Sledge Read online

  A trip to the strip club and a quickie in the back room might be just what the doctor ordered to get him out of his funk…and Ash probably knew it. Ash was crazy about Mack, and Sledge knew the only reason he’d want to go to City Bar was for his friend. Things like that made him love Ash and Mackenzie even more than he thought possible. When Smoke died, he’d been devastated, but a part of him had felt guilty because he’d been so fucking thankful that it hadn’t been Ash. Thoughts of his mother and high school were suddenly gone, and he was imagining a lap dance and a blowjob. Even after all these years, his best friend still always knew what he needed, when he needed it.

  3

  After Sledge had a shower, and Mack ordered him to keep her man out of trouble, he and Ash rode out to City Bar. The dark setting and scantily dressed waitresses had him horny as soon as they walked in the door. They took a table a few feet back from the stage and Ash ordered them each a beer and a shot of tequila. They were taking the shot when the first dancer came out onto the stage. Actually, it was dancers…two buxom blondes in matching leather jumpsuits and six-inch heels. Sledge watched as the girls began dancing alone, circling their poles, bending in positions that no human should be able to get into, or out of for that matter. Then suddenly, one of the girls took the front of the other girls’ leather suit in her hands and pulled. The entire thing fell away and now there was one buxom blonde in nothing but a thong, which really covered nothing at all. She had thick thighs…Sledge liked that. He liked his girls a little thick…thighs and butts, anyway.

  The girls went back to dancing, the one in the thong gyrating close enough to the edge of the stage for men seated around it to be able to slide dollar bills into the barely-there piece of string. In the background, the other one had her back to the audience and she was stripping off the leather suit…it was so tight that she looked like she was shedding her own skin. Ash gestured at the waitress and two more shots of tequila appeared. Without taking his eyes off the one shedding her skin, Sledge picked up the shot glass and downed the tequila. He was chasing it with his beer when the first stripper stepped off the stage and came their way. Ash laughed when she got close to him and pointed at Sledge. The pretty, almost-naked woman moved over to Sledge and he winked at her. She straddled his lap and started shaking her big boobs in his face. “You want a lap dance, baby?” she purred.

  “Sure,” he said with a smile. The only thing he hated about lap dances was the no touching rule…it was fucking hard, and so was he. The almost-naked girl began to gyrate in his lap, with her big boobs in his face, and just about the time he felt like he was going to explode, the song ended, and she started to slide off his lap. Sledge put his mouth next to her ear and said, “I need a blowjob.”

  She giggled. “We don’t do that here, baby.”

  “I’m not a cop.”

  She giggled again. “If you were, you wouldn’t tell me. But like I said, we don’t do that here.” She might not do it, but Sledge knew from past experience that some of the girls did. Just his luck, he’d picked one who followed the rules. Turning her bare butt to him, she shook it a few times before moving on to the next guy. The girl on stage was finished with her dance and she started making her rounds as well. Maybe he’d give it a shot with that one. Neither of them was really his type, but sometimes desperate measures superseded all that other bullshit. It was a few minutes before the next dancer came on…and as soon as she did, Sledge was mesmerized and the other two were forgotten.

  This one was his favorite. She didn’t dance every time he was there, and she never came out and did lap dances. When her dance was over, she left the stage and that was it. But he’d had fantasies about her that sometimes lasted all night long. She was hot…he hated to admit it, but she bore a striking resemblance to Daria…the “mean” girl from high school. She had long, straight black hair and light green eyes. Daria’s eyes were hazel, and he hated himself for remembering that, but the stripper still looked like she could be Daria’s sister. Her body was perfect, curvy in all the right places, with a flat belly and muscular legs and arms…not too muscular, though, just like she kept them nice and toned. The way she danced turned him on too. She was more graceful than the other girls, like a real dancer. Again, Daria flashed through his mind. She told him once that she did jazz and ballet lessons, and he used to fantasize about watching her.

