Saturdays at the Viper Rooms

by Kirsty-Anne Still

  There’s a rap on the door and it opens as Brianna pops her head in. “Breakfast is done.”

  I smile, knowing I should go out and eat first, but I don’t want to lose what little valor I have. “Yeah, I’ll be out in a moment,” I tell Brianna and smile, holding up the piece of paper. “I’m going to call my mom.”

  I see her face soften, her mouth forming an O shape in recognition. “I’ll give you a few moments. I won’t let the breakfast get cold.”

  I nod in appreciation and the moment she’s gone and I’m alone in the sanctum of my room, I use the minimal courage I have to dial the number. Shaking I bring the phone to my ear and listen to the sounds of the rings, waiting for an answer.

  “Hello?” a tone comes across, unchanged by the years, but confused by the unknown number apparently. “Who is this?”

  I’m frozen, I’m speechless, and I’m utterly terrified.

  “Hello?” My mother’s voice calls out again, an ounce of agitation now lancing through her tone. “Can I help you?”

  Taking a deep breath I finally speak. “Mom?” I say and my voice is feeble and weak. I wonder if it even carried across when all I hear is silence. “Mom, are you there?” I close my eyes, the tears unleashing in a wild frenzy along my lashes. “Please, still be there.”

  “I am, I am,” she assures me and I can hear the shock is in her tone now. “Joely, where have you been, Baby Girl?” she asks me and I know I can’t tell her. I won’t tell her. I deserve to be alone for what happened. “We miss you so much!”

  “I miss you too,” I reply instantly, my heart breaking at the thought of just wanting her arms around me right now. “I just really needed to tell you how sorry I am. I’m sorry for everything that happened and I am so sorry I left. It was wrong and it’s too late for me to come home.”

  “No!” My mom replies, her disagreement is heavy with conviction. “No, it’s not too late. It’s never too late. We love you, baby. We always have. What happened was a horrible mistake.”

  “But Dylan died.” I can’t help but choke on a sob. The memories of that time in my life are still fiercely real to me. I’m tormented almost nightly by what happened. I see Dylan’s bloodied face and I remember how he reached for me that one last time. I remember waking up and his family and our friends shunning me for surviving that fateful day. “I live with that daily, Mom, and I remember how everyone didn’t want me around. This is better.”

  “Not for me it isn’t,” she tells me and my heart breaks that even years on I’m still hurting her. “Or your father. Joely, we love and miss you dearly every day. Spencer hasn’t been the same since you left, nor has Carrie. They need their big sister.”

  “It’s really too late,” I murmur unhappily, forcing myself to believe it. “I love you, Mom, and I needed to hear your voice. Please, don’t hate me.” I don’t give her chance to answer me, and the moment the call ends I break down. I see her doing the same back in Florida. I imagine her legs giving way as her sobbing begins to become heavier and heavier. I fall to the mattress and curl up, crying out as I do so. I begin letting my grief flow. If I could, I would call for Jace, but I can’t, so I remain where I am, the phone hidden by my fetal position.

  “Joely,” Brianna’s voice slips in between my cries. She’s on the bed, laying over me to hug me. “Oh, J, please calm down.”

  I don’t, I can’t. I’m in the middle of despair and I want to call my mother back and tell her I’m coming home. But the repercussions of that are not pretty.

  “I shouldn’t be crying over this,” I heave as I strive for calm to restore in my body. “I brought it on myself.”

  “No,” she says as she pulls back and pulls me with her. I’m forced to look at her and her demeanor is hard and unhappy with my claim. “Don’t ever say that. What happened was an accident. If anything, everyone who blamed you brought this life upon you! I will never let you blame yourself.” I know what’s going to happen now and I know I need it. “You need to get out in that kitchen, eat with Luca and myself, and then be prepared for a day of pampering. I know right now your heart hurts and you just want to stay under the covers, but you can’t. Girl, I won’t ever let you hide away. So up, get that robe on, and get out there, girlie!”

  There it is - tough love. I know she’s right. If I continue like this, by tonight I will be red eyed, miserable, and an absolute mess. Clara will not be pleased, the clients won’t be pleased, and I will reap the punishment I never want to see. And Brianna knows that as much as I do.

