I'd been in Ruby's once before, but that had been to drop off my application. I'd figured if I was going to take my clothes off, at least I could make decent money doing it. When I'd given it to the busty blonde at the front, she'd given me a quick once over, a polite smile and informed me that she'd file the application but not to hold my breath for a call. Apparently, the girls at Ruby's had to be at least a 36C to be considered. I didn't quite make that cut.

I could feel heat creeping up my cheeks the moment we walked in and I was thankful that the lighting was dim in the audience. Brock was close enough that he would've seen my skin turning red if he'd been looking at me, but his eyes were firmly fixed on the brunette currently gyrating on stage.

We made our way over to a pair of armchairs on the far side of the stage. Brock immediately sat down but Julien gestured toward the other, offering it to me.

“Come here, babe.” Brock tugged me towards him and I gave Julien a smile to let him know that I appreciated the offer.

I sat on Brock's lap, leaning back against him as he wrapped his arm around my waist. I wasn't enjoying the show, but even when I was annoyed at Brock, my body responded to his affections. The heat from his arm burned through my dress, spreading warmth across my skin.

I glanced over at Julien and saw him looking at me. He gave me an awkward smile and then turned back to the stage where the brunette was down to her g-string. I couldn't say for sure, but it looked to me like Julien wasn't enjoying the show as much as most men would be. Then a thought occurred to me and I took another peak at him to see if it could possibly be true. Maybe the reason the whole threesome thing had freaked him out hadn't been embarrassment on my behalf but was rather because Julien was gay and no one knew.

When the next act came onstage, I found myself watching him out of the corner of my eye. A couple times, he looked my way and I wondered if he wasn't looking at me but rather at Brock. It would make sense that he'd stay in the closet. As 'open-minded' as some of the wealthy families claimed to be, I doubted they'd approve of a gay son. It might have even been the reasoning behind his black sheep reputation. Better to be the rebel child.

I was still contemplating my theory when Brock flagged one of the dancers to come over. She was a red-head, like me, but the resemblance stopped there. She was a good four inches taller and top-heavy. Based on the rest of her build, there was no way those things were natural, but they still seemed to mesmerize Brock and the other men.

“A dance for my friend,” Brock called out over the music.

Julien turned pale and he shot me a look of horror.

“Brock, come on,” I spoke quietly in my boyfriend's ear. “I don't think he wants a dance.”

“Of course he wants a dance,” Brock said, not bothering to keep his voice down. He dug into his pocket and pulled out several folded up bills. “Here you go, sweet thing. Make my buddy here happy.”

Based on the woman's smile, I was pretty sure Brock had given her at least twice her normal rate. When she began to move, Julien's entire body tensed. His eyes were on her, but he didn't appear to be enjoying himself. The closer she got to him, the more uncomfortable he looked.

“Get up close and personal with that rack, Julien,” Brock teased. “Those things probably cost a pretty penny.”

The red-head ran her hands over her breasts as she leaned over Julien, her pale nipples brushing against his lips. I was just about to intervene when I saw Julien reach down and adjust himself. Apparently he was enjoying the show. When his eyes darted over to me, I could see guilt in them and understood. Julien wasn't gay. He was trying to be a gentleman. He knew I didn't want to be here and he felt bad that he liked what was going on. I gave him a small smile, hoping he'd take that as permission to enjoy himself. If Brock had already spent the money, Julien might as well have some fun.

The stripper straddled Julien's lap and began grinding down on him. Her mouth was moving and I wondered what she was saying to him. The music was too loud for me to hear any of it.

“You don't really get to see it from this side, do you?” Brock asked, his mouth against my ear. The hand on my waist slid a bit higher until his fingers were brushing the underside of my breast.

I shifted away from his hand on the pretense of answering his question. “Not really. I don't go out and watch the other girls dance.”

“I liked watching you dance with Rosa at the bachelor party.” One of Brock's hands settled on my knee.

I flushed at the memory. I'd been pissed at Reed and had taken things further than I usually did. Rosa and I hadn't kissed and we'd kept our hands above the waist, but we'd done a little touching.

“I kept wishing you guys would take it further,” Brock confessed.

I could feel him hardening against my ass. The hand on my knee slid up my thigh.

“You have an amazing body and I'd love to see it with another woman.” He pressed his mouth against my throat and I felt a chaste kiss turn into something open and wet. When he started to suck, I turned so that our lips were just a few centimeters apart.

“No hickeys. I have to work tomorrow.”

He nodded, but I saw something dark in his eyes. He didn't like being told he couldn't do something. He cupped the back of my head and pulled me toward him. His tongue pushed between my lips, and his lips were hard and demanding against mine. I leaned into the kiss, not minding the bit of PDA considering where we were.

Then the hand on my hip moved up to my breast. I kept kissing him as I removed his hand, putting it back on my leg. His fingers flexed against my thigh and started to move higher, inching under my skirt.

That was it.

I pulled back, glaring at him and I shoved his hand away. “We're in public, Brock.”

“Look around, Piper.” He gestured towards Julien. The red-head was grinding on his lap. “Doesn't seem fair that I came to a strip club and can't get even a little action.”

I climbed off of him, hands clenching into fists. “I'm not letting you feel me up because you decided you wanted to bring your girlfriend to a strip club with you.”

He stood, holding his hands up, palms out, in a gesture of surrender. “Okay, fine.” He reached for my hand. “We can take this back to my room.” His eyes flicked over to the red-head who was finishing up her dance. “Let me see if she wants to come too.”

For a few seconds, I actually thought he was thinking of Julien and wanting his friend to have a good time. Then Brock spoke again.

“You two can dance for me and Julien.” He pulled me against him. “Get us all worked up and ready for what comes next.”

I took a step back, distancing myself from him. “I just want to go home. Alone.”

Anger flashed across his eyes. “You have to be joking. After all I've done–”

“You're going to want to stop there.” Julien was suddenly up and standing between us. “Don't say something you'll regret.”

Brock opened his mouth and Julien grabbed his friend's arm.

“Trust me, man. You wanna shut up right now.”

I couldn't see Julien's face, but there must have been something in it because Brock backed down.

“Fine.” He glared at me. “Let's go.”

Julien walked with me toward the exit while Brock strode on ahead, not even bothering to look back to see if we were following. My stomach was in knots, tightening with each step I took. I'd excused Brock's behavior on Saturday because he was drunk. Tonight, he'd had a single glass of wine. Was something wrong or was this how Brock really was? Had the guy I liked been just a mask?

I continued to think about it on the taxi ride back to my apartment. Julien and Brock had taken another cab back to the hotel. Brock hadn't even said good-bye. I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the window. The cool glass felt nice against my overheated skin.

Did I make a terrible mistake accepting that first date?