1. Nick #2
About half the tables had been removed. The ones left had been rearranged to create a cozy area around the stage and were draped with fancy tablecloths and had floral centerpieces on them.
It even smelled good in here, like they were diffusing real flower scents.
The usual chairs had been replaced with bougie-looking gold ones, and in the middle of the space honest-to-goodness thrones and ornate wooden side tables now sat on a platform facing the stage.
In front of it sat a smaller platform, with a pole.
That wasn’t part of the club’s design. The only pole we had was the one on stage.
“You made it,” Kai said as I slipped into the back room. “Only five minutes late.”
“Did you see all that stuff out there?” I motioned to the door as it banged shut behind me. “What kind of event is this?”
“Bachelorette party,” Zane said.
“I hope they’re loaded. I really need the tips.” I stripped off my jacket and carefully hung it on the rung near the door.
River, Zane’s twin, grinned. “They are. Some guy in a tux screeched at me when I shoved one of those hanging plant things aside to get past it. Apparently, they’re not only delicate, but also super expensive.”
“They’re real?” I asked.
“All of it is.” Blaze didn’t look up from the book he had his nose buried in. “I’m no florist, but that many orchids, lilies, and roses would be expensive as fuck. Not to mention whatever those vines are.”
“No wonder it smells so good out there,” I noted. “Let’s hope these Richie Riches didn’t blow their budget on flowers and’ll actually tip us.”
“Unlikely. Rich people don’t tip. That’s how they stay rich.” Zane tugged on the hem of my crop top. “Only you could pull this off.”
I struck a pose. “That’s the bonus of not being built like a brick shithouse. I can wear pretty stuff and not look like I accidentally shrunk it in the wash.”
“Has anyone ever seen a brick shithouse?” River asked. “What does that even mean?”
“No clue.” I shrugged off my top and wiggled out of my sweats.
“It means that whatever the structure it’s referring to is more sturdy than necessary.” Knox glanced at Kai, who nodded. Along with Blaze, they were the brains of the crew.
“Huh. So I look like a brick building? And why not just say ‘brick house’ and not shithouse? Is that a poop-kink thing?”
Kai, who’d just taken a big gulp of water, coughed and spit it out in a fine spray.
“You’re lucky you’re so pretty.” I patted River on the head and went to put my clothes away in a locker.
“Really?” Knox wiped water off his bare chest and shot Kai an unimpressed look.
“Sorry.” Kai pounded his chest. He cleared his throat. “I just got the worst mental picture in my head and it was either spit, or choke.”
“That’s what she said.” Zane’s tone was teasing, but his expression was blank, as usual.
The twins were opposites in every way except their looks.
They were identical right down to their birthmarks and tattoos.
Zane had told me they were mirror twins, which made sense.
Zane never let his emotions show unless he was with people he trusted completely.
He reminded me of a big jungle cat, like a jaguar or something.
Scary as fuck, but only until you got to know him.
River was a total golden retriever with his quick smiles and sunny demeanor, but piss him off and he could be just as intense and terrifying as his brother.
River spun toward Kai, still smiling in his happy River way. “Really? You’re kink shaming? Aren’t you the one who likes to chase your boyfriend around and fight each other before you fuck?”
“Primal play is a bit different from scat,” Blaze said. He snapped his book closed. “I keep hoping we’ll have one shift without the conversation going weird, but alas, today is not that day.”
I shut my locker and leaned against the cool metal surface, listening as my coworkers discussed primal play and whether they’d be into it.
I didn’t get it, but whatever. I wasn’t the type of person who ran for anything, and getting all sweaty and tired only to have some guy jump on me and want to wrestle was a giant nope.
“Where the fuck is Nick?” Corey, our manager, burst into the room. “I swear to Christ that kid is lucky chicks are into jailbait because he’s the—”
“Watch your mouth,” Kai snapped, his demeanor going from chill to fuck around and find out in an instant.
Usually he would have calmly interrupted Corey by pointing out that I was in the corner and he was freaking out over nothing, but we were all a little, or a lot, salty at him.
Not only had he let those jerks who’d beat up Gray leave, he’d tried to stop the twins from taking him to the ER.
If that weren’t bad enough, we’d also found out he and his asshole husband had been skimming our tips and stealing from us for months. We didn’t get paid by the club, only in tips.
