Chapter 7: Old Friends

-- TUESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2004, WINTER BREAK --

Daniel and Elaine were getting married.

Yeah, Daniel Chen and Elaine Fukuhara were still in college, only halfway through their careers at UCLA. Yeah, 20 was pretty young to be getting married, but with these two, age didn't matter. They were soulmates. They had been each other's one and only since they were fourteen, and their friendship dated back to being 2-year-olds in the same Montessori pre-school class. The day we'd all graduated from High School, Kenny Doyle had cracked that the pair should send us all their wedding invites in a few weeks. Well, more than a few weeks had passed, but absolutely no one was surprised that they were the first of our friends to be getting hitched.

The Wednesday date was a little strange for a wedding, but it was practical on many levels. First, the midweek date in the middle of everyone's winter break from college ensured that we'd all be able to attend. Second, financially well-off but fiscally conservative Daniel got the really swanky Tustin Ranch Golf Club for a really good price. And third, getting married before the end of the calendar year meant that he and Elaine could do their taxes as "Married Filing Jointly", saving even more.

Romantic, right?

For Daniel and Elaine, it was perfect. Elaine wasn't the most girly of girls who needed some elaborate "June at the Plaza" kind of wedding. Even in December, SoCal weather was pleasant enough. And the important thing was that all of their best friends were able to attend.

But first, the Bachelor Party.

Kenny Doyle wanted a wild Vegas weekend. But most of us were only 20 and besides, that wouldn't have been Daniel's style. Instead, we guys were being rounded up by a stretch Towncar limo and taken off to a day filled with golf, sushi, and yes, a strip club. Our only rule was that Daniel had to be home by midnight in order to get plenty of sleep for tomorrow's nuptials.

Tee time was at 10am, letting all the hardcore golfers go ahead of us early in the morning while we amateurs screwed around the course. The limo came by to fetch me at 9am, and Dawn escorted me to the door to wish me goodbye.

"Dude, you suck."

I frowned, arching an eyebrow at my one-time best friend. "Uh, nice to see you too, Kenny."

Kenny Doyle wasn't looking at me. He was staring to my left, gawking at my girlfriend. "Dude, you fucking, fucking suck."

My frown deepened, and Dawn looked at me with a nervous expression.

"Wow, she's real." Sung Joon nodded with an impressed expression, standing next to Kenny.

"Guys, this is Ben. Are we really surprised?" Daniel laughed.

"Megan, Cassidy, Adrienne, and now her? Fuck you, man," Kenny shook his head and walked away, heading back to the limo.

Sung cracked up. "Don't mind Kenny. He's in a bit of a funk. His last girlfriend dumped him just before finals." Schooling his face, Sung stuck out his hand and bowed his head politely. "You must be Dawn. I'm Sung. Very pleased to meet you."

Recovering quickly, Dawn blushed and shook Sung's hand. "You too." She then shook hands with Daniel and said, "Bring my boyfriend back in one piece, will you?"

"Don't worry about me," I cut in, wrapping an arm around Daniel's shoulders. "Pray for this guy. When we get through with him tonight, he's going to be wishing Kenny had dragged him off to Vegas."

Everyone chuckled at that, and I broke away to peck Dawn's cheek. I fought the urge to ramp up the PDA – just to make the guys extra jealous – and she waved us goodbye.

Back at the limo, I shook hands with Tony Lai, Daniel's best man. We still had one more pickup: Shin Murata, Daniel's other friend from UCLA. And then the six of us guys would be off to Tustin Ranch.

Kenny was staring out the window. "The mythical Dawn..." he sighed.

"Not so mythical," Daniel pointed out.

"I hate you," Kenny drawled.

"No you don't," I commented, elbowing him in the arm.

"Sure I do," Kenny spat, and then turned to me with a grin, smacking my arm back. We all got a good laugh, except Tony who looked at us in bewilderment.

Daniel recognized his friend's face and commented, "Sorry. Old story. Ben here has something of a reputation as quite the ladies man."

Sung chuckled. "Just watch: wherever we go tonight, somehow the hottest girl in the room is going to be all over him."

I rolled my eyes. "Clearly, I've got a girlfriend," I stated, jerking my thumb back toward the house.