  He shook off the thoughts of the girl who he should hate instead of still lusting after and watched the one on stage…Heidi was her name. She bent herself backwards, almost in half, and suddenly his thoughts were in his trailer, on his bed with Heidi on her back and her legs pulled up next to her ears. Fuck, he was going to have to jack off soon if he didn’t find one of these girls willing to break the rules and help him out.

  “Heidi’s your favorite, isn’t she?” Ash asked, interrupting Sledge’s thoughts. A tickle of embarrassment curled in his belly. He hoped Ash didn’t notice she looked like the girl from high school. He’d look like a huge fool if Ash even suspected he still thought about that one.

  “She’s hot,” he said, as casually as he could.

  “She’ll be ready to go as soon as she finishes this song and puts some clothes on,” Ash said.

  Sledge tore his eyes off the dancer and looked at his friend. “Go where?” he asked, confused.

  “Wherever you want to take her, or where she wants to take you, I suppose. She’s your date for the night, and your designated driver…you’ve had quite a few shots of tequila. Anyway, it’s all set. This is her last dance and then she’s off for the night.”

  “You’re buying me a woman? I’m that desperate now?” Sledge wanted her, badly, but he wasn’t sure if he should accept the gift, or be pissed that Ash was offering it. He’d never outright paid for a woman. He wasn’t ugly, just a little awkward and socially inept sometimes.

  Ash laughed. “I’m not buying her. I was here earlier on business. Wolf and Glenn, the manager, are talking about a joint venture, and Wolf asked me to deliver some contracts. I saw Heidi on stage when I walked in and as soon as I did…I knew what to get you for your birthday…a blind date.”

  “Fuck.” Sledge groaned. He hated his birthday. It was another trauma he held onto from his childhood. Maybe trauma wasn’t the right word…but birthdays in his family never made him happy. His mother tried…too hard. For weeks before one of their birthdays his mother would work every extra shift she could get, and use all the extra money for some expensive present that they might have wanted, but didn’t need. Then, she’d stay up half the night to make a cake and take them all out for a dinner she couldn’t afford either. Usually that was all followed by a few weeks of famine. They never went hungry, his mother wouldn’t allow that, but they did without other things…sometimes things like electricity or heat. It had all made him dread his birthday instead of anticipating it. He’d forbade everyone in the club from celebrating it, or even mentioning it. Sometimes, he even forgot about it himself, like today…it hadn’t even occurred to him that it was September 14th. But Ash never forgot, and he did what he wanted to do despite what Sledge told him. He never let the day go by without doing something special for his friend. A blind date was new, and it made him a little sick to his stomach. A wild fuck he could handle…but was she expecting a real date? He hadn’t been on one of those since…fuck…ever. “So, what exactly did you ask her to do for me…or with me?”

  Ash laughed. “Nothing specific, other than making sure you got home safely. I did tell her it was your birthday and that she was your favorite dancer. She remembered you.”

  “Right, she’s never given me the time of day. How much are you paying her?”

  “Honestly, not a dime. The manager said she was different from the other girls. She was hired strictly for her dancing skills and she told him right off the bat that she wouldn’t do lap dances or mingle with customers. But…when I described you to her, she lit up like a firefly and said she remembered you. Glenn told me she was recently single…maybe that’s why she�
��s never acted like she noticed you before.”

  “Fuck,” Sledge said, again.

  Laughing, Ash said, “I can tell her the date is off if you want me to, and buy you a t-shirt or some shit like that.”

  Sledge laughed. “You’re fucking crazy.” They both looked toward the stage as Heidi walked off. That perfect ass was calling to him and the brain in his pants was suddenly in control. “But no…I’ll accept the gift.”

