Denae's Day of Research
This story takes place after the events in Having Fun All Summer Long
Denae returned to Mount William a week ahead of the first day of class. This was to be the last semester of college for her, Bill and Suzy. Denae and Bill wanted time together without the demands of class schedules and Suzy wanted the same with Scott. So, for that week, the four spent time apart as couples and time together as a group. Denae and Suzy found opportunities to have some time to privately compare notes on their romances.
Without saying anything to the other, both Bill and Denae were apprehensive about this being their last semester of college. Neither knew what would happen to them after graduation. Bill wanted desperately to continue to have Denae in his life but was uncertain how to go about this. He did not feel he could propose marriage because he did not have a job or any concrete plans for the future. And he did not know if she would be open to living anywhere other than her hometown in Florida. In her mind, Denae was hoping that Bill would ask her to marry him but had not seen any signs he would.
The week before the start of the semester went by in the blink of an eye. Bill and Denae dug into their classes and developed a new routine. They both had a two-hour block of time in the middle of the day when they were free and so they made a point of getting together daily during the intermission.
One of Denae's classes was Modern Sexuality, her final major course toward her Women's Studies degree. She knew a little about the course and the professor from some of her friends who had already gotten this requirement behind them. She was aware there was a research paper that made up a large portion of the grade. On the first day of class, she found out that paper would be due at the mid-term. To some, this would seem like a difficult deadline, but Denae already had a topic in mind and a plan for her research.
When she saw Bill at the coffee shop, she mentioned she would need to go to Atlanta sooner rather than later. He knew Denae intended to interview some of the dancers at the strip club she had taken him to in the Spring when they were in Atlanta for his job interview. Bill reaffirmed he would go to Atlanta with Denae, though he declined to accompany her to the club while she talked to the strippers.
On the third day of class, Denae was waiting for Bill in a booth at the campus coffee shop when she saw another student of her Contemporary Sexuality class walk in. Denae waved and the girl walked over.
"We're both in Dr. Alden's class. I should have made it a point to introduce myself. I'm Denae Rapallino."
"Hi. I'm Janet Sullivan," the girl replied. "Denae. That's a very pretty name."
Inviting Janet to sit, Denae thanked her for the compliment. Janet sat down across from Denae and they began talking about the only thing they had in common; the class they were both in. Janet was nervous about the research paper and what seemed like a tight deadline. Denae mentioned that she already had a topic but her research would require out-of-town travel. That piqued Janet's interest, so Denae shared that she would be interviewing strippers.
"Really? Interviewing strippers? That sounds way cool. How did you come up with that?"
Denae told her she had met a couple of dancers at a club in Atlanta and thought their stories would perfectly fit the subject of the assignment; Women Owning Their Sexuality. As they chatted, Denae noticed Janet and had a good figure, somewhere between Denae's slim build and Suzy's voluptuous body. Denae liked how Janet radiated confidence and had a cute, bubbly personality. When Bill arrived a few minutes later, Denae introduced her boyfriend to Janet before Janet excused herself.
That same morning, Bill received an email from the Vice President of the Accounting firm he had interviewed with. In it, the V.P. was asking Bill to confirm he would be graduating in December and asked when they might speak again. Bill, knowing he would accompany Denae to Atlanta, let him know he had an upcoming trip already in the works. They agreed to meet during the trip.
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Bill and Denae checked into their hotel in the early afternoon. Since they - and not the accounting firm - were paying, they had to settle for a smaller room in the same hotel where they had stayed before. Though this room was not as spacious as the previous room, they found it comfortable with a king-sized bed and a small separate sitting area with a couch and a coffee table. They had a casual dinner near the hotel and went back to the room before the evening got late. Once in the room, they showered together and had sex as the water ran over them.
Neither had to be up particularly early the next morning; Bill's appointment at the firm was at ten o'clock and Denae was told to arrive at the club around ten in the morning if she wanted time to speak to dancers before they began work at eleven thirty. They made coffee in the room and got ready together. Bill put on his suit and wore the blue tie that Denae suggested. Denae put on her favorite little black dress and black stiletto heels. They both complimented each other on their appearance. Bill wondered why Denae was dressing up to go talk to strippers rather than wearing comfortable, casual clothes. Denae responded that Club Seduisante was a classy establishment, and she felt she should dress nicely should she spend time in the public areas of the club.