  Everything I want right now must go forgotten.

  Chapter Seven

  So, here we are, at Oheka Castle waiting for our grand entrance. I know Luca is scared witless, but she will be one of the last girls out. As the newest she’ll be shown just before Brianna and me. I watch as she twists her drop earring around in her fingertips and she’s trying to hide all the nervous energy in her. But she can’t hide it from me. She is me personified. She looks to me, rash panic in every part of her eyes and I rush to her side.

  “It won’t be half as bad as you’re making it out to be,” I scold her gently, trying to be playful to dampen her nerves. “All you do is walk out, smile, and make your way to the bottom of the stairs.”

  “Without tripping,” Brianna butts in sarcastically.

  “Bree!” I shout, sighing heavily. “Look, you master the stairs going to my place, going to the club, hell, you’ve mastered the stairs here multiple times. Just do it this one last time, impress Clara, win some men over with your entrance and you’ll be fine.”

  “What if I do trip?” Luca frets and I could kill Brianna for even putting that thought in Luca’s head. “I mean, I can be clumsy, what if now’s the time?!”

  “Luca!” I yell, grabbing onto her to hold her attention firmly on me. “You are not going to trip. You are not going to make a fool of yourself. You are going to walk down those stairs, grab a glass of champagne, and enjoy the evening with us girls.” I see her try her hardest to believe in my words and I know that within ten minutes, when she is down the bottom of the stairs, she will laugh at her own stupidity. However, the moment’s lost when she thinks too much about what’s about to happen. I now know I have to cut the nice act and Brianna seems to agree when she gives me the signal. “Right, I’ve been diluting this for you in the hope you’ll calm down and just do what you do best, which is be you. We’ve all fallen in love with you, Luca, it’s time you let them, out there, do the same.” She needs to know this life is about getting people to love you, want you, need you. She needs to know exactly what The Viper Rooms want from her. “Your job here is harder than ours. This is where you start your client list. You start at the bottom and you make damn sure you’re at the top soon. This is your moment to shine. You’re not only winning the men over, you’re going to be winning Clara over and all of us girls too. So right now, you either embrace what’s through those doors and never regret a damn thing, or sit here pondering on impossibilities and regret ever upsetting the Boss.”

  I see Luca finally calm. For the first time in four days, she’s finally looking in command, and I really wish I had been harder on her than I have. But I can now continue this. I can now win her over, and when I see her gaze dart from one girl to another for help, I realize she’s not quite ready to believe me.

  “Tonight is not all about you. Those men are not expecting you. No one but Clara is. You’re her secret weapon tonight and, Luca, you look incredible. All you need to do is walk out there and go down those stairs while flashing a smile. Once you’re at the bottom you need to be flirtatious and free and allow men to fawn all over you.” I see her nod, finally understanding that nothing major is needed from her but a free spirit and a little willingness to be a desirable woman. I’m hoping that by me keep stating what is needed of her she’ll understand how easy her game is. “Clara will say she isn’t expecting you to bag a client tonight for your shifts next week, but she is. Everything that woman preaches is a lie. You bag a client, hell even
two, and you will reap the rewards by Monday morning.”

  I watch her gulp, trying to steady her nerves and finally, with a small head nod, Luca looks like the confidence within her is finally showing through. “All I do is walk down those stairs and let them take over?”

  Bingo! She’s finally got it. I burst into a massive smile, look over to Brianna, who’s currently sipping on champagne and looking rather impressed with me. “That is it,” I tell Luca. “You don’t take control. The moment your foot hits that bottom step, you hand yourself over to the men in the room and let them do the work. You just eat, drink, dance, speak, laugh, and have a good time.”

  “That’s it?” she murmurs her question.

  “That’s all there is to it.” Immediately the hairs on the back of my neck stick up and I listen to Cassidy speak up. She entered the club about a month before I did, and she’s never gotten over my ranking in the line of Viper Girls.

