Cindy Liu: Class Project

Weekends after class could be different kinds of fun -- clothes shopping, or hiking, or just spending time with friends. A couple of times when both were busy, I even got taken on motorcycle rides with their guys. Fun!

I got invited to dinner at Susan's a couple of times while their overseas friends were visiting, too. That was interesting-- Dave2's Army buddy Jim manages an adult-only resort somewhere in the Philippines, the one where his wife dances in the cabaret. It was nice to have a chance to talk with her outside of class -- Sally's got a sense of humor as fast, wicked, and bawdy as Susan's; the two had me laughing (and blushing) all through dinner. Then while the guys sat out on the patio talking, she joined Susan and me in the living room for another impromptu pole class -- one on one, she was really something to watch. I think Susan and Nita may be little bit better, but I'll be really happy if I ever get as good as Sally is.

Late April, though, things hit a bump. After Saturday class, Susan called me over. She must have been working behind the scenes for weeks -- she had an offer letter for me from her company. She'd recommended me for a full-time summer internship at her office, with a possible repeat the next summer if I did well. It would give me some extra credit, and get me an internship experience a year earlier than most of my friends.

And a good chance at a job offer after graduation. It even paid a small stipend -- not a lot, maybe half what I'd make working for my folks, but many undergrad internships are unpaid labor.

It would be great for my career; my classmates would kill for a chance like this. Compared to spending the summer behind the counter of one of my folks' convenience stores in Fresno the offer was amazing, almost too good to be true.

It just about broke my heart when I realized that with all the advantages I still couldn't afford to do it.

I think my reaction worried both of them. I wasn't quite crying, but I was close. They knew a little about my family situation, but I'd never laid it out in detail. They hadn't realized how tightly stretched the family budget was, or how much I needed all of my summer earnings to cover my college expenses. It wasn't just that compared to free room and board at home, even living on ramen in the grungiest Bay area apartment was a major expense. It was that even if room and board here were free my college fund would take a big loss.

Susan had worked hard to set this up for me, and I wanted to do it so much it hurt. But I just couldn't afford to.

OK, I was over the top when I asked them "Do you know any massage parlors that are hiring? Any good street corners I can set up on at night? Maybe a sugar daddy who likes Asian girls? Because selling my ass on the side's about the only way I can afford to do this." I certainly wasn't serious, or that desperate. Not quite.

They probably knew that. But I must have sounded serious enough to worry them; after they calmed me down (and made me promise not to make any rash decisions) they fed me dinner, gave me a couple of stiff drinks, and dropped me off at the dorm with orders to meet them the next day.

ooOoo

I wasn't any more optimistic the next day, but at least I had my emotions under control again. So I was calm (and a bit embarrassed about breaking down) when I got to the studio. It was closed, of course -- it was Sunday, after all -- but I'd thought we'd talk there. Nope. Instead, Nita was waiting to take me to Susan's place.

Susan met us at the door and led us into her living room/studio, and firmly closed the door behind us. I was beginning to feel a little spooked, but at least they let me finish stammering my apologies.

"... and I really didn't mean I wanted to start hooking. Not really. I was just so frustrated ... you did something really nice for me, and I really want to take the offer. But I really can't afford to, even though I want to so much, and ..."

I let it trail off as I realized I was babbling. Really. At least neither one looked upset; if anything, they looked sympathetic and a bit amused by my verbal flood.

Susan waited for my blush to fade before speaking. "I'm glad you weren't serious about that -- even working in a massage parlor is risky, and working the street's downright dangerous. Even without worrying about getting arrested, STDs, and your family finding out."

Nita took over the conversation. We have an idea. One that will let you take the internship, and still put money away for next year. We had to talk it over first, and call in a favor from an old friend to set it up. But we don't know if you'll want to do it."

I thought for a moment -- I trusted them both, but I couldn't ignore the note of warning in her voice. "Is it illegal? Or dangerous? If not, I'll probably be willing to try. Can you tell me about it?"

Nita smiled "No, and no. It's quite legal. Cindy, would you be willing to work in a strip club a few nights a week? You're already a good dancer -- we can teach you the rest of what you need to know before you'd start work."

