Room Fourteen: Making Her Beg

VALENTINE

“You alright?” Mindy asked me the next day, obviously noticing that I was kind of off. It came from not sleeping much and waking up with a sense of dread in my gut. Last night’s attack had startled me more than I realized.

“Yeah, I just didn’t sleep very well,” I said with a shrug and roll of my eyes. “I guess that guy shook me up.”

I’d even wondered if the attacking guy from the Shiners MC was my stalker, but I didn’t know. He could be a possibility, definitely.

“Derek and the boys will take care of him if he shows back up on this side of town, honey, don’t you worry about that,” Mindy said with a bright smile that told me she was confident in that statement. I wasn’t.

Not because I thought Derek and his boys were weak, but because I was a mere blip on their radar, not much else. They’d take care of the guy if they saw him because he was a rival with one warning under his belt, not because of me or any threat he posed to me.

I looked at the woman I considered a work friend and tried to raise a smile. It was a weak attempt, but I managed a shaky tilt of my lips. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“I’ve got a set, you working the crowd for a bit?” Mindy was already turning away from me, her thoughts on the stage.

“Yeah, I thought I’d get a few free drinks in me before I have to do my own set,” I answered her, looking around at the people crowded around tables and booths, all of them laughing or smiling, happy to not be at work and out for the evening.

“Well, have fun. I’ll see you when I’m finished.” Mindy gave a cute little bow before she walked off in black heels and a tiny sailor suit with a strip of blue cloth that could almost be called a skirt. Almost.

My outfit wasn’t much different, a red skirt with flirty pleats covered some of my ass, but not all of it. My top was made up of red triangles and strips of thin cloth, barely containing my breasts. It was my normal attire in the club, meant to reveal more than it concealed.

I smoothed down my ponytail, high on the back of my head, and made sure the blonde strands were all in place before I headed over to a table of men looking around eagerly. “Good evening, fellas, how are we tonight?”

I looked around at the faces not much older than my own, with a smile I hoped could be termed enchanting. The heavier guy of the group blushed and looked away while his friends eagerly greeted me. My smile widened, and I knew he was my target for the moment. I leaned over on the table, pushing my breasts together to get his full attention. “Hi there. Buy a girl a drink?”

He looked away again, but he couldn’t hide for long, not when his buddies were ribbing him for being so shy.

“He’s new in town, we thought we’d show him around,” the handsomest of the group said, putting his elbow in his friend’s ribs.

“Oh, don’t tease him then. We want him to come back and see us again,” I said, sitting on the empty side of the booth, watching everything that happened around me. Even if it didn’t look like I was.

A waitress came to the table and took my order. I sat with the guys, telling them about the nights’ events, until my drink came. I drifted away a few minutes later to suck the shot of tequila down and chase it with some cola. The men had been sad to see my go but when I told them my set was up soon and I had to get ready they let me go without more protests.

I winked at the heavy guy before I left the floor, giving him a taste of what it felt like to be special. And that was my job, wasn’t it? Making people feel special for a little while. The guy looked sweet and would probably make a housewife happy someday, but I wasn’t the housewife type, nor was I looking to meet a man that would get me pregnant and leave me a single mother.

I wasn’t about that life. I was about getting by while building up a nest-egg for my future and getting out of the life that was my current reality. I couldn’t take too much more of the loneliness I felt here, and I had ideas that maybe a new town would let me breathe.

I’d taken on the job right out of school, something my daddy hadn’t liked a bit, but at least he understood, a girl had to make money. It wasn’t exactly like he offered me the best upbringing. I spent most nights home alone, ate noodles, and when he was home, he’d often have friends over or drink. Once he got re-married, he spent most of his time with his new wife. And my stepbrother hung out with his friends. So yeah, I decided a long time ago I had to look after myself because no one else would help me.

And sure, I could have gone to work at one of the super centers around the place, or found a job somewhere else but there were two reasons I took the job. The first one had to do with the amount of money I could make getting naked for men who technically couldn’t touch me while creating financial security for myself. The second was a fantasy that wouldn’t die, no matter how much I told myself Derek was out of reach.

Leaving town when I’d saved up enough money would get me away from the fantasies I should have given up on a long time ago too, I thought as I went back to the dressing room. Fantasies that would never come true and I knew it. I inhaled deeply, watching as Mindy left the dressing room, headed for the stage. All I could do for now was make do until I could get out of here.

I dug the new outfit out of my bag and stripped down. I put on tiny black leather shorts that came up high on my hips but barely covered the full cheeks of my ass. The top was a black bra of the same material but there was a fringe all along the bottom. A pair of shiny vinyl platform boots that came up to my knees finished the outfit off. I applied a little more makeup to my eyes, slicked on bright red lipstick, and checked my ponytail one more time.

“You’ve got this,” I said to my reflection in the mirror, studying the face that stared back at me. I was pretty enough, in that typical kind of way, I guess, but nothing special. I was a very good dancer though, I knew that. In truth, this wasn’t my ideal job in live. But I learned to accept my fate long ago, reminding myself that doing this would set me up for later in life. And I kept telling myself I liked it, and I guess after a while, it stuck. Now, I wasn’t ashamed of my job unlike the first time when I cried the whole night following my first performance. But I’d become stronger, more resilient.

With one final bright smile in the mirror, I got up and walked to the door that opened onto the stage.

Mindy would be finishing up soon and I waited to see if she needed some help.

Most of the dancers at the Black Daisy had a following and regulars that came to see them every night they worked. I saw a few of mine in the crowd and smiled. Maybe the heavy guy that came in with his buddies would be a new regular.

Thoughts of everyone else disappeared as I looked around and spotted three men at a round table, seated in chairs that face the stage. I saw Derek there with Diesel, my stepbrother, but their presence wasn’t the reason my jaw dropped. They were usually here every night and I was used to seeing them in the audience. No, it wasn’t them that had me nearly falling off the stage, though I caught myself. It was the other man sitting at the table with them. A very familiar man. But, it couldn’t be, could it? Was that Cameron Thomas, my teacher from years ago? What the fuck was he doing here?

My eyes narrowed to green slits as I looked the man over. His shiny black hair was a little longer than I remembered it ever being and he was a few years older, but those clear gray eyes of his told me it was indeed my former teacher. I smiled, remembering the way I’d crushed on him, giving him a wink when I caught his eyes on me. And what did Mr. Thomas think of me now that I was all grown up?

I’d had a hard time concentrating some days in class. Between his firm ass that begged to be clenched and his piercing gray eyes, I’d often sat squirming in my chair. To the point that Mr. Thomas would ask, rather pointedly, if I needed a bathroom break. That question had always embarrassed me, making my cheeks flame red and my eyes go down, but somehow that humiliation had made it worse. That question had sparked off fantasies about him paddling me over his desk, his hand caressing my round ass covered in white cotton panties.