"Like that ever stopped you before," Kenny laughed.

"Yeah, well, it's a good thing you're here," Daniel reached over and clapped my back. "The last thing I need tonight is temptation."

"Temptation?" Kenny leveled Daniel with a look. "Clearly, you've never been to Bliss."

"I'm 20," Daniel pointed out. "Of course I've never been, or to any strip club for that matter."

"Well, that all changes tonight. It's a Bachelor Party. How could it be complete without strippers?"

Daniel shook his head. "How the hell are you getting us in again?"

Kenny just grinned. "Worry about your golf game."

Golf is much more fun when you aren't keeping score. Golf is even more fun when you've got six guys just screwing around AND who have beers with them. Daniel was in the first group with his two UCLA buds while Kenny, Sung, and I hung back in the second group, occasionally "encouraging" the first group with the errant ball launched in their direction. One time, Sung even hit Daniel's golf cart.

There was also a classic moment when Shin fired a shot back, bouncing close enough to Kenny that my friend feigned being hit and he collapsed to the ground.

I clapped my hands to my cheeks and squawked, "Ohmigawd! You killed Kenny!"

Sung chimed in, "You bastards!"

We settled down a bit when a course marshal told Kenny to shut things down, but it was still a pretty good time.

Sushi was at a new kaiten place in Irvine that hadn't been there when I left. Those colored plates are supposed to tell you how expensive your meal is getting, but it quickly turned into a competition to see who could stack their plates the highest. Given the total cost we were racking up, and how fast we were emptying their conveyor belts, restaurant management overlooked our somewhat boorish behavior. Sung won, although since his wallet took the biggest hit, I'm sure he considered it a Pyrrhic victory.

And then came Bliss.

I started getting nervous as the limo approached the front door. It was a classy place, with a high-end reputation and a complete lack of neon lighting. Word out was that the staff was a mix of full-time professionals and early-twenties girls drawn mostly from the nearby community college. Nevertheless, there was no mistaking the exterior signage with the words "Nude Girls" underneath the club's name. And no matter what sexual experience I'd had in my life, it was still MY first time at a strip club.

A doorman actually came out to open the limo door as we rolled to a stop. He waved us inside and Kenny took the lead as we approached the counter, staffed by a bored-looking young woman with dyed-black hair who wore elaborate tattoos, a deep-cut push-up bra, and way too much eyeshadow. She didn't say a word, just looking at us expectantly.

"Is Heidi around?" Kenny asked. "She's expecting us."

The girl raised her eyebrows then swiveled around her stool, still not saying a word. She went to the back of the room and opened a door, poking her head out for a minute.

Kenny openly gawked at the girl's ass, neatly outlined by her black miniskirt, but then stood up straight when she turned around. "Over there," she pointed. "Heidi'll be out in a minute."

The six of us stood aside in silence, and I felt more and more nervous the longer we waited. Two new patrons entered, pulling out their wallets and sliding driver's licenses and twenty dollar bills across the counter without saying a word. Tattoo girl checked the licenses and took the money just as silently, then handed both men printed receipts and waved them to the far doors.

The lobby was way too quiet. Thumping music from behind the far doors filtered in, but the absolute lack of conversation was unnerving. All the other guys seemed as uneasy as me, even Kenny, which was really worrying. But then a side door opened and a beautiful, bombshell curly blonde stepped out wearing a strikingly sexy ensemble of bedroom lingerie.

"Kenny! Hey, you made it." She made a beeline for our friend and opened her arms, chastely hugging him without actually bringing their chests together, lest some of her makeup and body glitter rub off on his shirt. She did peck his cheek, though.

"Hey, Heidi. Good to see you again," Kenny exclaimed with relief.

"It's been too long." She nodded and stepped back.

Sung leaned into my ear, whispering, "How the hell does Kenny know her?"

I shrugged, as clueless as my friend.

Heidi then turned to survey us. "And which one of you is the groom-to-be?"

Tony actually pushed Daniel forward with a stiff hand to his lower back, and Daniel shot his best man a harsh look before blushing pink, visible even in the dim lighting. "That's me."

Heidi laughed. "Oh, hell. We're going to have to get a few cocktails in you, young man. Loosen you up a bit."

