Chapter One
Serenity
My mother’s chosen name for me is of Latin origin. It means peaceful.
Lately, it seems like my life is anything but.
‘Ren! Ren! Where are you? You’re up!’
The shrill voice cuts through to my consciousness. I’m lost in my own thoughts again. I look at my reflection in the mirror in the communal dressing room, my fingertip drawing invisible letters on the surface of the vanity: a C, followed by an M and finally, another C.
The Canyon Mutineers Cheerleaders. And as of today, I get to say I’m one of them. I’m an official cheerleader for the NFL.
Today was decision day. The day I made the squad.
I should be out celebrating with my new teammates. Only, I’m here, at Surly’s Tavern, Canyon’s finest strip club. Preparing to go back out onstage.
I study my heavy, smoky eye makeup, my gaze trailing lower to my sequinned corset, the cut way too revealing for most folk in this city. But I guess that’s the point. That’s my look. It’s what the patrons of Surly’s have come to expect. What makes them slip dollar bills into my matching panties and the rim of my high-heeled boots. I guess the disappointment in myself will always be there. I’ve just been here long enough to know that somehow, I gotta ignore it.
‘Ren? Seriously. Now, sweetheart!’
‘Coming!’ I holler sweetly, getting to my feet.
Misty’s coming off the stage and I’m due on as her replacement. She’s older than me, with two young kids, but, boy, can that sister move. Her stage name isKitty Thighs. The music kicks up a notch. She blows me a kiss as she finishes her routine. I give her a big smile, one that the patrons can’t see.
‘Good luck out there,’ she hums in her southern drawl, coming down the stairs, giving me a high-five as she passes. ‘Slow crowd tonight.’
Somewhere over by the bar, the bar’s manager, Jaxon, introduces me in his gravelly tone over the mic. He changes the lights so there are more neon reds and pinks to match my wig for tonight.
Brandy Velvetis my stage name and has been for the last five years I’ve been dancing here. Not my choice, but some of the newer girls have worse, likeMontana Cream,Mimi WhipsandCandy Chains.
The whistles are a little louder than an hour ago. In the shadows, I snatch a breath, wait for the beat. Under the corset, my obliques are killing me: the result of twelve weeks of rigorous and gruelling auditions for the CMC. Last thing I need is to dance on stage, using only a chair for the second time tonight.
Kathleen Lafferty is the CMC head coach. Today, she gave all of us rookie cheerleaders a lecture about how to take proper care of our bodies.
Ice. Stretches. Hydration. A healthy diet. Plenty of rest.
Little did she know, there was a stripper on her team. So, I’ll be doing double the work, whether my body likes it or not.
‘Fellas, she’s back for more…’ Jax announces over the mic. ‘From Dallas to Austin, Frisco to San Antone, y’all know she’s Texas’ finest. Show a little love for… Brandy Velvet!’
Cheers go up. Guys straight up hollerin’ for me. I step up to the stage. The backdrop shimmers and glitters, the music strikes up.Gimme Moreby Britney Spears. It’s my signature number, and the crowd knows it. There’s a whole heap o’ thrustin’ involved. Not what my NFL cheerleader hips could do with right now either.
But as I head for the chair that’s positioned at the front of the stage, my movements deliberately provocative, I shut down.
In my mind, I fly far, far away.
Because this is not what I planned for my life.
And I’m not here by choice.
Twenty minutes later, I’m with Jaxon in the back office, counting out my cash tips. One hundred and twenty bucks. We all have to do this. The other girls get a fifty per cent share of whatever they make.
All the girls, that is, except me.
‘That all of it?’ Jax says with a single eyebrow raised, looking down at the pile of dollar bills piled up in his outstretched palm.
I give him a look like a helpless kitten. ‘Please, Jax? I gotta drive to my first official squad practice tomorrow. I need money for gas.’
