?
You must be freezing.”
“I was starting to wonder if you were ever going to come out here,” he says as he stops in front of me and gives me a small smile as he holds open the door of his car for me to climb inside.
