Christina

I looked for him the next Friday night, but he didn't come in. I went to my dressing room on my break and there were flowers and a big-big teddy bear for me. The girls all laughed at me. Sure, I liked the fact that he gave me a gift --but does he think of me as a baby? A teddy bear of all things? The thing was so big I had to fight to get it in the cab.

Willie was still up when I got home. “Hey Chris,” he said, “I can see someone is getting things set up.”

"Stop that,” I said.

"Good night.” Willie is so bad. J wanted to give me gifts. But I wouldn't take them because I had nothing to give in return. Most of the men who came there only wanted to score with the ladies. But that's not me --I'm not a quick fix.

I was dancing Saturday night. I could tell that Phil was nervous about me doing the fire dance on Saturday night. He was yelling at me as usual. “Chris, you could burn my club down!”

"Oh Phil stop it; it will be ok,” I told him. Maybe. What if I fall on my face?

"You never let me know what you're doing until you do it.”

As I went to my dressing room he was following right behind me yelling. “Christina, you're going to be the death of me yet.”

I took my place on stage behind the curtain. Ron asked, “Are you ready, baby girl?”

"Yes,” I said.

The stage erupted in fire. When the flames died down I was standing there. I stated my dance. The crowd went wild. J was just sitting there --he didn't clap or even smile. I danced across the stage, never looking at him. As I danced down the runway, I looked down and saw him staring up at me. He made it his business to look in my eyes. This was the first time I wanted to turn and run away. So I turned my side to him. And as I turned in a circle, I ripped the Velcro from my skirt, turning and dropping the skirt in his lap. He took the skirt and wrapped it around his neck like a scarf. I had never done that before. He had a pleasing smile on his face.

After the show I went to retrieve my skirt, but he was gone and my skirt with him. If that didn't take the cake. Oh well. I went home, and my mind kept returning to his face --and my skirt. But it was something about him. Sexy is all I could think. Man, this is not me, I told myself. I don't even look at the men that way. I took my shower and went to bed thinking about him. That's just a little nuts, I thought. I don't know him except from the club.

I got up early and went to the kitchen for coffee. As I sat at the table, my mind wandered right to him. This handsome stranger was stuck in my head.

That night at the club, I looked out of the curtain to see what the house was like: there he was, sitting alone. He couldn't see me, but I suddenly had things going through my mind that weren't me.

I went into the dressing room and Anna was so happy. “Hey Chris!” she said with a big smile. “You have flowers. There's a card with them.”

My heart fell to my feet. “No,” I said, “Anna, this can't be. You know I can't do this. I've never dated anyone from the club.”

"You've never dated anyone --that I can see,” Anna said, smiling. “But there's always the first time for everything.”