Belle

by Treasure Hernandez

  “I doubt I’ll be around that long,” Belle said, and Aria gave her a curious side-eye. “But that will be a good way to make some money in the meantime. Until I figure out what my next move is.”

  “Welp, look at God.”

  “What do you mean?” It was Belle’s turn to give Aria a side-eye.

  “They say sometimes He works in ugly ways,” Aria answered, leaning back into her seat and getting comfortable. “Maybe us crossing paths wasn’t just by chance. Can you play some slow R&B on your phone? We have about a little over an hour until we reach where we need to be. I need to catch a quick nap before I have to shake all this ass.”

  “Wait. You have a party tonight?”

  “Yeah, girl! I just said we have clients in Indy,” Aria said. “You don’t have to start tonight though, after all that shit. You can just stay on the bus until we’re done. Catch a nap or something. I wouldn’t even suggest for you to deal with any of these thirsty, greasy motherfuckers tonight.” Belle raised her eyebrow, and Aria giggled. “What is it now?”

  “You just sound like you . . . care. About me, I mean.”

  “I don’t know you, but when I look into your eyes, I see a lost girl,” Aria said, leaning her head on the cold window. “You remind me of myself a few years ago before I met Gene. I was on the streets and alone, broke and hungry.”

  “And he made you strip for him?”

  “He didn’t make me do anything. He laid an offer on the table, so I picked it up. Just like the offer I’m laying on the table for you. Nobody is going to put a gun to your head and force you to do anything you don’t want to do. However, I have this annoying habit of being so empathetic to the point that it is a weakness. Stranger or not, if you decide to leave when we get to Indy, I’m going to wonder about you for a long time. I’m going to wonder how you’re doing and if you’re even still alive. So to avoid potential anxiety attacks, I’d rather you be in my face until you get your broke ass back on your feet.”

  Her voice trailed off, and soon after, a small snore escaped her lips. Aria would never know how much Belle needed to hear those words. She also would never see the small smile that spread over Belle’s lips. It was barely noticeable in the stony expression on her face, but it was a smile nonetheless.

  Chapter 2

  Make the money, don’t let it make you.

  —The Players Club

  “Okay, bitches! You know the drill! Ass out, titties up! Unless a minimum of five hundred is spent, the ‘No Touching’ rule will be enforced!”

  Aria’s voice rang out on the luxurious tour bus, and all the young women’s attention was on her. She stood at the front of the bus, and the women were in a huddle before her. They didn’t break eye contact, and when she was done speaking, they nodded their understanding. Belle sat on the brown leather sectional to the left of them, and it was easy for her to see that Aria was the one in charge there.

  They’d finally reached their destination, a hotel in Indianapolis called Hesler’s, and when they parked, Aria told her to come inside the tour bus and meet all of the dancers. There were seven other girls, and they were all different shapes and sizes. Five of them were black, one of them was Latina, and one of them was white. They were all pretty and thick in the right places. The tour bus was huge, complete with a master bedroom in the back of it, which the women had used as a dressing room. Belle knew that because the double doors to the huge room were wide open and clothes were strewn everywhere. The outfits the girls now wore gave the strippers Belle had seen on Instagram a run for their money.

  “This is Belle,” Aria introduced her, and Belle raised her hand in a small wave. “She’s going to be joining us.”

  “She workin’ tonight?” a girl in the front of the huddle said. She had caramel skin and long black bundles on top of her head. The deep drawl in her speech made her Southern roots obvious, as did the round bottom behind her.

  “No, Luscious, she’s going to start tomorrow night. She’s going to be the greeter.”

  “Greeter? You mean she ain’t gon’ be dancin’?” Luscious asked, making a face.

  “Is that a problem?” Aria cut her eyes, and Luscious quickly shook her head.

  “Not at all, Lady Passion. I was just gon’ say there is more money in dancin’, so I don’t know why she would wanna be a greeter, that’s all.”

  “Did I force you to dance when you first started with us?”

