Chapter 6 Go Viral
Go Viral
Savannah
It was Sunday, and I had my first night shift at Platinum’s. Part of me suspected it wasn’t the best night to be on stage. Not many bachelor parties happened on Sundays.
A crazy idea struck me, and I made a video of the first part of my routine - fully clothed of course. I posted it to TikTok and Instagram tagging Platinum’s as the location and listing the time I’d be working tonight.
I opened TikTok half an hour later. My video had close to three thousand likes, while eight hundred and fifty people had saved it. The stats on Instagram weren’t much better, but I supposed that was better than nothing.
Catalina poked her head into my room. “Whatcha up to tonight?”
I patted the bed next to me. “I told you I had something in the works. I have another job, and I’ll be heading to work in a couple hours.”
She joined me on the bed, a concerned look on her face. “It’s after five already. What kind of job do you have working Sunday nights?” Her face brightened as an idea struck her. “Are you working a concert? I could go for some live music, Savannah.”
My lips tipped up. “Sadly, no, I’m not doing anything like that. I’m… going to be dancing tonight.”
Her expression darkened and she leaned away. “Dancing for money? You mean, you’re stripping?”
I held my hands out in front of me. “It’s not ideal, but I’ve got to get that guy off our back, Cat. I worked three ‘training’ shifts during the afternoon this past week. Now that I have a full night at Platinum’s, I want you to know exactly where I am, okay?”
She sighed. “Okay, but I don’t like it.”
I nodded. “Neither do I. It’s just temporary, though. I’ll do my best to be quiet when I get home.”
“It’s worth a repeat, sis… I could get a job too, you know.”
My head fell back for a moment. “If it comes to that, I’ll let you know. But right now, I’m determined for you to finish your junior year and have a great summer before you become a senior, sweetie.”
She nodded. “Thanks, Savannah. I mean it. Are you gonna eat before you go?”
“Yeah, let’s have a quick dinner.”
After dinner, I opened TikTok for the hell of it, and felt my eyes widen.
“Holy shit,” I breathed.
My video was at seventy thousand likes and almost eight thousand people had saved it.
The comments made me nervous.
Hittin’ Platinum’s tonight.
Someone replied with, U wish u were hittin’ that hottie tonight.
Beneath that was, J-ville’s two hours away, I’m there.
After those two comments, it was a litany of fire emojis, drooling faces, water drops, and the occasional eggplant.
Oh dear.
My stage name should have been Pandora, not Ava, because I’d definitely blown the lid off the box.
I had to call someone at the club. The moment I closed the app, my phone rang. Platinum’s was listed as the caller.
“Hello?”
“Is this Ava?” a male voice asked.
“Yes,” I said.
“This is Yak. Did you seriously post your dance on social media?”
I took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think—”
“Don’t be sorry. If these assholes are serious, we’re gonna be at capacity tonight. If you can, get here earlier. I don’t want some jackass to maul you on your way inside.”
“Yes, sir.”
I made my way to Cat’s room. “Hey, I forgot to mention, I need to take the Buick tonight.”
My sister arched her brow at me. “You mean Rita doesn’t want to advertise to men at a crowded gentleman’s club?”
I shrugged a shoulder. “I haven’t told her about this gig yet, but one of her cars in the lot sends a message. I felt bad enough parking in the back during the week.”
“When are you leaving?”
“Pretty soon. A manager called and asked me to get there early because I posted a video to social media and it went a little viral.”
She gave me a pointed look. “There’s no such thing as a ‘little viral,’ Savannah. Are you using your real name?”
“No. I set up a new profile for my stage name, ‘Ava.’”
She swiveled her chair closer to me. “Seriously? That’s part of your real name. You should have gone with something like a jewel or a spice to keep your anonymity.”
I chuckled. “Maybe, but do you know how hard it is to respond to a new name?”
She nodded. “You’ll bring the Buick back with a full tank?”
My head tilted. “What are you? A rental car company?”
She shrugged. “That works. You’ll owe me a hundred and twenty-five for the night.”
“When did you get so greedy?”
She grinned. “When you went viral. Be happy I’m not telling you to get an Uber.”
My eyes shot to the ceiling for a beat. “Be good.”
She laughed. “Pretty sure that goes double for you, sis.”
Platinum’s was about fifteen minutes from Mom’s house. Midway through the drive, I turned on the radio, but Catalina had it set to Pandora. More specifically, one of Mom’s playlists on Pandora, since “Glamorous” by Fergie filled the Buick.