Before they parted ways, they agreed they would have dinner at a good restaurant that evening since they were both dressed nicely. Denae picked up her oversized purse in which she had tools for her task; a digital audio recorder, pens and a notebook as well as her wallet and lipstick. They kissed each other goodbye and got into separate ride-share cars to go to their respective appointments.
Denae reached Club Seduisante just after ten o'clock in the morning. She found the front door unlocked and let herself in. While nothing about the décor had changed since she and Bill were last there, the atmosphere was completely different this morning. There was no pulsating music and there was no one behind the counter, where she expected Julia to be stationed. She poked her head through the doorway into the main part of the club. There were lights on, but they were not the flashing lights she recalled. The stages were all empty and the place was quiet.
Denae stood in the doorway between the front counter and the dance area for a few minutes before she heard the front door open and close. An attractive woman who appeared to be in her late 20's soon walked through the doorway where Denae was standing. She was wearing yoga pants, a sweat jacket, running shoes, and carrying a large duffel style bag over her shoulder.
"Excuse me," the woman said as she brushed past Denae.
"Excuse me? Do you work here?" Denae asked.
"Yeah," the woman replied as she stopped and subtly looked Denae up and down.
"Do you know if Julia is here yet?"
"I just walked in, so I can't say for sure." She looked at her smart watch. "Usually around ten she's in the back checking on things."
"Okay. Thanks," Denae said, not knowing what else to do.
Continuing on her way, the woman looked back and asked, "If I see her do you want me to tell her someone is looking for her?"
"Yes, please. Would you let her know Denae is here?"
The woman assured Denae she would deliver the message and headed toward the back of the club.
A couple of minutes later, Denae heard a cheery voice calling her name. It was Julia, the assistant manager, trotting from a hallway that ran toward the back of the building. When Julia reached her, she hugged Denae. Denae told her it was good to see her again and thanked her for helping her with her research. Julia told Denae she was happy to help and mentioned she had spread the word among the dancers that she would be seeking their input. And to Denae's delight, Julia told her Becky had switched her evening shift to day shift to be available for her. Denae had met Becky in the restroom on her previous visit and learned a little about her and her family. Becky had even come out to Denae and Bill's table to share a picture of her son.
Julia complimented Denae on her dress, remarking it was very nice though the white one she had worn on her previous visit had made a lasting impression. Glancing around, Julia asked Denae where Bill was. Denae told her Bill would have felt awkward hanging around while she spoke with the dancers. Julia laughed and pointed out if it were not for men hanging around, no one at the club would make any money.
Julia asked if Denae wanted to get started with her research before things got busy and led Denae down the hallway from which she had emerged. They went past both the Gentlemen's and Ladies' restrooms and entered a large room with some make-up stations, lockers, and two couches. There were a few women in various stages of dress; one fully clothed, another in her dance outfit, one nude from the waist down and two who were topless. They were all engaged in various activities from putting on make-up to doing hair to dressing or undressing. Most were chatting with others as they went about their business. Denae looked around hoping to see Becky among the women but was disappointed.
"Ladies, I'd like you to meet Denae," Julia announced to the group. They all stopped and turned their attention to Denae. "I've told you a little about her. Denae and her boyfriend were in here as guests a few months ago and now she was hoping to speak to a few of you for a class project."
Julia quickly went around the room and introduced each of the women by first name. After introductions, Julia advised she needed to attend to a couple of things related to opening the club for the day, but assured Denae she would be back to check on her.
Most of the women in the changing room seemed nice and offered to help Denae. One seemed indifferent, but not rude. By their looks, Denae believed their ages ranged from mid-twenties to one about forty years old. The conversations that had been going on when Denae walked in had now ended and various ladies asked questions of Denae or offered her an opinion. This led to some group discussion of what Denae sought for her paper and what she hoped to achieve. After several minutes of exploring the idea of what each felt about dancing nude, the oldest of the women, the one who had been the least engaged in the conversation asked, "Instead of getting our opinions of what it's like, why don't you just try it and make your own?"
That one question halted all conversation instantly and the room fell silent. The dancers looked at each other and at Denae. She looked at all of them. For a moment, no one said anything.
"She's pretty enough," one of the younger women finally said.
