“Girl, you’re acting like you aren’t hungry,” Aria said and linked arms with her so they could walk in together.
“I was just waiting for Kidd,” Belle answered and looked back only to see that Cream was walking next to him.
“Let that man do his job. All I want to do is get a nice, juicy burger and some fries so that I can stuff my face!”
Belle gave Kidd one last look, but he was too busy smiling in Cream’s face to notice. Instead of dwelling too much on him, Belle decided to enjoy the rest of the time she had before her first night of work. She wondered how greeting people would go and if they would try to touch her. She was almost certain that the job would require her to be bubbly and flirty, which wouldn’t be a problem. She considered herself to be a professional at getting guys to buy her drinks at the bar, so getting men ready to spend money on strippers shouldn’t be too hard.
“How many today?” the petite hostess asked when they were all inside the doors.
“Eleven,” Aria answered.
“All right. One second while we get you a table ready.”
She left, and while she was gone, Belle took in the restaurant. It was set up pretty much like any other restaurants with booths, tables, a bar, and some big-screen TVs. Still, the warm aroma coming from the kitchen mixed with the old-school tunes gave her an “at home” vibe. The hostess returned in a matter of minutes to grab their menus and motion for them all to follow her. She seated them toward the back of the restaurant by a beautiful mural of a black woman reading a book. Her natural curls were everything, and her beauty dripped from the photo.
“Your server, Jack, will be right with you,” she said, and with a smile, she was gone.
“If his last name isn’t Daniels, I don’t want him,” Russian Roulette joked.
“I’m sure you’ll get plenty of that tonight,” Blessing said.
“Uh-uh,” Aria told them. “No dark liquor for any of you. Y’all don’t know how to act when y’all drink that shit. Tonight we will be servicing some of Gene’s best clients. I need you all to be on your best behavior.”
“We will if they are,” Luscious said with a sly smile.
“They better be, unless they want this steel up their ass,” Jay, a member of their security team, said and patted his hip.
“On me, if they get to acting, we gon’ get it cracking!” Kevo, who was sitting next to him, said. They slapped hands.
Belle hadn’t really gotten to know them. The only time she’d ever seen them speak was to each other and to Aria. They were big, and she could tell by looking in their eyes that they had seen some things that didn’t need to be repeated in their lives. Although they had youthful features, Belle couldn’t pinpoint their age, and she wouldn’t ask either. Kidd had been the only one who had made himself personable, or even approachable for that matter.
“That’s why Gene always sends y’all with us, because you keep us so safe,” Russian Roulette flirted, but neither Jay or Kevo batted an eye.
It was as if they hadn’t even heard her, and Belle saw Aria shoot her a look that she couldn’t read. The rest of them opened their menus and began glancing through, trying to figure out what they wanted. Belle didn’t need to look at the menu to know what she wanted. What Aria said on the way inside the restaurant sounded delicious, except Belle wanted bacon on her burger.
“How are we doing this afternoon, folks?” a chipper voice came out of nowhere, making them all look up.
The voice belonged to a lanky Caucasian young man with glasses on his face. He had thick red hair on top of his head, which matched his cherry-colored lips. The black shirt he wore said the word “Clippers” above his right breast bone, and his jeans were so blue they had to have been brand new. He seemed so happy that you couldn’t help but be happy with him.
“You must be Jack,” Aria said with a smile.
“That would be me.”
“Well, we’re all doing fine,” she said and turned to everyone at the table. “Are y’all ready to order? Because I am, and I’m not waiting if you want to be indecisive.”
“I am,” Belle spoke up, and Jack looked her way.
It wouldn’t have been weird if he had said something, but he didn’t. Instead, he just stared, almost as if he were in a trance. He didn’t even budge when Aria waved her hand in his face. It wasn’t until she poked him that he snapped out of it.
“Oh, my,” he said, shaking his head and looking at Belle again. His face had gone completely red. “I’m sorry. I just . . . I guess I’ve never seen anyone as beautiful as you in my entire life. All of you actually.”
