by Brook Wilder
“I’m sorry, Vinnie,” I heard Piper pleading as I strode up behind her, “I’m off right now, can’t you just wait until Monday, baby…?”
“I shouldn’t have to…” he began, clamping his meat hook right hand on Piper’s slender wrist. He saw me just before I struck.
“That’s enough, Vinnie!” yelled, thinking I should go with the club bouncer role for now, just doing my job. If it was nothing personal, he might be less inclined to fight back, less inclined to retaliate later. I put my hands on his chest and had enough momentum from charging at him to shove him off balance. At the same time, I applied pressure on the back of his elbow with my forearms. It was a variation on a Japanese jiu-jitsu move and it causes enough pain, with very little movement, to make an opponent drop whatever is in their hand. In this case, that would be Piper.
Vinnie stumbled back but kept his footing, and I didn’t give him a chance to recover. I kept coming at him, making him involuntarily take a step backward. “You know the rules, asshole!” I shouted, putting as much authority in my voice as I could and shoving him in the chest again, “The girls are off limits when they’re off duty. She’s not yours, yet! Now get the fuck out of here before I don’t let you back in, ever!”
Well, it worked for a little while. As I shoved Vinnie a third time he fell, sitting down hard on his ass. Seeing their boss go down was enough for the goons, though. I saw their hands move to their jackets in my peripheral vision and had a microsecond to reach back and draw my gun before they drew down on me. I pointed mine at Vinnie, sitting on the ground, and didn’t even look up at the two guys aiming their weapons at me.
Everything went very still and quiet, very quickly. I heard Piper gasp behind me but, in front of me, Vinnie stopped trying to pick himself up. He held out his empty hands then placed them, palms down, on the ground. Vinnie was smart. But then, I guess you didn’t last too long in the mob by being an irrational hot-head, regardless of what the movies say. He didn’t know me. He didn’t know how much experience I had with guns and he didn’t want to get his face accidently blown off by scratching his nose.
“Theo, isn’t it?” he smiled at me, moving nothing but his mouth. His voice was warm and calm. “You really think you can shoot me, and Rico and Pauley, before one of us gets you?”
“Nope,” I said, cocking the hammer on my SIG. “Just you.”
“Take it easy, buddy,” he kept smiling, “Next you’ll be telling me that even if Rico and Pauley plug you, you’ll still blow my head off before you go down, right?”
“Something like that,” I replied evenly. I’d begun this standoff thinking there was no way any shots would be fired. Now, I wasn’t so sure. All of a sudden, I didn’t see a way I was going to come out of this alive. I could feel sweat beading in the middle of my back, but I held my gun firm. “Or maybe I should just kill you now to make sure.”
“I can’t stop you,” Vinnie continued, “but, I can guarantee you, the beautiful girl behind you will die pretty quickly after you and me, right boys?”
“Just say the word, boss,” said Rico or Pauley. They both stayed still, though, not wanting to provoke anything.
Vinnie and I stared at each other for a long moment. I had no idea how to get out of this. I had no idea how long I had before Vinnie got pissed enough to just tell his guys to shoot me. If I backed down, I had a feeling Vinnie would shoot me just for being a pussy. His wise guys couldn’t be more than five or six yards away. If I tried to cap them both I wasn’t going to miss, I just wasn’t sure I could shoot one without the other getting a round off in return. Let’s face it, they weren’t likely to miss either. But even if I got both of them, it gave Vinnie enough time to grab the gun I could see in the holster on his right ankle, right by where he’d placed his right hand flat and open. Fuck!
“Gentlemen,” Anna’s voice sent a brief shock through me, but I kept my gun on Vinnie, “what seems to be the trouble?”
Vinnie smiled at me, then slowly turned his head towards Anna’s voice. I took the opportunity to glance my eyes back towards the building as well. I saw Anna and Miguel both pointing pistols at Vinnie’s men. Vinnie turned his head back to me.
