A/N: This story starts post season two and pre season three. And I will not be following the events of season three. It's an alternative storyline. However I did get the idea from a promo shown on HBO when Eric and Pam were auditioning dancers. I took the premise and made it my own. Hope you all enjoy it. Also want to note there is talk of pole dancing in the story (not to spoil anything) but if you'd like to get a feel for how the female lead performs I styled her performance off of great pole dancing champions Jenyne Butterfly and Felix. Check them out on youtube. And please please review!

Eric's cornflower blue eyes watched as girl after girl climbed upon the stage, his loyal Pam at his side. Auditioning new dancers sounded like a good idea. Until he was forced to endure the horrible and cliché attempts at girls, who had no right to be in skimpy clothing, grinding against a pole like amateurs, while trying to be sexy and macabre. The female upon the stage now was lithe with little curves and skin that was obviously powdered to appear lighter. Her hair was dyed a flat black and her make up was a pallet of black and grays. Not the look he was hoping for.

These were obviously groupies that wanted to work in a vampire bar and wanted to appear like they belonged there. So they drew from every terrible gothic cliché they could find. Sadly for them he was looking for a human dancer, one that was out there to entice his vampire clientele. He needed sun kissed skin, curvy and nubile bodies that were ruddy with life. Not the pallor of the undead writhing about the stage, he had actual undead dancers to serve the need of his clientele that still possessed a heart beat.

He crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back in his chair, his eyes frozen in boredom. He shifted his eyes to the small stopwatch on his table between him and Pam. Now he really regretted promising the women he'd give them a full three minutes to perform. As a tinny beeping filled the air he actually felt his lips curl in a smile, happy to have survived the ordeal.

"Thank You." Was all he said and all he had to say. They all knew what that meant, the unspoken, 'you may now leave, we aren't interested', rang loud and clear. The girl actually seemed to tear up as she exited the stage quickly. He looked to the line, only one more girl left. He nodded at her and was slightly glad this one at least looked human. She was oozing sex as she sauntered up to the stage. The music began and the girl started to do her dance. She was much better than an amateur, that was for sure.

The sound of the door behind them opening took his attention away, and much to his dismay another girl entered in, and waited in what was now the empty queue. Although he had to say she was an improvement to all the other girls, even the one currently on stage. She had crimson locks and a startling set of sea green eyes, that were nearly piercing and surprisingly devoid of emotion as they met his gaze. He was surprised at her choice of clothing since she wore a pair of black cargo pants and a simple black girl tee, with a set of flip flops, which starkly contrasted to the kind of outfit's the girls performing prior had chosen. The girl on stage was a good example. She wore a leopard print bikini that was skimpy and barely covered her ample and obviously fake bosom. He returned to watching the girl on the stage.

…

Taryn began peeling off her clothes, knowing she couldn't perform in her street clothes. She was lucky she'd even made it. She'd gotten a flat tire on her car on the way, and had to change the damn thing herself. Which wasn't new, she'd been alone for quite some time so doing things herself was business as usual. She started strapping on her heels as she watched the girls performance. Since she was the only one left and the blonde vampire with his female sidekick seemed interested as they watched her. She had to give the girl props she knew her way around a pole, but she could tell they were not going to be competition for each other.

The girl on stage had her fingers on the sexual pulse. She slithered and writhed and shook her ass at appropriate times. Her tricks were seriously minimal, just simple twists and slight lifts. People didn't realize that there were many types of pole dancers, the girl before her was more towards the sexual stripper, while Taryn was more of a pole dancing athlete. They were two completely different flavors of dancers so which ever flavor the vamps were looking for hopefully they'd find it. Since they had polar opposites to choose from.

The song ended and the blonde vampire asked for the girl to stay, which wasn't the greatest of news but it seemed to be down to the two of them, so asking for their only other option to stick around was smart. She may not love vampires but she didn't hate them. Plus they were safe, surprisingly enough, and she really needed to be safe right now. Plus a vampire's hours were superb for her, since she was very much a starving artist or dancer rather. The blonde vampire turned towards her, his eyebrow quirking as soon as he laid eyes on her. He then nodded his head and she walked up to the stage, heels clacking on the wood as she made her way to the pole.

The song she'd chosen was a favorite of hers, "Meat" By Tony Iommi featuring Skin. It had a nice slow flow to it, which let her groove to the sensual vibe as she performed, and also allowed her to do all her best pole work. She was glad to see that the pole was one of the longer ones that ran from the stage floor up to the ceiling which allowed her to get some nice height. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, connecting with the music and feeling each move and pull of her body, that way the moves flowed into each other and didn't just look like a set of moves thrown together to music. She let the music flow through her and floated away as she performed.

