URBAN: What A Thug Wants

by Shantel Johnson

  “Because then we can follow them and find out why.”

  “Aren’t you the one to let me go?”

  “I know, but I kind of can’t help it now. After hearing all of this, I can’t get it out of my head. What if they set me up before I even got to the club? If only I knew where to find these niggas.”

  “She said something about a strip club.”

  “Strip club?” Antwon’s eyes then lit up. “Allure?”

  “She didn’t say the name.”

  “No, but I’ve been to Allure all the time. I damn near live there. That’s got to be the connection.” Antwon nodded. “Ok.”

  “Ok, what?”

  “I have an idea.” Antwon smiled. “But you need to get Giselle on it.”

  Giselle uncrossed her arms. She shook her head but it didn’t matter how many times she did, because nothing was making sense. Lionel spoke slowly so it should have made sense but it still didn’t.

  “What do you need from me?” She asked.

  “You’re going to help us find the girl.”

  “How am I going to do that?”

  “You’re going to join the strip club.”

  Chapter 3

  The loud rap music was distracting but it was exactly what Giselle needed. She needed to be brave right now. She saw a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She didn’t even look like herself. She had on makeup, a few tracks of weave in her hair, and sexy clothing. When Lionel suggested that she joined the strip club, she naively thought that she was going to be a bartender, but next thing she knew he was telling her that she had to become a stripper.

  “A stripper? Why can’t I be a bartender? Or why can’t I be a janitor? Why is it that I have to be a stripper?” She asked as they walked to the hair salon.

  “Because Antwon damn near lives in that strip club, he sees how the strippers treat the bartenders. It’ll be easier for you to become her friend if she thinks that you are a fellow stripper or whatever.”

  “And then what?”

  “We’ll take one thing at a time, but for now you have to look the part.”

  “Is that why you bought all those sexy outfits? Is that why you want me to get my hair and makeup done?”

  “Baby, you know that you’re beautiful, but strip clubs aren’t looking for that, they are looking for sexy.”

  “So, I’m not sexy?”

  “You know that you are, but stripper sexy is a different thing.” Giselle rolled her eyes when she heard him say that. “I need you Giselle.”

  “Then after this, what happens?”

  “I told you, we’ll get to that.”

  “No, I mean after everything, will you do what I suggested before? Can we just live a normal life outside of New York City?”

  “Let’s just concentrate on this.” He held her face. “I want to be with you.”

  “I know you do, but can we leave this all behind?”

  He didn’t answer but instead opened the door of the salon. He pulled up some pictures from his mobile smart phone for the workers to do. He had a specific look in mind. Giselle closed her eyes for most of the process. When she took peeks here and there, she could see the long wavy hair in her head, the arching of her eyebrows, and the lipstick being placed on her lips. Even later that day when Lionel told her to wear the tight jumpsuit, she didn’t look at herself, but now seeing her reflection in the doors, she was shocked. She looked nothing like herself. Usually something like this scared her, but she thought if she looked different she might as well act differently as well.

  She walked through the front door and the bartender in the tight outfit threw her off. She started to back away, but when she turned around she bumped right into Lionel. He just gave her a comforting smile. He led her inside and went straight to the bar. She sat two seats away from Lionel. The bartender was pretty busy. Her short shorts were a bit distracting and when she moved her butt shook. She tried not to stare but she couldn’t help it.

  “Hey darling.” The bartender smiled at her. She was 5’5, caramel skin, with a short hair bob haircut. She had three piercings on each ear and a tongue ring.

  “Hi.” Giselle looked away.

  “What can I get for you?” She asked wiping down the counter.

  “I don’t know.” Giselle had never had an alcoholic drink before. She wasn’t even 18, but the way she looked right now, she understood why she wasn’t even carded. She glimpsed over at Lionel. He had a smirk on his face. He knew what she was doing.

  “Well do you have any favorites?”

  “Just give me something sweet.”

  “I got just the thing.” The bartender winked.

  Giselle turned around and looked at the strippers. They were practically naked. The ladies were hopping on and off the pole, gripping as they climbed, and dancing all at the same time. Men were throwing money at them, and some were putting some in their cleavage or in their thongs. How was she suppose to do this? She kept tapping her fingers against the counter. She had to keep reminding herself to be brave.

  “Okay, here it is.” The bartender put down a pink elixir in front of Giselle. “You asked for something sweet and this is my own personal favorite.” She smiled and her eyes twinkled.

  “What is it?”

  “You have to taste it. I refuse to give up the name.” The bartender’s bubbly personality put Giselle at ease.

  “Ok.” She sipped the drink and her eyes opened wide. It was so sweet and delicious. She’d never tasted anything as good before. She closed her eyes and it brought her back to her home in North Carolina. It reminded her of the last party her parents threw.