I'd never even thought of that. Why I don't know; after all, I knew they'd both done it, and they gave private lessons right in this room for would-be adult dancers. A couple of the club dancer guests at their Saturday classes were former students. And most of us had joked about trying it. But I'd never really thought about actually doing it myself. My mouth opened before my brain engaged.

"I thought you told me prostitution was a really bad idea!"

Thankfully, they just looked amused.

Nita pointed at herself. "Cindy, do you think I'm a whore? Or that I'd ask you to become one?"

I was blushing and wanted to sink through the floor, but I managed to shake my head "No".

"Cindy, I've been an exotic dancer -- a stripper -- for a dozen years now. I planned to do it just once to surprise Dave, but we both had so much fun that when my teacher -- do you remember Kitty, from the class? - offered to put me on the regular schedule, I said yes. Teaching came later."

Susan broke in "She'd already started the studio when I started dancing five years ago, where did you think I learned? And she helped me get the job, too! But she's actually pretty straight-laced." She grinned. "Hooking? I'm pretty sure that Dave -- her Dave -- is her first and only. She may be an exhibitionist and cock tease -- that's a big part of the dancing -- but she's definitely not a whore!"

Nita shook a warning finger at Susan, then resumed: "The Kitty Cat Club makes sure that none of the dancers are hooking. Or anything else illegal -- it could get the club shut down! So it's safe and legal. If you're willing to try it's actually a pretty good job for a college girl. Even dancing just a couple of nights a week our girls usually make considerably more than they'd earn full time on anything else they could be doing."

She paused and studied my face, then added "IF you're willing to do it. I know a lot of girls aren't. Do you think you're willing to try?"

I was still off-balance, so it took me a while to focus, but they waited patiently as I thought it through.

Could I? I'd been pole dancing for months, and most of the women in the class had joked about it, but I'd never seriously considered stripping myself. Not really. I was a good Chinese girl, and good Chinese girls didn't do things like that!

But both my friends had. Did? Maybe I didn't know everything about them, but I did know them well enough to see they were both genuinely good people, with big hearts. Look what they were doing for me! Despite the names they bandied back and forth, I'd seen how much they cared for each other. And how much they loved -- and were loved by -- their guys.

Could I take my clothes off on stage? I wasn't sure. But I'd at least considered -- briefly -- doing worse.

I blushed as I wondered what it would feel like to be naked on stage, with a room full of men watching me? In locker rooms, I'd always kept my underwear on. Except for my parents, my little sisters, and my doctor, the only people who'd ever seen me totally naked were Josh and Shelly. Lovers.

Could I do it? I blushed even more as I realized that I really didn't have any problem with the idea; just thinking about stripping for an audience had my panties damp. Maybe I could do this.

"M-maybe? What do I need to do?" My voice quavered a bit when I said out loud. But I'd said it.

ooOoo

What I needed to do, apparently, was ... go out and buy shoes. Pardon me, "Pleasers" -- that's the brand they recommended. Apparently, if you wanted good quality platform heels the best place to buy them locally was the fetish wear section of an adult bookstore.

I carefully averted my eyes from the other displays as they led me back to the shoe department and selected a pair of improbably high platform heels in my size; even the corner-of-my-eye glimpses of the fetish wear and toys had my face flaming. Shoes I could deal with. Even if they came with 6" heels.

I'd expected them to start by teaching me how to strip. Or maybe give lap dances. (What were they? I'd heard the term, but had only the vaguest idea of what they were.) But apparently my first lesson was going to be learning how to walk wearing platform heels. Not even dancing, until I was comfortable walking.

How hard could it be? A lot harder than I'd thought. As soon as we were back at Susan's house they'd both pulled out some of their own (and taller) shoes and showed me that it could be done. Both of them managed to look as comfortable and graceful with them on as they did barefoot.

Me? At first, it felt like I was going to break my ankle, or maybe my neck, with every step I took. It took me most of the afternoon before I felt even remotely comfortable.

They took me home after dinner -- they were scheduled to dance that night. I didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed they didn't expect me to come to watch. I settled on "relieved" - my calves and feet ached. At least I knew what they did on Sunday nights.

Monday, I didn't see them, but just practiced walking a little more.

