My Skin

Chapter three: Many stars and beautiful

That is Ines boss” The black man who just called Shawn out of the suite spoke to Shawn about the girl who was just on his laps

“Like the daughter from Chain Gang Ines?” Shawn asked

“Yes, boss!”

“Would you look at that!” he said “What do you think she’s up to?

“It can’t be for her father, right? That’s some cheap job tryna get his daughter to clean up his mess”

“Using me?” Shawn said already bubbling slowly with anger “What I’m I going to do with that little cunt!” he stroked his short beard “Oh I’m going to screw that girl over and deliver her corpse to her father and tell him he dared”

“But boss, you’re already set up to marry this woman,” he said

“That’s right, why have her dead when I can give her endless days of torture right? Anyway, I already drugged her drink, but knowing she’s Ines! Makes this even better!”

****

Did I ever mention I had issues with focus? Yup, I had no patience for Shawn to come back and I already started moving out with my martini in palms, as I was moving out, I overheard their conversation and thought “What have I gotten myself into?” because honestly, there was so little I could do for myself considering just a sip of this martini would be enough for a drug to kick in and I was no alcohol sipper, because I gulped this thing before now, I berated myself because I knew better than to be naïve and take a drink from a stranger in a club because its likely drugged, but why did I still drink it, I started thinking of how I’d quietly get out of the lounge area, cause apparently there was only one way in and out and little space to hide, I started noticing something odd, how slowly and meticulously, everybody started to leave the place, as they left the premises I knew there was no need of me too cause I’d eventually get caught, I saw some drink and a lighter on the table, if I just set the place a blaze I’d probably be able to escape, but then if I get drowsy and fall I may either be saved by Vivian, taken by Shawn, evacuated with the people somehow, a 1% chance of being saved by the man with the beautiful eyes and lastly being burnt in my own mess ruining my dad’s life… also did I mention that if I get caught my dad would kill me?

Hearing the footsteps approach, I knew that would be Shawn, so I ran behind the curtains and to my effortless luck, I saw a door behind the curtain, and who would’ve thought; that I had a skill for picking locks in record time, I enter the room immediately, I didn’t get to register properly that this was like a lodge room I was in because, when I turn my face to the front after shutting the door, I see a silencer pointed right in front of my face, with the most handsome marred face, and those beautiful eyes, hair wet, towel round his waist, the dead body of a man just beside the corner at the other end of the room, my heart trembled; am I witnessing a murder?, did I have it worse in the hands of Shawn, or here?

“Hi” I stupidly blurted

“Don’t move!” he says non-smiling, deeply and coldly, staring at my every move, I wondered if he’d kill me cause I just witnessed a murder on his hands, I don’t know if my legs became weak because of the drugs or the intense fear because my daddy never taught me what to do if I ever had a freaking gun pointed right at me, soon I slipped and fell on the floor from the drug effect, and I damn you not, but Mr. handsome there had trust issues because that little movement from the door to the floor was enough for him to shoot me right in the thigh and I eventually faint from either the pill which I don’t know if it was just an aphrodisiac or a sleeping pill, or from the pain of the bullet.

Before my eyes dulled down, I thought something that I always knew, never faint in the territory of an enemy or the unknown, because… you don’t love yourself; like at this moment, I lost my self-love.

Blank.

“Hey Beautiful,” Vivian said strutting into the private room and shutting the door behind her

“Beautiful?” The man sitting on the designated throne for V.I.P. guest said and chuckled

“Mhmm” She hummed walking up to the chair opposite him and settling “What would you like from me this evening”

“What are my options apart from getting you to dance for me… or do you offer s*x?”

“I am not a p********e, Mr.…?” Vivian said asking for his name at the end

“Well, I don’t have to pay you for it, we could just call it a relationship,” he said and she laughed cause she found it amusing, he chuckled lightly, she found the latter less profiting, but society would’ve cheered for her

“Did you come for a chit chat sir?” she said getting up and walking to the speaker provided for music, she connected her phone and went through her playlist “What song would you like sir?”

