I haven’t even told anyone besides the owner and his Omega my real name. Why am I like this?
I give him a forced smile as I change into the white bikini-like top and bottoms, along with assless chaps and a pink cowgirl hat.
“Yeah, I’m good.”
“We’re going out tonight after our shift if you want to come?” Riley asks.
“I have to feed my kitten, but maybe next time,” I reply. Having a cat has not only been great for my mental health, but he’s become my favorite excuse.
“If you change your mind, let us know. We’d love to get to know you better,” Jenny says, and I know she means it.
“Thanks,” I reply, and she tips her own cowboy hat at me.
The music is loud as I head to the platform I’ll be dancing on tonight. Members funnel into the building for the night, and I wonder if any of my regulars will be here.
At least I’m good at this, when I’m dancing and just letting my body do its thing it doesn’t feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders.
I’m the best pole dancer currently at Lavender Moon, so I’m at one of the main stages. The chaps and cowboy hat are going to need to go sooner than later. It’s not like any of these Alphas give a shit about the costumes anyway.
I plaster a grin on my face.
Tonight I’m Cherry, and nothing else matters.
CHAPTER 2
HAILEY
All the weightof my problems slip away when I’m Cherry.
Cherry doesn’t care what people think. Cherry has no problem flirting with Alphas or being the center of attention. Cherry is who I want to be, but for some reason she only comes out when the music is bumping in the confines of Lavender Moon.
I unclip the chaps, letting them fall away from my thighs with an audible clack against the floor, shoving them off the stage with an ostentatious heel. Paulie in security will grab them and put them back in the wardrobe. While I can appreciate the costumes at Lavender Moon, not all of them are conducive for climbing and spinning around on a pole.
I grab the cool steel, walking around a few times, getting a feel for the country song with a pop beat to it. I hook my ankles and knees around the pole, my hands high above my head, gripping the cold metal as I climb up.
It's as easy as breathing, doing simple tricks, letting my deep red hair fall behind me and just letting my new-found scent shine.
Here I’m an Omega and I feel like it. I like the hungry gazes on me, almost as much as I like the money trickling onto the stage below.
It’s not like I grew up poor or desolate. I was just never considered, which, in the end, is all I desperately want. It’s why I can’t seem to find anyone worth building a pack with.
I’ve spent so much time being seen but not heard. The little girl who had all the best toys money could buy, but no one to play with. People assumed I had this picturesque family with ample parents to provide me with attention, they couldn’t have been more wrong. I know things could have been worse, so many people had far more traumatic childhoods. But when you spend your entire life feeling invisible, it’s hard to shift into the spotlight.
Being Cherry is what allows me mentally to do this job. Which I surprisingly like. It’s just hard to tell when someone actually likes me, or they like my scent and the fact that I’m an Omega.
I want to be liked as both CherryandHailey. One day, maybe they won’t have to be separated in my mind to make sense.
I swirl around the pole as the music picks up.
Scents are permeating the air, some more mouth watering than others. A few make my nose itch. I tend to enjoy heavier scents, but at the end of the day even if their scent makes me want to crawl on top of an Alpha, there’s never been one I wanted to keep for more than a heat, or a night of fun.
I’m not sure what I’m searching for, but I just feel like I’ll know when I find it.
There are a few Alphas by my stage, some I recognize and some new faces. I smile wildly as I slide down to the floor, doing some leg work. Doesn’t hurt that my scent heightens as I open up my legs and shake my thighs before clicking my massive heels.
“Hey, Cherry,” a deep voice I recognize says.
“Hey, Ben,” I say with a smile, flipping onto my front and crawling to the edge of the stage.
