Chapter Four: Sweet Spot
Naomi
I parked my car in the parking lot of the strip club. It always looked so different during the day. When I showed up for work every day, the sun was still up, but by the time the men came and we started dancing, it would be dark outside, the pink neon lights on the front of the building casting an almost eerie glow onto the street.
During the day, it just looked like any other tall brick building. Even the name of the place, Sweet Spot, wasn’t so obvious that it was clear to everyone what the building was used for.
It was Monday, which wasn’t a day I normally worked, but I liked to bring my school supplies to the club and study backstage when I wasn’t performing. It had been a great way to keep up on schoolwork while holding down a job, but Saturday night I had been studying for an upcoming quiz and had accidentally left my book in the dressing room. The quiz was tomorrow, so I had to drive all the way back to the club on my day off to pick it up and study tonight, or I would probably fail, which was something I couldn’t afford. To receive financial aid, I had to maintain a certain GPA, and if I lost the money, I definitely couldn’t afford to keep going to school.
Walking around to the back of the building, I punched in a code on the keypad beside the door, unlocking the metal door and pushing it open.
Bright sunlight spilled into the space, making everyone backstage turn to see who was coming in. There were strippers getting ready for the club to open in an hour, as well as a bouncer and our boss, the manager, Duane.
As the door slammed shut behind me, I waved hello to a few people and headed to the dressing room. I didn’t want to waste too much time here since Gavin was waiting for me at home with Samantha. She’d set her laptop and piles of books up on my kitchen table and when I returned, I was sure we were going to have an all night study session.
The dressing room was huge, with a long makeup table running the length of a wall as well as mirrors with bright lights above. Racks of clothing were hung up on the other side of the room, and each girl had their own section of clothing as well as lockers where we could put our street clothes and other belongings. This was where I went, spotting the book I’d accidentally left behind. Grabbing it, I stuffed it into the backpack I’d brought along and turned around, only to let out a startled yelp.
Duane had been standing right behind me.
My hand went to my chest, covering my heart, which I could feel pounding rapidly against my palm. “Damn it, Duane, you scared the hell out of me,” I snapped.
No man was supposed to be in this room, unless it was an emergency, but Duane felt like he had the right to break that rule whenever he pleased. He was a skeezeball.
“What are you doing here, Diamond?” he asked, using my stage name. Reaching out, he took a strand of my hair and rubbed it between his thumb and forefinger, keeping eye contact with me as a creepy grin spread across his face.
I could hardly stand this guy. He had no respect for his dancers, and tried to treat us like prostitutes, able to be bought and sold as he pleased. Some of the girls let him get away with that, but not me. “I forgot something in my locker on Saturday,” I explained, trying to inch around him.
He moved with me. “Ah, Saturday,” he sighed wistfully. “Your performance on the stage that night was particularly...invigorating.”
“Thanks.” Since I couldn’t inch around him, I took a step back.
He couldn’t reach my hair anymore, so his hand fell down at his side, and he looked at the space between us with a frown marring his face. “But you know, you’d be amazing on center stage. The money you could earn… You just have to ask for it.”
When he said ‘ask for it,’ he meant on my knees. Everyone knew the only way to get on the most prominent stage in the place, the largest stage in the center of the room, was to sleep with Duane or—at the very least—give him a blow job.
Personally, I’d rather keep dancing on one of the two smaller stages off to each side of the main stage. Sure, center stage was more money, but I’d rather keep a little bit of my dignity.
“Come on, baby. We can both have a little fun and you’ll get exactly what every slut in this place wants. They all eventually do what I want for that spot on stage.”
Not me.
“You know what? I’ll keep that in mind.”
The door of the dressing room opened and another stripper came inside. Angel was already dressed in her outfit for the night, a blue, barely-there dress with cut-outs in the sides and a neckline plunging all the way to her belly button. It was a great dress that complimented her fiery red hair, but she wouldn’t be in it for long. All the girls had their own style, and Angel tended to take it all off quickly. I preferred to be more of a tease, removing clothing slowly and making them practically beg for more.
At the sight of Angel, Duane backed off, scowling as he stomped out of the dressing room.
“What’s his problem?” she asked, going to a mirror and reapplying bright red lipstick. Angel loved being bold.
“Same old shit. Wants me to sleep with him for a more prominent spot on the stage.”
“Good for you for saying no. That’s what’s got him all twisted into knots. He’s not used to not getting his way.”
“Well, he’ll have to get used to it,” I said, wondering if that meant that Angel herself had slept with him.
“I’m glad you came in,” she said. “I was wondering if you wanted to go grab drinks with me after my shift ends. There’s this bar that I really want to check out in Holbeck.” Angel lived in Glenam, the next town over. Sweet Spot happened to be located just off the interstate that ran between the two towns, so even though it was technically in Holbeck, it attracted people from both places as employees and customers.
Her offer was tempting, it really was. I couldn’t even remember the last time I went out and had some fun. A couple of drinks at a bar sounded amazing, even though I knew she’d be getting off work very late. But I thought about the reason I came here in the first place. I had to study. I still had four semesters to complete before I could get my degree in social services and start helping kids that were going through the same thing I experienced for most of my life.