The Dancer
by Lady Lucia*

Part 21

I realized after about one second that the front door was a stupid idea.

What was I going to do after escaping the party in such a way? I was still buck naked, it was still winter, and my house was way too far away for me to just make a run for it. Definitely not wanting to linger in the foyer when so many people had seen me flee the previous room, I darted upstairs and back to the same room I had retreated to after my first round of stripping. Hastily closing the door behind me, and really wishing it had a lock, I quickly scanned the bedroom for my clothes. Breathing a sigh of relief when I saw that my skirt was still lying on the floor where I had kicked it off earlier, I wasted no time in grabbing the garment and pulling it on.

When I first stepped into the room, I had been mentally preparing myself to look through the drawers for something to wear in case Heather had hidden my clothes. Turns out there was no need; my top was still folded where I had left it back when it was me and Ashley up here. Not having underwear to go with the skirt was one thing, as it’s not like anyone would be able to see that when looking at me. A tight halter top without a bra, however, was a different story. I was just grateful it was black, as a lighter color would have been even more obvious. Speaking of borrowing something in the bedroom, maybe there was a bra that would somewhat fit me . . . ?

No, I needed to keep my eye on the prize. Though my New Year’s Eve outfit had been just where I had left it, the rest of my possessions were still nowhere to be seen. Honestly, I didn’t even care that much about my phone or wallet at the moment. If I could just find my keys, I could deal with the rest of it tomorrow. The problem was, they could literally be anywhere. In Autumn’s room, maybe? Or, worse, somewhere downstairs. I didn’t know the blonde or the house nearly well enough to make an educated guess beyond the obvious.

Deciding to stay where I was for a minute, mostly because the privacy was beyond refreshing, I checked a number of spots where a tipsy Autumn might have stashed my things. There was always the chance that she hadn’t been clever about it, and merely shoved them into the nearest drawer before following me out of the room earlier. Apparently I wasn’t going to catch a break there. There was nothing in the desk, or under the pillow, or in the dresser. That last one was an attempt to kill two birds with one stone, but there wasn’t a bra to be seen in one of the upper drawers. My best guess was that it was a guest bedroom that doubled as a storage room or maybe an auxiliary closet for the sisters.

Sighing to myself, I made my way over to the door and tentatively cracked it to make sure no one was waiting on the other side. Padding out into the hallway, not that there was really a need to be quiet when I could hear how midnight hadn’t really changed the vibe of the party below, I scanned the upper floor in an attempt to figure out which room was Autumn’s. She and I had walked in on a couple making out in the one I had just spent a couple minutes in, and I was hesitant to open any closed door with that in mind. Kissing was easily the tamest thing I could imagine at a rager like this, especially now that most people’s inhibitions would be lower than an hour ago.

Would anyone dare mess around in Autumn’s room? She was the host, but it was also such a big party. There had to be a number of people who had never been here before, and I doubted she was bothering with tours when there was drinking and socializing to do.

Still, I couldn’t just stand around and do nothing. Realizing there was a pretty easy way to figure out which rooms were safe, I went from door to door and listened for a few seconds at each. Awkward as it was, as there were a couple spaces that were currently ‘occupied,’ I caught a lucky break when one of the empty rooms ended up being Autumn’s. Though she was in college like I was, there were still plenty of old pictures around to signify that this was her bedroom, rather than Zoey’s.

Under normal circumstances, it would feel weird to be snooping in another girl’s room without knowing her that well or being invited in. But after everything she and Heather pulled, I didn’t feel particularly guilty. Plus I was stuck at this party until I found my keys, and everyone present would now see me as the ‘stripper’ that they had all seen naked. That all made it pretty easy to justify my current actions.

Of course, I still had absolutely no idea where to start. It had been one thing to settle on her bedroom itself, but it was something else entirely to actually be in there with no bearings. After taking a cursory scan of the space, I repeated my process from the previous room when I didn’t immediately see my stuff. Drawers first, followed by checking under outfit pieces and anything else a small collection of belongings could be hiding. Groaning to myself after a few minutes, I flopped down onto the bed and started considering other options. Could someone else drive me home? Ryan had technically offered, but there was no way in hell I would press him of all people to follow through. Preferably, I’d want a girl, and one who was actually sympathetic to my plight rather than all those female audience members who seemed more judgmental towards my little show earlier. On top of that, I obviously needed someone who was sober. Tall order, considering the types Autumn surrounded herself with.

Oh.

Obviously.

There was a better way. All I really needed was for someone to order me a ride; that was both easier and simpler than trying to find an individual who checked all the boxes I had run through in my head. Still required finding someone willing to spend New Year’s Eve prices on me, too.

No matter what, there was one thing that all my solutions had in common–I had to head back downstairs and brave the main floor again. It was a miracle Autumn or Heather hadn’t come looking for me yet, and I didn’t want to imagine what the former girl might do if she caught me in her room.

With that in mind, I stepped back out into the hallway and closed the door behind me like it had been before I let myself in.

Tentatively placing my hand on the banister at the top of the stairs and taking a deep breath, I took the first downward step.

