Page 32 of Broken Warrior
And if that wasn’t enough, Zak and Dori are increasingly worried about him too.
Fin has missed several club meetings and functions, is distancing himself from the guys in a way he apparently hasn’t before, and when I dropped James off last night and Jackal was there—he and my sister and her husband having a rather intense conversation about Fin that included their concerns that he might be using drugs—my anxiety went off the charts.
I’ve suspected that too.
The way his eyes look, the mood swings, the random disappearances; pushing everyone away, closing himself off, and seemingly withdrawing more and more into himself. There are a lot of things I’ve noticed that have led me to believe Fin might be in trouble and it’s had me so close to moving back in and calling him out I can barely stand it.
I care about Fin so much, and in a way that is totally foreign that the fear of losing him has been in the forefront of my mind almost constantly.
But Fin isn’t mine and has no desire to be, so I’m not really sure what to do.
“It’s fine.” I start unbuttoning my flannel, shed that and slip out of my Vans. “Can’t have boy trouble if you don’t have a boy, right?”
Elias sighs. “I hear that, but I get the impression you do have boy trouble because you don’t have the boy and wish you did.”
I scrunch up my nose and drop my leggings. “It’s complicated.”
“It always is with the good ones.” He smiles warmly. “Even more so with the great ones, the forever ones.”
Unless they aren’t interested in forever with you, then it’s super uncomplicated.
“Nosy.” I stick my tongue out at Elias then pull my tank top off, unhook my bra and drop that it in my bag.
He chuckles, sticks his tongue out at me then smirks. “Damn, girlie, I still can’t get over how gorgeous you are.”
If Elias was straight I’d probably slap him for watching me undress, but he isn’t, so I just blush because he’s so genuine and sweet. It’s a strip club after all, and I’m not really shy in this setting, but changing in front of men always had me on edge.
Since The Dollhouse has an all female staff and the guys on security aren’t allowed back here except for Elias, I’m even more comfortable than usual. It’s nothing at all like Gino’s clubs. The bouncers and thugs had free rein, and while I was off limits to them in terms of touching, it didn’t stop them from coming into the dressing room and watching, usually while they jerked off very non-discreetly.
This place is so much better.
And I’m making a lot of money already.
Trent was reluctant at first to consider my request, the one that included my need for a g-string and pasties—I added that when I talked to him face to face—but he eventually agreed to let me try it out for a week.
What he didn’t know was the gimmick I intended to dance under, and despite the fact that I didn’t get fully naked, it was a huge hit.
I took Ember’s dark fairy comment and combined that with Fin’s remark about spreading my angel wings and Cordelia, the Angel of Death, was born. I was worried it might be too morbid, but I ran it past Ember and Elias, both of whom loved it by the way, and when they explained that all the girls had a little more of a theatrical routine, I rolled with it.
So for the last two and a half weeks, I come out dressed in a white ceremonial robe over a fishnet long sleeve top, black corset and leather skirt with studs and chains, fishnet stockings, thigh high platform stiletto boots, and black feathery wings, all of which is hidden under the robe until I get into my routine.
I dance to She Rides by Danzig but when I take the stage surrounded by smoke and white lights, the music starts out as monks chanting. It transitions with a boom of thunder and a crack of lightning—a flash of stage lights that is blinding—then the entire club goes black for a second and when the lights come back on, I’ve dropped my robe and spread my wings.
By the end of the routine I’m in nothing but a super skimpy black g-string and black sparkly pasties shaped like X’s, the big finish is when I climb the pole in order to get to heaven but am refused entry, and my wings come off before I slide down the pole to the floor a fallen angel.
The customers eat it up and I’ve been pulling at least five to seven hundred on weeknights, and almost double that on the weekends. It’s been really great money but I know I’d make more if I did lap dances or the VIP rooms. Something else I said wouldn’t happen, at least for now.
In between my performances, because sometimes I go on stage twice, I walk around in a very biker-esque two piece set and sky high stilettos, since the girls are required to mingle while they aren’t on stage. It’s what I would wear if I did do lap dances and I even have a third sort of dominatrix-like costume to wear if I did VIP rooms. I have to be prepared for that because I know Trent isn’t going to let me avoid them completely. Cordelia is already in high demand and would bring him even more money if I did, I’m just trying to put it off as long as possible.
“Good evening, ladies!” Ember chirps as she walks into the dressing room. “How we doing tonight?”
Everyone murmurs their hellos, the nine of us already focused on getting ready.
She smiles, makes eye contact with me for a beat, her bright green eyes crossing when she notices my frown. “I’ve got the line up.” Ember looks at her clipboard. “Elevator girls go in at ten thirty, everyone else hits the floor at eleven. Melody is on at eleven fifteen then Dani and Cordy. Thirty minute intermission and change over then Tink, Jillian, and Carmen. There’s already a line out front so buddy up, keep tabs on our teams.”
This is basically the same pep talk Ember gives us every night. The lineup changes, and there isn’t always a line at the door, but she pretty much gives us the same speech every time, and again, I’m very grateful for it.
We typically stay anywhere from six to ten feet from another dancer—far but not far enough to leave a window for issues—and we have signals for various things including an SOS. We keep eyes on at least one waitress and one security guard while we’re on the floor. Ember pretty much runs everything and heads a team of very sweet but also terrifying women who are either ex-military like the guys or have some sort of background in mixed martial arts. I was surprised that Ember has just as much training as Elias, but I kind of love it, and they have a great system that seems to work for everyone.
