I think I remember my 25th birthday party. Things are a little bit blurry. Was I dreaming? No. It couldn't have been a dream. I remember the smell of delicious food, candles burning behind sheer curtains and…

"Let's go Nancy, we don't want to be late for dinner again." I put on one more layer of lipstick, unbuttoned one more button on my see-through blouse (I was wearing a very expensive bra and I wanted to show it off) and passed Erica on our way out the door. While we drove to the Moroccan restaurant to meet a few girlfriends for dinner, I told Nancy about the gorgeous guy at work that I keep daydreaming about. Today was the worst though. I dreamt he got up from his desk and did a slow, purposeful walk towards me, slowly unbuttoned his shirt and let if fall off his shoulders, began to unzip his pants like an exotic dancer would, and began to dance while staring into the depths of my soul. I almost fell off my chair before coming to.

"Last time it was him calling you on the phone, wasn't it?" Erica asked. "Yeah, he whispered in the phone what he was going to do to my body (deep sigh) and left little to my imagination. It was the best phone "sex" I've ever had." "It was the only phone sex you've had." "And it was only a dream, darn it."

"A girls night out is exactly what you need," Erica said. "Or a stripper. Maybe both," she suggested. "Shut up," I answered.

We got to the restaurant and went inside. The hostess said our friends had already arrived and she showed us to our table. The restaurant was large and she walked us all the way to the back. There, to my delight, was a big private room with lots of oversized pillows for sitting on, candles everywhere, a huge balloon bouquet, and all my best friends yelling surprise. My birthday wasn't for another two weeks so this really caught me off guard. After I entered the room the hostess closed lovely gold sheer curtains to seal us off from the rest of the crowd.

Almost immediately, two beautiful belly dancers entered the room and began a dance. My friend Rick was mesmerized by the way they moved their hips. Actually, we all were. The two exotic women started to dance together, waving their arms across each other and tilting their heads to expose their long soft necks. Thankfully a waiter appeared; breaking us from the trance the women seemed to put us in.

This got me thinking about my daydream again. When it was my turn to order dinner, Erica had to bump me with her elbow. I looked up into the most gorgeous blue eyes and immediately recognized the man asking me what I wanted. I want you, was my first thought, but I bit my tongue. I blurted out something someone suggested and sat stunned. "That's the guy from work," I whispered to Erica. "He's checking you out," she answered. I watched him finish taking orders and leave. His backside was definitely worthy of a night job as a male exotic dancer.

When the food arrived we all dug in with our hands and really enjoyed sharing all the different dishes. I felt as though I was transported to some other place, some foreign destination where food and friendship were celebrated every day. It was warm and comfortable reclining while we devoured the feast before us. We all were at ease with each other, touching and laughing. When the dancers returned I was eager to watch them move.

It was like they glided across the floor. The small castanets clicking together in their hands sounded fetching, and before I knew it, they had me up dancing with them. My first lesson as a female exotic dancer was starting, and I was too full of libations and good food to care. One of them moved behind me and put her hands on my hips to push them in the right directions. My friends cheered me on. A couple of them joined in and we were awfully close to dirty dancing. The music coming from speakers in the ceiling swept us away and when it stopped we all hugged and plopped down on the pillows practically on top of each other.

The waiter/man of my dreams returned with dessert menus. He noticed we had been dancing and complimented me on my rhythm. Boy, would I like to get into a rhythm with him. I am the birthday girl. Shouldn't I get what I want? When he comes back I'll let him know exactly what I want for dessert. What have I got to lose?

Well just put me over the edge, why don't you. I was getting the dessert I wanted without asking. You see, when the gorgeous waiter returned, it was his turn to dance. For me. He took me by the hand and sat me down on a pillow in front of everyone and did a dance I can only compare to a striptease without the stripping. He moved his body seductively all the while keeping my gaze. I could see the outline of his well toned arms, back and chest. I could only imagine how well toned he was in other places. He moved closer to me. He got down on his knees and shimmied up to me. I could smell his breath and I wondered what his lips would feel like on mine when…

"Wake up sleepy head, you'll be late for work if you don't hurry. And oh, happy birthday."