“Miss,” a guy says, leaning on the counter at work and tapping the top for the third time. He’s been walking around the store with his friends for the last twenty minutes, and they are the only customers still in here at the moment.
“Are yousureyou don’t have any more options?” the second guy interrupts, and the third lingers a few steps behind them. They are all barely legal, eighteen year olds who have been here way too long messing up all the displays. If they leave before the owner Bobby gets here I’m going to have even more work to do. “I could make you feel so good.”
I blow out a breath, silently cursing my boss. Just because Icanmanage the store alone doesn’t mean I like to, and honestly, being here by myself should be more of a safety concern. There should really be two people on shift, especiallywith some of the creeps who casually walk in here making all the sex jokes they can think of, but my boss seems to think I’m more than capable of handling myself.
Capable like a killer.
“Listen kid,” I say, almost wishing there were more customers here. It usually keeps the fresh meat from hitting on me like this. “You don’t have a chance. Try again with someone who didn’t just look at your ID. Plenty of girls graduating high school are right in your ballpark. Maybe leave and go find one of them to hit on.”
He clears his throat, deepening his voice like it’ll make a difference at this point. “Listen, Miss, you said there’s a theater-”
“For a price,” I say, wrinkling my nose. My boss's idea to include a theater here at a porn store should probably come with an HIV test. I refuse to clean those viewing rooms, so a cleaning team comes through daily but I think they do a piss poor job. Sins and Secrets set the standard for cleanliness for me, and that’s not changing anytime soon. “If you want to go watch porn with your friends just pay up. I, an employee, will not be coming into the back with any of you foranyreason.”
My disinterest finally gets the kids to turn back to the shop, and I groan and resist the urge to set my head down. Without the three of them looking at me I let my shoulders drop, grasping the counter out of their view.
Everything about this job that’s wrong is made ten times worse in comparison to S&S. It’s an exclusive, members-only place, and I don’t feel like someone’s going to drug and hurt me the second I turn my back. That place is loaded with security, and the people who pay to be there don’t want to risk having their membership terminated for causing issues.
The owners didn’t fight me when I said I wanted my nametag to read Kimber, unlike my boss here. One of the owners of the club, Jo, asked me to pick something I would rememberand re-confirmed my choice. I’ve been going by Kimber there for over five years now. I’m not entirely sure most of the people are even aware that Kimberisn’tmy first name.
S&S… Sins and Secrets, it's my favorite place. Lately however it’s started to feel like a chore. I don’t know how to be myself there, seeking to please whoever pays attention to me, and most of the time it seems like I’m no one’s cup of tea. I’ve made some of the members mad with my choices in the past, and it’s more of a personal preference thing than a violation of the club rules.
Dragging my teeth over my bottom lip, I tell myself to not overthink but it doesn’t work. There’s a subtle shake to my hands that I’d love to stop, and I dig my teeth further into my lip to keep from letting myself get overwhelmed. My eyes track the three boys as they move, trying to keep my focus on where I am instead of spiraling like I always do.
There’s a shot sitting under the counter by my purse so I can pregame and ready myself to go to S&S later. I keep telling myself it’s my happy place, they just won’t let me get drunk enough to stop thinking altogether. I know the alcohol limit is in place to keep people safe, but to be fair, the club is safe enough that nothing bad is really going to happen to me.
The door opens, and I can still see the three guys walking around in the back corner, laughing. I shift my gaze to the door, trying to not reach for my vice under the counter. Those three boys might not notice me drinking on the job, but when my eyes lock with the newcomer he definitely will.
“Hey, Kim.”
I blush, all my damn thoughts flying out of my head like I never even had them to begin with. He says twowords and it grabs all of my attention. I knew he would be in today for a restock, but I half-hoped he’d show up when I was already offthe clock. Clearing my throat, I place a hand on the counter and attempt to not sound like a dork. “H-hey, Rich.”
He lifts his eyebrows, bemused, as he sets a box on the counter. “You better tell Bobby to order double next time. These mints are a hit. S&S just upped their order to three times the demo stock I brought last time. It’s gonna be a supply and demand thing until I have the time to make batches in bulk.”
I smile at him, just nodding along. Rich isn’t just a supplier, he’s a friend. I met him when he came to Sins and Secrets with stock one time years ago. Rich had a good standing there from the moment I met him, and considering the club itself has been in business for almost fifteen years it's no surprise that the owners have some long term connections. I work at a sex shop not attached to the club, and after meeting Rich he offered to have me help build the beginning inventory for the store inside of S&S. Bobby heard I had connections toRich Intimates, and now he supplies this store too.
My boss here has no idea Rich gives him the bare minimum. Most of what Rich’s company designs is high end, so it’s extra pricey, and Bobby owns a cheap shop in comparison. I think Rich only agreed to a limited stock because he was trying to be nice for my sake, and I have an excuse to see him more often.
Come to think of it… I don’t know when I last saw Rich at S&S. He’s not a member, he’s a supplier. I’ve never even seen him play at the club.
Standing on my toes I peer into the box he brought and try to get my blush to calm down. My short hair falls past my ear and I push it back, the fluffy red locks making my bob-style haircut feel a little childish. It’s necessary though. Stress kept me from being able to get any real length on my hair for the longest time, so I’m not going to fight it anymore.
The box is full of lingerie sets, different colors but the same pattern. There’s a large container of mint sets too, and from what I know it looks like Rich didn’t try very hard to give Bobby’s shop extras.
“Will you be at Sins tonight?” he asks, tapping something into the tablet he brought so I can sign off on the delivery. I sign with my finger, avoiding his gaze.
“I was thinking about it,” I say carefully. “Things should be calm this week before the next auction-”
I cut myself off, glancing back towards the trio still shopping in here. Sins and Secrets has a big no-no policy on talking about it to people who aren’t members. You caninvitepeople to join the club, but the only time I did that it ended in disaster.
Rich takes the tablet back with a chuckle, and I glance into his eyes. Behind the counter there’s a lifted platform, so even though he’s taller than me we’re standing eye to eye right now. “That would be why I’m stopping in for a restock. I hear the owners are finally back.”
“Yeah, Jo and Vinny,” I say, shrugging. I don’t have an issue with the club owners, usually, but Jo’s cousin Serenity and their friend Emeric have run the club really well for most of the year. Hopefully things aren’t rocky again with their return. “There’s a showcase for Halloween too.”
“I heard,” Rich says, shooting me a smile. It’s the eyes though that keep my attention, and I can’t help but get drawn into them. They are a wild violet color and have always looked fake to me. When I’ve asked in the past he just smiles with those dazzling white teeth, winks and leaves me without an answer.
He’s older than I am by five years or so and I turned thirty this year. I only know he’s older because last year I heard him speaking to Vinny about how hard their thirties were hitting them. Rich has unique features that give him almost an agelesslook. As I sign my name I try and fail to not completely drool over him.
“You’re shaking,” he tells me, and it gets the thoughts in my head to shut up real quick. I clench my hands behind the counter as I drop the pen. My alcoholism is really getting in the way right now, and despite the fact that it’s theentireproblem, my gaze flickers to the stupid plastic shot.
