…but out came the sun and dried up all the rain, and the itsy-bitsy spider climbed up the spout again!

My hopes were not totally diminished. You see, I’m a performer at Chinablack. Every alternate night I’d be dancing and singing on stage, mostly to the likes of popular artistes such as Britney, Christina, Avril and Pink, where I would dress up in a costume similar to what they wear in the videos and entertain the customers with my fancy dance moves. Not those slutty, prostitute-like dancing but sexy enough to get loadsa male attention.

With a plan brewing in my mind, I went home to get dressed properly before heading for Chinablack. I reached home and pulled open my wardrobe door. Gosh, what would I wear? Something elegant, classy, yet attention-grabbing enough for Mark to notice me. I decided on a black lycra spaghetti- strap dress which fell a couple of inches short of my knees. I undid the bun I had during the performance and my hair fell to my shoulders in little curls. Thank goodness Mrs Jean had not put the whole container of gel onto my hair or it’d be a disaster. After touching up my make-up I was all set to get going. I hailed a cab and soon I arrived at Chinablack.

Once there, I scanned the crowd excitedly for the four lads before my eyes fell upon them sitting at a round table in a corner of the club. Just as I was heading towards them, some fans beat me to it, and asked the guys to dance with them. They got up and headed to the dancefloor. Hrumph, not fair, I thought. I glanced away with disgust at how those cheap girls were throwing themselves at the guys, and noticed that their drink glasses were empty, so naturally they would have to order new ones at the bar. I sat at the bar and ordered myself a drink as I watched a1 dance.

Crossing my legs, shifting up my skirt slightly so that it revealed my long tanned legs, my mind drifted as I watched Mark showing off his dance moves on the dancefloor. I looked at Paul and he was really in his element. I caught his eye, and he waved to me, mouthing ‘hello’ and flashing me that cheeky smile of his, before returning to his dance partner.

At that moment, my heart stopped beating. Mark was looking me right in the eye. I immediately transformed into the ‘shy yet flirty’ mode as I smiled at him. He winked seductively at me, and I plucked up the courage to blow him a kiss. He laughed and pretended to catch it, but then continued dancing with that bimbo.

“argh aren’t u like, gonna come over, like now?!?!” I said aloud. As if he heard me, Mark made his way towards me when the song changed. Oh. My. Gosh. Ok Brit, don’t panic, it’s just Mark*hello it’s like MARK…*, just open your eyes wide and suck your tummy in and smile! I told myself. Oh no I was starting to feel faint*don’t’ you DARE faint now…* I scolded myself.

By now, Mark had walked up to me, and was smiling in front of me.

“Hi babe! How ya doing? You look gorgeous!” Oh man..this was SO nerve-wrecking…I blushed and said quickly, “Thanks, you look great too..”Ahh…

I saw Mark smile as he ordered his drink. When he got it, he whispered in my ear, “ Hey let’s go somewhere quieter alright?” as he slid his arm around me, and rested his hand on my hip as he pulled me closer to him. We were so close that I could smell his perfume-it was heavenly. He led me back to the “a1” table, and we began talking, getting to know each other. He seemed shy yet friendly as we introduced ourselves. It amazed me how well we got along, making each other laugh. Mark’s laugh was so cute! Little crinkles would appear at the corner of his eyes and a dimple would form on his cheek. His hearty laughter filled my heart with joy as I felt the nerves fade away. During out conversation, Mark took my hand, and started fondling with my fingers, which I enjoyed immensely. I tried to ignore the tingling sensation, but to no avail as I still ended up smiling and blushing away. He looked at me with his beautiful brown eyes, and I got lost in them..c’mon just bloody snog me, I thought…

Unfortunately our spell was broken when a very cheerful Paul, a very hyper Ben, and a very smitten Christian came to the table. They had ordered drinks to be brought to their table, and were now taking their seats. I was really pleased that Ben was sitting on my left, as he was my second favourite member of the group, but as Mark was THEE love of my life, I turned my attention back to the hunk on my right. All the get-to know-yous were repeated. Ben was being really cheeky and flattering, perhaps he was already drunk.

“ So where do you live, then?” inquired Ben.

“ Oh, I live about half and hour from here,”

“ Ooooh in that case, next time when I’m in your area, I’ll BE in your area, if you know what I mean,” winked Ben.

A smile tugged at my lips. Mark shifted uncomfortably.

“ Now Ben, that’s not the way to treat a lovely lady like Britannia…” said the mature Christian smoothly in his Norwegian accent.

Ben apologized and flashed me his famous puppy eyes when the bartender brought their drinks over. I looked at the bartender and I realized that it was my boss Jake. He recognized me and said,” Hey Brit! Hey your shift is tomorrow night right? Ok after your item, you make the announcement and then the room will be unveiled ok? Catcha later!” He smiled before moving on. Ben, Mark, Christian and Paul looked at me incredulously as I sipped my drink.

“What was that all about?” asked Paul. I explained to them that I was a dancer and singer at Chinablack, and I was going to be performing the next night.

“Ooh, we’ll definitely be here to watch you tomorrow..it’s gonna be a blast!” tease Ben.

“ So you’re pretty good then? C’mon, show me your stuff!” said Paul as he stood up and headed to the dancefloor, and then turning around, he waved at me, beckoning me to join him. I played along, and in a few minutes we were competing against one another; Paul was dirty dancing in his own little world while I was strutting my stuff. I was having the time of my life then, when I noticed that Marks was watching my every move intently, his eyes darting from the movement of my dress half way up my thighs to my hips shimmying to the music.

When a slow song came on, Paul and I reluctantly stopped dancing, if not we would look pretty silly. Ben and Christian cheered as we came back from dancing, faces all flustered.

“She’s pretty good Paul! You’d better be careful, you’re gonna lose your crown soon, right Mark?” laughed Christian as Paul took a mini bow.

“Erm..yeah..” said Mark quietly.

Marks was acting all strange, and the other guys sensed it too.

“Mate are you alright?” asked Ben.

“Yeah…yeah I’m ok Ben..”

“Then why are you so quiet all of a sudden Mark? Not cos we have a lady here is it?” joked Christian.

“No!...I-I didn’t say that..” answered Mark rather quickly.

The guys gave each other knowing looks as I looked away confused.

Wanting to avoid this uncomfortable situation, Paul started a new conversation for which we were all very grateful for. Mark tried to lighten up and act normally but I could tell that something was still bothering him...I wonder what..