I’d never liked Corey, or Ray—his husband and the other owner of the club. I hadn’t been able to put my finger on why they gave me the ick, but my instincts had been right and now I hated them.
“Or what?” Corey turned his ire on Kai. “You think you’re not replaceable too? Do you have any idea how many guys out there can do what you do, and probably better? I could have your spot filled in an hour.”
“So do it.” Kai pulled himself up to his full height. Zane and River moved to stand behind him like his personal bodyguards. “Replace me.”
Corey glowered at them, his face going bright red.
“Nick’s right there,” Knox said coldly, pointing to me.
Corey ignored him. “The first set starts in ten. Don’t fuck things up. These are VIP guests. I expect you to do everything they want. And I mean everything . Otherwise you can all find new jobs in the morning.” He flounced out of the room before anyone could reply.
“Why did that sound ominous?” Blaze asked.
“Because it was.” Kai rolled his shoulders and flexed his hands, like he was stopping himself from punching something.
“What do you think he means by that?” Knox was the newest dancer and had only been on the crew for a few months. He hadn’t been around the last time there was a VIP event.
“He means we’re supposed to let them do whatever they want to us. The no-touching rule goes out the window for rich people,” Kai said tightly.
“No fucking way.” Knox glanced around the room. “Seriously?”
“Yup.” River’s expression matched Zane’s hard one. “Most of the VIP groups are respectful, but some can’t keep their hands to themselves and think we’re hookers, not just dancers.”
“I really hope tonight isn’t like it was on Valentine’s.” I scurried over to Kai and tucked myself against his side. Wrapping his arms around me he squeezed me tight. “I don’t wanna deal with that again.”
Knox looked between us. “Dare I ask what happened?”
“Let’s just say they were willing to tip as long as we did what they wanted.” Kai rubbed my arm comfortingly.
“That’s… Is it as bad as I’m thinking?”
“Are you thinking that someone wanted to pay us to fuck on stage?” Zane asked flatly.
“What?” Blaze and Knox said. Blaze had started before Knox but hadn’t been around for that fiasco, either.
“Like, they wanted you guys to fuck them ?” Blaze said, carefully.
“Among other things.” River’s eyes were as blank as his voice, which was so unlike him, it proved just how upset he still was. “But that offer was for me and Zane to fuck each other.”
They gaped at him.
Zane squeezed my shoulder. “Gray, Nick, Kai, and Eddie all got propositioned too,” he said. “It was wild the shit they thought they could get away with because they had money.”
“Eddie?” Knox asked.
“He used to work here,” Zane said. “He quit the next day.”
“We all almost quit.” Kai held me tighter. “Thank fuck Biggs showed up and shut that shit down before it got too crazy.”
Biggs, our head bouncer and club dad, hadn’t been scheduled to work that night, which was the first sign something shady was going on.
He’d also thought so and came by to check on things about an hour into the event.
And sure enough, yeah. He shut the whole thing down and threatened to report everyone to the police, including our asshat bosses.
Stripping was legal in the state. Sexual touching and solicitation were not.
“I don’t give a fuck who they are, I will lay out the first person who crosses any lines.
” Zane’s eyes were bright with anger. “No one is putting hands on any of us. Never again. From now on, we go outside in pairs or more, and everyone carries a weapon or something that can be used as one. We’re not taking any chances.
Not after what happened to Gray. Our asshole bosses won’t do shit to protect us, so we’ll do it ourselves. ”
The lights in the room flickered, our cue that we had sixty seconds until the first set started.
“Who’s up first?” I asked. I’d forgotten to check the schedule when I came in.
“You are, Angel Face.” River grinned.
“What?!” I shrieked. “Why didn’t anyone tell me to get ready while I’ve been standing here in my skivvies?”
Patting my butt, Kai nudged me toward the prop closet. “Because it’s fun to watch you go into Tasmanian devil mode.”
“I hate you!” I ran into the closet for a costume.
“No you don’t!” Kai yelled back as the others laughed.
I found a pair of briefs with sticky strips on the waistband and around the legs to keep them in place while I did my thing on the pole, then snagged the first pair of tearaway pants and tank top I saw.
I’d just finished wiping my hands clean after patting some body glitter on my chest and stomach to help make my muscles pop when the light on the wall next to the door that led to the stage flickered.
The guys called out various encouragements but I blocked them out and pulled in a deep breath to center myself. Time to entertain some rich people and hopefully get paid for it.