Chapter One

1964 Words
Six Years Ago Lilian’s POV I wove my way through the sea of drunken men, my drinks tray held above my left shoulder as I flashed my well practiced grin at the patrons that I passed. I’d been covering shifts here for a few weeks now and was gradually finding my place in the club that I worked in. Reaching my table, my smile widened as the group of men dragged their eyes from the stage toward me. ‘Here you go gentlemen’ I trilled, placing the beers on the table, trying not to cringe as three sets of eyes zoned in on my ample chest. ‘Well thank you sweet cheeks’ one of the men drawled, his gaze never leaving my boobs, ‘how much do I owe you?’ My cheeks ached from the fake smiling, but I kept going, I needed the money, ‘Fifteen, twenty eight please.’ The guy rummaged in his pocket, pulling out a wad of bills and counted quickly before holding it up to me. Reaching out, I went to pluck them from his fingers but he jerked his hand back before I could grip them, causing me to topple forward on my ridiculously high heels. The guy grabbed my ass, pulling me closer as I tried desperately not to gag, he was at least three times my age and the stench of old cigarettes and the cheap beer he was consuming did little to settle my stomach. ‘Careful sweet cheeks, you might hurt yourself’ he leered, leaning closer to me. Laughing awkwardly, I pushed away from him, quickly grabbing the money and hurrying back to the bar with my empty tray as he called out ‘keep the change baby.’ ‘You OK Can?’ Cameron called out from his spot behind the bar. Cameron was the head barman and he pulled in just as many punters as us girls did. His muscular chest was on full display, the lights catching the baby oil he rubbed into his abs. His uniform of black slacks and a black bowtie made him drool worthy, and boy did the girls and some of the men, drool. I glanced down at my own outfit, the tiny black skirt that barely covered my ass, the two silver stars that covered my n*****s, matching the silver four inch heels on my feet. Yeah, if you hadn’t guessed it, I work in a topless bar, OK, it’s a strip club but topless bar sounds slightly less seedy. It was not my first choice of job, hell when I applied, I thought it was a normal bar job! But it turns out that, though I’m serving beer and shots, it’s with my girls out for all to see. The owner relented and allowed me the stars purely because of my age, feeling that at nineteen I should be given a chance to ease into the job. The bar is strictly over twenty ones, even though the legal drinking age in this state is nineteen. Everyone, and I mean everyone gets carded by Leroy, our doorman. No ID, you ain’t coming in, even if you have a Zimmer frame and senior citizen bus pass. I smiled up at Cameron as he walked over to me, quickly checking the money in my hand and rolling my eyes as I realised that Mr Grabby had given me sixteen dollars for his tab and my tip, yeah, I won’t spend that all at once. ‘I’m fine’ I sighed, ‘just got a shitty tip from table six and that was after he pulled me into his lap and felt me up’ I added, jerking my thumb at the three men who were now fixated on the scantily clad girl that was dancing on the stage provocatively. ‘You need me to get Leroy?’ Cameron asked with a frown, glaring over at the trio. I shook my head, smiling up at him, ‘nah, he’s busy enough, and let’s be honest, it isn’t the first time I’ve had my ass grabbed by a customer, it’s just one of the perks of the job.’ Cameron grunted, glowering at the men behind me, as I reached over the bar and grabbed his arm, closing my fingers around his skin, ‘hey! I’m OK’ I said quietly, my voice barely audible over the loud music that thumped around us, ‘but thanks for caring.’ Cameron relaxed, his eyes finding mine, ‘I’ll always care beautiful’ he replied fondly, ‘I just wish you’d find yourself a guy to give you some protection.’ I rolled my eyes as I laughed, ‘I don’t need a man Cam, but if you have decided to swap sides and are interested, I might be amenable’ I added, fluttering my eyelashes at him. The brown haired stud in front of me chuckled, ‘sorry babe, I’m all about the sausage, I don’t like tacos, but if I did, I would be chasing your ass, no word of a lie.’ Shaking my head, I pulled out my pad where I had my drinks orders written. ‘I need four beers, two martinis, a whisky and coke, Scotch on the rocks and something called a Moscow Mule? Please tell me you know what that is because I didn’t have a clue and the girl was so condescending when I asked her to repeat it I don’t fancy taking the wrong drink back.’ Cameron winked, ‘babe, I’m not head barman for nothing, I got you’ he said before moving up the bar and starting to sort my drinks. As I waited, a second waitress rested her tray next to mine on the bar. Turning to face her, I smiled as my friend Silver let out a groan, lifting her foot and trying to massage her ankle. ‘I hate these shoes’ she moaned, pulling a face, she is a few inches shorter than me and her waist length silver hair fell down her back in a wave. She’s twenty one and has been at the club for just over a year and she’s trying to convince the owner to let her become a dancer but he keeps on refusing her. All the dancers have done at least two years on the floor as waitresses, it’s kind of the right of passage to the big time. The dancers get tipped well! I’m talking six to eight hundred dollars on a good night, well, which is much better than the hundredish the waitresses make for a night of ass grabs and unoriginal s****l comments. ‘Why do you wear them, you know they torture you’ I replied, shaking my head. Silver grinned, ‘because the boys love them and I get better tips’ she replied as she eyed my chest, ‘when are you going to brave the masses and remove the learner stickers?’ she asked pointedly. I swallowed, I wasn’t ready, I know I was pretty much flashing everything I had, but these stickers made me feel like at least something was still hidden. ‘Soon’ I replied evasively, making her chuckle as she raised her eyebrow. ‘OK Candy, you keep telling yourself that’ she replied. Oh yeah, the waitresses and dancers don’t use their real names, at all! It’s an added safety the boss installed, they’ve had more than one girl tracked down by an over eager client so now everyone uses a work name. Silver is obviously because of her hair, the men love it, it shimmers under the lights and makes her look like a fragile fairy. They call me Candy, because I look good enough to eat, yeah, I pulled a face too, but if it keeps me safe, I’ll take it. Cameron appears in front of me with my tray laden with drinks and I gave Silver a wave before heading back out into the cramped night club to serve my next lot of tables. Weaving through the crowds, I dole out my drinks, placing the money I’m handed, into the small fanny pack around my waist and checking on my other tables. An arm wraps around me from behind and I’m dragged into a lap that has a very obvious bulge in it. I suppress a shudder as a drunken voice coats my ear, ‘hey gorgeous, want to let me show you a good time?’ I turn toward the guy in his fifties, smiling forcefully as I pat his chest, ‘you know you have to go to the back rooms if you want a lap dance Kent’ I reply, trying to stand up again but the patron is holding tight. ‘Come on Candy’ Kent slurs, his hands grabbing at my boobs, ‘you should give me a chance, I’m a giver if you know what I mean.’ I internally roll my eyes, yes, I know exactly what he means, everyone knows what he means. ‘I’m sorry Kent, you know the rules, you don’t want to get me fired, do you? now I need to get back to work.’ I manage to shift to the edge of his lap and get my feet under me, but Kent is being a little more handsy than usual. Normally the guy will let me go after I brush him off, but tonight he holds onto my wrist firmly. ‘I asked you nicely Candy’ he growls, tightening his grip on me, ‘I’ve always played nice with you, why are you being such a b***h?’ I start to struggle, glancing over at Leroy who is already moving through the crowds toward me, his face set in anger. Suddenly my arm is ripped from Kent’s hand and I turn just in time to see the older man toppling backward over the back of his chair, the hulking body of another guy standing between us, fist up. ‘She said let her the f*ck go’ comes a very angry and very familiar pissed off voice. ‘Daxton?’ I gasp, dragging my gaze from the man on the floor in front of me, holding his face to the furious boy beside me. ‘What the f**k woman?’ Daxton yells in my face, ‘why are you here?’ I start to recoil but remember my promise to myself and straighten up, ‘I work here’ I snap, ‘what are you doing here?’ ‘I followed you’ the bad boy replies without a drop of remorse. ‘What? Why!’ I demand, a shiver rolling over me, a reminder of another time when I used to be followed, my every move watched. ‘You shouldn’t be here Lil, let’s go’ he growls, grabbing my arm. Shaking him off, I take a step back as Leroy grabs Daxton and swings him around, away from me. ‘You don’t touch the girls’ he scowls, as Daxton blinks at him. Looking back at me, the bad boy’s face darkens, ‘really? You are just going to stand there?’ I take a deep breath, ‘just go Dax’ I order, ‘you’ve already caused enough trouble, please, just go.’ Leroy glances down at Kent who is being helped to his feet by two other bouncers, ‘and you Kent’ he orders, ‘you know the rules. You overstepped so it’s time to go home and sleep it off.’ Kent nods, giving me a small sheepish smile before walking away like an obedient lamb. Daxton gives me one last look before he stalks away from me and out of the club. I huff out a breath as I watch him leave. I picked this bar because it was miles from campus, I have to take a bus to get here. I figured no one from college would find me, seems I was wrong.
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