UNRAVEL

Chapter 3: The Real Her

The bass reverberated from the polished black and white checkered floor, to the tips of Winter's platform heels as she stepped out onto the stage, her body slick with a golden shimmer. She enjoyed the slower, less busy nights in the middle of the week, with only a few regulars scattered in their chosen corners of the lounge. She spotted the man she knew, but knew nothing about; unmoving in his leather armchair, nursing a drink in his hand. The man in the suit never spoke, she didn't know his name, but he was there twice a week, escaping from something she didn't care to know more about. She lazily hooked her leg around the pole connecting the stage to the elaborately decorated ceiling, and swung around seductively slow, her body governed by the bass-heavy, sedating downtempo beat. She slid onto her knees, and arched her back into a crawl to the edge of the stage where the pair of eyes fixated on her sat. Her smile made him stir in his chair, and the beads of condensation from the rim of his glass trickled down to his fingertips while she slowly reached for the straps on her rhinestone-covered bikini top. With one coquettish tug on the knot, the small triangles covering her breasts fell to her waist, and she threw her braids behind her as her eyes rolled up the to ceiling. Her body was bathed in the blue and purple spotlights, and she charmed like a snake; smooth, slow and mysterious.

As she moved back to the pole center-stage, her eyes shifted to the back of the room where she'd felt someone else watching her, but the spot from where she'd felt the glare was empty, and the faces she saw were all recognizable. Shaking off the tinge of paranoia, Winter climbed to the top of the cold, metal pole, and secured her inner thighs against it as her ankles locked together. She arched her back, hung her arms down, and winded her way back down to the floor, where she winked at the man in the suit, before making her exit behind the heavy velvet curtains. He had just paid the better half of her bills, and she knew he would be back in a few nights.

One of the girls passed Winter in the corridor as she adjusted the fringe on her outfit, and rolled her eyes as Winter sauntered past her and slipped into Big Moe's office. The skinny girl with braids embodied everything Kiara hated about the girls she saw come through the club over the years. The way she saw it, Winter had the typical attitude of a novice who thought she was doing this temporarily; that she was going to quit when she'd planned, and that working there was not going to change her. Kiara was once Miss Temporary too, but the club was her life now, and if one dug no deeper, dancing there seemed to be her ultimate passion.

Winter stuffed her crisp bills into her purse as she left Big Moe's office, and held her keys in her hand as she zipped up her hooded sweater before pushing through the back exit and crossing the parking lot. She flinched at the sound of someone clearing their throat behind her, and her palm slammed into her chest as she turned around, wide-eyed in the dark.

"Fuck! You scared the shit out of me, E," Winter cursed when she saw Emilia, leaning into the door of her car, with one eyebrow raised in disapproval at her friend. Winter shook her head as the surge of adrenaline left her, and pointed her keys at her car to click the lock. Emilia's presence around the club always made her nervous despite Big Moe keeping things legal, clean, and official. To the unobservant eye, Emilia's casual attire demanded no attention, but Winter knew that underneath her light blazer was a shiny Detective's badge.
"This is interesting, I thought you quit," Emilia pursed her lips as Winter folded her arms in front of her chest.
"I said I was quitting soon, E, " she countered.
"Oh, here we go with the same old bullshit," Emilia mocked, waving her hand in the air. "You know you're never actually going to quit, right? You're past the point of no return."
"That's not fair," Winter stopped in her tracks when she began to walk away. "I told you. I have a plan. I know exactly when I'm bowing out."
"You've been singing that same song for a year now," Emilia argued, slumping her shoulders in defeat.
"I didn't think you would be so quick to judge, E," Winter softened her tone as she looked towards the backseat of Emilia's car, and saw Riley's sleeping face. She didn't want to throw the cheap shot, but her defenses took over and let her. "What wouldn't you do if you had no help with Riley?"
Refusing to entertain the thought, Emilia angrily opened the driver's door, and sat behind the wheel. Despite Winter's scathing dig, she did sometimes stop to wonder what it would be like if Sasha didn't help her with Riley as much as she did, but she was certain the alternative wouldn't have landed her where Winter stood.
"Wait!" Winter knocked at the window as Emilia started her engine, and she was forced to roll it down before the noise disturbed Riley.
"I'm on my last stretch of school. I'm out of here as soon as that tuition balance reads zero," she vowed, placing her hand over her heart in all sincerity.
Emilia let out a deep sigh as she lowered the window further, and Winter leaned against the door, peeking in with big innocent eyes to extinguish the argument. Emilia shook her head as she kept her gaze forward, knowing her anger rarely stood a chance between them. After a moment of silence, Winter spoke up, lowering her voice in her guilt.
"E, I think I fucked up... Karim called me looking for Nora," she said remembering her blunder from the night before.
"You told him where she was?" Emilia widened her brown eyes, and Winter bit her lip, shame coloring her face at giving in to Karim's questioning so easily.
"Of course he called you first. The only secret you know how to keep is your own," Emilia scolded, smacking her friend's arm playfully before they both laughed.
"She was going to have to deal with him sooner or later," Emilia concluded, knowing Winter's silence would have only delayed Karim a few insignificant hours.
"I just don't understand why she waited until the day of her wedding to run," Winter wondered aloud, and Emilia only shrugged at the riddle. They had all taken their turns trying to rationalize Nora's escape, but none had come close to putting a dent in the surface.
"You think she told Sasha why she did it?" Winter probed further, prompting yet another shrug from Emilia. Neither of them fully understood why Nora seemed more willing to confide in Sasha, but the same question could have been posed right back to Winter. After all, only Emilia knew where she had been tonight, and they both intended on keeping it that way.