Summary: Charlie Hawkins thought she had it all. She had just graduated from a top medical school, landed her dream residency, and was about to get engaged to her “perfect on paper” boyfriend. But when things don’t go to plan and she has to attend a week long destination wedding extravaganza for her snobby, competitive cousin Katelyn, Charlie resorts to desperate measures to keep up appearances.
Charlie rips the save-the-date magnet off her refrigerator. “Sorry, Katelyn,” she mutters to herself as she chucks it in the garbage. She’s still going to the wedding no doubt – she is a bridesmaid after all, but she doesn’t need a constant reminder of how her own life has not gone to plan.
Charlie had it all figured out. She would find a residency in Boston to stay near her boyfriend Andrew, and then they would get married and live happily ever after. They had been dating since their junior year of undergrad. Andrew had been out of school and working for a few years as a successful investment banker and already had a nice condo in the city. He was the type of guy a prep school girl like her from Connecticut was born and bred to marry. But just when she thought he was about to propose, he pulled the rug out from under her, saying he needed a woman who could be more devoted to him than to her career, as if he didn’t know what he was getting into watching her go through medical school for the past four years. It’s probably no coincidence that he’s been spotted around with some young Instagram “model” since the moment they broke up.
So even though from outside perspective Charlie seems to have a lot going for her – she’s cute, smart, has a good group of close friends, and oh, she just landed her dream residency at Edenbrook Hospital too – all she can focus on are the things she doesn’t have, especially when her cousin – and unspoken rival, is having a fairytale wedding.
~~~
“Do we really have to go out tonight?” Charlie whines as she puts on her makeup. She’s leaving for Katelyn’s week long destination wedding extravaganza in Jamaica in one week and all she wants to do is hibernate and eat Ben and Jerry’s right out of the carton until then, although that’s not the best plan if she actually wants to fit into her bridesmaid dress. Every day that goes by she dreads it more and more.
Sienna hops up on the countertop in the bathroom of her and Charlie’s shared apartment. “One, we are tired of you sulking all the time, and two, we just graduated medical school and we need to celebrate! Jackie even convinced Aurora to come out with us.”
“Ugh, fine. As long as there’s alcohol, I’m sure I’ll survive. Where are we going by the way?”
Sienna shrugs. “Jackie wouldn’t tell me. She said she knows we’ll love it once we get there but that we probably wouldn’t give it a chance if we knew ahead of time.
“Great,” Charlie drawls unenthusiastically. This could be a long night.
~~~
The Uber slows to a stop in front of Exoctica and Charlie starts to get concerned. “Jackie, why are we outside of a strip club?”
“Because it’s ladies night, of course!” Jackie claps Charlie on the back. “We need to get you out of this funk Charlie. You’ve been looking at the same dick for the past 6 years. It’s time to expand your horizons.”
Charlie scrunches her nose and shoots a sideways glance at Jackie. “I’m not really sure a strip club is the place for that. Besides, you might traumatize innocent Sienna here.
“Hey! Just because Danny and I are waiting until marriage, it doesn’t mean I’m scandalized by the sight of a half naked man. I have touched a penis before!” Sienna insists.
The three other women burst out laughing and Aurora shakes her head. “Oh, honey. The fact that you just said that proves you could use this more than any of us.”
“Excuse me,” The driver chimes in from the front seat. “As much as I’m enjoying this conversation, I get paid by the mile, not by the hour, so unless you have anywhere else to go…”
“Oh, sorry!” Charlie fishes an extra twenty dollar bill out of her wallet for the inconvenience and hands it to the driver. “Have a lovely evening.” She steps out of the car and smooths out her dress. If nothing else, this night will make for a good story.
The foursome strides into the club together, but Charlie considers turning right back around. The place is filled with pockets of already wasted bachelorette parties and middle aged women who look like they don’t get out much. The glowing lights are a mix of red, purple and blue and there’s a stench of cheap cologne, hair product, and an indeterminate mix of bodily fluids hanging in the air.
Jackie looks over at Charlie like she already knows what she is thinking, and she grabs Charlie’s wrist and pulls her towards the bar. “Let’s start with drinks.”
“Okay, but whatever you’re having make mine a double.”
After downing a couple bartender’s choice mystery shots and ordering some fruity concoction in a tall glass, the group finds seats right at the front of the stage.
Charlie sits down and exhales loudly. “If I get any sweat or whatever else on me, or if some guy shoves their dick in my face, I’m out out of here.”
“That doesn’t sound all that terrible,” Sienna giggles and blushes bright pink.
“Settle down you two,” Aurora chimes in. “I don’t know what kind of place you think this is, but they don’t get all the way naked.”
“Shh!” Jackie hushes them as the announcer comes on. “The next act is about to start.”
The first couple of guys come out and Charlie is not impressed. Big, beefy guys with oiled muscles and slicked back hair are so not her type. But although she’s not feeling the guys, she’s starting to feel the alcohol and begins to give into the ridiculousness of it all. She leans over to Jackie, whisper-shouting probably much too loud. “Jersey Shore circa 2010 called and they want their guys back.”
Jackie bursts out laughing. “These guys are a little lame. I kinda wish we would have come on a female dancer night.”
“Amen. I’d much rather be staring at boobs in my face than this right now.” Charlie glances over at Aurora seated on the other side of Jackie who is looking past Charlie to Sienna with a smirk. Charlie turns toward Sienna on her right in time to see her shoving a wad of singles one at a time into a stripper’s g-string. “At least someone is enjoying herself.”
“Come on Charlie! Live a little!” Sienna forces a few singles into Charlie’s palm and the male dancer starts gyrating in front of her. Charlie reluctantly takes a dollar bill and carefully slips it in his waistband trying to avoid any contact with skin and hoping it will get him to move away faster. He must notice her unenthused expression and soon moves on to more eager customers.
