Left Side, Strong Side

Blake thought he was crazy at first for wanting to go back to the club. Why would he want anything to do with that stripper anyway? So what if he looked at him for a few minutes, it meant nothing. All that guy wanted was cash, that was it. Blake shouldn’t have been thinking about it so much, because it was starting to get to his head. And it had not even been 24 hours.

He just couldn’t stop thinking about how young that kid looked. There was no way he was old enough to strip there unless he truly did look young for his age. Besides that fact, Blake wasn’t really sure how he got the job in the first place. Blake never really researched about stripping but he would assume that a strip club owner would get a hot fit guy in their twenties- because they would earn the club the most money.

Then he remembered how loud the crowd got when the young boy shook his stuff on stage. It almost made Blake sick- because there were so many middle-aged men who were cheering for a teenager to shed his clothes. Blake may have thought several guys working at the club were good looking but he would never try to put his hands on them in such a provocative manner. That wasn’t the kind of guy he was.

Blake looked at his watch for the millionth time that day and was glad that his shift was five minutes away from being over.

The more he thought about going back to the club the more anxious he got. Blake didn’t know where to start, or what to say. He wasn’t even sure if that same stripper was working, and if he wasn’t, what was Blake going to do? Was he going to keep coming back until he was there? That would look bad on his part- he’d look like a creepy stalker and he didn’t want that.

Blake believed in fate- if the boy was there that night then it meant something. It meant that Blake should go over and talk to him and demand an answer about why he was staring at him so intently.

The tall man grabbed his belongings and shut off his computer, leaving his cubicle without saying a word to anyone. The people he worked with didn’t really like Blake- because he kissed up to the boss a lot. He had to- he was trying to get promoted. Blake was earning decent money but he needed more, and wanted more. Blake always wanted more of everything.

He got out his cell phone and dialed Greg M as he walked to his car.

“Hey man, I don’t know if you remember this but last night you told me to go back to the club and talk to that skinny stripper that was eyeballing me. I know it sounds crazy but I think I’m going to do it.”

Blake smirked as he heard his friend chuckle on the other end. “That’s great, Blake. I sort of remember but not really. He was cute- I remember that. But I think you should go for it, Greg B doesn’t know what he’s talking about. You can totally get that strippers number.”

Blake shook his head even though he knew Greg couldn’t see. “I don’t want his number per say. Just wanna know why he was giving me the eye, you know? There were tons of people there last night. He didn’t look at them like that. I’m gonna find out though. I’ll call you later and tell you how it goes, okay?”

“Alright man, I’ll be waiting. Good luck and I’ll talk to you tonight. Bye Blake.”

“Thanks. Bye Greg.”

Blake hung up and buckled his seatbelt, driving home with a smile on his face. When he was inside of his house he headed into his bedroom to see what he was going to wear; he couldn’t wear a suit and tie into a strip club. Someone might have mistaken him for a stripper. Red was out of the question because he wore red last night and he didn’t want to wear it twice in a row. He hated orange he didn’t know why he even owned an orange shirt to begin with. Blake settled for a blue and white striped tee shirt and faded ripped jeans from Abercrombie and Fitch.

He wanted to look like he tried, but not too hard.

~

Blake felt like an idiot going to the club alone, but at least he wasn’t there to see ass like everyone else that went there. He had a purpose and that was to find that stripper; that sounded worse than it actually was.

He ordered a gin and tonic just so he didn’t look too out of place. He sat down for a while and took sips of his drink, he didn’t plan on finishing it so he made sure to take small sips. The last thing Blake would do is drive drunk- his sister had done that one too many times and got herself in deep trouble. He learned a lot from his family’s mistakes.

Blake nearly choked when he saw who he came to see. He was in some sort of shimmery outfit- like an ice skater. He looked so…pretty. His body was so thin and Blake could see many of his bones.

For some reason when they made eye contact Blake only sat there- he didn’t want to move, which was stupid because this person was the sole reason why he was there and he was backing out for no reason.

Blake’s heart started to race as the stripper started to walk closer to him. Closer and closer.

When he got close enough Blake could see that his skin was flawless- maybe even more so than his own, and he took great care of his skin. Facials once a month and he moisturized every day. Blake could also see that he was probably right about his age.

“Hey there. Weren’t you here last night?” The stranger asked, taking a seat next to Blake.

Blake couldn’t believe that he had actually sat down.

“Yeah,” Blake said trying to muster up some confidence- the confidence that he normally had. “Blake,” he said holding out his hand. He wasn’t sure if he should have been so formal.

Nonetheless, the stripper took his hand and shook it. “River. Nice to meet you.”

“So River,” Blake took another small sip of his drink. “…do you stare down all members of your audience or was I just special?”

He laughed to try to make the boy smile. It worked. Blake had such amazing charm.

“To be honest?” ‘River’ bit his lip. “Someone told me you were in a magazine. Pointed you out. But when I actually looked at you? I saw your eyes and… I couldn’t stop. They’re like- so fucking blue. Could tell even through these dim lights. Sorry if it made you,” he leaned in close. “uncomfortable.”

Blake didn’t know many people read the kind of magazine he was in. It was a simple magazine with overpriced clothes and underwear. But either way, he was glad that it got him noticed.

“No- it didn’t. I looked back at you, didn’t I?”

The stripper gave Blake a crooked smile. “Well good. I’m glad. So…” he peered into Blake’s glass. “How about we take a little trip to the back and…” he put his hand on Blake’s arm. “I’ll show you what I can do?”

Blake furrowed his eyebrows. He felt sick again. Not only was River stripping at a young age, he was also luring clients into the backroom and performing sexual acts for money. He was whoring himself out for a quick buck. Blake had felt so bad for River at that point, and he wasn’t even sure why.

“Sure. Lead the way.”