Chapter 1
It was just like every other night,it was almost the same crowd but who cared,all I wanted was the money and a nice meal at the end of my 5 hour shift. Today I wore black lingerie to represent my current foul mood. I hadn't slept in three days total because of the nightmares but they would pass as they always did. I let the music into my body as I moved my body seductively on the pole. My heels were painful tonight but I wouldn't let that show on my face because Charlie would kill me.
Who was Charlie?
Well,he was my boss and he did not take it lightly when the girls did not bring in enough money. I mentally rolled my eyes,the money was barely enough to keep us well fed,worse if you wanted a roof over your heads. Some of the girls had to share an apartment just so they stay off the streets. The problem with dancing in a small town was the crowd was also small and there were very few high bowlers.
As the song drew to an end I hung myself upside down and did a split mid air. I made sure I gave the crowd a sexy little move as I got off my pole and left the stage for my two songs water break.
"Hey Tess" I answered one of the girls who had greeted me.
I walked to my corner of the large room and I flopped down into my chair kicking off my heels. I grabbed a bottle of water,downed its contents as I lifted one foot off the ground to massage it. I hoped I would not get blisters,it would not sit well with my finances,I really did need the money.
The other girls who were free were chatting and trying to relax while some were powdering their nose. It was as common as walking around wearing underwear in here so no one really looked twice or gasped or anything like that. I had two hours left and my shift would be finished and I could not wait.
I took a look in the mirror and my deep green eyes looked back at me. I knew I had dark circles under my eyes but the concealer had done a good job of hiding that. I had lined my eyes heavily and applied a lot of mascara as well. My red hair was in loose waves tonight,pinned down by a few pins just to keep it in place as it fell down past my shoulders. It gave my round face a young and sweet look and it was what the crowd loved. I sighed deeply as I kept staring at myself.
At some point I had wanted more,at some point I had had dreams but this was all I had. I had come to accept that even though it was not easy during the first few years. I had always been feisty and stubborn and strong headed,the list will go on forever but when my parents had died I had lost my anchor. Now was not the time to think about all that. The first song drew to an end and I knew my water break was coming to an end.
"Hey Ruby" came a voice from behind me.
I looked in the mirror and smiled as I saw Tess standing there. She shifted uncertainty as though not knowing if she should come closer or not.
"Hello love,what's going on" I asked as I began to apply glitters on my arms. The more sparkly you were the more tips you get and more clients thus the good dose of glitter.
"Here,let me help you" Tess offered moving closer to me and grabbing the bottle.
She reminded me of a time I was young and I had just joined the dancing life. I had been just as curious about everything and I had made all the bad choices.
"Thank you. Now tell me what's eating you up?" I questioned her.
She was acting rather odd,she was not her usual loud and crazy self.
She glanced up from her work for a second before looking back down.
"It's Craig. He is here again" she answered,her voice barely audible.
Craig was the ex-boyfriend who did not understand the words "we are over". He was abusive,short tempered and generally just an asshole. When they had broken up and she had thrown him out of the apartment,he had acted like a child shouting at her,calling her names,breaking things. Then he had moved past that to refusing to leave the building. After several guys i had talked to had talked to him very nicely he had left and moved elsewhere. But that had left him with the option of occasionally stalking Tess and coming to the club.
"That creep,what did he ask for this time" I asked her,my voice had managed mirror exactly how much I loathed Craig.
"He hasn't asked for anything yet,but I'm scared to go home. My shift ends in an hour and I have a feeling he is waiting for me to finish work" she said as she put down the bottle while observing her work on my arms and back.
"We both know all he is wants is just an opportunity or a small window to do something and we should not give it to him. You can not walk out of those doors alone,he will do something,I know it." I told her still looking at her in the mirror.
"And I have talked to Charlie several times about letting him in here. All his water filled head thinks about is money" I fumed
"Charlie said it is bad for business to stop a customer from entering" she reminded me
He had said it,I had been there in his office because I had been the one who had asked him for that favor but I had stopped listening the moment he talked about how we could not turn away customers. The song ended and I knew it was my turn to go back on stage. I wore my heels and stood from my chair taking one last look at myself.
"You can wait for me to finish my shift and we can go home together,you can even spend the rest of the night at my house I don't mind." I told her as I turned to leave.
She gave me a small grateful smile and nodded.
"I would really love that" she said,the sparkle in her eyes awakening.
I smiled at her one last time and made my way to the stage. I wore a tight smile as my thoughts drifted back to the last man I had dated who reminded me greatly of Craig but only he had been ten folds worse.
