Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience. WARNING: This story includes sexually explicit material. Please note any unfamiliar spellings and phrases may be due to the fact I am English, not American. I would like to thank the proof-readers for all their help Any comments, including constructive criticisms, would be most appreciated. Please send to artemis55@hotmail.com This work is copyrighted by the author. You may download and keep one copy for your personal use as long as my by-line and e-mail address and this paragraph remain on the copy. Any posting or reposting on a website, other than the archive or Dejanews, or to a newsgroup requires my permission first (but I'll probably say yes). This story should not, under any circumstances be used to make a profit by anyone other than the author ===================================================================== Exposed Chapter Three Several hours later, when the club's doors opened, Kate was extremely excited. Some unusual muscles were aching a bit but she was eager to perform. She had been extremely self-conscious at first, but Suki and the rest of the girls were encouraging and helped her relax. Suki had found a lovely costume for her that included a mask to conceal her identity. The mask had been Steve's idea. After the talk show, there were a couple of journalists in and a bigger crowd than normal. Kate was standing in the wings waiting for her turn to go on when Suki found her. "Kate, I have to tell you something that might change your mind about performing tonight," she said. "Tom handed out discounted tickets at the TV studio. Your husband and his floozy are out front. She's not looking too thrilled, but he's having a fine old time. Maybe you shouldn't go out there." Kate laughed recklessly. "But that's perfect. No one is going to recognise me in this mask. At least I'll find out if he really finds me so unattractive." "I think it's a bad idea," Suki insisted. "Too late now," Kate replied as she heard the first few bars of her music. Steve's voice, with its fake accent, echoed over the loud speaker system. "Tonight, we have the privilege of presenting a very special entertainer, La Incognita." Moving to the stately beat of the music, Kate stalked forward, her skirt swishing behind her. Her hair was piled on top of her head and secured with a couple of ostrich feathers. Her dress was a version of an old-fashioned ball-gown. She had high heels on her feet, long gloves buttoned up to her elbows and a parasol resting on her shoulder. The mask slightly distorted her view, giving a feeling of unreality to everything. The lights blazing up at her made it difficult to see beyond the stage so she concentrated on her routine. The parasol was tossed aside and she struck a pose as the music slowed to a long drawn out note. Slowly she raised her hands and unbuttoned her gloves, dropping them behind her. The beat of the music quickened as she plucked the feathers out of her hair and began unhooking her bodice. She gave a shrug of her shoulders and the dress slid down to pool at her feet. Clad only in thigh high stockings, a g-string and a tight bodice she began to move to the beat as the music segued into an Eurythmics number. Her mind fractured into pieces. One part was completely freaked out, unable to believe that she was stripping her clothes off in front of an audience. Another part was close to hysterics, convinced she was going to make a fool of herself. Another section was overwhelmed by the reaction of the audience. But mainly she was concentrating on remembering her routine, being pushed along by the beat of the music. Gyrating around the perimeter of the stage she could now catch glimpses of the audience. A feeling of pure feminine power filled her as she heard the men shouting and chanting as she removed her bodice. Spreading her legs, she bent from her waist, grasped her ankles and jiggled, smiling to herself as men cheered. She dropped to her knees and began crawling around the edge of the platform. Men were reaching out and tucking notes into her stocking tops and g-string. She was wriggling along on her back when she spotted Harry. He was leaning forward, eagerly waving notes in her direction. She rolled over and sat in front of him, arching her back to thrust her breasts forward. He grinned as he tucked notes into her stocking top on the inside of her thigh. Kate could just glimpse Debbie sat behind Harry looking bored. She pouted at him and kicked her legs apart as she rolled onto her stomach. Debbie leant forward and tried to say something to Harry, but he just snapped back at her and went back to gaping at the naked flesh before him. Kate sat up and bent over backwards away from him and couldn't help smirking to herself as he pushed more notes into her g-string. The music built to a climax and she danced back into the centre of the stage, twirling around the pole as the music ended. The lights died and she gathered up her costume and ran backstage. Elated, she enfolded first Suki, then Steve, into a hug, before collapsing breathless into a chair. "That was amazing!" Kate gasped. "Absolutely unbelievable." "Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it," Suki said, laughing at her. "Now give me that costume and get out of here, we've got work to do." "Come on," Steve said, taking her arm. "Why don't you use the upstairs bathroom? You're all hot and sweaty." Slightly deflated. Kate trailed up the stairs behind him. When they got upstairs, Steve disappeared into the kitchen and came back with a glass of water. "Here, drink this," he said, giving it to Kate. Suddenly aware how little she was wearing, Kate tried to keep her arms in front of her breasts as she accepted the drink. Steve noticed her gesture and couldn't help smiling. "Now you're embarrassed?" he asked sardonically. "I thought the whole point was for men to appreciate your naked body." Kate gave him a weak smile and huddled in a chair. "So did it work? Is your self-esteem sky high now?" "Kind of," Kate replied. "It's a great feeling to have all those men paying good money just to see my naked body. Look at all this! Two hundred of this was from Harry, can you believe that?" "So now you're happy?" Steve asked. "Well, happier than I was before," Kate answered. "You don't seem very happy though." "I just find it sad that such a lovely and charming woman can only find