Afterglow ❃ l.m.j

• chapter one •

The excitement of the evening practically oozed out of my tight, cherry red bodysuit as I zipped through the crowd in Heaven's Door. Or at least it felt that way through the hole in my side that I was currently trying to nurse on my way to Ally's office.

"Excuse me, sorry, love those boots, babe, oh my goodness hey Stefanie, you're gonna kill it tonight!" I grinned sheepishly, ducking and dodging all the dancers in the locker room in an attempt to reach the tall black door.

Our house mom, Ally, had an office that was just out of reach of the back room. I was six songs away from being up and I'd barely zipped up my suit when I heard the rip. Maybe trying to squeeze into a medium today wasn't such a great idea.

If I'm lucky, Rosé is really going to drag her set. She's a crowd killer because of her ass, and men would die to stick money anywhere they could fit that was socially acceptable. It made most of the girls jealous, especially the new ones, but I've never been more proud. I've been here longer than her and she's worked really hard to get to this point. Her growth was really beautiful to see.

I skipped to a halt in front of the black door, banging on the steel. No matter how hard I tried, there was no answer. I tried to peek for any glimpse of a shadow but I couldn't see anything from the lighting.

I looked around for any face willing to look in my direction. Dancers passed by me like dandelions in the wind. I furrowed my eyebrows, craning my neck down the hall for a security jacket.

"Hey!" I yelled, earning a few passing looks. "Anyone seen Ally?"

One of the newer dancers shrugged and hiked her duffel bag higher on her shoulder as she passed me. I shifted my gaze from her to the others. They all shook their heads too.

In the distance, I saw someone dressed in all black with a walkie talkie. Thank fucking god, a security guard.

"Hey!" I yelled again. It caught his attention. He nudged his chin at me, turning his head slightly. "Have you seen Ally?"

He furrowed his eyebrows slightly. The man quickened his pace to meet me halfway where he could hear me better.

I made a height gesture. "Allyson? The short blonde chick, the house mom?"

The security guard's lips formed into an 'o'. "Yeah." He pointed down the hall where he just came from. "To the left, right by the bar."

"Thanks, um," I grinned, looking for a silver name tag. "Derk?"

It was obvious he was trying to bite back a laugh. "Derek. No problem, miss. Need me to escort you?"

I held steadfast to the hole in my right side, trying to stop the wind from invading it. Goosebumps were coating my upper body at this point.

"Aw, I'm sorry, it's bad lighting! Yes, please." I laughed, covering my mouth with the back of my free hand. I began to lead the way. "It's nice to meet you, or probably see you again, Derek! Are you having a good night?"

Derek stayed close to me, his presence seeming to harden as we moved through the crowd. "I am, just focusing on doing my job, ma'am. Is everything alright?"

I nodded. "Yeah!" So many faces were whizzing past us and I tried my best to look professional and not like I was four songs away from a mini meltdown. "Just a little wardrobe malfunction."