Tuesday I had my first one-on-one dance lesson with Nita after the regular class. They traded off times, but I'd be practicing on those heels every night. I stumbled at first, but surprised myself -- by the end of the week, I felt as nearly comfortable dancing in those improbably-named monstrosities as I was barefoot.

But it still felt a little odd -- if I was learning to be a stripper shouldn't I be learning to strip? And the rest of the job? For that matter, finals were just a couple of weeks away -- I still needed to find an apartment for the summer.

I should have had more faith -- they were ahead of me again. Friday night, when I finished my one-on-one session, Susan told me to bring an overnight bag to Saturday's class, and to pack my shoes and any sexy lingerie I had.

"Think of it as stripper boot camp. Expect to spend a lot of time naked! You'll be staying with me until Monday morning -- I'll drop you off at school on the way to work."

I must have looked apprehensive; she gave me a quick hug. "Don't worry. It's OK to be a little scared -- Nita says she was." She grinned, and added, "I'm a lot sluttier than Nita, but I was terrified the first time I went on stage."

Oddly, it helped. I felt a lot better as I hugged her back. "Thanks, Susan. That does help. If you two can do it, I should be able to do it, right?"

ooOoo

I told myself that again the next day as we pulled up at Susan's house. It didn't really help. I didn't have butterflies in my stomach - it felt more like hummingbirds.

Susan led me to a guest room. Here's where you're staying. Get out of your workout clothes and take a shower. I'll lay out a costume for you -- join us in the front room when you're ready." I obeyed. It felt good to get clean and she'd left a robe for me in the bathroom so I could leave my sweaty clothes off when I was done.

Back in my room, I paused. Laid out on the bed were my skimpiest g-string panties, a short plaid skirt, a long-sleeved white blouse, and a necktie. With my shoes on the floor beside them. It looked like I was going to be a slutty schoolgirl.

Nita and Susan were slutty schoolgirls too. Pardon me - "Jasmine" and "Plum Blossom." Apparently, you don't use your real name onstage. That made a lot of sense -- I'd worried about my folks finding out about my new job! I thought about my own stage name while they demoed what I needed to learn.

Honestly, if you've got the basic dance moves down and you're OK with being naked on stage, adding stripping to your dance is fairly easy. Start taking your clothes off during the first song, pace yourself, finish nude. Easy! Making it look seductive is a little harder, but with a bit of practice, you can work removing each piece of clothing into your dance performance.

If you're comfortable with the whole "naked on stage" thing. "Jasmine" and "Plum Blossom" ("Plum" for short) looked as comfortable nude as fully clothed; they both stayed bare as I started my own routine. That first time I did a better job of copying their moves than I'd expected, but I had a blush that nearly reached my navel, and I had to keep resisting the urge to try to cover myself with my hands.

Nita and Susan -- Jasmine and Plum, I reminded myself - really could pass as twins. Even nude, without their tattoos they'd be really hard to tell apart. They have that classic porcelain-doll Chinese beauty -- slender, small-breasted, but still very female. And very young looking -- wearing those school girl costumes they both managed to look my age, even if Jasmine is nearly as old as my mom.

I was almost as embarrassed at their nudity as my own; it took a while before I could look at them directly. When I finally did, I realized that their tattoos matched their stage names: Jasmine had a spray of star jasmine flowers on her left shoulder blade, while Plum Blossom had a flowering plum branch there..

At least Jasmine only had the shoulder tattoo. I hadn't realized that Plum -- the "slutty sister" -- had a matching tramp stamp, plus some elegant-looking Chinese calligraphy running down her spine. With piercings in her nipples, navel, and -- I winced -- was that her clit?

It could have looked cheap. But both carried it off, even Plum; they looked hot, sexy, but -- somehow -- not trashy. And the look went really well with what they were doing.

I'd been impressed with their dancing skill in the studio, wearing exercise clothes. But this -- in and out of costume, finishing up in just heels and a happy smile -- was even more impressive. Athletic enough to be challenging, graceful, artistic, and -- yes -- raw and sexy.

I could see why they loved doing this. I realized that I was getting turned on imagining doing the same, dancing for a crowd of horny men. That made me really want to blush again. Not that I wasn't already.

