Chapter 9: Mesh.
I throw the trash bag in the trashcan before I turn around. My breath catches in my throat as I gasp.
"A-aron, what are you doing here?" I ask him.
How did he find my house?
"So, this is it huh?" He says, "This is your real house."
"Who told you I live here?" I ask him.
"Aaliyah." He says, leaning against the brick wall.
Of course.
"Well, you need to leave before my mother comes out here." I tell him, folding my arms.
"Oh, your immigrant mother who's undocumented, that same one?" He asks, staring at me.
"What the fuck are you getting at?" I ask him, stepping closer to him.
"I got word that you're still hanging out with that Miles boy. If you keep doing that I'll have no choice but to call immigration on your sweet little mother. But if you act right and be the perfect little girlfriend you know you are, then your momsy will breathe in America's fresh air for decades to come." He tells me with a smile on his face.
"You've come here to blackmail me because you think I'm doing something with Miles?" I ask him.
"Yup." He says, popping the P.
"Wow." I say, stepping back.
"Look, I know you're probably on your period or something that's why you've been acting out lately. And as your boyfriend I'm worried about you, so I devised this plan to make you really choose who you value more. Me or Miles?" He asks with a sinister smile on his face.
"As my boyfriend, you shouldn't be sleeping with my best friend, but I guess we can't all get what we want now, can we?" I say, smiling at him.
"Don't you fucking talk about her." He yells, coming closer.
"You have issues." I tell him, rolling my eyes at him.
"You better act accordingly or else the next time you'll be seeing your dear mother will be through a phone screen." He tells me before he walks past me, brushing his shoulder against mine.
I don't say another word, I just go inside and start getting ready to work. I'm excited to see Christopher. He'll take my mind off of all this drama. I shove my heels into my big brown bag and I unplug my charger from the socket on the wall. Walking out of my bedroom, I see my mother laying on the couch fast asleep. I kiss her forehead and I step back staring at her.
"I'm doing this all for you, Mom." I mutter to myself.
My Uber driver is waiting for me when I ate outside. I get inside the car and play candy crush on my phone. The drive uptown is long, but I endure. I'll be out of that house in no time. I just have to keep working.
Paying the driver, I get down from the car. Walking to the front of the club, the music inside literally makes me cover my ears. It's so loud.
"Hey Jaz." Philip, one of the bouncers says as he smiles at me.
"Hi. Club's packed today, huh?" I ask him.
From the look of things, I can see that. The line out here was pretty long, it went around the block.
"Yeah. There's a guest today. Some tech billionaire guy." He informs me.
"Hmm. Now wouldn't you like that to be you? Shutting down clubs at your arrival. Having people wait and stand in a long line that wraps around the block, for you?" I ask him.
"Nah, I'm good with working with my hands. These two bad boys get things done." He says, holding up his fists.
"Oh, Phil." I say, chuckling.
"Get in there. You don't want the girls taking all the money, now do you?" He asks me.
"You're right. Good talk." I say tapping his video before I walk inside the club.
I head into the club and I see Barbie dancing on stage. She has on a pink mesh dress. I watch her move along with the music blasting through the speakers.
"Hey." I hear Christopher say and I turn my head in his direction.
"Hi." I say, smiling at him.
"Did you just get here?" He asks me and I nod.
"There's a whole lotta men waiting for you in your section." He tells me. "And you have a private dance request."
"Wow, I've never gotten one of those before. I'll go get changed and I'll do that first." I tell him before I head to the locker room.
When I'm in my poison ivy costume, I walk through the club passing by Barbie's section. She waves at me and I wave back. I make my way to the champagne room and I see Christopher and another dude.
"Welcome. My friend here has had his eye on you for a while now and has requested this private dance." Christopher tells me, standing up from the chair he was sitting on.
"Hey, I'm Walter." The guy tells me.
"Hi." I say waving shyly.
"Well, I'll leave you two to it." Christopher says, walking towards me. "Show him a good time." He whispers in my ear before he leaves.
Music starts playing through the speakers and I start walking to the pole in the middle of the room. I am about to mount the pole as Walter speaks.
"I don't want to watch you dance. I'd like a lap dance please." He requests and I roll my eyes.
"I don't do lap dances, dude." I tell him, staring at him.
He reaches into the inner pocket of the suit he has on and places a stack of hundred-dollar bills on the glass table beside him. I gulp as I stare at the money. I remind myself that I'm doing this for my mother and I give in.
"Fine." I say as I approach him.
He sits up as I straddle him and start grinding on him, pressing my body into his. I place his hands on my ass and he squeezes it, hissing under his breath. I run my fingers through the creases of my chest, down to my stomach as my hips keep moving.
"You're so fucking sexy." Walter says, staring at me with lust in his eyes.
"It'll be much better if you didn't speak to me." I tell him, still grinding on him.
"Oh, right there." Walter says as his breathing quickens, touching my waist, and holding me in place.
After some seconds, his breathing slows down and he opens his eyes, smiling at me.
"Did you just-" I try to ask, but he cuts me off.
"Oh, yeah." He says with a smug smile.
Immediately, I get off him. Grabbing the money from the table, I storm out of the champagne room.
Eww.
I head to my section and I see about five guys seated at a table having drinks. They smile at me as I walk towards the stage. I go up the steps and I place the wad of cash behind a speaker. I know no one is watching me and anyone who's watching is either too high or coked up to care. I mount the pole and start spinning. Like clockwork, the men alight their seats and walk closer to the stage. They start throwing money at me as I dance.
Thirty minutes later after seven songs, I am walking with the bag of money in my hand. Heading to the locker room when I see Christopher talking to somebody at the bar. I don't talk to him because it looks like he's having a pretty serious conversation, so I keep on walking.
"How did it go in there?" Christopher asks me as I walk past him by the bar.
I show him the huge bag of money in my hand and he smiles at me.
"I knew Walter wouldn't disappoint." He tells me and I send a fake smile his way.
"Is everything I hope he didn't hurt you? Did he touch you inappropriately?" Christopher asks me and I roll my eyes.
"Nothing happened. I'm fine." I tell him. "I'm going to tip out."
For those of you who don't know what "tipping out" is, I'll do the honors and explain. At the end of my shift every night, I have to pay the manager, house mom, DJ, security, and basically anyone else who helped me throughout the night without receiving tips. And since I made a lot of money tonight, I'll just tip out and head home.
"Don't worry about it, I got you." Christopher says, staring at me.
"No. I can't possibly let you do that." I tell him.
"I'll handle it, Jazz. Keep your money. You earned and deserve it." He tells me and I hug him.
"You're literally the sweetest guy I know right now." I say, pulling away.
"What can I say?" He says, shrugging.
"Oh, stop it you." I tell him, smacking his shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow." I say, before I turn around and head to the locker room to get changed.