"No no, follow me!" Julie said excitedly, pulling on her friend's arm. "Don't worry...Jon's got the kiddos." Leesha opened her mouth to argue but Julie quickly covered her mouth to hush her. "No arguing or I'll tie you up for the night."

Leesha glanced over at Jon who simply waved. "Geez, you don't need to threaten me with a good time. I'm hungry though."

"All taken care of," Julie smiled and dragged Leesha down the staircase to the home's basement. Through the sitting area and game room, the bar was already lit up with two large pizzas and a box of wings set on the polished surface.

"You had to drag me down here for...pizza?"

"Not just pizza, babe," Julie said, slipping behind the bar, "Name your poison, sweet cheeks." She threw her hands wide, indicating the shelves of liquor behind her.

Leesha laughed for the first time in months and hoisted herself onto one of the bar stools. "Sex on the beach, baby."

"Coming right up," Julie grinned and set about making two of the cocktails, working as efficiently as she used to back in Australia. "So...what's a pretty lady like yourself doing in a joint like this?"

"Fella did me wrong," Leesha sighed and grabbed a slice of pizza on a napkin. "I thought it would be one of those...happily ever afters. Like a fairy tale."

"Keep the faith, sweet cheeks," Julie said, placing the frosty glass in front of Leesha, "If he knows what's good for him, he'll come home with his tail between his legs begging for redemption."

Leesha smirked and drank deeply from her glass. "So what kind of entertainment is offered here?"

"Good food, drinks aplenty, some music...dancing," Julie nodded toward the pole set up in the corner, "You name it, it can be arranged. We even have our resident singer in the house."

"Got any of the old Bon Jovi stuff? The 80s? Wouldn't mind a dancer from the prettiest talent here."

"Phht Bon Jovi...heard their lead singer was a workaholic," Julie winked, "a double-crossing one at that, to his wife."

Leesha giggled and drained her drink. "Seems to run in the band. That blonde keyboardist is no better and I heard he led the lead singer astray."

"Only one I know of, of any calibre, is their drummer," Julie grinned, "such a sweetheart! So what's next in the drink department." She folded a slice of pizza and took a big bite. "Ugh, no pineapple."

"Keep the sex coming, beautiful. But you know what I also heard? That keyboardist can take it up the ass like a champ," she smirked and cocked an eyebrow.

"More sex, huh? Sure thing," Julie chuckled, "See, I'd heard it the other way around. Keyboardist to the singer. One of them is a lying hound."

Leesha smiled widely. "No no...that's how it was...until I got my hands on him and made him pay for the torment he put me through. I fucked that ass like the little bitch he is," she sneered.

"What the?" Oh! My! God!" Julie almost choked on her pizza and held her hand up for a high five, "Way to go, girlfriend! Did you teach him a lesson?"

"Several." They clinked glasses in cheers. "Mmm so smooth. You've had practice." She slid off the stool and over to the wall panel for music control. "I know the club owner so I get my own playlist on here."

"What else ya got on there, chickie?" Julie came over with another two drinks, handing one to Leesha.

"All the albums... oooh...We Got it Going on. Think the dancer can shake it to that?"

"Yeah, yeah," Julie nodded, draining the small glass and feeling the heat making its way down to the pit of her belly, "It's been a while but we'll see what happens, shall we?"

She kicked off her shoes and did some quick stretches as she moved over to the pole, testing her grip by doing a quick twirl.

Leesha started the playlist and blasted the volume through the room's built-in sound system. Tico's drums sliced through the air with Hugh's bass and Richie's guitar. She took her drink and sat on the plush red sofa close to the pole.

She sang happily with Jon, dancing and bouncing in her seat. "Is there anybody out there looking for a party? Shake your moneymaker, baby, smoke it if you got it!"

Julie let her hair down and let the music take her soul as she started moving to the tempo, grinding a twirling against the pole, her body remembering all the moves. The liquor gave her the looseness to attempt stuff that she hadn't done in almost 10 years.

"Yas Queen!! We just wanna have some fun, if you don't wanna, kiss this. Everybody raise your hands, come on, I need a witness!" After the first verse, Leesha drained her drink and got up to dance around, letting all the pent up stress and energy burst out.

The girls didn't hear the knock at the door nor the slice of light when it was opened to reveal Jon and the three children.

"Uncle Jon, what's Aunty J and momma doing?" Ethan asked, pointing to Leesha bent over and shaking her ass in Julie's face.

