The velvet curtains of the private room felt heavy, mirroring the weight in my chest. Ace's touch sent jolts of electricity through me, short-circuiting my brain. Ace. My teenage fantasy, Alice's impossibly handsome older brother, and now, his hand was sliding down my spine, sending shivers in its wake.
This was insane. I was Hailey, the girl who danced on this very stage just an hour ago, trying to make enough money to escape this life. Ace, on the other hand, lived in a world of yachts and summer homes. My crush on him had been a silly, innocent thing, fueled by stolen glances across the school cafeteria and the way he used to make Alice and I giggle. Never in a million years did I imagine it would lead to this – a clandestine encounter in the back room of a strip club.
"A-Ace!? Did you just-" I stammered, my face burning. He'd just…kissed me. A real kiss, not the chaste pecks I'd imagined in my dreams. My cheeks felt like they were about to spontaneously combust.
He pulled back, a cocky smirk playing on his lips. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. Your choice, baby~" The playful glint in his dark eyes was dangerously intoxicating.
"Ac-" I began, but his finger, calloused yet gentle, silenced me, tracing the outline of my lips. I sucked in a breath, every nerve ending screaming.
"Sweetheart," he murmured, his voice a low rumble, "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do this. To touch you, to love you like this." His eyes darkened, and a possessive grip tightened on my neck, not painful, but firm, undeniable.
This felt wrong. So, so wrong. Alice. My best friend, the one I confided in, the one who'd always been there. How could I do this to her? But…fuck it. The exhaustion, the constant hustle, the desperate need for something – anything – different had been building inside me for months. Ace was offering me a temporary escape, a forbidden fruit, a moment of pure, unadulterated fantasy.
Should I give in? Should I let him kiss me again? Or should I run, slamming the door on this reckless impulse and preserving what little was left of my sanity and my friendship?
My mind screamed at me to flee. But my body, betraying me in the most spectacular way, seemed to have a different agenda. The heat radiating off Ace, the intoxicating scent of his cologne, the memory of that kiss… it was all too much.
He leaned closer, his breath feathering across my skin. "Tell me to stop, Hailey," he whispered, his voice rough with desire. "Just say the word, and I'll walk away."