Camp Jameson (7 page)

DAY TWO:

TUESDAY AFTERNOON

POLE DANCING CLASS

I
t
was just after lunch but my nervousness had made eating almost impossible. I
was only able to force down a few slivers of wet lettuce and there’s nothing
more nasty than wet wilting lettuce leaves. It makes it hard for the dressing
to stick to them and it just runs off and pools in the bottom of your bowl.
It’s
so gross.

After giving up on eating, I
made my way to class a few minutes early so I could get dressed for pole
dancing. Every activity in this place has an outfit or lack of one, that’s why
Sara packed my second suitcase. The classroom was similar to a strip club.
There were six poles lining the dance floor with another single pole out in
front of the others and I could hear the low dance music pulsing in the
background. The room was dimly lit and I could see a small collection of people
standing in the hallway looking in through the large windows wanting to get a
peek at the hot mess of newbies learning to dance inside. I was silently
cursing myself for taking this class.

I only wobbled once. Okay,
twice. Nope. Now it was three times, as I walked in my new red platform shoes
toward Colt, Sienna, and the five others in my group class who were waiting for
me beside the dance pole in Prentice Cabin.
Ugh. Focus.
I was wearing
only my black bra and panties. Up until last year, I was a gymnast and I
proudly wore my leotards. But for some reason I felt so weird being barely
dressed in front of these strangers and Colt.
I had to find a way to get
used to this. Not just the shoes, but also the sexually charged atmosphere.

“Here, down this,” Sienna said
handing me another shot. I didn’t care what was in it. I needed liquid courage.
I grabbed the shot glass with a double and tossed it back.
Christ, that
burned!

“That’s my girl,” Colt teased.
It was my first day. I had just consumed my fourth shot plus a fruity drink
since breakfast this morning and one at lunch. I took a minute to think about
that. I could feel the alcohol heat my body and calm my nerves instantly.
Works
every time.

I took in my surroundings once
more as I moved to the stage where Sienna now stood next to one of the center
poles illuminated in alternating colored lights. Colt stepped over to the side
of the room and sat on an old wooden oak bench.

Sienna began, “This is one of
the main events in the Camp Olympics, for those of you hearing about this for
the first time, read your manuals. Each class you take here at camp corresponds
to an event. There are a variety of points given for each event won. This is
one of the big three. The winner with the most points is crowned the Kitten
Queen and wins an all-expense paid trip to Hawaii on Avery Jameson’s private
jet and will stay at Avery’s private estate in Maui for the week. So for all of
you who are interested, this is one event you will want to win. Pole dancing is
one of the hardest things you will do while you’re here at camp and therefore
it awards the most points. It takes proper training and endurance. We’ll start
slow then build on your strengths. You can’t rush this or you could get hurt.
Everyone step up to your pole. We’re going to approach the pole with
confidence. Let your shoulders fall back, then let your fingers slide around
the bar as you revolve around it.”

I walked several circles around
the pole squeezing my hand tight around the cold brass.

“Keep your grip loose. Don’t
over-think it. It’s about touch and feel.”

Ugh, there were those words
again.
I loosened my grip and strode uncomfortably around the bar, keeping
my eyes to the ground. I wobbled again in my heels and almost twisted my ankle.
Damn it, platform heels suck.

Sienna giggled and I looked up
to see her smiling at me. “Aria, try not to look at your feet. You’re a runner
aren’t you? Do you look at your feet when you run?”

“No,” I replied.

“Exactly,” she smiled. “Now
class, chin up. Let your eyes fall on something in the distance. Let that be
your center focus. If you spin too much around the bar not fixating on
something you’ll make yourself dizzy. Always focus on something in the
distance,” she announced to the class. “For those of you that have never seen a
pole dance up close, I will show you a short routine just so you can get the
feel of what I hope you’ll all learn while you’re here.”

I watched as Sienna danced in
her short shorts and tight tank top with the white and green Camp Jameson logo
just over the center of her chest. She didn’t falter once in her black platform
shoes. Her routine was glorious. Her movements were smooth and seductive.
I
could be that seductive,
but I knew it was just the whiskey talking.

