STRIPTEASED: A Standalone Reverse Harem Romance (Roommates Book 1)

After emerging from the restroom, I pushed through the crowd of excited women, in no hurry to rejoin my future sister-in-law. Though I tried, I didn’t really feel comfortable with Clint’s family. We were staying with his parents until we found an apartment, which, well, wasn’t much fun. They still had a framed picture of Clint and his high school girlfriend on the mantel. Every time I entered the living room, I had to see his arm around a gorgeous young woman who looked like a prom queen.

Still, it had been decent of Sonia to step up and host my bachelorette party, even though I never would have dreamed I’d be in a place like this. I hardly ever went to regular clubs, let alone strip clubs. I was still a bit surprised that Clint hadn’t objected, but I suppose that since it was his sister’s idea, it was okay with him.

“Emma, over here!”

The shorter and friendlier of Sonia’s two friends was over by the bar. She was twisting one brunette curl around her finger when I joined her.

“I wanted to buy you a drink because I haven’t yet. I figured with everyone watching those two, we could actually get near the bar.”

She was right. While it was by no means uncrowded, we were able to slip through the throng of women to hover at the end of the bar. The bartender, a handsome dark-haired man, was serving some tipsy women at the other end.

“Those guys are pretty incredible, aren’t they?” she asked.

I glanced toward the stage. Both twins had their belts off and were twirling them around in well-rehearsed unison. Once the belts were gone, it seemed it was the t-shirts’ turn. However, this time they weren’t in lockstep. One twin tugged his shirt up slowly, revealing the most impressive abs I’d ever seen. His brother, however, reached one hand behind his head, grabbed the neck of his shirt, and ripped it off. Both the slow tease and the more direct approach were pretty damn effective.

“Yeah, they’re really amazing.”

The brunette managed to catch the bartender’s eye, and he worked his way down to us.

We were silent for a few moments, watching him refill drinks and chat with customers. Though he fit the definition of tall, dark, and handsome, I felt more comfortable watching him than I did the twins on stage. I’d never liked it when men leered at me, so I didn’t feel truly comfortable ogling them back. Not that I seemed to be able to help it when it came to the twins on stage.

Sonia’s friend had her eyes on the bartender, too. “He’s cute.”

“Yeah, he is.” I turned to her. “I’m sorry, I don’t remember your name.”

“It’s Maddie.”

“Oh. Thanks for coming tonight.”

“Thank you for letting me,” she said, as if Sonia wasn’t running this show. “I’ve never been to a place like this before, but it’s kind of fun.”

“It’s my first time, too.” Maddie seemed nice. Why couldn’t she be my future sister-in-law instead of Sonia?

“Buenas noches, señoritas. What can I get for you?” The bartender’s voice was loud enough to cut through the din even though he didn’t appear to be raising it.

“A drink here for my friend,” Maddie said. “This is her bachelorette party.”

The bartender turned his deep chocolate eyes on me. “Congratulations! What would you like?”

Wow, was there something in the water in this place that made the men so damn good-looking? The bartender could’ve easily been up on stage, too. His dark hair and olive skin surrounded deep, soulful eyes. His short mustache and beard outlined full lips. The look he was giving me made me feel like I was the only woman in the room instead of one of hundreds. While it wasn’t likely intoxicated women stuffed bills down his pants, I had no doubt he made good tips.

Maddie nudged me, and I realized I hadn’t answered the bartender.

“Surprise me,” I stammered.

He smiled, a charming affair that started at one side of his mouth and slowly traveled to the other. Then he winked, nodded, and went off to make the drink.

Wow—I practically had to tear my eyes away from his cute backside as he strode away. What was with me tonight? I’d never been boy crazy, not like most of the girls I went to high school and college with. I didn’t get crushes easily—at least not on real men. I read a lot, though, so I had a lot of book boyfriends, as they were called. I’d always thought I was destined to be single, unable to find a real-life counterpart to the incredible men I read about, but then Clint and I had started dating. It hadn’t exactly been a storybook romance, but after growing up with just a stern, strict grandmother, it felt wonderful to have a man truly care about me.

