Baby Steps

They say that you never know how drunk you are, until you try to get on your feet.

Rose did not know how true this statement was until she had tried to walk to the pole. At this point, she was sure that there was no way she could walk in a straight line. It wasn’t even certain that she could do it if she went zigzagged.

The situation was not supposed to be funny and if Rose had been in her right state of mind, she would have been horrified at what was happening. She would have been downright embarrassed at the way she was making a fool of herself in his presence.

Her only consolation would have been that this didn’t happen in the presence of all his guests because it was a private show.

First of all, she had almost blinded Wayne with her whip and then he had saved her from landing on her head. He had saved her once again and instead of thanking him, she had literally stepped on his toes.

She was naturally a clumsy person, but with all the alcohol in her system, she was currently all over the place. A living, walking train wreck and Wayne was her only casualty. By the time this was over, she was the one who was going to owe him ten grand for all the pain and suffering inflicted upon his body and soul.

She would also have to apologize profusely for ruining his twenty ninth birthday.

However, all this seemed funny to her and she was resisting the urge to let out a laugh again at the entire situation. But she was holding herself back because at this point, she wouldn’t blame him if he wrapped his hands around her neck and squeezed.

Rose deserved to be tossed out of his house on her bottom without a dime. She had seen all the bodyguards downstairs when security had checked her into the mansion. She was almost a hundred percent certain that with as little as a nod from Wayne; they would toss her out of the compound. Maybe he could even pay them enough to get rid of her permanently.

That last swig from the bottle had obviously been a mistake and she should have stopped a long time ago. But, it had finally been time for her show and she had gotten a little nervous again. After this night, she was going to stay away from any alcohol for at least a month.

Wayne had broken her fall with his body and she was still in his arms, leaning against him. She had immediately noticed when she stepped on him because his whole body had tightened up like a fist. Her left hand had landed on his chest while the other hand was on his right bicep; and she couldn’t help but notice how firm he felt.

She was resisting the urge to feel him up and explore the rest of his body. He still had not said anything since she had stepped on him, the only thing he had done was to hiss in pain. Rose could only imagine the thoughts that were currently going through his mind because she knew how painful her boots could be.

She slowly raised her head to look up at him and it felt good to do so, even if it was slightly. She was used to looking guys in the eyes or having them a little bit taller than her. But with Wayne, there was enough of a height difference to make her feel kind of dainty.

When she looked at him, she could see his eyes were closed and there was no expression on his face.

“Wayne? Are you okay? I am terribly sorry about stepping on your foot. Does it hurt really badly?” Rose asked cautiously.

He seemed like a nice guy. She had carried out a little research on him after she had agreed to help Jessica. Apart from his success, people often described him as “scary, arrogant, authoritative, no-nonsense and insensitive.” But she hadn’t really noticed any of that since he had been here with her.

When Cinnamon’s boot had landed on his toe, it took Wayne a significant amount of self-control not to utter every curse word he had ever heard in his life. As he stood with his eyes closed, he clenched his teeth so he wouldn’t howl in pain because he did not want anyone to hear him.

He didn’t want Tom or any security personnel stationed nearby to break down the door because they assumed he was in some sort of danger. Perhaps he did need them in here to protect him from this woman.

What the hell was that boot made of and why was this happening to him? He should have sent her away from the moment he had seen her on that barstool. But now, she was going to do what she came for even if he had to hold her up; and help move her arms.

He had sacrificed his big toe for this and couldn’t help feeling a twinge of annoyance at the entire situation. He wondered why he had been patient up to this point. If it had been anyone else, from the moment she questioned his name he would have gotten them kicked out and found a replacement.

Time was literally money for him and he avoided wasting it with unnecessary or irrelevant conversations and meetings. But with her, he had patiently answered her questions and offered to pay her for no services rendered. The gentleman in him had refused to allow her fall and look where it had gotten him.

“It doesn’t hurt Cinnamon. In fact, I greatly enjoyed you stepping on my toe.” The sarcasm dripping from his words could fill a bucket, but Cinnamon hadn’t obviously realized that because she giggled at his answer.

Wayne finally opened his eyes and looked down at her. The view wasn’t so bad from up there and with the pain dying down; he could clearly see the amusement in her eyes. He also couldn’t help noticing how perfectly well she fit against him and if he bowed just a little bit, his lips could meet hers.

