Emma
My feet are killing me after that last performance, so I grunt as I pull off my heels. I toss them to the floor and begin rubbing the flat surface of my heel. Damn these shoes are sexy, but they can be painful on some longer nights.
Suddenly Ginger comes into the room after briefly knocking.
“Hey, are you down for a drink later?”
I frown, still rubbing my foot. Ginger has never asked to get a drink with her one-on-one. Especially since she seems to hold some kind of resentment against her for not getting her into the firefighting program. But my mind is tired tonight, and I can’t be bothered trying to figure it out.
I nod.
“Yeah that actually sounds really nice right now. When’s your shift done?”
“About an hour,” her hand is still on the door knob. “This one dude has been eyeing me all night so I might sneak in a lap dance, but about one works.”
I move my hand over to my other foot and begin rubbing in a circular motion.
“Sounds great Ginger.”
She smiles, chewing gum loudly.
“You know, I think this will be good for us.”
I raise my eyebrows. She laughs a booming laugh.
“You know, having a drink and not giving each other shit.”
“Drinking is always better than shit isn’t it?” I place both feet down on the floor.
I tense them and tighten them, thinking about how good it would feel to have Luke or Isaac giving them a rub down right now. Probably both.
“I’ll be sure they’ve got your whiskey ready.”
Ginger closes the door as abruptly as she opened it.
I sit in silence, thinking about how odd that interaction was. Perhaps Ginger wants us to turn over a new leaf. I wouldn’t mind that. If she’s able to let things go, the work day would go by more smoothly. I think I’d be just fine with that.
About an hour later, I’m sitting in a corner booth waiting for Ginger. She must have gone for that lap dance because she’s been gone longer than I expected. It doesn’t matter though, it’s the name of the game working in a place like this.
Just as I finish my whiskey, Ginger shows up with two more rounds of my favorite gold liquid. She is grinning widely as she places them down.
I smile back. “Get a good tip?”
She nods enthusiastically. “That bastard didn’t know what hit him. He shoved three-hundred bucks into my bra to give me exclusive dances once a night this week.”
She pulls three bills from out of her shirt.
“Damn. Unfortunately for him, we know what ‘exclusive’ means.”
I use air quotes dramatically while Ginger laughs.
“Yeah, exclusive for a fuck. Too bad for you buddy, you’re already on the shit list. Thanks for the rent money though.”
Ginger sits down in front of me and shoots back some of her drink. She pushes some of her hair back, smiling at me.
“Listen, I wanted to talk to you tonight about something in particular.”
Ah yes, here it comes. Either an apology, or a stern talking to. I take a large gulp from my own glass to prepare for the blow.