Act 7: The Dance

“Okay, Dev, you can do this,” Devyn mutters to herself when they come to a halt outside The Rabbit Hole. She glances up at the place and feels her stomach churning. Are these nerves? Is this what nerves felt like?

Devyn looks over at Clarissa, “I think I’m a bit nervous.” She admitted and Clarissa nodded, “If you weren’t nervous, I would be concerned.” She replied as they got out of the car, “On my first night I almost lost my balance on stage, luckily the pole was there!” Clarissa finished and Devyn felt herself pale.

“Not helping, Clary!” She grumbles and sees her friend’s amused face.

Then Clarissa straightens her back and looks at Devyn, “Babe, this is where it gets tricky.” She starts, “You need to walk in there like you’re the shit and they came out just to see you dance. Head in the air like you’re some kind of fucking queen. Don’t take shit from anybody, and if they get handsy without your consent, you punch them.” Clarissa finished. She gave Devyn another once over and the latter nodded, mentally straightening her back and bracing herself.

She followed Clarissa inside and her eyes grew at how full the club was. When she was here during the day, it was quite empty. She did not expect this many people to be into the BDSM scene.

Devyn feels the hungry gazes on her and holds her head high. She was going to make these men pay to look at her; she didn’t feel cheap doing this at all. Besides, men would look at her wherever she went anyway, this wasn’t any different.

Her eyes wandered over to the VIP section and she caught the steel-blue eyes of Kieran boring into her. The look on his face sent a shiver down her spine and it left her with an ache in her core.

“That’s weird, Kieran almost never stays to watch the shows unless he is entertaining someone. But he’s alone in the booth.” Clarissa commented next to her, and she forced herself to break eye contact with her boss.

As she does so, she knocks into someone. A dirty blonde someone.

Marley turns around, “Watch where you’re going!” She cries out and Devyn takes a step back. Then a smug look crossed over Marley’s face. “Oh, the new girl. Enjoy the show this morning?” She hissed and her lip curled.

Was this girl for real? She was all of 5 feet in 7-inch heels, dirty blonde hair, and fake boobs.

Devyn shrugs, “You looked much better on your knees.” She remarked and caught the snicker of Clarissa behind her.

Marley looked livid, “You little-“

“Ah, Red is here!” Ross called as he walked towards them. He had a shark-toothed grin on his face, one Devyn did not like at all. “You are looking positively delicious, Red. Let’s head into my office so you can sign your contract.” He finished, putting his hand on her lower back. She stiffened at his touch.

“Eh, nice collar, Ross.” Clarissa cajoled and she could feel the anger radiating off Ross. “Watch it, Rissa.” He snapped and started walking away.

Devyn shrugged and followed him. “Stupid bitch.” She heard Marley mutter behind her. So much for staying away from Marley. She went and placed herself on her radar. Groaning, she entered the office.

The contract was pretty straightforward. $600 per night for 6 hours worked, and all tips remained hers. She signed the contract and Ross let her know that the resident doctor would have to perform drug tests etc on her to make sure she’s clean. Devyn accepted this as it was quite understandable; this was a fragile industry.

Ross kissed the back of her hand and wished her well for her first shift.

By the time she left Ross’s office, she spotted Clarissa on stage. Damn, that woman was working what she had, and the men were salivating. She hoped she wouldn’t make a fool of herself.

Devyn walked to the DJ and she requested Alice Cooper’s ‘Poison’ to play for her first dance. It was her favorite song, and she knew she would do better dancing to it than some random playlist track.

For some reason, her eyes flit to the VIP section again. Marley was on her knees in front of Kieran, but with the flick of his wrist, he dismissed her. Devyn could not help but laugh at Marley’s pathetic display and walked to the dressing room. Clarissa neared the end of her dance now, and she needed to get ready.

Dressed in a lace thong, fishnet stockings, and lace-up bustier, Devyn was ready to dance. She spots Clarissa running towards her, out of breath. “Wow, Clary, you were amazing up there!” She commented, and Clarissa does a curtsy. “Why, thank you. We need to get you into pole lessons ASAP. Not only will it help your show, but it’s a great workout!” Clarissa responded and Devyn considered it. Pole dancing looked so slutty on TV, but she knew there was a lot of core strength involved in it.

She hears the start of her song and kisses Clarissa’s cheek. “Break a leg, babe!” Clarissa said, and Devyn rolled her eyes.

Running in her 7-inch heels, she reached the stage just as the intro started. Doing a purposefully slow towards the pole in the middle, she moved to the music slowly until the chorus started, then Devyn closed her eyes and felt the music.

She moved and gyrated to the rhythm, removing her bustier as she went along. Only realizing she had completed her dance when she heard actual applause from the crowd. Opening her eyes, she noted all the hungry, lust-filled stares pointed at her. Giving the crowd a seductive smile, she picked up her tips and for added measure, bent down to pick up her bustier and flashing the crowd behind her. They roared at this little display and she traipsed off the stage.

Clarissa was the first to meet her in the dressing room, “What the fuck was that, Dev? Geez, even I was turned on and you’re my best friend!” She squealed, which made Devyn double over with laughter.

“I don’t know, I just danced and felt the music.” She shrugged her friend’s praise off.

“Dev, the bar went deathly quiet when you were on stage. Like, you literally mesmerized them! It was fucking insane. You should have seen Marley’s face. Hopefully, she doesn’t think you’re here to take her non-existent crown from her.” Clarissa said and Devyn shrugged and rolled her eyes as she put baby powder on her again before slithering into her latex dress once more.

“Clary, you and her have nothing to worry about,” she started, “After Nathan, the last thing I want is another dick in my life. Those guys outside have proven just how all men see me; a piece of ass only good enough to look at. And that’s fine with me, I want them to underestimate my purpose in life.”

Clarissa’s eyes widened at this admission and she walked towards Devyn, wrapping her in a hug. “Ugh, I love you. I just don’t want Marley to make your life hell because you’ve upstaged her. Kieran was also staring, and she noticed that.”

Devyn’s brow furrowed at this. “Trust me, Clary, he’s the last person I want attention from. Marley can have him for all I care. I have no intention of taking her place or to submit and kneel in front of Kieran Teague.” Devyn said, but as the words left her mouth, Clarissa paled and she felt a presence behind her.

“Are you sure about that?”