by Harper Sloan
“Okay,” I whisper, taking a step away. “Thanks again, Mike. See you tomorrow.” I leave the office to find Shannon back behind the bar. She gives me what is supposed to be a uniform but feels like a few pieces of silk and sends me on my way.
“Hey, girl,” Beth, better known as Bambi, says, walking into the dressing room. When I first met her, I was a little intimidated. She’s about five-nine, all legs, long brown hair and perfect, sun kissed skin with golden eyes. She came to Tennessee from Montana around a year ago and has been working at Teasers ever since.
She taught me to wait tables, push drinks, and smile for a decent tip, if any. I asked her why she didn’t work the stage. I mean, I knew for a fact that she would make a lot of money up there. But she said she was way too clumsy and that the name Bambi wasn’t given to her when she started working here but when she was little. Her parents said she could never control her legs. It was like they weren’t attached to her body so they started calling her Bambi.
“Is it busy out there?” I ask, putting on light pink lip gloss.
“Not really. There’s a bachelor party coming in at eleven. They booked the private room. Rex said you could help me with them. The tips should be good,” she says, walking to the lockers across the room. I look in the mirror at my refection and forget who I am for a second. My light green eyes look brighter with the smokey shadow I have on. My long blonde hair cascades over my shoulders, down just below my breasts that are straining the top of the black corset that cinches in my waist, causing my hips to flare at the bottom of the fishnet stockings and black silk panties make me look like I should be going to the playboy mansion. It took me a few days of walking around in high heels to get used to them enough to feel like I wasn’t going to fall on my face every time I took a step. It’s been three weeks since I started working here. The tips are awesome, the hours are okay, and having a bed to sleep in at night rocks. The only down fall is that I have been tired a lot. Working two jobs is not easy, especially when one of the jobs you’re working is a secret.
I met with Bill two days ago and he gave me an update on my brother. He found out Tim had been in Alabama but moved on since then. Bill has yet to track him down again. I was starting to feel like I should contact the police but the thought of my brother in jail didn’t sit well with me.
“Okay, girl, I'm just going to change my shoes and we can go. Now, keep in mind that bachelor parties do tend to get a little crazy,” she says, stepping into a pair of platform stilettos.
“What do you mean crazy?” I ask, feeling nervous. There had been a few times when a guy would get a little handsy but the bouncers always made sure to cut in before it could get out of control.
“Well, they tend to drink a lot more and a lot of times that makes them dumber than normal.” I giggled I couldn’t help it. Bambi was one hundred percent lesbian and thought all men were stupid. At first, knowing that she was attracted to women made it a little uncomfortable. Then, I realized she had a type and I was not it. She smiled and shook her head. “If you have a problem, just tell me and I’ll step in.”
“I'm sure they won’t be that bad,” I say, wondering how many people said that as their final words.
Trevor
“Yeah,” I answer the phone, looking at the clock and seeing it was just after twelve.
“Yo, T, you need to come to Teasers,” Cash says and I sit up in bed.
“It’s after fucking midnight. I'm not getting out of bed to sit with you at a fucking strip club.”
“Trust me, T. See you soon,” he says, hanging up before I can tell him to fuck off.
“This better be good,” I grumble to the wall. Getting up, I pull on a pair of jeans and a tee and head out to my truck. When I pull up to the front of the club, I notice that even for a Wednesday night, the lot is full of cars. I spot Cash standing by the door and talking to one of the bouncers.
“Yo,” he greets in his normal tone. He looks around then pulls me to the side of the building.
“What the fuck?” I ask, looking around, wondering if he’s in some kind of trouble.
“When you go in, there you need to play it cool, okay?” he says and I notice he looks panicked.
“What’s going on?” I ask, becoming concerned.
“When I saw her, I found Mike and asked him what the fuck was going on. He told me that she needed the money, but wouldn’t take it from him and threatened to go to a different club if he didn’t give her a job.”
“At any point are you going to tell me who the fuck you’re talking about, bro?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest and trying not to reach out and shake him.
“Liz,” he says throwing up his arms. “What other woman would I be talking about?”
“You’re telling me Liz is in there stripping?” I ask through clenched teeth, thinking of her in there, on stage, half naked with men looking at her. Now I’m seeing red.
“This is your fucking fault T,” Cash shouts as he pokes me in the chest.
“You tell me how’s this my fault.”
“When she came to Mike for the job, Mike asked her what you were going to think about this and she said that you don’t get a say in what she does.”
Well, that shit burned. Technically, she was right—I didn’t have a say in what she did but she was mine and I wasn’t sharing her with anyone.
“Look, all I'm saying is be cool when you go in there. Ed’s on the door tonight and said that Liz has been working a bachelor party.”
“Jesus, this shit just keeps getting better and better,” I mumble, running my hands over my head.
“Alright, I'm going to talk to Ed. You go in there and pull her aside, but do not cause a scene.”
Liz
Oh, lord, I think to myself. No money in the world is worth dealing with men like this. For the last three hours, I’ve have been blocking hands right and left. No matter how many times I tell the guys at the bachelor party, no touching, they don’t get it. I swear, the next time one of them grabs my ass, I’m going to kick them.
