I ordered another drink, but after a few minutes, I decided there wasn’t anyone else here I wanted to meet. The purple-haired guy took up all the space in my mind, and I couldn’t shake it, so I asked to cash out the tab. Probably a good idea to come back some other time and see if he would be there.
Another man brought the paper to sign. “Hi. I’m Braxton. I’m the owner.”
I shook his hand, leaving the receipt with my card on the bar. “Nice to meet you. This is an interesting place.”
“Your first night, right?” He obviously kept tabs on new patrons. He was dressed nicely in a blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up below the elbow, but enough to get a peek at the tattoos creeping down his forearm. Professional with a twist. But he immediately put me at ease.
I nodded and flashed my best smile—the one normally reserved for the press. “It is.”
“I’d love to have a conversation with you later about your thoughts on the place.” He handed me a black card with the club’s name and number, but when I flipped it over, another number was handwritten under his name.
“Sure.”
“May I ask you one other question before you go? Who gave you the guest pass?”
I didn’t think I was getting anyone in trouble, so I gave him Hudson’s name.
“Great. He’s a good person and has good friends. Call me.” He nodded toward my hands where I held his card.
“I will.”
Chapter six
August
Despite my desire to run my business and not work for someone else, it wasn’t going to pay the bills. I could already see being in trouble very soon. I scrolled through LinkedIn, looking for a damn job. There had to be something else to do. I was smart, I could figure this out.
What hobbies could I start to become a better influencer? What new websites could I create? Maybe I could blog about building websites and SEO marketing. Ugh. No. That was neither interesting nor singular. Progress was not only nonexistent but heading into negative numbers.
I closed my laptop. Canceling my Afterglow membership was inevitable. Either that or move in. Maybe Braxton would let me live in the Little’s Room. Or give me one of the specials. I heard some of them had en-suites. Hell, I might end up living in my god damned car at this rate, which I really couldn’t afford now anyway. Maybe I needed to sell that and get something cheaper. Then I could end up sleeping in a junk-box car instead.Real nice, Joey.
No. It wasn’t ever going to get that bad. I would make something work.
I needed to go out to Afterglow one last time. Maybe I needed more personality in my posts.
I opened my closet, pulled out my club clothes, and tossed them on the bed. Pulling out my phone, I took a slow video across the offering spread out over the mattress. “This, my friends, is the start of a fantastic evening. What will I pick?”
I continued taking pictures and videos to cut together later, but I needed to go live with something fun, so I rigged the phone into a stand and set it on my dresser. After checking the lighting and moving some of my equipment around to get a good angle, I did a few test shots. I didn’t like the way my face looked. I didn’t often put makeup on, but going live was risky. I needed something extra.
After a few minutes of fussing over foundation and gentle coloring, I was ready. The makeup looked more natural than glitzy. It would probably work, but I looked through a few sample pics first.
Sure, I was nervous, but what did I have to lose at this point? I started the video, turned around, and pulled black slacks on over my ass, which was outlined by a black jock strap, while looking over my shoulder. “Hey, kiddos…” That was what I sometimes called my viewers, as it was a cuter moniker than club kids and nicer than brats. “Getting ready to go out, and I want to look sharp. What are you wearing? Send me some pics!” I grabbed a glittery purple button-up off the bed and pulled it over my bare shoulders, bent toward the camera, and made a kissy face. “See you there.” I wiggled my fingers at the phone before turning it off. It was a tease for sure, but hell, a butt shot got my life turned upside down, and I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t embrace that.
Reviewing the posting, making sure it all went well, I noticed all the thumbs-ups and hearts flying over the screen. Then some of my viewers posted pictures of them getting ready. Wow. This was the best response I’d had in a long time.
There were a fewnice asscomments. But more of them were along the lines of how nice I looked or how fresh. My heart flip-flopped in my chest. This was much better. A lot of ideas flitted through my head after that, and a part of me wanted to sit down and write them out, but I also wanted to capitalize on these gains. Immediately.
I hurried to finish getting ready, and unlike the last few times, I made sure my hair was on point along with the rest of me.
In the parking lot, I leaned back over the hood of my car and held up my phone, taking a few cheeky pictures, which I immediately posted. One had a cool filter reminiscent of old Hollywood, like Marilyn Monroe style.
The pictures got super-fast reactions. This was going surprisingly well. Maybe that was my answer—personality. At least it was better than I’d been getting, and it made me feel better about myself. Maybe I wasn’t the loser I’d been feeling like. I texted Tucker to meet me at the club and got an instantthumbs up. He’d been unreliable lately, even knowing I lost my job. I didn’t know what was going on with him, but I needed to find out. I hoped he’d actually show up and hang out with me.
I took more pictures outside Afterglow and did a cute short video as I entered the club and more throughout the main room and bar. Phones and cameras were not allowed in the back, in the No Limits section, but they were okay at the bar and on the dance floor. And I needed to use this to my benefit. Hell…I tagged Afterglow for my location. Maybe it would be good for the club, too. Braxton had given me discounts on my membership in the past for some things, so maybe I could capitalize on that.
And…turns out I was right on target with that as I started getting comments asking how to get a membership. I took a cheeky selfie overlooking the dance floor and posted it with a link to the Afterglow membership website.
Wait. Who was that guy? I came here enough to know a new person, and whoa, this guy was hot. He had a two-day beard growth, which I loved and wanted to rub my face against. He was tall, but not super tall, shorter than Crow for sure, but taller than me. And he had a more streamlined physique. Muscles, but not bulky. In fact, he was totally not what I typically went for.