  Ash laughed again. “I thought you would. Don’t worry about your bike, the prospects will pick it up. It’ll be parked in front of your trailer when you wake up with Heidi in your arms tomorrow.” Ash finished his beer and stood up a while later when Heidi came around the corner from the back…fully dressed. “Oh, by the way, I think Mack might have left a cake on the table in your trailer.” Sledge felt a rush of warmth in his chest. For the past five years, thanks to a horrible misunderstanding, he hadn’t spoken a word to Mack and not a nice word about her. Those were five hard years. To this day he loved Mack even though he finally convinced himself he wasn’t “in love” with her.

  “How the hell did she get into my trailer?” he said, trying to sound annoyed.

  Ash grinned. “Please, I’ve broken into preschool backpacks that were harder to get into.” Heidi made it to the table and Ash smiled at her before looking back at Sledge and saying, “You kids have fun.” Sledge shook his head as he watched his friend leave and then finally looked at Heidi and said:

  “Hey, I’m Sledge.”

  She smiled. “I know. I’m Heidi. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

  “How come the sudden interest?” He was blunt. It was part of why he had a hard time with people, but he didn’t see the point in playing games.

  “It’s not sudden,” she said, softly, as she took a seat. She looked almost sad as she said, “I was in a relationship before…we broke up.”

  Sledge almost asked if he was a rebound or revenge fuck…but decided he didn’t care about that now. Instead he said, “What are you drinking?”

  “I’d rather get out of here,” she said, “if you don’t mind. Maybe we could have a drink at your place?” Sledge breathed a sigh of relief; it at least didn’t sound like she expected a real date.

  He downed what was left in his mug and said, “Hell, yeah. Let’s get out of here.”

  4

  While they sat on the couch in Sledge’s little trailer and Heidi sipped wine and he drank beer, Sledge struggled to think of something to say. His eyes kept falling to her cleavage and he kept picturing her as naked as she was on stage…with nothing on but those six-inch heels. She was dressed in a simple pullover sundress with skinny straps now and flat sandals. It made her a lot shorter than she looked onstage…but he didn’t care how tall she was, he just wanted to get under that dress. He reminded himself that she wasn’t a whore or a club girl, and in an attempt to make conversation he said:

  “So, was the boyfriend the reason you don’t do lap dances and…stuff…that the other girls do at the club?”

  Her green eyes widened, and she looked almost afraid to answer the question. Sledge regretted asking it and struggled to think of something else to say, quickly. Before anything came to him she said, “He wouldn’t have minded…if I brought home more money.” Sledge frowned. He knew a lot of the girls were in relationships, but he couldn’t imagine it. He’d never been in a real relationship, but he couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to be…if you encouraged your partner to be with other people. It seemed more like pimping than a relationship to him. “Glenn paid me more than the other girls, because I’m a ‘real’ dancer. Between that, and tips they throw onstage, I took home some decent money. I just wasn’t comfortable, basically prostituting myself.”

  “Makes sense,” he said. “How long have you been split up from your old man?” Again, she hesitated. Of course he picked the worst possible conversation starter.

  “Just a few days,” she said.

  “So…is tonight like revenge or something?”

  “No. I really have noticed you before when you guys came into the club. I’m just not the type to cheat…even if he gives me permission. I’m so stupid,” she said, her eyes filling with tears suddenly. “I never realized that his telling me to sleep with other men, if I wanted to, meant he was doing the same.”

  “Shit. You caught him with another woman?”

  She shook her head, slowly, and with a stray tear spilling across her long eyelashes and running down her cheek she said, “I caught him with a man. I got sick at work and went home early. I walked in…right in the middle of it. He never missed a beat…even asked if I wanted to join. It took me a while, but I finally realized that he was only with me because of the thrill of dating a stripper. It was about what I did for a living and not about me. I stayed with a friend that night and the next day went to get my things. He still seemed perplexed as to why I was leaving.”

  “Shit,” he said, again. “Sorry.”