That not only surprised me, but it also made me a strange blend of happy and sad.
Happy because the pop tune was catchy - and who didn’t want to fly first class?
But it was sad because of how much it reminded me of Mom.
When the song was popular, Mom was convinced that one day she’d retire and buy a first-class ticket…
to where, she never said. I quickly switched over to the radio before I started crying.
Then I made a mental note to ask Catalina why she was listening to Mom’s songs in the car.
It might have been a slip, but all three of us Smythe girls communicated through music.
I pulled into the parking lot for Platinum’s an hour before my shift.
There was one open space in the area designated for dancers behind the building.
I parked the Buick there, and texted Yak.
A few minutes later, the back door to the club opened and a stout man in an MC cut wandered to my door.
He wasn’t someone I’d seen during my three afternoons last week, though he might have been in the DJ booth for the audition.
I grabbed my makeup, wallet, and phone, then hurried out of the vehicle.
An overhead light in the parking lot flickered on and I noted the name patch on his cut read, ‘Prime.’
“Ava, you got a dozen men in there already.”
“What?” I asked, eyes wide.
“Why are you surprised? Probably followed you here from your last gig.”
My mouth ran away from me. “This is my first time… other than the audition and three days earlier in the week - but that was a light afternoon crowd.”
He scoffed. “Fuck. I hope you know what you’re doin’.”
Inside the club, Prime led me down a dim hallway and toward the office. Halfway there, Punc came out and stormed past us. Before I could say anything, he’d passed us at a rapid clip.
Prime called after him. “Hey! Have you met Ava? She’s new.”
He didn’t even look over his shoulder to spare me a glance. “We’ve met. I got kegs to switch out.”
In seconds, he rounded the corner toward the main floor.
We entered the office, and Yak gave me a deep nod.
“I gotta hand it to you. I don’t know of any other dancers who use social media to bring in a crowd.
Lucy says she’s made more in the last hour than any other Sunday evening.
And our man at the door hasn’t been able to catch a break… so way to go, new girl.”
“I had no idea it would—”
Yak shook his head. “Don’t sweat it. Just enjoy the ride tonight and sorry, but no private dances for you. It’ll work better that way.”
“It will?” I asked. After Wednesday, I knew those cost more and they were a big reason that I was able to get Frank his payment in such short order.
Yak nodded. “We’re nearly at capacity. I don’t have the security I’d want for you to give a private dance. Not to alarm you, but the comments are getting wild on your post.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I haven’t looked at it in an hour.”
“That’s for the best. Go get ready, Ava, before these men get rowdy.”
In the dressing room, I pulled out my makeup and started putting on my face.
I put my eyeliner back in my makeup case, feeling eyes on me. My nerves were getting the best of me and I did my level best to ignore whoever was staring at me.
“Do you know Punc?” Heaven asked, then she added, “I saw him with you Wednesday afternoon when I pulled in for my shift.”
“Not exactly,” I hedged.
She chuckled and Lucy and Monique twisted toward us.
“How can you ‘not exactly’ know someone? Sure sounds like you know Puncture if he was standing at your car with you,” Lucy said.
“I haven’t seen him in seven years,” I lied. “Plenty of things have changed with him, and he was concerned about why I’m dancing.”
Another stripper bustled into the dressing room. “FNG, you’re on deck. Move out.”
“Fuckin’ new girl,” I murmured.
Lucy grinned. “Yep. You learn fast. That’s a good sign around here.”
My excitement could barely be contained. Yak told me that I made so much money, it would be easier to direct deposit it into my bank.
“Five grand in singles weighs more than you think it does,” he’d muttered.
Five thousand dollars! If I could earn that for eight days straight, I could quit, pay off Frank Darren and go back to my normal life.
“For a first timer, you damn sure made an impression,” Prime said, leading the way to the exit.
I supposed that was true. There was a certain ‘ick’ factor to being on stage, but I’d managed to power past it when the song really got going. “Yeah. Here’s hoping Friday’s just as good.”
His chuckle sounded hollow. Maybe he thought I’d had beginner’s luck.
We walked out to the parking lot. The humid, May air beat the smokiness inside Platinum’s, but it was still oppressive.
“About fuckin’ time, you dipshit,” a gruff voice said from the left side of the parking lot.
“Ghost, I told you she wouldn’t leave until after two,” Prime said.
The man Prime called ‘Ghost’ came closer. He smelled like tobacco and cheap cologne. He moved in front of Prime. “Whatever. Time to take your licks.”
“I don’t need to take any licks, Ghost,” Prime said.