From: turbanboy@dimensional.com (Sai Baba) Subject: ASSC:AFTSD -- Run for the shadow Date: Tue, 02 Dec 97 22:01:53 GMT "So, where are we going to afterwards ?", she asked, with a slight hint of uneasiness in her voice as she took a short sip from her glass of wine. I glanced through the window. The red neon light on CNN building below us shone brightly through the night. Further away, highway lights look like a thin rail of yellow marbles dividing the city in half. It was late Spring, and the city was pierced with countless white lights of construction crews working late into night to make this place look neat to the whole world in a few months. "We'll go and get some wine first..." "... annnnnnnndddddd ?" "Then I am taking you to a strip club. You'll get to see some naked men and women..." She giggled and blushed. She always did that when she was embarrassed or excited. Leigh was born and raised in an old fashioned Southern family. She grew up surrounded with her southern-belle first cousins who don't even know anyone who smokes pot (but who drink like fish), first cousins who creak in their chairs, loud and uncomfortable in jackets that don't match their ties, bigoted second cousins who would casually say that "they don't hate no niggas" at family reunions, and great-uncles who like to talk about the Family Name, the Old South, and the journey from Wales to Virginia, as if it happened before the Damn Yankees ever bumped their boat on Plymouth Rock. While the rest of her family was deeply rooted in the Dixieland, wary of the North and West, she dreamed of mountain peaks covered with glaciers, fluffy clouds and endless pine forests of the Front Range. Stubborn as only the youngest child in the family can be, she didn't let tradition stand in her way, and soon after she finished high school she drifted away to the pompous city at the foot of the Rockies, in the world where fried food and sweetened ice tea are four letter words. As years went by, her southern drawl disappeared, her illusions grew thinner, and now, a few months away from her twenty fifth birthday, she was an ex vegetarian, a recovering Baptist, and a disillusioned environmentalist. As she got to learn the wonders of the corporate world she grew increasingly disappointed in people, and all she wanted from life now that she had education and a solid job was a decent handsome man with 4x4 truck and strong hands who would build a log cabin with her up in the mountains, miles away from another human soul, and who would jump his shotgun at the sound of a car approaching their castle and yell "git outta my property, ya scumbag !". Waiting for Him to cross paths with her, she spent her nights quilting, listening to big bend swing, and occasionally hanging out with me…. I guess, I was the ultimate Bad Boy to her, a guy who talks openly about sex, strip clubs and porn movies; the things she didn’t get to talk about much before she had met me... We finished our dinner and headed for the exit. The elevator door opened, and a pretty blonde I chatted with and got table dances from at some strip club the night before walked out hand in hand with an unemployed C&W musician type in hideous shirt, dirty jeans and a Billy Ray Cyrus hairdo. Why are you spending the money I gave you feeding him, woman ? He already has a good size love handles and sandbags on him. Buy him some decent clothes, take him to a really good hair stylist, he needs it, bad. Sigh. As the panoramic elevator started going down, Leigh snuggled closer to me and whispered: "Are they completely naked there?" "Yes. Very much so". She giggled again, and looked through the window down on the city below us. I watched the city lights dance on her face as it turned red one more time. Time to live a little, pardner. We made a quick stop at that dorky underground shopping mall to pick up some wine. The club we were going to was a bit north of the city, and the fella from the club whom I spoke with on the phone felt a need to give me directions to the place via surface streets. Ah, no problem. We'll just admire ghost towns and modern day ghettos as we drive while listening to my early Bowie compilation. As the sounds of "Station to station" started to flow, Leigh started to loosen up. Normally the quiet one, she blabbed about work, family, loser ex-boyfriends... nothing I haven't heard about before. The sound of the music mixed with her low voice made me drift into my own zone, and I resigned to making sympathetic noises the rest of the way. We finally found the place. As we left the car and approached the entrance we saw a bouncer and several dancers smoking outside, engaged in a lively discussion. We handed over our IDs to the bouncer, while a buxom blonde in slutty outfit rambled "... and I opened the door to his bedroom, and that slut was buck naked on his bed on all fours. She looked at me and said 'Melinda ! Oh, I am sooooo sorry !!!. And, get this, that asshole, he ...". Uh, dude, mind if we hang out with y'all for a while and smoke a cigarette ? No ? Okay. Forward