CHAPTER ONE

 

The sheer shock on the faces of her former college roommates proved more satisfying than Barbra Atkins had even dared hope. Tingling, she blew kisses at the rest of her audience, mainly men but with a nice smattering of women present.

 

Her fans began chanting Tam-my, Tam-my, Tam-my - her stage name. She stretched to her full height, rising on the toes of her high heels, lifting her long curls off her shoulders, knowing full well how that simple gesture accentuated her breasts. Without checking, she knew her nipples had swollen to nearly twice their normal size and jutted against the sheer peignoir top, suggesting a little mystery. Many of her fans didn't care about mystery. Barb blew another series of kisses and rotated her hips. A little mystery fed the fantasies, bringing her customers back for more, encouraging larger tips, and generating more lap dance opportunities than she could fit in between dance numbers.

 

She'd honed every move of the body, every glint of the eye, every twist of the smile to enhance the fantasy. She'd studied hours and hours of tapes of her routines and had rearranged them with a critical eye. Grinning at a beefy man waving a fist full of bills, she danced confidently toward him, knowing that she'd left little if anything to chance.

 

It was her attention to detail, her work ethic, and her desire that had made her one of most highly sought after exotic dancers on the national private club circuit. She peered out through the haze at her former roommates, Ruth Nelson and Desiree Rogers, who clearly remained thunderstruck to see their former shy and somewhat nerdy roommate confidently turning on a room full of men and women.

 

Barb pirouetted and shrugged off the peignoir. She cupped a breast in each palm and then pulled and twisted her rosy nipples to cheers. She grinned broadly at Ruth and Desiree.

 

They'd all been good friends in college - none of the backbiting competitiveness that caused problems for so many roommates. Ruth and Desiree had been the party girls, often leaving Barb to her studies.

 

Barb turned her back to the audience, bent over, grabbed her ankles and shimmied her ass. She chuckled at the hoots and yells of delight. She knew perfectly well that the single thong strand running up the crevice of her buttocks concealed almost nothing.

 

She lost herself in twisting and turning dance movements. Above all else, she loved dancing. On stage she could think. On stage she could be whoever she wanted to be. She stopped to thrust her hips suggestively - stage right, center, stage left and back to center. She knew there were men and women in the crowd pretending to be making love to her as she gyrated before them. She smiled at a redheaded woman in the near corner fondling her own breasts, mimicking Barb's moves. She often replayed her favorite lovemaking moments while performing, to intensify the experience for everyone. Intense passion - that's what she was selling. No more. But no less. The audience deserved the best she could create for them.

 

Barb pulled the thong away from her body and let it snap against her belly. She gave her patrons a startled look of fright and surprise. How many wanted to leap up and protect her?

 

She peered over at Ruth and Desiree, who still gawked. Barb wanted to purr when she saw that they'd joined hands as if trying to garner strength to comprehend what they were witnessing.

 

They'd accepted her invitation to join her for their tenth college reunion. Both had gone through recent divorces. While the three of them exchanged Christmas cards every year, Barb hadn't spoken with either since they'd cleaned out their living quarters right after graduation. Both women, however, had eagerly accepted her invitation to stay with her for the reunion. The campus was a quick twenty miles away. Staying at her house would give them plenty of time to catch up on what had been happening over the past decade.

 

Her two friends had shown up looking just as chic as they had in college. Both had been amazed by her expansive, plush surroundings. Most importantly, they seemed genuinely pleased for her success.

 

Kneeling near the front of the stage, Barb raised her arms toward the ceiling and smiled broadly, languidly swaying from side to side. Keeping time with the beat of her favorite music, she sat back on her heels and widened her knees. Slowly, she dragged a hand along one inner thigh and then the other, drawing all eyes to the tiny strip of fabric covering her mound. More than one fan smacked their lips together, lost in the web she spun.

 

She peeked at her former roommates. If she wasn't mistaken, they, too, were getting caught up in her performance. They'd moved beyond shock. Ruth slumped back in her chair as if she couldn't quite believe what she was witnessing. Holding Ruth's hand in her lap, Desiree leaned forward in her seat, making no attempt to conceal her fascination. Desiree's smile warmed Barb's entire body. She had waited years for this moment to see that kind of raw lust on Desiree's face.

 

While the three of them had been buds, it had been Ruth and Desiree who had been lovers. And they'd made little effort at being discreet - not that a college room for three offered many such opportunities. Barb rocked back and forth on her knees, sliding her fingertips under the edge of the thong. The crowd cheered loudly as she vividly recalled watching Desiree crushing her dark vulva against Ruth's in a similar fashion. Desiree's dark, tawny skin had contrasted so elegantly with Ruth's alabaster flesh.

 

Barb slid her tongue through her lips and curled it at her fans. She'd lost count of how many times she'd watched her friends eating each other.

 

With a single movement, Barb shot straight up to stand with her feet spread far apart. She flexed her hips and pelvis, mimicking the fantasy everyone had joined her in. That Ruth and Desiree were lovers had never bothered her. That they'd never invited her to join them had wounded her badly. That exclusion still frustrated her, like a sliver she'd never been able to extricate.

 

She smiled, nodded, and waved as the CD ended. She beamed at her college friends who now looked at her in open awe. Barb choked back emotion. They thought they'd joined her for their college reunion. She'd invited them so she could do some extricating.