Agora is improved

I'd heard this place had been renamed, and yep, there it was, a new sign that says The Agora. Okay, maybe it's been classed up a little since I was last here. I can't say I was ever a regular there, but the few times I'd been there I wasn't impressed. Walked in around 10:00 PM and there was no one at door. Got charged the door fee at the bar by a barmaid. It seemed less dingy inside, but maybe it was just a little more brightly lit. There were maybe three other patrons, two at the bar and one in a booth with a young lady. The guy in the booth was an older gentleman and the other guys were younger. Neither of them seemed like troublemakers. The music didn't seem as loud, and I felt more comfortable than I did last time I visited.

I paid four bucks for a Bud, plus a two-dollar tip and sat at a table near the empty stage with my beer. No one approached for what seemed like twenty minutes. Goofed around on my phone for a while, thinking about just leaving. I wondered if there just weren't many girls there or if they were all busy in the back. Finally one came buy to say hi. She was a thick, cute brunette, probably early twenties, with an odd way of speaking. She asked if she could sit with me and since she seemed pleasant enough (and there weren't too many others in sight) I said sure. She asked me if I'd buy her a Red Bull and I agreed. She said if I went to buy it myself it'd be more expensive, so she asked me for five bucks and she'd go to the bar to get it. I gave her six. We chatted for a bit and she was kind of sweet. Not skanky or pushy at all. Talked about her kids and some recent legal problems she had had. Shocking, right?

She was eventually called on stage and danced to R&B, moving very, very well. She's clearly been at this a while, despite seeming pretty young. In the middle of her set I used the restroom, then tipped her. I wasn't feeling like sticking around for dances from her, but I asked how often she worked and told her I'd probably come back and see her sometime soon. As I was leaving two girls came in, looking like they weren't on the clock yet, and they headed to the back. They looked better than decent in their civilian clothes--as I walked to my car I wondered if maybe I should've stayed a while.