Rhett has never been the kind of guy to casually step foot into a strip club. The whole idea behind them has never held an interest in him and he would have been fine with keeping it that way. But he’s also not going to be the only guy to not take part in the bachelor party. What do guys even get out of seeing random girls they don’t even know take their clothes off? Especially sitting in the same room with fifty other guys. How is that any different from watching porn in a room full of people? Is that really a turn on for them? Not like that has ever held his interest either. The only thing that has ever turned him on is being with a woman. Privately and without an audience.

But since this is Jax’s bachelor party, he’s along for the ride. It’s pretty cliché that they’re even here right now, but he’s not going to ruin the night for the other guys. They’re just blowing off some steam and having a little fun. They’ve all been running around the country on tour and I’m sure they haven’t had much time to do much else this summer. So, he’ll let them have their night. Instead, he’ll just sit back and wait for the guys to get bored so they can move onto whatever is next on the list of things to do. It’s not like you can spend all night in a strip club, right?

The room is dark except for the main stage that is completely lit up. There are women walking around in lingerie delivering drinks to tables and fighting off wandering hands from every man they pass. Most of them giggle and sidestep out of their reach, but some of them aren’t so good at hiding their distaste. It makes Rhett wonder why some of these women are even here. If they don’t want to be, is this truly their only option?

The entire room goes dark and a man's voice comes over an intercom system or whatever it is that they use. “Alright boys, it’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for. The angel that was sent from heaven to rescue us all. Get your money out and get yourself to the main stage for Angel.”

Everyone around them starts hooting and hollering. Rhett can’t help but feel bad for the girl. All of these guys are just here to watch her take her clothes off and obviously the club plays into that as much as they can. As his eyes look from one guy to the next, it becomes blatantly clear why women refer to men as dogs. They all might as well have their tongues hanging out of their mouth from all the panting and drooling they’re doing. Honestly, the whole thing makes him sick and he doesn’t want to spend one more minute of his time here.

He stands up from where they’re sitting and leans down to Jax, “Hey buddy, I think I’m going to leave. I know you’re all having fun and I don’t want to ruin that. So, I’m just going to head back the hotel.”

“What? Seriously? But we just got here and we haven’t even touched the pitcher of beer yet.”

He starts to shake his head but the music turns on and his focus automatically goes to the stage. The song is completely out of place and it makes him wonder if the girls get to choose their own music. It’s not something he would ever listen to, but it makes him curious about the girl behind the song either way. What he’s not prepared for is the little spitfire that walks out onto that stage like she owns it. Her chest rises and falls with each breath she takes and then she owns that stage. Every single eye in the room is on her and he can’t control the feeling of wanting to rip every single man’s eyes out including his friends.

“Maria?” He asks out loud and her eyes lock onto his own.

She shakes her head and continues into her routine as if what is happening right now isn’t even happening. Why didn’t she tell him that this is what she does? He slinks down to the chair he just got up from but he refuses to look up at the stage. He feels completely defeated and he doesn’t know why but it feels even more invasive to see her like this. The woman up on that stage is someone named Angel, that’s not the Maria he met on the plane and he doesn’t want to know this other side of her. No, that would just ruin the image that was left in his mind at the airport when they parted ways.

The guys around them cheer and he sees money thrown onto the stage through his periphery. They did say she’s the main attraction, so he’s not the least bit surprised but it doesn’t change the fact that this whole situation still feels weird to him.

“Dude what are you doing? You’re missing it.”

He shakes his head but refuses to answer Jax’s question. He doesn’t even know how to explain that he spent an entire plane ride with the woman up on stage. That and she shut him down when he wanted something more from her. Not that she even gave him the chance to ask if she wanted more.

He clenches his fists down at his sides and refuses to let his anger get the most of him. His immediate instincts are to jump up onto that stage and drag her ass right out the door, but what right does he have to do that? They barely know each other and he has zero claims to her. But fuck if he isn’t pissed off at seeing her up there with all of these men around him leering at her.

The small puddle of condensation gathering underneath his untouched mug of beer continues to grow with each drop sliding down the glass. He zones in on the mess on the table and attempts to drown out the noise around him. The room erupts in noise as the boys show their approval for whatever she’s doing on stage. Boys because in his mind men shouldn’t feel the need to pay to watch a woman take her clothes off. He brings his hands up and tightly grips the table as his knuckles turn white. His jaw clenches and it’s taking all of his power to sit there and do nothing. His nostrils flare and his breathing comes out heavier as another round of enjoyment goes up around him.

As the lights go down, he doesn’t even wait. He jumps up from his seat and ignores the guys at the table and heads straight for the door on the left side of the stage. He doesn’t even care if backstage is off limits. He’s seeing red and the only thing that will help clear his head is getting back to where Maria is at and finding out what the fuck she is doing in a place like this. If he has to drag her back to Texas with him to prevent her from stepping foot on that stage or one like it ever again, that’s precisely what he’ll do.