Page 34 of Baja
Moments later, she hands me a pair of shimmery gold high heels.
Ten minutes later, the four of us pile into Sage’s car and take the short drive to The Fallen. I notice a line of people waiting to get in when we park. The girls were not kidding when they said the show’s popular. Bypassing the line, we walk straight to the entrance, where a burly man with a bald head and a beard stands guard. The man smiles. “Sage, Juniper, and Sukie. Boss said to be expectin’ you, ladies.”
“Hi, Theo,” Sage greets the guy.
The man then turns his attention toward me and tips his head. “This must be Ms. Alice.”
Shocked that he knows me, I look at Sukie, who smiles.
“Your usual table is ready, “ Theo informs us, opens the door, and then Sukie and I follow Sage and Juniper inside. In all my years in Salem, I have never stepped foot inside the Raven’s strip club. Never had a reason to. I can say this is not what I was expecting. The Fallen is a two-story cathedral-style structure. The floor above us is a large loft space accented by slanted walls with neon purple and black lighting. The bar on the main floor takes up an entire wall along the right side of the room. In the center of the room is a massive dance platform equipped with a couple of stripper poles. Plush velvet chairs surround the stage. An array of tables and chairs is situated around the room, with private booths along the back wall.
On the way to our table, I can’t help but notice the looks the four of us garner. Usually, I don’t like to draw attention to myself, but tonight, in this dress, I’m discovering an air of confidence I didn’t know I possessed, and I will instead enjoy it.
“This is us,” Sage announces as we approach a table directly in front of the stage. Sitting next to Sukie, I take in the stage with its lush purple velvet curtains and a shimmering silver backdrop. I let my gaze scour the dimly lit club and see everyone’s attention on the stage. Suddenly, movement on my left catches my attention. A tall blonde woman is coming our way, and I recognize her as the woman Nash had on the back of his bike. My body tenses when she stops by our table. “You guys made it.” She beams. The blonde surveys the table, her eyes landing on me. “And you brought someone new.”
“Hey, Arabella.” Sage smiles back at the woman. “This is Alice. She’s Sukie’s mom.”
Arabella’s smile gets even bigger. “Oh my God! You’re Alice? Baja’s Alice?”
Taken aback, I look at Sage, who shrugs and winks.
“I’ve heard all about you,” Arabella continues, oblivious to my confusion. “Baja said you were gorgeous, but knockout is a better word to describe you. You are rockin’ the hell out of that dress.”
“I… uh, thanks,” I mumble, not knowing what else to say.
“Just callin’ it like I see it, girl.” Then Arabella turns back to Sage. “You ladies want your usual?”
“Yep,” Sage replies. “And keep ’em coming.”
“You got it.” Arabella pivots to leave, then whips back around. “Oh, I almost forgot. Izzy is coming home next weekend and asked if I could schedule an appointment to get her hair done.”
Sage nods. “No problem. Tell her to stop any time, and I’ll squeeze her in.”
“You’re the best. Be back in a second with those drinks.”
Once Arabella is out of earshot, Juniper reveals a tidbit about Arabella I wasn’t expecting. “Izzy is Arabella’s fiancée.”
I blink. That would mean Arabella is gay. The girls did try to tell me things were not what they seemed when I saw her getting off the back of Nash’s bike.
Thankfully, before I can come up with a way to respond to the newfound information, the lights dim, alerting us to the start of the show. A hush falls over the club, and the curtains over the stage rise, revealing a woman wearing a red and black Victorian lace outfit. The vibe gives cabaret meets circus carnival. All eyes are on her as she saunters across the stage. She moves her body confidently and smiles in a way that demands attention. I watch as she swings her hips from side to side with raw sexual appeal. I’m enthralled by the performance. The club erupts into applause as the music ends and the curtains close.
“You’re not lying,” I shout over the cheers. “That was great! This place is not what I expected.”
Sage laughs. “When JuJu and I first moved here to Salem, I thought it was a dance club. Not the kind you come to watch other people dance and take off their clothes.”
I burst out laughing. “Seriously?”
Sage nods. “Did I ever tell you how I met Ash?”
“No.”
“Well, like I said, Juniper and I had just moved here, and we wanted to go out and celebrate the opening of our salon. When our Uber driver picked us up, we asked him to take us to a place where we could dance.”
“Oh my God! The driver brought you to a strip club?”
Juniper snorts. “That little pissant played us.”
Sage goes on to tell me about how Salem caught a guy slipping something into her drink and how he beat the guy up. I crack up at the part where she got sassy with him.
