by Fiona Wilde
"If she's going to give you the opportunity then take it," Naomi said. "It's a wonderful thing to have people who believe in you. Even if it's just one. You're a lucky guy."
"You sound so sad when you say that," Justin said. "Don't you have anyone like that in your life?"
Naomi sighed. "I thought I did," she said. "But I was wrong."
"So you're going where? Back home?"
Naomi was quiet for a moment. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."
"I hope everything works out for you there."
"Yeah, me too."
The conversation died but Justin stayed in the seat beside Naomi until they came to their next stop. She bought two packs of cigarettes with the money Jasper had sent her - one for Justin and one for herself - as well as some snacks for the both of them.
Doing something for someone else helped remind Naomi of her worth as a person and not just as a dancer. Perhaps she was out of place in a church, but she wasn't out of place among people who cared. Even if she could touch one person's life, then it meant she mattered.
The journey continued, the scenery changed. The sun rose and set and rose and set and the bus continued on towards the west. Deciduous trees gave way to palms. The air became warm. The passengers became more eclectic.
Naomi looked at them and recognized herself in the naive, bright-eyed girls who boarded with hopeful expressions. She tried talking to several of them about the reality of L.A.
"Mind your own business," one girl snapped. Naomi went back to her seat and ate Skittles with Justin.
The trip ended all too soon. The bus station in LA was larger and busier than the one at home. Naomi got off the bus half-hoping Jasper would have gotten angry about not reaching her and decided not to pick her up.
No such luck. He was there, leaning against a column in the bus station. He was as handsome as ever, with the same disarming boyish charm.
"Welcome home."
He walked over and took her in his arms, kissing her full on the mouth. Naomi pushed him away and wiped her lips with the back of her hand. He laughed.
"What's the matter? Don't like being welcomed home?"
"This isn't home," she said. "And I don't like being kissed without permission."
"Said the girl who's going to be shaking her bare ass in some guy's face tonight."
Naomi whirled on him. "Now you listen, goddamnit. I may have come back but I swear, Jasper, if you don't lighten up I will take my ass and shake it in some other bar. Understand. And I don't care how much Pinnacle pays. It doesn't pay enough to put up with your shit."
He took her bag. "Touchy," he said. "Geesh."
She turned away, not looking at him. She knew if she did she'd only want to slap the smug expression on his face. She hated Jasper, hated the proprietary way he treated her, hated the dehumanizing way he treated all the dancers. He was nothing more than a flunky, a thug. But even he felt he was a cut above her.
"You carriage awaits, my lady," he said sarcastically as they arrived at his car.
She got in and lit a cigarette.
"No smoking in my ride," he said.
She took another drag, ignoring him. "Shut up, Jasper."
He grumbled something and started the car.
Yep. She was back. And she hated it. But she'd better get used to it. This was her new reality. Jasper would see to it.
But a thousand miles away someone was just as determined to win her back. For Eric had received a frantic early morning call from Naomi's mother and had gone over to the house right away.
"She's gone," Fred Kindle had announced. "Now what will people say."
He wanted to ask them why that even mattered as he walked down the hall to see for himself. Eric looked through her room for clues. And then he heard the beep of a cell phone about to run out of juice.
He picked it up and punched a button. The last text message popped up on the screen. L.A.
And a place called Pinnacle.
He would not tell her parents. Not yet.
"I need a couple of days off," he told Fred Kindle.
"Now? Why?"
"I'm sorry, Fred. I wouldn't ask if it weren't important. It's for personal reasons.
The preacher had sighed. With his daughter gone and the congregation asking questions he had enough on his mind without arguing with his youth minister.
"Sure," he said.
Eric thanked him and left to go home to pack a bag. He had to get to L.A. And fast.
