I threw the pink, fuzzy cuffs around the belt and looked around the brightly lit room, my stressful eyes scanning over the rows of lit mirrors. It hurt me to know that in just fifteen minutes, I would be out on that stage being eyed by a pack of perverted, sex-deprived animals. I was as low as I could get.
~•~
"Avery. It's time," Mr. Kendal stated. "Good luck out there." He flashed his crooked smile as he motioned with his hands toward the exit. “Don’t just stand there, go.” He eyed me anxiously, while tapping his fingers on the wall behind him.
I nodded my head, took a step toward the door, and waited for the announcement before I stepped out onto the heart-shaped stage. My own heart sank as I took in the sight around me with guarded eyes - it was even more crowded than it had been when I arrived.
The music blared around me as I closed my eyes and swayed to the fast rhythm. I could feel the money flying at me as I reached for my cuffs and clasped them around my wrist, before wrapping my leg around the smooth pole. Every second out here felt like an eternity.
I opened my eyes momentarily and caught the attention of a man standing by the bar, beer bottle in hand. A bolt of electricity surged through my body as he stared at me with curious eyes. He was gorgeous. He lifted his tattooed arm, tilting back his head as he took a long sip of his beer. He had those bad boy good looks with his jet-black hair, leather boots and V-neck t-shirt. It fascinated me and somehow had me curious.
Suddenly the music stopped; however, I remained rooted to the spot, my gaze locked on him, as his calm eyes looked into mine. A collection of rude insults broke my reverie, causing panic to set in. I shook my head, looked out into the crowd, and sighed, remembering where I was. I felt ridiculous.
Great job, Avery
.
I tilted my head to the right once more in an effort to get a proper look at the enigma who had been standing by the bar only seconds before, but he was gone - lost in a sea of faces. My face scrunched up in annoyance, as I headed backstage to change.
Mr. Kendal licked his lips as his greedy eyes wandered over my flesh. "Here's your money - one hundred and twenty three dollars." He arched an eyebrow as he handed me the money. "Not bad for such a short song. We better start seeing more of you soon.” The serious look on his face said it all. He wasn't going to give me a choice if I wanted to keep my job. Three nights a week wasn't going to cut it anymore.
I quickly grabbed the money from his outstretched hand and headed for the door as fast as I could on two, silver heels. I was about to leave when suddenly a huge, muscular bouncer grabbed my open hand. My heart pounded as I attempted to pull my arm away.
"Are you going to be okay by yourself?" he questioned gruffly, flexing his huge chest, but not releasing the grip, he had on my hand.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied trying to sound calm. "I have a ride coming."
Finally, he released his grip on my arm, pulling a crumpled cigarette out of his shirt pocket. "Okay. Have a great night, ma’am." I nodded my head and turned away.
I cautiously made my way outside in hopes that my friend, Caleb, would already be waiting, but to my surprise, he was nowhere in sight.
I sighed, strolling over to the side of the brick building and pressing my body against it. I wasn't particularly worried about being outside by myself so late at night, but it still would’ve been nice if Caleb had been here on time. I grabbed my cell phone from out of my clutch bag and was just about to dial his number when I looked up to see his red BMW pulling up next to me. I felt relieved.
He jumped out and walked over to me, brown suede shoes crunching on the soiled ground. "Get in,” he said bluntly, before turning on his heel and striding back to the car, eyes glued to his phone.
I rolled my eyes. Caleb had always h
ated my job at
Taste of Poison
and he certainly wasn't afraid to hide it. He was twenty-five, nice looking, with thick blond hair, amber eyes and full lips. He was definitely attractive, but not for me.
I clutched my bag to my chest and walked over to the passenger door, hopping inside. "Look, I'm fine. I can take care of myself," I said, running a hand through my tousled hair. Caleb continued to glare at me, his eyes narrowed as he continued to text on his phone as usual.
I tried again. "Thanks for the ride," I stammered. "You're really helping me out. I'm barely getting by and I'm behind on all of my bills. All of the money I made tonight is already spent.”
He glanced at me and nodded. "No problem," he replied. "Maybe you can save up enough money to get by and then get a new job. This is a shitty place for a woman like you." He looked me in the eye making me uncomfortable.
"Yeah, well maybe I'm not better than this." I turned away and rested my head against the cool, glass window. I hated these talks with him. "I'm fine. It's not that bad," I lied.
Caleb turned to look at me but didn’t utter a word, although I knew that he had a lot to say.
The ride passed quickly, I sat in silence and closed my eyes, fighting the image of the strange man that filled my mind. I had dealt with others like him before but there was something different in his eyes. Something that made my stomach ache.
We pulled up to my single apartment and Caleb turned off the engine. He reached over the seat, placing his hand on my arm. I jerked away in response.
“What is with you, Avery? Your life isn’t half as bad as you think!”
I turned to him and rolled my eyes. "You don't know anything about my life," I began. "You've known me for a total of ten months." I opened the door and jumped out. "Are you coming or what?"
He looked at me and shook his head, strands of amber hair falling into his eyes. "Yeah, why not," he mumbled, before getting out of the car and slamming the door shut behind him.
Caleb knew that the only part of me that I was willing to give him was my body – I had made that clear to him many times before, despite the efforts, he had made to get to know me. I hadn’t been able to trust a man ever since my father, and nobody was going to change that.