“Thank you for catching me again Wayne,” and with that she moved away from him and attempted to get to the pole the third time. He cautiously walked behind her but she made it safely this time and held onto it like she had been drowning and it was a lifeboat. She even let out an audible sigh.

“Wayne, could you please pick something for me to dance to?”

He walked back to the bar counter to get the remote for the stereo and picked a song before settling down into one of the armchairs a few feet from the pole.

Finally, the show is about to begin and all my limbs are still intact in spite of all the close calls. It’s time for you to blow my mind Cinnamon.

Wayne had picked a song she wasn’t familiar with. It was sounded like it was Egyptian or maybe Caribbean, but it had a sensual tone and made her feel sexy.

Okay, I have seen Jessica do this a million times so it shouldn’t be that hard. All I have to do is find a way to get up that pole and seductively slide down.

She was tall so that already seemed like a good start and that should make getting up the pole a lot easier. Right?

Wrong.

Was the pole supposed to be this slippery or was it a lot harder because her fingers felt like they were made of jelly? Rose jumped and tried to wrap her arms and legs around the pole but she just landed on her butt. She jumped again and tried to fully embrace the pole with her body this time.

But she just slid to the ground and her leather jumpsuit made an embarrassing sound as it rubbed against the pole. All this effort was making her dizzy and she glanced at Wayne so she could tell him she needed a break so she could rest or something.

Man, she must be out of her mind.

Rose expected him to be furious but she saw his shoulders shaking with mirth as he covered his mouth with his hands. Her cheeks went hot with embarrassment and she felt like melting into the floor. So much for liquid courage, maybe she could have gotten up this pole if it didn’t feel like with every move she made, scotch was sloshing around her insides.

Wayne could barely breathe as he felt the laughter overcome him. He could feel tears prick his eyes and stitches in his sides from laughing too much.

She couldn’t get up the pole!

After everything he had been through tonight and she couldn’t get up the damn pole!

He was so angry that he felt it was easier to laugh at her attempts than dwell on the irony of what was going on. He was going to strangle every single one of his friends who had sung praises of Cinnamon’s prowess with the pole.

He had been right about her being too drunk to perform or maybe she wasn’t as good as she thought. He had given her a lot of liberties, including tolerating things which he wouldn’t have taken from just anyone; and he wasn’t even sure why.

This whole night had been just a big joke but at least he wasn’t going to forget it ever. What a memorable birthday this had been, it was almost sad to see it come to an end. But he had endured this enough and it was time to bring it to a close.

Maybe he could allow her continue actually. Seeing her struggle with the pole seemed like adequate revenge for the pain his toe had gone through. Their eyes met and Wayne raised a brow with a smirk plastered on his face.

“I’m waiting for you to continue Cinnamon.”

How dare he laugh at her? It was all Jessica’s fault that she was out here making a fool of herself for some arrogant billionaire. It was Victor’s fault as well, because it would have been easier to have refused the offer if she didn’t have him to think about.

Well, she wasn’t going to back down from this fight and there was no way she was going to lose to a pole!

Think Rose! You don’t have to climb the pole in order to put on a killer show, just do your own thing and make it work for you.

Rose got up, stood beside the pole and then she held onto it for balance as she slowly squatted down seductively. While just inches above the ground, she began gyrating her hips as she followed the rhythm of the song. She added twerking to the mix and was soon performing at a settled pace.

When her knees got exhausted from all that squatting, she got up in what she hoped was a seductive manner. She was finally getting the hang of this and was feeling extremely sexy and powerful.

The song ended and the next one that started immediately after had a faster tempo and Rose was ready to take advantage of that. She made that pole her best friend as she used it to swing from side to side like a dance partner. She let loose and moved her body in ways she only did in the privacy of her bedroom; when her favorite song was on.

She was having fun and sneaking glances at Wayne. He definitely wasn’t smirking or laughing anymore and he hadn’t taken his eyes off her.

Ha! That should show him that he shouldn’t underestimate me, Rose thought with a self-satisfied grin.

“Take something off now, Cinnamon.” Wayne softly commanded in a voice that made her knees go weak like boiled spaghetti.

Gulp.