It felt like my heart was physically crushed when I saw my boyfriend getting a Grinding Lap Dance from a woman who was breathtakingly beautiful. She leaned back, showing off her perfect, bare breasts, almost touching his face with them as her long, gorgeous red hair nearly brushed his thighs. If he was going to cheat, at least it was with someone stunning, I thought bitterly.
His expression was sickening; he looked at her with the same intense desire he used to show me during our intimate moments. Moments I foolishly believed were unique to us. Clearly, I was wrong.
“I know it looks bad, Emily, but a lap dance isn’t technically cheating,” Aidan said, making me whip my head around.
“Of course, it is! I don’t know what your definition of cheating is, Aidan, but he’s staring at an almost naked woman like he wants to devour her, and she’s rubbing her bare breasts in his face while grinding herself on what I’m sure is his hard-on. He’s having physical contact with another woman – that’s cheating!” My voice was rising in disbelief and anger.
“Well, technically he’s not touching her. She’s touching him. That’s the rule here. Only the strippers can touch. Patrons get thrown out instantly if they touch a dancer in front of a bouncer. It’s a strict rule.”
My heart rate slowed slightly. Maybe he had a point. While the sight of this beautiful woman thrusting her breasts in my boyfriend’s face and her pelvis against his groin was still infuriating, I realized he wasn’t actually touching her. I was still furious he’d lied about where he was, but maybe this wasn’t as catastrophic as I initially thought.
“So, they don’t get physical with the customers? It’s completely hands-off for them?” I heard a sliver of hope in my voice.
At my question, Aidan’s face changed, and my stomach lurched. A wave of nausea washed over me.
“What? Tell me!” I demanded, fear gripping me.
“Well, on the club floor, yes, it’s hands-off. But what happens in the back rooms is a different story. Officially, the girls are only supposed to dance, but everyone knows some of them offer ‘extras’ for more money, on top of the club fee.”
My stomach churned as I continued to watch my boyfriend, the man I’d loved for seven years, with this other woman. His friends at the table were cheering him on. One of them, older than the rest, was even louder, with another stripper perched on his own lap.
“What do you want to do, Emily? Do you need a drink to calm down before you confront him? Want me to drag him out of here? Call you an Uber? Just tell me what you need,” Aidan asked, his concern evident.
I looked at Aidan, a man I’d just met, who was showing me unexpected kindness during one of the worst moments of my life. I was lost, unsure how to proceed. I glanced back at Grant’s table and saw the stripper now sitting on his lap, mirroring the scene with the older man. Clearly, the grinding lap dance was over.
He was laughing, holding what looked like scotch in one hand, and rubbing her bare leg with the other. She was nuzzling his neck, basking in his touch. Their body language screamed familiarity, suggesting this wasn’t their first encounter.
I was about to ask Aidan to call an Uber – I’d seen enough – when the music from the stage paused. I distinctly heard the older man say, “You taking Roxy back for a private dance again tonight, G-Man, or are you gonna try someone else? Mindy here says she wouldn’t mind a turn with you. I’m happy to swap. Seems Roxy’s been bragging about you to the other girls.”
My legs nearly gave way. It wasn’t just the lie about his whereabouts. It wasn’t just the lap dances, which were bad enough. It was regular trips to the back rooms, and I knew what that implied. Aidan lunged forward, pulling me into a comforting embrace.
“Oh, shit, Emily. I’m so sorry. I usually work the door, so I can’t confirm how many times he’s taken Roxy to the back rooms, and I don’t want to hurt you more than you already are, but she’s definitely one of the girls who does ‘extra’ for cash.”
The tears I’d been holding back since he missed our anniversary dinner finally broke free. I couldn’t stop them if I tried. Aidan pulled me closer, turning us away from Grant’s table, shielding me from being seen crying in the middle of a strip club. He gently rubbed my back as I sobbed. The man I loved had been regularly sleeping with strippers and then coming home to have sex with me. We didn’t use condoms. We hadn’t for years. I tilted my head back and looked at Aidan.
“Guess I’ll be adding an STD check to my to-do list tomorrow.”
“You’re killing me, sweetheart. He’s not worth your tears.”
“I love him, Aidan. I’ve only ever loved him. We were building a life together. I thought we were heading towards a future, growing old together. I thought he was going to propose, and we’d have babies.”
“I know. I know you do, but you deserve so much better than someone who lies to you and hooks up with strippers.”
“Do you think it’s because she’s sexier than me? I’ve only been with Grant, maybe I just wasn’t enough for him?”
I knew I sounded pathetic, the kind of girl I swore I’d never be – blaming myself for her boyfriend’s terrible behavior. But watching him with that stunning woman, it was hard not to compare myself and feel inadequate.
“Stop that nonsense right now! Any man would be lucky to have a woman like you. People cheat for their own messed up reasons. None of this is your fault. You said he’s been distant since he started this new job. Maybe it’s the crowd he’s hanging around with. Weak men can follow the pack and do things they normally wouldn’t when they’re around the wrong influence.”
“So, you’re saying his new work friends made him cheat?”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying at all. It’s all on him. But you said this behavior is out of character for him, and I’m trying to explain that maybe it’s out of character for the Grant you know, but maybe he’s different when he’s not around you.”
I considered his words, and sadly, they resonated. I had sensed him changing over the past six months. With our increasing time apart, our sex life had become infrequent. I attributed it to the stress of his new job, assuming things would return to our happy normal once he settled in.
I looked towards Grant’s booth and noticed he was no longer there with his workmates. He and the older guy, along with their respective strippers, were gone. Heading to the back rooms, it seemed. My relationship was definitively over. Seven years of happiness shattered in a single evening.
I looked back into Aidan’s eyes, and he was staring intently at me, as if trying to read my mind, trying to decide something.
“I have an idea, if you’re up for it,” he said, a hint of something new in his voice.
“What?” I asked, a flicker of curiosity amidst the pain.
