Page 25 of Eagle

“C’mon,” Jeannie said as she reached her hand out for me. I checked my buns to be sure they were secure then took her hand and followed her to the stage.

Jeannie and Mama Hen took a seat up front and I climbed the short steps and walked to the pole, plastering a seductive grin on my face and channeling all my sexy energy. As Selena Gomez’s voice started singingGood for You, I got to work. I was happy to start with a slower tune so I didn’t tire myself out. I’d save most of the acrobatics for the next song. You didn’t have to hang upside down on the pole to get good tips. A lot of it was just sensual moves and eye contact. I moved to the rhythm, teasing at my skirt before slowly removing my shirt. I’d have the top and skirt off by the end of the first song. Most auditions were two or three songs, but I would just watch for Mama Hen to signal me.

As I pulled my shirt off, exposing a sparkly bra top, I noticed Butch out of the corner of my eye. He had come inside. Something about the way he watched unnerved me. Was he showing solidarity to Eagle and being pissy that I was there?

Unsure of his motives, I decided if he wanted a show, I’d give him one. I turned and took the bra off, dropping it to the stage. Pulling the pins from my buns, my thick hair fell past my shoulders and I shook it out as I turned, giving a good shake to my breasts as I did. Instead of ire, he grinned. Deciding he was just a man, like any other, getting a look at fresh tits, I continued my dance, unzipping the short skirt and letting it fall to the stage.

Jeannie clapped and the few men that were there walked to the stage and dropped some cash. I sauntered over and grabbed it, stuffing it into my garter then walked back to the pole as the next song began.

It was more upbeat but not fast. Doja CatYou Rightplayed on the speakers, so I took to the pole. I didn’t look back at Butch or anyone else. I focused on me and my body. Jeannie was still clapping and giving me some whistles, but I danced like nobodywas watching. Grabbing the pole, I climbed it before finally wrapping a leg around and giving myself a good swing before I let my hands go and twirled, only my legs holding me up.

I was upside down, but saw a few men walk to the stage to leave me more cash. Smiling at myself, I leaned up and held on with my hands as I let my legs swing behind me before I made my way back down to land on my feet then fell into a split. All those years of dance my parents paid for came in handy now.

After moving my legs and sitting up in a kneeling position, I leaned over, spreading myself as I leaned forward and made eye contact with one of the men watching. I had done it hundreds of times before, and he was smiling back with his hand on his cash. But I had to fight to keep the smile on my face. It felt wrong. Dancing was fine. Undressing was fine. But staring into a strange man’s eyes was unsettling. I rolled over so I could break eye contact and ran my hands over my breasts lightly.

Pulling myself into a kneeling position again, I leaned the other direction, displaying my ass and nearly all of my pussy since a thong didn’t cover much. It was much more comfortable than sharing a look. Giving a rock to my hips, I tried to focus on the music. Finally, a sharp whistle, different from the catcalls Jeannie was making, sounded and the song was ending.

I glanced over my shoulder and Mama Hen waved me to her. I grabbed the cash from the stage and gave a big grin to the men that had gathered before heading to the table she sat at with Jeannie.

Not bothering to put my clothes back on just yet, I strolled over, hoping to exude the confidence I once had. “So, what did you think?”

Mama Hen smiled up at me. “You’ll fit in great. When can you start?”

I bit my lip, hoping I could fight the tears of relief that wanted to spill out. One step closer to moving on.

“Oh, one more thing, hon,” Mama Hen said.

Chapter 13

Lacy

After Mama Hen gave me the job, she told me to go get dressed and head to her office. I figured she couldn’t slide me into the rotation that fast but needed to finalize things with me before coming back.

Prepared to explain I didn’t have any IDs right now but they were on the way soon, I was caught off guard when she told me to take a seat and folded her hands in front of her on the desk. The look on her face made it seem like she was about to tell me someone died. My heart raced even though I had no clue what this could be about.

After a heavy sigh, she finally spoke. “Hon, Eagle’s looking for you.”

My mouth fell open and I looked around, even though the office door was closed. “Here?”

She waved her hand. “No, no, no. He’s not here. Not yet anyway. But you’re crazy if you think all the members won’t mention it to him. Hell, Butch may have already told him.”

“I wondered about that when I got here. But I told Eagle it’s over. He can’t control what I do.” I had so much more to say, to defend myself, but I had to stop and swallow down the lump that rose in my throat. Saying it like that out loud wasn’t as easy as I’d thought.

“I understand. Jeannie filled me in a bit. But he won’t stop looking ‘til he finds you and he’s like a dog with a bone. That’s part of why he’s VP. He was really torn up, Lacy.”

Turning my head, hoping I could fight back the tears if I wasn’t looking at her pity-eyes, I swallowed hard again and took a deep breath. “I don’t want that. But I told you, I just can’t do it anymore.”

“Okay. Well, just so you know, I wanted to tell you. Anyway, come back Tuesday. You’ll start with the day shift. We open at eleven thirty.”

The day shift wasn’t terrible. Certainly not as lucrative as the weekend night shifts, but if the club was in a decent area, which this one seemed to be, you could do well with businessmen lunching or entertaining customers. This place was closer to Atlanta than the clubhouse and there were lots of tall, fancy buildings nearby.

I had gotten used to waking early and not staying up until four or five in the morning. Even though the club closed at two, like most I worked for, you didn’t get to sleep right then. Starting on the day shift would help me work my way back to the late nights.

“How many shifts can I take?”

“Four. Do Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday for now. Sound good?”

“Yes ma’am. Just happy to get back to work and on my own two feet again.”

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