Page 115 of Vega

“I’m here to drink, tip women, and mind my business,” Lux said, lifting his hands in surrender.

Lowe glanced at him. “You get bored if you not causing problems.”

“Shut up. Soon as we get in here, you gon’ find the thickest dancer with a bad attitude and fall in love for forty-five minutes.”

Prodigy smirked. “That’s his type. Thick and crazy.”

Lowe shrugged. “At least I got a type. Lux just like anything with lashes and a cash app.”

“Damn right,” Lux said. “I’m inclusive.”

I smiled to myself. The closeness of Vega and his crew fascinated me.

Vega placed his hand at the small of my back and guided me inside.

The second we entered, I gasped.

“Oh my God,” I uttered under my breath.

This was a strip club. It was after midnight, and the place was so packed and alive that it was a bit overwhelming. Music pounded through my chest. Lights moved over bodies, bottles, smoke, diamonds, and money. Naked women were everywhere. Women were on the poles, stages, and floor, shaking ass in a way that made me forget to blink. They bent backward until their hair brushed the money beneath them, climbed poles like gravity didn’t apply, spun upside down with their legs locked perfectly in place, and slid down slowly enough to make every man nearby lose his train of thought.

Even the women who were there as patrons were half-naked in tiny outfits, dancing beside tables, in walkways, and near the bar like they were competing with the damn strippers. They had on barely-there dresses, shorts that looked more like underwear, mesh tops, glittery heels, and confidence that matched the strippers.

There was money everywhere. The floor looked like somebody had replaced the carpet with cash. Bills covered so much space that I couldn’t tell what color the floor was supposed to be.

I had never been to a strip club before. I didn’t know where to look, which meant I looked at everything. One woman climbed high on the pole, hooked one leg, dropped backward, then caught herself. Another spun upside down so smoothly that my mouth fell open.

Vega looked down at me, amused. “You good?”

“I don’t know,” I replied slowly.

He chuckled as my eyes drifted to a woman giving a lap dance nearby. The way she moved was slow and intimate enough to make heat crawl up my neck. I looked away too fast and pretended I was interested in the ceiling.

When Vega noticed, his hand lightly rubbed my back. “Relax.”

“I am relaxed.”

“You look like you’re solving equations in your head. That’s how you look when you’re playing those nerdy ass logic games.”

Looking around, I muttered, “I’m calculating several things.”

He laughed and led me to a section. There was already a guy sitting there. He was introduced to me as Knox, Prodigy’s best friend. Prodigy had let Knox know we were going to be there and Knox had beat us there.

As soon as Vega and his crew settled in within minutes, bottle girls appeared with sparklers, mixers, glasses, ice buckets, and at least ten bottles of liquor that looked too expensive for anybody to open. Everybody greeted Vega, Wise, Prodigy, Lux, Lowe, and Knox with respect. Men nodded. Women smiled. Security moved out of their way.

I leaned closer to Vega. “Y’all must come here a lot.”

He smiled, as if my naivety was cute. “We own it.”

My eyes widened. “Oh.”

Before I could say anything else, a woman entered the section. She was stunning, so sexy that it was unfair. She had wide hips, thick legs, a tiny waist, a phat ass, perfect breasts, long hair, and glossy skin.

Her eyes locked on Vega as she walked straight to him and sat on his lap.

My stomach dropped.

She leaned in like kissing Vega was automatic, but his hand clamped around her waist before her mouth reached his.