“Okay,” Sienna said regrouping
everyone back up to the poles. “First we’re going to start off with a pirouette
pose.” She stood with her back to the pole and raised her hands in the air and
grabbed the pole behind her then bent her left knee. Okay, simple enough.
Sienna turned and faced the pole. She stretched her left arm up the pole and
stepped seductively around the pole. Her right hand traced the curve of her hip
and leg then back up again as she strutted around the pole once and stepped
back to the same spot she left
. She made that look easy
.

“This is called a leg hook,”
Sienna said, lifting her left leg and wrapping it around the pole. She gripped
the pole with her right hand and leaned back, letting her left arm trail behind
her. “I’m going to do the steps again but I’m going to do it without stopping
in between so you can see the end result.” She repeated the first three moves
again, this time it was all in one fluid movement. Pirouette pose, seductive
walk, leg hook, and then she planted her feet back to the ground. “Okay, Tara,
you try first,” Sienna instructed, motioning Tara toward her pole.

Tara was average height with
sandy blonde hair and slim narrow hips. She wobbled terribly in her high
platform shoes and I wanted to ask Sienna why we couldn’t go without the shoes
until we got more comfortable but I knew this was part of the torment, I mean,
lesson.

Tara stepped in half steps to
the pole and her nervousness radiated through her tight grip on the pole.

“Loosen your grip,” Sienna said
stepping up next to her. Sienna pulled her shoulders back and let her hand fall
to the middle of Tara’s back. Tara was a nervous wreck. Her chest was moving
hard and fast and her eyes were wide with fear. Sienna urged her forward.
Stiffly, Tara teetered around the pole and came back to her original spot. On
her last step her ankle buckled and she tumbled into Sienna. Sienna just caught
her in time before she face planted to the ground.

“I can’t do this,” Tara said
with tears in her eyes. We all knew her dumb husband was glaring at her from
the hallway through the thick glass windows.

“Take a break, we’ll try again
in a bit. Start by practice walking around the room in your shoes. That’s half
the battle.”

“Now Aria, you try,” Sienna
said.

“I think I need another shot,” I
muttered. Colt chuckled and moved to the mini sized bar and poured me another
double. He quickly hurried back to me and I tilted the glass back. I felt it burn
all the way down my throat.

“Geez. What is that stuff?”

Colt smirked. “It’s Jameson whiskey.
Good stuff isn’t it?”

I nodded as I felt my shoulders
relax. I closed my eyes and just escaped into the moment. I let the music fill
my head and flow over my body. I stepped up to the pole and turned my back
towards it. I reached both arms up behind me and grabbed the pole and bent my
leg.

“Good. Now arch your back a bit
more. Show us your goods,” Sienna commanded. “Good. Now turn and grip the pole
with your left hand and walk around it. Stop when you get to the same spot you
started.” I did as she asked, feeling more confident by the second. “Sway your
hips some… good,” Sienna continued. “Now hold the bar with your right hand.
Lift your left leg and curl it around the pole. Let your left arm fall back
behind you. Great, that’s it. Let your head fall back a little and look at me.
Pretend I’m the man you want to seduce. How do you feel?”

“Ridiculous,” I said angling my
neck at a weird angle to look at her.

“Well you look hot,” Sienna
said. “Okay, do it again. This time try to build up some speed.” Then it happened.
My eyes saw movement by the door and I felt my grip falter when I saw Avery
Jameson leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed and staring right
at me. My sweaty palms slipped from the pole and I flew backwards as my feet
slipped and pointed up at the ceiling while the rest of my body landed hard on
my back.
Bwhump!

Giggles filled the room. I
groaned and stood up trying to gather what self-respect I had left and tried to
ignore the rather large crowd that had gathered to watch me through the windows.

“Don’t think about the pole or
the people. Just feel the music. You’re the entertainer; the pole is an
extension of your body. Whether you’re straddling it or spinning around it,
whatever movement you choose will bring life to it, not the other way around,”
Sienna said.

