“You bring your own outfit?”
“I—No, all I have are my regular clothes.” Why didn’t I think of that? He’s going to know I’m not cut out for this.
Looking back at his tablet, Damien points to a cardboard box sitting on a chair behind me. “Pick something in your size, head to the locker room, and change. Go up after the next girl.”
“A-after the next girl?” That fear and nervousness I was feeling a moment ago surges up inside me again like a volcano. Damien glances up at me.
“Problem?”
“Nope,” I immediately reply, shaking my head. He simply nods as I turn to the box full of bikinis and lingerie and begin sifting through it.
I try not to think about the fact that these have all probably been worn by plenty of other girls before me—and never washed—before finally settling on a blue bikini with sparkles. It’s something I would never wear in real life, but somehow I feel like it will work here.
“Locker room is up the hall,” Damien tells me. “You can’t miss it. Oh, and you need a stage name. Got one?”
Panic sets in. It feels so strange to suddenly have to pick a name for myself that I suddenly freeze up. But I know I can’t waste this man’s time, so I spit out the first thing that comes to my mind.
“Diamond.”
Damien chuckles and writes on his tablet. “Okay, Diamond. Now get lost. I got work to do.”
I quickly leave the office and head up the hall to the locker room. There are a few other girls inside, including the girl with the cowboy boots who was on stage when I came in. As I enter, she glares me up and down like she suspects me of having just robbed her house.
“And who areyou?” she asks.
“My name is…Diamond,” I say, extending my hand, which is still shaking, although not quite as badly as it was. “What’s your name?”
“Ginger,” she replies. “Little word of advice? Don’t come in here as the new girl thinking you’re going to take over, okay? That’s not going to happen.”
“Oh, no, I would never—” Ginger cuts me off immediately, storming right up into my face with her cowboy boots on, and glares at me like she’s glaring into my soul.
“I’ve seen a lot of girls come and go here, and theyallsay that, okay? Theyallact nice and innocent until they’re stabbing you in the back. You try that with me, and you’ll regret it.”
I’d heard this was a tough industry, but all this on the first day? The girls behind Ginger are simply standing there watching this whole thing unfold, not a hint of sympathy in their eyes.
“I got you,” I reply. What else is there to say? The last thing I want is to start a war. Thankfully, that seems good enough for now. Ginger looks me up and down once more, turns her back, and goes back to her locker.
I quickly change into my borrowed bikini, keeping my panties on underneath just in case, and race through the door with the large sign that saysSTAGEabove it. I have no idea who the next girl is, but if I’m supposed to go up after her, I don’t want to be late.
I pass through a velvet curtain and find another girl in a full set of lingerie and heels standing there waiting.
“Um, Damien says I’m supposed to go up after…” I point to a girl doing some wild upside-down move on the pole. “After her.”
The girl rolls her eyes. “Fine. Just don’t take forever, okay?”
“Sure, no problem!”
I know it was my decision to come here—my choice. But right now, a big part of me is wondering if it was the right one. Peeking through the curtain, I can see all those men’s silhouettes that will soon have their eyes fixed on me while I dance around with absolutely no idea what I’m doing.
Will I even make any money? What will the other girls think? What about Damien?
Maybe he’llun-hire me!
Suddenly, a voice comes booming over the loudspeakers.
“And tonight, we have something very special for you! A brand-new girl, so fresh she’s never even danced before! Please welcome to the stage… Diamond!”
The lights seem extra bright and the music seems extra loud as I step out of the shadows and onto the stage. Some song I’m sure I should know is playing as I look out across the crowd of men staring up at me like packs and packs of hungry wolves. I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing and am sure I’m going to trip over myself with every move I make.