Chapter Nine
"Hey girl!" Candy Watson ran over to Naomi, catching her in a tight embrace. Naomi caught the odor of sweat and cigarette smoke that clung to the girl's skimpy outfit. Funny how she'd never noticed in on her own clothes. After a while dancer's got immune to those sort of things, just as they got immune to the lustful glances and disrespectful taunts coming from the audience.
Candy pushed Naomi back and surveyed her from arm's length. "God, it is so damn good to have you back. The regulars still ask about you." She lowered her voice. "And just between you and me that new girl - Claire - she doesn't really seem to be into it like she should. Jasper said she just needs time, but I don't know..."
Naomi turned to see a girl sitting in front of the mirror. She was small and wore her dark, thin hair in pigtails.
"Jesus," Naomi said. "How old is she?"
"She told Jasper eighteen. And you know Jasper. He doesn't look at ID."
"He used to," Naomi said, unable to take her eyes off the girl.
"Not since Guys and Dolls opened down the street," Candy said.
"Guys and Dolls?"
"Yeah," Candy said. "New strip joint. They have ladies night every Wednesday with male dancers. The rest of the night is all girls and there are some pretty ones. Real pretty ones. We're losing customers. Randy's pissed. And he told Jasper to do two things - find some fresh meat. And get you back."
"Did he now?" It was all Naomi could do not to tell Candy what a snake they both worked for, but she knew any criticism of Randy or Jasper would be lost on Candy who was the least attractive of all the dancers. She was, however, the most limber. That kept her employed, that and her reluctance to make waves.
Jasper had dropped Naomi off at the club before running out to get more cigarettes to sell from behind the bar. She was supposed to be changing while he was gone, but now she'd decided not to. She was too angry. If he thought she was going to work in this environment he had another think coming.
She heard him come back in before she saw him, heard him say, "Hey, darlin," to the barkeep as he tossed her the cigarettes before barging into the dressing room. She remembered how she'd gotten angry with him the first time he's walked in on her as she was changing for her shift.
"Why are you so upset?" he'd asked. "You're about to pull everything off for a roomful of strangers anyway."
It had hit her then that her body was community property in Jasper's eyes. It was one of many steps he'd taken to dehumanize her, to get her to dehumanize herself. Was it calculated on his part? She'd not given Jasper that much credit at first. Now she realized that Jasper was far more calculated than she'd first realized.
"Hey, hot stuff," he said to the girl at the table. "You ready to knock 'em dead tonight, baby?
Claire gave a frightened smile and nodded.
He looked at Naomi then. "Why aren't you dressed."
"We need to talk."
"Later," he said. "You go on in ten minutes."
"Not unless we talk first."
"You aren't calling the shots here, Angel." His voice was harder, meaner now that he'd gotten her back. Big surprise.
Claire was watching from her table, her eyes wide with anxiety. Naomi didn't know why, but she felt very protective of the girl.
"Please," she forced herself to say.
Jasper said nothing as he made an apparent show of considering her request.
"Hey sweetheart," he finally said to Claire. "Why don't you go out and out to the dance pole and limber up a bit before t
he guests arrive. If you feel tense just drink some of this."
Jasper reached into his jacket and pulled a flask. He handed it to Claire who took it with a quiet "thank you." Her voice was like her, tiny and immature.
Naomi watched her go.
"Good god, Jasper. Is she even old enough to drink?"
"She's old enough."
"I don't believe it."
"It's none of your fucking business."
"It is my business," she said angrily. "If I'm going to dance I'm going to dance in a legal club. Legal clubs don't hire little girls."
"She's not a little girl."
"I want to see her I.D."
"Do you?"
He turned, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. It was apparent he was lying and attempting to find a way out of it. She'd caught him, and now he was on the defensive. Good.
So it came as a complete surprise when he rounded on her without warning. The back of his hand smashed across her cheekbone, snapping her head to the side and sending her crashing into the dressing table Claire had only just vacated.
Naomi lay there a moment, stunned. Jasper walked over to her and knelt, taking her bruised face in his hand.
