Melting The Gangster's Heart

I looked at myself in the mirror as I furiously brushed the knots out of my hair, grunting in the process. I sighed heavily when there were strands that just refused to cooperate with the stupid brush. “Mommy!” My child wailed outside the bathroom door. I smiled to myself as I opened the door, and greeted my daughter with a huge smile plastered on my face. She immediately lifted her arms up and bounced on her toes. I lifted her carefully and kissed her cheek. “Are you almost done?” She pouted at me. “Yes, Mimi. I’m almost done, I’m just brushing my hair.” I smiled as I gently brushed a strand of her blonde hair away from her face. “Mommy, can you do my hair too?” She beamed at me. She peered at me with her baby blue eyes. I felt a pinch in my heart as I looked at her. She took so many of her father’s features, that I sometimes miss him too much when I look into her eyes. “Of course, baby. What do you want me to do with your hair?” I asked as I sat her down by the sink. She shimmied herself further back so she could lean against the cold walls of the bathroom. She looked down with pursed lips. As she thought about what she wanted, I resumed trying to brush out my own hair. The only thing she got from me is her hair, but ever since I started to dye my hair in different shocking colors she has grown to like my hair even more and would sometimes ask me when her hair would turn into something colorful. It became a long discussion about hair dye was made, and even though she was only 3 at that time, it was easy to tell that she could kind of understand that it doesn’t naturally happen over time. “Mommy! Can you do the nice braids again?” She exclaimed, looking up at me. “Sure, baby.” I smiled at her. “Let me just finish brushing my hair, okay?” She nodded enthusiastically as she pressed her lips together. “Mommy, do you have to work tonight…?” She sadly asked as she watched me brush my hair. “Unfortunately, I do.” I frowned at her as I set the brush down. “But we will still go out today okay? We can do whatever you want.” “Why can’t I just come with you?” She frowned. “Because, my love…” I said gently and slowly. “I won’t be able to keep an eye on you. There are a lot of people, mostly adults in my workplace. I don’t think that I would be able to forgive myself if anything happened to you there.” “I’m five now, mommy. I’m a big girl now. I’m already old. I can take care of myself. Please, mommy.” She whined quietly. I sighed heavily and gently pulled her closer to my body, resting my forehead on hers. “Baby, please… Maybe one day, but not tonight okay? Things are very hectic at work tonight, and Hayley is going to stay with you.” I quietly reasoned out. “Hayley is not mommy.” She frowned deeply. “She is practically your second mommy. She takes care of you a lot, so if maybe you’d be a good girl for her, maybe I can talk to my boss to see if there could be nights when I could bring you, okay?” I negotiated. Her sad face slowly lit up and flashed me a toothy grin. She nodded enthusiastically. “Now that we settled that, shall I do your hair?” I smiled. “Yes!!” She squealed as she slowly turned her back against me. I let her lean back on my torso as I braided her hair into the style that she wanted. Bringing her to my work would actually be a little problematic considering what my chosen career path was. Maybe by the time I could actually bring her to my workplace, I might be able to find a better job, and something that doesn’t involve stripping, dancing, and on the occasion s****l activities. This was the side of me that I never want her to see or know. All I know right now is that it was paying me good that my daughter and I are living comfortably. I know that there’s nothing wrong with what I’m doing but I knew that this was something that she was too young to be exposed to, and given the nature of some people there, I would actually be putting my daughter in danger. I tied the end of her braid and gently smoothed out her hair in the front as she beamed at me again. “You seem excited about going out today.” I pointed out. “I am! I very much am!” She giggled as she clapped her hands. “Alright, let’s finish getting ready, so we can go. Okay?” I smiled. She nodded enthusiastically. I got her off of the sink, and she ran back to her room to grab her shoes. I took one last look at myself in the mirror and headed to her to help her put her shoes on, but before I could even enter the room, she had managed to put a shoe on and was now putting the other one on her other foot. “When did you get so big?” I said as I placed my hand on my chest. “I told you, mommy. I’m a big girl.” She grunted as she shoved her foot in the shoe. “I can take care of myself, and the sooner that you can see that, the sooner I can come with you to work. Okay done!” I was taken aback by what she just told me, but I shook it off and chuckled. The sound of the thumping music could be heard even outside the club itself. I had to run straight to Mount Olympus, the club I work at, because Hayley arrived later than usual, and I couldn’t just leave Mimi on her own at this time of night, even though she was fast asleep. “She’s here, ma’am.” I heard security whisper to his walkie talkie. In a few seconds, my boss Sophia, came bursting through the