“Well, thank you,” Aria said, and gave Belle a smirk. “Go ahead and tell him what you want to order, Belle.”
“Oh, wow, your name means beauty, too,” Jack said and pulled out a small notebook. “So fitting. What would you like to eat, Beauty? I mean, Belle.”
“Uhhh,” Belle said and looked around the table wide-eyed before she cleared her throat. “Can I just have your best bacon cheeseburger with lettuce and tomato with some fries and a side of ranch?”
“Definitely. What for your drink?” Jack asked.
“A water is just fine, thank you,” Belle told him, and he jotted it down.
“And for you?” Jack said, continuing to go around the table.
When he’d gotten everybody’s orders, he looked at Belle one last time and disappeared to the kitchen.
“Okay, Belle has the juice!” Blessing teased.
“Stop it.” She rolled her eyes, but even she couldn’t pretend like she wasn’t flattered.
Jack brought their drinks back to the table, and that time, he didn’t get all tripped up at the sight of Belle. After that, they all made small talk as they were waiting for their food to come from the kitchen. Belle kept noticing Aria giving her weird looks, but that wasn’t stranger than Kidd acting as if she didn’t exist. He was talking to everyone else but hadn’t looked her way. She didn’t understand.
It took about twenty minutes for them to get their food and about half of that time for them to scarf it down. When they were done, the guys handled the bill and left Jack a hefty tip. After stuffing themselves full of wings, burgers, and fries, the girls headed back to the tour bus to prepare for the night. They were staying in a hotel suite so that everyone could rest up for the long trip to Memphis. Before Belle could climb back on, Aria grabbed her by the arm and pulled her aside to talk to her.
“Hey, how are you feeling about tonight?” she asked.
“A little nervous,” Belle responded, “but I’ll be all right. All I have to do is smile and direct people where to go, right?”
“About that,” Aria said and clenched her eyes shut for a moment. “Belle, I’m sorry. I talked to Gene earlier today, and he said he doesn’t need a greeter.”
Belle’s face dropped, and when Aria opened her eyes, all she saw was the disappointment written all over it.
“Okay, so what? Are you telling me that I have to leave now?”
“No! That’s not what I’m saying at all. I’m saying that he said he doesn’t need a greeter. He said he wants you to dance.”
“Dance?”
“Yes. Like what we do,” Aria told her. “I tried to tell him—”
“Okay.”
“Huh?”
“Okay. I’ll dance.” Belle shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal.
“Just okay? That’s all you have to say?”
“Yeah. I kind of figured I would have to dance eventually. I mean, if someone ever asked me before what I pictured doing with my life, stripping would be the furthest thing from my mind. But I also wouldn’t have said I’d be an orphan either, so fuck it. It is what it is.”
“Are you sure?”
“What other option do I have, Aria? I mean, seriously. Go work at some bar or a mall somewhere? So yes, I’m positive. I blew eight thousand dollars today on clothes and shoes. I don’t know the last time I felt so free.”
“There’s a lot more where tha
t came from,” Aria told her. “I’m so glad you aren’t mad at me.”
“Mad at you? No.”
“Well, if you want, you can sit tonight out and just watch us work.”
“I’ll work. I don’t know much about working a pole, but I know how to dance,” Belle said.
“All right.” Aria studied Belle for a second before nodding her approval. “It’s settled then. Come on so the girls can brief you on all of the rules to this shit.”
* * *
Twerk
Girl, I wanna see you twerk
I’ll throw a li’l money if you twerk
Blac Youngsta’s voice snuck its way under the bathroom door where Belle was trying not to psych herself out. Earlier she’d made it seem as if dancing was going to be a breeze, but saying was much easier than doing. Although the girls had told her what to do and what to expect, she still was beyond nervous. Once they reached the mansion in Southfield and got to the door, they entered single file with Aria, aka Lady Passion, at the front of the line so she could introduce the ladies behind her. It didn’t dawn on Belle that she hadn’t even selected a name for herself until she was the only one left outside of the door, wearing nothing but a trench coat over the hot pink bra and thong set she had on. However, Aria had that part covered too.
