Haggard Strip Tease

Thanks to Ero Sennin for your comment. It was greatly appreciated. ^_^

Chapter.3 Don't Let Me Go


Ville glared up at the flashing neon sign, feeling like the bright, blurry letters were mocking him in a way. To him it was like they were chanting ‘you’re so close, yet so far, just turn away now’. He made a vow, that someday, that sign would meet an untimely end.
It had been a week exactly since, the manager had kicked him out. He had tried to come back many a times, but each attempt to get into the club was met with a threat. So after much consideration, he had decided to just wait it out. It was possibly, the longest week of his life. He stubbed his cigarette out, before walking pass the bouncers at the front door, a little nervous as he passed their beefy bodies, half expecting them to grab him by his collar and throw him out on his ass. Ville let out a small, relieved sigh as he stepped into the club, his eyes automatically looking through the crowd, trying to find a familiar body. When he didn’t find Bam anywhere in the club, he decided his next best bet would be with the bartender; he only hoped she would except his apology, and maybe, just maybe, help him with his Bam situation.
“You look amazing this evening,” he told Lynz, adding a charming smile for added effect.

Lynz gave him a look over before sighing, motioning for him to take a seat. “What can I get you?” She asked as her tone a bit cold.

“Whiskey, whatever you have,” he said, before taking the offered seat. He watched as she pulled out a small glass and filled it with a shot of whiskey, before passing over to him. “I’m sorry,” he told her, sipping at the amber colored liquid as he continued, “For the other night.”

Lynz shrugged, she was used to it. People got a bit rowdy in the place; it was nothing new to her. “Water under the bridge,” she said, wiping down her counter space.

Ville glanced around as they fell into a slightly awkward silence. He noticed that the place was a bit slow that night, well, he suspected they were. He had shown up a bit earlier than he usually did, earlier before Bam usually went on for his performance hours. “Is Bam here?” He asked, realizing that he didn’t even know if the younger man would be around.

Lynz nodded, still wiping away at the counter. “He’s around, waiting tables. He doesn’t go on for about another hour, so he has to wait tables in the mean time.”

Ville nodded, before turning back to Lynz with a smile. “A very intelligent woman, such as yourself, would probably know which tables he’s covering, wouldn’t you?”

Lynz stopped wiping the counter at that, looking up at Ville with a questioning look. “Why are you so damn interested in him?” She asked. Many men came around asking for Bam, but most lost interest after a day or two. “Why don’t you just leave him alone? You don’t even know him.”

Ville shrugged. “I like him, he’s…different…” He didn’t know how to explain it, or why he should have to explain it to the woman, but he would if he had to.

Lynz just stared at him, before sighing and bobbing her head towards the right side of the bar. “He’ll be covering those tables for the next forty minutes,” she said before going to help another customer.

Ville just smiled before walking off towards the tables. His mind was set; he wasn’t leaving the club until he had, at least, Bam’s phone number.

----

Bam steadied the plastic tray in his hands, finding it slightly ridiculous to be using one when he was only caring a mug of beer and a shot of whiskey, but did so none the less. He looked up, a few feet from the table he needed to deliver the drinks too, only to stop at the sight. He felt his breath catch in his throat at the sight of Ville sitting at the table; his eyes seemed far away, lined in black kohl, as he brought his cigarette up to his lips, breathing in the deadly smoke, before slowly letting it out. Gray wisps floating out of his mouth, disappearing near the top of his head. Bam felt his cheeks burn at the memory of Missy’s words the day before. The girl had told him that Ville had been banned from the club, she didn’t know for how long, but she told him that Ville had come back every night for three nights, before he finally stopped trying.


He had been attracted to the man since the moment he saw him, the way Ville talked, walked, and even smoked turned Bam on. But he didn’t want to be another notch on the singer’s belt; he had been that far more than he liked to admit. So when he had heard that Ville actually cared enough to continue returning, even after he was banned, Bam felt a little bit of his heart fall in love with the man. However, though the stripper wasn’t that stupid enough to admit it to the man…at least just yet.


“You know,” Bam smirked, placing the drinks down in front of Ville, making the man look up, a bit startled. “It’s kind of pathetic to be sitting here, drinking alone.”

Ville smirked, putting his cigarette out in the ashtray near the center of the table. “Maybe I was hoping someone would join me.”

Bam fought down a blush that was desperately trying to make its way onto his face. Ville’s voice was like deep silk, beautiful and smooth. “I’ve heard of people going to bars to find dates,” Bam started, taking a seat across from Ville. “But, I’ve never heard of them going to stripper joints.”

“I like to think outside of the box,” Ville drawled as his smirk slowly widened into a grin.

“Obviously,” Bam snickered. “Why do you keep coming back here? Surely you have better things to do with your time…”

Ville thought about making a joke, possibly cracking one about Bam taking five hundred dollars from him, but he wasn’t sure Bam would go for that. Instead, he decided to just tell Bam the truth, after all, honesty is the best policy or however the saying goes. “I don’t really know,” he said. “I just like you, I can’t explain why I like you…I just do. You’re funny, smart, and since the moment I saw you, I can’t get you out of my head.”

From anyone else, that would have sounded cheap and a bit cheesy, but Bam knew Ville truly meant it. He hadn’t known Ville more than a week and some days, and even then, he’d only seen the man for two of those days, but from the little amount of time that they spent together; he could tell that Ville was the type of guy he could become friends with. A type of guy he could easily fall in love with. Bam scratched the back of his head, a bit at loss for words. “I have to work tonight, but…” He trailed off, feeling a bit embarrassed all of a sudden. “But I have tomorrow night off,” he mumbled.

Ville smiled, barely able to pick up on the words. “What do you know, so am I.”

Bam’s blush deep in red, he couldn’t believe he was blushing so damn much over the man. “I heard that there’s this really crappy movie playing, full of overpriced special affects and a crappy plot.” Bam looked off towards the stage. “Do you want to go?” He half whispered.

Ville smirked, “Depends, do you put out on the first date?”

Bam chuckled under his breath. “I don’t know,” Bam told him, finally looking into at him as he stood up to get back to work. “I guess you’ll just have to come out with me to find out, see me before you leave for my address,” he said before walking away.

Ville smirked; sure he had paid close to a thousand dollars for one man’s phone number and never even got it. But he had a date, and he was sure that was much better than a fucking number.


The End