by Abby Gale
“If you bite my lip again as I kiss you, I’ll fuck you. I don’t care where we are, who is with us. I’ll fuck you in that moment.” Xander said to my lips.
Oh, please!
“Good,” I said and put some distance between us. I caught his small smirk. He was enjoying my wild side.
“Well, I need to continue serving drinks,” I said and left the booth after blowing them a kiss.
Whenever I was with them, I felt lighter. Even in my most depressed time, they lifted my mood up.
I went back to the bar and served the other booths. After half an hour or so, I was tired and hot in the club. Climbing the stairs again and again made me sweaty.
“Channing all the booths are covered. I’m taking a break, okay?” I called out.
“You’re free for now, Gorgeous,” he waved his hand and I walked toward to back exit. I wanted some fresh air.
Muffled voices reached me as I was walking down the hall. The hall was almost dark with vibrating purple lights on the ceiling.
I noticed the voices belonged to a man and a woman, but I couldn’t catch what they were talking about. I didn’t want to bother anyone if they were having a quickie in the dark. But when I heard a muffled “stop”, I quickened my pace. As I walked faster, the voice got louder. I wasn’t sure but I felt like she was fighting with the man.
“What the hell is happening there?” I yelled as I ran. I looked into all the rooms but they were empty. There was no sign of someone, which was weird. The hall was empty. I stood there confused. I doubted if I really heard something.
I headed to the exit and took a deep breath. I turned my back quickly when I felt like someone moved behind me. I caught a glimpse of waitress’ outfit and blonde hair turning the corner and thought K was here, but I wasn’t really sure what I saw because of the dim light.
I slowly walked out of the door to cool air, hoping it would ease my nerves.
“Rough night?”
I jumped with the unexpected question from a familiar voice.
“Mike…you scared me.”
“You came here as if you saw a ghost,” he said in a questioning tone.
“I thought I heard some voices,” I mumbled.
“It’s funny. I was just thinking how silent the night was before you came here,” he said. Almost defensively, like trying to make me feel silly about the idea. Why?
A frown formed on my face and I took a step back without realizing my action.
“What kind of voices did you hear? You know we’re in a club, it’s normal to hear voices around,” he continued but noticed my move.
“It’s okay. You’re right. I probably mixed it with the music or something,” I said as nonchalantly as I could manage and leaned against the wall.
The dim light above the door was similar to the light in the hallway. There was a gut feeling that made me nauseous as standing in the cold air, alone with Mike. I shook but didn’t know if it was fear or cold alone.
I felt Mike’s gaze on me but didn’t reciprocate his look, pretending like I was studying my surroundings. The back door of the club opened to the dark alley that was used as parking lot for staff.
I noticed a truck a few meters away.
“Is that your truck?” I asked.
“Yeah, my old lady,” he answered. I just nodded and tensed when he came closer to me.
“Are you okay here by yourself? I’m gonna go inside.”
“Yeah, sure,” I said too quickly,causing him to look at me more than he should. But he got inside before saying anything. I exhaled, and supported myself against the wall.
I couldn’t find any reasonable answer why I tensed up that much near Mike.
I grabbed my phone from the back pocket of my shorts and took a photo of the license plate of his truck. Thankfully, night mode of the camera made the numbers visible.
I sent the photo to Kevin, without wasting any time.
*This is the license plate of the car. Please, tell me if it was in any accident in the last two years.*
֎
UNKNOWN
She heard us. I knew she heard us.
Damn Katia bitch couldn’t keep her mouth shut! I had to give her what she deserved for almost revealing me.
After I got what I wanted: Violet…
The time is running.
Tick tock…
Six days passed from sending the plate numbers to Kevin without any information from him. After a hundred of missed calls and dozens of voice mails, he finally sent me a message to let me know he needed more time.
The time passed by in a blur. My life turned into a routine—I went to the gym every day, hung out with Alex and did modeling for him. He didn’t push me about it, though. After the last incident, he took easy photos. I didn’t have to force myself into any feelings, they were all natural pictures. Aside from Alex I’ve spent time with Xander if I was lucky enough to find him at home. In the evenings, I went to the club to perform and serve drinks.
Fabien came to the club with us every night, but didn’t give out anything. He was like a closed box, watched everyone and everything like a hawk but kept his suspicions to himself.
Trying to find a message in Angel’s photos took most of my time but the frustration and the helplessness grew with each day that passed by without figuring out anything in the photos. To feel like I was doing something helpful about Angel, I decided to call Kevin and ask him about the license plate. It killed me slowly that I didn’t have anything but the deafening silence. With the routine of my days, I felt like I’d abandoned Angel.
I dialed Kevin’s number.
“Dawn?” he answered with a sigh when the line was about to go dead.
“Kevin?! I was trying to reach you these past few days,” I snapped at him.
“I told you I needed time, Dawn. An urgent case came to the office that I had to work on. You know I’m not working only for you.”
Fucking prick!
“I know, Kevin,” I sighed.
“I let you know in a few hours, okay?”
