Tonight was both amazing and terrifying, and maybe even more so than the first time.

We got to the pub and Mel let me have one drink to settle my nerves, and Elise came over and said hello, and where had I been because she was hoping I’d pop in sometime, after that night in the club. I said I would sometime.

Then it came to performance time and, honestly, this time I was so much less nervous, and it was more fun, and I think I did it better. I felt like I owned the room as I took off one thing after another, and I was brave enough to make eye contact with people and flirt a bit as I was undressing. And then it came to taking the corset off, and I turned around to show everyone my (almost) bare breasts, with just the nipple pasties, and then I locked eyes on someone in the crowd: it was Tim. Tim from work. Tim who I’m supposed to be in charge off.

I almost fell over, and the rest of the act was more of a blur. I couldn’t get it out of my mind: someone I worked with was sitting about four tables away from the stage and was watching me strip down to just about nothing. Let’s face it, it was really down to nothing, except the bare minimum that would stop the police raiding Elise’s pub.

I was as flustered as anything when I finished and before the applause had even stopped I made my back to Mel’s side, so eager to get off the stage that I forgot to pick anything up again. Which meant I ended up sitting on the chair, feeling one hundred percent naked, and Mel saw it in my eyes. She asked what was up, and I said that there was someone here I recognised, and I told her who it was, and she actually smiled and said “good”. She asked who it was and I described him, and she looked over my shoulder and said he wasn’t staring this way but was obviously half looking. I said it wasn’t good and I shouldn’t stay here. She said don’t be sily and that I needed another drink.

I don’t think I’ve ever felt more vulnerable as I sat there, feeling plenty of eyes on my bare skin and wondering if those included Tim’s. But I didn’t dare look around, so I kept my eyes on the stage for the last act.

And then Mel reappeared with a drink, but the bad thing was that she had Tim by her side.

His eyes were fixed on a point about a foot above my head and he seemed almost as uncomfortable as I was. Almost, but not quite. Mel said it seemed silly for us not to say  hello to each other, and she was going to talk to Elise, and she sat Tim down and I was left there at the table with Tim dressed up in a frilly shirt and black velvet jacket and me in nothing but nipple pasties and a c-string.

And somehow Tim actually seemed less nervous now than he ever was in the office. He said I put on a great performance and everyone really enjoyed it, and I said it was only the second time I’d done it, and definitely the last, which he said was a shame. I didn’t know what to say to that.

I started babbling a bit, and I said I bet he never thought he’d see someone like me doing something like this, and how embarrassing it was for someone from work to know about it, and he said you never can tell, and he was totally fine with it, and I didn’t have to worry about him telling anyone. I think I believe him on that, which is some relief. But it’s still going to be weird seeing him at work tomorrow.

I asked him how come he was here and he said that he’d been once or twice in the past and his friend had said they should come tonight. He turned and pointed at a dark haired woman, probably about his age, who was at the table where he’d been. I hadn’t even noticed he was with someone before and I couldn’t help wonder if he was on a date and somehow I was interrupting it. It would make sense of why she didn’t come over, although I think if I was on a date and someone went to talk to a naked work colleague I’d probably not go on a second one.

Then Mel came back and joined us, and she started quizzing Tim, and I half zoned out. She asked him what I was like at work, and joked about me seeming so quiet but I’ve got this wild side, and then she told him about her life coaching and got his details!

At some point I said he should go back to his friend, and Mel said he should just bring her over, but he said he’d go back, so I was let off that one.

Somehow after that spending another half an hour with people staring at my body didn’t seem much of an issue, because I don’t think I’m ever going to have anything more embarrassing happen to me than Tim watch me strip in front of a room full of people