  “Listen to sweet, innocent Joely here and you might not end up a total screw up. And the Boss is waiting for you to fuck up more than ever right now, isn’t she, Joely?” She diverts her question to me, trying to hurt me, but she doesn’t realize I’m immune to her attempts at hurting me.

  “Cassidy,” I ground out and stand straighter. “Now is not the time for your bullshit. We’re all here to help Luca become one of us, why are you doing this now?”

  She laughs, it’s more of a cackle, and I know she’s going to strive to psyche Luca out. “We all know the truth of what we are. We’ve all been here too long now. The fresh meat might as well know from the beginning.” She crosses her arms over her chest. “Don’t be weak, Joely. You know this life is vile. We all regret it.”

  “Some more than others,” I mutter under my breath and approach her. “Can you, for once, be nice? I know that’s a tall task for you, Cassidy, but there is no point letting bitterness rule you forever. It’s not attractive.” I watch her face darken and smirk. “Now be a good little lap dog and get into position, you’re out first. Maybe if you smiled a little more, clients might actually want an evening with you.”

  She says no more on the matter, but huffs, spins around on the spot, and storms off. I go back to Luca who is now receiving a pep talk from Brianna, and I am so pleased that she is helping with this. Some of the girls are a little more resistant to welcoming the new girl; the girls who support Cassidy that is. Everyone else is willing to help and assist wherever and whenever.

  “C’mon girls!” Shads calls out to us all, completely changing the mood in the room. “It’s time to get this show on the road.” He’s standing by the main door which will lead out onto a landing with a double staircase which swirls down to the grand room. I hope Luca remembers to go left after Sam, or Clara will have my head on a silver platter for dessert.

  I watch them all start to go and I look down at my dress, making sure it looks okay. Clara has tried to authenticate this evening, but also made sure our dresses have that modern twist on them. There isn’t much figure to these dresses, something we all heard Clara moan about for weeks before she realized that if she wanted to remain in the rankings as the best party planner, then she had to stump it. Instead, she maintained the near shapeless, dropped seam line and altered the length slightly. She wanted us to have sex appeal as much as possible while keeping with the era.

  The dress I’m in is mostly silver jewel droplets with an under color of peach. It’s completely smothered with silver studded embroidery and is as heavy as hell. I loved it the moment I put it on and thanked whoever chose the outfits for not giving me Brianna’s dress. Hers is more beige and it sits perfectly on her mocha skin tone, but for me, it would wash me right out. Like mine, it’s covered in sequins and diamonds, but this time gold. Ours were made for effect when we dance. They were designed to wow people.

  The other girls’ dresses flash between sequined beauties to flapper dress galore. The lengths are all over the place, our makeup all different from one another, and some of us are in short wigs, others more fortunate. Again, I was more than thankful when the hairdresser began to curl my hair and ready my fringe to be set in slick waves along my forehead and down the side of my face. By the time she was done an hour later, I felt like I was playing the part of a 1920s party girl.

  Now here I am, made up with fifteen other girls, and we’re about to enter a room full with 20s music, champagne, and men ready to watch us like hawks.

  “You nervous?” Brianna asked as I stood, mentally beginning to run through my dance moves. I look up to her and she laughs at my wide eye stare. “Don’t be, you know you and Eli are perfect together.”

  There’s the sentiment again - about Eli and me. I’m worried what it will take to make sure he realizes my feelings for him are platonic without me losing him forever. I guess it won’t happen when I want it to. I have no time to react as Brianna’s name is called and she disappears through the door, gracious and perfect.

  When my name is called, I step out and the first set of eyes I feel on me are Jace’s. I don’t understand how my body reacts to him so easily but it does and the thrill is enough to carry me down the stairs with poise and grace. When I touch down at the bottom of the stairs, Clara is introduced and we are left to our own devices. All of the girls scatter; going straight to clients they know. I see Clara take Luca away, using her as if some prized jewel that needed flaunting. I cross my fingers and pray this works out well and then advance to the bar. As the people part to let me through, I find myself staring at Jace as he sits at the bar, scotch in hand, a coy smile meeting his lips as he notices me. I do nothing to throw any suspicions as I approach him as if he were any of my other clients.