“Okay. Thank you,” I said and ended the call. I couldn’t force him to hurry with things and caused him to ask questions I didn’t want to answer.
I headed to the closet and wore black yoga pants, a navy blue t-shirt and black sneakers. My clothes were in Xander’s closet since his room was where I spent most of my time.
“Dawn, why are you getting ready? You still have a few hours.” Alex called out from the entry of the closet. I didn’t hear him coming in the room.
“I want to do a rehearsal before the show and I also need to talk to the girls. You know, tomorrow they’ll be at my place.”
“Okay. Let me get ready, then.”
“Alex, you can’t come in with me. It’s too early for members.”
“I’ll take you to the club. I can wait outside if they won’t let me in,” he said and left the room. I knew arguing was useless, he would come in one-way or another.
After putting my hair in a ponytail, I went to the kitchen to make Gary’s not so tasty “energy bomb” drink.
“Hey, Stacey. How are you?” I asked when I saw her in the kitchen. I didn’t know she was home.
“I’m good Dawn, thank you. Are you going to jog?”
“No. I’m going to the club early. Can I use a few things to make myself a drink?” I asked her.
“Of course! You can use whatever you need, but I’d gladly prepare it for you if you want fresh juice,” she told me sweetly.
“No, not juice. My personal trainer is always forcing me to drink this shit. Oops, sorry about the language.”
“Don’t worry about the language, Dawn. I spent my days with two men here and two more at home. My husband and fifteen years old boy,” she rolled her eyes. She looked so young when she did that.
“Wished you had a daughter to be your back-up in this men’s world of yours, huh?” I teased her. I prepared the ingredients of my drink while talking to her.
“Yeah. In fact, I do
have a daughter but she left the state for college,” she told me with a sad tone. She missed her daughter that was obvious.
“Oh…what’s she studying?” I asked her.
“She is in the art school. Julliard. She is playing a cello,” she said proudly.
“Wow. That’s great. She must be really good,” I was impressed. I always envied people who knew how to play an instrument.
“She is. That cello is like a part of her. She wasn’t even able to carry that big thing when she started to play it.”
“You’re gonna drink that?” she pointed at my drink with slightly disgusted look.
“Unfortunately. Not that bad but not something I’d recommend, either.”
“Where is Alex?” she asked as I took sips from the glass.
“Upstairs. Getting ready. Is Xander home? I didn’t see him today.”
She was making a sandwich, or designing it. It looked like she was creating an art instead of a sandwich.
“Oh, he’ll come with you. Good. Xander? He left after I got here. He said he had an early meeting.” Stacey answered me.
“He’s working too much,” I said more to myself than Stacey.
“Yeah, he was always like that. He likes everything in a certain way—a perfectionist,” she said. I nodded her when Alex stepped into the kitchen.
“I’m ready. We can go, babe,” he said.
“Hey, there Stacey,” he kissed her on the cheek.
“Here. Take these before you leave.” Stacey put the sandwiches into a lunchbox and gave it to Alex. That made me smile. It was so…motherly. I missed that feeling, to be cared for by a motherly figure, knowing that I had a shoulder to cry on whenever I was in trouble.
I missed my mom, my family, my sister…
Filled with longing, I muttered a thank you to Stacey and followed Alex out of the home.
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Annoyed at Frank, I jumped onto the stage with a frustrated huff.
“Hey, what happened, girly?” Harley called out to me, I didn’t notice her until she stood in front of me.
“Alex came with me but Frank didn’t let him in.”
“Frankenstein doesn’t do exceptions, doll. Get used to it,” she rolled her eyes at me.
I started to warm up as she tried to read some files, standing.
“Why don’t you sit down? You cannot manage all those files under your arm,” I giggled at her.
“You do your practice. I need to do a few things, then we can talk. Okay?” she sighed and passed by me quickly.
I started to dance, not wanting to waste any time.
I didn’t want to be around when it was time to open the doors. That time at the club was the worst because everyone was in hurry. They were flying around the place to get things ready. It was so much better for me to rehearse before that chaos.
I was about to be done when Harley came back next to the stage. I stopped and turned to her after taking a sip from my bottle of water.
“Why are you here so early?” I asked her. She looked tired.
“Will hasn’t been doing his work well recently. He isn’t here much. So he demanded that I work extra,” she said and sat on the table in front of the stage Indian style.
“Are you getting paid for extra work?” I asked her.
“Of course. I wouldn’t move my pinky finger for him if he didn’t pay me.”
“Good, then,” I said and rolled my shoulders to cool off my body.
“Why were you dancing without music?”
“I got used to it, thanks to Mike,” I rolled my eyes.
“Hey, girls! Are we still up for tomorrow?” Salem came next to us.
“Right! Violet, you’re not ditching us for your guys I hope.” Harley teased me while wiggling her eyebrows.
“Her guys? What’s that mean?” Salem asked.
“We’re still up for tomorrow, of course. I’ve invited you all, remember?” I jumped into the conversation and winked at them.
“About guys…I’ll tell you tomorrow, okay?” I said to Salem.
“That sounds juicy. I’m already excited for girls’ night, then.”