“I must apologize, Madam,” Vinnie said loudly, once his eyes were pointing back my way. “It’s entirely my fault. It seems I’d misunderstood the lovely Piper when she told me she was no longer on the clock. The gallant Theo here tried to explain it to me but, you know,” he chuckled to himself, “I’m just too hard-headed to listen sometimes. My wife’s always bitching at me about that, right boys?”
I sensed the goons smile and relax a little. I guessed we had our way out of this.
“Misunderstandings,” said Anna, “unfortunately happen. But if you’d be so kind as to tell your friends to lower their guns, we can clear this one up amicably.”
Vinnie was still smiling at me. I felt a chill run down my spine from his look. For an all too long instant I thought he was just going to go straight for his gun anyway, trusting his strength to keep him alive long enough to kill me, no matter how many rounds I put in him. He didn’t look scared but, for that second, he sure looked crazy enough.
“Stand easy, boys,” he said finally. I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. Rico and Pauley holstered their pistols and I suddenly felt lightheaded. It took all my resolve to keep myself standing.
I lowered my gun and Vinnie picked himself up, happy to turn his back on me now. Piper appeared beside me. I searched her face to gauge what she was feeling. I could tell she was scared and emotional, and wanted to hold her so much. But we couldn’t risk Vinnie’s reaction. We swapped quick glances instead and I felt the lightest touch as the back of her hand brushed mine. It melted my heart. I knew then that she wanted me to hold her as much as I did.
“Once again, Madam,” Vinnie called as he strode up to Anna’s tiny figure. She and Miguel had lowered their guns too, but I swear I saw Anna adjust the grip she had on her pretty little nickel-plated Walther nervously as he approached her. “Please, accept my most profound apologies, and I’ll see you for our standing appointment on Monday?”
“Of course, Mr. Greca,” Anna replied, breathing out slightly as the mobster turned and walked to his car. He turned back, smiled and waved at me, then ducked his head into the back seat. His guys got into the front and the car pulled away.
Piper and I exchanged another look, then trudged over to Anna. I tucked my SIG into the back of my jeans again and prepared to receive my bitch-slapping.
“Back inside, Miguel,” Anna ordered as Piper and I came to stand in front of her. “Piper, darling, I expected better from you than to lead this poor boy on. But stay, I want you to hear this. Theo, darling, you’re fired.”
“What?” shouted Piper, outraged. “I’d probably be being forced to chain fuck Vinnie and his goons for the rest of the day if it wasn’t for Theo. And now you're firing him?”
“You should keep your nose out of things you don’t understand, Piper.” I was beginning to feel like I didn’t need to be here, really. “It’s not good business to keep on a subcontractor that assaults and pulls a gun on one of your best, and most dangerous, customers, darling.”
“So your customers can do anything they like to your girls if they’re rich and powerful enough? That sounds like what you’re saying, Anna.” I went to say something, but Piper waved me away. She stepped closer to Anna, unworried that she still held a gun in her hand. Piper towered over her boss, hissing, “You’re scared of him. That’s it, isn’t it? You’re scared of Vinnie and his connections.”
Anna paused for a long minute before, finally, turning to Piper and saying, “It’s just business, darling. Like when Theo came up to my room yesterday. He fucked me to within an inch of my life just so I’d agree to ignore Vinnie’s offer.” I couldn’t look at her, but I felt Piper’s eyes throw a look of disgust over me. “It was only business but, unfortunately, a verbal contract isn’t worth the paper it isn’t printed on. I’d keep hold of this one, Pipe
r. Trust me, you wouldn’t believe the things he was prepared to do for you.”
CHAPTER 7: Piper
I’d had enough. I didn’t feel like dealing with Anna anymore. She always pissed me off so much whenever she’d just stand there, smug, all the answers stashed up her designer sleeves, just waiting for a chance to destroy me with another fact she’d kept hidden. And then there was Theo. I couldn’t believe him.