At least I was nearly as lean and fit as they were, and I've always liked my figure -- for an Asian girl, I've got some nice curves. I'm trim, guys (and girls) seem to like my face, and I've got bigger boobs than both of them put together. But I still felt like an impostor compared to my friends -- what I lacked was their self-assurance. They looked good, they knew they looked good, and they seemed entirely comfortable with showing it off. I ... wasn't.

It was nearly dinner time when we finished our session. By then, I had the basics down and had adjusted well enough that I was no longer continually blushing. All the same, I felt off-balance as Susan led me back to my room -- both of us were still bare. Even though Dave wasn't home yet, somehow "naked around the house" felt different from "naked while dancing."

Susan picked up on it. She gave me that impish grin and told me "Don't worry, Cindy. You've got time to shower and get dressed before he gets home. You don't need to get naked in front of the guys until tomorrow's session."

Her tone was reassuring, but I could tell that she wasn't teasing. And I was blushing again.

"Really?" My voice was more of a squeak.

"Really. After you warm up tomorrow, we're going to bring both the guys in and you're going to work through your routine. It'll give you a taste of what it feels like in a safe space. Then tomorrow night you can watch us in the club and see what it's like for real."

I gave her a shaky smile. She gave me a reassuring one back and pulled me into a hug. "I know it's scary the first time -- but I think you'll do really well. You're a cute girl and a good dancer." She paused, then gave another impish grin. "It turns you on a little imagining being on stage, doesn't it?"

It did. But so did the feeling of her bare boobs against mine. My face felt like it was flaming again -- I hoped she didn't notice how fast my nipples had puckered up! I was too embarrassed to say anything, but I managed a quick nod. She nodded back, gave me another hug, and headed off to shower. After a moment, I grabbed my robe and did the same.

Thankfully, dinner felt almost normal -- after all, I'd been their guest many times before. Though I didn't know Dave as well as I did Susan, I was usually comfortable around him. But I was still off-balance from Susan's hugs, and more so when I remembered that he -- and Dave1, Nita's Dave -- would be my audience the next day.

I liked both the guys, and felt safe with them. But I had uncomfortably realized that part of me was looking forward to teasing them and seeing if I could get a reaction. That worried me. They were both decent-looking guys; if they were single I'd have happily gone out -- or to bed! - with either of them.

It bothered me how much thinking about them -- and Susan, damn it! -- turned me on. Maybe I didn't feel ready for another relationship yet, but my body was reminding me that I was more than ready to get laid again.

At least nobody commented when I turned red again over dessert.

ooOoo

I felt better the next morning. The guest bedroom is around the corner and at the other end of the hall from the master suite; I'd taken advantage of the privacy and given my fingers a workout. After several explosive and noisy orgasms -- I'd had to bury my face in a pillow -- I felt a lot more relaxed. I was still a bit nervous about having the guys in the audience, but I thought I could manage it.

I could. I didn't even blush too much as I did it. Maybe it helped that Jasmine and Plum Blossom went first again, and were perched on their guys knees when it was my turn to Show All. Even staying bare between dances wasn't too bad -- Susan had meant it when she warned me "expect to spend a lot of time naked."

I could tell that the guys enjoyed the show, but they were polite about it -- honestly, I've had a lot ruder stares when I wore a bikini to the pool. So I was feeling a lot more confident when we headed down to the club that night.

ooOoo

From the outside, it didn't look like much. A nondescript, windowless cinder block building at the back of a big parking lot, in the middle of a commercial neighborhood. I was glad Dave was driving -- if I'd been trying to find it on my own I'd have driven right past, despite the "Kitty Cat Club" sign by the front door. But once we got past the security dogleg at the front door it was completely different. I thought I knew what to expect, and I wasn't wrong, exactly, but the reality was overwhelming. Even though it was only one story, the place was huge.

I saw stools surrounding the three stages, and low couches in a railed-off area in the far corner with a small dance floor. There was a bar on one side, though Nita and Susan had told me that it only sold juice and soft drinks, not booze (some weird California rule, I think). It didn't look too busy, but I couldn't be certain; as soon as we were inside Susan pulled me past the bar and into an office.