Evan and his friends arrived at the Deja Blue an hour later, Brian still drunk as a lord. He kicked the curb and nearly toppled over as they walked up to the old fashioned theater marquee.

"You better calm the fuck down, Dinkins," said Rob. "They're not gonna let you in."

The inside was loud and pulsating with neon blue. The four of them walked into the show room after flashing their IDs to the steel-faced doorman and paying their 15 dollar cover charge.

The place was busy for a Monday night.

"Something special must be going on," said Matt.

"Yeah, it's half off dances until midnight," said Rob. "Manic Mondays. Marquee said outside."

"Half off?" Brian was intrigued. "What time is it now?"

"12:30."

"DAMMIT."

Nearly every seat was filled. There were two large parties of patrons against the back walls, one consisting of Asian businessmen with undone neckties, and the other consisting of what looked like frat brothers from U of M.

The rest of the chairs were filled with forlorn-looking men staring glassy- eyed at the stage. The poles and the mirrors gleamed. The carpets looked soft and feathery. The chairs were puffy and dark blue. The ceiling was painted black, and aluminum foil stars and half moons dangled on twine. TV monitors sat unwatched in corners, advertising dance prices and upcoming events. One showed a baseball game. A DJ sat up in his booth to the left. The bar was manned by a tiny girl with blonde dreadlocks.

Evan was torn. He'd always hoped the first girl he would see naked would be one that liked him for who he was, one that would not require money to take her clothes off. He'd thought about this for the entire half-hour drive down from South Lyon. He'd seen naked women in movies, (and online, of course) but never in real life.

And now, as they walked into the show room, Evan looked up and saw there was a naked woman onstage now-- a blonde with large, bare breasts. She was strutting about with a fiery stare.

Just like that, and the moment was over.

Well, I guess I can take that off the list, Evan thought, watching the woman as she mounted the pole in the center of the stage and twirled about. He didn't feel any different than he had the moment before.

"There she is," hissed Brian, pointing.

The strippers were all lined up against the back wall. The well-endowed blonde marched offstage on her platform heels and another one, a dark-skinned brunette, came up and removed her own top. It was a presentation of some kind.

One by one all the strippers came onstage and did a little dance. The audience gazed at each one, and there was a smattering of applause, polite and sparse. The DJ announced their names in a booming voice, half-heartedly trying to stoke the crowd into some semblance of enthusiasm. The men at the tables watched and sipped sodas out of tiny straws.

And indeed, off to the right of the stage, there was Lily Trent sulking against the back wall. She tapped at her iPhone screen. Only a few of the strippers were talking to each other. Lily was dressed in a loose string bikini. Evan hadn't seen her in several years, and though he'd never thought of her as particularly attractive before, he now felt himself stiffening in his pants at the sight of her near-naked body.

Evan and his four friends took seats at a table near the stage. The line of strippers paraded up one by one to wiggle and shake their stuff. The DJ yelled their names over the PA. There were about twelve of them in total, and Lily was near the end of the line.

Evan's eyes stayed on Lily. She was entrancing, the same little girl who'd been introduced to him at a block party after his family moved to the neighborhood. Her eyes didn't leave her phone until she was next in line. She still had her skinny arms and legs, but everything else had filled out. She had tattoos on her arms now, too.

"AND THE LOVELY LOOOLLAAAA..." boomed the DJ.

Lily walked onstage, phone still in hand, and struck a wide-legged pose at center stage. She reached down, grabbed her bikini bottom and flashed her vag twice at the crowd with a wry smile on her face. Evan felt his heart thud in his chest at the sight of the hairless slit between her legs. He saw she had another tattoo—words written in typeface across the v of her nether regions.

Brian and Rob and Matt leered up at her. The music throbbed. Evan gaped.

Lily smirked down and noticed the four of them. She frowned, and then recognition spread across her face. She pointed at Brian, who was cupping his hands over his mouth and yelling, "We're so proud of you!" and gave him the finger.