Page 1 of Neverland

Chapter 1

NOW

“What the fuck are you looking at, jerk-off?” Nicole snapped at Anton, the club’s bouncer who’d stationed himself in the entrance of the dressing room. He was a large man who seemed to take up the entire frame and that was with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Isn’t it obvious, Blaze?” he replied, smirking.

Blaze was Nicole’s stage name courtesy of her fiery red hair. Fiery hair, fiery by nature. She had a forked tongue and didn’t shy away from dueling it out with the musclemen who controlled us. In a perverse sense, she enjoyed it. Anton’s beady eyes lewdly traveled the length of Nicole’s mostly naked body. All she wore was a purple lacy G, black fish-net stockings and six-inch heels, her huge, enviable breasts bouncing to every syllable.

“Judging by the lack of bulge, maybe you’d prefer the men’s club two blocks down,” she hissed.

“Judging by that mouth of yours, you need a man to shut you up.” Anton appeared unperturbed by her remark as he grabbed his crotch, or lack-there-of, for emphasis.

“Choke on your own.” Nicole faced me and rolled her pretty green eyes. “He’s such a dick.” Pulling straps over her shoulders, she clasped the matching bra at the front and plumped her breasts. “Anyway, as I was saying, Jonny and I are thinking of going away for a while.” Her voice hushed so others, particularly Anton, couldn’t hear.

“Where are you going?” I asked, zipping the front of my tube dress. Nicole’s admission rattled me. I was both enviable and frightened by the idea.

“Jonny says his cousin in Austin has a trailer. Said we can use it until we find something more permanent.”

“Permanent?” This caused my heart to race. “You’re leaving for good?”

Nicole straightened, taking my lipstick from my hand and applying it to my lips while she spoke. “Lucy, being an exotic dancer was never a dream of mine. Jonny and I want kids someday and I want a ring on my finger. But as long as I’m strippin’ he ain’t gonna do that. You know what I’m saying?”

Pulling away, I sat at my mirror, hoping the tears would dry before they spilled.

Nicole lowered herself so her face met mine in the reflection. “You know you could always come with us.”

Despite her sincerity and my longing for such freedom, I couldn’t accept her offer.

“You know I can’t,” I said with an unintentional bite in my tone.

“You keep saying that whenever this comes up, but you just have to have faith that you’ll survive outside this place.”

She was wrong, but I couldn’t tell her that without having to reveal the truth. The idea of me leaving was a ludicrous one. Not because I didn’t want to. With all my heart I wanted to erase this place from my memory. But the reality was, it would always be permanently etched into my life.

“It’s not that,” I said, eyeing Anton in the corner.

“Then what? Why don’t you ever tell me the reasons you can’t just leave this place? Girls come and go all the time.”

I blinked, my vision blurring. Anton’s cough from the door serving me as a warning.

Shaking my head, I willed a small smile and lied to my best friend. “You’re just more courageous than me, that’s all.”

Nicole sighed. “You’re such a bullshit liar, Lucy.”

Busying myself with the curling tongs, I ignored her reprimand. “Maybe one day I’ll see you on the flip side.”

“Maybe true, if this place ever burned to the ground…” she raised her voice so Anton could hear, “… with some of the people still in it.” Pressing her cheek to mine, she smiled wickedly. “I could get Jonny to organize that you know. It’ll give him some purpose in life. He’s always lookin’ for his next adrenaline rush.”

I snorted a giggle at the truth behind it because Jonny was extremely unpredictable in nature and that’s what Nicole loved most about him. While he had a good heart, he also had a few screws loose.

“Diamond,” Anton warned against the whispering. If it were anyone else, he wouldn’t care, but I came with rules that must be followed.

“Jesus, relax. We’re just talking,” Nicole snapped.

“I don’t give a fuck what you’re just doing, your time’s up. Diamond, you’re due on stage. Now!”

Nicole straightened, fiery eyes burning into Anton’s soulless body. “She’s coming, fucking moron.”

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