Night Confessions

Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Previously: Shoot. Shoot shoot shoot. He recognized me as Mia! Damn that makeover! My blood ran cold as his eyes widened, and he stared straight into my eyes. I quickly turned my head away, my heart thumping wildly against my chest. I watched as James gave Lilia a smile and opened the passenger door for her. Lilia slid into the truck and James shut the door. Then he turned and locked eyes with me one last time before turning away and sliding into the truck.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I tugged at the hem of the red 'devil' dress, trying to pull it a little lower. It was more like a shirt, since it ended where if you stood straight, it just manages to cover your bum. Which just means when you dance for the customers, you'd be giving them a pretty good treat by flashing your lingerie at them. The dress was sparkly and itchy, but none of the strippers were complaining. We all knew that we had to suck it up for this job.

I slid the devil-horns hairband on, completing the whole 'devil' look. I gave myself a once-over in the mirror and nodded, satisfied--or as satisfied as I could get myself to be--with how I looked.

When it was my turn to go up the stage, I glanced behind and noticed Kate staring at me. She gave me a small smile, but I suddenly felt frightened instead. James knew. James knew I was a stripper. Did Kate know that James knew me? Had he asked her about me?

Kate's eyebrows furrowed as I had paused there for a tad too long. Another stripper nudged me roughly and hissed, "Go! It's your turn!"

I took a deep breath and turned around. Forget James. I was Mia, not Abby.

I pushed opened the curtains and shimmied out, putting on my most seductive look I could pull off. I wrapped an arm around the pole, and then a leg. I could tell that my panties were being revealed to everyone as the audience wolf-whistled loudly.

I slid down the pole and danced, my my mind void of any emotions.

When it was over, I walked down the steps of the stage, keeping a steady balance in those killer heels from months of practice. It's actually painful to fall from those.

The men waved their bills in the air, and I scanned the area briefly to see who had the largest amount in their hands. It wasn't that I was money-hungry, but this was what we all had to do, wasn't it? I was already shameless enough to don this costume in front of so many people. But let's just say it all came with the job.

I caught sight of a bunch of hundred-dollar bills grasped tightly in a hand amongst the twenties or tens in the other hands. I walked-- as sexily as I could-- over to that generous customer.

When I reached the table, the customer lowered his hand. He was wearing a cap, head bent and covering his face. He was wearing baggy pants and a loose white tee, and had light brown hair. From what I could see, he was fairly young. A teenager, maybe?

Then I froze.

A teenager?

No, I couldn't have been as unlucky as to have someone from our school come to this sleazy nightclub and asked me to his table, could I?

Well, based on my previous encounters, I could.

I shook my head and tried to calm myself down. No, I was being too paranoid.

"How may I help you, sir?" I asked huskily, bending down a little awkwardly. Damn, I was way out of practice. Normally I would quickly go back behind the stage, dance a couple more times and leave. I wouldn't tend to the customers unless I desperately needed to. But I needed the money to pay the bills today.