Don't. Please. Don't Make Me

Chapter One-2

“Oh. Well in that case, way you go,” Sue pretended to encourage her. “It's not a problem. I can manage.”

Marcy gave her a wide-eyed look, not able to hide her disbelief at her mother's surprise capitulation, and without a word, she turned, pulling the door closed after her.

Sue knew where Starr lived, with her mother, in a low-rise in the east end, so there was no hurry. She pulled on a light jacket, checked her hair and makeup, then went out to the car.

The sun was slipping low when Sue spotted Marcy walking along the sidewalk in front of Starr's small walk-up apartment building. She strolled aimlessly, swinging her shoulder bag from her left hand. When she was by the front door, Starr appeared and trotted quickly down the steps toward her. Sue watched as the two girls, arm-in-arm, walked quickly to the corner. It struck her how much alike the girls were: same pale skin, same height, same blonde hair swirling around their shoulders. They could have been bookends, except Starr's figure was a little lusher and she was almost two years older than Marcy. And, Sue knew, Starr was a lot more street-wise!

As the two of them reached the corner, a cab pulled up and they tumbled into the rear seat. Sue started her car and was close behind when the taxi turned into the stream of traffic headed to town. The cabbie was easy to follow. Sue could see he was distracted, chatting happily with the two blondes in the back seat. What man wouldn't be distracted? He drove slowly and carefully to the outskirts of town. Sue felt foolish when the cab slowed to turn into a trendy shopping mall. The girls are going shopping, she scolded herself for the lack of trust she had extended to her daughter and almost drove past. But it struck her as odd that the cabbie hadn't entered the parking lot by the main entrance but continued past to enter at the side of the large shopping complex. She was curious and followed at a safe distance.

The taxi drove around to the rear of the building and Sue could see cars parked in a lot at the back. She pulled over to the curb, turned off the ignition and stepped out onto the pavement. Peering around the end of the building, she watched as the cab came to a stop in front of what appeared to be a trendy night spot: strip-club neon, lots of chrome and glass. What the hell is this?

Marcy, with Starr following, slide from the back seat of the cab, paid the driver off and turned toward the entrance. An attendant stood at the glass doors, checking the driver's licenses of four young men. They looked to be college kids, out for a good time but were totally distracted at the sight of Starr striding toward them in spiky leather boots with her arm firmly around Marcy's waist. She looked butch. Sue took the opportunity to move closer.

The door attendant motioned to one of the college boys and Sue could see the anger rise in the student's face. Some harsh words were being exchanged but finally, the boy reached for his wallet. Bills were extracted and pushed into the attendant's hand. A rope was unsnapped and the four men were ushered through the glass doors. The attendant turn his attention to the girls.

He smiled, chatting easily with Starr. Did he know them as regulars? The inconvenience of providing identification seemed to have been waved off. Sue waited patiently, expecting either Starr or Marcy to open a purse and paid the necessary bribe to gain admittance. But money wasn't what he was after. Starr, with her lush breasts, did the honors. She took a step toward the man and turned her face away. He smiled widely and, reaching up, slipped her top button and thrust his hand into the front of her shirt. He groped happily, first one breast and then the other while Starr stoically stared off to his right. He took his time, having a good feel around before finally withdrawing his hand and unlatching the rope from its stanchion. The girls disappeared through the glass doors into the interior of the building.

With shock and indignation rising like a lava flow, Sue returned to her car and slouched behind the wheel. It came to her, that on Marcy's eighteenth birthday, she had attained the right to drink in the State. That had been a few months back. Had Starr taken her to this club on other occasions? Sue thought of how the man at the door had accepted them; like regular customers. Had tonight been Starr's turn to ante up the cost of admission? Had the man groped her daughter's small breasts last Friday night?

Sue was torn between returning home or pulling the car into the lot and having it out with the man. She sat fuming for all of ten minutes, until she decided she needed to do what she had come to do. And that was to see for herself what her daughter and her over-sexed girlfriend were up to, and to accomplish that, she needed to get inside that club!

Sue started the car and parked in the lot near the entrance. The door attendant looked up expectantly.

“You a little old for this, aren't you?” he challenged Sue as she stepped toward the double glass doors.

She did her best to give him a withering look. “What's it to you,” Sue shot back, “as long as you get the cover charge?”

He chuckled deeply, slyly eyeing her bust line, but said nothing.

“What is the cover charge?” Sue inquired, warily.

“Isn't one. Not for girls,” he sneered.

“That's not what I hear. I hear that you put the 'squeeze' on all the customers; one way or the other.”

“What'da you talkin' about?”

Sue realized she had his full attention. “Just that a complaint from a woman would get a reaction down at the police station. A few questions put to the girls inside would uncover some interesting information about you. Don't you think?”

“No! I don't think!”

“I mean nothing might come of it. But management would certainly have a careful look at your terms of employment. Personally, I don't think you could stand the scrutiny. You won't be standing here next weekend. No more gratuities for you. No more titties.”

His eyes widened and he sucked on his cheeks; eyes focused on Sue's unwavering gaze. “Look, like I said: No cover charge for the ladies. Welcome to “Voyeurism.” Enjoy your evening.” He unsnapped the rope and held back the large plate-glass door.