“Any acoustic music you got there, just tunes without lyrics”

“Okay,” she said and played only the instrumentals of the take, when the beat started, he identified the music immediately and laughed “It’s not your taste? Or you want me to play something by shakes spear, all that thing with the orchestra”

“It’s good enough you have this song though, it’s like you were born ready for what I was going for”

“Yeah, the men up here request all kinds of random songs, I’ve had my fair share of weird,” she said reaching the pole in the room and getting on it, she wrapped her legs on the pole and moved up, she curved her body on the pole and the pole started moving round, all to the rhythm of the song “You said it’s like I was born ready for your taste” she said all while spinning slowly and steady on the pole, changing her moves carefully and elegantly, she looked at his face and his eyes were glued on her, he also had a blush on his face, and not for a moment did his smile drop; she praised herself, she was doing well

“Not technically, but why say so?”

“Because you’re not acting like it,” she said and he c****d his head in confusion “Why don’t you come closer” she continued and he understood, the only chair close enough to her was the chair she was previously sitting on, he got up moving towards her chair as she slipped down from the pole and got on the floor, even whilst changing sitting position, he never once turned his back on her, watching her every move, enjoying her demeanor, when he sat on her chair, she crawled up to him and straddled him, she intended to have fun getting him to tell her his name, this chair was without arms, so it was easy for a lap dance when she started whining he threw his head back because of the sensation.

“So, what is your name beautiful” she asked softly touching his face, looking at his features with his closed eyes, he would admit, he loved her calling him beautiful, she made him feel like he gave people an ethereal presence, he liked this kind of fantasy; delusion. He opened his eyes and looked at her after she asked

“Many stars” he called her as that was her stage name

“hmm” she hummed

“What if I lied about it, you’re out here in a mask, and with a hidden identity; heck I don’t even know your real name, asking for my name, why should I say mine,” he said taking his hands from his side and placing it on her soft waist, using his thumb to massage her bare stomach, when he looked at her face she seemed pleased by what he was doing, she didn’t even flinch, so he lowered his hands to her ass and she flexed her cheeks in his palms and he smiled and she smiled too, he couldn’t help but wonder about her comfort with him if she had ever serviced someone else in the V.I.P room, did she have a level of professionalism to look this genuine with her emotions with all of them, he bit his lips to avoid asking

“but you’re my boyfriend, aren’t you?” she said and he remembered the earlier relationship joke they shared

“I wouldn’t want my girlfriend working in a strip club, say; do you have this kind of free discussions with your V.I.P’S? Calling them your boyfriend”

“I see,” she said in response to the ‘ I don’t want a stripper girl’ talk, “You’re my first V.I.P. congrats, I turned down the rest of them, I wouldn’t just give this attitude to anyone don’t you think”

‘I don’t know’ he thought ‘but I’d like you as my girlfriend’

“You look like you don’t believe me,” she said pouting, the next thing she was bending closer to his neck, he saw her doing so and stayed completely still, trying not to stutter he said

“why won’t I believe my girlfriend” Just then he felt her lips on his neck and his body shivered lightly, he didn’t even know he was sensitive there, hearing what he said, she smiled on his neck and he felt it, making his pulse beat a little bit faster to his notice, his breath became a tad bit heavy, and he leaves her ass, rubbing the small of her back

“Mhmm…” she dragged, breaking her seductive character “You smell so so good!” she sniffed his neck hugging him

“You’re too bold stars,” he said, the whole heated atmosphere reduced a little

“We are of course dating, I am Vivian, and you are?” she asked and he chuckled, his phone vibrated in his pocket and he took it out to pick up the call, Vivian leaned on his chest as he started rubbing her back, the caller ID read Crest

“Damien, meet me on the upper floor, room 31, there’s a lot to do”

“Sure,” he said and hung up

“Damien” she called out

“Yes Viv!” he said

“Oh, we are already on a nickname basis,” she said as he steadily and effortlessly lifted her, then sat her down carefully on the chair

