"Where are we going?" asked Anne for the fifteenth time that evening. Her curiosity was killing her ever since Eric got back from his meeting.
"Why don't you dress nicely for a night on the town?" was all that he said as he sat down on the bed in the hotel room. Anne had no clue what they were going to do. She only had a few outfits with her on the trip, but was still having a difficult time deciding whether to wear jeans or a skirt, fancy or casual.
"It would really help if you just told me what kind of place we're going to," she said from the small hotel bathroom.
Popping his head into the room, Eric smiled and replied, "Who said we're going to a place?"
"Arrrggh!" said Anne as she playfully tapped him on the arm. While she was thrilled that he had planned anything, she was still torn as to what she should wear. Finally, she made a decision. Pants and a silk top. Definitely. But what color top? Damn!
As she sat in the cab in her skirt and cotton sweater, Anne couldn't help but smile. Eric was very good at keeping secrets. Like her Christmas present. She still couldn't believe that he got her that. Totally unexpected. Anne turned and looked at him. Could she love him any more? "So, where are we going?"
"You know," Eric said, "you can ask me like a zillion times, and I'm still not gonna tell you."
"Okay," said Anne. She paused for a second then grinned. "Then who'd you vote for?"
The minutes passed as they drove through the warm Florida evening. Anne was just happy to be spending time only with him. Kids are great, but some Eric-Anne time was definitely what was needed for both of them. She snuggled next to Eric and put her head on his shoulder.
"You're not going to sleep on me all ready are you?" laughed Eric. "It's only 8:00."
"No, not yet," said Anne, "but this is very nice." As she said this the cab turned into a parking lot. Eric paid the cab driver and they got out. Anne looked at the sign. 'The Platinum Pussycat.' "Is this place what I think it is?" asked Anne, turning to look at her slightly sheepish looking husband.
"Yep. You always said that you wanted to know what goes on in one of these places. Now here's you chance." Anne looked at the tacky purple building and began to imagine what went on inside.
"I can't go in there," said Anne.
"Why not," asked Eric, "no one knows us down here. Let's go have some fun. I promise, if you don't like it after ten minutes, we'll leave and go somewhere else."
"Well," said Anne, still eyeing the place nervously.
"C'mon, you're always telling me to try new things," laughed Eric as he pulled her towards the front door. Other men were walking in the doorway as the couple approached it. Several of the guys were eyeing Anne. Women were not usually known as guests here. The bouncer at the door also gave Anne a long look. They had trouble with feminists at times trying to get in to give people a hard time. After examining Anne's driver's license for a while, the bouncer gruffly said 'twenny dallahs.'
As they went into the darkened lobby, Anne whispered to Eric, "It was a ten dollar cover charge?"
"These places aren't exactly cheap," replied Eric. Anne looked around the darkened lobby. Pictures of future performers lined the walls. A small display counter showed t-shirts, mugs and other novelties that could only be bought at exorbitant prices. An entrance lined with a velvet curtain lay before them. Anne could hear the beat of music pounding on the other side, but couldn't see what was taking place.
"Ready?" asked Eric.
"I-I guess so," said Anne. Eric led them to the curtain and pushed it aside. On the other side was a dark room. The combination of the pounding of the music, cigarette smoke, and flickering light show hit Anne like a sledgehammer. As she got her bearings straight, she saw a bar directly in front of her. Scantily clad women walked around serving drinks to small tables scattered around the room. At the far end, Anne saw the stage. Through the fake smoke, Anne could barely make out the woman on the stage. All she knew for sure was that she was dancing and that she was quite naked.
A woman dressed in a tight corset and stocking outfit came up and spoke to Eric. He pointed to a table. Anne realized that you could choose where you were going to sit and then realized that most of the patrons were in the seats right up next to the stage. As the two were led to a table, Anne began to scan the room. Guys. Everywhere there were guys. And naked women on the stage. It was very surreal. Anne still couldn't believe that she was in a strip club. God, what would her mother think?!? They sat at the small table that faced the stage. Anne watched the woman on the stage dance. She was in a bra and panty set. Another woman off to the side was completely naked, and the woman on the other side was dancing fully clothed. Anne was confused.
"Think of it like a cycle," said Eric leaning over to Anne. "For each song, they introduce a new girl. The new one dances with her clothes on. For the next song, she strips down to her underwear. On the third song, she strips naked. Well, except for her garter." Anne noticed that the women would make eye contact with one of the guys sitting by the stage. The woman would dance over suggestively, and the guy would put money into the garter, or panty or bra. Whatever the woman happened to be wearing.
"What happens after the third song?" asked Anne.
"Then they leave the stage."
"Is that all that happens here?" asked Anne, wondering what was so special about these places.
"Just watch," said Eric. A scantily clad waitress came up. Eric said something to her and disappeared. Anne figured he ordered some drinks, so she turned back to the action going on in front of her eyes. Here were fully clothed men watching women dance naked in front of them. Part of her was disgusted, and yet, and yet part of her was excited too. The women were beautiful. At least, from what she could tell in the low lights and fog. They mostly had large breasts that jiggled as they moved. Most were very flexible and the twirled around a pole in the center of the stage. Women stretched their legs and thrust out their hips, hoping to get the men to pay them more money. Soon the waitress returned with a beer bottle for Eric and a drink for her. Anne took a drink and tasted a rather poorly made, but strong, whisky sour.