  Her mother and father rarely left the house, but they used to throw these extravagant parties. They would invite old friends, new friends, coworkers, neighbors, just everyone that they could think of. It would be a black tie affair and Giselle would watch people come in dressed like they were going to the Oscars. She would always have to stay upstairs and watch them, but at the last party her father allowed her to come downstairs.

  “Gigi.” Her father knocked on her door. “Are you ready?” He opened slowly and Giselle wore her mother’s old dress. It was a little bit too long and didn’t fit all the way, but it looked great on her. Her father smiled and immediately hugged her. He had tears in his eyes. “You’re not my little girl anymore.”

  “I’m 16.” She reminded him.

  “I know, but it’s still hard to adjust to you growing up.”

  “What are you going to do when I get older? Like, what are you going to do when I’m getting married? Are you going to cry then too Daddy?”

  “Probably.” He chuckled. “After I give your future husband a talk, beat him up, or whatever, I’ll probably cry.”

  “As long as you are not crying while you are walking me down the aisle, I don’t care.” She smiled.

  “I guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens then.” He smiled back at her.

  He brought her downstairs and the guests greeted them. They shook hands, kissed cheeks, and said “hi” to everyone. When they arrived at the kitchen, Giselle saw her mother talking to one of the waiters they hired. She was making sure that all the food went out and of course making sure that the champagne glasses were full.

  “You look great.” Her mother kissed her cheek.

  “Your daughter reminded me that she is not a baby.”

  “She isn’t.” She kissed her daughter’s forehead.

  “And she doesn’t want me to cry on her wedding day.” Her father crossed her arms.

  “As long as I can still cry.” Her mother laughed.

  Her father took three glasses of champagne and handed it to his wife, his daughter, and kept one for himself.

  “No.” Her mother took the glass from her. “You’re spoiling her again.”

  “I’m not spoiling her. This is just for one night.” Her father handed back the champagne glass. “Pretty soon, she’ll be off to college and we might not get this night back. So for one night, let the girl have
some champagne. She’ll have this one glass and then go out and eat.”

  “Fine” Her mother rolled her eyes. “But if she develops a drinking problem, you’re paying for her rehab.” She joked. Her father laughed and kissed her mother. “Okay, all at the same time?”

  They all held their glasses to their lips, and then sipped it. The bubbles raced to Giselle’s head.

  “Whoah.” She commented. “This tastes pretty good”

  As Giselle continued to drink the pink mixture at the strip club, it brought her back to that moment. The drink was sweet, but the fact that it brought her back to one of her favorite memories, made it sweeter.

  “So, how is it?” The bartender looked on anxiously.

  “It’s very sweet.” She took the last sip. “Thank you for this.” She could feel Lionel staring at her so it reminded her to why she was at the strip club in the first place. “Do you know if this place is hiring?”

  “You want to become a bartender?”

  “No.” She shook her head and looked into the eyes of the woman. “Not a bartender.”

  “Oh.”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, are you sure that you don’t want to be a bartender? It’s much-”

  “Easier.”

  “Yes, but not in the way you think. It’s just that some of these girls go crazy with the dancing.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Stripper envy. It’s like you are their competition, so they can’t even try to be friendly.”

  “Ok.” Giselle still wasn’t getting what the bartender was telling her.

  “Don’t expect friends here.”

  “Got it.”

  “I’m going to get the manager.”

  When the bartender moved away to pick up the phone, Giselle looked over at Lionel. He nodded at her; letting her know that everything was going well. She gave him half a smile and circled her finger around the glass of the drink. She watched the strippers danced and wondered just how far she was willing to go to help Lionel. She knew he said that all she had to do was find out if the girl worked at the club, but what if that wasn’t enough? What if she had to get on the pole and lose her clothes. Just how far is she willing to go?

  “Hi.” This tall lanky man came out of nowhere. “My name is Manuel.” He extended his hand and Giselle shook it quickly. “Trina tells me that you want to work here.”

  “Yes.” She swallowed hard and then followed it with fake smile.

  “Ok.” He sat next to her. “What’s your name?”

  “Eva.” She smiled even harder. “Eva Jackson.”

  “Alright. Well let me start off by saying that what I’m going to be saying to you and asking you, is not about you. When I make suggestions about your look or your style, it’s not about you at all. I say this because, a lot of women come in and out looking for work here, but they don’t even make it past the interview.”

  “Alright.”

  Just then the music changed. It was now pumping louder, faster, and a new dancer took to the stage.

  “Should we go somewhere more quiet so that we can talk?” She asked but he shook his head

  “If you’re going to work here, you’re going to have to get used to the noise.” He explained. “First, let me compliment you on your looks. You got the look down packed, but I don’t think that this place is cut out for you.”

  “Why not?”

  “You’re too shy.” He said flat out. “You’re barely looking me in the eyes, you keep shifting in your seat, and you can’t even look at the strippers. I don’t want you to get this job and then have to take some pills, drink, smoke something, just for you to be able to work here at Allure.”

  “I can work here.”

  “I don’t think so sorry.”

