"Excuse me? You did what?!" Molly said.

Her eyes were wide and a wide smile was on her lips as she practically jumped out of the chair. Lorelei reached across the table and put her hand on Molly's arm. She had told her friend what happened between her and Jesse, and she made sure to include all of the details. Molly was now squealing as she tapped her feet under the table.

"That is so hot," Molly said. "I wish Anthony would do something like that."

Lorelei blushed. Molly was talking so loud that she was sure that everyone else in Roasters could hear them. She held her finger up to her lips and shushed Molly.

"It was fun," Lorelei said. "By the way, thank you for the vanilla body lotion tip."

"I told you," Molly said with a wink. "The vanilla gets them every time."

Lorelei giggled before taking a sip of her iced coffee. Molly tossed one of her dark curls over her shoulder.

"When are you seeing him next?" Molly asked. "You are seeing him again, right?"

"We're seeing each other tonight," Lorelei said.

"Already?"

Lorelei chewed on her lip. She knew that Molly was going to think that she was absolutely crazy for what she was about to tell her. Lorelei never kept secrets from Molly.

"He invited me to hang out with his friends," she said.

"Woah, woah, woah." Molly held out her hands. "His friends get to meet you and I don't get to meet this hunk that has taken you to pleasure town?"

Lorelei rolled her eyes.

"What are you doing, anyways?" Molly asked. "Beers at a sports bar? Bowling? A movie?"

"They are going to The Alibi," Lorelei said.

Molly leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. Her brows furrowed as her eyes scanned Lorelei. She shook her head.

"The Alibi?" she asked. "Who are you? You have seen this guy twice and you're already a sex fiend?"

"You're the one that wants to get wild at a Montreal strip club," Lorelei said.

"That's my bachelorette party. This is you going out with a bunch of men."

"He said there's going to be women too. Think of this as practice."

Molly pursed her lips as she thought. Her foot continued to tap under the table. Lorelei's stomach fluttered as she took another sip of her drink.

"When do I get to meet him?" Molly asked.

"You're not meeting him," Lorelei said. "Jesse and I don't have that kind of relationship."

"Well, clearly you do if you're meeting his friends tonight."

Lorelei sighed. She spun her coffee in her hand so that the ice cubes crashed together.

"I am happy that you're getting back there, especially after what Matthew had done to you," Molly said. "I just don't want you to get hurt."

"It's just sex," Lorelei said. "It's not like feelings are getting involved. The way I see it is that we're going to a strip club. That is just another sex thing."

"I just don't want to see you get hurt."

"I won't."

--

Lorelei had no idea what she was supposed to wear to a strip club. She tried on a few outfits and texted a few photos to Molly. Unfortunately, Molly had picked up an overtime shift and was answering Lorelei's messages sporadically.

Jesse was coming to Lorelei's apartment in ten minutes and she had already tried on five different dresses. They lied in a crumpled mess on her bed. She knew that she was not going to be ready by the time Jesse came to her building, so she texted him her unit number.

Right on time, Jesse knocked on the door. Lorelei slipped on her robe, stepped over the clothes littering the floor, and headed to the door. Milo and Oliver were lounging on the couch.

Lorelei opened the door to see Jesse standing on the other side. His shirt was tight against his hard chest. The black ink on his arm matched the dark material of his shirt. He furrowed his brows.

"You look cute," he said, "but are you going to wear that to Alibi?"

"I don't know what I am supposed to wear," Lorelei confessed.

"Let me come in and help you," he said.

Lorelei looked over her shoulder at her messy apartment. She regretted inviting Jesse upstairs. His apartment was so clean and hers was a disaster. She wished that she just stayed in the last dress she tried on and met him down in the lobby. Jesse cleared his throat to regain her attention and she realized that she had been staring at her apartment for too long.

"Don't judge me," she said.

"Why would I judge you?" he asked.

"I've been on nights for over a week," she said. "I haven't really been motivated to clean."

"My Mom was a hoarder. I doubt your apartment is going to bother me."

Lorelei let out a deep breath as she pushed the door open wider, inviting him in. He stepped in and looked around. Lorelei was sure he took notice of the sink full of dishes, the stack of unopened mail on the counter, and the mess of cat toys on the floor. Her suspicions were confirmed when Jesse kicked one of the tinfoil balls out of the way.

"You have pets?" he asked.

"Two cats," she said. "Milo and Oliver."

Lorelei reached down to the couch and picked up Milo. She held him in her arms as she scratched his fur.

"This is Milo," she said. "He loves attention. Oliver not so much."

Jesse reached out and pet Milo's head. His dark tattooed fingers looked odd in contrast with Milo's light orange fur.

"Show me what you have," Jesse said. "I'll help you pick something out."

Lorelei nodded and then set Milo back down on the couch. She walked into her bedroom and Jesse followed behind. She extended out her arm to gesture toward the pile of dresses. He picked one up and held it out before tossing it back on the bed. He ran his fingers over the rest of the dresses and shook his head.

"Do you have anything else?" he asked.

"The closet is over there." She pointed her thumb behind her. "There's not too much choice."

"We'll find something," he said. "If not, I'll just keep you home naked tonight."

Jesse winked at Lorelei. She tried to suppress the smile growing on her lips and the blush rushing to her cheeks. She wouldn't mind staying in with Jesse if he was going to give her a night like last night. She would prefer that more than trying to overcome her jitters about going to a strip club.

Jesse pushed the hangers to the side as he searched through the clothes. Lorelei was sure he was not going to find anything for her to wear until he pulled out a dress while he was smiling.

"Wear this," Jesse said.

He handed the dress over to Lorelei. She took it out of his hands to see that it was a dress she had bought to go to Matthew's sister's wedding last year. It was simple: black, short, and with a sweetheart neckline. There was no plunging cleavage or missing back that Lorelei suspected he would want.

"This is what you want me to wear?" she asked.

Jesse nodded.

Lorelei expected that the next time she was going to wear this dress was at a summer funeral. When she bought it with Molly last year, she never predicted that she would be wearing it to The Alibi of all places. She had no clue what to wear to a strip club, so she thought she should listen to Jesse. She also kind of liked the idea of him picking out what she has to wear.

"Okay," Lorelei said. "I'll wear it."

Jesse looked pleased as he sat down on the edge of the bed, pushing the clothes littering her bed to the side. His eyes were locked on Lorelei as she reached for the belt of her robe. She was tempted to turn around as she got changed, but she kept her feet planted to the floor. That didn't stop her, however, from throwing on the dress as fast as she could.

Jesse waited for her as she finished applying her make-up in the bathroom. Lorelei wanted to stay there all night, but she knew that she had to get over her nerves and go to The Alibi. Having Jesse by her side eased the worry, but her heart was still pounding.

She stepped back into the bedroom and Jesse stood.

"Let's go," he said, holding out his hand.

Lorelei took his hand and prayed that he could not feel the sweat building up on her palms.