I never thought I'd take my wife to a strip joint. She knew I'd occasionally gone to them before we met; a few times she'd even given me her own version of a strip act while I told her about what they were like.
But visiting our local club was all Nita's idea - a friend had mentioned the place, and she was curious, and would it be too much trouble to take her to the show? When she batted her eyes, it was too much - as soon as I could quit laughing, I gave in.
***
The parking lot was crowded; the interior, even more so. Luckily, most of customers wanted as close to the stage as possible, so we were able to find a booth in one of the back corners. Only a few heads turned to follow us as we made our way in. Even Nita's presence couldn't hold their attention for more than a moment; the dancer on stage was toying with her g-string as the music built to a climax. A couple of measures later, the g-string landed atop the heap of clothes already on the floor.
This dancer was good; as the next song started, she launched into an energetic routine. One minute she was flirting with a man on one side of the stage; the next, she was doing a rapid spin around the brass pole mounted at the end of the stage. As the third verse of the song neared its end, she lowered herself into a full split, leaning back till her long hair brushed her rear ankle and her breasts pointed to the ceiling. She held the split for a long count, then flowed back to her feet and began a slow circle of the stage, collecting tips. Each man along the rail got a moment of her time and a word or two; a few of the more enthusiastic ones were favored with a wink, a breast passed tantalizingly close, or bare foot placed lightly on a shoulder.
As the dancer left the stage to a loud round of applause, I glanced at Nita. Rather than disapproving, or embarrassed, or anything else I might have guessed, she appeared fascinated. When she noticed me look at her, she gave me a mischievous grin before returning her attention to the stage.
The dancer that followed was good, but no match for the first. Halfway through the set, I noticed the first was out, still in her (lack of) final costume, dancing in a booth across the room. Nita followed my gaze across, and looked puzzled.
"What's she doing over there? I thought you told me that no touching was allowed, and she's all over him!"
"She's lap-dancing. He pays her for it, and she dances in his lap."
"But she's *touching* him!"
"Not with her hands - and he's letting *her* make all the contact. If he were to put his hands anywhere but her waist, those two large men over by the bar would escort him out."
After a moment, Nita grinned. "So it's all under her control?"
"Yes. As long as she's in control, and it's a *dance*, it's legal. If he gets to use *his* hands, or she uses *hers* too close to his crotch, the bar gets shut down for the night and she gets hauled in for prostitution."
Nita grinned again and shook her head. An impish look crossed her face. "Do you suppose . . ."
***
Since we'd paid for a table dance, the dancer ("call me Kitty Delight") wasn't all over me. Quite. Since Nita was sitting with my arm around her, we were both treated to views as detailed as her doctor probably got. Nita's presence, surprisingly, didn't bother the dancer at all, though she *did* look mildly curious. The look Nita returned was much more so.
Nita took the lead. "Can we offer you a drink?"
"Since no one else wants me to dance ... well, why not? What do you want to talk about? I was surprised you two called me over - usually, a couple is all wrapped up in each other."
"I'm sure you've heard this before, but I was curious. What's it like being a dancer?"
Rather to my surprise, the two hit it off. Since no one else wanted her to dance at the moment, Kitty seemed happy, and a bit flattered, to answer Nita's questions. It helped that Nita sounded curious, interested, and not at all judgmental. By the time the third dancer was on the stage, I might as well have not been present - the two women's attention was all on each other. They didn't even look my way when I got up to visit the men's room.
Coming back, about the time the fourth dancer left the stage, I saw Kitty leaving our table for the dressing room. As I sat down, Nita slid a piece of paper into a purse before leaning against me.
"What was that?"
"Just her phone number ... and her real name. She's nice - I might want to call her sometime. I gave her my number, too."
"Real name?" I must have sounded a bit confused.
Nita raised an eyebrow sardonically. "Do you think anyone is *really* named 'Kitty Delight'? I don't blame her. Who'd want the publicity in her off-hours?"
***
We watched a while longer. After two more dancers, "Kitty" was back on the stage. To my eyes, she was by far the most skilled of the six. The men surrounding the stage seemed to agree - her tips were much larger than they'd given any of the others, and she was doing her third straight lap dance when we left.
Nita was bubbling over as we drove home, reporting the things Kitty had told her about dancing, and working conditions, and the pay, and . . . I was not at all surprised when she dragged me into the bedroom as soon as we reached home.
***
Voicemail is a mixed blessing - people can leave messages for you, but you can't ask them any questions. And Nita's message, though clear, left far more questions than answers.
"Hon, I've been talking to Kitty, and heard something interesting. Be at the club at 9 PM tonight. Sit at the tip rail. I'll meet you there, but I might be a little late. Love you, honey."
Fortunately, it was already after 5, so I didn't have too long to wonder what Nita had planned. Rather than go home, I worked another couple of hours before leaving for dinner. I pulled up outside the club only a few minutes early.
***
Since it was a Friday night, the parking lot was a zoo. Somehow, I managed to find a parking place and headed inside. Even though the interior was packed, enough people were sitting in the booths that there were still a couple of seats open at the tip rail. I claimed one of them just as the next dancer came on. I wasn't too surprised to find it was Kitty.