I smirked at the 'young man' comment. Heidi looked the same age as us, if not younger. At the same time, though, her eyes carried a weighty maturity that spoke of a lot more life experience than what most of us had gone through.

"Well, come on then," Heidi finished by waving us toward the far doors. "Just follow me."

I thought I knew what to expect. Even though I'd never been in a strip club, I'd watched plenty of movies over the years. Catwalk, poles, dim lights, and wolf- whistling guys with beer bellies, right? Well all of those things were in place, and more. A beautiful, skinny girl with dyed-blonde hair obvious over dark eyebrows bumped and gyrated on the main stage. Her fake tits were near-perfect spheres on her chest, but still large and quite pleasing to the eye. There were two additional dancers on mini-stages elsewhere around the room, both topless as well. That mean there were six bare breasts available for view, and Sung seemed to be getting whiplash next to me as he tried to look at all of them at once. That didn't even count the scantily-clad waitresses scurrying about.

But even though the image of the strip club was pretty much what I'd been expecting, the feeling of the place was just ... weird. And my sense of unease only got worse as we took our table, sat down, and began to take in the entertainment.

It's not like I wasn't used to being around a lot of scantily-clad young women. Between the parties Dayna and Brandi had thrown in the Berkeley house and my experiences with the Tri-Delts, I'd certainly been in similar atmospheres before.

But this was different. This felt ... unreal, and I didn't trust it. For one thing, I never questioned things when a girl in Berkeley would flirt with me. There were no ulterior motives, no hidden agendas. Perhaps she knew about the Big Ben reputation and just wanted a ride. Perhaps she was flirting just for the sheer fun of it. Either way, the flirting just felt honest.

But this strip club? Every girl who came by subtly asked if I wanted a lap dance (for only $20). Every girl who paid me a compliment not-so-secretly also wanted ME to pay HER in some fashion. Despite supposedly being an establishment built around sex, none of the interactions actually felt like they were about sex; they were about money.

Money, we had. We all came from fairly well-to-do families, and we'd all stacked up on twenty dollar bills. And once the word spread that we were a bachelor party in attendance on an otherwise quiet Tuesday night, we found ourselves with an abundance of female company.

But despite the money spent ... it still felt a little cheap.

The girls hanging around my friends and me weren't here because they enjoyed our company. They weren't here for our scintillating conversation. They weren't even here for my Big Ben reputation. They wanted money. And as I sat there, staring at the very attractive young women giving me quite delightful glimpses of their nubile bodies, I found myself wishing I was back in Berkeley: joking with the Tri-Delts, lounging around the house with my roommates, or even just at home watching a chick flick with my sisters.

Time after time, a beautiful young woman came by to chat with me. Not wanting to spoil the mood, I politely engaged in conversation. But I made it clear that I wasn't interested in anything more. After all, why would I pay for a lap dance from one of these girls when I could have a half-dozen fully naked babes like Dawn, DJ, and Kim writhing in my lap. More to the point, those girls in Berkeley would let me put my hands on them (and my cock into their pussies) at the same time.

But apparently I was the only one turning down such offers. All five of the other guys got lapdances, Sung, Tony, and Shin even disappearing for ten minutes or so into a back room for the more private versions. Thong-covered pussies were ground against jeans-covered hard-ons. Bare breasts were rubbed up against warm cheeks. And honey-tongued innuendoes were whispered into excited ears.

"What's your story?" a silky-smooth voice practically purred into my ear.

I turned my head, looking into some of the brightest blue eyes I'd ever seen. Even in the dim lighting of the club, those irises sparkled with a self-illumination that was almost catlike in its eeriness. And as I pulled my focus backward, I took in the prominent cheekbones, pale skin, and flowing red mane of an absolutely stunning young woman.

She was beautiful enough to catch me off guard, but after steadying my breath, I arched an eyebrow and asked, "What do you mean?"

Wearing a slinky black cocktail dress with a matte finish that highlighted the pale skin of her exposed limbs, the redhead slipped into my lap and wrapped her right arm around my neck. She was not the first girl to do so tonight, and I was sure she wouldn't be the last. "I mean you. I've been watching you."

"That meant to make me feel special?"

She pouted, hurt. "I'm not just delivering a line here."