I thought all those youthful romantic fantasies were over, yet here I was, drooling over the twins up on stage and this darkly handsome bartender when the man I should’ve been longing for was waiting for me back at his parents’ house.

No, wait—Clint had said he was going out with some high school friends tonight. He’d been doing that a lot since we’d arrived here over a week ago. It made for a lot of long evenings full of strained small talk between me and my future mother- and father-in-law.

“Oh my God,” Maddie said, and I turned to follow her gaze. The twins had just whipped off their pants and thrown them into the crowd. I should’ve realized by the increase in decibels. Both had on combat boots and olive-green boxer shorts. “I’ve never seen hips gyrate like that.”

“Me either.”

“Some women at work said that Austin and Denver were the best—now I know why they thought so.”

I nodded my agreement. Even if the twins hadn’t been shirtless—gorgeously, breathtakingly shirtless—it would’ve been worth it just for their dancing. They were really talented.

“Milady.”

I whirled around to find the bartender holding out a glass of light red liquid. Fresh strawberries lined the rim. I took it from him, and for just a moment I felt the warmth of his fingers. “Thank you. What is it?”

“A strawberry berryoska—something told me it’s the right drink for you. It’s basically lemonade with vodka and berries,” he said. His irresistible smile and dark, soulful eyes rendered me momentarily speechless. “You said to surprise you,” he added.

“You did—I’ve never had one before.” I took a sip, and it was delicious.

He smiled at my appreciation. “Here’s the second part of the surprise. We always keep a few extra behind the bar.” He slid a white cloth over to me. I set my drink down and smoothed the silky fabric out on the counter. It was a sash that read: BRIDE-TO-BE.

“Hey, cool,” Maddie said. “I was wondering why Sonia didn’t get you one of those.”

I stared at the sash for longer than necessary before I managed to thank the bartender. But I didn’t reach for it, and I couldn’t imagine myself wearing it.

Involuntarily, I glanced to the right of the stage where I’d seen earlier that another bachelorette party was taking place. A clearly drunk woman had on a sash, a veil, and was currently half sprawled on the stage, her breasts mashed against the hard surface as she reached for one of the twins.

Was that normal for a bride-to-be? I was here because my future sister-in-law had invited me, but screaming, getting drunk, and shouting suggestive things at gorgeous strangers wasn’t what I wanted. To me, marriage meant family. Belonging. Having someone to love and being loved. That was better than the amazing amount of sculpted muscles on the twins’ bodies.

I turned back to the bartender, not wanting to reject his kindness, but I truly didn’t want to wear the sash. Much to my surprise, he seemed to understand without my having to say a word. With a swipe of his hand, the sash was gone.

“I’m not really comfortable being the center of attention,” I said, for Maddie’s benefit. Or was I just imagining that the bartender had understood me? Then again, it was his job to be a good listener. He’d probably seen it all.

Maddie shrugged, accepted my statement without comment. She was surprisingly easy to talk to. I never would’ve expected that from one of Sonia’s friends. Maybe Maddie could be my friend, too? But for Clint’s sake, I had to somehow become closer to Sonia. I vowed to try harder. Surely I’d warm up to Clint’s family—and they to me—eventually?

The bartender’s eyes flicked past me to the stage. “They’re about to do their signature move. You ladies won’t want to miss it.”

Maddie and I turned around. The two men on stage were now down to tiny little jockstraps, or maybe the small swaths of fabric would be considered thongs. All I knew was that the little camouflaged pouches were being stretched to their limits. With that much skin showing, Austin’s and Denver’s matching physiques were even more impressive. Ripped and sculpted muscles covered pretty much every inch of them. The twins weren’t huge like bodybuilders, but they were obviously extremely fit.

In the next moment, they proved just how true that was. One twin flexed his biceps, causing more feminine screams, and then he dropped into a plank position. He did a quick half dozen pushups, and then his arms remained on the floor while he spread his legs. He walked his torso back until his legs were straight out to either side.

Holy crap, he was doing a split, and with his head and chest bent forward, his large, heavy package dropped down and rested on the floor.

“Good God,” Maddie moaned.

Was that really all him? Or had he, perhaps, stuffed the entire contents of a sock drawer into that pouch? But from the way it hung down, and the way the fabric was obviously nearing its breaking point, it sure as hell looked as if it was all him.

