“Come on, just give me a chance.”

“You know I can’t do that, Lara.”

“Once chance, Bobby, that’s all I’m asking for. Just one chance.”

“Dan would have my head.”

“Dan’s not here now is he? If I suck he’ll never know. If I don’t…”

“If you don’t then what? You know he’ll never let you dance no matter how good you are.”

“Then maybe I should go somewhere else and dance. Go bring the crowds in at some other club up against my pain in the ass big brother. That would be even worse don’t you think? Come on Bobby. He’ll let me do it if you vouch for me.”

“You want me to vouch for you now? You’re going to bring crowds to another club? You must think you’re all that then don’t ya? I don’t even know that you can dance. All the years I’ve known you and I’ve never seen you dance, not even at a wedding. Watching the girls do their routines doesn’t mean you’ll be any good at it yourself. Why don’t you do us a favor and go back to serving the drinks.”

“Come on, Bobby. It’s a quiet right now, just let me do one song. One. All I need is one song, one chance, and I’ll show you what I can do.”

He could hear the desperation in Lara’s voice. He wasn’t convinced she’d be any good but it was a slow Sunday afternoon and the sooner he let her try the sooner he’d be done with it. “Okay, one song. One song!”

“Thank you, Bobby. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” Lara gave him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek before running off back stage to get ready.

Bobby loved the way she felt in his arms. He could smell the shampoo in her hair, a hint of vanilla, and her sweet cherry lip gloss that lingered on his cheek. “Don’t you make me regret this Lara,” he yelled after her, taking a swig of his rum and coke. “And be ready in ten.”

What the fuck was he doing? Dan was going to kill him when he found out. When Milky Chance started playing over the sound system the club manager stopped mid sentence. There was no way she could pull this one off. Scenes from Blaze and Showgirls ran through his mind. This was not going to be good. Why had he agreed to let her try when he knew she was just going to crash and burn?

Lara slowly walked out, her dance starting from the moment her foot hit the stage. He watched as she swayed her hips, not matching the beat but rather playing with it, tempting it. When the song hit its chorus she took to the pole for a back hook spin. Every movement smooth and effortless as if the pole was nothing more than an extension of her own limbs. Her dance was sultry and ragged, passionate and heartbreaking. The grittiness and heartbreak of the lyrics were parlayed into a sexy and sensual dance. She was making love to the music and it was perfect. She was perfect.

He wasn’t the only one surprised and mesmerized by her moves. Every eye in the place was focused solely on her. The line “never danced like this before” was now on repeat for Bobby. She had never danced like this before. They had never danced like this before.

Bobby didn’t notice Dan arrive as the song neared its end. Only when he turned to go meet Lara in the dressing room did he see him. Certain Dan was about to fire him he decided to skip the placating and go after what he should have long ago.

“Looks like we’re going to have to hire another bartender,” Dan said as he walked past.

** This was written for Charlie’s Ultimate Summer Playlist Competition. Go check out all the entries and listen to some good summer tunes.

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