Chapter 3 Just Pizza #2
She closed the trunk of her car and grinned. “You’re right and you’re wrong, Ava. Not that many women show up during the day, and they don’t carry makeup cases. Guys at the door would figure out you’re working sooner or later.”
I nodded. “That makes sense.”
She pulled a key card from her purse. “They’ll give you one of these today. We go in through the back door. If the sun’s setting or it’s already dark, call for someone to walk you inside. Seems like overkill, but there’s been some shit happening lately, so better to be safe than sorry.”
I fell into step beside her. “Should I be worried?”
She waved a hand in front of her. “Nah. Management is determined to keep us safe. Follow their rules, and it’ll be fine.”
We walked into the back hallway, and it took my eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness of the club. I followed Desiree to the dressing room, and she introduced me to two other dancers, Lucy (her stage name was Amethyst) and Heaven.
The three of them gave me pointers on various tactics to increase my tips.
Desiree even let me borrow a pair of her shoes since she decided I needed heels worthy of being a stripper.
From adding more eyeliner complete with a winged-eye to slathering oil on my skin to be more appealing, it all helped me feel like I belonged.
Desiree straightened her large breasts in her bikini top and leveled her gaze on me. “All right. You and I are taking the stage at the same time. You got a song preference? If not, I say Def Leppard’s ‘Pour Some Sugar on Me.’”
“That song is too predictable!” Lucy cried, taking the words right out of my mouth.
After a small shrug, I suggested, “How about ‘Rattlesnake Shake’ by Motley Crüe?”
Desiree twisted her lips for a beat and pulled her phone from her purse.
Heaven made a noncommittal sound. “That might work, but it’s kinda old.”
I heard the opening notes of the song coming from Desiree’s phone.
She paused it and looked at me with wide eyes. “Oh, I remember this one! We can dance to this no problem. I’ll make sure they got it cued up. See you on stage.”
Before I could tell her I didn’t know where to go, Desiree had scurried out of the dressing room.
Lucy read the look on my face and chuckled. “Don’t worry. Dez loves making an entrance. When you walk out that door, go right, and then hang another right after about six feet. You’ll be great.”
Within minutes of being on stage with Desiree, I was counting my lucky stars.
This wasn’t like auditions, and I never would have remembered to take my top off if it weren’t for following her lead.
Strange as it seemed, with that hurdle cleared, I felt much freer and got into the routine more than in the beginning.
What I hadn’t realized was that we’d end up dancing to three songs before leaving the stage. The DJ faded and mixed the first song into Def Leppard which let Desiree have what she wanted, and we ended the set to ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ by Guns ‘N’ Roses.
The lights went out a second before I grabbed my top, and I made my way off stage while tying my top behind my back.
“Hey, new chick! You got a request for a lap dance,” a male voice called from the end of the narrow hallway backstage.
Desiree stopped in front of me, giving me a long look. “You ever done that before?”
I took a deep breath and shook my head.
She chuckled, but it was filled with understanding. “All right. Depending on who it is, you’re gonna owe me.”
“What?” I whispered.
She shook her head. “Nothing big, just a Concrete Mixer from Culver’s. Keeps my figure nice and curvaceous.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “I can handle owing you that.”
She turned her head toward the other end of the hall. “Tell them, they’re gettin’ a two-fer. I’m gonna show Ava how it’s done.”
I heard the man groan before he responded. “Then he’s fuckin’ payin’ more. This ain’t some charity, Dez.”
She chuckled and eyed me up and down. “Put your tips away and get that top secure, girlfriend. They get to have you up close and personal, but it doesn’t mean they get your goods unless you feel like dancing that way.
And no matter what, they do not touch you.
Only you touch them, and it’s all outside their clothing.
Otherwise, not only do you have problems, but so does the whole frickin’ strip club because that could be seen as solicitation. ”
“Understood, Desiree. I have no desire to touch these people, it’ll be hard enough to dance in their lap.”
After what felt like the worst and longest lap dance ever, I hurried backstage with an extra hundred and fifty dollars.
I could smell the whiskey practically oozing from the man’s pores, so I didn’t think he minded my awkwardness, but he probably hadn’t intended to tip me so much.
My mind dwelled on how many lap dances I’d need to do to put a dent in Mom’s debt.
I needed a calculator.
On that thought, I ran smack into a hard body. I glanced up and locked eyes with Punc.
“Uh…” I stopped, not knowing what to say.
Punc knew exactly what to say. “You’re off in ten minutes. I’m driving you home.”
