Heart of a Stripper (4 page)

With that, she sat quietly as he kept driving. Looking out of her window, she took in his words. Looking over at her briefly
, he sighed disappointed in himself. The tension in the car was now high and he felt like a complete asshole. He didn’t mean to let his frustration bubble up and erupt like that.

“I’m sorry.” He said seriously. “I didn’t mean any of that.”

“It’s fine.” She shrugged.

“No, it’s not. I’m a total asshole.” He retorted reaching over and touching her hand so she would look at him.

Looking over, she stared at his profile, as he turned onto the street where she worked. She smiled as she looked down at his hand touching hers before he removed it. She wasn’t used to getting apologies. Especially ones like that.

“
Forgive me?” he smiled looking at her briefly as they pulled up to the club. He parked in the parking lot and cut off the car.

She nodded
, as he pulled off his jacket.

“You can borrow this
, until you get a new coat with the money you got from me.” He smiled teasing her.

She smiled slightly
, as she took the coat.

“Thanks, and to set the record straight you’re not an asshole. I get that you want what’s best for me, but
I’m not a little girl.” She insisted.

“I am sorry.” He replied, staring her into her big brown eyes.

He really felt awful about the nasty things she said to her. She didn’t deserve to be insulted like that.

“It’s fine.” She smiled brightly. “I already know how most people think about the line of work I’m in. The only thing that kills me is that they don’t care about what’s up here.” She said pointing to her head. 

“But as you said, who wants to respect anyone stripping for drunken men. Thanks for the ride.” She said kissing his cheek. “Good night.”

With that, she slipped from the car and
wrapped the coat around her before bolting into the back entrance of the club. Mitchell sat, still feeling horrible about what he had said to her. Looking at his watch, he saw that he still had a little time before he needed to be at the restaurant. Turning off the car, he hopped out and slunk inside the club.

Nevaeh hustled into the locker room and
stopped at her locker. An older stripper with blonde hair shook her head as Nevaeh passed her. She was applying red lipstick to her already ruby red lips. She went by the name “Honey” because of her hair color.

“Jimmy doesn’t like it when we’re late.” She barked.

“I got the memo yesterday when he hired me.” Nevaeh said opening her locker.

Sitting the duffle bag on the bench in front of her, she unzipped it and pulled out her skimpy outfit. It was an angel getup. Taking her shirt off, she tossed it in the bag before unhooking her bra. She grabbed the
silver corset top that went with her outfit and threw it on. It had black fluffy feathers surrounding the top. It was definitely a stripper’s outfit.

“Who gave you this?” Honey asked
, picking up the leather jacket Mitchell had given her.

“A friend.”
Nevaeh smiled brightly as she rolled on her fishnet stocking knee highs.

“Must be some rich friend.”
Honey replied, feeling the material and studying it. “It’s real leather.”

“I noticed.” Nevaeh chuckled
as she slid on the barely there G-string and black tutu skirt.

“Whoever he is, he smells good. And definitely has great taste, u
nlike the cheap bastards that roll in here.” She replied as they both erupted into laughter.

“Where are you supposed to be?” Jimmy snapped
, walking into the dressing room.

“Going out there right now.”
Honey replied, dropping the jacket to the bench.

Nevaeh picked the jacket up and shoved it into her locker before jamming the bag into the bottom. Closing the locker, she hustled over to the mirror and let her hair down. Grabbing the brush, s
he started to primp herself as Jimmy eyed her briefly. Jimmy had on a white button shirt with a grey sweater on top, with black dress pants. His skin was mocha, and his black hair was cut low. He was the type of guy who liked to looked sophisticated, but was an asshole.

“I don’t pay you guys to sit on your asses and tell jokes. If you want to make people laugh
, be a comedian.” He replied harshly to Honey.

“Sorry.” She replied walking to leave.

“Here, have some of this.” He replied, stopping her and opening a small vile filled with white powder.

Honey willingly sniffed it and giggled as he slapped her ass.

“Go make that money.” Jimmy said, winking at her. She sauntered off as he set his sights on Nevaeh. She cringed as he slithered over to him. He was the type of douche that made her skin crawl. Just an all-around dirt bag. She knew more about that subject than she should have.

“So I think I’ve found the perfect name for you.” He replied, gawking at her as she touched up her
make up.

“What’s that?” she asked looking at him through the mirror.

“Fantasy, because that’s what you are. Every guy’s “fantasy”. Plain and simple. I’m going to set up a “school girl” act for you to capitalize on your innocence.” He said grabbing her arm gently, and spinning her around.

He moved closer to her, and she sucked in a breath as he reached over to the table. Grabbing a clean towel, he wiped the make-up from her face.

“You don’t need anything on that pretty little face of yours. Your natural beauty is what will get you the big bucks here. That, and the fact that you’re the youngest. Those old horny bastards will eat that shit up.” He said clearly, letting her go.

Swallowing hard, Nevaeh nodded tensely. Flashing a smile, he
watched her as she spun back around and wiping her face clean. He stared at her derriere as she noticed his reflection in the mirror. Standing upright, she spun back around and smiled fakely.

“I should head out there.” She insisted walking past him, but he grabbed her arm.