"Dancing, Squirt," he said, watching his wife. He'd come down to let the kids say goodnight to their mothers, not expecting them to be putting on a show.

"Daddy, I didn't know Mama could do that!" Ari pointed as Julie hung upside down on the pole.

"And a whole lot more, Babymine," Jon grinned, feeling his pants becoming a little tighter.

Ethan tugged on his shirt, "Can I have a dollar, Uncle Jon? Please?"

"Er...sure," he said, digging into his pocket and handed it to Ethan, "There ya go, Squirt."

Julie had spied her Rockstar and his charges as her thighs squeezed the pole tight. She blew him a kiss and waved to Ari and slowly slid down the pole a little. Leesha ran over to the control panel and pressed pause, breathing hard.

She watched as her son, her pride and joy and light of her life, walked over to Julie and held out his tiny hand. Julie was busy holding herself tight to the pole so he placed the dollar bill on the only place available. Her boobs.

He then jumped for joy and punched the air. "Uncle Jon, I'm a man now!!" He squealed in innocent delight.

Jon's mouth fell open in shock and felt Ellie slip a fraction of an inch on his hip. He redoubled his grip around her.

"Ethan!" Leesha screeched, "That was extremely rude of you."

"But I...I...I wanted to be a man..." Ethan's eyes watered and crocodile tears streamed down his cheeks. "Daddy's not here. I want to be a man to protect you."

"Yes, but...."

"Leesh!" Julie said, shaking her head, "Later, honey. Ethan, come here." She crooked her finger at her nephew after she'd righted herself and was sitting on the floor. Julie picked up the dollar bill as Ethan came to a stop in front of her. "You know...when I used to work back in Australia and someone gave me money, I used to kiss them. Can I kiss you now?"

Ethan sniffled and nodded, "Okay."

Julie wrapped her arms around him and gave him noisy smooches around his neck making him giggle. "Transaction done," she said and let him go, "Now, go say goodnight to your momma while I say goodnight to Ari." She swatted him on his butt and rose to her feet passing Ellie mid-room on her way to her mother.

Leesha dropped to her knees and caught both her children, wrapping them in a tight embrace and apologizing to Ethan for snapping. The rest of the conversation was muffled under kisses and hugs.

Julie scooped Ari up on her way to Jon, giving her smoochy kisses as well.

"Mama! You were upside down!" Ari exclaimed, "Can you teach me that?"

"Not on your life!" Jon said, looking horrified, "Babe, no, please?!"

"Daddy said no, Ari," Julie shrugged, "Maybe when you're a bit older. You gotta have bigger muscles." She looked at Jon and shrugged. He mouthed a thank you back to her. "Now, off you go to bed, sweetheart. Listen to daddy and be a good girl, okay?"

"Okay, Mama. I love you. G'night."

"I'll deal with you later, Mrs Bongiovi," Jon growled and kissed Julie as Leesha brought Ellie back to him. "Let's go, sleepyheads." Taking Ellie back in his arms, he ushered the older two back out.

"Night Momma!" Ethan yelled back before Jon closed the door.

Leesha shrugged out of Julie's outstretched arm and back to the control panel. She chose a different song and walked towards the pole. The opening chords of Hearts Breaking Even came over the speakers and she reached out.

She shed her husband's t-shirt and wrapped her fingers around the cool titanium chrome, circling it to the rhythm and gyrating her hips against it. Her eyes closed and she pictured the nights that David would sit on the sofa and watch her with adoring eyes.

Tears stained her cheeks as she climbed and twirled, imagining her number one fan was there and ready to pull her into his arms. "Sheets got tangled in the mess we made..." Indeed they did.

So enraptured by her movements, he would carry her upstairs or take her on the bar. It never mattered. Her body slithered down the pole, legs spreading and hips rolling up to meet a lover that wasn't there.

Julie watched her friend, seeing the tear but decided to let her go for the moment, knowing that she'd needed to unload some of the baggage she was carrying. Instead, she slipped behind the bar again and started mixing some Long Island Iced Teas for them both.

"Let's just fold the cards and say goodbye. It's alright...just two hearts breaking even tonight..."

She did a near-perfect handstand and wrapped her legs around the pole, lifting herself higher, hung upside down and slid down with Jon's long note at the end.

Julie noted that Leesha was good, really good. She must have been practising...more than what she'd been doing anyway. Maybe she should get a pole installed somewhere to keep her fitness up. Yeah, fitness, she giggled to herself as she reached for a cold slice of pizza and chewed on it thoughtfully.