  “No,” Luscious said. “But with all this ass behind me, you never had to.”

  She bent over, placed her hands on her knees, and began twerking. The other girls began to laugh, and even Aria cracked a smile. She looked back at Belle and shook her head.

  “These bitches are crazy, but you’ll learn that soon enough,” she said with a grin and turned back to the women. “Okay, grab your trench coats and get ready to go in. Kidd and the others already went in there and made sure everything was everything and that these white boys aren’t on any funny time. Let’s go!”

  The girls did as they were told and put their matching tan trench coats on, cloaking the fact that they barely had any clothes on. Aria let all of them exit before she looked back at Belle.

  “You gon’ be all right out here?”

  “Yeah,” Belle told her and pointed at one of the side bunks. “Is that where I can get some sleep?”

  “There?” Aria said and turned her nose up. “Girl, hell no. That’s where the niggas sleep. We girls share the room. Enjoy it while the bed is all yours. I’ll have Kidd come back out and watch over you until we’re done. We shouldn’t be longer than four hours. Cool?”

  “Cool.”

  With that, Aria, who had changed into a sexy black teddy with bells on the nipples of it and a tall black pair of stilettos, put on her own trench coat. She winked at Belle before she too was gone. Belle sat there for a few moments and tried not to let her paranoia get the best of her. Not even three hours before, two men had her pinned down in a bathroom, and now she was on a stripper tour bus.

  “This is crazy,” she said out loud to herself. But as crazy as it was, she couldn’t deny that she was beyond tired. Sleep in a comfortable bed sounded like heaven, and when her legs led her to it, she was asleep before her head even hit the pillow.

  Her eyes suddenly shot open when she heard somebody moving around the room. She sat up quickly and scooted to the headboard when she saw a man standing at the foot of the bed. He must have recognized the fear on her face, because he held his hands up to show her that he came in peace.

  “Who are you?” she asked, and he made a confused face.

  “I’m Kidd,” he answered in a sexy, deep voice. “You know, from back at the gas station? Aria said she told you I’d be coming back to check on you.”

  Belle blinked her eyes to make them focus, and when they did, she could honestly say that she did recognize him. Still, that didn’t mean she was happy about him interrupting her sleep. She rolled her eyes and crossed her legs Indian style.

  “She told me that you would check on me, yes. However, she left out the part where you watch me in my sleep like a creep.”

  “My bad,” he said and rubbed his hand over the dark waves on top of his head. “I guess I would feel some type of way if I woke up and saw a big dude standing over me too.”

  Belle couldn’t help smiling at his joke. But she instantly pursed her lips and tried to glare at him, which made him smile.

  “I figured you’d be a mean one, but damn. A brotha can’t even get a smile?”

  “No, not until you show me that you’re not a creep.”

  “Well, if it means anything, I was sitting in the front of the bus, minding my own business, until you started shouting in your sleep. I came back to check on you, and you were shouting for somebody named Luca? He must be a special guy if he made his way into your dreams.”

  “He was,” Belle said softly. She broke eye contact and stared at her nails. She noticed that the paint had gotten chipped. She tried to focus on that instead of
on the innocent face of her baby brother. But it was no use. She could see him smiling with his snaggle teeth clear as day. He had been such a handsome kid with their mom’s eyes and their dad’s entire face. He had so much life ahead of him. Whoever had taken that away from him deserved to rot in hell for eternity.

  “Luca is my little brother,” Belle told him. “He died a week ago. Killed in his sleep along with my mom and dad.”

  “Damn,” Kidd said and sat at the foot of the bed, shaking his head. “Damn, shorty, my bad. I didn’t know all that.”

  “Of course you didn’t. How could you?”

  “Do they know who did it?”

  “No. I wasn’t even there when it happened. I was away at college. I left after the funeral. I just couldn’t stay there. I had to leave and get as far away from that place as I could.”

  “What about school?” Kidd asked with a serious look on his face. “You just going to drop out?”