“Last but not least,” she’d said in a commanding voice, “I have a treat for you boys tonight. We have a newwwgiiirrrllll!” The people inside went wild with excitement. “Settle down before you make her too timid to come in and party with you guys. I want y’all to treat her nice, okay? Now tell me something, sugars, what have you heard about Nebraska girls? Welcome . . . Beauty!”
Belle’s legs had felt like Jell-O as she forced them to move and tried to ignore the cold nipping at her body. Once she was inside the foyer, she was met with ten sets of eyes staring lustfully at her. The men were standing in front of the spiral staircase, and the other girls were standing to the side with sexy smirks frozen on their faces. When the set of double doors closed behind her, Belle did as she was coached to do earlier. She smiled at the gentlemen before her, struck the sexiest pose that she could, and let the trench coat she was wearing slide to the floor. The moment her curves were revealed in her pink thong, she could have sworn time stopped the way it seemed the men stopped breathing. Belle’s eyes found Kidd, who was standing with Kevo and Jay behind the other girls. He didn’t blink as he stared at her, and his mouth fell open ever so slightly.
“Damn, I need alone time with her!” one of the men said, finally breaking the silence.
“We always save the best for last,” Aria said. “Now let the festivities begin! We need music, and where are the motherfucking bottles?”
Everything after that began to move so fast, too fast. One minute Belle was standing in the foyer, and the next she was in the basement of the gigantic home with strobe lights and loud music. In the middle of the floor, there was a pole that Drip and Blessing wasted no time going to. Aria, who must have been used to being the center of attention, went right to the center of the basement.
“Now you fellas are all Black Card members at the Bliss Lounge, so I’m already knowing you know the rules right? No touching unless you have individually given the woman you want quality time with five hundred dollars minimum! And I know y’all want to have a good time in this bitch, don’t you?”
“Yeah!” they all yelled in unison.
“I don’t think I heard you!” Aria yelled. She turned around, bent over to grab her ankles, and dropped down in a split. Her huge bottom shook like an earthquake as she bounced up and down. “I said do you want to have a good time in here tonight?”
“Hell yeah!”
A few of the men whistled while others threw hundred-dollar bills at her. The men were all clean-cut and looked as if they were made of money. They were all shapes, colors, and sizes. The other girls went straight into entertainment mode, and more money began getting thrown instantly. Belle didn’t know how they kept track of who threw $500, but the floor was already covered in hundred-dollar bills.
“Can I get a dance, Beauty? I’d like to be your first of the night.”
The deep voice came up behind Belle and caught her off guard. When she turned around, she found herself face-to-face with a tall, light-skinned fellow. He was wearing a suit, and his cologne smelled heavenly. He was very handsome, but still, at that moment, Belle started to feel sick to her stomach. The way he looked at her and licked his lips made her feel like a spectacle. Because she was. It was like she was in a circus and she was the star attraction. It was all too much to take in at one time, and she needed to find a bathroom before she threw up all over herself.
“I’ll be right back,” she said and winked at him before sashaying away, careful not to trip over her six-inch heels.
And that was how she wound up in the basement’s bathroom.
“Okay, okay, okay,” Belle said to her reflection as she took many deep breaths in and out. “Am I really doing this? I’m really doing this. What the fuck?”
She wanted to throw some cold water over her face, but Luscious had worked so hard on her makeup that night. Why hadn’t she just stayed back at the hotel? Or even better, why hadn’t she taken Aria up on her offer to just observe that night? Instead, there she was about to completely shit her pants because one guy asked her for a dance.
Knock! Knock!
“Just a second,” Belle said when she heard someone outside the door. “I’ll be right out!”
“Or you can let me in, little mama,” Belle heard Drip’s voice say.
