The thought sits heavy in my chest, so I shove my earbuds in before I can hear another word of their conversation. The music fills the space, drowning out their laughter, their flirtation, the sound of her giggling as she tugs at his shirt sleeve.
I turn back to my desk and focus on what Icancontrol.
Orders. Inventory. Organization.
By the time we open for business in a few weeks, everything will be neatly filed, cataloged, and easy to find. It’s mindless work…but it’s safe.
And right now, safe is all I can handle.
Before I know it, it’s five. I save everything, shut down the system, and grab my bag. The men will be here for a few more hours, but I’ve got somewhere else to be…my new second job that no one can ever know about.
I was desperate after my jerk of a landlord raised the rent, and fast money was the only option. Without it, I wouldn’t be able to eat or even get to work.
“Hey, pretty boy, where you in a hurry to?” Skip calls as I step outside to wait for my ride.
“Need to leave early today,” I say, keeping my eyes on the street instead of his face. “Already cleared it with Spike.”
“Come on, baby,” a woman whines behind him. “You said five. It’s five, and I’msodamn horny.”
I glance over, and there she is. The same woman from earlier, leaning against Skip’s bike, smirking like she already knows she’s getting what she wants.
Perfect. Just what I needed. My crush about to spend his night balls deep inside a woman.
Yeah, I’m pissed off. But not at Skip. Not even at her.
I’m mad at myself for being stupid enough to think I ever stood a chance. For getting my hopes up.
“Listen…” Skip starts, but my ride pulls up right on cue.
I don’t give him the chance. “See you Monday,” I cut in, grabbing my bag and hurrying to the van before he can say another word.
The driver glances at me in the rearview mirror.
“Where to?”
I take a deep breath, staring out the window. “Emerald City,” I say quietly.
His brows lift in the mirror. “The club?”
“Yeah.” I force a small smile. “The club.”
He doesn’t ask questions…thank God. I don’t think I could stomach having to explain it.
Fifteen minutes later, the glowing neon sign ofEmerald City Gentlemen’s Clubwashes over the van’s windshield in flashing greens and purples. From the outside, it looks loud, alive, full of people who have the kind of confidence I’ll never understand.
Inside, it’s… different.
By the time I clock in at six, the music’s pounding, the lights are dim, and laughter mixes with the metallic click of high heels on the stage. I nod at the bouncer and slip through the back hallway toward the supply closet, trading my backpack for a rolling mop bucket.
This is my job.
While the dancers work the floor and the customers drown in alcohol, I sweep, scrub, and mop up whatever gets left behind. Glitter, spilled drinks, broken glass… sometimes worse.
I tell myself it’s just work. Honest work. But every night, it chips away at something small and quiet inside me.
Still, it’s money. And right now, money means rent, food, and the faint hope of not losing everything.
As I start wiping down the hallway mirrors, I catch sight of my reflection…rumpled clothes, tired eyes, dark smudges underthem from too many late nights and fainting spells. Which have increased since starting this job.
