The Dancer

Dakota flipped her hair over and coated it with hairspray before flipping it back and fluffing it out. She’d changed her outfit four different times. If she didn’t know any better, she could’ve sworn she was more nervous than her first “job”. It wasn’t even a real date, she kept telling herself over and over, but she knew it was a lie. She shouldn’t be so nervous. Hell, she’d already had sex with the guy. He’d seen her naked.

“Where are you going?”

Dakota glanced to her left briefly, before starting on her makeup to see Gemma standing in the doorway.

“Out,” she said simply.

“Does mom know?”

“She will when I leave.”

“She’s already asleep.”

“Then I guess she’ll find out tomorrow morning when you tell her, won’t she?” Dakota asked impatiently.

“Are you going to see someone specific?”

“No.”

“Jeez, you’re in a foul mood tonight,” Gemma said and turned away.

Dakota rolled her eyes and dunked the mascara wand back in the tube to apply some to her left eye. Once she was finished, she stood up and slipped on her shoes. Twisting and turning in the mirror, she finally decided she looked okay and she grabbed her purse.

Starting the engine of her car, she lit a cigarette and stuck it out the window. Every once in a while she would look in the rear view mirror to make sure her makeup was okay. She was freaking out, but she wasn’t going to let herself realize it. It was a very messed up situation.

Brian had suggested he pick her up but she all but screamed no at him. It was only as she was driving towards town that she realized he was staying at the hotel attached to the club she worked in. She sighed in exasperation. If he was in town until Friday with nothing to do, knowing she worked Thursday night, he’d come to the club and that would be bad. Or, maybe it would be good, especially since she really didn’t want this “date” to go well.

She groaned out loud as she took the exit off of the highway to the main strip. She wanted the date to go well, she just…didn’t at the same time. It was too confusing for her. The biggest part of her knew she would do well with Brian, but then there was that piece of her that knew he’d only get hurt by her lifestyle. Something would happen and he would find out and he’d hate her for it…and she couldn’t do that to him or herself.

Shaking herself out of all of her thoughts, she exited the car and handed her keys to the valet in front of the hotel. She pulled out her phone and placed one foot in front of the other, hips swaying as she walked, into the hotel. Texting Brian, she let him know she was there, and he replied he’d be down in a minute, so she made herself comfortable on one of the chairs in the lobby.

It was no sooner than she’d sat down than some guy approached her. All he’d said was “excuse me” and she gave him a short “no” and he was gone. This happened three different times before Brian finally appeared. She saw another guy attempting to approach her and she stood up heading for Brian before he could find her. Kissing him on the mouth, she threw a glance over her shoulder and pulled Brian towards the door.

“What was that about?”

“I’m tired of being hit on,” she grumbled.

“You do realize that you’re one of the most gorgeous women a lot of men have seen, right?”

“Thank you, sir; I do realize I’m pretty.”

Brian stopped and jerked her back when she kept walking.

“Dakota, you’re a lot more than pretty. Don’t people tell you that?”

“Sure,” she said, shrugging, before she met his eye. “When I’m half naked and getting them wasted.”

Brian frowned as she pulled away from him. There was something more to Dakota…something hidden behind those cerulean eyes and he was determined to find out what it was.



Dakota flashed a smile at the host who sat them as she unfolded her napkin and placed it on her lap after she crossed her legs. Brian shrugged out of his leather jacket, revealing the low-cut v-neck black shirt he was wearing. She’d have to be deaf, blind, and stupid not to notice how appealing he was. They ordered their drinks when the waiter came up to their table and Brian leaned forward, lacing his fingers together as he looked at her.

“So what are you afraid of?”

She just gaped at him and bit her tongue as the waiter came back with their drinks, ready to take their order. Dakota managed to get hers out, looking at the waiter who was staring at her. She shifted uncomfortably as Brian breezed through his order and without looking at the guy, handed his menu over.

“What are you talking about?” Dakota asked when the waiter finally disappeared.

“Why didn’t you want to come on this date with me?”

Dakota straightened her spine and took a sip of her water before she replied. “I don’t want to get your hopes up.”

“Why?”

“I’m not good for you, Brian.”

Brian chuckled. “Usually, it would be me telling you I’m not good for you, considering I’m on the road a lot with thousands of girls throwing themselves at me.”

“See? We’re not good for each other.”

“How do you know if we don’t try?”

“Have you ever been faithful in a relationship, Brian?”

“Yes. In both of the relationships I was in, I was faithful.”

Dakota quirked an eyebrow at him but didn’t say anything.

“What about you?” he asked.

“What about me?”

“Were you faithful in your relationships?” he challenged, lifting the glass of water to his mouth.

“No.”

