Chapter Four
1847 Words
The flashbacks that plague my mind are nothing more than an itch I can’t scratch. They keep at me, stalking my mind and plaguing my soul. It’s a darkness that envelops me, day in and day out, with no light at the end of the tunnel.
Opening myself to the possibility of getting to know Kat is giving me hope—hope I’m not sure I’m capable of sacrificing. I honestly don’t have any hope left to give.
Still, it feels mighty good to have someone on my side for once.
I always went into every foster home with so much hope, and each time, it was ripped away. After my last foster home, the man having me transferred out of his care the moment I stood up for myself… well, that was the last little bit of hope I had in me.
“Touch me,” Kat’s voice yells in my ear. “Trust me, they’ll love it. Just touch me.”
I automatically assume she’s trying to drive the men wild. The sound of the music is pumping through my veins and part of me knows she is right… two sexy, naked women touching is damn close to lube on a male’s genitals.
I don’t hesitate to follow her moves, turning to face her as we grin at each other, keeping just enough distance to tease the hell out of the men at the foot of the stage.
She turns from me, her legs effortlessly lifting into the air and wrapping around the pole. She spins around slowly, her smile wide. Bills tainted red by the pulsing lights of the Crimson City Club are practically raining down on her, and I am immediately envious of her allure.
That’s when her words repeat in my mind. Touch me.
Never hesitating a beat, I dance over to her and bend low, my face mere inches from hers, her upside-down hair tickling my bare breasts.
Without another thought, my tongue darts out and meets with her carotid artery. Her pulse is so warm, so strong… and so very enticing. It’s on impulse only that my lips wrap around the area for mere moments before I realize my mistake.
Looking out at the men staring in our direction, I am confident I can’t show my attraction here. It’s not the kind of attraction they will want.
Instead, I continue with my tongue, tracing the track of her veins all the way to the curve of her breasts.
The men cheer… their voices hooting and their little men losing their minds in their pants.
I know here and now this will be my most profitable evening to date.
And I have my partner, KitKat, to thank.
Before she can right herself, I see a man in the distance. The look on his face has my lungs seizing and the cooperation of my muscles coming to a screeching halt. His eyes are piercing into me, delving far beyond the mere surface of my skin. It is almost as if he can see within me… can see down into my core… my soul.
Kat is finally on her feet when she follows my gaze, her voice harsh as she dances around me to complete our set. “The show always goes on, Tesla.”
The show always goes on.
Isn’t that the mouthful of the century?
I do as I’m told. After all, Kat has increased my tip amount quite a bit just tonight alone. Ignoring her advice now would only show how truly idiotic and stubborn I am.
She and I nod at each other, and I know what that means. Without hesitation, I lift myself up onto my pole, her and I in sync almost as if we are moving as one being. Most people see strippers as nothing more than glorified s*x idols, but what they don’t realize is how much work actually goes into pole dancing. My muscles that had frozen up moments before now pump with viable energy while Kat and I descend down our respective poles.
Amazement fills me as I realize just how beneficial all my hard work and practice has been over the past week.
As the song ends, men hold out bills, their impulses telling them they need to touch us in order to tip us, and we allow it to happen. Kat’s smile is wide and friendly as she accepts their generosity, and I try to follow suit. She’s so delightful and kind. All the men love her. The only reason they’re tolerating me is because I’m with her—standing in her shadow. I’m not too naive to realize she’s the reason five dollar bills are being stuffed into my garters at the moment.
Still, the man in the corner continues to stare, his eyes lingering solely on me. I try my best to ignore his existence as I walk off the stage, my fingers waving to the tippers in the front row.
“Who the hell was that?” Kat probes. Even though she’s directing the question to me, she still doesn’t look my way. As she rants, she immediately robes herself and I follow her moves.
I shrug. “Not quite sure. There was just something… off… about him.”
“So wait—” She pauses and holds her hand up, her eyes rolling with what I can only guess is impatience. “You don’t know him?”
I shook my head. “Never seen him before. Why?”