door. She suddenly grabbed me by the arm and pulled me out. “I’m sorry I’m late. Hayley came late and—“ I started explaining. “I’m not mad about you being late. I’m just panicky. Is that even a word? Well, whatever. I’ve been panicking since we opened. We’ve got pretty big clients coming tonight, and I need you to doll yourself up and dance on that stage.” She explained in a hurry. We went in through the back door, revealing a short hall that led to the dressing rooms. When Sophia opened the door, I saw the other girls taking their makeup off and they were in their normal clothes. I opened my mouth to ask Sophia something but she already made me sit down before I could even say anything and the other girls who were minding their own business were all up in mine, and they started doing my makeup. Sophia was behind me, flipping through the clothes rack behind me. “Pia. What’s going on? Just who is this big client? Why am I the only one dressed?” I frowned. “Well, they came in a few minutes before I opened. Like there was a group of men dressed in black suits saying that they want to reserve the entire place for a week, before I could even say that we don’t really do reservations, they handed me a suitcase filled with cash. It looked like it would cost at least 3 months worth of rent for this place.” She paused browsing and turn to look at me through the mirror. “Then they headed inside, and sat around the stage and they left a chair right up front, which I assumed was for their boss.” “You make them sound like they’re part of the mafia, Soph.” I joked to lighten my mood. “I accommodated them, I asked who they wanted to see dance.” She said ignoring what I just said. “They didn’t say anything as they looked around at the posters, and they pointed at yours. I asked them if they wanted to see other dancers as well, and obviously, they didn’t want to. So here we are.” “Jesus Christ. If they have that much money to burn, they should just donate that kind of money to people who actually need it.” I frowned. “We are the people in need, Jus. We’ve been struggling to make ends meet lately so this is such a huge thing for the club.” She retorted. “Oh, and by the way, we’re changing your entrance song, so do whatever you feel like doing and not your usual, alright?” “Is there anything else I should know about the last minute?” I groaned. “Actually, yes.” She said as she turned her back to face the clothes again, and started flipping through them. “You’re going to do whatever their boss asks of you. The typical things that are usually not allowed out there on stage and only in the private rooms. Just no penetration.” “God damn, Soph.” I sighed heavily. One of the girls made me open my mouth so she could apply bright red lipstick on my mouth. Sophia finally managed to pick out an outfit. And a mask? Why is everything in f*****g neon? “Why did you put that lipstick on, it won’t stand out in the black light lighting we have.” She scolded. The girl who applied my lipstick hurriedly removed my lipstick and put neon pink on my lips instead, while another one put neon blue eyeliner on my eyes. Once they were done, the girls left and I was handed the outfit, mask, and shoes. At least the shoes weren’t neon too. “Am I allowed to question any of this?” I raised an eyebrow. f**k, am I even allowed to have a say in this? “Nope. It was just requested, so even if you asked, I wouldn’t know what to tell you Jus. Go get dressed.” She ushered me behind the room divider. I quickly stripped naked and wore my clothes. This was making me feel very exposed. I usually had my private area and my n*****s covered but this outfit showed everything. Good thing I was freshly waxed. I let my hair down and emerged from the divider with my hand covering my breasts. Sophia quickly did my hair and help me put the mask on. “There will be guards on every exit and we’ll be watching you. You don’t have to be nervous. You’re going to do great, okay? You still know the signal for a break right, Justin?” She reassured and confirmed. I nodded my head at her. She flashed me a small smile and headed out into the stage. The music was slowing fading away and I could hear Sophia tapping on the mic. “I am incredibly sorry for the delay gentlemen. Our dancer just arrived since today wasn’t her shift—“ She said and the rest of what she said turned into brown noise. I took a deep breath and took one last look at myself in the mirror and fluffed my hair before heading near the stage. “Gentlemen! I would like to present to you… Miss Aphrodite!” She announced. Not even the sounds of murmur could be heard from where I was. I slowly climbed the stairs at the side of stage and placed my leg out of the curtain. The bright lights that were once shining on the stage were replaced with the black light. “Never take that mask off.” Sophia gave me one last reminder before completely going down. I gave her a stiff nod. Once the bass started pounding out of the speakers I started walking out, making sure I swayed my hips as I made my way to the pole that was in the middle of the stage. I turned my back to the audience making sure I flipped my hair as I turned. Before the final bass hit, I bent myself fully forward exposing myself fully to them. My face turned red at the realization that I was in fact fully exposed.