…

Now this was a surprise. When he turned to look at the new girl, she'd changed her outfit to something more suitable, yet still demure in comparison to the other girls. She wore, if he was correct in his memory of what they were called now a days, what seemed to be a simple pair of black boy shorts that only hinted at the ampleness of her pert rear-end, and the top looked like some kind of black sports bra, which again gave only a hint of the lush curves it hid. Her shoes were a black set of break neck heels, which was customary pole dancing requirement, however she was the only one that seemed to own a pair that you couldn't see through. All in all she showed enough skin but still hid the goods, which was a surprising tease.

He watched with actual interest as she took the stage, and closed her eyes with a deep breath that she let out slowly. She began moving to the music, her body moving in slow and synchronized waves to the beat, and as the music crescendoed for the chorus she did a spin that was actually rather impressive even to him. It started out with a two hand hold above her head only for her to drop a hand and spin one handed, then grab the pole behind her back, before lowering herself back to the ground. As the music kicked into the second verse it returned to a slow sensual tempo. She then began what he figured was the true show of her abilities. She started ascending the pole in a rather remarkable fashion.

Pressing her back to the pole and using her upper body strength she lifted her feet off the ground and moved them above her head in a split so that she hung upside-down on the pole. Then she hooked her legs on the pole climbed higher with her hands only to lift her legs in the same fashion and repeated this till she was a good fifteen feet off the floor. When she went into what seemed to be her first true trick, he felt Pam turn to look at him with mild amusement. He didn't turn to look at her, his eyes were trained on the surprise on the pole. He'd been ready to tell her to leave, since she'd shown up late, which was not a good first impression to make with a possible employer, but he'd been feeling charitable. Now he was glad he'd given her a shot. Each move was a sensual show of the physical prowess of her body, and all and all a very sexy and still utterly feminine demonstration of her physical strength.

When the song ended he felt the corner of his lips tug, as the girl let the music fade off while she remained in her ending position. He watched as she took a breath and closed her eyes for a moment as if she was returning from a trance. She stood up from the floor and looked to him with expectant eyes, but other than that she did nothing, asked no questions, she didn't even grow flustered as he took his sweet time to give her any sign as to what he thought of her performance.

Which pretty much sealed the deal on his choice. The girl that had performed just before her was good, a pro for sure, but she was all obvious sex. The girl still on stage was like a poster girl for healthy vibrant human life, which was exactly what he needed to tantalize his vampiric clientele and she didn't squirm under pressure or harsh scrutiny. He knew exactly which one he wanted, but ever the opportunist he wanted to see how much he could get out of it before he made his final decision. Maybe pitting them up against one another might come out with delicious bonuses for him.

Chapter Title/Song Lyrics

"Meat" by Tony Iommi Feat. Skin

You taste what you want from me

You taste all of the gristle from the bones I need

To stand up to you

To live up to fools

It's too troubling

Can't take what you like from me

Can't take all of the vision that your money thieves

Don't be careless now

Just a pretty babe

A cool covering

You can't hide, no

You can't hide the way you feel

You're just dead inside this meat

That you're smothering

You can't run, no

You just stumble, crash and cry

Without asking questions why

It's all crumbling

Dark eyes, beauty's never cheap

Dark hair, dark lips maybe that I want to cheat

See my sorry face

In this love that fails

It's all good for me

Slick baby that ain't worrying

Slick rage, strong is the ego that I want to test

In your head of lies

Cut me down to size

It's all credible

You can't hide, no

You can't hide the way you feel

You're just dead inside this meat

That you're smothering

You can't run, no

You just stumble, crash and cry

Without asking questions why

Pure fear that you're falling for

These tears, thick in the sadness that was running before

Welling up in dread

For a softer bed

I'm not worrying

You're so sane, all the lines you shed

So cool, so good, the picture for those crazy hoods

Got this gun for keeps

Stick it in this meat

I'm not hurrying

You can't hide, no

You can't hide the way you feel

You're just dead inside this meat

That you're smothering

You can't run, no

You just stumble, crash and cry

Without asking questions why

It's all crumbling

You can't hide, no

You can't hide the way you feel

You're just dead inside this meat

That you're smothering

That you're smothering

That you're smothering