Back towards the party, where everyone viewed me as a stripper.


Part 22

Falling back on one of my mental options from a few minutes ago, I decided that heading outside was the best idea. I did so immediately upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, as the winter air wouldn’t be quite as bad now that I was dressed again.

Sure enough, there were a few people braving the cold for the sake of smoking. It wasn’t a habit I ever planned on taking up, though I tried not to judge. At the moment, I was far more inclined to talk to a small group in a secluded spot than risk the mob mentality from earlier that gave so many people in the crowded living room an excuse to feel me up. Though I was wearing clothes, there were probably countless people who assumed it was fine to violate my personal space now that I had been presented as a slutty stripper who was there for just that reason.

“Umm, hey,” I greeted, feeling rather nervous and awkward about my approach. The trio didn’t look familiar to me in the slightest. Maybe we went to high school together? I had no idea.

“Nice show in there,” one of the guys chuckled, “You off the clock, or is there still time to request a lap dance?”

Slightly flushing at how I was being perceived as a girl who could be talked to like that when everything I did earlier was such a far cry from my usual personality and behavior, I made a point to stay as polite as possible due to my current circumstances and needs. “Can I ask a favor of one of you? Please?” I asked. Stretching the truth a bit, as I was fairly confident Autumn had intentionally tucked my belongings away in a place I wouldn’t easily find them, I said, “I lost my phone. Could I borrow one of yours and order myself a ride? I promise I’ll pay you back.”

“It’s free of charge if you flash us your boobs,” he winked.

“Don’t be a dick, Josh,” the guy next to him said, “Bella, right? You can use mine.”

“Thank you,” I exhaled in relief. Fucking finally. A single decent person who wasn’t viewing me as an object or a target since this all began. My guard was still up, of course, but he ended up handing me his phone without any strings or belated games involved. He had even pulled up the necessary app for me. I quickly put in my information, along with a note that the ride was for me rather than what the account would show. Then I took a minute to find his Venmo so I could request the amount from myself. Though I was desperate to get back to my place, I wasn’t about to let this guy pay for it himself.

Then I just had to wait. I was definitely not wearing enough clothes for the now January weather, but I also wasn’t about to head inside and deal with any more party guests and former classmates than I had to. The guys tried to strike up a conversation with me once or twice; my curt answers quickly made it clear that I wasn’t interested. It was admittedly a little bit bitchy of me, especially when one of them had been so kind as to lend me his phone for what I needed, but I was just so done with the night.

Thanking him one more time when he informed me that my ride was almost there, I scurried off the front porch and down the driveway. My own car was parked halfway down the street; similar to how I was abandoning my phone and wallet for the time being, that was going to have to be tomorrow’s problem. After I dealt with the reality of the last few hours, which still hadn’t fully hit me. I was low key in denial about the whole thing, as if it was some other surreal version of myself that had done all that. Stripping down on a makeshift stage, getting countless bills stuffed into my underwear, giving lap dances and making out with a girl and doing all kinds of other things with her in front of everyone . . .

Shaking off those memories to the best of my ability, trying not to think about Zoey grinding me and taking my bra off to reveal my bare breasts for dozens of people to see, I got in the back seat of the car I ordered for myself. My arms were still firmly wrapped around my chest, both because of the cold and the fact that I was wearing a tight top without a bra. The driver got the memo pretty quickly that I wasn’t going to be the talkative type.

Without a phone or anything else to distract me, it was tough to not get lost in my thoughts and memories. I tried to focus on the music quietly playing in the car, the familiar landmarks we were driving past, anything that would keep me from reliving this and that from Autumn’s party. As soon as we neared my neighborhood, it was easier for me to focus on the present–though my parents knew that I was going to be out late, I was still going to be ‘sneaking in’ in terms of not waking them up. Less because I was being a thoughtful daughter, and more that I selfishly didn’t want to deal with any smalltalk when I was in such a scattered and mortified headspace.

Hopping out of the car and taking the side door of the house as quietly as possible, I made it as far as the main floor before realizing someone might think it odd that I ended up home while my car was nowhere to be seen. And without my phone, I was left doing things the old fashioned way–jotting down a note that I made it back safely, and that someone gave me a ride. Honestly, my parents were the least of my problems at this point.

With that taken care of for the time being, I padded up the stairs to the second floor and successfully made it to my bedroom undetected. Letting out a quiet sigh of relief, I found myself unsure of what to do next. My mission of escaping Autumn’s party and making it back home was complete, which was quite the win considering how so many things had been stacked against me, but . . . Heather’s threat was still in play, and I didn’t even want to start thinking about how many phones had been trained on me as I was eventually stripped completely naked in the middle of the crowded room.

I decided to settle in for a night of restless sleep. There wasn’t much else I could do at nearly 1 AM on New Year’s Day. Tomorrow would have to be damage control, amidst other things. Maybe I’d even have a clearer head in the morning.

Maybe my reputation, modesty, and dignity wouldn’t be completely obliterated as badly online as it had been in person.