“Try some of this.” He pushed, holding the same vile out to her that Honey had used only a moment ago.

Looking down at it, she saw a white substance inside and immediately shook her head.
Drugs were not, nor never would be her thing.

“I’m ok.” She replied slipping out of his hand
and grabbing the pair of wings lying on the bench.

“You sure?” he asked, with a sly smile
as he watched her slip on the black angel wings.

“Positive.” She retorted as she sped walked from the room.

“Suit yourself.” He replied taking a bit of the stuff on his index finger and rubbing it into his mouth.

“That angel outfit looks good on you.” He replied seductively.

Nevaeh swallowed hard again as a chill ran through her. Sure, he was an attractive guy, but that wasn’t everything. Having a sleaze ball hit on you wasn’t ideal in her eyes. Especially when he was supposed to be her boss, and the guy to protect her from the many men who walked into the club daily. She was already uncomfortable being in this line of business, but he pushed the uneasy feeling over the edge. Jimmy wasn’t going to be easy to work with, she could tell already.            

Gathering herself, she took a deep breath before leaving the locker room. She threw on a bright smile as she stood backstage. Tonight was going to be her first time to perform on the stage in front of
everyone
. She was thankful that jimmy hadn’t ordered her to strip any of her clothes off. He wanted to keep the crowd lingering on her as long as he could. He knew men would keep coming back to see her. Leaving them to only fantasize about her would be one of his big payouts.

Honey was already on the stage and the men were of course going wild. She was
definitely in her late twenties, but definitely beautiful. She had actually been one of the nicest girls Nevaeh had met the night before. Most of the girls were obviously threatened by the fact that Nevaeh was now the youngest to work there. Her audition wasn’t even that great, but Jimmy obviously had taken a liking to her. That was the thing that had rubbed all the other women the wrong way. Honey on the other hand, told her not to worry. She warned her to try and fit in all while keeping her distance until the others warmed up to her. She also told Nevaeh that they were just set in their ways and used to each other. Honey even went as far as to offer to teach her a few things. Having a friend in that line of business wasn’t ideal, but she was glad to not be totally blackballed.

Chapter Four

Mitchell
was again surrounded by the strong stench of alcohol and smoke. He hated the stuff and thought it should be band. It just wasn’t fair to be stuck in a room full of people who thought destroying their liver and lungs was cool. But the real kicker was, second hand smoke was worse than first. What kind of cruel joke was that? The guy who invented  Staring around the full club, he searched for Nevaeh hoping to see that she was okay. The only problem was, he hadn’t found her. Looking at his watch, he saw that he was definitely going to be late if he didn’t leave.

Jimmy took the stage as he announced the next act.
Mitchell grumbled angrily as he started to leave. He would catch her the next day at school to finish talking to her.

“Looking for a good time?” a brunette haired woman asked walking up to him.

She was wearing a pink bikini looking outfit, and her hair was straight.

“No.” he said shaking his head.

She grabbed him by the tie and pulled him close. Her breath smelled of alcohol and he nearly threw up in his mouth. She was obviously drunk and he hated to see anyone, especially a woman in that state.

“Come on sexy, I know you’re not in here for nothing.” She whispered.

She was right about something. He damn sure hadn’t wasted his time going into a place he despised, and the sole reason he was there had just entered the stage and stood in the shadows. Pulling away from the brunette, he pushed his way through the very thick crowd of men who were bombarding the stage floor. They were obviously gearing up to see a show. Finally making it to the front, he waited eagerly to see Nevaeh just like every other guy standing beside him.

“Be nice guys,” Jimmy repl
ied still introducing her. “This is her first time on stage. I know she’s everything you dream of. Everything you want your girlfriend to be—Here. Is. Fantasy.”

Scrambling from the stage, the spotlight shined on her as she stood with her back facing the crowd.
The music dropped and it was fitting. Beyoncé’s song “Naughty Girl” began booming through the speakers. Opening her arms slowly, the wings spread out. It really looked as if she were an angel.

A naughty angel.

Mitchell watched intently as she spun around slowly. Her hair was pinned up into a bun and she was wearing a silver face mask to match her corset. She was more than a sight for sore eyes. But he didn’t have to beat that into anyone’s head because all the guys were hollering for her. Dollars were flying on the stage as she slowly sauntered over to pole in her tall heels. Walking in front of it, she leaned up against it before running a hand against her stomach area. She then slid down the pole seductively to her knees.

Looking straight ahead, she spotted
Mitchell out in the crowd. Her confidence instantly shot through the roof as a smile teased her lips. Knowing that he had stayed to see her made her feel good. This show was going to be all for him. Lying on the floor, she crawled over to the edge of the stage all while staring him in the eyes. She saw his cheeks instantly go rosy, and that was something she knew she would never get tired of. Just knowing she pushed his buttons like no one else did made her proud.

Grabbing him by the tie, she pulled him in and planted a seductive kiss on his very soft lips. Coming off the stage, she pushed him down into a chair and backed up as all the other guys made a circle around them.
Mitchell looked up to her with the most uncomfortable look on his face. He damn sure couldn’t refuse what she was about to do because he knew it would make her look bad. Not to mention the fact that he wasn’t about to let her do it to another guy. So, looking up to her, he watched her show.