Jezebel |h.s|

One

Kat passes over my coffee, shaking her head. "Five in the morning? Your shift ends at four and the club is like a ten minute ride from the apartment. Did Christian keep you back again?"

"Of course he did. I just don't get it like we broke up already and he still wants to fight about how he was drunk and he didn't mean to hook up with Claire. Asshole." I finally take a sip from my straw, hoping the caffeine hits me quickly so I can get through the day. I'll definitely need another pick me up before I get to the club.

Walking in on Christian hooking up with one of the new girls wasn't surprising in the slightest. It wasn't the first time and I know it won't be the last, but I can't say it's not disappointing. Being in a relationship with the boss only makes matters worse.

We've fallen into this really fucked up routine in the last two years. He hires a new girl once he's bored of me, I catch them hooking up, he claims he was fucked up and didn't mean to, we fight and break up, he makes my life a living hell at the club, and then he comes crawling back. The saddest part is that I let the cycle continue every time which is why he continues to cheat. He knows I'll take him back when he is tired of the new girls.

Kat wants me to end it for good, but life is never that simple. The dance studio only pays so much, even if I take on extra classes. Rent has to get paid every month. Kat got lucky and got a position in marketing right after graduation thanks to her sister. She really only works at the studio still because she loves to dance.

She's offered to take care of rent payments in exchange for me leaving Afterlife and Christian for good, but I can't let her do that. She already lies to me about my cut every month. I know she puts in more than half, I mean we're living in a two bedroom apartment in Manhattan that isn't a closet. Plus I just hate when people pity me. I've dealt with enough pity to last me a lifetime.

I like working at the club anyways. It pays really well and Christian is way too jealous so he doesn't let me work the private rooms. He takes care of me and makes sure I'm safe. I have no idea what I want my future to look like, but at least I know I have the club.

"Well you know what I'm gonna say about that, Iz. You can d-"

"I can do so much better, blah, blah, blah. I don't want to talk about Christian anymore and thankfully, I don't have to because we have to open. Ready to deal with the psycho moms?"

"You aren't even that upset over Chris, you should be doing this."

Over exaggerating, I pretend to fake cry as we both make our way to the door. Once we're open, we greet everyone as they enter and I let the kids know to head into the studio and go to the den to get ready for class. My first class is mostly girls that I've had before so I have hope we can get to some dancing before the hour is up.

Our competition kids have already started their season a few weeks ago, but today is the start of recreational dance class enrollment. It's for the kids who want an extracurricular or those who can only commit to a once a week class. It is also a really good introduction to the dance world. Our weekend classes are almost exclusively three through seven year olds who are building up their skills.

I leave Kat to deal with enrollment fees, paperwork, and already pissed off parents, closing the door to the studio once all the kids for the 11am class are inside.

The day is a revolving door of kids. Every hour there's a new group in front of me that I need to introduce myself to and try to remember their names. It's hectic but also a lot of fun. Full of 'getting to know each other' games and putting on music to have a little dance party to.

My fun comes to an end at around three when Kat runs out to grab us some lunch, leaving me in charge of the front desk. The owner of the studio, Gina, has a competition class blocked for this hour, but that doesn't mean I don't have to deal with parents. I just try to busy myself with working on my rosters and putting away paperwork in hopes that if a new parent walks in, they won't bother me.