Page 3 of Fang
Most people my age don’t even know what they want for breakfast tomorrow, let alone what they want to do for the rest of their lives, but I do. I want to go into hospitality. From my research, it’s a field that won’t be hard to find or maintain a job in.
I just have to get my degree first.
“What are you dancing to tonight, prissy cat?” Venus asks.
She started at the same time as I did, but for some reason she thinks she’s the boss here. When I don’t fall in line, she resorts to bullying. Too bad for her, she will never be worse than Barbara.
“Probably something cheesy,” Misty quips.
I don’t bother to respond, not that they expect me to. They think I believe I’m better than them. Truth is, I don’t think I’m better than anyone. I’m just trying to survive.
After I paint my lips red, I take the rollers out and backcomb the top, making my hair bigger. Once I’m ready, I make sure my heels are tight and head for the stage.
I make it four steps down the hall when he stops me.
Fang.
I shouldn’t gravitate toward him. He’s my boss. Yet whenever his eyes are on me, I feel like I’m on fire. I tend to shy away from attention, yet I want all of his. I blame him for it all too. It’s the way he treats me. He doesn’t see a poor, disadvantaged girl, nor does he see a dirty stripper. He’s the first person in my life who treats me like a human being. I think I’m addicted to the feeling that gives me.
“What are you wearing tonight?” he asks.
I give him a little smirk. “Something white.”
“Going for innocent, huh? They won’t know what’s hitting them,” he says.
“You said you wanted me to bring in the money. These perverts seem to shell out the money when I’m playing innocent and coy,” I remind him.
It’s the same thing he told me the first time I wore a white lingerie set. He said I put ideas in the head of every man in the room, thinking they would be the ones to scuff up my angel perception.
Fang swallows hard at my words. I think he might say something that would change all of this for the both of us. If he’d step one inch closer, I could reach out and touch him.
A shiver finds its way down my back.
He’s your boss, you idiot.
He clears his throat. “Don’t keep the clients waiting. You better get out there.”
Disappointment fills me, but I don’t let it show. Fang has become this fantasy in my head. One I let play out because it feels good, but I know I couldn’t ever act on it. Wouldn’t. I’m here for one thing only. To make enough money to cover my schooling. I won’t do anything to risk it.
Still, the thought of finally indulging in the first man who seems to have caught my eye is tempting.
“Yes, sir.” I mock salute as I brush past him.
He smells good. Like leather and smoke. Something that shouldn’t work, but it does.
He screams danger. Maybe that’s why I’m so infatuated with the idea of him. I don’t look back as I head toward the stage.
“Perfect timing. You’re on in two,” Tony says as I step up beside him.
I watch as one of the girls finishes her set, and I can’t help but cringe. To say it’s sloppy would be an understatement. She’sa mess in the worst kind of way and you can tell the crowd isn’t engaged.
Bad for her, but good for me.
When she walks off stage, she slams her shoulder into mine as she passes by. I bite my tongue even though it’s the last thing I want to do. I don’t have time to get into a fight right now, not when it’s my turn.
The lights dim, and I slip off my ratty old robe, handing it to Tony.
“Break a leg,” he murmurs as I step onto the stage.