"Now you listen to me, Angel," he said, his voice dangerously low. "A few things have changed since you left us in a lurch a few weeks back. "As you may or may not know we have a little competition down the street and that's not sitting well with Randy. Desperate times call for desperate measures, Angel. And if that means hiring a fresh face here and there or working extra hard to keep our girls....shall we say, motivated to perform then we're going to do what we have to do."
"Fuck you, Jasper," Angel managed to say. Her head felt like it was splitting and she could taste blood in her mouth. "I didn't come back here for this."
He grabbed her hair then, hard, and pulled her face to within just inches of his.
"I don't care why you came back, Angel. My job was to get you back and to keep you here. And that's what I mean to do. No more Mr. Nice Guy, baby. There's a new system in place. Get out of line and get punished. Understand? Oh, and if you even think of filling Claire's head with any of your rebel ideas then you're going to be responsible for the ass-whuppin' she takes for listening to you. Understand?"
He let go of her, flinging her away.
"Now get up and get ready. I'm sure Claire won't mind if you use some of her makeup to cover your bruise. More and more girls are investing in make-up, at least until they learn to keep their mouths shut like they're supposed to."
He turned, looking back at her before walking out.
"You'd better be out on that stage when you're supposed to be," he said. "You don't want to piss me off, Angel."
Naomi made sure he was gone before she shakily got to his feet. So this was how it was going to be. This had been why Jasper had been so sure she was back to stay. The new strategy was to rule the girls at Pinnacle with an iron fist - literally.
She touched her face. Her cheekbone was swelling and it hurt to touch it. The inside of her cheek was bleeding were the impact of the blow had forced her teeth against the skin.
"Welcome home," she told her battered reflection. "Aren't you just brilliant?"
Naomi wiped a tear away from her face and picked up some makeup. She winced as she dabbed it over the emerging bruise. No need for the customers to see her like this, and she knew she had no choice but to go on. She also knew that she'd go on now even if she had one. Eventually she would leave, but not until she could take Claire with her.
Naomi didn't know what the girl's story was but could tell from her demeanor that she'd either been abused before she came to Pinnacle or was being abused now. Perhaps it was both. She also knew the girl was most certainly underage. Jasper in his arrogance and cruelty, had all but admitted it.
She thought of the kids she'd accompanied on the church outings. They were likely around the same age as Claire. How could Claire have gone so astray? The question seemed ironic. How could she have gone so astray?
The music was starting. Naomi could hear the base thumping against the thin walls, hear the whoops and catcalls of the men as Claire as announced. Tears pricked against the back of her eyelids as she stood and slipped out of her clothes and into the skimpy outfit she'd wear on stage. It was a little tighter now thanks to her mother's good home cooking.
The men outside were cheering as the beat grew louder. Naomi opened the door of the dressing room and walked down the narrow hallway. The stage was surrounded by mirrors, one of which was the door that Naomi now cracked a bit to look out of.
Claire was on the stage, gyrating around as men cheered and watched. Her eyes looked glazed, drunken as she moved to the pole and straddled it. She stood for a moment, then her eyes fixed on someone in the audience. Jasper.
Naomi watched as he nodded, a wordless order to the girl to keep going. Claire's hips swayed as she pressed up against the pole, seductively moving up and down it in time to the music. There was fear in her eyes.
The men were clapping now and the girl stood, her hands moving to the waistband of the plaid skirt she wore. She undid the button and removed the skirt, leaving her only in her white, low cut shirt, tie and a pair of very skimpy panties.
Jasper nodded again and Claire continued to disrobe until she was standing only in her tie and panties. Her breasts were bare - nothing, not even pasties, covered her nipples.
Naomi had to hold on to the doorframe to keep from running out and covering the girl. Tears were apparent in Claire's eyes now and as she moved Naomi could clearly see bruises on the girl's upper thighs. Had Jasper beaten her? The idea made her want to run and scratch his eyes out. But she was afraid to let Jasper know how protective she felt over the girl. If he did, he'd only use it against her.