  She looked up at him and smiled. “It’s okay. I’m sorry for going on about it…this is supposed to be your night.” She sat her wineglass down and got on her knees on the carpet at his feet. Sledge wasn’t sure what she was up to, but the possibilities caused his blood to heat up and his cock to become almost painfully hard. He was pretty sure she was there for a revenge fuck, but he still didn’t care. She bent down and began untying his boots. He never would have imagined someone could make untying shoes look hot…but she did. He could see down into the front of her dress as she bent over and pulled one end of the lace. When the loop came undone, she leaned down and took the end of one side between her teeth and pulled that side loose. She looked up at him then, and locked eyes with him while she loosened the laces, then pulled it up against her chest, and took it off his foot. Watching her slowly remove his sock almost made him come. Either he was horny as hell, or she was the sexiest woman he’d ever been with.

  She did the same to his other boot and sock and when she finished that one, he put his big hands on either side of her face and pulled her up into a hot, passionate kiss. Her tongue explored his mouth, dancing against his tongue almost as gracefully as her body danced onstage. She licked his lips when she was finished and suddenly her hands were on his vest, pushing it off him…but slowly, the way she did everything else. Once his vest was off, she got to her feet, smiled, and took a few steps back…just out of his reach. She kept her eyes on his face and reached down to grab her dress, bunching it up in her hands and almost excruciatingly slowly pulling it up a half an inch at a time until finally Sledge had a perfect view of her firm, perfectly smooth, round thighs. She was wearing black thigh-high stockings and as she continued pulling the dress upwards, he could see that she was wearing black satin panties to match. He stared at her mound until suddenly she turned her back to him, allowing him a shot of her perfect, round ass. He almost reached out and grabbed her, but she seemed to be on a mission, so he leaned back into the couch and ran a hand over the aching bulge in his jeans, trying to relieve just a little bit of pressure.

  He watched as she stepped sideways, spreading her legs about two feet apart and then leaning over slightly as she pulled the dress over her head. He could see one of her firm breasts dangling from the side and that ass…Jesus…except for the tiny strip of lace that lay along the crack, it was completely exposed and practically in his face. He thought he couldn’t possibly get any harder, but she proved him wrong. She reached back and taking the elastic of the thong in her hand, she pulled it…upwards. The strip of lace disappeared, and he gasped as he watched her pull and tug on her panties as she masturbated herself with them right there in front of him. This woman might just drive me crazy.

  Sledge had to unbutton and unzip his jeans; his cock was too big now and way too uncomfortable, shoved into the denim prison. She suddenly stood up and turned to face him, sliding her thumbs under the elastic of her panties and slowly…oh, so fucking slowly…inched them down. He reached for her again, putting his hands on her waist and
pulling her forward until their lips met again. He kissed her, hungrily, but Heidi used her tongue to slow him down, licking around his mouth in erotic circles and gently nibbling at his lips. He felt her pulling up his shirt while they kissed, and he waited until she had it under his arms before breaking the kiss, so she could lift it over his head.

  As soon as his shirt was gone, she was back on him, this time with her soft, sexy lips on his neck. She sucked at it, nibbled on it, licked it…and then she continued downward toward his chest. Sledge’s chest was covered in tattoos—his chest, back, and upper arms actually. It was like he was wearing a colorful shirt…and Heidi seemed to want to trace the outline of each one of them. Sledge sighed and leaned back into the couch. He put his hand in her soft hair and petted it as she licked and sucked at his chest, finding one of his nipples and sucking that into her mouth, and then doing the same to the other before moving her mouth lower and licking around the outsides of his defined abs until she reached the area just above his shorts, slightly below the line of his jeans where he’d unbuttoned his pants.

  She was so close to his cock that it would have been dancing if it had more room. He closed his eyes and shuddered into the sofa as she ran her hand over it and up and down it. It was still covered, but she was applying enough pressure that he could feel it…and it felt fucking great. But nowhere near as good as he felt a few seconds later when she slid her hand down inside his shorts and suddenly her hot hand was on his rock-hard cock.