We stepped into my single apartment and I instantly gripped onto his shirt and pulled him to me. The smell of his
§ cologne was intoxicating. It turned me on. I wrapped my arms around his neck, draping them around him like a curtain, and pulled his face to mine. My lips crushed against his as I reached for his tight pants and worked on the button while pushing him toward the old, dusty couch that sat in the middle of the floor. We both fell back onto it and I let the animal within me take control. It was the only way that I felt safe.
One hour later and we were both tired. I knew that I needed to get rid of him as soon as I could before he started to assume that he would be staying the night. I gathered up his clothes, belt and shoes and tossed them to him roughly.
He sighed in frustration and looked down at his full hands. "So, I take it I'm leaving now."
I averted my gaze from his disappointed expression and bit my lip. I hated myself for being so cruel.
"You know how this works," I reminded him. "I can't give you anything more and I've made that very clear."
He looked at me and chewed his bottom lip. "I was hoping that I could make you change your mind, Avery." He glanced up from his overused phone with a scowl.
I looked him in the eye coldly and shook my head, keeping my distance. "Well you haven't done that yet. So I'll see you later." I knew that he had feelings for me, but I knew that I would never be any good for him.
“Fine,” he muttered. “I have places to be anyways.”
He gave me one last, fleeting look before throwing his clothes on quickly and walking out my door, slamming it shut behind him. I jumped, closing my eyes, before running my hands through my hair.
I walked into my cluttered bedroom and plopped down on the end of my small bed, fingering my fleece blanket. It was already two o'clock in the morning, but I knew that I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep for a long time. I didn’t want the nightmares to claim me. I rested my head against the smooth wall and closed my eyes, forcing back the tears.
Chapter 2
The morning arrived and I rolled out of bed, no longer able to force sleep upon myself. The brightness from the sunlight that streamed through my bedroom window hit me so hard that I had to cover my eyes, blindly making my way into the kitchen. I took one look inside my fridge to find it empty.
Sighing, I made the decision to find a local diner instead. I slammed the fridge door shut and made my way back to my room to get dressed. I threw on my lingerie, skinny black jeans and a faded gray sweater without bothering to tame my wild hair.
Once on the street, I noticed so many happy couples - laughing, kissing, and walking. The sight made me sick to the s
tomach. I set my gaze on the sidewalk in front of me and walked for ten minutes, eyes focusing on each crack in the uneven paving slabs. I was about to turn down another road when suddenly I noticed a small, stark white diner sitting across the street. It was so small that it looked like a two bedroom house; but it was still very picturesque with a stylish black sign hanging outside that read
The Indy Go
. I had never heard of it, but it would have to do. I needed food and fast.
I crossed the road and walked over to the entrance. I reached for the silver doorknob and opened the door.
The
Indy Go
was – to my surprise - bigger from the inside and a lot cleaner than I had first expected. It had a collection of large booths that sat on a vibrant black and white checked floor. I skirted my eyes over the collection of customers who were currently seated in the various booths before focusing my attention on the counter - complete with a clear glass cooler in the front that displayed all of the desserts: lemon meringue pie, chocolate fudge cake, vanilla ice cream. They looked delicious.
I looked over to the waitress, a cute blond-haired woman, and noticed that she was currently serving another customer, so I found a seat at the closest booth and sat down. A laminated menu sat on the metal table in front of me, and I picked it up and began to leaf through it eagerly, stomach rumbling. Everything managed to sound good at the moment, making it hard to make a decision.
Five minutes later, the cute waitress I had noticed earlier came rushing over and took my order. Her blue eyes seemed distant as she jotted down the corn beef hash, eggs, bacon and a small coffee, that I ordered. She didn’t even attempt a smile before taking off in a hurry, her short skirt flapping around her thighs.
I leaned back into the leather booth and pulled out my cell phone to distract me until my food could arrive. I could have called Caleb, but I knew that I had to be more careful with him. Ever since meeting him at the grocery store less than a year ago, he seemed to quickly grow attached to me. It made things hard.
Suddenly, a large plate of eggs, steak and hash browns appeared in front of me, startling me out of my thoughts. I stared at the plate stupidly, before realizing that she'd messed up my order.
"Excuse me," I began. "This isn't what I ordered." The waitress scrunched up her nose, and waved her arm at me, her blond curls flying as she walked away. I sat there in shock, mouth agape, and wondered what had just happened. I knew that she had to of heard me. I said it loud and clear.
A few minutes passed and still she hadn't returned. It was really annoying me and I wasn't in the mood to mess around. "What the hell is this?" I said, before getting up with my plate in hand and walking over to the counter. "Excuse me, is anybody back there?" I yelled.
I set my food on the counter, eyes down, before suddenly a voice broke through the murmur of the diner. "Can I help you with something?"
I looked up to meet two, deep emerald eyes. I felt my pulse accelerate as I realized that I was staring at the handsome guy who I had noticed last night at the bar. He was even more gorgeous close-up – tall, dark and handsome with a strong, muscular frame. The thermo shirt that he wore clung tightly to his chest, making my cheeks turn red.
I promptly turned my head away, embarrassed. I looked back up, black strands of hair cascading around my face, as I forced a smile. "Oh sorry, yeah you can," I said. "I'm having an issue with my food and the service. I would like to speak to the owner please."