  “Mr. Mason,” I call out as I advance. Here, he is one of my clients, one that needs to be pleased.

  “Miss. Gilbert,” he comments back, his reply is quaint and formal. He plays the part every damn time. “You do remember what red lipstick does to me?” Jace murmurs at me as he turns to face the bar. His voice was kept low and I can hear it ooze with longing for me.

  “It’s actually raspberry,” I correct him teasingly. “But yes, I know what red lipstick does to you, Mr. Mason.” I try to keep my voice low, not sure who’s listening to us and who isn’t. I know full well that whenever I wear red lipstick I end up sore the next day. There is something about the color that riles Jace and makes him hotter for me than ever.

  When the makeup artist brought the color out a part of me wanted to smile earlier, but I restrained from the urge and allowed her to apply the lipstick. All the while my excitement mounted as each hour passed.

  I hear him order a bottle of Moet, inwardly I groan when I realize this will be my third glass and I know it’s only the start. I look to him, preparing to play the good Viper Girl. “Are you enjoying yourself?”

  “I am now,” he replies and turns to look to me. “When do you have to leave me?”

  I look to Clara and see what she’s doing. I noticed she’s engrossed in a conversation with the older clients, keeping Luca stuck to her hip. “Not for a while yet.” I know it’s a lie, Clara will snap her fingers any moment now to get the show started. And just as I take my first sip of Moet, that moment arises. I take another gulp for courage, give Jace a look of worry as I put the glass down. Here’s the part of the evening I have actually been dreading.

  “Break a leg,” he quips, chuckling a little to me as I gawp at his comment. I know he means it as good luck, but right now, I’m terrified I will be breaking a leg for real if I get one of the fast paced moves wrong.

  With one last look I allow the introduction to be said as Eli comes to my side, dressed perfectly in a tux. He looks the part with his hair gelled down, and I have to say, looking at him and Jay, they look like true gentlemen. Shame Brianna and I know otherwise. I pass my clutch purse to one of the guards by Clara and take my position.

  As I hear the music change, the track we rehearsed is coming to life around us as we take our spots and begin to put on the main entertainment. I do nothin
g the entire way through the song but concentrate on the moves and keeping up with the music and Eli. When I hear the song drawing to an end I know I will be more than thankful.

  As we stop, Eli pulls me to the side and I realize we have intentionally finished in front of Clara. She’s clapping impressed, but I worry this isn’t quite the real deal. She’ll find something to pull apart with the dance I’m sure. My eyes start to dance around the room as the Boss declares the party is really starting now. I suddenly catch eyes with Jace and he’s watching intently. It’s then I remember how Eli is holding on to me and I begin to try and pull away.

  “No.” Clara suddenly pushes me back to his side and returns my clutch bag back. “You remain together. Everyone loved how you are with one another. The chemistry, the passion, it’s there with you both! So you’re on duty together tonight!”

  I’m confused why clients would want me in the arm of another man, but I don’t question it. How can I when Clara is right beside me? We walk between people, talking, gossiping, learning things about how my client list wants to triple. It panics me, but Eli remains calm and stoic beside me. He reminds the men I’m exclusive. Clara doesn’t offer me to just anyone. I’m trying to stay engaged with the conversation when I see Jace moving. He’s trying to keep up with me, and now I’ve seen him, my need to get out of this room is ever more real. I need privacy and I need Jace. There’s something about where Eli’s hand is that is overwhelming to me. His touch makes me want Jace more and more.

  I pry myself away, excusing myself politely to go to the ladies room. I look around and see Jace disappear into the bathroom designated for the men of the party. I wasn’t going to follow, but the look he throws me before he disappears into the room tells me I’ll regret not. I push forward, dodging people, and trying to keep my head down for a moment just to make it into the seclusion of the room.

  “Jace?” I whisper into the empty space of the room. No one is in here. Or so I think. I hear the lock of one of the cubicles slide over and the door opens. Out walks Jace, his bowtie now untied and hanging down around his neck. His top buttons are now undone and he looks growingly impressed with himself. “We don’t have long.” My words leave me breathlessly and I know the threat of being caught is exhilarating.