Page 16 of Plunge into Obsession

The whole nightpassed in a blur.

We had gotten busier as the night progressed, but that was usually the way it went.

People—men, especially—tended to feel more comfortable exposing their vices at night, as if the cloak of the darkened sky somehow provided some protection over their own sins.

I had lost count of how many shady deals had taken place there. The number of lewd offers the dancers and servers received. The number of times I had caught men coming in with wedding rings glinting in the dim light, and how many times those very same men had taken the rings off to talk to us.

But the money was good, and even though this was a strip club, it was a far nicer strip club than any of the other ones around.

I smiled at the drunken man grinning at me as he finished his beer. He stood, placed a fifty-dollar tip on the table, and walked out.

It was nearing closing time, and luckily, my last table had just left.

I started to clean around my section quietly to not disrupt the other customers who were still there.

Kaia and I usually drove together.

It was safer that way.

Cami, a young girl who had just turned eighteen a few months before, came up with a bucket and helped me clear the table.

She’d run away from home as soon as she turned eighteen.

I didn’t know her back story, but I was sure it wasn’t anything good. She didn’t act like other girls her age. She was painfully reserved. And too mature for her age.

There was nothing wrong with being mature, it just felt so heartbreaking that she felt the need to grow up so fast.

“Thanks,” I said, smiling at her.

She nodded, and I was about to ask her what her plans were for the night when Corey approached us.

I turned to the man, unsure of why a flicker in his eyes made me want to push Cami behind me.

“Why don’t you help the other girls clear their tables?” I said to her. “I’ve got this.”

She hesitated, and I shot her a look. She nodded and walked away.

I stacked the cups one on top of the other, avoiding Corey’s eyes.

“Hey, Bianca.”

I looked up at him briefly. “Hey.”

He smiled. I didn’t trust his smile. There was something slimy about him that made me want to stay as far away as possible.

“You have been working here for a long time, haven’t you?”

I nodded.

“I think it’s time for a promotion, don’t you think?”

I eyed him warily. “A promotion?”

Unless he was talking about his job, which I didn’t think he was, then he was saying…

“A promotion. How would you like to debut next Saturday?”

It took me a second too long to finally realize what he was saying. “I’m not a dancer.”

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