Chapter 13 (Part 2)

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At the club's entrance, the bouncer searched Adam for weapons just like a policeman would. Not finding any guns or knives, even after frisking him hard beneath his arms and around his back, he had no choice but to let him in.

"I'm watching you."

Whatever.

Inside, the first thing Adam noticed was the smell of tobacco and bad choices in the cold air.

Jeez! Do they ever turn off the AC? He wondered. It's freezing in here.

To his surprise, the rest of the place fared better than its shabby exterior: the white leather furniture was elegant, and the chrome tubes separating the different areas made the spaces appear bigger somehow.

As he meandered, looking for a corner table far from everyone else, it became apparent the walls there had no edges; they all ended in soft curves. Lit by a wavy blue light hidden in the ceiling borders, it seemed the decor aimed for an "under the sea" theme.

"Ironic," he muttered. "Because I feel like a fish out of—"

In the central stage, surrounded by a few men drinking, he saw her.

Lili was dancing. Wearing nothing but a red thong and a Santa hat, her skin glittered under the spotlight.

Are those cartoon reindeer stickers covering her nipples?

When she spotted Adam, she greeted him with a smile.

This froze him.

What do I do? Wave at her? Wink?

Soon that awkward exchange didn't worry him as much as the bartender glaring him down.

Adam mouthed a hello to Lili and sat by a table as far from the bar as possible, a decision that had nothing to do with the barman.

Lead us not into temptation, he said to himself, remembering how hard he'd fought for his sobriety.

"It's the first time I've come close to praying since forever." He went from a frown to a smile. "Once a Catholic, always a catholic. I hate when Magda is right."

"Hello." The only waitress around came towards him and wiped his table with a cloth. "What can I get you?"

"Red Bull."

"Yeah, sorry, we are fresh out of that."

"How about Coke?"

"Sir, we don't sell drugs in this establishment." She acted serious, then chuckled. "I'm joking."

"Funny."

"Want a Cuba Libre, then?"

"Plain Coke."

"Virgin Cuba Libre it is," she winked at him and headed back to the bar.

Adam assumed drinking was borderline mandatory in a strip club. He was also sure that a Virgin Cuba Libre would be more expensive than a soda.

Fine. Who cares?

It wasn't until a while later, once the ice cubes in his glass had watered down his drink, that Lili came to his table.

"You look surprised."

"I do?"

"You didn't think I was a school teacher or something like that, did you?"

"A nun, actually."

"Amen," she made the sign of the cross over her naked chest.

Adam wanted to avoid looking uncomfortable, but he couldn't even keep eye contact with her.

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