“You better not. Now follow me.”
I follow him out of his office and down a long narrow corridor before we head into a dressing room where a number of girls are prepping themselves in front of a large mirror that stretches the entire width of the wall. Other girls are getting changed into the smallest, tightest underwear I’ve ever seen.
“Christ, Ginger, been hitting the donuts lately?” a girl asks, looking at a petite redhead over her shoulder through the mirror she’s using to apply her makeup.
“Fuck you, Rox, you’re one to talk,” the other girl replies, flipping her the finger.
“Girls, this is Sugar, she’ll be dancing here tonight, and may well become permanent. Paula, could you help get her ready?”
“Sure thing,” a woman to my right says as she heads towards us. She’s tall, beautiful, with long brown hair and bright blue eyes. She looks older than the other girls, but in just as good a shape as the rest of them. She stands in a pink lacy bodysuit, a low neckline down to her belly button, the fabric thatdoescover her, is thin and might as well be transparent. There’s not an ounce of fat on her. Her entire tanned body is toned and defined. She’s beautiful.
“Let’s find you something to wear,” she says. She gives me a smile and leads me to the corner of the room where lingerie of every colour hangs on a long rail against the wall.
“These are our emergency outfits. We have to supply our own which can get pretty expensive, but you’re welcome to use these tonight. So…” she takes a step back and gives me the once over before sorting through the underwear and pulls out a matching set of white lace lingerie and hands it to me. “These should fit. Strip.”
“Wait… here?”
“Where else? Honey, us girls are no strangers to tits and pussy, so you better get used to it. There’s no room to be self-conscious in a job like this.”
She has a point.
“Okay,” I mutter as I begin to undress, unzipping my jacket and stripping myself off my clothes while scoping the room to see if anyone is watching.
I try my best to cover myself when I unhook my bra but it’s no use. I change as quickly as possible and soon I’m standing in sheer white lace underwear, my nipples clearly visible through the delicate fabric.
“I get the impression you’ve never done anything like this before,” Paula comments.
“How did you guess?” I give her a nervous laugh and she smiles.
“Well, in this club, we’re not required to strip completely naked. I guess we should be grateful for small mercies.”
Thank God.
“Although, we are required to strip during private dances, but it’s entirely up to you how far you go, don’t ever feel pressured into anything, that’s not what this is about.”
“Okay.”
“Sugar,” Rick says, poking his head around the door. “You’re up.”
I suck in a sharp breath as a sickening feeling settles in my stomach.
“Good luck up there, honey.” Paula winks.
I nod and offer her a smile before heading for the door and following Rick back down the corridor. As we get closer to the lounge, the music from the stage gets louder,Gasolineby Halsey almost coming to an end.
I watch as the woman on stage finishes her dance in a crouch, her back flush against the pole with her legs spread wide open for the audience. The tiny lingerie set she’s wearing barely covers her body and leaves nothing to the imagination.
The room erupts into applause and catcall whistles as she blows the crowd a kiss and heads towards me where I’m standing at the back of the stage, peering through a gap in the thick black curtains that separates me fromthem.
“Well, I like what I see so far,” Rick says, his eyes roaming over my half-naked body. “You dance good and the job’s yours. Don’t let me down.”
The girl appears through the curtain and descends the steps while plucking the stacks of bills that hang from her G-string. She looks up and smirks at me before disappearing back down the corridor I just came from, counting through her tips.
I turn back to the curtain, knowing what awaits me on the other side. I clench and unclench my clammy hands that hang limply at my sides, while trying to steady my breathing as my heart pounds so hard in my chest it feels like it's going to burst through.
I can do this.
I can do this, I tell myself.
