Champagne Life by Nicole Bradshaw Read Free Book Online Page A

hell did you get into college then?”
    â€œI had a partial scholarship, plus my parents made a lot of money and paid for the rest.”
    â€œSo what was the problem? Why didn’t you hit up your parents?”
    I couldn’t believe I was telling him this. Even DeShaun had no idea of my dancing past. “When I was in college, I was a bit of a fashion freak and totally into myself.” I hesitated for a second, deciding if I should give him the entire story or the condensed version. I settled on the shorter story.
    â€œMy parents gave me money for books, but I spent it all on clothesand shoes. I had to make money somehow and my roommate knew this girl who knew this girl, and to make a long story short, I danced at a local spot for a month.”
    â€œTopless or full nudity?”
    â€œOnly topless, but that was bad enough.” I thought a second. If I was going to come clean, I was going to come clean completely. “Okay, I lied. It was full nudity.”
    â€œGet outta here!” he exclaimed, but quickly added, “but hey, I don’t judge. You had to do what you had to do. At least you had the sense to figure out how to get money.”
    â€œThe whole ordeal was so disgusting. Men looked at you with their tongues practically hanging to the floor. When I danced, on the stage, I could look down and see the bulges in their pants getting bigger and bigger. I was seventeen years old and the first time I stepped onto that stage to dance, I felt like a little girl. Eight minutes later, at the end of the routine, I had felt like a hoodrat who had been around the block a few times.”
    The longer version of the story went something like this; dancing for a month, dabbling in drugs in order to force myself onto that stage every night and even a few times being approached by “movie producers” who wanted to feature me in their films.
    â€œIt’s still embarrassing when I think about it.” I was glad to finally admit that to someone. No one, except for my freshman roommate, Tanisha, knew about my dancing days as “Victoria.” Last I heard, Tanisha was doing adult movies under the name, “Wicked Wanita.”
    â€œYour secret is safe with me. I told you about my fat, back-brace-wearing days, and you told me about your dancing days. I’d say we’re even.”
    â€œBack brace, too?” I didn’t know whether to laugh or feel sorry for him. “You had it bad.”
    He laughed. “Well, now we know something about each other that no one else knows.”
    I grabbed my purse and stood up, ready to leave. For some reason, his last statement made me feel slightly uncomfortable as well as a tad bit guilty. Another man knew something even my husband didn’t. I wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

DeShaun and Naomi
    D eShaun prepared dinner almost every night. He didn’t have to be at work until after six most evenings, so often times I walked through the front door and was met with the sound of food sizzling in a frying pan and to the smell of various spices. Tonight, as I unlocked and entered through the front door, I heard no sizzling and there was no scent of spices wafting in the air.
    DeShaun was at the kitchen counter with his back to me. “Hey, you’re home.” There was something sexy about seeing him prepare food at the kitchen counter he’d refurbished for me. He spent the last of our savings to install the granite countertop because he knew I wanted it. Plus, the fact that he was completely nude was a plus, too.
    I glanced down at his tight body and felt myself getting slightly turned on. “Are you kidding me? You cannot be serious.”
    He raised his arms and in a slow motion, turned around wearing a grin as wide as the Grand Canyon. Aside from two white chef’s hats on both heads, a pair of white tube socks was the only other thing he wore. He handed me a glass of wine. “For you, my