“Can I get two more bottles, Rex?” I sigh, looking around the bar. I see Ed, the new bouncer, near the door. I squint my eyes a little trying to see who he’s talking to. Damn! It looks like Cash but that would be crazy. Why would he be here? Stupid contacts. I blink a few times and still can’t see clearly.
“Cash,” I hear whined from behind me and my heart climbs up my throat. I look over my shoulder to see Skittles running in the direction of the door.
“Oh my God!” I whisper while ducking my head. I turn and start walking back towards the private room when my luck crumbles around me. Skittles plows me over, her giant fake boobs in my face.
“Sorry,” she says in her fake whiney voice. She’s lifted before I can die of suffocation. Once I'm free, I roll to my stomach and start crawling on my hands and knees towards the private room doors, hoping that Cash is not anywhere near me. I make it halfway there when I see a pair of brown work boots in front of me.
“Excuse me,” I say without looking up. I start to crawl around the owner of the boots when they block my way again. I blow my hair out of my face, frustrated by the person in front of me. Can’t they see I'm trying to get away? The person squats down and I see jean covered knees and then fingers are under my chin, lifting my face.
“Crap,” I whisper when I see Trevor’s brown eyes looking into mine.
“We need to talk,” he says quietly. I can see by the look in his eyes that he’s pissed.
“No, we don’t need to talk,” I say, trying to stand. Who knew that getting up off the ground when you’re in high heels was so much work? I fall forward, my hands landing on his chest and his go to my waist to steady me.
“Thanks,” I mumble. It was not the first time I wished I knew magic so I could cast a spell to stop whatever power it was that he had over me. I hated that my body craves his touch. I hated even more that I crave it even knowing that he’s a big jerk. As I steady myself, I don’t look at his face again b
efore I take a step around him.
“We need to talk,” he repeats. I pretend I don’t hear him and continue walking towards the private room where I know kick ass Bambi the man hater is. “I'm not going to tell you again, baby,” he says, coming up behind me and pulling my back to his front.
“Let me go, Trevor,” I say quietly, trying not to cause a scene. He doesn’t say anything, just wraps his arms around my waist, walking me down the hall towards Mike’s office. I start to struggle to get away when I see the door getting closer.
I don’t want to talk to him. When I had wanted to talk, he didn’t want to listen. I squirm and almost make it free of him when he gets Mike’s office door open, shoves me inside, and slams the door behind him. “Great. Just great,” I grumble to myself. I put my hands on my hips, ready to give him some major attitude when he takes my breath away.
“Jesus, you look beautiful!” he says, walking towards me with a look of hunger in his eyes. I start walking backwards, caught off guard.
“Um… thanks,” I say, looking over my shoulder and noticing that I'm heading towards the couch. I know I don’t want to be near any horizontal surfaces and Trevor at the same time so I start making my way towards the desk, hoping that I can put it between us.
“Stop,” I say, holding out my hand when I see how close he is to me. He stops and I roll the desk chair between us to block his way. “Okay.” I breathe and he raises his eyebrows and crosses his arms over his chest. I wish he wasn’t so good looking. His dark brown hair is cut low to his scalp, and his brown eyes are made more beautiful with the long lashes that frame them. His jaw is square, and like always, it looks like he needs to shave and the dark growth around his mouth makes his full lips stand out even more.
He’s a lot taller than my five-five and a half. Even in the four inch heels I'm wearing now, he towers over me.
His eyes rake over me and his mouth goes into a flat line. “What are you doing, Liz?”
I look around Mike’s office, avoiding his question. I notice that I'm not too far from the door and I might be able to make it there before him if I kick off my shoes.
“Try it and I’ll spank you.” Okay, really? I’m ignoring that comment as I slide my foot out of one heel but don’t put my foot down. I don’t want him to notice what I'm doing until the last possible second. “Talk to me.” He growls and I glare at him.
“You’re working at a fucking strip club for God’s sake. What the fuck is going on?” he roars, leaning towards me.
“It’s none of your business,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest.
“What! None of my business?” he asks.
“Let me clarify that,” I say, pausing to put my hands on my hips, trying to balance in my one shoe. “It’s none of your damn business.”
“I’ve had my hands down your pants. I know what you sound like when you’re going to come.”
“Well, Mister, you don’t.” I look towards the door again.
“Don’t what?” he asks, smirking.
“Know what I sound like,” I say, getting tired of this game he’s playing.
“We can take care of that right now,” he says and I look at him like he’s crazy and shake my head.
“Um, no thanks,” I say, looking toward the door wondering where the hell someone, anyone, is. Don’t they realize that I'm missing? Shouldn’t they be looking for me?
“Look, I'm sorry, but I just couldn’t do it. You’re too sweet. That’s why you shouldn’t be working here.”
“Well, too bad. I need this job and I'm keeping it.”
“You’re innocent, Liz. A fucking virgin and you want to work at a strip club?” he growls.
“First of all, it’s none of your business but I'm actually not a virgin. Second of all, there was not one question on my application for this place about my sexual history,” I say, pissed off.
