Chapter 6
" Y ou have five minutes to put this on and meet me in the living room. You're working at the club tonight," Sire informed me in a clipped tone.
I was removing clothes from the dryer, so I couldn't see what he had until I placed everything in one of the baskets. I eyed the thin material in disgust. "That's going to show everything," I complained.
I'd been wondering for the last forty-eight hours what working at the club would look like. He was confirming my worst nightmare. He wanted to exploit my body for profit.
"That's the point. Put it on and let's go." Sire's energy swirled around him in inky rivulets. The stone-cold set of his face alluded to the mood he was in. While I wanted to put up a fuss, this was the moment I'd been waiting for. My chance to escape was finally here.
I snatched the gold two-piece set from his hand and walked away. Because it was little to nothing, I had it on in less than a minute. I got ready to leave the bathroom when his booming voice halted me in place. "And do something to your fucking hair!"
I rolled my eyes but opened the drawer where I'd found hair products. It was time for a fresh relaxer, but nothing a flat iron couldn't bring back to life. I plugged it in, quickly making sure to turn the heat all the way up. I found my eyes in the mirror and admired what I saw.
I couldn't deny that I was blessed. When God was creating me, he'd ensured I had every physical asset available. It was too bad I was being forced to share it with people against my will. I dropped my head when I saw the sadness in my eyes. Tears tried their best to scurry down my cheeks, but I wouldn't allow it. All of this would be over tonight.
Lifting the flat iron, I quickly curled my hair so that I wasn't looking like Cynthia anymore. Because I had only a little time, I adjusted where my hair laid, bringing the pixie cut to life. When I left the bathroom, I found a pair of clear, thick plastic heels on the bed waiting for me. I gulped down a mouthful of dry air. It kept getting worse.
The only thing that kept me motivated was knowing I was leaving this cold and lonely penthouse behind. After tonight, I would never have to think about Sire again. My only prayer was that the Lord keep me safe until I was able to make my great escape.
Sire eyed me silently when I walked out of the bedroom with my arms folded over my chest. I almost thought I saw intrigue in his eyes before he spun around and walked onto the elevator. My shoes loudly clacked as I followed behind him.
"You might as well drop them arms and get comfortable. I need every inch of you on display tonight."
Sire's words nearly made me puke my lunch on the elevator floor. I managed to keep it together by taking slow, deep breaths. Unfortunately, it didn't calm my racing heart. I was terrified of what came next.
Sire was silent the entire ride to Pleasures. Whatever was on his mind troubled him so much it could be felt. His energy pulsed, dragging me deeper into a mental enigma where I scrambled to figure him out. The scowl on his face was also a warning he was not in the best mood, so I fought against my innate nature to nurture by focusing on my plan to escape.
Because we were in the city, we arrived at the club really fast. Faster than I was ready for, but he wasted no time hopping out before coming around to open my door for me.
I remained in my seat, facing forward and pretending I didn't see him. Without warning, Sire snatched me out by my arm. He didn't miss a step as he led me through the back entrance while I tried not to break an ankle in the stupid heels he'd given me. We entered through a dressing room filled with girls who ran around getting ready for the night. Each of us had on a tiny outfit that left nothing to the imagination.
I nearly fell on my face multiple times as he took me directly to the house mom. "She's yours for the evening."
When I nearly fell from Sire abruptly snatching away, his hands grabbed my waist to steady me. Trails of fire flowed from every place he touched. I gasped, shocked by my body's reaction. Time even slowed a little when I glanced up to find those troubled brown eyes again. For a moment, something innocent washed across his face before he frowned.
Sire walked off without a backward glance. I didn't understand how he could be so cold. What he was asking me to do was savage. I didn't sign up for this shit, yet he somehow expected me to just perform like a good girl. Too bad I wasn't a good girl. I was a grown ass woman who'd had enough of letting men treat her terribly.
The woman in front of me was light-skinned with a face full of dramatic makeup. "Welcome to Pleasures, sweetheart. What's your name?"
"Noonie."
I folded my arms over my chest again while looking at all the BBL baddies floating through the room. I seemed to be the only one who had an issue with being here. I focused back on the woman when she nodded and began circling me like a predator.
"Okay, Noonie. You're going to go for a good penny. I hope you're ready." Walking over to her table, she handed me a bottle of baby oil. I looked down at it skeptically. "Go ahead and get oiled up so you can hit the floor."
I was hesitant to accept the bottle. She noticed and commented on it. "Relax. It's going to be fine. This is not the place for all that scary shit."
I swallowed my nerves, doing as I was told. "Wh-what's your name?" I stuttered from my nerves.
"Lexus."
A girl rushed up to Lexus, asking for a tampon and temporarily distracting her. I used the time to look around the room. There were only two doors inside. The way we came in and then a door leading to what I guessed were restrooms or something.
