“You do it?” I asked, aghast. I had no idea.
She shrugged. “On and off. When I need the cash. I’m not a regular. But you could be. It’s literally a win-win for you.”
I sat back down beside her, rubbing a hand over my forehead. She made it sound so casual. So obvious. Like, why hadn’t I thought about this before? Was it really that common for girls to do this for money? Was it really not as sleazy as I thought?
“And…and what would it entail?” I asked in a whisper, like I didn’t want anyone overhearing the conversation even though there was nobody around.
Nancy looked at me like she was trying to suppress a smile.
“Oh, hon, have you never been to a strip club before?”
I said nothing. That was answer enough.
“Okay, come on, get up. I’ll take you,” she exclaimed, jumping up.
“Nancy, I can’t go. I’m supposed to be on a fifteen-minute break. I have a job!”
She grabbed my hand and was now pulling me up forcibly.
“So, quit.”
“Have you not been listening? My grandmother’s life literally depends on this. On me being able to put two cents together.”
She stopped in her tracks and turned around to stare me down.
“Exactly. You’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do, right? I’m giving you the best idea of your life. You should be thanking me for this. Trust me, Mercy, what I’m about to do is because I care.”
“I can’t just quit…”
“Yes, you can. You will sign on as a stripper at Teasers tonight. You can start working tomorrow. The amount of cash you’ll make in four hours at that place is what you make slogging your ass off here for two weeks.”
I couldn’t believe it and had to see this for myself. It sounded too good to be true, but something told me to follow Nancy’s lead. She had always been a reliable friend to me and was trying to be one right now too.
So, with her by my side, I marched back into the gas station and quit my job. My hands shook as we rushed out together. She was going to take me to Teasers and my life would change forever. I sure hoped she was right, otherwise, where would I get the money for Grandma’s medication?
We got there and I felt severely out of place.
First of all, I didn’t look like any of the girls and neither was I dressed like them. But she led me in anyway and started introducing me to people at the club. The music seemed too loud, and the girls were very self-confident about their bodies—unlike me—and everyone was staring.
I felt thoroughly naked even though I had all my clothes on.
I was barely paying attention to any of the conversations Nancy was having with the men as they were eyeing me up and down. My face was burning.
“Did you hear that, Mercy?” she asked eventually, tapping my shoulder.
“Huh?”
“The money. The perks.” She was guiding me away from the men now, one arm wrapped around my waist. “It’s all sorted. You start tomorrow night.”
Decisions had been made for me that I wasn’t even aware of. I wanted to stop for a second, just breathe, just catch my breath…but she was already leading me toward the changing rooms at the back. Nancy was way more excited about this than I was.
It wasn’t until a few weeks later that I found out she got a sizable commission for bringing in fresh meat to the club.
* * *
Nearly six months later, I was sitting here alone at a table in the crowded bar area of a motorcycle clubhouse, feeling more lost and alone than I ever had before. What happened last night had shaken me to the core, to the extent that sometimes, I looked down at my quivering hands and had to grasp my knees tightly till my knuckles turned white.
I’d been at Teasers for exactly five months and eighteen days. I barely ever saw Nancy anymore because she worked as a scout for the club rather than a regular stripper. There were so many reasons why I couldn’t integrate into my new work environment.
Stripping was an art and a form of dancing that I had no experience with. Just being a dancer in high school certainly didn’t seem to be enough of a qualification. I also had to be comfortable taking off my clothes. Comfortable with the way men and some women stared at my body, waiting, salivating for the last piece of fabric to be pulled off. I would never get comfortable with the way they touched me with their grubby hands when they paid for an expensive lap dance.
The one thing Nancy was right about, though, was the money.
I’d never made money like this before. Within just four weeks, all my pending bills were paid off, and we were finally up-to-date with grandma’s medications. The amazing change in her, now that I could pay the medical bills, was enough to keep me going back there. But of course, I never quite told her where all this money was coming from all of a sudden—and she didn’t ask.
At the strip club, I tried to keep my head down and stay out of other people’s business. I wasn’t there to make friends, was I? I was there to get a job done and get paid. Even though I tried to stay neutral, I always knew there was something up. The power dynamics, the way the women were treated… Eagle and Crash and the other men…I absorbed it all, but remained silent.
It was none of my business anyway, I told myself.
Except that a war had broken out last night. Armed men swarmed into the club and opened fire. The Silver Knights were outnumbered and the Iron Thunder MC took over the club. I was in shock, was crying. I was herded out with the rest of the girls and brought back here to