“Thank you,” Sue said, politely. “Most kind of you.”

You know how you can be slapped in the face and it takes a moment for you to realize that it has happened? Well it was like that:

Sue walked through the glass doors and found herself in a lobby. A young woman, wearing a low cut evening gown, offered to check her jacket and Sue handed it over. After giving Sue a plastic ticket, the woman pointed Sue toward another set of doors. When Sue pulled them open, music filled her ears. It was a large room with dozens of tables surrounding a small dance floor. More tables hugged the periphery of the room; more were secluded in arched alcoves. At the far end was a stage with a drum kit, amplifiers, and guitars were sitting up on chromium stands. Microphones stood at the ready.

Contemporary music poured from a sound system; loud but not deafening. Colorful lights flashed, sweeping the room. There where the usual mirrors to redirect the light. Sue kept to the shadows and easing along the wall, she scanned the room; searching the tables in the center for a sign of Marcy. And that's when it hit. Her knees wobbled and she reached for the wall behind. Her stomach lurched like she had just eaten a bad oyster. Sue had to force her eyes back to re-focus on the young girls who sat chatting brightly at the center tables. Each and everyone of them was bare-breasted. Not one of them wore a shirt or a blouse, nor sported a bra or top of any kind. Everywhere Sue looked, n*****s: large, small, long, thick, brown and pink; twinkled back at her.

She felt the heat rise in her neck and stumbled back into the darkness by the door. Searching desperately for a place to sit down, her eyes fell on a table just to the right; conveniently empty and tucked into a dark alcove. Thankfully, she gripped the edge of the table and dropped onto the bolster just before her legs could completely abandon her. Sue closed her eyes for a moment; regrouped. Tried to assess what she had just seen; to make sense of it; even trying to wish it away, like a bad dream. She swallowed hard and opened her eyes again. The scene remained unchanged: There were several dozen young women, girls, siting quite close, in groups of two or three at round cocktail tables, enjoying their drinks. Not one of them wore a top! And around the sides of the room and three deep at a long, stand-up bar, young men sipped drinks and enjoyed the view.

Sue feverishly searched the tables for Marcy. Then she spotted her. Marcy was making her way across the room, Starr following, toward an empty table. They had stopped at the ladies' room to freshen their makeup before choosing a spot, and now, placing their hand bags down, pulled out chairs. Starr glanced around at the admiring men, smiled, and started unbuttoning her blouse. She slid it from her shoulders and hung it on the back of her chair. Then, reaching around, she unclasped her bra.

No! Don't do it! Sue tried to relay an urgent message to her daughter. But Marcy turned shyly and quickly unbuttoned her shirt before sitting down. She balled up the cotton and held it in her lap. Sue looked away; studied the rest of the room without really seeing it; blotting out the sight of her half-naked daughter.

There were about a half-dozen “cookie-cutter” waitresses working the crowd, all tall and pale, with long dark hair swaying. They wore cute satiny men's waistcoats and Sue gaped when she realized that's all they wore. The waitresses were naked from the navel, all the way down to the six-inch, patent leather heels that made Sue's feet ache just to think about them. Long pale legs, like Chinese chopsticks, pogoed past the dark jeans of the young men crowding the bar while they sucked on drinks and examined the bare breasts of the female patrons.

Hips, like bent wire, swayed as a waitress turned toward her table; perfectly manicured and combed pubic hair clung like a furry creature beneath the long slender curve of the girl's tight tummy.

“Hi,” she sung out, coming to a halt at the edge of Sue's secluded table. “My name's Danny. Welcome to “Voyeurism.” What can I get for you this evening?”

“A rum and soda.” Sue blurted it out, sounding crass. “Please, I mean.” She slouched and rubbed her eyes. Started over. “I would love a rum and soda, please. I didn't mean to appear rude; just was preoccupied. Forgive me.”

Danny blessed her with a delightful sparkling laugh. “That's ok... just relax. Ok?” Danny paused for a moment, looking down. Their eyes met and Sue saw her jaw angle over. “You do realize,” Danny said cautiously, “that I can't serve you unless you remove your top.”

Sue blinked, studying Danny's face in disbelief. “I'm sorry. I don't understand.”

“You're new,” Danny replied, turning to scan the room before slipping into the chair beside Sue. “Look, here's how it works. You see all the men? Standing at the bar or sharing time with the ladies?” Sue nodded as Danny leaned in closer. “Well they pay double for drinks. A beer is $4.50 anywhere else, they pay $9.00. A cocktail is $6.10, they pay $12.20. Understand?”

“Yes,” Sue said, feeling like she was back in grade school.

“Ok. They pay double so you can drink for free. Anything you want is on the house, so to speak. But there is only one stipulation...”

“I have to bare my chest!” Sue finished Danny's sentence.

Danny nodded apologetically. “Look,” she continued, “I'll wander off to one of my other tables; you just slip out the door. It's dark, no one will notice.” She reached across and placed an understanding hand along Sue's forearm. “Go on now. Before anyone sees.”