Beautifully Broken

Brandon chuckles. “Fitting. I like it.”

Okay, so you’re probably thinking at this point I have no clue what to do, but that’s not the case. You see, that’s the beauty of the internet. I’m a quick study and there are a surprising number of striptease tutorials on YouTube. I’m not stupid; I won’t be trying anything fancy without practice, but I think I have the basics down. I try pretending the men in front of me aren’t there as I raise my arm and grab onto the pole. Putting one foot in front of the other, I slowly surround it until I’ve made a complete circle. I’m sure this would look much sexier in heels, but I’m working with what I have at the moment.

With an unnatural grace I didn’t know I possessed, I grab the pole with both hands and arch my back until my hair is touching the floor. I lower myself to the ground and flip onto my stomach. My chest pressed to the floor, I raise my round ass in the air. I do this a few times as I crawl forward with my forearms.

“Very well, Katherine,” Marcus coos. “You seem to be a natural.”

“It’s Red, remember?”

“Right. You seem to be quite the natural, Red. Shall we move on to clothing removal?”

“Sure,” I say as I saunter back over to the pole.

With my back turned to my audience, I open my legs wide and squat down against the pole. On the upward move, I turn around and begin working the laces that run down the center of my top. After the final tie has been undone, I let it fall away. I slide the strap off one shoulder, then the other, now fully exposed from the top up. I don’t mean to, but I catch Marcus’s heated gaze and start feeling sick again. He’s looking at me with unguarded lust. This man, who is going to be my stepfather in a matter of months, wants me. There’s no doubt he’s having highly inappropriate thoughts at the moment.

I freeze for a moment before turning away and working the pole like a boss. Just pretend he’s not there, I repeat to myself over and over. For the most part it works as I take off one article of clothing after another until I’m standing completely naked. Mind you, I’ve stripped willingly in front of other men plenty of times, but I’ve never been on display like this before. Trust me when I tell you that it’s a very different animal. Every self-conscious thought I’ve ever had is needling away at me. Every insult that has been thrown my way is piling up. I don’t know how any girl does this without feeling insecure. I certainly have much more respect for the profession now.

“Red, are you okay?” Brandon asks.

I didn’t realize I had stopped moving until he spoke.

“Uh…yeah, sure. Sorry, I got distracted for a moment. Should we move onto the lap dance portion of the evening?”

Marcus stands and offers me a short silken robe with the club’s logo on the breast. “That won’t be necessary, Katherine. We’ve seen everything we need to see.”

What? Did he not like my performance? He certainly seemed into it.

I wrap the robe around my body. “So I guess that’s it then? When will I hear back from you?”

“The job is yours, Katherine. Come in tomorrow at five and I’ll have you meet with Shawn, our house mother, for the specifics. I’m quite impressed; I’ve never seen someone more natural at this.”

Great. Just what every girl wants to hear.

DYLAN LEANS AGAINST MY LOCKER. “Hey, babe. How was first period?”

“Ugh,” I complain. “Brutal. We had a quiz and I’m pretty sure I got a B at best.”

He gasps in mock horror. “Oh, no, your perfect record is at risk!”

“Oh, shut up, you know how important my grades are. I’ll be applying for scholarships soon; I can’t fuck up.”

He puts his arm around my shoulders as we walk to class. “I’m sure it will be okay, baby. You’re the smartest person I know.”

“Thanks, Dyl.”

“What are you doing after school? I was hoping we could hang.”

Translation: I was hoping we could fuck. This isn’t the first time he’s asked over the past few weeks. Even though I decided that I wasn’t going to sleep with him again, I haven’t had the nerve to officially cut him off yet. He’s one of my best friends; I don’t want to risk losing that by hurting his feelings. I’m sure we’ll have to talk about it one day soon but I’m pushing it off as long as I can.

“Can’t,” I say, “I start my new job tonight.”

He pulls me to the side so we’re not hit by the other people rushing to class. “You got a job? That’s awesome, babe!” He pulls me into a rib-crushing hug.

I pull back and mutter, “Yeah, thanks.”

He looks confused. “What’s wrong? I thought this was a good thing.”

“It is,” I nod. “I mean, the money’s good. Really good.”