Electrified(40)

I thought I asked Carson not to show up tonight.

“Some dude, kinda tall, not real wide, blond crew cut, jeans, and a cowboy hat. He keeps ordering another beer and asking for you.”

“Oh, I don’t know who he is.” Relief mixed with disappointment as Sienna asked, “Did you tell Ash?”

“Of course I told Mike and Asher. They’re on it. Keeping an eye. They sent Laurel over to give him a dance, keep him occupied. Anyway, I’m out of here. Just wanted to give you a heads-up. I got a big party to work!”

Sienna set down her eye shadow brush after Sydney left, wondering at the vulnerability she found herself feeling. She’d never felt disappointment over a fan not being there, but Carson wasn’t just any admirer. At the rate she was going, before long she’d be wearing her feelings on her sleeve. She had almost jumped for joy when Sydney mentioned someone asking for her, thinking it was Carson, then felt the sting of tears when she realized it wasn’t him. Even though she’d told him it would be better for him not to come, did she wish that he would show up anyway?

She sighed and grabbed a tube of her lotion, then began carefully applying it to her skin.

Who was this new guy asking for her? No one ever really did that; they knew she would be onstage soon enough. She should be more concerned over the stranger in the hat than mooning over Carson, and decided that after her dance, she would make it a point to get a better look at the dude in the cowboy hat.

The whole scenario made her shiver. It was just a bit too weird, strange, and out of the ordinary. Customers wearing cowboy hats weren’t an everyday occurrence in the Tunnel, and the guy’s going out of his way to ask for her made her wonder if her past was catching up with her.

For the first time in years, Sienna thought about the possibility of Elon sending someone to look for Lila. Elon. Just thinking his name in her head gave her goose bumps. She was never going back to him, even if she had to cross the border to Mexico.

No way. It wasn’t possible, Sienna told herself. Elon would never think to look for her in a strip club. It was a world not even remotely on his radar. The new life in which Sienna existed was so distinctly different than the one they shared back in New York.

The stage was her security blanket, the only place where she checked her past memories at the door.

When she was ready, Sienna alerted the crew to black out the whole stage so she could climb the pole and be ready to surprise the crowd when the lights went on. As the R&B beat started to build through the speakers, she clung to the pole, waiting to be revealed to her fans. In the dark, she could barely make out the silhouette of the cowboy. Laurel was sitting with him, fawning over him seductively. Good. Maybe she was just the right distraction. Doubtful, but maybe.

Sienna didn’t need any more men sniffing around her personal life. She needed to get back to being alone, but first she had to get Carson out of her system. She deserved one little bite of sweetness.

She had enough to worry about with Carson, the upcoming lunch date, and staying alive. Her cowboy was going to have to find a new interest.

Ten, nine, eight… Sienna quietly counted while entering her zone.

The lights came up, and what seemed like a thousand twinkly spotlights shined on Sienna hanging from a pole, thanks to a mirrored ceiling and twenty-five strategically placed light bulbs. Everything at the Tunnel was make-believe, but it felt unbelievably real. Not only the decor, but Sienna herself was a large part of the illusion.

The vibe was smooth and subtle tonight as her bustier clung to her cleavage, revealing the natural round curve of the top of Sienna’s breasts, hinting at more. With one leg stretched up the pole, the other facing the other direction and twisted around it, Sienna looked out into the crowd with her pools of mysterious blue from her split on the pole. She teased their senses, luring them into her world where anything was possible.

The customers might catch a glimpse of her nipple and think they know her intimately, but they would never really know her. The true her. Her looks and her moves might captivate, entice, and scintillate, but she held everyone at bay, never fully letting them in deep. That was the tease, the hook that kept everyone—men and women alike—coming back for a better glimpse of nipple, vagina, or just about anything Sienna.

The slower rhythm and blues vibe blended into a hard-core rap, so Sienna picked up her pace, working the front of the stage, running her hands through her hair, squatting down low, her legs bent and spread to the side, giving the men yet another peek. She was feeling the pulse of the music, the collective heartbeat of the club, the expectant air that always settled on the room when she danced, but she was missing her dark and mysterious pair of eyes.