Taking a Shot at Love Page 9

  Lisa noticed that most of her players paid close attention to the game rather than playing on their phones. She was pleased to see them studying the teams; it showed her they were serious about doing what they could to win the next game. Lisa saw a lot of herself in some of her players so she knew what she could likely expect out of them.

  They arrived back at the hotel after having dinner at an Italian restaurant near the arena. Lisa wanted to go back to the room to come up with a game plan for tomorrow’s game. Athena began disrobing the moment the door closed behind them, and she changed into a new outfit. She looked at Lisa impatiently.

  “What?”

  “Aren’t you going to change?”

  “To watch game tape?”

  “No, crazy. To go to the pole competition.”

  “Oh, shit. I completely forgot. I’m gonna skip it tonight.”

  “No, you’re not. You promised me an hour and I’m holding you to it. Come on, Ice. Just an hour. We’ll just check it out for a bit, then we’ll come back to the room and get to work.”

  Lisa tossed her clipboard onto her bed and let out a big sigh. “Fine. Just an hour though.”

  Lisa changed into jeans and a short-sleeved Henley shirt, and they went to the competition. As they got closer, they could hear the music come from the ballroom. They bought their tickets and stood in the back of the room. It was dark except for the lights highlighting the stage. A woman was performing, and Lisa didn’t want to interrupt the people watching her to find a seat. Besides, they were only going to be there for an hour and it felt good to stand. She clapped politely when the performer finished. After a few more performers, Lisa started to get into the show. This wasn’t what she’d expected when Athena told her about the competition. Truthfully, she didn’t know what to expect. This type of thing was so far out of her universe, but she was really enjoying it. One thing that impressed her was that none of the women looked the same. There was one who was short and overweight, one tall and skinny, one who was flat-chested, and one who had large breasts. The thing they all seemed to have in common was that they all oozed sensuality, the way they moved their hips, stroked the pole, looked at the audience while they caressed their bodies, commanding attention. They got Lisa’s attention, that was for sure. She was just mentioning to Athena how talented these women were when the MC announced the next competitor, Celeste B. Lisa’s head whipped around to the stage just in time to see Celeste walk, no, not walk, saunter on stage. Her Celeste. Well, not her Celeste, but the Celeste she knew, that she worked with. Oh, God. How was she going to be able to have a platonic conversation with Celeste after seeing her dressed like…that?

  Janet Jackson’s “Velvet Rope” began to play, and Lisa felt her jaw drop. She’d always loved that song, always had fantasies about Janet tying her up and having her way with her like she did with some lucky guy during her concerts. Celeste was dressed in a deep purple outfit that looked like a bikini with lots of sequins and other bling that was barely covered up by a matching sheer robe. Celeste looked like she was wearing sexy lingerie, and Lisa was tempted to go up on stage and cover her so nobody else could see her practically naked. Not that Celeste didn’t look good. That might have been the understatement of Lisa’s lifetime. Celeste looked downright fucking sexy.

  Celeste continued to move about the stage, touching, caressing herself. She looked different but the same. Her eyelashes were longer, she had more makeup on, she was sure of her movements and displayed a confidence that Lisa hadn’t seen with her. Celeste grabbed the pole and held on while she squatted and displayed…well…everything to the audience. The “everything” was covered up, but that didn’t matter to Lisa. Celeste stood upright and slowly made her way around the pole before she grabbed it and pulled herself up, impressing the audience as they clapped loudly. While holding on to the pole, she turned herself upside down and spread her legs apart then scissored her legs before sliding back down the pole. Once her feet were firmly on the floor, Celeste held on to the pole, hooked her leg around it, and swung around once more.

  Lisa looked over to Athena who also let her jaw drop to the floor. Obviously, she’d recognized Celeste, as her eyes were wide with wonder and something else. Arousal? The thought enraged Lisa enough to smack Athena’s arm, which broke the trance.

  “What?” Athena looked at Lisa so innocently that Lisa smacked her again.

  “Stop.”

  “But…” Athena pointed to the stage like that should’ve explained everything.