Instantly, my face softened. "Sorry, that came out harsher than I meant." An hour's worth of fending off would-be suitors had worn down my polite veneer.

"Why is that? Aren't you having a good time? Your friends certainly are."

I glanced around at my buddies. Kenny had been the latest of us to disappear to some back room. Two of the others were currently engaged with other girls. Only Tony and Shin were currently alone, but Shin was flirting with Sung's current 'date' while Tony was eyeing my redhead quite enviously. "I'm enjoying myself, certainly," I said.

"But not as much as you could be." Her hand came up and traced along my cheek.

I smiled and leaned into her touch, which was quite pleasant.

She beamed and shifted position, bringing her torso up to face me a little more directly. The motion also pushed her cleavage together, spectacular Double-D's that wanted to burst out of the confines of her cocktail dress. My eyes dropped to them automatically, and she caught my gaze.

"Would you like a closer look?" she purred.

"Of course," I replied before immediately adding, "But no thank you."

"And why not? A matter of a few dollars?" Without waiting, she turned and looked across the table. "Anyone want to buy your friend here a dance?" she asked loud enough to be heard over the music.

Still staring at us, Tony immediately raised a twenty.

Shin chimed in, "Yeah! Homeboy here is harshing my mellow!"

I shook my head and stated, "No, thank you."

Sung laughed, "C'mon, Ben! Just do it!"

"I'll take it if he doesn't want it," Tony stated breathlessly.

I gestured the redhead over. She already had an interested customer. But in a sweet voice, she apologized to Tony, "Maybe a little later, honey." And then she returned her attention to me.

I shrugged and suggested, "I'll buy HIM one." And then I started digging into my pocket, not easy with a hundred-something pounds of woman sitting on your thighs.

"Maybe later," she repeated, arching an eyebrow at me quizzically. She held the look for a long while, scrutinizing me carefully. I felt those glowing eyes peering back into my soul, searching for something without any luck. And with a sigh, she frowned. "I meant what I said before: I've been watching you. I'm trying to figure you out."

I cracked a smile. "Not much to figure out. This just isn't my scene."

"Married?"

I grinned. "No."

"Gay?"

I chuckled. "No."

"Hopelessly in love."

I shrugged. "Sure, actually."

"And you don't want to betray your soulmate?"

I snorted. "Uh, not exactly. She'd probably invite you home for a threesome."

Redhead's eyebrows popped at that. "Hmm ... Tempting."

I laughed. "But not tonight. We've got a big day tomorrow."

She turned around once again. "Ah, right. Heidi told me one of your friends is getting married."

I nodded and gestured to Daniel, who currently had a busty brunette shoving her tits into his face while grinding herself down on his crotch. "The lucky groom," I pointed out.

"At least he is getting into the idea of things."

Briefly, I let my eyes yo-yo back down to the redhead's bosom as the idea of motorboating myself amongst that lush titflesh entered my head. But I smirked and brought my gaze back up.

She caught the look again. "Clearly, you want to. But just as clearly, you're not going to. It's not the money, and you say it's not your girlfriend."

I shrugged. "I'm an enigma."

"That you are," she hummed, with more than a hint of interest. There was a sly smile crossing her face, and whether intentionally or not, I'd certainly captured this beautiful woman's attention.

Standing up then, the redhead reached out to my hands and started tugging. "Come on," she stated, telling me more than asking.

I resisted her pull and furrowed my eyebrow. "I'm sorry, but I have to decline."

She shook her head and then leaned down to whisper into my ear. "I'll make it a freebie. No charge."

"It's not about the money," I whispered right back. "I just ... don't need this."

She looked at me again, her eyes shimmering even brighter. And then with a silly grin, she leaned in one more time and whispered, "I just want to talk to you a little more privately. I won't make a move on you. I promise."

I arched an eyebrow and looked at her in surprise.

She smiled mysteriously and said, "C'mon. It'll get your friends off your back about not indulging yourself."

I glanced over; Daniel, Shin, Sung, and Tony were all watching us intently. I sighed: she had a point.

Shrugging, I nodded and let her pull me up. Without another word, she turned while still holding my hand and led me away,

The redhead pulled back a thick velvet curtain and led me into a small room. At table height was essentially a flat, cushioned mattress that ran from corner to corner. With a smile, she pushed me against it and kept pushing until I was flat on my back.