My head reared back. “I’ve only danced for three songs and a lap dance. There’s no way I’m done in ten minutes. Besides, I drove myself here.”
His head tilted. “You aren’t on for a full shift. Not sure where you got that idea, but you’re on for three hours. It’s been four.”
My brows drew together. That couldn’t be right.
Punc crossed his arms on his chest. “I can show you the time-stamped footage of when you took the stage. My guess, you spent an hour on your makeup and shit because Lucy and Heaven love to give new girls pointers.”
I shook my head. “I’ll give you that, Punc, but the three songs Desiree and I danced to didn’t last an hour and neither did that lap dance.”
“They were extended versions, and Desiree gave that asshole more than his money’s worth in an effort to show you everything you needed to know. Bottom line, Smythe, you’re done.”
If it weren’t for the cash in my hand, I’d have told him this was a waste.
Almost as if he knew what I was thinking he leaned closer. “You’re fresh blood, and the regulars love that. You got a little more money waiting for you in the office… we need your tax forms, though.”
I decided to take his word for it and went to the dressing room to get dressed. Twenty minutes later, I took my tax forms to the office and in exchange I received two hundred dollars and a key card to get in the back door.
Punc walked me out to my car, his head seemed to be on a swivel.
“I appreciate your vigilance, but the sun hasn’t even set, Punc.”
The seriousness in his deep blue eyes made me stiffen. “You’re right, but certain types of bad people can be especially bold. You’re headed home, right?”
I glanced down at my arms. Earlier, I hadn’t realized the body oil had glitter in it. “Yeah. Not that I’m a vampire or anything, but I don’t like to sparkle in public if I can help it.”
“You’d sparkle even without glitter.”
I huffed out a laugh. “Why? Because of my personality?”
He chuckled. “You said it, not me. Get moving, Sa—” He stopped short and shook his head. “Ava. You got a growing sister to feed.”
I laughed. “Yeah, except she’d be perfectly happy to eat nothing but pizza for the rest of the year.”
He stared at me for a long moment. “I don’t see anything wrong with that. I’ll bring by a pepperoni pizza from Renna’s if you want.”
I dipped my chin and narrowed my eyes. “Aren’t you working right now?”
His eyes slid to the side and the tiniest smile curved his lips. “No. I only let you think so.”
My mouth fell open and I stared at him for a beat. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Punc.”
He sighed. “Let me do this for you, Savannah. I didn’t say it on the phone yesterday, but it’s clear you’re dealing with nothing but shit right now. It’s just a pizza and it’ll make me feel better about not fighting harder to keep you from dancing.”
“I’m good at it, you said,” I reminded him.
His lips stretched out in a slight grimace, and he turned his head to the side for a beat. “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I like it.”
I took a deep breath while I hit the button to unlock the car. “I appreciate it, Punc, but you don’t have to bring us dinner.”
“Savan—”
I opened the door and turned back to him. “I’m not being ungrateful. I just don’t want to cause you trouble.”
Catalina opened the front door after I bleeped the locks on the car. “I’m starving! What’s for dinner?”
Instantly, I wished I’d taken Punc up on his offer.
I pulled my phone from my purse, and saw it was four-fifty. “Hello to you, too, Catalina. How was school?”
She opened the door wider while rolling her eyes. “Hey, Savannah. School was fine.”
I closed the door and put my wristlet on the kitchen counter. “I’m glad to hear that. As for dinner, we could defrost a roast—”
“Blech,” Catalina said.
I tried not to laugh. “Or we could—”
“Order a pizza?” she asked, her eyes bright with cautious excitement.
Again, I wished I’d listened to Punc. No, no, I had to keep him at arm’s length.
“If I didn’t have to pay—”
“Fine. I get it. Or we could what?”
“Make that frozen skillet dinner.”
Her lips twitched to the side before she sighed. “I guess that would work. I’m gonna start applying for jobs. Then I can help with—”
I put a hand on her shoulder. “Cat, I love that you’re willing to do that, but I want you to enjoy your summer. You’ve got a heavy course load your senior year. Why start a job you’ll just have to quit in three months or less?”
Outside the house, a car honked twice. My eyes slid toward the living room windows.
“I bet those geese are on the prowl again. They were slow-strutting across the road when I got home. Why they refuse to use their God-given wings, I don’t know,” Cat said.
I nodded at her.
The doorbell rang.
We both looked toward the door. I sent up a silent prayer it wasn’t Frank Darren and stalked that way.
“Here’s hoping we have a DoorDash fairy,” Catalina muttered.