Dance For Me by Alice Dee Page B

the mirror.
          “He’s hotter than all hell. He’s a martial artist, big and strong with like, a cute face and all. He’s not cocky, he’s got personality. What’s up with you?”
          Hope’s insides tingled with warmth at those words. 
           “It wouldn’t be right.”
          “What wouldn’t be right?”
          “He’s taken.”
           “So? Do you think she would care if the roles were switched? She doesn’t give a shit about you, no ho does. You gotta look out for number one, remember? You always told me that.”
         “It feels wrong. Things shouldn’t start off like this.”
          “So you’re just going to pass him up, for her? If she was that great he wouldn’t be trying to get at you. Forget her, she aint your problem.” Shamayla patted Hope’s shoulder.
    “You only live once, Hope.”
     
               Hope pushed out her chair and went to the full length mirror to check out her full reflection. She looked amazing to herself but slutty at the same time. She wished she didn’t have to show so much skin. Shamayla came up next to her and painted her lips red with lipstick. They both looked remarkably different, like strangers. Hope liked that she didn’t look like herself. She had this alternate face to hide behind. Shamayla went to her locker to retrieve her purse, unzipped and took a sip from a little plastic bottle of Crown Royale. She handed it to Hope.
                 
            The guys showed up around twelve, not too early and not quite too late. Dominic’s eyes scanned the darkened room for any sign of her. While other brunettes danced about on the poles or mid stage, he saw that Hope wasn’t one of them. He was disappointed thinking she had the night off. Justin insisted she would be there tonight; that’s what Shamayla said, but she wasn’t.
          So he thought, until he went to the bar to get drinks. And the end of the bar was a woman lying down on it. He stopped at the bar, ordered the drinks and stared at her, lying on her back in a white two piece. Her whole midsection was bare, sheer white cloth draping her body. There were partiers rallied around her, someone poured liquid from a shot glass on her stomach. He didn’t like what he was seeing but he couldn’t help staring. Someone bowed his head and slurped the liquid off her stomach. 
     Hope was still smiling, getting up and wiping down her navel with napkins. When they made eye contact, she quickly hopped off the bar. Dominic turned his attention back to the bartender, glancing her way, seeing some douche in a suit approach her. Dominic held his soda to his mouth watching her in a sort of trance. Her top was short and designed to push up and cover each breast only so much. Her skirt was ankle length but the gold ribbon around her waist line only held cloth down her front and back, leaving her sides bare. He could see her bare legs from her ankles to her hips and there appeared to be nothing underneath. Shane and Justin came up to the bar. Dominic acted like he wasn’t staring at Hope and handed the guys their drinks. Shane was practically drooling at the sight of Hope, his eyes running up and down her body like a kid staring at mountain of candy.
           Dominic didn’t want to compete with Shane; he was kind of his friend and colleague, after all. But he felt the jealousy setting in, though Hope wasn’t his girlfriend. He didn’t like the way Shane was looking at her. Justin elbowed Dominic. Dominic was still wearing his mask, pretending not to care, pretending to have no interest in Hope whatsoever. 
         “I’ll be right back,” Shane said, suavely walking to the left of the platform to approach Hope.
         “There he goes,” Justin said, leaning into the bar. “This guy’s relentless.”
         Dominic did glance over at them. Shane was touching her wig, spitting his “game”. Hope smiled, told him it was nice to see him and then looked