Reaching down, she began unbuttoning my dress shirt, which caused me to raise my hands to her wrists. She didn't flinch when I stopped her. In a low voice, she stated, "Just go with it. My boss wouldn't be happy if he caught me slacking around back here."

I felt a little misled, but figuring I wasn't in any real danger, I let her remove my shirt. She left my undershirt in place as she started to rub my chest. But she quickly released me to hop up onto the makeshift 'bed', straddling my lower body and reaching back to begin unzipping her cocktail dress.

"You promised," I said quietly, while at the same time my eyes went wide as the black material tugged downward, exposing inch after inch of creamy Double-D titflesh. The redhead truly had spectacular breasts, capped with perky pink nipples that were just begging for a suckling.

"There are closed-circuit cameras above us. I have to make it look good," she stated.

I shook my head and then reached up, taking hold of her torso where her dress still covered her skin, gently pushing her away as I sat up. "No. I told you I didn't want this."

"Don't tell me you're afraid of a pair of boobs."

I rolled my eyes. "Hardly."

"Then what is it?"

I gestured around to the little cubicle we were in. "I don't do this."

"With girls you've never met before?"

I chuckled, thinking about my rather sordid past. "Not a problem, actually."

"Okay..." she whistled speculatively. "Then ... you got something against lapdances?"

I shook my head. "I love lapdances. As warm-ups. As foreplay. But you don't know me. I'd have a pretty hard time stopping if you really got me going."

"Tough talk."

I smiled confidently. And in a deadly serious voice, I stated, "It's not just talk."

The redhead's eyes sparkled. The sexual fire had actually increased, and she was looking at me as if for the first time. "You really mean that, don't you?"

Keeping my head up, I nodded slowly.

"So what ... You'd rape me against my will?" There was a breathlessness to her voice.

I frowned. "No, no, of course not. I just don't see the point in doing all this warm-up and teasing without getting down to the main event. Like I tried to tell you outside: this isn't my thing. If I wanted a lapdance from a ridiculously hot babe, I could get one anytime I wanted without all this."

"Your aforementioned girlfriend."

I smiled predatorily as I got off the "bed" and stood up beside her. Leaning in, I put my lips right to her ear. And in a deep voice, with quiet confidence I stated, "And many others."

That got another eyebrow raise. "You really mean that," she said quietly, watching my face intently.

I nodded. "I do."

"So if there weren't any cameras, no burly bouncers to interrupt, and I slammed you back onto that platform there ... If I stripped down this wispy little dress and cupped my supple breasts together, feeding my nipples to your lips and grinding my soaking wet panties against your belly you'd-"

"Flip you over," I interjected casually as I stood behind her, putting my hand on her hip as I continued speaking directly into her ear. "I'd clamp my hand over your mouth and pin you down with one knee. I'd growl into your ear about how I was going to use your body. And then I'd shove two fingers under your soaking wet panties and strum you to the precipice of orgasm inside three minutes."

"Tough talk," she challenged again, although her voice was a little shaky.

I just grinned and continued in a soft tone. "Like I said: you don't know me. I've done it to literally dozens of different girls; I know what I'm talking about. You'd be humming right at the edge of climax, unable to go over it, when I'd flip you onto your back, seize your head in my hands, and then shove my tongue halfway down your throat."

"I don't kiss customers."

"Who said you'd have a choice?" I sneered, starting to get worked up. Leaning in with my hips, I allowed the bulge forming in my pants to push against her still-covered ass. "I'd impose my will over yours, making you understand that for the next hour or so, I would be your Master. I'd bite your neck and grope your perfect tits with one hand while the other resumed pressing your love buttons until you were absolutely quivering with uncontrollable desire. I would tweak sensitive nerves and erogenous zones you didn't even realize you had, turning you into a drooling, twitching mess of a human being that cared for absolutely nothing in this world but the blissful release of orgasmic pleasure."

She shivered visibly. I now rubbed my rock hard erection against her backside while my left hand rested on her shoulder. I wasn't actually touching her anywhere sensitive, not in any threatening way that would be bring in the burly bouncers from their closed-circuit cameras. But my lips stayed at her ears as I continued verbalizing my fantasy conquest.

