Bet Me Something (Something Series Book 3) (4 page)

He smirked.
“Tell ya what. If you lose, you still get to pick what we do tonight. Okay?”

“That’s not much
of a bet, however since my intention is to leave you up in the room while I go
out to party by myself, I’ll take it.”

We watched the
wheel spin, landing finally on the black two. Huh, maybe it was a sign that it
could be my lucky night, after all.

***

Pushing away
from the restaurant table after our dinner, I felt completely stuffed. The
steakhouse hadn’t exaggerated its reputation when it came to excellent food. “I
can’t eat another bite.”

Colby raised a
brow. “We have a chocolate soufflé coming, which means you’d better find a
hollow leg or something.”

I’d managed to
polish off a large steak, baked potato, and Caesar salad. “Not gonna happen.”

“Oh, please. I’ve
seen you pack away as much as I can. Plus it’s refreshing for a change to go to
a restaurant with a woman who loves to eat.”

I’d probably
wolfed down more than his last five dates combined, considering the super thin model
types he tended to go out with. I was tall, with my father’s statuesque build
and my brothers’ metabolism. It had been a source of comedy my entire life to
be able to consume food like I did. “I’ve never been shy about my appetite.”

He chuckled.
“No, you haven’t, which is why you have to try the soufflé.”

Fifteen minutes
later, I was precariously close to needing to be rolled upstairs. One bite had
turned into a few, and now we were both feeling the pain. “Did you do this on
purpose to ensure I wouldn’t request to go dancing at some club tonight?”

He grinned
mischievously. “I thought you were leaving me up in the room.”

“Hmm, I should. But
I think it’ll be more torture to make you escort me to where I have in mind.”

“Let me guess:
you want to head up to the top of the Stratosphere to go on those death traps
they call rides.”

I shook my head,
a slow smile curving my lips. “Nope, but you’re gonna wish I did.”

“There’s no
fucking way I’m taking you to a strip club, McKenzie,” Colby admonished, using
my given name, evidence he was uncharacteristically serious. His voice started
loud, but he immediately hushed as we walked through the lobby. At the front of
the hotel, his car was waiting to whisk us to our next destination.

“You said
anything I wanted.”

“Your brother would
absolutely kill me dead.”

I smirked. “Is
there another way to kill someone?”

His scowl left
no doubt I was one step away from finding out.

Wow. Riled Colby
was sexy as hell. “I have no intention of telling him, you big chicken. It’s
something I’ve always been curious about.” And if I was going to have a couple
days of freedom, this was a good way to start. “Where did the ‘what happens in
Vegas stays here’ spirit go?” I climbed into the back of the town car first,
followed by him.

His gaze narrowed.
“Are you into girls all of a sudden?”

“No, but I want
to do something a bit different.” That was the truth of the matter. I’d always
been the girl who earned good grades, played sports, never did drugs. And what
did it get me? Getting treated as the daughter who needed to move home because
she wasn’t trusted to live her life the way she wished. So, it might only be a
strip club, but to me, it was a little exercise in defiance.

“The answer is
still no.”

“And if I’d told
you I was into girls, would it change your answer?”

He chuckled.
“Hm. Maybe.”

“So typical,” I
muttered.

“It’s a joke.
You’re not going, either way.”

“Okay, fine but
I never considered you the type to welch on a bet.”

His jaw
clenched. Finally, after a stare down, he spoke to the driver. “Henry take us
to Lucky Ladies.”

“As you wish,
Mr. Singer.”

“Really, we’re
going?” I could hardly contain my enthusiasm.

He looked torn
and then let out a long breath. “Everyone has to do something crazy in this
town, but if you tell your brother or mine, I’ll be crucified. Remember, what
happens here stays between the two of us.”

I nodded and let
my mind wander toward the possibilities of that statement.

***

I’d never been
inside of a strip club, therefore I had no frame of reference as to what to
expect. But I could tell from the moment we walked into the place that it was
upscale. Everything said luxurious, from the Mediterranean style to the
top-shelf liquor behind the bar. Judging by the way Colby was greeted, he’d
been here previously.

He gripped my hand
as a striking woman in barely-there clothing came striding towards us.

“Colby Singer,
as I live and breathe. I thought you’d dropped off the face of the earth,
honey. How the hell are you?”

He smiled,
kissing her on the cheek. “Adrienne, it’s been awhile. Uh, this is my friend,
Estelle.”