motion, enter the club, curse the high cover and setup charge, pay the dues, and get in. Female stage was round shaped with quite a few brass poles, closer to the entrance, while the Tarzan stage was an "L" shaped runway on the opposite side of the room. In between two stages were several rows of long, narrow tables with bench type seats. Hey, I know this from the PTs, this is where couples usually sit. The rest of the club was partially obscured by a long, unattended bar. Behind the bar were some more restaurant type tables and a few alcoves with table dances in progress. This was a BYOB place, but it was obvious they had a liquor license in their hayday. We set next to each other in the "couples" area, got wine and glasses outta brown bag, and made a toast. Leigh snuggled to me, as if looking for protection, and said matter of factly: "There is a smell of sex in the air". Oh, boy. I mumbled something affirmative, wondering if she has had a single day of fun in her all life... "What now ?", she asked. "Now, just kick back and relax for a while. Let me know if you like any of the naked boys, and I'll buy you a dance. If you're too shy to ask them, I'll ask them for you" "Deal. And I'll buy dances for you, if some gal catches your fancy" "Deal" A few rows away from us, a bachelorette party is in progress. A bachelorette, well in her 50s is resting her hands on Fabio's waist while he is shaking his snake left and right for all it was worth. Bwahaha. Way to go granma ! Toward the end of the runway, her classmate of the opposite sex is grinning like a Cheshire cat as he is holding a dollar bill waiting for Hulk Hogan to come up to him. Hulk doesn’t flinch at all, and goes straight to the old geezer, squats in front of him, and... Wait. What am I doing staring at the naked boys ? Let's check out the Barbies... I turn around and see the ultimate Geek boy standing behind Leigh. "Yes ?" "Do you mind if I dance for your girl ? The next two songs are 2fers..." "Only if she wants you to..." Leigh’s face is red like a lobster, but she nods "yes". The Geek dude starts getting naked. Leigh is visibly uncomfortable. She barely looks at him at all. The fact that he repeatedly tries to duplicate that stupid dick trick that we just saw minutes earlier doesn’t help either. He finally finishes his little show and leaves. Seeing that this isn’t quite working, I get up and take a seat across the table from Leigh. This way we look more approachable and less couple-like to entertainers. I look around the joint, and checked out the action on the Barbie stage. Weak lineup, maybe 8 dancers, and some seriously unenthusiastic stage work. Wait, more dancers coming out of the dressing room. Hey, this blonde coming on the stage ain't half bad. I go up to tip her, and meet a major cold fish. She is pretty in a coed way with a slim toned body, B cups, lean & long legs, firm back, but her eyes are distant with that familiar hollow look that screams "Vacancy upstairs". No vibes at all. Leigh gets up, comes to me and asks me if I like her. Yeah, she's okay. In no time my partner in crime goes to tip her, then comes back and says that she asked the blonde to join me and dance for me when she is done. Leigh is determined to keep her end of the bargain. Good girl. The blonde comes over, sits next to me, and we try a small talk. No go. She largely ignores Leigh who is sitting across the table from us, and I decide to cut the crap and ask her for a dance. It turned out it's 2 for 1 for female table dances all night long, so for Leigh's $10 I get two table dances. Wooo hooo. The blonde starts her dance, and as at most clubs in the area leaves a lot of air between us only occasionally brushing her body against mine. I don't care at first, her body is straight out of swimsuite magazine, but by the second song the lack of suspension or vibes between us makes me squirm in my seat. Finally it's over and I thank her and give her a courtesy tip, all the while thinking how neat it would be if only her personality matched her looks. Oh, well. Then a tall woman with short dark hair and a serious butt takes the stage. Within seconds she climbs up the pole, turns upside down and starts taking her top off. Then she slides all the way down, rests all her weight on her shoulders for a moment while her legs are still up in the air, and then pushes her body away from the pole, and her body lands full on stage, with her legs making a horizontal split. Nice. She immediately jumps up on the pole again and starts spinning, I made a beeline for the stage. Her body is way out of proportion, but I like her enthusiasm. She moves in front of me to get her tip, and before I say anything, she tells me that she noticed me and Leigh earlier and how cute we looked together, and asks me if I'd mind if she joined us later. "Sure, come join us", I say, all the while thinking how neat it would be if only her looks matched her personality. Oh, well. She comes straight to our table after her set. She is an Italian gal from NYC, trying to get into high fashion (!!!) modeling or acting or whatever it is that pays well and lets you sleep till noon, and of course, she's only stripping while working on her big break. Where did I hear this before ? She moved to the area a few weeks ago, thinking the money will be good during the Olympics, so she can make some extra dough and visit her father in Italy. She had a pretty face, nice shoulders and an upbeat and outgoing personality, and Leigh and I enjoyed her company for the rest the evening. I just hope she keeps this attitude up when she finds out that the average Olympic jock doesn't drive, and even if he does, he would rather drive 5 minutes to the nearest Gentlemen's Club, than go out of his way only to watch... dicks along with pussies. A stocky black man dressed as fire marshal takes the stage. A few single females enter the club at the same time, and immediately go to tip him. Seeing that single gals *do* come to this place and even go to tip at stage, Leigh boldly jumps up on her feet and follows the suit. She speaks briefly with the Fire Marshal dude as she tips him, and comes back to our table with a huge smile on her face. As the dude is prancing about on the runway, he ends up in the section behind her. Much to my surprise, she goes to tip him again. There are two male dancers in that area, and the Geek boy comes to her first. She politely tips him, and remains at stage, waiting patiently for her fire marshal to come over. Oh, my. This is getting interesting... When the Fire Marshall emerges from the dressing room, he comes straight to our table and sits next to Leigh. They are all smiles as they are talking & holding hands. Leigh is mesmerized and can’t take her eyes off of him. They talk and giggle for quite some time before he stands up to dance for her. I hand him $20 across the table. He first takes off his hat, and puts it on Leigh's head. "Oh, my, she looks soooo cute", the Italian girl whispers, admiring Leigh's profile, and her kinky hair that refuses to stay put under the hat. In the meantime, the Fire Marshal is down to his briefs. Hm, it looks like he's got *some* package down there. Then he starts pulling his briefs down and.... OH, DEAR LORD !!! The Fire Marshal stands buck naked in front of Leigh for a second, then turns to us and says "This is my fire hose". SHIT ! FUCK ! DAMN ! " I betcha he can put out a lot of fire with THAT fire hose" screams the Italian gal. One day you're gonna kill some poor gal with that shit, Mr. Long Dong Silver, Jr. This is unreal. As he finishes the dance, he puts his briefs on, and Leigh tucks some more money under his briefs. He seems very surprised and pleased, and returns later to chat some more with her. Finally, both the Fire Marshall and the Italian gal are gone, and I ask Leigh how she liked the guy. "Oh, I liked him a lot. He has such wonderful eyes" "Eyes ? Yeah, right. Bwahahahaa" "And I think he liked me, too. He came back to talk to me. You saw that" "How much did you tip him on top of what I gave him for the dance ?" "Oh, I gave him another 20. But, I think he really, really liked me. I saw it in his eyes. " $40 for a single dance ? Yeah, he liked you, allright... It was early morning when we left the club. We hopped into our car and headed down south toward a web of streets all named Peach something or other, where our Hotel under Olympic Renovation was. The sky was clear and full moon was hanging low over the horizon, winking at us while we were cruising on empty Georgia highway. Bowie was singing about Golden Years, while Leigh was silent, preoccupied with her own thoughts. I glanced at her and saw a smile on her face. "What now ?" "Oh, I don't know.... I didn't dislike it, it's just... ya know, seeing a naked man shake his wet noodle inches from my face doesn't do much for me" "Uh, er, so did you like it at all ?" "Oh, yeah. Remember when that blonde was dancing for you as I was sitting across the table ?" "Yeah" "Well, at some point she went down on her knees between your legs, so I couldn't see her at all. Then I saw her hands surface from beneath the table, and she put them on your knees. Then, her head appeared between your thighs, and she slowly started getting up on her feet." I looked at her again. Her small body was turned halfway toward me now. Sparks were flying from her dark eyes, and a single lock of her kinky brown hair was resting on her forehead. God, she looked lovely. "... and ?" "And, at that point", she continued in husky voice, "I closed my eyes, and I pictured her reaching to your lap and unzipping your pants and going down on you right then and there in front of everybody It was so vivid, so...erotic. I... I don't like women, I really don't, but I wish I could watch you have sex with her." Then it hit me. I don't have an outside chance of understanding women, ever. All these muscle laden guys, and she fantasized about ... me ? Holy mother of Lord, I created a monster. I’m in trouble. What do you say, Thin White Duke ? Run for the shadow ? Bwahahahaha. Fat chance. Not in this Golden Year. Sai Baba