“You sound like a Scarlett, but your hair isn’t red enough for that name unless you’re going to wear a wig.” She turned to look at me. “You’re young. Use that because you won’t have that perfect face forever. We’ve got a few schoolgirl outfits over there you can look through. The guys love that.”
I looked around the room and noticed that most of the dancers had some sort of gimmick. It wasn’t just an endless stream of lingerie like all the girls at Carson’s wore. I picked out a tartan skirt, a white blouse, and put my hair in pigtails. The only real requirement seemed to be that all the dancers wore some shade of red shoe, so I tried on several pairs until I found a pair that fit me.
An hour later, I walked out onto the stage as Hannah, the naughty schoolgirl. Candice was right. The guys that circled the stage loved every second of my act. I combined ballet dancing with the tricks I had learned at Carson’s. When my top came off, the money started pouring onto the stage, and the audience cheered. I felt like a movie star or a pop singer. I practically broke down in tears as I watched my financial worries disappear in a matter of minutes.
Chapter 8: Cody
It had been almost a week since my father cursed my name or the womb I came out of. I was no longer the bane of his existence, it seemed. There was a reason for that and her name was Johanna. It had been several weeks since we met and things were going great. I started keeping a regular schedule. I got up in the morning, made it to work on time, and when the day was over, I went to watch her perform at the Red Shoe. When she was done there, we usually ended up at my apartment where we fucked until our bodies were exhausted. Even when I woke up feeling like I didn’t get quite enough sleep, I still pushed myself to get to work on time so I could see her again.
“So when are we going to meet her?” My mother walked over and leaned against the car I was working on.
“Who?” I raised my head and looked at her with a surprised stare etched on my face.
“Don’t even try it, Cody. Something is different about you and I would put money on there being a woman behind this transformation.” My mother smiled and nodded her head. “Come on, what’s her name?”
“Johanna.” The corner of my mouth twisted into a half-smile. “Her name is Johanna.”
“I was right!” My mother yelled in my father’s direction. “Her name is Johanna!”
“She’s a stripper.” I added to my mother’s statement, raising my voice so that my father could hear me.
“Oh!” My mother blinked in surprise. “A stripper, huh? I guess I should have seen that one coming. So much for grandchildren. Please tell me it isn’t one of those girls from Carson’s.”
“Well...” I sighed. “She doesn’t work there anymore.”
“Oh my god...” My mother rolled her eyes and started walking back towards her desk. “You’re as bad as your father!”
“Hey, I stopped going to Carson’s after we got married!” My father voiced an objection to her statement.
“Yeah, because I told you I would cut your dick off if I caught you in there again!” Her voice carried across the shop, and her statement was met by shock from a customer that walked in the front door of the garage.
“Hello, I’m here to pick up my car?” His tone reflected worry and concern.
“Of course, Mr. Andrews. Cody is almost done, why don’t you have a seat and get yourself a cup of coffee.” My mother’s tone changed from anger to sugary sweet in an instant.
I knew my mother would like Johanna if she met her, regardless of what her occupation was. Johanna really was the kind of nice girl my mother always hoped I would end up with. My mother obviously had a stigma carved in her thoughts due to the fact Johanna was a stripper. It was understandable, even if it wasn’t deserved. What mattered was that I was happy. Johanna had made me happier than anyone ever had before. The relationship was still new, but I didn’t see anything changing the trajectory. We couldn’t keep our hands off each other, and we had never even had a fight.
“I’LL BE DONE IN A FEW minutes, I just need to get changed.” Johanna walked out from the back and pressed her lips to my cheek.
“You keep promising me that you’re going to wear this home one day.” I reached out and ran my fingers along the edge of her tartan skirt.
“One day.” She winked at me and headed to the back.
The Red Shoe wasn’t the kind of place I would have ever gone to if I wanted to watch girls dance. It was rather mild for my tastes. My possessive nature made me wish she didn’t dance at all, but I would have to put a ring on her finger before I could ever consider making that kind of request. The last guy that did it got left at the altar, and while I understood her reasons, I wasn’t exactly anxious to find out if she would do the same thing to me. It was far too early for that, even if I was getting extremely attached to the auburn-haired beauty.
“Okay, let’s go.” She walked back out and took me by the arm. “Can we stay at my place tonight?”
“Any particular reason? It’s easier to spend the night at my apartment. I don’t have to worry about being late for work and you have plenty of time to get home before your shift.” I looked in her direction as we walked towards the exit.
“I have a surprise for you.” She nudged me with her elbow. “I promise I’ll wake you up early so you aren’t late for work.”
“Okay, then we’ll head to your place.” We walked outside and she climbed on the back of my motorcycle.
I had no idea what kind of surprise she had in mind, but I was extremely interested in finding out what it was. Mainly, I just wanted to get her behind closed doors and out of her clothes. It was what I planned my entire day around. I wasn’t sure we would ever be the couple that went out for dinner or watched movies on the couch. Our passion was so explosive that the only place we wanted to be was in bed together. I parked my motorcycle in front of her apartment building and we held hands as we walked towards the entrance.
“I’m going to devour you.” I leaned in and kissed her neck when we got to the elevators.
“Not yet!” She pulled away and giggled. “The building superintendent watches those cameras.”