19

The music was the first thing that hit him. A throbbing bass was pumping from speakers that seemed to be surrounding him, assaulting his senses from every direction. The thick carpet underfoot with the opulent furnishings and subdued lighting seemed to accentuate the effect so that he almost felt he was submerged in some other world, with a quite different atmosphere from the cool evening air out on the streets. They had entered via a stone staircase, the building was as old as the “Old Town” after which it was named.

As Fred’s eyes adjusted to the new setting, he slowly became aware of movements in the shadows and, in some cases, lit by hidden lighting which sometimes strobed in synchronisation with the music. Fred could barely believe what it was that caused the movement though. At discreet intervals around the large space were semi naked women of varying physique, but all with one thing in common. They were exteremely scantily clad. Fred had trouble stopping himself from looking away, because he was torn between embarrassment at their state of undress and the desire, natural in a man perhaps, to look more closely. Of course their sinuous, sensual, swaying to the rhythms was intended to have exactly this effect, when his eyes rested on any one of them there was usually an answering and enticing smile in his direction.

His throat was suddenly very dry, he knew that he needed to find the bar and get a drink. No doubt the reaction was partly caused by nerves at being in such a new situation. He realised he should have been better prepared for this, after all the web-site Steve showed him had been pretty specific, but with all his concerns about Lydia and the disclosure of his true identity he had forgotten all about this.

“Come on mate, let’s get the drinks in then” Steve had no such issues as Fred was experiencing and clearly had been in this sort of situation before, “Looks alright here, I reckon we are in for a cracking night out! Bar’s this way, come on.” And he led Steve deeper into the cavernous interior and throbbing sounds pumping of the ‘Old Town’ nightclub.

At the bar Fred felt more acclimatised, some of the beers he recognised and the barmaid was, thankfully fully clothed. He licked his lips, his nerves were still making him crave a drink.

“I’ll get these in then Steve, what’ll you have?” Fred asked his friend.

“Pint of Stella, cheers” Steve answered and being unable to decipher the other beers on the pumps Fred signalled to the barmaid for two of these, She smiled and poured them a couple of half litre glasses expertly, the creamy head and frosted glass making Fred look forward to his first sip. He handed over some Litas, not counting but having the vague idea that it was quite a lot, and received back a few coins. Fred drank thirstily before raising his glass in salute, “Here’s to our holiday!” he said. “Cheers mate, and here’s to some top tottie for tonight!” Steve replied, and drained almost half his glass.

The pair of them were not alone in the club, but despite the supposed ‘happy hour’ they and the other men dotted about the interior were in the minority. The women present outnumbered them by as many as two to one so when it came to choosing where they sat there was no option but to be near one of the gyrating nubile forms that surrounded them. Steve licked his lips, clearly relishing the choices presented to him, whilst Fred was overwhelmed not only by the music, but also by the abundance of naked female flesh. After a moments pause Steve headed towards a corner table in the far reaches of the nightclub and Fred followed him there.

Sitting on the low slung divan, they placed their drinks on the side tables and looked around. There was an interesting reaction to their seemingly everyday action; the dancers nearest their seating smiled and moved yet closer. If you looked closely you would have noticed a predatory smile from one or two, and an answering smile of determination from the other dancers moving in. The new arrivals represented a money making opportunity to these girls, who were employed by the club at a rate not much above that offered to the bar staff and security personnel. However, unlike the other staff, who received minimal gratuities, these girls could at least triple this amount by encouraging the men at the club to engage them for the extra services they offered. They were also able to receive more modest bonus payments from the management directly if their clients were persuaded to purchase certain items (such as champagne) from the bar. Needless to say every one of the girls, if asked, would state Champagne as their favourite drink. Among the girls the sight of a champagne bucket at any table they were attending was seen as a personal trophy. They were all aware that it signified the presence of a big spender in the club, and to be providing your hostess services to one of them was obviously the most lucrative opportunity.

Steve had already decided which of the girls he like the best and was eying the young blonde woman with an openly lascivious gleam to his eyes. She responded by smiling and making eye contact in answer, moving gradually closer with imperceptible movements incorporated in her dancing. Fred was still overwhelmed and needed to have another drink before he felt able to look about. At least three of the dancers had their eyes on Fred, despite his not being aware of it. They all knew that if one girl were to engage with Steve then this was not the end of the matter, because whilst a cheapskate friend would simply follow their friend’s lead and enjoy any dancing or flirting as an onlooker there remained a very good chance that they would equally choose to follow the friend’s example and engage the services of another woman for their pleasure exclusively.

Steve winked at the girl, and she registered the gesture and acted on it. Shifting from her dance steps to an easy walk, hips swaying in time to the music she approached the divan and settled herself on the armrest adjacent to him.

“Hello, how are you tonight, you like watching my dance?” She asked with a heavily accented voice, “You are English, no? Am I right?”

“Yes darlin’. We’re British alright.” Steve said, his eyes wandering appreciatively up and down her form now she was so close to him. “I’m Steve and this is Fred. You sure know how to move to the music. What’s your name then?”

“I am Ivana”, she answered. “You like my dance to music? You want me to dance for you only? You give me 20 litas and I give you 5 minute show just for you. You want me stay, just 100 litas and I stay and share drink with you too. The dancing makes me thirsty, but I only like the champagne in this club.”

“OK darlin’ You don’t have to persuade me, your dancing already did that. How about you dance for half an hour and I give you 70 Litas?” Steve knew the champagne was likely to be overpriced and not so great. He had never liked wine, he felt that beer was a more manly drink.

“You think I cheap?” Ivana asked Steve, affecting a shocked tone in her voice.

“Oh no, I never said such a thing” Steve answered “You’ll be worth every penny I am sure, but I don’t like champagne I am afraid, can I get you another drink?” Steve fetched out his wallet in anticipation. He would never have been aware of it, but this action made Ivana sit a little straighter and eye Steve in a new way. Now she knew he would spend money for her and all that remained was for her to ensure that she got the best deal she could.

Fred had given half his attention to the exchange with Ivana, he realised that he would likely face similar choices himself soon, and blondes were never especially attractive to him, The remaining dancers with their eyes on Fred were dancing all the more enthusiastically now they knew that his friend had engaged Ivana’s services.

Sometimes when more than one man visited they would be cheapskates and the friend would enjoy the show put on by the girl chosen by the first man. But if they were fast enough and clever enough they knew from experience that a man could be persuaded to chose them for himself. A clever interplay of psychology could even make them compete to show they were more masculine than their friend by choosing a woman they thought more attractive for themselves. But to ensure this outcome the girls now needed to decide which of them would negotiate with Fred, and that was a choice he had to make for them.