I physically
cringed over the use of my little-known middle name. Nothing said sexy like
using my great aunt’s name as an alias for me. I had no doubt it was partial
revenge for making him take me here.

Adrienne studied
me. “Estelle is an interesting name for a young girl. You’re beautiful.” She
put her hand on my face and smiled. “Are you two here as a couple or, with any
hope, are you interested in a job? Your long legs are to die for and would sure
look fantastic wrapped around the pole.”

My eyes grew big
at her suggestion, but I found myself flattered, not to mention amused. Imagine
telling my mother I didn’t need grad school after all because I’d landed a job
here? The thought made me grin even wider. “Wow, thanks.”

Colby quickly interjected.
“She’s not here to try out, and we’re not here as a couple, but it’s a
first-time experience for her.” He looked out over the crowd around the main
stage. “We’d prefer something a little more private.”

She nodded. “Of
course. We’ll get you settled in one of the VIP rooms. I can send Jazz and
Simone in if you want.”

He rubbed the
back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable. “Uh, how about Jazz and someone else?
Maybe Daisy if she’s here?”

Adrienne gave
him a knowing smile. “Ah, that’s right. Simone will be disappointed, but don’t
worry. I won’t tell her you were here until you’ve gone. I’ll send some drinks
up, too. Still a bourbon man?”

He nodded and
then led me upstairs. I could see down into the main area and was fascinated by
the woman on stage working the pole. Holy shit, she could be a gymnast the way
she contorted.

Colby chuckled
at my wide-eyed observation and pulled on my hand to move me along.

Once we went
inside the door of the private room, we found a large area with dim lighting. I
realized the big window taking up an entire side of the space overlooked the
stage down below. A comfortable-looking sofa with a ton of cushions, a pole on
a small stage, and a low table completed the room. A girl who couldn’t be much
older than eighteen rushed in with a tray holding a bottle of bourbon, and some
assorted juices. “Anything to eat, Mr. Singer?” she offered in a throaty voice.

“No, thank you.”

She gave me a
quick glance, smiled, and then left us alone.

“Estelle, huh?

He chuckled. “I
don’t need to come here in the future with anyone and have the staff mention I
was here with a McKenzie.”

“You could’ve
given me a sexy made-up name instead of using my two-hundred-year-old great
aunt’s name that you’re aware I can’t stand,
Franklin
.” I purposefully
used his middle name to prove my point, but he merely smiled.

“You aren’t here
to be sexy. You’re here to see other women being sexy, and I’m giving you one
hour.”

“That’s hardly
any time.”

His eyes
narrowed, looking stern. At least as stern as his baby face allowed him to.
“That’s it. Take it or leave it.”

“Fine, I’ll take
it.” I crossed over and fixed myself a drink heavy on the bourbon, light on the
sour mix. I then poured him a highball glass neat, which he took with a thanks
and walked back over to the window looking down onto the stage.

“So what’s up
with you and Simone? Bumpy breakup?”

He hesitated,
but then was candid. “No. However she’s a little crazy, not to mention
aggressive.”

We both sipped
our drinks while I contemplated my next question. “So you didn’t have sex with
her?”

Annoyance
flashed in his emerald-green eyes. “Contrary to popular belief, I haven’t slept
with every stripper in Vegas.”

I took no
offense to his tone. “I didn’t ask about every stripper, only crazy, aggressive
Simone.”

His gaze was
intense, the pulse in his throat visibly racing. “No, we didn’t, but I did give
her an orgasm. Then she desired more.”

My breath
hitched as we’d never had such an openly sexual conversation. I thought it
interesting that he’d drawn a distinction between giving pleasure versus if
he’d received it. Deciding to up it a notch, I asked, “How?”

“How what?”

“How did you
make her come?” Was it just wishful thinking, or was he looking as turned on as
I was? The air felt thicker suddenly, my heart was pounding in my chest, and we
were mere inches apart.

Then the spell
was broken when bubbly voices came through the door in the form of two girls. I
assumed they were Jazz and Daisy.

Colby retreated
quickly, separating himself from me both physically and mentally.

Evidently
displaying blunt curiosity was working a lot better than any prior attempts at
trying to be sexy.

Taking a look at
the girls, I was dumbstruck. I wasn’t a jealous or insecure person by nature,
but having two stunning women come into the room in barely anything was
intimidating. If I’d ever wondered what the fuss was about in these clubs, I,
even as a heterosexual woman, got it now.