I nearly fell as a girl came strutting into the room and bumped me. "Excuse you," she snapped like she wasn't the one in the wrong.
I scowled but kept quiet. I wasn't here to make friends, but I wasn't necessarily looking to make enemies, either. There was something more important on the line than my pride. My freedom hung in the balance, and I was going to do everything in my power to grab on to it.
Once I was glistening like a glazed donut, I placed the bottle of oil back on the table. From where I stood waiting on Lexus, I could hear whispering from behind me. I didn't turn around, but I listened in.
"I don't feel like sharing Johns with another bitch."
"Her scary ass ain't gone make no money."
"I don't know. Her ass is kinda fat, and it looks real... them titties, too."
I felt sick hearing them discuss me in such a degrading way. I stole a glance over my shoulder to see three girls huddled in a corner, watching me. Of course, one was the girl who'd bumped me.
"Don't pay them jealous hos any attention. Let's go," Lexus advised when she walked up on me.
Snatching my hand, she led me out of the room. I had a hard time steadying my weight in the stupid heels that should've been illegal. I gasped when we exited the hallway and entered the main floor.
Multi-colored lights painted the walls. Money floated through the air in currents. Liquor bottles were served with sparklers and giant digitized boards. Women were everywhere, shaking ass to the music that vibrated the walls. Webbie's "Let Me See" was currently blasting, and them girls were going hard. I'd never seen ass cheeks move in so many directions in my life.
"Show time," Lexus announced with a smile.
I tried to swallow my bile for a second time tonight, but I knew before it was all over everything I'd eaten was coming back up. Preferably not on a customer, or it might cost me something when I had no more to give.
I tried my best to be sexy while winding my hips. My body had gotten me booked for a private dance, and I was thankful. It gave me a chance to hide from Sire's piercing glare. The moment I walked on the main floor, his eyes tracked me like a fucking maniac. I hated it, but not more than I hated this stranger thinking his money was good enough to have access to my body.
"Come here so I can put my face in them titties," he requested with a slur. The alcohol was on his ass real bad, and I was wise enough to use it to my advantage.
"Oh, sorry, it costs extra to touch." My voice thickened with honey and innocence.
His face paled. "What? Since when?"
I nonchalantly shrugged. "Those are the rules."
"Well, can you at least spin around so I can see that fat ass jiggle?"
I nearly threw up in my mouth. Ew... It saddened me to know no one was coming to save me. I had to save myself, as always, even though I was tired.
I continued to dance as far away from him as I could. Eventually, he got fed up. "I didn't drop a band for this boring shit."
He hopped up, and my heart stopped beating as I froze in place, expecting the worst. I sighed in relief when he marched past me and left me alone in the private dancing room. On the way inside, I'd already peeped an exit on the opposite end of the hallway. Slipping out of the room, I kicked off those sorry of an excuse for shoes and raced to the door. I paused for a minute, seeing that it said it was for emergencies. With a shrug, I decided this counted as one and pushed it open forcefully.
An alarm began to blare at the same time sprinklers were dispatched. Without looking back, I dashed across the parking lot, doing my best to blend in. Bodies were flooding out by the dozen as people panicked because of the alarm. I felt nothing but relief when I made it a block away from the club. It was just my luck that I was on the side of town I needed to be on. While I wished I had something on my feet and to cover myself with, I was desperate to get away.
It took me close to half an hour, but I made it to Ms. Shonda's apartment building. Thankfully, she was home from her job at the hospital. She had a million questions about the way I was dressed, but the one that really stood out to me was when she asked about Ria's whereabouts. She said they hadn't spoken in days, which worried her.
I understood why. Ria's mom was her best friend, apart from me. They talked every day, no matter what she had going on. There wasn't much I could tell her other than to let me know if she heard from Ria.
The visit wasn't a complete failure, though. Thankfully, we were around the same size. The pink two-piece velour suit she gave me was snug, but at least I was covered.
Since this was a dead end, I decided to go home and see what I could come up with. I had no idea where my phone was, so I couldn't call or see if Ria had reached out to me. I prayed she had because we had things to discuss.
I was so lost in my thoughts when I stepped out of the apartment building that I walked dead into a solid chest. I fell to the ground from the impact. The world stopped when I came face to face with a pair of black velvet Dior loafers. My eyes trailed up long, strong legs covered in fitted black slacks until I was finally met with a stoic expression. He looked pissed off. His silence terrified me as I remained on the ground, trembling.
"What part of I own you don't you understand, Noonie?" I licked my dry lips, hearing my nickname spill from between Sire's lips. "Get your ass up and come on. You're going to pay for fucking up my club."
Just when I thought things couldn't get worse, of course they had to. Now, I would have to deal with Sire's wrath, and I had no idea what that was going to look like.