Leesha crumpled to the floor as the song stopped, sobbing uncontrollably. "Fucking, bastard," she cried and punched the floor.

Julie stopped the music before she picked up the pizza box and the two drinks, making her way over to the sobbing woman and slid to the floor with her. "Here, honey, take a big swallow. Doctor's orders." She pushed the glass into Leesha's hands and got her to take a big gulp.

She knew that both Leesha and David needed this time apart, as hard as it was going to be, but their marriage would be over if they didn't go through this pain. They needed each other, pure and simple. David just didn't need the drugs.

When he was clean, David's the most thoughtful, loving partner and father, apart from her own, that she knew. On drugs, he's selfish and inconsiderate...even violent and angry. It was the only time she'd ever seen his real temperament.

Usually, Leesha was the fiercest woman she knew, but the last few years had taken a toll on her mental health but she'd retreated in on herself, doubting her every move, and David's antics didn't help. Julie wanted them both to be happy again...like it used to be.

"He'd sit right there," Leesha breathed and pointed to a sleek red velvet sofa that was currently occupied by a stuffed panther. "...and watch me. Preferred the in-home entertainment before Ellie. He looked at me like I could do no wrong...like I was his Queen."

They were sitting with their backs to the door and never saw Jon standing there as they cried together and lamented their husbands' indiscretions over the past couple of years.

"You know," Leesha cried, "He gave me every dirty detail of each encounter and all it took was locking him up in the stocks naked, smacking his dick with a whip and fucking his ass with a dildo."

Jon winced at the description, squeezing his legs closed protectively.

"Jon told me about the twins and the teacher," Julie said around a bite of pizza, "He says there was no more than that. I gotta take his word for it, I guess. He seemed genuine...but...I just don't know anymore."

Leesha sat up and grabbed a slice of pizza, concentrating on the imperfect pepperonis. "You're lucky it was just those two times with him. His phone was left here and I looked. Can you blame me?"

"Not at all," Julie replied, "What did you find?"

"Photos of women...names, numbers...scores, whether they blew him, swallowed and fucked him. If they did anal. A couple of the highest scored ones he had the balls to keep in contact with," Leesha snarled. "The only small redeeming factor is that, apparently, he always wore condoms. Afraid of 'another fucking kid or my wife finding out'."

Jon, who had come down after putting the kids to bed, felt sick as he listened from just around the corner. He didn't know his friend had sunk that low. He'd hurt Julie immensely with his affairs; he'd hate to think how cut to the bone Leesha was feeling. He still can't fathom why he did it so he had no chance of offering an excuse for David's antics.

He could, however, help a little of the pain both women were feeling. He started rolling a plan over in his head. Lema owes me big time for this, he thought. He pulled his phone out as he closed the door.

The girls were oblivious to their witness as they continued to drink and talk things out until Jon came back a couple of hours later to find them both almost asleep on the couches. He sighed and shook his head.

He carried Leesha upstairs to her bedroom and placed a bucket beside the bed before rousing Julie, helping her into the spare bed they were using for the night. He crawled into bed beside her and lay awake staring at the unfamiliar ceiling.

When Julie had talked him into babysitting, he agreed thinking it was just the kids. He didn't know that she had planned on getting herself and Leesha smashed, however, but now understood why after listening to them talk earlier. He sighed thinking about the plan he'd set into action tonight when he heard Leesha vomiting from down the hall.

"David? David!" Leesha was yelling.

Jon bolted from the bed, Julie never stirring and burst into the master bedroom to find Leesha hanging over the side of the bed. At least she'd managed to make it to the bucket in time. He screwed up his nose at the sour smell hanging in the air.

"Are you okay, Leesh?" he said, not wanting to startle her.

"Can you get me water, honey? Please?" She mumbled. Is she that fucked up now that she thinks David is here? He didn't have the heart to correct her, scared of another teary onslaught of emotion.

He went into the ensuite and got a glass of water, handing it to her. He grabbed the bucket and quickly flushed the contents, rinsing it out. He placed it back down and sat on the side of the bed with her, stroking her hair like he'd seen David do.

"I love you," she muttered and drank the water clumsily.

Jon sighed and kissed her forehead. "I love you too," he replied, lowering the baritone of his voice slightly. "I never meant to hurt you, darlin'."

She had already fallen back asleep so he tucked her in and went back to Julie, snuggling up to her in bed and hoped Leesha would get some semblance of sleep. He soon joined Julie in a dreamless sleep with a tiny smile on his lips.