Before the roomful of women could collectively moan in longing, the other twin came up behind him, jumped high up in the air, swung his legs out to the sides and touched his toes with his fingertips. For a split second, his pose matched his brother’s, only he was up in the air, and without the floor there to support it, the size of his package was even more obvious.

My breath caught in my throat. I had no idea men’s dicks could be that big—Clint’s certainly wasn’t. Not that it mattered. It was what was inside that counted, but still, I felt like I’d just taken an anatomy class about a very specific body part and learned a great deal. My heart pounded in time with the throbbing music as I contemplated what I’d just seen.

Both twins were on their feet now, walking the perimeter of the stage and letting their adoring—and very handsy—fans show their appreciation with a lot of bills.

Shakily, I turned back to the bar, only to find the bartender watching me intently, smirking slightly. Was my face flushed? Could he tell how turned on I was—and how confused that made me feel?

Maddie set her purse on the bar. The sight of women crawling all over each other for the chance to slide bills under the twins’ G-strings seemed to have reminded her that she needed to pay for my drink. “What do I owe you?” she asked the dark-eyed hottie.

“It’s on the house.” The grin he shot me was completely disarming and served to increase my already rapid heartbeat.

“Thank you,” I stammered again.

“Not a problem. You may be an undercover bride-to-be, but it’s still your big night.”

Maddie stuffed a tip in the jar on the bar, and as we turned to leave, he said, “Enjoy the drink. It seemed fitting for a pretty strawberry blonde.”

I blushed and somehow tripped over my own feet, bumping into Maddie.

“Oh my God, he was flirting with you!” she said as she steadied me.

“I think they do that with everyone to increase their tips.” I frowned a little as I said it. The only person who should be flirting with me was Clint, although he didn’t usually bother with that kind of thing. He was a very practical man—romance wasn’t high on his list of things to do.

Actually, when I thought about it, romance wasn’t on his list at all. But that was okay. Clint was the man I was going to marry. The man I was supposed to love. I mean, I did love him. Sure, it wasn’t like the kind of love in a romance novel, but I’d moved here for him. We were starting a life together.

Careful not to spill the drink that cute bartender had made me, I followed Maddie, moving slowly because of my unfamiliar—and uncomfortable—high-heeled sandals. I wasn’t the only one who wasn’t completely steady on my feet. In the back of the room, several young women had climbed up on the tables, presumably to get a better look at the twins. Even though the act was over, some of the women were still up there, balancing precariously in their high heels. One woman even seemed to be doing a striptease of her own—she was twirling her bra around her head.

Not for long, though. A mountain of a man who could only be a bouncer strode toward her and, without hesitating, lifted her off the table and deposited her in a nearby chair. Then he turned his fierce scowl to the women on the other tables. They got the message and climbed down immediately. I didn’t blame them. The man was intimidating for more reasons than his size. He had closely cropped reddish-brown hair, a short, non-nonsense beard, and a stern look in his blue eyes. There was no doubt he was a bodybuilder—even his muscles had muscles.

“Wow. I wish people listened to me as well as they do that bouncer.”

Maddie tilted her head to the side. “Do you mean Clint?”

“Just people in general.” But yeah, I meant Clint.

Sonia looked irritated by the time we got back. “Jesus, where have you been?” It wasn’t clear whether she meant me, Maddie, or both of us.

“I wanted to buy Emma a drink, but—” Maddie started to explain but Sonia’s other friend cut her off.

“You missed the rest of the twins’ act,” the woman said.

“We caught the highlights,” Maddie assured her.

A new man was on stage now. I felt a little sorry for him—Austin and Denver had to be the very definition of a tough act to follow. In fact, it looked like some women were getting ready to leave.

Sonia noticed, too, and looked a little relieved. “How about one more number and then we head out?”

I was more than ready to go. Despite being mesmerized by the twins’ dancing, I still didn’t feel very comfortable here. It was too loud and too crowded. “Sounds good. Thank you for bringing me tonight.”

She was scrolling through her phone, but she nodded distractedly. I glanced at Maddie, but she was looking toward the stage.