self-respect by stripping her clothes off," he said, shrugging. "That's a bit strange coming from you, isn't it?" Kate asked. "Most of the girls here are working their way through college or really need the money to support their kids. Suki and I provide a safe environment for them. I'm a failed actor, much as it pains me to admit it. Suki stripped to pay her way through college and then found she couldn't get a decent job when she finished," Steve explained. "Everyone here knows exactly why they are here, for the money. It's just a commercial transaction, pure and simple. But it's completely different for you. I don't understand why you felt you had to strip tonight or what it achieved." Kate flopped back in her chair and stared fixedly at the ceiling. "Try to imagine how it feels when the one and only person you've had a relationship with, who you loved and trusted and were intimate with, tells the whole world that you are unattractive. That, even naked, no one would find you sexy. Try to imagine that. The only man who's seen me naked doesn't think it's that great a sight. I needed to know if I'm really so unsexy. I just needed to know." "You could have just asked me," Steve said softly. Startled, Kate sat up and stared at him. "For what it's worth, I think you're one of the sexiest women I've met in a long time. And I thought that before you took any clothes off." Kate blushed. "You did?" she asked, hesitantly. "Yes, I did. Not that you don't have a lovely body," Steve told her intently. "But that's not what attracted me. It was the way you laughed at my accent. The dignity in the way you coped with that talk show. The way you listened to me. They're the things that made you sexy." Kate sat forward. "You think I'm sexy?" she whispered. "Very," he whispered back, leaning forward until their lips met. Kate lent further forward, losing herself in the kiss. The soft touch of his mouth and the gentle probing of his tongue sent warm ripples through her body. Forgetting how she was positioned, she leant too far forward and tumbled off her chair to land sprawling on top of Steve. The kiss was broken and she couldn't help laughing at herself. She had forgotten she was naked until Steve ran his hands across her skin. She bit her lip and tried not to gasp when his hands found her breasts. When his mouth joined his hands, she forgot about self-control and gave herself up to the sensations shimmering along her nerve endings. Kate closed her eyes, abandoning herself to the feelings churning through her body. She was considerably startled when Steve suddenly stopped and pushed her away. She opened her eyes and looked at him, trembling. He was flushed and breathing hard. "Let's just stop a moment," he said slowly. "Much as I'd like to continue with this, it's probably a mistake." Kate huddled back into her chair, feeling ashamed and humiliated. "I'm sorry," she whispered, blinking back tears. Steve sighed. "You've nothing to be sorry for," Steve reassured her. "We both deserve something better than a quick one night stand. I don't want to be some guilty memory, something you're ashamed of." "I wouldn't..." Kate began. "Oh, you would," Steve interrupted. "Neither do I want to be just another thing to boost your self-esteem." "I didn't plan this," Kate murmured. "I know, sweetheart. In another time and another place there's nothing I'd like more than to make love to you. I'd like to think that we may meet up sometime in the future and maybe something would develop." Kate smiled weakly. "I'd like to think that too. And you're right, we would have been doing all the right things for all the wrong reasons. I just feel so lost." "Want to talk about it?" he asked softly. She started to say no but somehow she found herself talking and just couldn't stop. Steve held her and listened as she told him about her life. She told him everything, the good times and the bad. All the good things she had done and all the bad. She exposed herself to him in a way she had never done to anyone, not her husband or her best friend. At the end she felt drained, but at peace for the first time in years. Steve reached over to get some tissues and tenderly wiped the tear traces from her face. "Thanks Steve," she said. "You're welcome," he said. "Of course I'll have to send you my dry-cleaning bill. Salt water and silk don't mix. Hey, I got a smile. And you do have a wonderful smile." "Does flattery come naturally to you or did you take a course?" Kate asked, smiling even more. "Just a natural talent. So, how are you feeling now?" "Better, much better. I just don't know where I go from here," Kate admitted. "For the past ten years I've been Harry's wife. Before that I was trying to get married. I was approaching thirty, all my friends were married and I was the only one left. So I was real grateful when Harry came along and was interested in me. Now I'm wondering if the only reason I married Harry was because I wanted to marry someone, anyone. We didn't really have that much in common. But all I've done for the last ten years is be a housewife. If I'm not Harry's wife, I don't know who I am anymore." "You can be whoever you want to be," Steve told her. "You think?" Kate asked. "Yep. But you have to think that too," Steve said earnestly. "You don't need a man to define you or male approval to give you self-esteem. All you need is to believe in yourself." "You sound like one of those new-age feminists," Kate said. "Hey, they talk a lot of sense," Steve retorted. "Well, sometimes." "I suppose so," Kate admitted. "You know, I always wanted to be a nurse. I've done some St John Ambulance courses and I loved it." "So go for it," Steve encouraged her. "With the money you get from the divorce settlement go back and do the necessary training." "I could, couldn't I," Kate said thoughtfully. "Of course you can. But save a little of the money for a vacation out here. I'd really like to see you again. "I will," Kate said. "I'd like to see you again too. And if I run out of money, I can always do a bit of stripping on the side." Copyright Vickie Morgan, June 1999 E-mail artemis55@hotmail.com This story is distributed free of charge for your entertainment. It does take quite a lot of time and effort to write, type, edit and post a story. All I ask is that you take a couple of minutes to e-mail me, let me know that you've read this and perhaps give some reaction. Thank you.