When they finished, the crowd applauded the dance and feats of athleticism.

Preston turned to her and cocked his head to the side. “I feel like I’m at Cirque du Soleil.”

“Well, some of these people used to work for them,” she confessed. “Usually, it’s just a burlesque club. The acrobatic dance, trapeze, aerials, pole—”

“Pole?” he asked with raised eyebrows and a dirty smirk.

“Not stripping,” she insisted. “Just acrobatic pole dancing.”

“There’s a difference?”

“Trust me. It’s much more difficult with many more bruises, and it’s not half as sexy as you might think it is. Plus, they keep their clothes on, and they even go to competitions, just like dance or cheer or gymnastics or anything else.”

He held his hands up. “I see you’re passionate about this. Forgive my ignorance,” he said with that same dirty smirk, like he wanted to take her right there on the couch the more vehement she’d become.

“I forgive you,” she joked. “But really…I’ve never brought anyone here before.”

“How did you even find this place?”

Trihn shrugged. “My friend Cassidy started performing here after leaving the company at NYC Dance House. She’s performing tonight.”

“So, do your other friends from the company come here, too?”

Trihn shook her head. “Nah. Cassidy kind of…rubs people the wrong way. She’s very…spirited,” she mused. “This is my secret. No one else knows about it. So, now, I guess…it’s our secret.”

“I like secrets.”

“Good, because my family would probably kill me if they found out I hung out at places like this.”

He laughed and turned back to the stage as the next performers started their routine, and they watched for another hour and a half. As a regular of Slipper, Trihn had seen some of the amazing performances before, but some were brand-new for the show tonight. Every single one of them had given her a rush and reminded her all over again why she loved this so much. It was different than ballet, which was so structured. This was utterly freeing.

Then, Cassidy stepped onto the stage. She was about Trihn’s height with a fire-engine red pixie cut and a toned lean body that was accentuated in the tiny silver crop and shorts combo she was wearing.

A long silver pole, reaching up to the ceiling, materialized in the center of the stage. Her movements were unlike anything anyone could have envisioned. The pole was an extension of her body. Watching her move was like a living art piece.

Anyone who believed that pole dancing was only for strippers had never witnessed Cassidy perform. Just because poles were in strip clubs didn’t mean that the art form belonged to them. Most strippers couldn’t even do the incredible aerial stunts that Cassidy pulled off, thanks to years of training and her incredible gymnastics and dance background. She had come in third this past year at the National Pole Championship in Los Angeles.

Trihn would kill to be in her shoes—to be so sure of her life after high school, so set on her path, so free to do whatever the fuck she wanted.

“She’s really good,” Preston admitted.

“I know.”

“She could be making so much money.”

Trihn laughed and nudged him. “She is. Just look at her.”

Really, no one could tear their eyes off of the stage when Cassidy performed.

Cassidy climbed the pole higher and higher until she could almost touch the ceiling. The music hit a crescendo, and then in her final move, she dropped straight to the ground, a full thirty-feet free-fall, before tightening her body all around the pole and saving herself from certain death, landing a hairbreadth from the ground.

The crowd gasped and then cheered in an uproar. She was brilliant.

Trihn leaped to her feet, applauding her friend. Preston stood next to her, also mesmerized.

Then, Trihn felt Cassidy’s eyes on her. She smiled broad and then rushed from the stage, heading straight to Trihn.

Cassidy latched on to Trihn’s wrist. “Come on.”

“Cassidy, what are you doing?” Trihn demanded in a panic.

“Your turn, little ballerina.”

“What? No!”

“Ladies and gentlemen”—Cassidy’s voice boomed through the room—“I would like to present our newest member of the Slipper company, Trihnity,” she cheered, pulling a dumbstruck Trihn onto the stage.

THE CROWD WENT WILD.

Trihn’s mouth dropped open. She was standing on the stage at Slipper in front of more than a hundred people and her boyfriend. Cassidy was speaking, but Trihn felt as if she were in a vacuum. She couldn’t hear a word of it. All she could do was stand there in shock and wonder what the hell was going on.

Cassidy and some of the other members of Slipper had worked with Trihn backstage and at clubs, teaching her the ropes. She knew enough about pole dancing to perform, but she had never in a million years thought she would actually do it. It was a skill set she’d closely guarded…and had never intended on showing Preston, let alone a roomful of strangers.

Then, Cassidy took a step back with her hand out.

Trihn met her wicked gaze and mouthed, I’m going to kill you.

Cassidy cackled. But there was nothing Trihn could do. She had to either perform or slink away and lose face in front of everyone. There wasn’t really a choice.

With a heavy sigh, she squared her shoulders and made up her mind. She reached down for her booties, unzipped them, and started taking her shoes off. Her feet sank into the soft spring floor just as the music started. She would have laughed if she wasn’t so nervous. She had danced to this song before when they were messing around. Cassidy must have planned this ever since Trihn had told her that she was coming tonight. That girl will pay for it later.

The crowd cheered as her shoes were discarded, and Trihn slowly stripped out of her shirt. It was probably completely see-through anyway, thanks to the harsh lighting on the stage, but she would need all the skin she could use to stick to the pole. Thank God she had chosen one of her best bras for the evening.

She could feel Preston’s eyes on her, and for a second, she let herself find him in the crowd. He was intrigued, leaning forward in his seat—no, not just intrigued. He was fascinated and desirous.

With the power of that look, she let expectations wash off of her, and a haughty smirk touched her lips. She could do this. She wasn’t as good as Cassidy, but that didn’t matter. The crowd wanted a show, and a show she would provide.

Trihn slowly reached up and slid her fingers around the pole. It was cool to the touch. She’d thought her hands might be slick, impairing her grip, but she found that she must not be as nervous as she’d thought. She started walking in a slow, sensual circle around the pole, warming her body up as much as drawing the eyes of the crowd.

She picked up the pace until she was nearly running. Then, she dropped her left hand lower on the pole, mirroring her top arm, and kicked her legs up, swinging around the pole with her legs bent at the knees. She pretended to walk through thin air, all while her arms held her up in place, and the crowd cheered.

Her smile grew.

Turning in midair, she brought her low arm up to meet her high arm and used her upper-body strength to pull herself upside down through a shoulder mount before executing a perfect Gemini. With one leg extended and the other wrapped around the pole for support, her body tipped backward, and she stared out at the crowd, completely upside down.

She felt the fluidity of the dance coursing through her. She knew the moves, and she knew how to complete them. Performing came second nature to her.