"I'd enter you at a time when you least expected it. The sudden thickness filling up your very core would be the catalyst for your climax, a monster orgasm that would well up from the hidden depths of your soul. It would radiate out with such force and energy that beams of light would feel like they were streaming out of your eye sockets and the tips of your toes and fingers while a shriek of exquisite ecstasy tore its way out of your throat. And even then, I would only have just begun to destroy you."

"Bull ... shit..." she panted, hanging her head forward even while leaning back against me.

"I've done it before," I stated matter-of-factly, raising my right hand to the small of her back to keep her from leaning against me. And then half-muttering to myself, I added, "I am a sexual creature."

"Then do it to me now," she breathed. Her long, extension-laden eyelashes fluttered rapidly. "Now, do it. Please."

"I can't," I answered quietly, right into her ear. "Closed-circuit cameras. Burly bouncers. I'm sorry."

And with that, I grabbed my dress shirt and opened the curtain, letting myself out.

"Wait," she called after me, but not before five seconds had passed and I'd gotten a good ten feet away from the small room.

I turned around to see her jerking her dress up around her bosom while coming after me, her hair a little in disarray. Even though I'd barely touched her, the redheaded beauty looked rather disheveled.

"Can you..." she began in a shaky voice. "Can you really do that?"

I just grinned. And without another word, I turned and went down the hallway to take me back to the main room.

"There he is!" Kenny cheered as I returned to my friends, having come back before me and been briefed by the others. "How was she?"

I snorted and rolled my eyes. "No comment."

"WHERE is she?" Tony asked desperately, scanning the room. "I'm not leaving until I get a dance from her. Seriously, that chick is the hottest thing I have ever SEEN!"

"Well now's your chance," Shin piped up, looking past my shoulder. "Here she comes."

Furrowing my eyebrows, I picked my head up and glanced back. Sure enough, the redhead made a direct beeline for our table, walking stiffly. Tony was fumbling with his wallet to pull out a stack of twenties, but when she arrived, she simply knelt down next to my chair and seized my hands in a desperate grip.

"Come home with me," she pleaded.

My eyebrows shot up. I glanced at Kenny, and he stared back at me in surprise.

"Please." The redhead jerked on my hands, bringing my attention back to her. "Come home with me," she repeated.

I didn't know how to respond to that, and the first thing I came up with was a joke. "Mom told me not to leave with strangers. What's your name?"

The redhead smiled, showing off twin rows of pearly white teeth. "Destiny."

I smirked. "What's your real name?"

"Sydney," she said quite seriously. "Please."

I looked up, now finding that all the other guys were gaping at me. Poor Tony's jaw was practically on the ground.

Shrugging sadly, I said, "I can't. We've got a wedding tomorrow."

Sydney pouted and then lifted up the little purse she had dangling from one elbow. Fishing in it quickly, she produced a pen and a slightly-worn twenty dollar bill. Scribbling quickly, she wrote her name and a 714 area code phone number. Then shoving it into my hands, she got up and dove at my face, locking her lips onto mine and giving me an intense, white-hot kiss that rivaled Adrienne's for pure nuclear ferocity.

A moment later, she pulled back breathlessly. "Call me. Please," she gasped. And without another word, she walked away, tottering a little off-balance.

"Dude ... What the fuck did you do to her?" Tony gasped in amazement.

"Did SHE just give YOU a twenty?" Shin asked, flabbergasted.

Sung just laughed, a drunken, happy bellow. He clapped Tony on the back and snickered, "I told ya."

Kenny refused to believe I hadn't fucked Sydney in the short time I'd been gone. He was dead certain it was impossible to produce such a reaction in a girl without fucking her. I tried to 'no comment' the whole issue for about five minutes before simply pointing out to Kenny that a woman left wanting in need was far more likely to appear so desperate than one who had completed a sex act.

"That doesn't mean you didn't fuck her. It just means she didn't finish," Sung pointed out.

I shook my head. "These places have closed-circuit cameras manned by burly bouncers, don't they?"

"Oh, right," Kenny sighed. His head perked up and a silly grin crossed his face. "What I wouldn't give to see the camera pointed at Heidi and Daniel right now."