I skipped out onto the stage to the excited shouts of the audience wearing the school girl costume from back stage. It was a tear-away plaid pleated skirt, a white cotton blouse, and a blazer with our own fake private school emblem BBW emblazoned on the breast pocket. My hair was pulled into two sassy pigtails and I was wearing fake plastic eyeglasses.
The crowed went crazy as I stripped away the uniform piece by piece, but when I tore off the glass and tossed them off the stage was when everything changed.
I heard a man from the audience shout out, “Hey, that’s the girl from the paper!”
The next thing I knew, someone pulled up a picture of me on their smart phone from the internet and then everyone in the audience started passing it around. A frenzy started as everyone wanted to touch the girl from the papers and rough hands tried to grab me and pull me off the stage.
Jay pulled extra bouncers from the door to stand guard in front of the stage and protect me, but I could tell he loved the extra publicity for the club and all the extra profits that came with it. More than once I thought about quitting, especially when drunken assholes would shout at me from the crowd asking me about my sex life and inviting me to fuck them. But I saw how much the extra tips meant to Shawnee, Candy, and the other girls and I didn’t have the heart to bail on them. Plus, there was the added fear that if I quit stripping at the BBW, I might never get another job again and be permanently labeled as a has-been failure whose only claim to fame was dating a celebrity.
By the time three days had passed, I’d never been so glad for a night off in my life and went running into Dimitri’s arms when he came to my door as promised.
“What’s the matter, baby?” Dimitri asked as I clung to him and buried my face in his neck. He smelled so good and his arms felt so safe and strong as he embraced me and held me tight.
“I’ve had the week from hell without you,” I said, and explained the whole ugly story as he held me tight.
“I’m sorry you had to go through all that. Why don’t you just quit? The commercial is being released next week and I’m sure you’ll get more job offers when it does. In the meanwhile, I can help cover your bills.”
“I couldn’t ask you to do that,” I said, feeling touched that he cared about me that much.
“Why not? I’m happy to do it. It would be my gift to you.”
Shaking my head, I tried to find the words to explain how I felt. “I’m not the kind of girl who wants a man to take care of her like that. I need to know that I can make it on my own, without financial help from you or anyone else. If you’re right about the commercial getting me another acting job, then I’ll quit the club. In the meantime, I’ll gut it out like I always do. I’m a lot tougher than you might think.”
“I know you are; it’s part of what I love about you.”
Dimitri kissed me on the lips and I melted into the warmth and love of his touch. Then he winked at me and said, “What do you say we get out here and have some well deserved fun and relaxation?”
“Sounds great! I’m dressed for the occasion!”
I beamed, and opened my robe to show off my new outfit to him. One good think about my newfound fame was the huge increase in tips I’d gotten for the week. Although I’d put most of it into savings, I did use a portion of it to buy myself a new outfit for tonight. It was a black lace corset with matching panties. Black lace garters attached the corset to black thigh-high silk stockings, and a pair of black stiletto heels completed the outfit.
Dimitri’s eyes shimmered with lust and he lunged at me, but I pushed him playfully away and shook my finger at him admonishingly.
“Not yet, naughty boy. Dinner first. Then we’ll go to your place to play.”
I pulled an elegant little black dress out of my closet and slipped it on over the naughty lingerie. The lovely dress had a scoop neck bodice and short hemline that was sexy without being slutty. Smiling, Dimitri said to me, “You look beautiful, but it’s missing something.”
“What?” I asked worriedly, craning my neck behind me to see if I’d accidentally left a tag on the dress or had lint on my ass.
Dimitri reached into the breast pocket of his suit and pulled out a black velvet box. Grinning, he held it out to me and said, “You’re missing this.”
I held my breath and opened the box to reveal a glittering white gold chain with an emerald pendant. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen and my heart froze in my chest as Dimitri fastened it around my neck. “The green reminded me of your eyes,” he said and I kissed him passionately, devouring him whole until we had to break for air lest we both suffocate.
“Thank you so much. I love it,” I said, with tears glistening in my eyes. “You didn’t need to get me anything so extravagant.”
“You say that now, but you might decide it’s not enough after tonight,” Dimitri said with a look of chagrin.
I scowled with suspicion and asked, “Why? What have you done?”
“My mother cornered me today. She wants to have dinner and when I told her I had a date with you she insisted I bring you along. I tried to get out of it, but she can be very demanding sometimes. I’m really sorry to ruin our date.”
“Are you kidding? I get to have dinner with the Marianne Morrison! I loved her movies ever since I was a little girl! Holy shit! I have to change clothes! This dress isn’t nearly good enough, but it’s the best one I have. Do I look all right?”