“Who the fuck have you been with since we were together?” he asks. I can see his face turning red.
“No one. Geez Louise.” I wave my hand in front of me.
“How exactly do you go from you have never, to now?” he asks, looking as confused as his question sounds.
“I never said I was a virgin,” I snap. “You chose to hear that, and then you walked away, completely ignoring me when I tried to explain it to you. Which, by the way, was pretty damn embarrassing.” I cross my arms over my chest, feeling almost as embarrassed as I did the night we were together.
“Fuck me,” he whispers, running his hands down his face.
“Look, I really need to go. I'm sure Bambi is freaking out. I left her with a bachelor party.” I look towards the door again ready to run for it.
“We’re leaving,” he says, taking a step in my direction.
I stop and look at him. “No. I'm working, so we’re not going anywhere.”
“You just resigned. It’s time for you to go home.”
“Wow, you’ve got this whole caveman act down pat, don’t you?” I say, slipping back into my shoes. There is no way I'm going to let him intimidate me.
“You come with me or I tell your mom what you’re doing during your free time,” he says and I feel all the color drain out of my face. My mom can be pretty cool, but if he told her I was working here, I would have to explain why I needed a second job. I can’t see her being very understanding about that.
“I never thought that I could hate you but you just proved me wrong,” I say quietly as tears start to fill my eyes. My shoulders slump and I start walking toward the door.
“Where are you going?” he asks as I open the door. I don’t even turn around to answer him.
“Getting my stuff and going home, Trevor. Just like you wanted me to.”
I see Bambi in the dressing room when I get there. She’s in front of the mirror adding more lip gloss.
“Hey! Ed said you were talking to someone when I went to look for you. Is everything okay?”
“Um, not really. I'm leaving,” I say, pulling my pink gym bag out and shoving everything that’s mine into it while trying to avoid looking at Bambi.
“You’re leaving?” she asks and I can feel her as she comes to stand next to me.
“Something came up and I need to go. I'm sorry for leaving you with those guys. I’ll talk to Mike on my way out so he can send someone else to help you,” I say, pulling my Vicky’s hoodie on over my top and stepping out of my heels and into a pair of black high top Converse.
“I don’t care about that. I'm worried about you and why you’re leaving,” she says, hugging me.
“Ready?” Trevor asks, sticking his head in the room. We both turn our heads in his direction at the sound of his voice.
“What the fuck, dickwad?” Bambi yells. “Get the fuck out of here. Can’t you read? This is a women’s’ only area and unless you want me to give you a vagina, you need to shut the fucking door.” She walks over, slamming the door in a stunned Trevor’s face. I giggle. No matter how bad this is right now, she made it worth it. “Are you leaving with that douche?” she asks, walking back toward me.
“No. He just came to tell me something,” I say, walking toward the door.
“Call me and let me know you’re okay,” she says and it makes me want to cry. She has made working here fun and has become a pretty good friend.
“I’ll call you tomorrow,” I say, opening the door and walking right past Trevor, Cash and Mike.
“You okay, darlin’?” Mike asks, putting his arm around my shoulder.
“Yeah. I'm just gonna go home. I’ll see you tomorrow for breakfast and thanks for the internship.”
“I’ll see you then and we can talk,” he says quietly, squeezing me to his side.
“Great,” I mutter, walking out into the parking lot to my Charger. I open my door and throw my bag across into the passenger seat.
“Hey, we need to talk,” Trevor says, turning me around with his hand on my waist.
“No, Trevor, we don’t need to talk.”
“We’re frien
ds, Liz. This isn’t you. I just want what’s best for you,” he says, trying to pull me into him. I take a step back, get in my car, and slam the door, engaging the locks before he can stop me or open it. Turning on the car, I rev the engine then roll down my window an inch.
“Just so you learn a lesson from tonight, I'm going to clue you in, you know, since we’re friends and all,” I say sarcastically. “First, FRIENDS ask each other about their lives. Second, a FRIEND would wonder what circumstances would cause someone to work somewhere that they never would have before. And last but not fucking least, A FRIEND would never threaten another FRIEND.”
With my parting words, I rev my engine and let the gravel fly behind me. My car fishtails right before I get to the stop sign. I turn up Nickelback’s “Animals” on my car stereo, stick my hand out my window, and flip Trevor off.
As soon as I roll up my window, tears start sliding down my cheeks from the sadness and anger I'm feeling. I trusted Trevor at one point, and just like my brother, that trust was not earned and now I'm more stuck than I was before. I have to find a way to earn the money to save my business without getting my mom involved or my brother doing time.
Trevor
“Well, I have to say that went well, don’t you think, FRIEND?” Cash asks while patting my chest before he walks off. I'm completely stunned, stuck in place, wondering what the fuck just happened.
“Yo! T, are you coming or what?” Cash shouts from across the parking lot, snapping me out of my stupor. I lean my head back and look up at the night sky. Seeing a shooting star, I make a wish. I close my eyes, let out a breath, and walk to my truck, knowing tomorrow is a different day.
Broken Hart
Copyright © Ella Fox 2012, First Edition
Copyright © Ella Fox 2014, Revised Edition
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