Or at least pay our rent before we get another notice taped to our door.
I force in a deep breath and nod my head since I can’t really get my vocal cords to do anything.
Vi straightens, the steadying weight of her hands leaving my shoulders as her smile widens. “Room seven. Go take every penny he has.”
I’m not sure that’s a goal I should set for myself. Maybe I’ll start with making it through the next ten minutes without passing out.
I can probably do that.
I’m not sure I can pull off much more, though.
Except…
I wouldn’t have thought I’d be able to give a blow job either, but I did.
Not that it did me any good.
Vi jerks her chin toward the stairs. “Go get him, tiger. Chew him up and spit him out.”
I manage another nod before doing as she says.
What option do I have? I need this job. Need the money it provides, especially since I couldn’t get Andre to have sex with me once, let alone twice.
The stairs are lit only by tiny lights tucked under the treads, a lot like a movie theater, and I move carefully so I don’t trip and bust my ass, ruining another chance to earn extra cash I desperately need.
I pass one of the dancers in the hall, offering a smile she doesn’t notice as she hurries past me, stacking up the pile of bills in her hand.
They’re all twenties and fifties. Definitely better than the ones and fives I usually end up with.
I make it to door seven and stop, unsure what to do.
Do I knock?
Do I just walk in?
I decide against knocking, hoping it might make me look more prepared than I am.
I take one last breath and shove my way into the nicest room Platinum has to offer. It’s larger than the rest, with a wide leather sofa offering plenty of working room for the kind of dancing that usually happens up here.
It’s a nice couch. Definitely nicer than the one in the apartment I share with my mother.
It’s also empty.
I let out the breath I’m holding.
Whoever was here left. Probably got tired of waiting while I dragged my feet getting up here and went out to find someone else. Someone better.
Or worse, depending on who you ask.
I close my eyes as all the fear I carried up here rushes out of me, leaving nothing but disappointment in its wake.
This is yet another opportunity I should have been able to jump into, but once again hesitation did me in.
It always does.
I suck in a deep breath, bracing myself to go back downstairs and explain to Vi that I cost us both money, but before any air makes it into my lungs a hand clamps around my throat.
My eyes fly open as I grab at the strong hand braced around my neck. I gasp, pulling in as much air as I can, just in case the fingers squeeze tighter.