Jazz was the
older of the two, with blond hair, big boobs, and a confidence that instantly made
her likeable. Daisy was younger, petite, and with the most beautiful mocha skin
I’d ever seen. Her eyes flicked from Colby to me, and she smiled. No cattiness
here, which made sense because this was their business, and the last thing they
needed to do was piss off the women who might accompany men here.

Both women sashayed
towards me, each taking one of my hands.

I could only
stand there a little stunned and then blurted out, “You’re both gorgeous.”

Jazz lifted a
brow. “You’re sweet. Please tell me you’re into girls.”

I glanced over
towards Colby, who had taken a seat on the sofa and was now sporting a smirk as
if to say,
this is your gig
.

“Uh, no, I’m
not, although I maintain life might be a little bit easier if I was.”

Daisy leaned in.
“Have you ever kissed another woman? I bet that would turn your man on,
wouldn’t it?”

“This is all
about her, ladies. I’m merely the babysitter.”

My cheeks flamed
in embarrassment; particularly sensitive to the b-word. Then I decided to make
the most of it. “Actually, Mr. Babysitter, I’d prefer for you to give me thirty
minutes alone with the ladies, please.”

His eyes
widened. “Not happening.”

Daisy’s hand
petted my hair. “We’ll guarantee she has a good time, handsome.”

“That’s not the
deal, Kenz.”

“Don’t you mean
Estelle?”

His jaw ticked
at my flippant response. “Still not happening.”

“With you
adopting the big brother role, I assumed you didn’t wish to sit there watching
as I experiment a little.” Of course what I had in mind was asking them for
some advice on being sexy and to teach me some tricks on the pole, but he
didn’t need such information.

“Wh—What?” he
stammered.

“Oh, boy,
someone doesn’t want to miss out on the fun,” Jazz whispered.

“I want to learn
some things,” I hedged, taking great pleasure when he turned the cutest shade
of pink. I may never master the art of seduction, but pushing him out of his
comfort zone was a lot more amusing, not to mention proving to have an effect
on him.

He cleared his
voice. “What on earth do you want to learn? You already said you’re not into
kissing girls, right?” His voice broke on the last word as if he was about to
have a heart attack over the idea.

I smirked but
was honest. “No, but I am interested in other things.”

“Like what?”

Both Jazz and
Daisy seemed to be anticipating my answer, too.

“Okay, for
instance, how do you get your skin looking soft and smooth? I mean, seriously,
it’s amazing.”

Both girls
laughed and Jazz spoke, “I sure love this girl, Colby.” Then she turned towards
me. “It’s shaving with lotion that does it. It will go through the razor blades
quickly, but it’s totally worth it.”

Huh. That beauty
hack was worth the trip in and of itself.

He shook his
head. “You want to swap beauty tips—is that it? Well then exchange away,
ladies.”

I sighed. “No, I
have some other things I wish to ask. Private things.”

“Like what?”

I hesitated at
first, but then decided to go with the flow of upping the personal information
exchange. “Fine, if you really need to know, I want to learn how to do a good
striptease. And hang upside down on the pole, maybe even spin around it.”

Words seemed to
fail him for a minute. Then he recovered. “Learning the pole takes a lot longer
than a half-hour session.”

I raised a brow.
“Wanna bet?”

“You want to
wager you’ll learn how to hang upside down and spin on the pole tonight after
only thirty minutes?”

“I could
probably learn in half the time.” My pride was quickly getting me into trouble.

Jazz sighed.
“Uh, we can definitely teach you how to do the striptease, honey, but as for
the pole, it took Daisy here months to master the technique. Same for me.
Unfortunately, he’s right.”

Colby’s
satisfied grin made me want to smack it off. “Fine, then they can show me the
striptease.”

“What the hell
for? You said you don’t have a boyfriend, right?”

I tossed him a
sexy smile. “No, I don’t, but I’m sure my next one will thank me plenty.”

Both girls
cracked up.

“Tell you what.
You want to bet, then fine, we’ll bet. You have fifteen minutes to learn the
pole. If you can hang upside down, then we can stay here as long as you like. On
the other hand if you lose, we leave without the striptease lesson, and you let
me pay for your school out in LA.”

Holy raised
stakes. “What? No way.”

“Why not? You want
to stay in Los Angeles but can’t afford to do it if your parents won’t pay for
school. This solves the issue.”