Her face is unreadable but I focus on catching my breath, breathing in and out. She is quiet so long I’m starting to think I fucked it up.
“You’re too good.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
Ellie shakes her head, looking perplexed.
“Why are you here, Charley?”
“I want to dance.”
“You’ve already said that. And I understand that. What you did there, and what we do here, are two completely different things.”
“I thought I did what you wanted.”
“You did, and so much more. You should be doing this on a professional stage, not here.”
“But… I…”
Ellie holds up her hand to stop me stuttering at her. “You move beautifully, like you were born to do it and before you get excited, that isn’t a compliment. At least, not here. I could watch you dance for hours but the men who come here, that isn’t why they pay hundreds of dollars.”
“I can work on the routines.”
“I’m sure you can. Before you go any further with what you’re practicing, you need to stop and focus on a different style. Watch the girls, see how they do just enough to look like amazing dancers, but they pull back and add in what these men want to see.”
I nod, I can definitely do that.
“Then you need to practice more with no clothes, Charley. What I saw in there was a girl who is unsure of herself. Embrace your sexuality,let it empower you, not scare you. These men are here to watch you, maybe to get off on seeing naked ladies, but at the end of the day, we’re the ones with the power Charley. You can’t forget that. If you don’t project that confidence, you’ll fumble, drop a tray of drinks,” she smirks.
I half smile at the analogy. With a determined look I nod at her. She stares at me for a good long while but I force myself not to look away, not to wilt. She is testing me and I will not fail.
“In two weeks, I want a different routine, I want you topless, and able to dance with people watching. I’m not a dance teacher, Charley. I’m not going to pat you on the back for a job well done. I am going to assess you. If you can’t do it, then I’m going to recommend that you don’t even try.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet. Go get ready, we’ll be opening soon. Eat something, I can hear your stomach from over here.”
I’d laugh if she wasn’t right. I’m hungry. I watch her walk away and look around the room. The heels are hurting my feet, so I sit down to untie the buckles. Some of the girls might talk about her behind her back, but Ellie didn’t get to where she is now by being super nice to everyone. She isn’t horrible at all, but she is exacting and wants everyone to perform to their best ability.
I never thought I would be disappointed in someone telling me the way I dance istoogood. How insane is that?
Someone speaks and my stomach drops so fast, I almost throw my shoe into the shadows where it came from.
“What the fuck?” I cry out.
Chapter Five
Nashville
“Ellie’s right.”
My voice in the quiet room startles her as she searches the darker area at the back to see where it came from, she lifts her shoe and shouts out a very unsavory word for such a pretty little thing.
I walk around the column I’d been watching her from while she was dancing, then talking to Ellie. I didn’t exactly ask around but I know her name is Charley and that she spends a lot of time here when the club isn’t open.
Not that I’ve been hanging around here too much or anything. Things have been quiet, no sightings of Storm or anyone messing with our business or warehouses. When Nero said he’d go to ground, he was right.
Blaze is doing everything he can to try to dig the worm back up.