“He was looking at you like he owns you, Tesla,” she says matter-of-factly. “If you don’t know him, you need to let Sean know.”
Sean is our manager, and while I know he’d do anything to protect his girls, I still don’t want to involve anyone.
“It’s probably nothing, Kat. We were tearing it up out there. He’s probably just a creeper. Don’t worry about it,” I say, packing up my things and getting my clothes ready to change into. Even though I made my way home in my costume the other night, with nothing but my coat to cover me, I’m well aware of what a mistake it was… and is. Tonight, I plan to change before I leave. Maybe I could stop and get some ice cream on the way.
“Can we stick together? I know you might not want to go get a drink, but maybe we can still leave together? Parklot buddies and all?” Kat asks, her eyes now boring into me as she buttons her jeans.
I just look at her, my mouth wide in wonder. I don’t know what she means by her question, and I’m unsure how to respond.
She let out a breath, waving me off and bending to pick up her top from the chair in front of her. “Sorry. I just thought we could walk home together. No biggie.”
I try my best to recover but stumble on my words. “I… I just… I’ve never had a friend before.”
To see her flinch at the brutality of my honesty makes me wish I could take every single syllable back… makes me wish I never uttered the words.
Kat doesn’t say anything else. Instead, she picks up both my bag and hers, grabs my hand, and leads me out the back door.
Finally, as we walk in the darkness between buildings and through alleyways, she allows her thoughts to leave her lips, her voice nothing more than a low hum of sound.
“Friends are subjective,” she says. “I can only be your friend if you want me to be.”
With my eyes trained on her, I huff and wonder if continuing to be honest will actually help. Instead, I decide on being aloof… honest enough to placate her for now.
“Friendships haven’t exactly worked out for me in the past, and I’m not sure I can see anything changing in my future.” My voice bumps and jolts with each step I take, yet I know by the expression on her face that she hears me.
Finally, she stops in front of me, her short frame causing me to stall before I can take the final steps to enter the small courtyard of my apartment complex.
“Let’s just say... I need this,” she says, gesturing between us. “I need someone to talk to before I go batshit crazy in that hellhole of a workplace.”
I know what she means. I feel the same way, but with reservation coursing through my entire being at allowing anyone close.
That’s when I realize she’s more like me than I initially thought. I can’t voice that though. My vocal chords are way too stubborn to be so honest in a single night.
Instead, I nod and smile, my go-to expression when I’m unsure of what to say or worried my words will just screw up a good thing.
She returns my smile and spins around to walk farther into the gates of my complex—and hits a brick wall of muscle as soon as she steps inside.
The gates aren’t exactly secure. Pretty much anyone can come and go as they please. But they make me feel safe in some regard. At least they used to… until now.
The wall is super tall, forcing me to crane my neck just to see him, my eyes following every ripple of muscle along the way. And while he’s standing more than close enough to us both, I still can’t seem to make out the features of his face aside from his eyes.
I’ve never seen him before. Not within the confines of these gates anyway.
“It’s you!” Kat blurts out, her finger pointing to the large man’s face. “From the club.”
I’d like to say my heart beat fast at the impending threat. After all, strippers always feel threatened when their clientele follow them home. But even while staring into the eyes of danger, my heart doesn’t even flutter… doesn’t bother to react in the slightest, to the possible endangerment stalking before us.
Should I be worried for myself? Should I be worried for my possible new friend, Kat? My mind screams yes, all while my heart continues to stand still, unaffected by our new intruder.
Without another word, I wrap my hands around Kat’s waist and pull her along, sidestepping the towering man and heading to the stairwell. And while I won’t admit it out loud, I swear I felt my heart finally flutter for the first time in years when my arm brushed against his.
Still, I try to hide the gasp that leaves my lips while we walk. But Kat isn’t stupid. She notices my worry and halts, glancing behind us to check where the random man has gone.
Her sharp intake of air has me spinning around to check what has caused her to gasp. There, in the entrance of the courtyard, is…
Nothing.
- Writer