“This was fun,” he says “Hope to see you again,” he says and walks up to a brief bag, he takes out a stack of cash drops it orderly on the table, and quietly leaves, Vivian hums to herself, she sits there for a while thinking of all the sensations he made her feel, suddenly she thinks of Ines and gets up and go to her dressing room after taking the stack, after she’s done wearing her trench coat she calls Ines’s line, but it just rings for a while and then stops, she tries calling her a couple more times, knowing fully well Ines never leaves her phone behind, or perhaps she was presenting for Shawn, but then, that would be too long, she started wondering if the Shawn guy would molest her considering his reputation, immediately, she got out of her room to the performance ground, out there, some other girl was dancing pole dance, so she started looking around, and asking if anyone saw her, she, of course, expected people to see her, because she could drag the attention of a crowd

“Yes, she kicked a chair and it hit the leg of a tycoon!” a lady said

“A tycoon? Where is she now?”

“She went to that Shawn guy; I think he took her to the personal lounge”

“Okay, thank you,” Vivian said leaving to the lounge area thinking they had a lot of stories to tell about Ines, when she reached the lounge, she saw Shawn coming out saying to a guy beside him

“Damn, she’s fast!”

“But there’s no way she could’ve gotten out,” he said

“Please excuse me, sir, where is Dainty?” Vivian asked with Ines’s code name, it had already clicked on her that something was up

“I don’t know,” he said “Why don’t you hit me up when you see her”

“see her? She was with you!” Vivian said pissed

“Have this?” he said taking out his business card and handing it over to her, she looked at it and took it to avoid a scene, then she passed by him and went into the lounge, she searched around and even corners but didn’t find Ines, she even called out but there was no response, she left the place immediately and started looking around when she still couldn’t find her, she put on her phone tracker, where she would track Ines’s phone, it leads her to a room, the door was locked, but she immediately unlocked it with a pin, entering the room, it looked spotless and empty, she called out Ines again but no one answered, that’s when she turned and saw her phone on the table.

“What is going on” she thought and started panicking inwardly “I hope she’s just playing with me”, she started going downstairs, on her way she saw Damien, he was beside another man, a very handsome one, what was her luck with seeing angels

“Stars” he called out and she stopped, she looked anxious at him

“Hi,” she says not trying to call him beautiful in front of his friend “Good evening, sir” she greeted him

“Evening” he responded out of respect for his friend

“Why are you anxious, what’s wrong”

“Well, I can’t find my sister anywhere, Dainty the other dancer, and I just hope she’s just playing with me cause, this is not funny” When she said it the other man thought, sisters? They don’t look alike, and their skin tone is entirely different but he keeps quiet

“Hope you find her,” Damien said

“Shall we?” his friend asked and Vivian understood they were leaving; she didn’t like their nonchalance but then what is their business

“We shall; call me,” Damien said giving Vivian his card she got it and sighed, she didn’t like his nonchalance but she couldn’t even be rude to likable people “And don’t worry, you’ll find your friend,” he said and they left.

Vivian went back to the dressing room and sat down for a while, after now, she would just check the girl's hostel, no big deal.

****

“She will find her friend, right?” Damien asked Crest beside him

“I already sent her to the hospital”

“Why even shoot her?”

“I am just impulsive that’s all!”

“So how about the dead guy” Damien enquired about the enemy quest shot

“My enemies are ever active” Crest responded.

“They keep us on our toes”

“Yes” Crest spoke and opened the driver’s seat of his Rolls Royce, just behind was his secretary Candice who had gone to the car to wait for them, Damien got in the passenger’s seat and clutched his seat belt

“Who is that lady you gave your card to?” Crest asked

“You mean my girlfriend?” Damien said

“And I thought I was impulsive,” Crest said

“You’ve got a girlfriend Damien?” Candice suddenly asked

“Yes, I loved her from the moment she said I smelt good”

“I see,” Candice said approvingly, but the way he threw the word love around was stupid, she thought.