“Yasmin!” Slamming her eyeliner down on the table, Shanice turned to look at me.
“I’m sorry, I just… I’ve never done anything like this. I never dress like this!”
“Girl it’s just a little mixing and mingling, it’s not brain surgery.”
She turned back around picking up her makeup brush and began applying concealer to her face.
“Just go out there, dance around a little, have a little chat with a few of the men, and maybe take off your top, easy-peezy.”
I looked at her as if she had gone mad. Easy-peezy? Up until two weeks ago, I had never even been in a room alone with a man, let alone dance topless in front of one.
“I’m sorry… I can’t do it.” I pleaded for her to understand.
I was about to have a panic attack. She whipped back around squinting her eyes at me.
“Oh, you can do it! Cause if you get fired from this job, you are S.O.L. I love you baby, but you can’t stay with me rent free.” She schooled her features and gentled her voice a bit.
“Now, I know you from the country and before your granddaddy died you was used to being real sheltered… but you a big girl now, living in a big city. People around here got to do what they got to do to survive.”
Don’t cry Yasmin! Don’t cry. You can’t show these people any weakness! I bit down on my lip to stop it from quivering.
“Plus tonight, some very rich men are going to be out there.” Her eyes widen as she clapped her hands together. “Girl, The Beast and his whole crew gone be up in here, do you know what that mean. Oh the possibilities!”
Coco another dancer who was applying her makeup at the vanity table next to Shanice turned around to clap hands with her.
“Eww child, if I can catch the eye of The Beast, I ain’t never got to work again.” Coco began.
You would have thought someone had just given her a brand new car with the level of excitement that was in her voice.
“My friend’s sister worked with a girl that used to go out with him, and she say he’s not just a beast in the boardroom and on the streets, but girl… she say he a beast in the bed. Bay-bay, that nigga had her climbing dem walls!”
Shanice squealed like a little girl at Coco’s words before she turned to look at me.
“Yas, girl, you trippin! Now, you can’t handle The Beast, don’t shoot that high. But what you need to do is, try to catch the eye of one of them ballers in his crew!”
I didn’t care about none of what they were saying, my palms were starting to sweat and I was beginning to feel as if I was going to pass out. Why did Shugga do this to me? I knew when I came into work today that this was going to be a bad day because everyone was running around like chickens with their heads cut off.
Shugga’s Place was more a high-class Gentleman’s Club than a strip joint. It was known just as much for its five-star cuisine than its model like strippers. Your average Joe couldn’t just walk through those doors. You had to be a card holder or straight up VIP. You know, movie stars, famous musician, politicians, that kind of thing. Agents brought athletes here to discuss their contracts. Record labels brought up and coming artist here to sign the deal.
Whoever this guy was they called The Beast of New York, must really be VIP because in the two weeks I‘ve worked here, I had never seen the owner Shugga so frantic. She was running around double checking everything. I looked at Shanice with pleading eyes.
“But… when you got me this job you said I would only be helping the girls with their wardrobes. You never said anything about me stripping.”
She put her hand on her chest. “Is it my fault Cookie called in sick and can’t dance tonight?” Smacking her lips together, she rolled her neck.
“Is it my fault Shugga making you dance in her place?”
“No!” I said under my breath.
“Hell, is it my name on the Marquee? It says… Shugga’s Place, not Shanice’s Place.”
I rolled my eyes looking off to the side. I really hated when she talked to me like that. Just because I’m from the south don’t mean I’m stupid.
“Oh, come on now little country mouse, don’t get mad at me.” She purred, coming to her feet.
Shanice was extremely pretty. With her exotic looks she could have easily had a modeling career, but instead she chose to work here at Shugga’s Place. According to her, the only way she could make money like this in the modeling world was if she was a top-model. She claimed she didn’t have time for all that.
“I’m your friend.” Wrapping her arm around me, she pulled me close. “I’m just trying to teach you how to survive in New York.”
She pursed her red glossy lips. “You ain’t in Sweetwater no more! And your granddaddy ain’t here to take care of you! You’re on your own now. So that mean you got to be a big girl and go out there and make that money.”
Oh! My goodness! I was going to have a heart attack.
“Here, I got something for you. It will calm your nerves a bit.”
I shook my head before she could even turn around. Shanice snorted coke for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I didn’t want anything to do with that. She pulled a pill bottle out of her purse, shook out two pills, then reached down and picked up her cocktail.
“Take
