Page 1 of Captivated

~ Chapter 1 ~

Cassie

I keep my eyes cast downward, but that doesn’t mean I can’t feel every pair of eyes in here pass over me.

Be brave, Cass. You’ve got this.

This is the only way you know how to help Sean, and you’re going to fucking do it.

I lift my eyes and quickly scan the room, seeing nothing but beautiful girls, all at various stages of doing their hair, makeup, and getting dressed.

Well, I usedressedas a relative term, considering what’s being put on covers less than what they had on to begin with.

“Hey, Newbie,” the striking brunette who’s applying eyeliner at one of the vanities greets, then meets my eyes in the mirror. “I’m Kay.”

“Hi.” I clear my throat. “Cassie.”

“You can use this station,” she says, pointing to the vanity next to her. “Kendra isn’t working tonight.”

“Thanks.” I place my duffel bag down on the floor and pull out my makeup bag, taking a deep breath while I stare at my blank reflection in the mirror.

“Nervous?” Kay asks after a moment.

“A little.”

“First time?”

“Yeah. I’ve been taking classes for fun for the past few years, but…” I trail off, glancing over at her.

“You never thought you’d be doing it for money?”

I huff out a short laugh. “Something like that.”

“We all have a story, honey. We all have something that brought us here. Good or bad.” I nod in agreement. How spot on she is. “Can I give you some advice?”

“Sure.”

“When you solve whatever problem brought you here, quit.”

“I plan to.”

“It’s not always that easy,” she says with a distant look to her eyes. Then, coming to her senses, her eyes clear and she studies me. “Do you have a stage name yet? Or an act?”

“An act?”

“Yeah. A persona you can slip into. It helps keep distance between you and them. You don’t want them knowing your real name.”

I pause to think, and Kay smiles. “I have something for you if you don’t know yet.” She walks over to her locker and shuffles a few things around on the top shelf before grabbing something in the back. “I bought this a few months ago thinking I was going to change things up, but it didn’t work for me. For you, though, I think it will. Especially with that gorgeous red hair.”

Kay holds up a lace mask with cat ears and I can’t help but smile. It will match what I’m going to wear perfectly while also covering the top half of my face.

“What are you wearing?” she asks me, and I bring my bag to my lap. I pull out a pair of black lace cheeky bottoms, along with a matching black lace corset top. “Good. It matches. You can be the sexy little red-haired kitten all the men wish they had purring in their laps.” She winks, sitting back down at her vanity.

I scoff. “I won’t be purring in anyone’s lap.”

“Unless they want a lap dance. But another piece of advice… Don’t mix business and pleasure. These men will see you as their fantasy, but outside of these walls,” she pauses, lining her bottom lip with red lip liner, “that fantasy bubble bursts. I madethat rookie mistake when I first started dancing, and I learned the hard way that these men think we’ll do anything for a few bucks. Even when we’re not clocked in. And when you don’t act like their fantasy, they’ll show you what they really think of you.”

I swallow hard and clear my throat. “I’m sorry.”

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