Addiction

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

I swivel my hips with a nice rhythm.

The men cheer and hollow for me as I walk past.

“Yes sexy!” one of them shouts.

Sometimes, it can be very empowering to have people cheering for your body.

Sometimes, I really enjoy this job.

It had been a week since I had been back at work and I was back in full swing.

I had to catch up on my student loans and pay my cell phone bill. All of the major bills were paid and so I was in the clear with all of those.

I was mainly on floor duty tonight so, hopefully, I can pull enough lap dances to cover what I needed to cover and have some money left over to have some fun.

Although, these days, fun mostly consisted of sitting in front of the TV, eating ice cream.

I walk around the floor and notice the nerdy guy who gave me almost all of his money from last time. I look his way and he waves me over.

“Hey, sexy,” I say as I sit down beside him. “How may I help you?”

“Can I get a lap dance?” he asks with a smile.

“Sure,” I say as I take the money from him and begin to twist on his lap.

I bounce up and down on him a little and then I turn around to face him.

“Where have you been the last few days? I’ve been looking for you. The other girls don’t even look my way. The only one who pays me any attention is you,” he says as he puts a hundred dollars in my G-string.

“I was off the past couple of days. Had a weird encounter so had to clear my head and figure some things out.”

“I hope it was nothing dangerous.”

I shake my head. “No, nothing like that. Just some personal stuff, that’s all, but it’s handled now, so I’m not worried about it. Nothing for you to worry about.”

I smile and wink at my nerdy man.

“Well, that’s good. I missed you. You were the highlight to my boring life behind the computer.”

“Well, dance is over, enjoy your night, Steven. I’ll have to tell some of the other girls to nice to you because you’re such a little sweetheart.”

“Thank you, I will enjoy the rest of my night, especially now that I saw you. Have a good night, girl.”

I wink at him again and walk off.

He seems to have more confidence than the last time I saw him.

I walk around the club and I get that feeling that someone is watching me. I look over at the nerdy guy but he’s talking to another guy who looks even nerdier than him.

I turn to my other side and I see Garrett standing in the middle of the room.

Damn.

What is he doing here?

What a pig.

I immediately start to walk toward the back but he catches me and grabs me by the arm.

“So can I get a private dance?” he asks.

“No! No, you may not! Why the hell are you even here? I know you see I haven’t been returning your phone calls. I don’t have anything to say to you and I’m damn sure not shaking a thing for you. You must be out of your damn mind!” I yell at him.

I see James, the club owner, coming back over toward me and I already know it’s going to be the same episode from last time.

He looks at Garrett, smiles politely and then grabs me by the arm.

“Marie, I thought we went over this last time,” he talks through gritted teeth, “You always give the customer what he wants and this is a very important customer. He has spent a lot of money here over the last few days and you seem to be his favorite girl. I don’t know why you insist on making things so difficult. It’s not like I’m asking you to sleep with the guy.”

“No, I’m not dancing for him but you can. That guy is rude and is a complete asshole and I will not be subject to dealing with him anymore,” I say as I fold my arms across my chest.

He could say what he wants to say to me but I was not about to budge from my point.

There was no way I was going to a private room with Garrett.

No way.

“You know you will be fired if you don’t dance for him, right? It’s one dance, it’s not going to kill you,” he says between clenched teeth.

“Well, you don’t have to fire me because I quit! I’m done dealing with you and him! Now if he’s such a good customer, then he will continue to spend money whether I dance for him or not! Now both of you can kiss my ass because I am out of here!” I yell at him and storm toward the back.

I hear James saying something to Garrett but I don’t stick around to hear what it is.

I go in the back, grab my moneybox, and throw on the clothes that I walked in the club with, over my other clothes.

I walk from the back, look at the club owner and Garrett one more time, and leave.

I don’t even bother giving James his share of tonight’s takings. I’m done here.

I’ve been using this job as a crutch too long anyway and it is time I start to look for a job in my field.

I throw the moneybox and the rest of my stuff onto the backseat of my car and aggressively drive home. I have never used the car horn so much.

Why do people drive that badly anyway?

I pull into the driveway at the house, grab the moneybox, and head inside.

Rose is sitting on the chair in her pajamas, texting on her cell phone, and she looks up at me.

“I thought you had to work the rest of the night,” she says as she places the cell phone down.

I sigh. “I did but I quit so I will be working no more nights.”

A shocked expression crosses her face. “Really? Why? Did a customer get a little too rough? Oh, wait, did James do something to piss you off? He has been feeling himself a little too much lately. I almost cussed him out the other day but I held it in.”

“No, Garrett showed up again asking for a private dance but I refused and then James started to threaten me about the customer is always right or whatever and I told him he should dance for him because I quit. There was no way I was going in a private room with that man. I’m so over him and his games that it’s ridiculous. I was having a nice night but he just sat there and ruined it all for me. ”

“Garrett came back to the club?”

“Yes, weren’t you listening?”

“Girl, he has it bad for you. That’s the only reason I can think of why he would keep showing up asking you for private dances and stuff. I just think he doesn’t know how to approach you.”

“No, he just likes to get on my nerves. And I’m done being a little toy to him. I have to hold on to as much self-respect as I can get, you know? I mean, he just walks up to me and was like, “Can I get a private dance?” This is all a very sick and twisted game to him but it’s my life! I just wish he would crawl in a cave somewhere and leave me the hell alone.”

“I understand... but I still say that he has it bad for you, otherwise, why go through all of the trouble? It doesn’t make any sense.”

“Because he’s an asshole. That’s what asshole’s do. He is an absolute asshole. That’s why he’s going through all of this trouble.”

She laughs. “So what are you going to do for a job? Because the way our bills and your own bills are set up, you’re going to need one.”

“I have enough to cover me for a little while but I’m going to start applying for jobs in my field. Time for me to quit procrastinating and give the business world a chance.”

“Finally going to put your degree to use, huh?”

“With as much as it cost me, I need to. As you know, I’m still paying the bills so I am going to do something with it if it kills me.”

She laughs. “I don’t blame you. So what can you do with an English literature degree anyway? Stuff that has to do with reading or something?”

“Lots of stuff but I really want to teach a college course or something like that, you know?”

“Not me, I would not look forward to that. Grading papers, dealing with crazy students, and so many other negatives, it’s ridiculous.”

“But it really is what I want to do. It’s my dream.”

“Well, go for it. Hopefully, you can make something happen soon.”

“Yeah, I hope so, too,” I sigh. “What a crappy day. Actually what a crappy month.”

“So do you want to get in on this ice cream action or what?” Rose smiles at me.

“I could use some ice cream action with the type of night I had.”

“Well, there’s a fresh carton of brownie chunks in there for you,” she says.

“That’s not the official name, but thanks,” I say with a laugh as I go and get the ice cream out of the freezer. I grab a spoon and take a seat beside Rose.

“You know you’re going to make something happen, right? You’re smart, beautiful and you’re a winner. You can do this,” she says.

“Thanks,” I say as I eat a big spoonful of ice cream.

“So to new beginnings,” she says as she raises a spoonful of ice cream.

“To new beginnings,” I say as I hit my spoon up against hers.

*