I knew I sounded like a crazy person, but I just couldn’t stop myself. Dimitri grabbed me firmly by the shoulders and I thought he might shake me in an effort to silence my hysteria, but he simply kissed me instead. It was just what I needed to calm myself and end my mini freak out.
“Better?” he asked me with a tender smile.
“Better!”
I nodded and allowed him to escort me to the car. He was driving a black BMW tonight, which was a car I hadn’t seen him in before.
I arched my eyebrows questioningly and he said, “Mother prefers when I stay away from hot rods. I warn you she’s pretty insistent in her opinions, but don’t let her intimidate you. Just be yourself and she’s bound to love you. After all, I already do.”
When we got to the restaurant she was already there seated at a cozy table secluded by the fish tank. She greeted her son with a warm embrace and shook my hand elegantly when Dimitri introduced me as his date. I had come to realize that date was the closest title he ever used to girlfriend and felt my heart swell that he wanted his mother to know that was my role in his life. As I shook her dainty hand I was so nervous my palms were sweating and my knees were shaking, but she graciously pretended not to notice.
We spent the evening discussing politics, current events, and various relatives of the Morrison family. I found the whole thing fascinating and could hardly eat, I was so excited. At every opportunity he could, Dimitri made a point of bragging about me to his mother, complimenting me, or praising me in some manner. It was obvious he wanted her to like me, and I was touched by it. Marianne was pleasant and polite, but seemed very stoic and distant. I tried desperately to get her to warm up to me, asking her what Dimitri was like a boy and what it had been like to work with some of the greats, like Al Pacino and Robert Redford. I was mesmerized by her and understood at once why people said she was a legendary actress beyond any equal in Hollywood.
Just after the main course, Dimitri rose from his chair to use the restroom and said politely, “Please excuse me ladies. I’ll be back before the dessert arrives. Please be good while I’m gone mother.”
“Of course, darling,” Marianne smiled at her son, and we all chuckled good naturedly at the silly joke. The moment he was out of sight, however, Marianne leaned close to me and said, “Let me be blunt and to the point. How much is it going to take to get you out of my son’s life?”
“What?” I blinked with shock.
“Nothing. I don’t love Dimitri for his money.”
“Well then what will it take to get rid of you? Do you want me t
o set you up with someone more famous? Perhaps a director or producer who could guarantee you roles in movies and make you a star?”
“No. Nothing and no one could take me away from Dimitri. I know we haven’t been together for very long, but I love your son.”
“Yes, and it seems that he loves you; but really, you’re not good enough for him. You’ll only drag him down and ruin his career. It’s already all over the news and plastered all over the papers. You’re nothing but a cheap stripper working in a dive bar, and not nearly good enough for my son.”
I was horrified by her words and rendered completely speechless. Mostly because what she was saying was true. I swallowed hard against the lump strangling my throat and tried to defend myself against her vicious attack.
“I think that’s between me and Dimitri to decide.”
“If only that were true, I wouldn’t care,” Marianne spat with a vicious glare.
“How long do you think it will be before you’re status as stripper affects him? Directors and producers don’t just look at an actor’s talent; they look at his entire image. A playboy running around with a different girl every night is just a healthy young man sowing his wild oats; but a man who permanently attaches himself to a low-class stripper is setting himself up for a life of degradation, shame, and tawdry living. No actor is going to obtain the type of grade-A roles needed to win an Academy Award with a reputation like that. It’s a reputation you’re giving to Dimitri right now, just by sitting here with him. If you really loved him like you say you do, you wouldn’t hurt him like this. Instead, you would end things with him now.”
I wanted to say something to her, to tell her she was wrong…but I couldn’t. Deep inside I was terrified that she was right. Maybe I was hurting Dimitri’s reputation by dating him. Maybe he would be better off without me.
Just then, Dimitri returned from the restroom. He froze in place when he saw the pale look on my face. “What’s wrong? Mother, did you say something while I was gone?”
I shook my head and blinked back my tears.
“No, nothing’s wrong. I just don’t feel well all of a sudden. I think something in the food didn’t agree with me.”
“I’ll take you home,” Dimitri said with a look of concern and wrapped his arms around me as I stood up to leave, but I waved him off and pushed past him.
“No, you stay here and enjoy a nice desert with your mother. I’ll just take a cab.”
Before Dimitri could say another word, I bolted from the restaurant. He started to follow after me, but his mother caught him by the arm and convinced him to stay.
Good. I thought. Maybe she can help him make a clean break from me.
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