Chapter 22
KADENCE
Ifelt exposed but empowered walking into Hades Wednesday night with Annika. She took me to a lingerie shop before work today and told me to find something I’d feel sexy and confident in for my first night. There wasn’t a dress code for Hades, even as a waitress, so I could wear whatever I wanted.
I opted for a black lace teddy with a plunging neckline that made my boobs look good, and since I didn’t want my pussy bare to the world, I slipped on a pair of tiny shorts that hugged my ass.
Unless Hunter said otherwise, it should be okay.
Annika french braided the top of my hair, conjoining the two braids into a high ponytail and adding a shit ton of chunky glitter to the roots.
I already knew I’d be finding glitter for the next month in places glitter shouldn’t be.
“Kadence!” Hunter shouted over the music as Annika grabbed my hand and guided me to the tall, intimidating woman. “Annika is going to show you the ropes for the first thirty minutes, and then you are on your own.”
“Throwing me to the wolves, are we?”
She rolled her eyes. “That’s Hades, babe. Have you ever been a waitress before?”
“I did it before I dropped out of college; sports bar and grill. Nothing like rowdy, drunk men watching football.”
“Good, then you should be fine here. No one can touch you. If they do, security will kick them out and put them on a list. Safety is the number one priority. I don’t think Blaize gave you the whole talk.”
I laughed at her statement. Blaize didn’t give two shits about me. “She lectured me and said she didn’t trust me, plus she said something about killing me, so…no. I don’t know anything about the club.”
Hunter raised her hand towards me, silencing my remarks about her boss. “Blaize has a hard time trusting people, but she’ll kill for you because you are now one of her girls. Blaize will die for everyone in this club.”
“She hates me.”
“If she really hated you, you’d be six feet under or swimming with the minnows in the port.
Enough about Blaize. Tonight is a trial run.
As a waitress, only if you consent can a customer request a private dance.
Most of the time, it's just sitting on their lap while they vent about a shit home life.”
“Okay. They won’t be upset if I say no?”
“Every customer knows when they enter Hades, consent is key. Blaize will never force someone to do something they are not comfortable with. We have plenty of people who will do private dances if you don’t want to.
” She looked at Annika. “I’ll have Big Mike come and get you when I’m done talking with Kadence. ”
“I’ll see you shortly.” Annika scurried away as I glanced back at Hunter who was typing away on her iPad.
“I’m assuming you’re hiding and that’s why you don’t have an ID?”
Shit. I knew this would come up. “I—uh, never got one.” Real smooth, Kadence. “All my jobs were under the table.”
Hunter looked at me like I had two heads, and I couldn’t blame her. It was the dumbest excuse I could use. “I was born at night, but it wasn’t last night, babe. It’s fine, but it’ll make things easier if you just told me.”
“There’s nothing to tell. I’m working on it, but I don’t have my social or my birth certificate, so I can’t get a new ID.”
“Mmhmm.” She hit something on her iPad before flipping the screen. “Sign and then you’ll be good to go. If you’re scared of something, no one can hurt you here.”
No one would hurt me because no one would know who I was. No one deserved to know my past. “I’m not scared of anything. I just wanted a fresh start.”
Hunter told Big Mike to get Annika before she crossed her arms over her chest. “Fresh starts are wanted for a reason. Some more tragic than others.”
Before I could say anything else, Big Mike returned with Annika. “Okay. Let’s go!” Annika chirped, taking my hand.
She pulled me from the front foyer to the bar. She was tiny, but damn did she have some power to her. “Hey, Jax!”
A gorgeous black man walked up to us with a bright smile. His dreads were pulled into a high bun, and Annika gave him a bear hug.
“Hello, suga’, how are you? Those men of yours treatin’ you right?”
“Oh I’m fantastic, and they treat me perrrfectly,” she exaggerated the last word. “This is Kadence. She’s gonna help you waitress and bartend if you're up for training her on that.”
“Hey there, pretty lady.” He extended his hand, and I saw the black nail polish on his nails. I smiled, taking him in a firm grip and shaking his hand. “Don’t let the polish fool ya, I am very much a ladies’ man and a man's man.”
“Nice to meet you,” I beamed.
“I’ll bring her back to you in a minute. I’m going to introduce her to some of the girls.”
Annika brought me to the dressing room where it was filled with feminine voices, soft pop music, and laughter.
A spunky brunette galloped to Annika and pulled her into a tight hug before a few more came and hugged her, too.
Was this what it was like to have friends?
People who were always happy to see you?
“Girl, you look hot as usual,” the brunette said. “And who’s your friend?”
She eyed my body in a way that made my skin heat. Annika laughed. “This is Kadence, she’s waitressing here. If she’s comfortable dancing, we can show her the ropes.” She turned to me, letting me see the gorgeous, tattooed woman. “Kadence, this is Ivory.”
“Hi!” I chirped. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“The pleasure is mine. If you ever want to share a dance, hit me up, gorgeous.”
“Always the flirt.” Annika grabbed my hand, bringing me towards a redhead, and I knew this one. She was the girl dancing with the cute blonde when Hawke brought me here. I saw why this place was so busy—the women were gorgeous.
“A!” the woman exclaimed excitedly, pulling Annika into her arms. Then her eyes met mine. “Woah there. Wow, you're hot.”
My cheeks heated. The women here were not shy with how they met new people, but it was nice. Hunter’s words echo in my head: consent is key. It was nice to be admired, but not in a lustful way.
“Everly, this is Kadence. Blaize hired her after finding her working at Roadhouse.” That was far from the truth, but I’d let her tell it how she believed. Her brow arched as she looked at Annika and then back at me.
“Blaize hired you?” I nodded. “Wow. She must like you or something.” My laugh rumbled out of me and I covered my mouth, causing Annika to roll her eyes and shake her head.
“No. Kadence believes the boss hates her, but Blaize is just like that,” Annika said.
“Blaize does have a tendency to rub people the wrong way,” Everly insisted. “It’s nice to meet you. You got my best girl showing you the ropes, I see.”
I laughed, glancing at Annika. “Yeah. She’s been a dream.”
After meeting the rest of the girls, I felt more content with the club.
My social skills sucked and making friends growing up was hard.
Of course, I had a few friends I’d hang out with in school, but when their parents got wind of my extracurricular activities, they banned their children from playing with the bad influence because they thought I would taint their star student.
It didn’t matter. I found the people I needed when the time came.
Friendship was not what I was looking for growing up.
The girls here felt genuine, and that was something I never truly experienced.
But I was no longer playing the woe is me card or keep living in the past. Everything that happened to me—the neglectful, lonely childhood, the intense teenage years, and the early start of my adulthood—brought me to this moment.
Kadence Hayes was ready to start living her life finally, and I was not letting anyone ruin it for me.