Jezebel |h.s|

Three

Isabella

My nights at the club always end at the bar with Brynn, counting our earnings for the night over some well deserved shirley temples. We wait until all the other girls have gone home for the night, just wanting to spend time together before we have to leave.

Tonight was a successful night, which is unusual for a Wednesday but I'm not complaining. That just means more money in my pocket at the end of the night. It also means I could probably take a night off soon without having to worry about losing out on money. All these days of working at the studio and then coming to work here has been taking its toll for sure.

I've been working at Afterlife since Chris opened the place, something he says he did just for me, but I've been working as an adult dancer since I was legally allowed. It was the quickest way for me to get money to sustain myself since the dance studio didn't pay well. The money I earned helped me get through college, but I've never earned enough to afford any other luxuries.

At my first club, the boss would take more than he should've. He was a greedy bastard who didn't care about what happened to any of the girls. But I was young and dumb and went through the motions because I needed the money. Chris was there for me and even encouraged me to finally quit after a year. His friend owned another club downtown that he was able to get me into, and I stayed there until Afterlife opened. It wasn't as busy as the first club, but it was a slight increase in income.

Christian was extremely jealous though, which is why he bought the club that is now known as Afterlife. He hated that I was working at a semi-nude club and that other men were able to see me in that way, so he did what any crazy man would do and came up with his own place for me to dance. At the time, we were dating and in love so of course I followed him wherever he went. It felt like the ultimate act of romance.

I looked past the fact that I wasn't allowed to do private rooms. Yeah, I hated doing private rooms at the other clubs, but it was also a lot of extra money for me when I would do them. I can barely even do a lap dance without him pulling me backstage. But I did my best to be grateful for Chris because he let me keep a lot more money than the other girls in the beginning to make up for it. Everything fell apart when I caught him cheating.

Things have never really been the same since. While I do still have love for him, I resent him a lot. He still keeps me under his thumb even when we aren't together and he's kept a lot of my earnings from me. It hurts a lot more than I let people think. He knows me, and he knows what I've been through. He just doesn't seem to care anymore.

I've been doing my best to avoid him today, but I already know he's waiting for the perfect moment to corner me.

Brynn and I finish counting our money and putting aside whatever we have to take out, relaxing back into our chairs at the bar with our drinks. She smiles over at me. "So, how's the new dance season been so far?"

"It's been good! All the big kids are getting started on recital dances, the comp teams are working on their choreo too and the babies are adjusting pretty well."

I've been working at Believe most of my life. I actually was a dancer there when I was first starting out, which is a fact the little ones love to ask questions about. Once I turned sixteen, I started working as a dance teacher, mainly just taking on baby ballet while I had my own classes to attend. I love dance more than anything and I just can't bring myself to ever leave. Everyone there really is like family.

"Have the new parents found out yet about...?"

"Not that I know of, and you know, besides that one time I don't think the parents really care what I do past teaching their kids to dance."