Claire was dancing at the edge of the stage now, lowering herself to the floor again so men could tuck money into the waistband of her skimpy panties. She stood, her eyes imploringly turned to Jasper, who nodded yet again.
Taking the bills one at a time, she laid them in a stack, bending at the waist as she did. Then she stood and worked the panties down and off, ending her routine in a split on the cold stage floor. The men went wild.
Claire stood hurriedly and picked up her money. Naomi moved aside as she came through the mirrored door. A sob burst from the girls' throat as she entered the hallway. She was shaken. And shaking.
"Claire...."
"No, it's OK. I just need to go sit down..."
"Claire," Naomi said. The girl looked at her. Her eyes were dilated.
"Fuck...What did he give you?"
"I don't know. Some kind of pill. I feel sick."
"A pill? On top of the liquor?" Naomi felt fury rise like a living thing in her chest.
Candy came down the hall.
"What's wrong?"
"Claire's sick. Get her something cold to drink and put her feet up in the dressing room, OK?"
"Sure."
Naomi watched as Candy walked the girl down the hall.
"Your turn, sunshine."
Jasper was coming for her.
"What did you give Claire?" Her voice was accusing. She knew it would piss him off. She didn't care.
"Just something to calm her nerves. Not that it's your business."
"She's sick."
"I'm sure she is. She didn't eat lunch and then she had liquor and a pill. Stupid kid."
Naomi shook her head. "You fucking bastard. You don't even care, do you?"
"Do I look like I care?" he asked. "It's not my job to care, sweet cheeks. It's my job to get you girls to dance, so if you think I'm going to argue with you then you're mistaken. Unless of course you'd like to go talk privately."
He touched her swollen cheek. "Again." Then he turned his eyes down the hallway. "Or I could go talk to Claire about the dangers of making people feel sorry for her."
"Claire hasn't even spoken to me."
"Yeah right."
He didn't believe her.
"Jasper, l
eave her alone."
"I might. I might not. It depends on how well you do out there, Angel." He looked her up and down. "You've filled out some while you were away. Tits are bigger. Rounder. I bet the guys would love to see them after staring at Claire's tiny rack."
He reached down and grabbed her bottom. "I bet they'd like to see that ass, too."
Naomi went to pull away but Jasper's grip was tight.
"Don't fuck with me, Angel. Tonight when you dance, everything comes off."
"I'm not stripping completely, Jasper."
"Yeah you will. If you don't we'll have disappointed customers and the only way to make it up to them will be to treat them to a private lap dance with one of the other girls. I bet you a hundred bucks it'd be Claire they'd want. You know how guys love schoolgirls."
He raised his eyebrows as at her. "Got it?"
"Yeah." Naomi looked at the floor. "I got it."
"Good. Then out you go."
Jasper slapped her on the ass, opening the door as he did.
In the booth the DJ announced her.
"And now, back from vacation please give a warm Pinnacle welcome to everyone's favorite angel, Naaaaaaaaomi!"
The crowd erupted into wild applause. Naomi looked down, took three deep breaths and forced herself to walk through the door onto the stage.
"And tonight is a very special homecoming," the DJ continued. "Because we get to see all her heavenly charms, right Angel?"
Naomi looked towards the DJ's booth. Lights blinded her. She could not see him but winked in his direction. She wished she had taken a drink or a pill, something to take her away from herself. She didn't want to do this. She didn't want to be on this stage in front of these men.
But she had to. She had to if she was going to stand a ghost of a chance of helping Claire.
She began to dance, swaying her hips in time to the music. She was wearing a sequined, clingy dress with spaghetti straps and nothing else save for a pair of thong panties. She hooked her fingers in the straps of the dress and danced towards the edge of the stage, pulling them down and bending over towards the men.
