I give him a smile in return, he’s always nice to me and he’s never once tried to touch me. Diamond sees the fucking smile and calls out to Mike from the bar, “She’s the worst fucking option if you’re stepping out on Kara, Mikey. Might wanna pick one of the girls whose pussy isn’t so fucking cold.”
I glance around but it’s the first night in a while Tomi hasn’t beaten me here.
I duck my head and keep walking because I don’t wanna get involved with that shit at all. I don’t want rumors to start. I’ve lived through that shit before, I’m never going back to that kind of shit… not if I can help it. So I head out to the back rooms to get ready without telling her to fuck off or to choke, which is exactly what I want to do.
Diamond also picks a new fucking theme for all of the nights I have shifts. They’re not good themes either, it’s all tacky porno shit that means she can dress up in the cheesiest shit. I put my own spin on everything and, though she bitches about it as loud as she fucking can, none of the guys crowding around my stage have a single complaint.
I’m in the locker room in front of one of the mirrors gluing crystals to my face thanks to one of these stupid themes when Speck ducks his head into the locker room and plasters a grin on his face even though he looks like he’s in pain. “You’re at college right? Like, that’s what you’re doing during the day?”
I glue the last crystal to my face, just below my eye and start stashing my makeup back in my bag. “Yeah, why’s that?”
He steps into the room and keeps his eyes on my face. I’m the only stripper he doesn’t eye off and I don’t know what caused the change in him but I’m fucking grateful. I kind of think he wants to be my friend.
“Okay so my kid neighbor is here and she needs help with her homework and I know exactly nothing about geometry. Numbers ain’t my fucking thing. Tomi usually helps her but he’s gotten caught up with club business and she isn’t the type of kid to leave alone for too long, ya know? She’ll get into fucking trouble here and then my ass is on the line for letting her into the club.”
I turn to face him properly. “What the hell is a child doing in a strip club? You didn’t think that one through a little better?”
He scoffs out a laugh and picks up my shirt from where it’s hanging on the rail and throws it at me. “She’s not a child… I mean, she’s almost seventeen so she’s definitely not supposed to be here but her tits are about as big as yours so she’s not gonna be scarred by seeing what goes on around here. Still, put the shirt on and come help before Rue comes down here and skins us all alive.”
Rue.
That’s the other biker in charge of this place, the one Diamond wants to bed more than she wants air according to Mel.
“I’m supposed to be dancing in a half-hour.”
He nods and waits for me to pull a long dress back on over my head, something flowy that won’t fuck with the body paint I’ve just spent nearly an hour getting on.
He takes me over to the main office, the bigger room that I’d been in when I’d met Tomi. I feel the first little tremors of nerves building in my stomach but when Speck grins at me I force a smile on my face.
I’ll fake this shit until I make it.
Before he opens the door he cringes and turns back to me. “Can you do me a favor, Angel? Don’t ever mention me talking about how big her tits are. It’s better for everyone if that shit stays between us. It’s… it’s kind of a life or death thing. Just forget it.”
Weird.
Does he have a thing for her?
Ugh, I don’t have time to think about his love life beyond not wanting to be a part of it.
I nod and he opens the door, ushering me in before him. There’s a flash and I duck at just the right time to miss the calculator being thrown at us both but he doesn’t see it coming.
It bounces off of his chest like it’s nothing.
“Holy shit, I’m sorry! I was expecting it to be Reece comin’ in here being an asshole! Fuck, are you okay?”
I straighten up and on reflex jab Speck in the ribs for laughing so hard at the shriek that just tore out of me. “It’s fine! Totally fine, I’m here to help with your homework.”
I step into the room and scowl over my shoulder at Speck where he’s still freaking cackling. The office is way messier than the last time I saw it, piles and piles of bookwork and invoices littering every surface. The girl is set up on the desk on top of it all, sitting in Tomi’s chair with her chin propped up on her fist and scowling.
She’s as cute as fuck.
“Angel, meet Posey. Flower child, meet Angel. She’s our new girl, the money-maker.”
I huff at him and take a seat, the same one I was in when I was last in here, and then I smile at Posey. She gives me a grin and says, “I go by Poe. There’s no way a hot piece of ass like you knows something as boring as fucking geometry. No way. I need Tomi’s grumpy ass to come teach me.”
I snort, slapping a hand over my mouth and glancing behind me like he’s got the place bugged and will burst in here. Speck roars with laughter and slouches into the chair by the door.
“Angel goes to college during the day, she’s probably smarter than Tomi.”
I shrug. “I wouldn’t say that. I’m good with numbers though, gimme a look at what’s giving you trouble.”
She sighs dramatically and pushes a workbook over to me. It’s all stuff I can do and even with a quick glance at it I can see she’s gotten it all wrong so far. When I tell her that, she throws herself back in the chair dramatically.
“Fuck this! Seriously, why was I cursed with a low fucking IQ. You know my sister is a certified genius, right Speck? Went to the best school in the fucking country on a scholarship, she’s a fucking genius and I’m over here in this little podunk town like an inbred fucking hick.”
Speck chuckles at her dramatics again, and her eyes narrow at him. “Why the fuck are you laughing? You’re not any fucking smarter, you barely fucking graduated.”
He shrugs. “I don’t need to be a genius, I just gotta win fights.” He looks over at me, batting his eyelashes. “I do win them, by the way. I win ‘em all thanks to growing up a Callaghan. Rue made sure of that.”
I shrug again. “I’m sure you do.”
Poe scoffs. “Stop fucking flirting, I don’t need to know about whose ass you’re chasing.”
I cringe and grab a spare piece of paper to start working out equations for her, writing out exactly how I’m doing it so she can refer back to it later, and I try to block them both out.
It hurts me a little to know that they all think I’m climbing into bed with the bikers here. To have them all think about me that way… not that there’s anything wrong with that, I guess, it’s just not something I want.
Poe seems really sweet.
“Don’t talk about Angel like that, Graves. She’s not interested in my dumb ass or anyone else so don’t treat her like that.”
I blush a little at the scorn in Speck’s voice. His phone starts ringing and he steps out of the room to answer it.
Poe clears her throat and says, “Sorry if that was rude. I’m just… used to the guys coming here to pick a girl out for the night.”