Charlie chuckles to herself after the fact. This is so not her scene, but it will definitely be a story to tell later. She runs up to the bar with Aurora to grab another round of drinks and gets back to her seat as the current dancers exit the stage and the announcer comes back on. “And now, back by popular demand, a man who needs no introduction… Maui!”
Having just watched the movie Moana with her niece, the only thing that comes to Charlie’s mind is the character from the movie. If this is some big burly dude dressed in a grass skirt, she’s out of here.
“…but as we like to call him around here,” the announcer continues, “Dr. Maui!”
A small segment of the crowd, likely regulars, erupts in whoops and hollers with some of the drunk, clueless bachelorette parties following suit just because. The lights dim. Colored spotlights hit the stage, and a song with a sultry beat comes over the speakers. Then he appears, sauntering out from backstage like he owns the place. He’s not at all what she expected, but she can’t tell if it’s better or worse. He’s basically covered from head to toe in green surgical gear of all things, and she rolls her eyes at the cliche insert sexy fill in the blank profession here stripper costume.
Unimpressed, Charlie’s considering taking a bathroom break, but as the dancer gets closer to the stage, his gaze meets hers. Between the scrubs, surgical cap, and mask, all she can really see is his eyes, but there’s something about them – deep chocolate brown with a sparkle that’s almost enough to set her on fire. She cant see his mouth, but she can vividly imagine a cocky grin from the way his eyes crinkle at the corners. She sits transfixed, mouth agape, for who knows how long when he when he winks at her causing a surge of heat to rise in her cheeks and she looks away, flustered.
And it only gets worse from there. Working the floor, he peels off the mask and the rest of his face is just as alarmingly beautiful as his eyes. She’s not sure if it’s his chiseled cheekbones, strong jawline, or the as predicted charming yet self-assured smile. Everything about him is damn near perfect. He circles back around near Charlie and her friends, locking eyes with her as he unties his surgical cap with a flick of his wrist and tosses it to her. His dark hair, with sun bleached golden brown highlights that compliment his unblemished skin, flops effortlessly to one side of his face like it styled itself.
Charlie looks down at the surgical cap in her lap and back up at “Maui” which has to be his stripper name. He gives her a nod with a smug smirk on his face and she just about falls apart. It suddenly feels about 120 degrees, her heart’s pounding, and she’s certain her face has turned a deep shade of red. He’s like the sun; she cannot even handle looking at him directly. As she averts her gaze, pretending there’s something in her purse she needs at that very moment, she notices Aurora and Jackie exchanging mischievous glances and it’s just fucking great that they’ve witnessed her embarrassing nervous system overreaction to a beautiful man.
She needs to get ahold of herself. Would it be awkward if she got out of her seat right now? She decides yes, so she’s stuck, but thankfully he has moved back to the center of the stage. He swivels his hips and then bunches the fabric at his waist in both hands, and she braces herself for what’s coming. In one smooth motion, he whips off both the scrub top and bottom, because of course they are tear away, and she’s nearly deafened by the screams. Surprisingly, seeing him nearly naked from this distance is much less threatening than just his face up close and personal. She appraises him from head to toe and the rest of his body is just as flawless. His muscles appear strong and clearly defined, but not too bulky, and he’s wearing a tiny pair of black modern cut briefs sitting impossibly low on his hips showing off his v-shaped Adonis belt. If he’s just stand right there and let her stare at him for the rest of the night, Charlie would be completely content.
But of course a stripper doesn’t make their money by just standing in the middle of the stage, so Maui begins to play the crowd. He works his way from one edge towards Charlie and her friends in the middle, emptying out the generous amounts of cash he’s collecting every so often to make room for more. Right before he gets to them, he retreats backwards and dances his way to the other end of the stage, again working his way in towards them. This time he doesn’t step away, stopping dead center between Jackie and Charlie, but it’s only one of them he’s focused on. Charlie doesn’t want to have to look him in the eyes, but the only alternative is to stare straight ahead at his bulge which isn’t any less awkward. Wasting no time, Aurora, Jackie, and Sienna all start stuffing money in his waistband as performs grinding motions and body rolls at an uncomfortably close distance. Jackie looks at her with raised eyebrows as if to say “we are all doing it and you should too” and Charlie has to admit it would look rude of her to abstain, so she reaches into her wallet. All she has is twenties, but if any guy here tonight is worth it, he is, so starts sliding the bills in one by one. She allows herself to let her fingertips brush against his skin, and she thinks she may detect him shiver, but at this point the alcohol is really starting to hit her so it could just be her imagination.
Maui dances for them much longer than anyone else before exiting the stage at the end of his set. “I’m going to use the restroom,“ Charlie announces because she needs to cool down after that. When she returns Sienna has another drink waiting for her which is at least one drink beyond making any rational decisions but she accepts it regardless. Shortly thereafter, Jackie and Aurora return to their seats looking suspicious.
“What are you two up to?” Charlie questions in an accusatory tone.
Jackie smirks. “You totally have a thing for that last guy.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Charlie scoffs but she knows she’s not fooling anyone.
“Well, he seemed to take a liking to you too,” Aurora adds, “…and before you protest, there was only one of us he was paying attention to that whole time.”
“Maybe that’s because I was the only one shoving twenty dollar bills down his pants,” she points out. She knows he had his eye on her long before that, but she figures it was just because she was so tragically obvious about her attraction to him.
“I think you’re about to find out.” Sienna giggles at the same moment Charlie feels a tap on her shoulder.
She turns and it’s him, Maui, still in his teeny, tiny underwear. “Are you ready, Charlie?”
“Ready for what? And how do you know my name?”
“Oh, your friends didn’t tell you? They bought you a lap dance…with me.”