Page 4 of Shameful Addictions

The waitress tilted her head, her bunny ears flopping over. For a moment, Charlotte feared she was about to be tossed out for prying in matters that didn’t concern her. Then, the girl smiled wide and leaned in very close to Charlotte, whispering into her ear. “That’s okay. I have that effect on a lot of people.”

Her breath was uncomfortably warm.

Charlotte leaned away. The girl leaned with her. The slightest wrong move from either of them and they’d collapse together.

She thinks I’m flirting with her.

That definitely wasn’t what she wanted. Or was it? Pretending that she was bad at flirting was an easier way to get information than to give up her whole life story. It wouldn’t be good journalism, but Charlotte didn’t think that mattered at this point. And the girl didn’t have to tell her anything.

“What’s your name?” Charlotte asked, backtracking.

“Robun.”

“Robin?”

“Robun,” Robun said, emphasizing the bun.

Charlotte finally got it. She supposed it was a mistake to expect an actual name. “Okay, Robun. What brings a girl like you to a place like this?”

Robun tapped her chin with her finger, playing up that she was thinking on it. Charlotte could tell she wasn’t. Her gaze was clear and strong, not cloudy with remembrance at all. “Well, honestly, it doesn’t matter what kind of girl I am! I was going to come here anyway.”

“Wait, what do you mean by that?”

Robun smiled. “I just was! I had a job offer waiting. The owner paid for some of my cheerleading practices. He sponsored me. He does that with a lot of the girls, pretty much everyone here.”

Charlotte couldn’t believe her ears. What she was hearing couldn’t be legal. “The owner of Lollipop?”

“Right! He picks out talent when he sees it and he, like, cultivates it, or something. I forget what words he uses.” Robun beamed, as if being prepared for a life of what Charlotte viewed as sexual deviancy was something to be proud of. “He saw me and he liked me, so he made sure I could get better and better at the things I’m good at. And the pay here is great!”

“I see,” Charlotte said faintly. She felt like she might pass out. “And he does that with the other dancers, too?”

Robun smiled, looking so young and beautiful, so easy to take advantage of. “Almost everyone here. Except for the bartender and the bouncer.”

Charlotte licked her dry lips and set her vodka down on a nearby table. She’d had enough of it. “Can I talk to some of the other dancers?”

“You like to keep your options open, huh?” Robun wiggled her rear and her chest, shimmying. “You can talk to anyone you want. Just don’t forget about me.”

“I don’t think I could if I tried.” Charlotte rubbed her hand through her hair, very conscious of the way doing that made her clothes pull tight over her breasts. “The cat-girl.”

“Oh, Katerina!”

Another terrible pun. She must be going insane. This couldn’t be happening. “Yes. Katerina. Can I talk to her?”

The answer was, naturally, yes. Clubs like this existed to please their customers. Charlotte could have anything she wanted if she was willing to pay the price. As Katerina sauntered up to her, Charlotte wondered if she was willing to make that payment. Even if not doing this meant she lost her job, it might almost be worth it to get out of this.

“Hi, again!” Katerina mewed, coming up to Charlotte and arching her back, catlike. She wagged her ass, making her fluffy tail swish back and forth. “You asked for me?”

Charlotte grabbed hard at her inner strength and pulled it to the surface. Somehow, through sheer determination and force of will, she rearranged her lips into the shape of a passable smile. “I did. I’m curious about you, Kat. Can I call you Kat?”

Kat nodded. She draped the upper half of her body over Charlotte’s table. Her boobs pushed flat against the smooth surface. “You can call me anything. I might not answer, though.”

Charlotte kept her smile, though it was beginning to pain her. “Robun told me the club owner found her and gave her a job offer. Did the same thing happen to you?”

Kat smiled. “That’s right! I took gymnastics in high school. I went through a growth spurt before my Sophomore year and couldn’t afford a new uniform. Then Mamba stepped in.”

“Mamba. Like the snake?”

“I guess so.”

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