Belle hesitated at first, but after a second she unlocked the door and let Drip inside. Drip pushed the door back, but she didn’t shut it all the way behind her. Drip was shorter than the other girls, but in her eight-inch heels, she was the same height as Belle. Her face was done very pretty, and her smoky eye shadow, mixed with her long weave, gave her a mysterious look. She gave Belle a concerned look and ran her fingers through Belle’s freshly flat-ironed hair.
“You cool?”
“Yes,” Belle lied and then shook her head. “No. They’re all looking at me like they want to—”
“Fuck you? Yeah, because they do. That’s the part that you’re supposed to use to your advantage.”
“I know, but—”
“But nothing. Bitch, do you see all that money out there? These motherfuckers are more caked up that I even thought. We can all leave here with about five bands tonight. You want to make some of that, don’t you?”
“Yes,” Belle admitted. “I do. I just don’t know where to start.”
“Start with that nigga who asked you for a dance. We’ve been here for about thirty minutes, and he hasn’t dropped a dime yet. And I can tell he’s rolling in dough.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because all of them out there are Black Card members. We only do parties for Black Card members. They have to pay ten thousand a month just in membership fees. They’re the only ones who have access to these little home parties, as much cocaine as their noses can take, and if they submit their test results every month, they might even get their dicks wet. But don’t worry, you don’t have to do anything you aren’t comfortable doing, boo. Feel special. Not all of the girls working for Gene get to be Gene’s Girls. They’re stuck working for an hourly wage at the club. But us? We are at the top of the food chain when it comes to this dancing shit. Seize the opportunity, girl!”
Belle turned her back on Drip and gave herself one last look in the mirror. It was too late to turn back at that point. She’d made the choice to dive off of into the deep end, and it was time to sink or swim.
“Okay,” she said, turning back toward Drip. “How do I loosen up out there?”
“With this,” Drip said and reached into her bra. She removed a small pill. “It’s a Xanax. It will take the edge off.”
Just as Belle was about to take it, the door to the bathroom pushed open. Both of the girls looked to see who was walking in on them
, and they were both surprised to see Kidd. He looked from Drip to Belle and then back to Drip.
“Y’all have been gone for a hot second. Everything straight?”
“Yeah, we’re cool,” Belle said. She tried to hurry up and close her hand around the pill, but it was too late. He saw it.
“Ay, man, what the fuck is that?” he said and stepped all the way into the bathroom. He tried to make a grab for Belle’s hand, but she snatched away.
“It’s nothing,” Belle tried to tell him.
“Yeah, it’s just something to take the edge off,” Drip said. “Relax. You know we all pop a pill from time to time.”
“Yeah, but she ain’t like y’all,” Kidd said, glaring at Drip. “It’s her first time doing this shit, and you’re tryin’a have her out there all high and shit.”
“Well, that’s what you’re here for, isn’t it? To make sure nothing gets out of hand,” Drip said and rolled her eyes at him.
Kidd clenched his jaw and turned back to Belle with his hand out. “Give me that shit, dude. You don’t need it.”
Belle almost gave it to him, but then she realized that was the first time he’d spoken to her after diving into her mind at the mall. He didn’t care about her. He was just like the rest of the people in her life. There today, gone tomorrow.
“No,” she said.
“What?”
“You heard me. I said no. I’m a grown-ass woman,” she spat and tossed the pill to the back of her throat. “Now you can go back to not speaking to me. I’m one of Gene’s Girls now. The only thing you need to do is protect me if one of these motherfuckers gets wrong. Other than that, stay the fuck away from me.”
With that, Drip took Belle by the hand, and they left Kidd standing with a dumbfounded expression on his face. As Belle was walking, she felt the pill kicking in fast. Her entre body felt lighter, and suddenly, she was carefree. It was like she was drunk without the dizzy feeling, but her courage level had gone through the roof. The strobing lights in the darkness of the basement that at first intimidated her welcomed her that time. She snatched her hand away from Drip so that she could smack Luscious on the bottom as she walked by. She was in the middle of shaking what her mother gave her in one of the men’s faces, and when she saw that the person who smacked her was Belle, she grinned.
Belle Page 6