  Manuel got up and started to leave. Lionel shook his head and Giselle panicked.

  “No, don’t go.” She called after him.

  “Eva, I can see it just looking at you that you can’t do this. I know you might really need the money, but I don’t think this would be the right fit for you.”

  “What do I have to do to show you that I can?” He turned and looked at her. “What if I gave that guy a lapdance?” She pointed at Lionel. “What about it?”

  She moved her way to Lionel. She spun him around and started to dance in front of him. She started to imitate the dancer that was on the pole in the other room. She had her hand on her knees and poked her butt out. She was nervous and she could feel that she was moving a bit stiff, but when she saw Lionel’s eyes, she started to sway a bit slowly. Her moves got a bit more sexually enticing. She grinded against him and could feel him rise up. She pulled away and then bent completely over. She turned around and bit her lip and then wiggled.

  “Ok, that’s enough.” The manager said snapping Giselle out of her trance. “Eva, you must really need this job.” He laughed. “But if that’s just a taste of what you can do, you can start soon.”

  “Thank you!” She smiled.

  “In fact, why don’t you come to the back? You can get a look at the dressing room and sign some of the paperwork. I have to breakdown some of the percentages to you and talk about how the club works.”

  “Sure.” She followed him. Before she was out of sight, she gave Lionel one last look. He just nodded at her.

  Manuel led her through the club to the back. As soon as she turned the corner, they walked right to the dressing room. On one end of the wall, there was nothing but red lockers. On the other side there were dressing room mirrors and separate stations. On the counters there was makeup, perfume, and hair supplies scattered about. She heard some strippers talking further down, but she couldn’t see them. She tried to peek a little bit more, but Manuel gestured for her to follow him to the office. There she sat down and he started breaking down the business. The papers in front of her informed Giselle that she could either do a fifty-fifty split with the club with pay, or just all tips. She signed her fake name under the first option. He shook her hand.

  “So, if you’d like, I want you to come and meet some of the dancers here.” He got up and walked ahead of her. She took a deep breath and followed him. This could be the moment. This could be where she meets the woman and then find out what is going on.

  “Sure I’m more than ready to meet them.”

  “Good, I think Diamond, Tarah, and Monique is here. Some of the other girls come later on tonight or tomorrow.”

  “Okay.” Was all she could muster out. Her heart was beating five times as fast as it ever did.

  They walked back into the dressing room.

  “Man coming out.” He said out loud while covering his eyes.

  “Oh please Manny, not only have you seen all of this, but you’re gay.” The blonde haired stripper laughed. “You’re not interested in our parts so you don’t have to be afraid of looking at them.” He took his hand away from his eyes.

  “Just trying to be respectful.” He gave them a cheesy smile. “My beautiful ladies, I’d like to introduce you to the newest member of our Allure family. Her name is Eva.” He slid out of the way and presented Giselle, but known to them as Eva.

  “Oooh, she’s pretty.” The blonde haired one stepped forward. “She doesn’t have that much tits, but that’s why you have me.” She shook her big breasts. “Oh, my fault, I didn’t even say my name. I’m Tarah. I’m their token white girl.” She smiled. Tarah was 5’5, had big breasts, and a round bottom. She loved to add splits and tricks to her pole dancing routine. She is 26 years old and has been working as a stripper for the past five years. She needed the money to pay for school. She knew it was the oldest stripper story in the world, but the money was good and it came fast. She was now getting her masters. This was her last year and she was going to make the best of it.

  “Hi, I’m Diamond.” A tall Latina woman introduced herself. She was 23 and shaped like Jennifer Lopez. She had long black wavy hair and a dimple when she smiled. She was nicknamed “Princess” because they thought she was a bit
spoiled. She had all her things arranged in a certain way and she only purchased the best of the best . She never wore anything she saw in stores and only shopped at exclusive stores. People often thought she was stuck up.

  “I’m Monique.” The last stripper introduced herself in a rush. “I got to go. I’m next on stage.” She had a short pixie cut, thick thighs, a round bottom, and an ample chest. She was dancing as well as starring in several rap videos. She did stripping hoping to get into the model world, but the kind of pictures she was taking were not the ones she had in mind. She was also on the internet giving out free pole dancing lessons.

  “So, I’m going to leave you here with the girls so that you all can get acquainted.” Manny left her alone with the strippers.

  “What makes you want to shake your ass for money?” Diamond asked.

  “Wow, you’re just going to jump right into it. You’re not even going to try to let her get used to it.” Tarah chuckled. “At least give the girl five minutes.”

  “Nah, if she’s going to do this, she’s going to have to get used to it really quick. There’s no time to hold nobody’s hand.”

  “But Princess, she need to take it slow.”

  “There’s no taking it slow to stripping. You got to be all in. This ain’t like folding shirts at the Gap, this is real shit.” Diamond walked over to the mirror. She pulled out some lip gloss and applied it to her lips. “So when are you going to answer my question?” She looked at Giselle through the mirror.