At the club's entrance, the bouncer searched Adam for weapons just like a policeman would. Not finding any guns or knives, even after frisking him hard beneath his arms and around his back, he had no choice but to let him in.
"I'm watching you."
Whatever.
Inside, the first thing Adam noticed was the smell of tobacco and bad choices in the cold air.
Jeez! Do they ever turn off the AC? He wondered. It's freezing in here.
To his surprise, the rest of the place fared better than its shabby exterior: the white leather furniture was elegant, and the chrome tubes separating the different areas made the spaces appear bigger somehow.
As he meandered, looking for a corner table far from everyone else, it became apparent the walls there had no edges; they all ended in soft curves. Lit by a wavy blue light hidden in the ceiling borders, it seemed the decor aimed for an "under the sea" theme.
"Ironic," he muttered. "Because I feel like a fish out of—"
In the central stage, surrounded by a few men drinking, he saw her.
Lili was dancing. Wearing nothing but a red thong and a Santa hat, her skin glittered under the spotlight.
Are those cartoon reindeer stickers covering her nipples?
When she spotted Adam, she greeted him with a smile.
This froze him.
What do I do? Wave at her? Wink?
Soon that awkward exchange didn't worry him as much as the bartender glaring him down.
Adam mouthed a hello to Lili and sat by a table as far from the bar as possible, a decision that had nothing to do with the barman.
Lead us not into temptation, he said to himself, remembering how hard he'd fought for his sobriety.
"It's the first time I've come close to praying since forever." He went from a frown to a smile. "Once a Catholic, always a catholic. I hate when Magda is right."
"Hello." The only waitress around came towards him and wiped his table with a cloth. "What can I get you?"
"Red Bull."
"Yeah, sorry, we are fresh out of that."
"How about Coke?"
"Sir, we don't sell drugs in this establishment." She acted serious, then chuckled. "I'm joking."
"Funny."
"Want a Cuba Libre, then?"
"Plain Coke."
"Virgin Cuba Libre it is," she winked at him and headed back to the bar.
Adam assumed drinking was borderline mandatory in a strip club. He was also sure that a Virgin Cuba Libre would be more expensive than a soda.
Fine. Who cares?
It wasn't until a while later, once the ice cubes in his glass had watered down his drink, that Lili came to his table.
"You look surprised."
"I do?"
"You didn't think I was a school teacher or something like that, did you?"
"A nun, actually."
"Amen," she made the sign of the cross over her naked chest.
Adam wanted to avoid looking uncomfortable, but he couldn't even keep eye contact with her.
"What's with that face?" she asked. "No need to make this weird."
"Hey!" The bartender shouted behind the counter, rubbing his index and middle fingers against his thumb.
"Right," she nodded. "Pay for a private dance."
"You're kidding."
"Show me some money or a credit card. Hurry!"
He did as told.
As soon as the cash was on the table, Lili pressed against him and moved to the raunchy music beat. Time stopped, and the world faded. Only her soft skin existed, nothing but her sweet perfume breathed life into him.
When she pulled away a moment later, Adam almost fell out of his chair. She turned around, winked over her shoulder at him, and bent over slowly to touch the floor with her hands.
This is what sailors must have experienced when sirens lured them to their deaths.
Too distracted by her hips' hypnotic sway, Adam didn't realize she was now on his lap. The heat coming out of her was melting his brain.
"I'm not charging you for this," she said in a low voice. "Just needed Carlos to leave us alone."
"The barman?"
"Yeah."
"Don't get in trouble. I'll pay for the dance."
She pointed up, and Adam's eyes followed her finger to find a small, black convex crystal he hadn't seen before.
"Our income comes from somewhere else."
"Is that a...?"
"It's Video Loco," she mimicked the jingle from the famous hidden camera-practical joke television series.
Everyone's watching me, Adam thought. He had put duct tape over every 'peephole' in every device he owned to avoid something like this.
"Fuck. You are recording me?"
"Smile, honey. You are on TV."
"Why?"
"We do this to everyone."
"Are you extorting me?"
She canted her head closer to his.
"Don't be silly."
"Then why tell me?"
"Dunno. Have told no one before." Lili thought about it. "Only you."
"I'm confused."
"No secrets between us. I wanted to show you who I am. Flaws and all."
"Why?"
"Dude! My breasts are literally on your face. Do you need me to spell it out?"
The blood rushed to his cheeks. He needed to change the subject. Fast.
"Isn't it a dangerous way to make money?"
"It pays the bills." She shrugged. "Besides, it's a numbers game."
"What did you say?"
"A safety net, dummy," Lili whispered in his ear. "No one wants their dirty little secrets sticking their heads out, and, if someone plans to mess with me, I have an ace up my sleeve."
"Should I even ask?" he said, raising his eyebrows.
"The phone numbers of most of my clients are in my cell, and I can be very persuasive."
When her neighbor stood up, Adam feared the dance was over, but then she teased her way down to the floor, spreading her legs open.
"Lili, listen..."
"So, you didn't find him?"
At first, he thought she was talking about Rafael, which was impossible. A second later, it clicked for him.
"Papa Smurf?" Adam sighed in frustration. "That little spawn of Satan exploited me and then disappeared."
She tittered.
"Sorry. I shouldn't laugh."
"You think it's funny? He had me fight a hobo in the parking lot."
Her smile faded at once.
"Oh, God! That's terrible. I assumed he'd only give you the PC if I were with you, but I never imagined he—"
"Wait. Unless you were with me?"
"An excuse to see me again. The boy can't resist my charms..." She looked at his crotch. "Unlike you, it seems."
Once again, his face turned red.
"It's not you. Everything about this day has been terrible."
Lili stopped dancing.
"Wow, thanks."
Adam dropped his gaze, and the song ended. Now that a strange silence had fallen over them, he couldn't meet her eyes again. A part of him felt bad for not being aroused, but the rest of him...
I'm a pig for wanting her. She deserves better than rubbing her body against strangers.
"I..." He exhaled instead of apologizing.
"Don't say you're sorry. It is not your fault." She toyed with her Santa Claus hat while she waited for the next song to start. "This whole mess happened because of your dead ex-girlfriend."
To be continued...