  “Fuck school,” Belle answered. “Plus how am I going to afford tuition if my dad is dead? I left that in the past too.”

  “You’re just going to throw your life away like that?”

  “You don’t even know me to be trying to give me any type of advice,” Belle said, sending a mean glare his way. “I’m going to do whatever it is I have to survive right now.”

  “Those impulsive decisions are what landed you in the bathroom back at that gas station.”

  “Yeah? Well, those decisions also landed me on this bus with you. If Aria says I can make some money working the door, then that’s what I’m going to do until I figure out my next move.”

  “Yeah, okay,” Kidd scoffed and stood back up.

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “Nothing,” Kidd said, shaking his head. “Just that I’ve never seen any girl come into this game and leave without being forced to. This lifestyle is like a drug, except it’s more addictive. The deeper you fall down the rabbit hole, the harder it’s going to be to try to climb out.”

  “I haven’t fallen down the rabbit hole yet,” Belle responded. “I’m just peeking into it right now.”

  “All I’m saying is someone as beautiful as you should be in a nice dress suit, not standing at a door with little to no clothes on.”

  “I’m about to try to go back to sleep before all the girls come back,” Belle said, ignoring his last comment. “Will you wake me up so that I can get back in my car and follow y’all to the next stop?”

  He nodded once and then made his way back to the front of the bus. She heard him plop down in a seat and grumble something under his breath. She didn’t care, though. She just wanted to get in at least one more hour of sleep before they were on the road again. She lay down and got comfortable until once again, sleep found her.

  She didn’t know how long she’d been out for that time, but when she stirred in her sleep, she smelled a sweet perfume scent. She also noticed that she was under the covers when she distinctly remembered going to sleep on top of them. Opening her eyes, she saw that she was no longer alone in the big bed. To either side of her were all of Gene’s Girls, even Aria, passed out asleep. Sitting up slowly so that she wouldn’t disturb them, Belle listened to the sounds around her. All was quiet except for the hum of the bus’s engine, letting her know that they were now on the move. Before she could panic, a voice stopped her.

  “Shh, girl, ain’t nobody steal your car. Kidd is driving it, and Jessie is back there with him.”

  Belle’s head whipped to the right, and she saw Luscious sitting at the dimly lit vanity, wiping off her makeup. She was still dressed in the raunchy outfit she had worn when she had left the bus, except she now had a robe draped around her shoulders.

  “That’s not what I was worried about,” Belle lied between her teeth.

  “Right,” Luscious said, sounding like she didn’t believe a word Belle had said.

  “I told Kidd to wake me up when you guys got back on the bus.”

  “And he tried. Hell, we all tried. Bitch, you were knocked out like a damn bear. So we just left you alone, and he grabbed your keys.”

  “I don’t let anyone drive my car,” Belle said. “My dad bought it for me.”

  “And we usually don’t pick up strays at gas stations, but here you are,” Luscious said and rolled her eyes at Belle through the vanity mirror.

  “I’m sorry,” Belle sighed, realizing how ungrateful she must have sounded. “I appreciate all of this. Really. I just have a lot on my mind.”

  “Aria told us that somethin’ bad happened to your family,” Luscious said and set down her makeup wipe so she could turn to face Belle. “I’m sorry about that.”

  “Thank you,” Belle said and leaned her back on the headboard.

  “You ain’t got nobody?”

  “Nope,” Belle said and thought about her uncle. What he had done was unforgivable, so mentioning him was irrelevant. He was dead to her too. “They were my only family.”

  “Well, now you have a new one,” Luscious said with a small smile. “We get a little crazy, but it’s all love. You should have come in tonight. Those motherfuckers were throwing mad cash. Woulda given you a chance to see how things go. Can you come and unbutton me in the back? I don’t see how those bitches fall asleep in their work clothes.”

  She waved for Belle to come over to her. Belle hesitated at first, but after a few moments, she carefully made her way off the bed so she wouldn’t wake the others. Luscious lifted her robe so that Belle would have access to unhook the teddy from behind, which she did without issue.