I couldn’t look at him either. He said my name, one time, softly, after Anna spilled the beans about them fucking, and I just put my hand up, palm out, to him. I couldn’t look at him because I didn’t want him to see the tears forming in my eyes. I’d just been beginning to let myself trust him. He’d made me laugh, stood up to and pulled a gun on Vinnie for me, and yet it looked like he was turning out to be the same as every other man; only capable of thinking with his cock.
I turned on my heel and stomped back to my car. Theo had left it running with the door open, in his hurry to get Vinnie away from me, so I was able to just hop in and put my foot down.
Dust kicked up from the front wheels as they span in time to my high revving engine. I sped out of there. I didn’t know where I was going but I was sure going to be there really soon. I let a tear roll down my cheek in memory of the trust I’d nearly shared with Theo, but I refused to actually cry.
The weird thing was, I was reminded of Adam. He was a client I saw back in my first week working at Anna’s. I was pretty messed up, barely twenty-one, and had no idea how to entertain a client and pull in the big bucks, like I do now. Most of my jobs were wham-bams, a quick hand job or blow job, anything I could to avoid actually having sex with them, and the guys were old, or ugly, ungrateful assholes. It was a pretty low rent existence.
I didn’t understand it either. As a stripper, teasing guys but never letting them touch me, they were all so nice all the time. Even doing porn, yes it was exhausting, and it hurt sometimes, but the sets were such fun places to be. Everyone just acted so crazy and horny all the time, it was hard not to get caught up in the atmosphere.
But at Madam X’s, there I was, working to actually, physically, get guys off, and they treated me like shit. No manners, nothing. They acted like I was just meat. Nothing but a warm hole to ejaculate into.
Then came Adam. He was tall, black, handsome, wealthy, and sophisticated. I did ask him why he came to the brothel, when he could probably get pretty any girl he wanted. He told me this was more honest. If he wanted to get laid, he didn’t have to buy us dinner and take us out, or lie to us that he was after anything other than sex, and we didn’t pretend either.
I’d never seen him before and yet, when he came into our lounge, he ignored my thrown together outfit and cheap makeup, and chose me. He paid for the whole night and, I remember, that made me so nervous. He behaved impeccably, though, feeding me champagne and strawberries, listening to my life story, massaging me with oils… he actually turned me on. For a while, I even forgot where we were and what we were doing, and gave myself to him. I let him do whatever he wanted and found myself wanting to do things to him. We even slept together, spooning, until I awoke the next day with a big smile on my face.
I thought about him the whole week, as I was sucking and jerking my way through the usual procession of losers, until he finally appeared again, the following Friday night. I felt my heart doing somersaults of delight as he walked into the lounge. I beamed at him when he saw me. He gave me a brilliant smile back and waved. I was about to get up and go upstairs with him when, suddenly, he picked a different girl, a new girl, one who had only started two days ago, and they went off together.
I was devastated. I pushed my way to the break room and sat crying my eyes out. The older girls, of course, knew all about Adam, how he liked spoiling the fresh young things, making them fall into wide-eyed love with him, and told me I was being stupid to cry about it. This was the business we were in. I just remember I felt so betrayed. I didn’t work for three days until, in the end, Anna had to come and ‘remind me’ of my obligations.
After that I decided to make this less honest. I strived to make every guy I was with feel like I really wanted him, like Adam had done to me. My earnings doubled that following week and kept on climbing until I was Anna’s number one earner. Guys kept coming back to me and I was able to call the shots, free to just refuse to see them, if I felt like it.
The point is, after Adam, I hadn’t let myself feel anything for anyone in about half a decade. Then there was Theo. Sweet, handsome, a little lost, adorable Theo. He was so good to me, too, but was he playing me as well? Was he just being nice to me to fuck me? He could have done that the first night we met. I let myself begin to trust him and, within a day, he’d fucked Anna. Maybe not just Anna? He was so nice looking, I could think of several of the younger, less experienced girls that would probably throw themselves at him.
