Page 10 of Glass Wings

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“No? Okay then. Wait for it, wait for it. I got it! The stage name: Helga.”

“That’s not modern, Grant,” the woman on the couch yelled.

“That probably tracks. It was my foster mother’s name,” he mumbled.

“I like that it starts with an H,” Hadley pipped in. It seemed easier to react to a name that was similar to hers. “How about Hailey?”

“But is that sexy enough?” Grant asked.

“That suits her, fine, move on,” the woman wearing black said, glancing up at her, boredom evident on her face.

The woman was breathtaking; there was something almost otherworldly about her, especially in such an ugly setting as that garage. Her eyes were delicate crescent moons, framed by long lashes, almost as if the winged eyeliner look was made only to give the rest of the world a fair chance to keep up with her beauty. Her skin was like porcelain. Her jet-black hair fanned out over the arm of the sectional.

“Meet my number one girl; she kills it in the dominatrix game. I’ve seen this woman leave a client’s home after twenty minutes with thousands of dollars. It always feels like highway robbery. There are lots of little niches in this line of work, so it's probably good for you to explore before settling down on a specialty.” Grant chuckled.

“You can call me Reign,” she said.

Hadley exhaled; her nerves started to get the better of her. She nodded to the two of them, unable to get actual words out of her mouth.

“You’re eighteen, yes?” Grant asked. “I don’t work with kids.”

“I turned eighteen last May,” Hadley confirmed. Grant flashed her another grin and ran to the kitchenette area, rummaging around in a cheap white cabinet. He returned triumphant, holding out a basic point-and-shoot camera.

“We’ll take some advertising photos so I can set up a page for you across multiple online platforms. That's all that will be accomplished today. We can keep your face and any tattoos out of anything public. I care about your safety here. Go ahead and change here and pop on that bed,” Grant directed.

“Change right here?” Hadley stammered, putting down her purse on the floor underneath one of Reign’s heels bouncing in the air.

“No modesty in this career, little Hailey,” Reign said, now lying on her back, staring at the ceiling. This seemed too intimate, too intimidating. Here, she would have to perform, to be photographedwearing almost nothing while these two faces existed in her background. Her heart rate rose, and she chewed on her bottom lip, trying to overcome the sudden bout of self-consciousness.

Hadley forced the image of the eviction notices back into her head. She saw a future of her and Hector begging for somewhere to sleep other than a sidewalk. Hadley breathed in through her nose deeply and then began to pull her sweatpants down, revealing her bare legs. She followed suit with her shirt, standing exposed in her lingerie set with her arms crossed in front of her torso.

Reign stood up and moved to her side. She began adjusting Hadley’s hair, brushing it back and smoothing it with her thin, gentle fingers. Hadley jumped slightly whenever Reign grazed the back of her neck or shoulders.

"You're on pins and needles," Reign whispered, her breath warm and smelling of cinnamon. "It's okay, you are safe here. You can leave at any time."

Grant nodded his approval of Hadley's lingerie and let out an encouraging whistle before he waved his hand toward the bed.

Hadley hesitated, the joints in her elbows and knees locking up. She caved her shoulders in and let her head hang down, gulping air as her mouth was now very dry.

You can leave right now or choose to stay.

A second later, she walked towards the bed and plopped down with a hollow thud on the red satin sheets. Hadley laid her body out long, her head craned up to create an arch in her back. She grabbed a fistful of sheets with her arms over her head, her eyes hidden from any camera angle.

Just get it over with.

Grant hovered above her, standing on the sheets and making uneven indents so she would have to adjust her weight. The camera beeped every time the lens closed and opened again, ready for the next frame.

“Oh, yeah, baby. That's beautiful. Big smile, push your chest out. Now, let me see the back of your panties.” Grant directed Hadley tosit on her knees with her bare back towards him to show off the lace on her underwear.

Hadley stuffed the shame down her throat as far as it could go.

“Hold up, girl. I didn’t see that you have a mark on your shoulders. You’ll want to pull your hair down your back to cover that up.”

Grant let his hand that gripped the camera fall to his side as Hadley turned to stare at him, blinking blankly. She didn’t think about the birthmarks on her shoulder blades much since she had to twist hard in the mirror to see them. She often completely forgot that they were even there.

He held the camera up to his face, looking at the previews on the back of his camera. Grant cocked his head and furrowed his brow, zooming in on the screen.

“Hey, Reign, Hailey here has the same mark on her shoulders as you do. It looks damn near identical. Isn’t that wild?”