  “Whoo!” Luscious sighed in relief. “I swear havin’ big titties is a gift and a curse. They’re always happy to be set free because sheeit! A bitch be feelin’ like she’s suffocating sometimes.”

  Belle smiled and watched through the mirror as Luscious briefly got up from the vanity bench and went over to a large suitcase in the corner of the room. From it, she pulled a pair of skintight shorts and a Nicki Minaj T-shirt to put on. Belle couldn’t help it. She couldn’t force her eyes to look away as Luscious dropped the robe to her feet. Her body was perfect. Not only did she have round, perky tits and the bottom to match, but her waist was tiny, and her stomach was flat as a board. The long hair on her head gently brushed against her butt cheeks as she stepped into the pair of shorts, and her breasts bounced when she put the shirt over her head. She was mesmerizing to look at, and Belle understood why she was in the line of work she was in. When she turned back around, Belle quickly averted her eyes.

  “Girl, I know you were lookin’ at me. Don’t be shy. I don’t think you’re gay or nothin’,” Luscious said and took her seat once again on the bench. She gave Belle a suspicious look. “That is, unless you are. Gay, that is.”

  “No!” Belle said and shook her head. “I mean, there was this one time in college I kissed a girl at a party, but I was drunk out of my mind.”

  “Well, nobody’s judgin’ you here,” Luscious told her and leaned into the mirror to make sure all of the makeup was gone from her face. “Hell, a few of these girls will do anything if the price is right.”

  “I’m sorry for staring. You’re just perfect.”

  “Perfect?” Luscious looked at her with a bewildered expression and chuckled. “Girl, I’m far from perfect. But you? You just might be the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life. Look.”

  She pointed at Belle’s reflection in the mirror and urged her to look at herself. Belle did as she was told, and she studied her own image. Belle had never been the type of girl who was so modest about her looks to the point where she downplayed herself. She knew she was pretty, but it was never something that she allowed to sway her from reality. But at that moment it felt like she was looking at herself for the first time. Even with her hair disheveled a bit on the top of her head, her beauty was undeniable. She rubbed a hand down the right cheek on her slender face and felt the bone in her high cheekbone. Her full, heart-shaped lips seemed to be frozen in a pucker even when they were relaxed.
She batted her long eyelashes and gazed into her own amber eyes, wondering who she was. She wondered if she would ever be the same again.

  “See?” Luscious said, interrupting her thoughts. “You see it, don’t you?”

  “Yes,” Belle whispered.

  “Door girl my ass. You have potential, baby. What’s a little band when you can make five times that?” Luscious said. “It wasn’t a coincidence that Lady Passion found you in that bathroom, so a word of advice from one lost soul to the next? Forget who you used to be. I can see you searching for that girl in your eyes right now. She’s gone, and she may never come back. Your situation is fresh, but I’m lettin’ you know now that if you keep searchin’ for that girl, all you will find is pain every time. The only way to heal is to keep going. Keep going and make a hell of a lot of money along the way.”

  “But how can I forget when I see them every time I close my eyes? My dad. My mom. And my little brother. I still feel it in my chest, you know? It’s like someone keeps ripping my heart out and putting it back just to rip it out again.”

  “You just have to take it day by day, keep yourself busy, keep good company, and stay the hell away from racist gas stations!”

  “What would you say about a girl getting on a tour bus full of exotic dancers and contemplating working with them after not even knowing them for a full day?”

  “To that, I would say she’s either crazy as hell or braver than anybody I’ve ever met in my life.”

  Luscious gave a wink and flicked off the light to the vanity before she grabbed Belle’s hand to take her back to the bed. Belle climbed over Aria and resumed her spot while Luscious made space toward the bottom. It was like they were cousins all piled up at their grandmother’s house. Although it was a tight fit, Belle was strangely comfortable. Her last thought before she fell back to sleep was that she hoped Kidd was driving her car like he had some sense.