  Lisa pointed at Athena to indicate she shouldn’t say another word. Not. One. More. Word. Lisa wanted nothing more than to leave the room, pretend she never saw Celeste up on stage, looking sexier than Lisa could’ve ever imagined. From the very beginning, when Lisa had seen Celeste at the president’s back-to-school gathering, Lisa had always thought Celeste was gorgeous and sexy, and it became more apparent once Lisa got to know Celeste better. But tonight put Celeste into a different stratosphere. Not because of the outfit she was wearing or the pole dancing she was doing, but because of the confidence she had in her body and herself. What had always attracted Lisa to other women was their self-confidence, and she was seeing it in spades now with Celeste.

  Celeste had climbed the pole again, hung upside down with her legs apart, then crossed, and hung only by her legs wrapped around the pole. Holy Jesus! Not only was this performance provocative but was also extremely athletic. Celeste had told Lisa that she was always picked last in PE and on the playground, and that she’d never been coordinated, but seeing what was in front of her, Lisa didn’t believe Celeste.

  The things she was doing with the pole was something a person could do only with athleticism and coordination. Lisa had so many emotions running through her head and her lower regions. Her skin felt hot, she felt light-headed, and her clit throbbed as she fantasized sitting on a chair in front of Celeste as she danced for Lisa, giving her a lap dance. Lisa got dizzy and thought she might pass out, but then the music stopped and the audience erupted with applause. Lisa had to get out of there. She needed fresh air. She rushed out of the ballroom into the casino where she was engulfed with loud noises and cigarette smoke, but at least she felt free.

  “Holy Mary, Mother of God, did you know she could do that?” Athena looked like she had just drunk three energy drinks; she was dancing and hopping around, talking as fast as an auctioneer, and it was driving Lisa crazy. Lisa, on the other hand, was in shock and speechless. When Celeste started working the pole, Lisa’s brain short-circuited and hadn’t fired back up yet. She started to make her way across the casino floor toward the hotel elevators.

  “Hell, no, I didn’t know that she did that. And now it’s something I can’t unsee.”

  “Yeah, me neither.” Athena waggled her eyebrows.

  Lisa arrived at the elevators and kept pressing the button as if that would make the car arrive faster. The bell dinged and the doors opened. Once the occupants got out, Lisa stepped in with Athena hot on her heels. Lisa turned on her and pinned her against the wall.

  Lisa pointed at her and gave her a serious look. “Yes, you can. Don’t ever mention seeing Celeste pole dancing. Not one word. Not one FUCKING word. You got me?”

  Athena’s eyes widened and she held her hands up. “Whatever you say, Ice.”

  They got into their room and Lisa sat on her bed and ran her fingers through her hair. What the hell did she just see? Up until Celeste appeared on stage, Lisa was actually having a good time and admiring all of the women and their performances. But a woman she knew, one she was getting to know and was secretly attracted to, was up on stage, looking sensuous, dancing seductively, and owning the audience. Lisa didn’t know what to think or how to feel. She was turned on, that was for sure. She was embarrassed by seeing her colleague, her player’s professor, dressed in a racy costume and having her way with a brass pole, bringing Lisa’s fantasies to life. But most of all, she was proud that Celeste took ownership of her body and sexuality, and was making it work for
her.

  As turned on as she was, Lisa felt an overwhelming sense of pride for her friend. Was that what Celeste was? Probably not quite. They didn’t socialize outside of school so that probably just made her a colleague. However, Lisa thought of Celeste as more than a colleague. Why was that? Maybe it was because Lisa was attracted to Celeste. But she couldn’t let herself get carried away because she wasn’t in a position to get involved with someone, even if that person was Celeste Bouchard.

  “Geez, Lisa. When did you get so cranky? I’m not going to be a dick about it, but you have to admit that Celeste was incredible and looked really sexy. It must take a lot of strength, coordination, and stamina to be able to do the things she did. Like when she climbed up the pole and held on to it with her legs while she hung upside down. Then when she slid down the pole and went into splits. And remember when she was kind of writhing on the floor?”