“Is it time to chit-chat, ladies?” Mike said tersely as soon as he stepped into the saloon from the back door.
Harley muttered “bastard,” barely loud enough for us to hear. I frowned before I could help myself when I saw he wave at me. I didn’t like how his eyes roamed over my body. It was different than a simple checking out. I felt like a prey.
“Will you dance, Violet? Move and I’ll make a playlist,” he said.
“I’ve already practiced. I came in early this evening,” I said to him and he lifted his thumb up to me.
“It’s about time to open the club. Let’s get ready everyone, shall we?” Harley said and I was glad for the excuse to leave the stage.
“He thinks himself as a boss. I have no idea why Will is putting up with his shit.” Salem complained, whispering as we walked toward the dressing room. I turned my head slightly to check if Mike heard anything, just in case.
“Will doesn’t like him but Mike is really good at what he’s doing. He has to, I think.” Harley answered Salem but she didn’t sound convinced, either.
I followed them in silence but got distracted when I noticed Sage walking toward us.
“Hi, Sage! You didn’t forget about tomorrow, right?”
She looked at me and smiled sweetly. Almost motherly.
“I’ll be there, Violet,” she said and headed to the room.
When I heard the ring tone, I stopped walking.
“What’s wrong?” Salem asked to me.
“Nothing, just my phone,” I said and opened my mailbox.
*This truck hasn’t been in an accident for fifteen years. It doesn’t even have a parking ticket. Good to go. Drive safely.*
Mail was from Kevin.
No accident. Mike lied about his scar, about accident. But why?
I felt the shiver ran through my body. It was that same feeling whenever I felt like I was being watched. I looked around and saw only Mike on his DJ platform.
I checked the time. The doors would be open in thirty minutes. I didn’t have time to worry about Mike or his truck. I postponed thinking about it until after the show and headed to the dressing room.
Harley and Salem have already worn their matching outfits and were talking about something I couldn’t catch. Katia was also in the room but she was distant. Her eyes weren't focused. She was obviously distracted. Her outfit was the same of Harley and Salem but her hair was loose instead of in ponytail. When she reached for her lace bra strap I could catch a big hickey on her neck. I noticed her wrists were slightly bruised. She had these bruises for almost a week. I couldn’t help but trying to find some connection with her bruises and that night. The night I heard muffled voices in the hallway.
“Katia, hi! Did you hear about our plans? Tomorrow, at my place.”
She was clearly surprised by my behavior. I usually didn’t talk to her, not because I didn’t like her but because I couldn’t find a subject to talk to her about.
I needed to confirm if my suspicions were right. Hanging out with her was the best way to know about her.
“Umm…I…I don’t know. I’ll think about it,” she said and tried to smooth her already perfect skirt.
“It would be great if you could come. The rest of the girls will be there,” I said and when she nodded, I left her alone to change into my costume.
My phone pinged again while I was trying to decide what to wear in my closet.
*Dance for me tonight*
Xander…I sighed with a small smile on my face. His message gave me an idea about my outfit. I grabbed the leather bustier with matching shorts. I checked my wardrobe for a special piece…after a few seconds of searching in the closet, I took the collar and wore it around my neck.
When I was done with dressing, someone whistled beside me.
“A domme or a hot submissive?” Sage asked.
“Hmm…I
don’t know. It was supposed to look like a submissive but I think I’m good with both.”
“You look good. I’m going on stage now,” she winked and left the room.
The rest of the girls had already left the room when I got out of the closet. I quickly curled my hair and did my make up. I was ready when Sage came back into the room.
“Violet, your turn girl,” she said and I nodded while heading toward the stage.
The stage was dark while I took my position on the platform. I kneeled in the middle with my head bowed slightly. When the lights turned on I slowly lifted my head and looked to the audience. I frowned slightly when I saw Alex and Xander were in the first row of the tables. I saw a smirk on Xander’s face. There were lust and amusement in his eyes. Alex leaned forward on his seat like he was trying to get closer to me... He put his elbows on his knees and winked at me.
I lifted my hand to the metal bar and locked my handcuff onto that while slowly pulling myself up. I moved my hips slowly, almost hesitantly. After one round around the metal bar, I bent over, spread my legs to give a view to my audience. Looking over my shoulder I slapped my ass, hard. I caught a glimpse of the twins but didn’t let them distract me. Swaying my ass with the rhythm, I walked one more round around the pole.
The music turned to a crescendo and I wrapped my left leg around the pole. My moves became more aggressive, challenging.
Whenever the hard notes filled the room, I became a dominatrix and with the sensual and slow notes, I embraced my submissive persona.
I danced and danced the music stopped. The stage darkened but the applause was deafening and powerful. I drank the power in, felt it in my bones. It was the most intense show I did and it cleared my head, gave me the focus I needed
Sitting in the darkness, I thought about the Mike and his truck. I tried to wrap my mind around that information. But after a few minutes, being alone in the darkness became suffocating.
“I loved what you did on the stage tonight,” I heard Mike’s voice when I got out from the room to the hall.