He choked on the sip of water he was taking. “Excuse me?”

“I haven’t been in a relationship to stay faithful, Brian.”

“You’ve never…You’ve never dated?”

“No, I’ve dated, I’ve just never made it past a second or third date.”

“Why?”

“I’m bad for people, Brian,” she said with an evil smile.

He wasn’t sure what that meant, but he didn’t have a chance to question her as the first part of their meal came, then.

Dakota felt bad for lying to him. In fact, she probably would’ve had a relationship with those guys but her mother had found out and made her stop seeing them. She’d fought and protested to her mother to continue dating, but her mother held firm. That’s why she was so pissed off that Gemma could have a boyfriend and she couldn’t. She didn’t see the fairness in it at all. If her mom knew she was seeing Brian…her eyes would light up like the fourth of July. The thought of her being able to manipulate Brian just like all the rest of the guys would have her mother’s attention completely and she wasn’t about to let that happen. Not to mention…if Brian ever caught on to what she actually did, it would be disastrous.

“That’s not a real good reason to never have been in a relationship.”

“That’s a good enough reason for me.”

“So if I asked you to be my girlfriend right now?”

“Firstly, you wouldn’t ask me, and secondly, I’d say no.”

“Why wouldn’t I ask you?”

“Brian…what’s my last name?”

“Fleming, why?”

“What’s my favorite color?”

“I don’t know,” he confessed with a frown.

“What’s my favorite movie?”

Brian remained quiet.

“You know nothing about me, Brian.”

“Most of that stuff you learn along the way, Dakota. That’s what you do when you’re dating. You find out more about them.”

“Look, Brian…I agreed to go on one date with you. You’re pressing it which is turning it bad for me. You said you wanted a chance to prove me wrong about dating and so far you’re not doing a very good job of it.”

“You’re right,” he said. “I’m sorry. So, what is your favorite color?”

She smiled at his show of teeth and wiped at her mouth. “Blue.”



After dinner, he escorted her back to his car. They continued to talk and Dakota found herself relaxing until she realized they were heading back to his hotel. She couldn’t help but feel a bit sad that it was already over. Then she realized…it wasn’t over. He just expected her to come back to his hotel to fuck. Disappointment washed all over her.

Slowly, she got out of the car with the assistance of one of the valets, thanked him and waited for Brian to come around. He started heading inside the hotel but she hesitated. When he realized she wasn’t beside him, he turned around quickly enough to see the dismay on her face.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, walking back to her.

“I didn’t…”

“Relax, would you? You really think I’m a ‘just dinner’ kind of guy?” he asked with a smile.

Still, she hesitated. Closing his eyes for a second, he moved so that he was inches away from her.

“Dakota…if I wanted to fuck you, do you think a table and a few people would’ve stopped me? Stop looking at me like that. We’re not even staying in my room.”

“Then why are we here?”

“We’re going to change, genius.”

Completely confused, she allowed him to pull on her hand. He held onto it as they rode up the elevator and Dakota kept her head down, eyes trained on their interlocked fingers, thinking how wonderful it felt to actually hold someone’s hand for a reason other than to lead them to a bed. Absentmindedly, he rubbed his thumb the length of her pointer finger and she was so distracted she actually jumped when the elevator dinged their floor.

Opening the door for her, he let her go inside first. She didn’t even bother to look around; all of the rooms, minus the suites, were the same. She’d seen them hundreds of times. What did pique her interest, however, was the bathing suit and white dress set out on the bed.

“I’ll let you have the bathroom first,” he said as he lit up a cigarette and moved to the balcony to open the doors.

Silently, she looked at his back for a minute before she set her purse down on the bed and picked up the three pieces. Slipping into the bathroom, she was even more confused by his actions. He didn’t expect to sleep with her? That was different. With slow efficiency, she pulled off her top and bra before unzipping her skirt and peeling it off of her thighs. She folded everything together and pulled on the bikini bottoms before tying the neck strings on the top and wrapping it around her back. She twisted and turned, wondering how he even knew what size to get, but shrugged before pulling on the cover-up dress. She slipped her nude heels back on.

Looking in the mirror, she re-curled a few strands of hair around a finger and making sure she looked alright, opened the bathroom door. Brian heard her moving around and came back inside.

“You can leave your things here,” he said, motioning to her clothes. “No one will bother them and you don’t need them where we’re going.”

“What about my purse?”

“Dakota…this is a date. The woman never pays on a date.”

She blushed and ducked her head down as he started to move towards the bathroom. He stopped just beside her.

“You’d never have to pay for anything if you were with me,” he said before moving away.

She heard the door close and pressed her hand to her forehead.

“No, but you might if you were with me,” she whispered to herself.