Absentmindedly, I watched the new guy’s act, too, but it wasn’t anywhere near as compelling as the twins’ had been. They’d both been really good dancers in addition to being super hot. I still couldn’t quite believe how caught up I’d been. It made me wonder why I didn’t get that excited when I was with Clint. Hell, even that cute bartender’s smile had been enough to make me flush. What the hell was wrong with me? I couldn’t blame it all on the alcohol, though I’d nearly drained my drink.

“Holy shit!” Sonia suddenly exclaimed. All three of us swiveled our heads to look at her, but she was staring down at her phone. “No fucking way.”

I caught Maddie’s eye, but Maddie shrugged, as clueless as I was at Sonia’s outburst.

Sonia leaned toward her tall friend and showed her the screen. The other woman’s eyes widened. She took a quick glance at me before her eyes returned to Sonia’s phone. “Is she the one he dated in high school?”

“Yeah,” Sonia said. Both women looked up at me this time.

“What’s going on?” Maddie asked. When Sonia didn’t answer, she added, “Is something wrong?”

The alcohol that had been warming my veins a minute ago now seemed to chill me. Why were they looking at me like that?

Half-hearted applause met the end of the new guy’s act, and more women were getting up to leave. I couldn’t take my eyes off of my future sister-in-law’s face, however. Something had happened, and it clearly wasn’t good.

But then the room plunged into darkness, and an announcer said, “Ladies and gentlewomen, back by popular demand, I give you… Austin and Denver!”

Women cheered and energetic dance music blared, but I didn’t even look toward the stage. “Sonia?”

I couldn’t read the expression on her face when she said, “You should check and see if you got any texts, Emma.”

There was an odd thud in my stomach as I nodded and reached for my phone. I didn’t usually get a lot of texts, but I checked my phone once or twice an hour when I wasn’t with Clint. Oddly enough, there was one from him sent just a minute ago. I thumbed it open and read the short message.

And blinked in disbelief.

And then read it again.

And again.

“Emma? What’s wrong?” Maddie’s voice seemed to come from about a mile away. When she got no response from me, she leaned over and looked at the little screen in my hand and gasped. Her face filled with sympathy. “Oh my God, Emma, I’m so sorry.”

“Better he figured this out now than after the wedding,” Sonia said as she stood. “Guess this isn’t a bachelorette party anymore. We should go.”

“Wait, give her a moment,” Maddie said.

Or at least I think that’s what she said. I couldn’t stop staring at Clint’s words. Did they really mean what I thought they meant? It had to be a joke. I’d moved across the country to be with him. I quit my job. Gave up my apartment. We were engaged.

Except I guess… technically… we weren’t anymore.

“Come on, Emma, let’s go outside and get some fresh air,” Maddie said.

“She doesn’t look too good,” someone else said.

“She’d better not throw up in my car.”

Their voices swirled around me but I paid them no more attention than the loud cheers from the other tables. The only thing I could focus on was the small screen in my hand.

He’d said he loved me.

He was the only man I’d ever kissed.

The only man I’d ever slept with.

His short message blurred, and I realized my eyes were full of tears.

He was the only man who’d ever wanted me.

And now no one did.

“Take it off!” a high-pitched voice screamed behind me.

Why was there so much shouting?

Oh yeah, the twins. I’d forgotten about them.

Numbly, I turned in my seat.

“Emma, are you coming or not?”

There they were—Austin and Denver. Two handsome faces. Two bare chests. Four powerful biceps. Sixteen glorious abs.

“Emma?”

Was someone talking to me? It was so much easier to let my mind go blank and watch those two gorgeous men roll their torsos and thrust their hips.

“Let’s get you home.”

Home? Did I even have a home anymore?

A waitress passed by with a tray full of beer. I grabbed a tall glass, only spilling a little. It was okay to get drunk. This was my bachelorette party, after all.

“I think she’s in shock.”

“Come on, Emma, you have to get up.”

“Maddie, let’s go.”

“But we can’t just—”

“She’s an adult, she can get a cab.”

“But—”

Eventually, the voices faded away.

I didn’t care.

The beer tasted good. The twins moved so well.

I stared at the stage and counted the abs.