I watched as Caitlyn spiraled
around the pole like she had done it for a living. She was desperately trying
to hold Avery’s attention but his eyes kept wandering to me. Caitlyn noticed
where his eyes rested but she was confident on her heels and showed no fear. My
eyes shifted toward Amber to see that she was struggling a little with her grip
on the pole. On her other side Tara held her wide-eyed gaze as Caitlyn
straddled the pole and hung upside down. Okay, maybe I wasn’t doing as well as
I thought. I sucked compared to these girls, then Sienna announced to the
onlookers, including Avery, that it was time for them to move along. Avery
looked like a little puppy dog that had just been kicked, and it really seemed
like his eyes lingered on mine as he retreated to the shadows of the hallway.

I took in a deep breath trying
to calm my nerves. My hands shook but I squashed my nerves down as I reached
out for the metal pole once again. I repeated the same steps with the help of
Sienna calling out what to do. As I made my way around the pole, I genuinely
smiled for the first time since I arrived.
Maybe I could do this.
I
looked around at my surroundings and groaned inwardly.
I was almost naked
dancing on a stripper pole. Didn’t I have morals? Isn’t this what society says
not to do? Then why did I feel so free? I’m here for six weeks. This was only
my first day of classes and I was feeling overwhelmed.

Colt and Sienna stepped away to
help Amber and Lucy in the group, I could see Amber’s dark eyes showed
confidence in herself as she approached her pole. Her straight ebony hair was
pulled back into a ponytail like mine. Lucy had golden brown shoulder length
hair. She had a larger frame with curves. I was studying Lucy when Sienna
instructed us to practice a bit on our own while she and Colt worked
individually with Lucy and Amber.

I spent most of my time trying
to mimic Sienna’s more difficult moves, learning how to place my hands and how
to hold myself up on the pole in different positions. I learned how to spin
around and lift myself up on the pole with just my leg and hands as an anchor.
It was hard trying to land back in the same spot I took off from but I found
that I actually liked it.

Somewhere in between it all she
threw out terms like ‘climbs’ and ‘inverts’ and continued to show off different
poses like ‘Cleopatra’ and ‘Daphne’. I laughed at myself when I screwed up. I
laughed harder when my hands slipped from the pole and I fell on my ass over
and over again. After a half hour, I closed my eyes and just danced. I lost
myself in the music. I swayed my hips and straddled the pole. Dipped down, and
shimmied around. It was just me and the music. Nothing else.
God, how I
loved to dance.

“You’re a natural, Aria.”
Sienna’s voice broke my trance. Her heated look said more than I was willing to
admit. I recomposed myself and glanced around the room. Everyone was starring.
Several men I didn’t know had their mouths agape.
Shit, the guys never left.

Caitlyn huffed beside me. “Do
you always have to be center of attention?” she hissed.

“That was awesome, Aria. I think
you’re ready to learn your routine.” My high was short-lived when Sienna
started taking me through the steps and the group of others stood behind me and
observed.

“Kick your legs up over your head
like this,” Sienna’s voice called out over the bass of the dance music.

I shook my head at her. “No
fucking way.” I was wearing my ‘you must be crazy’ look.

“Colt said you were a gymnast in
high school. You have excellent upper body strength. You can do this. Grab here
and swing your legs upward in a scissor kick to heighten your jump.” Sienna
demonstrated. These moves were way more than the other girls were asked to do.
That is, except Caitlyn.

“Tighten your hands as soon as
your legs make contact with the pole. When you feel secure, squeeze your legs
around the pole and hold yourself there. Release, then dismount.” I crossed my
arms, not budging.

“I have to hang upside down from
that? Are you crazy?” I ignored the others watching me as Sienna stepped up to
my pole to wipe it down as I tried to hide my scowl.

“You’re over-thinking it, Aria,”
she whispered calmly. “Think of it like you’re hanging upside down from the
parallel bars. Watch again,” Sienna said continuing. Sienna demonstrated it
again.

Oh, I see. Why didn’t she
just say that in the first place?
I didn’t know why I couldn’t cross the
one thought into the other, but as soon as she put it that way, I could
instantly see what she meant. I stood watching this beautiful swan swing her
legs around the pole and hang upside down. She was graceful and seductive. I
could be graceful, this much I knew. But seductive, I wasn’t sure.