***
Quite by accident, I found myself back at my little apartment, down on Burbank. Maybe I was always heading that way. I let myself in and dropped onto the bed, sprawling face down and spreading my arms and legs out wide. It seemed like a good idea but turned out to be a lot less comfortable than I thought it would be, so I got my ass back up and undressed, slipping into a soft, gray tank top and diving under the covers.
No sooner had I got settled, my cellphone started ringing. It was Theo, naturally.
“Piper, please let me explain,” he said as I picked up, not even trying a hello.
“There is nothing to explain,” I replied coldly. “You don’t owe me anything, Theo, we’re cool.” I hung up.
It would be business as usual. I could work with him. I could be around him. Except that, now that he was fired, I didn’t have to. What the fuck, anyway? He was just another biker doorman. I’d seen enough come and go, some almost as pretty as him. They were always friendly and usually good at taking care of us, but I no longer cared about him. We weren’t married, he could fuck whoever he wanted.
CHAPTER 8: Theo
My stomach flipped when Anna blurted out that we’d been together, and I felt sick. But I didn’t know quite why. I wasn’t cheating on Piper, we had no romantic relationship. I wasn’t necessarily trying to hide it from her, but I didn’t feel the need to advertise it either. Had Piper asked me ‘have you recently, or at any time in the past, fucked my boss?’ I would have admitted it.
Would I be lying if I said I did it for her? That was a tough one. I guess I went through with it for her. Would I have fucked Anna if I hadn’t made friends with Piper, if I hadn’t been moved by her situation and wanted to help her? If I hadn’t found myself drawn to her? Yes, I think I probably would have. I was single and a hot piece of ass was throwing herself at me. Who wouldn’t?
Knowing that I was beginning to feel something for Piper, should I have still fucked Anna? No, I don’t think I should have, if I hadn’t spotted a chance to help her. It was always going to be tough to resist Anna, being the woman in charge, coming on so strong but I could have. I didn’t think there was much of a future for Piper and I. I still don’t. But, there was a chance I could help her, so I did. I’m not being a martyr, or saying I suffered through it or sacrificed myself. Effectively, all I did was let my feelings for Piper influence my decision. That all sounded pretty fucked up to me, how was I ever going to get Piper to understand it.
***
I didn’t even bother arguing with Anna. The way Piper had left made me feel empty inside, so I went to the little diner again as it was approaching midmorning. It wasn’t long before I called Piper. It sounded like she was at home, when she eventually answered her phone, but all she did was insist I could fuck who I wanted. But I wasn’t ringing to try and get permission. Okay, maybe I was being selfish in my need to explain why I had sex with Anna. Getting Piper to understand my reasons for doing it was probably only going to make me feel better, not her, but I still felt I had to tell her. I rang again and she ignored me.
Then I started to wonder why I was so desperate to talk
to her. Why had I entered into a Mexican standoff with Vinnie and his boys for her? I liked hanging out with her, sure. She was stunningly attractive, okay, but, she was just another girl at a club I was paid to work at. Now I was fired, I didn’t need to be around her anymore. I could just stop thinking about her, like I had so many others. I just needed to wash Piper out of my system.
By the time I got to Blush, it was past noon. It was Sunday, so there was still good money to be made at lunchtime which is why I knew I’d find her there. Inside, the brother on the door was Max, a wide African-American, about as tall as me. We shook hands and hugged and he waived the cover charge for me, but still insisted I checked my gun.
The club was smoky, tinted in pink light, but was one of the more upscale gentleman’s club in town. The tables were well-spaced, with comfortable, faux-leather bucket-chairs spread around them. A very hot, leggy blonde with nicely-sized, but obviously fake, tits was twirling impressively around the pole on stage to Whitesnake or Poison, or something, while a petite redhead with small yet proud boobs was lap dancing for a dude two tables over. A party of five college guys were sitting with three girls at another table. Two of the girls were topless and laughing. There was a sudden cheer as the clothed girl started making out with one of the strippers, and one of the guys stood over them, raining a wad of singles over them as they kissed.
