“What happens when I want to take this further and learn more routines? There must be a plethora of pole dances.”
“Plenty.” She chuckled. “But we can always put you back on the schedule when you’re ready and get the party started.”
“Alright, now!” They high-fived and laughed.
“Now that you’ve mastered your moves, you must tell me when you plan to show them to your husband.”
“This weekend—Saturday.”
“Saturday is in two days!”
Avery nodded. “I know. And girl, you wouldn’t believe what I have set up.”
“I would if you’d tell me!”
They bent over in laughter.
“I mean, I feel like I’ve watched you grow from a caterpillar to a butterfly. It’s only right that you tell me where you’re about to fly off to!”
Avery nodded. “You’re right!” She pursed her lips. “Well. I booked a bed and breakfast presidential suite, and let's just say it’s been arranged to accommodate a portable pole.”
Aaliyah’s eyes twinkled. “Ooh, to be a fly on the wall!”
Avery shimmied her shoulders. “Instead of a crash mat, I’ve had a floor like this installed with the pole. Oh my God, I hope I don’t bust my ass!”
Aaliyah’s laugh was snuffed. “Oh no, don’t say that. You will not fall. You will be as great as you’ve been this week! This routine is all we’ve been doing. It must be a part of your body movements by now.”
Avery nodded. “It is. I find myself hip swinging at odd times of the day.”
Laughter burst into the air, and they embraced again.
“Have a great time, Avery, and when you’re ready to take on another session, please come back and see me.”
“I will. Thank you again and wish me luck!”
“You don’t need luck honey, luck needs you!”
“Okaaaaaay!”
They snickered as Avery exited the building, a twist in her step—her excitement on one hundred.
Nine
DeAndre
“Meet me at Rendezvous Bed and Breakfast. Seven pm sharp.”
DeAndre flipped the key back and forth between his fingers, folded the note, and tucked it inside his jacket pocket. He dropped his keys in the foyer bowl and checked his cell phone.
No missed calls.
“What are you up to, beautiful?” He strolled to the bathroom, where he showered, blot-dried his caramel melanin skin, oiled himself to perfection, and brushed his teeth.
The last few weeks had been busy for his household, but tonight, he hoped him and his wife could relax into the midnight hour and through the dawn of a new day.
DeAndre didn’t want to rise early for work, and he didn’t wish for Avery to either. The only thing he wanted was to wrap her body with his.
“A bed and breakfast,”he murmured. DeAndre grabbed an overnight bag, added some of Avery’s essentials, then headed across town to Rendezvous Bed and Breakfast.