Page 3 of Poison

When Cherry spotted me, she threw up a middle finger. I returned the gesture with a saucy smile. I hesitated at the booth's entrance when I realized she had brought a friend with her, and that friend didn't look too pleased to see me.

Flipping long black hair from her shoulder, the woman scowled at Cherry. "Who is this guy?"

Unable to understand the blatant audacity, I asked incredulously, "Who am I? Bitch, who are you?"

Cherry quickly stepped in, stating, "Misunderstanding." She turned to the woman. "This is his booth. Hell, the only reason we were able to skip the line is because of him. They all know I'm his friend... slash drug dealer." That last bit, Cherry added with a grin.

I walked past them. "Tell me you have some Nova."

"What kind of friend would I be if I didn't?" Taking her friend by the hand, Cherry led her to one of the bench seats against the wall. "This is Starburst; he's the king of gay gang bangs. He has his own personal brand of lube and his own billboard." She walked over and kissed my cheek before digging through her purse. "He's gayer than you, so you have nothing to worry about, deary... By the way, this is Kitty."

Kitty's dark eyes wandered around the room almost nervously. "Sorry. You know guys can be creeps."

I held up my hand, looking down at my bright orange shackles that symbolized I knew exactly what she meant. The shackles forced me to deal with all sorts of fucked up situations involving other men. I hated wearing them, but it was the law. If a servant was caught out and about without them, they would get arrested, and their sponsor would have to bail them out. Even worse than that, more money was added to their debt, keeping them enslaved. I wouldn't be able to pay off my debt within one lifetime, but I didn't want any more added onto me. "Yes, they can be."

Finally, Cherry found what she had been searching for. She pulled out a small silver tray, a small baggy of light-yellow powder, and a rainbow swirl straw. Dumping some of the powder, she separated it into five different lines. "Let's get this party started!"

Taking the straw, I sniffed up three out of the five lines. Cherry finished off the last two. "Fuck yeah!" I shouted, rubbing my nose before stretching my arms in the air.

A man carrying a tray stepped up to the booth, and my eyebrows rose as I gave him a once-over. I'd never seen him before, but he was easy on the eyes with long dark hair pulled back into a ponytail, bright hazel irises, high cheekbones, and a chiseled jaw covered in stubble. "New waiter?" I chortled.

He smiled. "This is only my third day."

I got to my feet and gently touched his shoulder. He was muscular, too. Staring at his body, I wondered how he would look naked. Shaking the thought away, I pulled out a few sinders and tossed them on the tray. "Bring us a round of Poison Apples, sweetie."

The waiter nodded accommodatingly and headed towards the bar.

"So, we need to find someone to pay for the rest of our drinks tonight." I turned to Cherry. "Shall we?"

"We shall."

Together, we both walked to the amateur strip pole. There was a group of men sitting at the bar; four of them were focused on the male strippers. Bingo. If I did my dance just right, I could have them in my booth, getting us sloshed.

The moment my hand landed on the metal, the stage light lit me up; it was nearly blinding. I squinted, then stood up straight with a dazzling smile. The music stopped, and a voice echoed over the loudspeaker. "Ladies and gentlemen of Sin City, please draw your attention to the center stage. We have the great honor of having the one and only Starburst willing to put on a show for you lucky little sinners."

I wanted to roll my eyes, but instead, I waved and tugged my pants down slightly to show off my tattoo. My tattoo was my brand; anyone who knew me knew the shooting star. It was purple with a silver, blue, and purple tail of sparks, matching my favorite childhood toy—a small white unicorn with purple and blue hair and the mark of a falling star on its rear end. A scavenger from the Wastes had brought it into the city. It was from the time before the Great Calamity. Before the earth turned on humanity, making nearly every patch of land uninhabitable. The artifact was buried for hundreds of years, encased in a plastic box. The scavenger wanted six hundred sinders for it. Naturally, my shitty parents wouldn't have bought it for me even if they could afford it, so being the little shit that I was, I stole it and named the horse Starburst.

I gripped the pole and began walking in a circle. It would be a pain in the ass to climb with my clothes on, but I had enough upper body strength to make it work. Even though I was a professional sex worker, I wasn't allowed to strip. Firstly, it was against the rules of the club; no one was allowed to get naked unless they were employed. Secondly, and more importantly, Hobbs would have my head if I made money for anyone but him.

Tightening my grip, I lifted myself into the air, spinning fluidly with the pole. I hung upside down, doing a few twirls before landing on my feet. It was Cherry's turn on the pole to draw in more deep pockets.

After the world stopped spinning, I flirtatiously walked over to the four men who had their gazes on me. "What's up, gentlemen?" Their eyes lit up. "You boys want to party?"

I began sauntering away. Glancing back, I winked. When we settled into the booth, I took the opportunity to sit on one of their laps. The guy was dressed in a purple suit with a black Fedora.

He ordered everyone a round of drinks, and when Cherry was done with her dance, she pulled out more Nova.

As the night went on, I spent equal parts of my time snorting up powder, hammering down drinks, and rubbing myself all over the men. Eventually, I could barely see straight. Everything was a blur; my head was spinning. It was perfect. Just how I liked to be: detached and removed from reality.

When the bartender announced last call, I slipped off purple suit's lap and collapsed onto one of the benches. The hot waiter strode up to us with a round of sour apple martinis. Purple suit stood up and grabbed two of them. I rolled my head back, wondering if I could force myself to down one more before calling it a night.

Purple suit nudged my arm, handing me a drink. With a smile, I took it. As I brought it to my lips, the waiter bumped into me, making me drop the glass.

"Thhhat sshould be illegal," I slurred.

The waiter reached down and picked up the sharp shards. "I'm so sorry, sir. I'll get you a new one right away." He glared at purple suit for a second before returning his sexy gaze to me. "I'll bring you one that doesn't have a pill dropped into it."

Those words sobered me up a bit. Three of the men scurried out of the booth, one nearly falling over the other as his body swayed.

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