  “Stop! For the love of Pete, just stop.” Lisa slammed her palms against her eyes as if that could erase everything athletic, erotic, exotic, and sexy. Everything that was Celeste. And not just when she performed. Lisa found her sexy all the time. This had been just another facet of Celeste.

  “Ooh, this is serious.”

  “What are you talking about?” Lisa walked over to the window and looked out onto the Vegas Strip where the lights were always on and there were always people walking to the next casino looking for their next drink or next jackpot, sometimes both. The cold air couldn’t keep the thousands of people off the Strip.

  “You really like her.”

  Lisa didn’t bother turning around because she knew Athena would see the lie in her eyes. “No, I don’t. She’s our colleague and the professor of our point guard. That’s all.”

  “There’s nothing wrong if you like her, Lisa. She’s an equal, not a student or a player. What’ll it hurt if you just maybe ask her to dinner or something?”

  “I don’t have time for a relationship, Athena. Not in the middle of the season.”

  “You’re not planning a wedding. You’re going on a date. Casual. No commitments. Geez, do I need to explain everything to you?”

  That was easy for Athena to say. What Athena didn’t know was that Lisa didn’t think she’d be able to keep it casual with Celeste. She was unlike any other woman Lisa had ever known, and there was potential there for Lisa to fall hard for Celeste.

  “Okay, look. We’re not going to talk about this right now. We’re here for basketball, and we need to get a game plan together for tomorrow. The team we’re playing is really good.”

  Lisa went to get her laptop, then sat next to Athena on her bed. She inserted the DVD of the game, and they spent the rest of the evening watching the team they’d play tomorrow. Athena allowed Lisa to stay in their room and process what she’d seen that night while Athena, Chris, and Joe did bed checks. Lisa took a long, hot shower, allowing the extra time to clear her head, get refocused on her team and the tournament she was determined to win. Winning this tournament would get her closer to achieving her goal. Lisa needed to shelve her attraction for Celeste and get back to work.

  * * *

  Celeste came off the stage into the waiting arms of Olivia. She was feeling high from the audience reaction to her performance. She nailed it and she knew it. Celeste’s performance was flawless in her mind, and it went exactly as she imagined it to go. She’d spent many nights practicing that routine, and a couple of others, in hopes of getting further than the first or second round. By the sound of the audience’s applause, she’d hopefully be moving on to the second round tomorrow.

  “You were amazing! I didn’t know you had moves like that.”

  “I have moves you’ve never seen.”

  Olivia laughed and fanned her face. “Okay, sexy thing. You go on with your bad self.”

  Celeste was thankful Olivia was there to greet her coming off stage. Now that her adrenaline was coming down, her legs felt a little shaky. She took the towel Olivia offered her and wiped the perspiration off her arms and dabbed her face so as not to ruin her makeup. Celeste found the closest chair and sat before her legs gave out on her. She loved the way she felt after performing a pole routine in class because the ladies she took the class with were her friends and they encouraged one another. Tonight was a whole different feeling though. She didn’t know anyone. It wasn’t a studio with just eight or ten other people. There were probably at least two or three hundred people in the crowd, and they liked her. Celeste felt sexy and powerful and confident, and another sexy thrown in because, damn it, she did feel sexy and it took her a long time to own it.

  She was unable to see the people in the crowd because of the lights, and that probably helped her perform. She was unable to see their faces or expressions. For some reason, Lisa popped into her head, and she wondered what Lisa would’ve thought of her routine. She’d never performed for Jackie because, even though they had a sexual relationship, Celeste didn’t feel comfortable showing Jackie her vulnerability. She had it in her mind that Jackie wouldn’t appreciate the hard work that Celeste put into her routines or would make some crude comment. While they were dating, Celeste didn’t even tell Jackie that she was taking pole classes; she’d just tell her she had an exercise class. Jackie didn’t ask what kind of exercise, and Celeste didn’t offer up that information. Lisa, on the other hand, would probably appreciate Celeste’s routine and be encouraging. She already knew that about her.

