His To Keep

Prologue

The bass was so loud I could feel it in my chest. I stood backstage at Eclipse, staring at my reflection in the cracked mirror, and wondered how the hell my life had come to this.

Two weeks ago, I was a junior at State University with a 3.8 GPA and dreams of finishing my business degree. Now I’m walking into a stage in six-inch heels and lingerie, dancing for men who saw me as nothing more than a fantasy.

“You’re up in five, new girl,” Tony, the manager, barked from the doorway.

I nodded, not trusting my voice.

My hands shook as I adjusted my outfit, if you could call the scraps of black lace an outfit. The girl who had gotten me this job, a classmate named Sierra, had made it sound easy. “Just dance. Smile. Make eye contact. The money is good.”

What she hadn’t mentioned was the shame that would crawl up my spine. The fear. The desperate hope that no one I knew would ever walk through those doors.

But Granny needed this. The hospital bills were piling up faster than I could count them, and her surgery—the one that could actually save her life, cost more than I would make in a year working retail and waitressing. I had already maxed out my student loans. Already sold everything worth selling.

This was the only option left.