  Once Celeste started getting feeling back into her legs, she and Olivia walked back to the dressing area so that Celeste could change out of her costume. Olivia had performed earlier so she was already dressed. There were only a few performers left, and then later she could check the website to see if she and Olivia made it to the next round. She really hoped so. As much as she loved the routine she just performed, the next one was choreographed to “Those Shoes” by the Eagles, and it was her favorite dance out of the three she put together.

  Once she was dressed, Celeste and Olivia headed back to their room to shower and change. They had tickets to see Cirque de Solei’s O later that night, and they still needed to eat dinner. It was nice that the competition ended in the early evening so they could catch some shows while they were in town.

  Las Vegas was an interesting town, but along the Strip and Downtown Las Vegas, it was a tourist mecca. Olivia had informed Celeste that there was a zip line downtown where one could fly over Fremont Street, over all of the tourists and street performers. She wouldn’t have time for it during this trip, and she didn’t want to zip-line in fifty-degree weather, which it was predicted to be that weekend, but she would definitely try it on another trip out there. There was so much to see, from shows and concerts, to a museum of mobsters. There was shopping and high-end galleries. Heck, one could even visit New York in Las Vegas. Too many tourist things to do in one trip so this time, she’d stick to pole dancing, seeing a show, and eating delicious cuisine.

  Chapter Twelve

  Glassell University won the tournament, and Emily Logan made the All-Tournament team. She was certainly establishing herself as a premier player this season. Last year, when Emily entered GU as a freshman, she was so shy and quiet, Lisa didn’t think she’d do much except play great defense and dish out assists, but toward the end of last season, more of her teammates were looking to her as the team’s leader. Lisa and Emily had had some meetings throughout the season, and Emily’s confidence had continued to grow. This season, Emily had continued to grow in that capacity, and she was voted captain by her teammates for this season.

  Lisa wanted to get Celeste’s feelings on Emily as well, but she wasn’t sure how she’d react to seeing Celeste after watching her in her pole dance competition. Lisa had been tempted to go back to the competition the next day to watch Celeste again, but if she was going to be able to concentrate on coaching her team to the championship, she’d have to focus all her energy on basketball and tuck Celeste in a small box and in a small corner of her mind.

  That strategy paid off
, and it took her that much closer to her goal of returning to coaching at a higher level. Eyes on the prize. Still, it would be the responsible thing to check on her team’s leader. Lisa could always call Celeste at her office, but to be perfectly honest, she really wanted to see her.

  Athena checked out the competition’s website and passed along that Celeste didn’t make it past the second round. Lisa was secretly grateful for that information because Lisa really wanted to see how Celeste had faired, but she wouldn’t have been able to ask Celeste. Lisa didn’t want her to know that she saw her perform. Lisa felt like a voyeur while watching the competition and felt like she’d been doing something she didn’t want to get caught doing. Silly, really, since it was a competition. It wasn’t like she’d gone to a gentlemen’s club and saw her with dollar bills hanging out of her G-string. Lisa just hoped she’d be able to be cool and look even cooler when she saw Celeste. Lisa also hoped that seeing Celeste in her business attire would help erase the image of Celeste in her pole costume.

  Lisa grabbed her sunglasses, keys, and wallet, then locked her office door behind her. Even though it was approaching mid-December, the weather was beautiful in the midmorning, approaching seventy degrees. When coaching offers started coming in, Lisa hoped there would be a few from schools in Southern California. You really just couldn’t beat the weather. She waved to a couple of her players and a professor on her way to Celeste’s office and took in several deep breaths to calm her nerves.

  Lisa knocked on Celeste’s door and felt warm inside when Celeste smiled at her.

  “Hey, I missed you at the pool this morning.”

  Lisa sat across from Celeste and crossed her legs. “Yeah, I got back from Vegas pretty late last night, and I decided to sleep in.” Lisa noted that the color drained from Celeste’s face, and she had a feeling she knew why.

  “You were in Las Vegas this past weekend?”