Chapter 16: Trying to laugh with smoke in my lungs.
"Oh, come on." Chanel says, through the phone.
"I am not going shopping with you." I tell her.
"Why not? It'll be fun. We'll get to try on dresses and you know you need one 'cause Aaron told me he's attending the Spring Fling." She says, staring at me with puppy dog eyes through the screen.
"Fine. I'll go with you, but we have to be done by one. I have rehearsals with Miles." I tell her.
"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask, what's going on between the two of you. I see the way he stares at you during Chemistry." She says and I brush her off.
"Don't get ahead of yourself. We're just friends, nothing more." I tell her.
"Mhm." She hums.
"See you at Louis." She tells me before she hangs up the FaceTime call.
"Ugh." I say, groaning as I lay back in my bed.
I'm so exhausted. I need to go shopping with Chanel then I have to practice for the talent show with Miles and to top the eventful day off, I'm working tonight.
Great.
Just great.
I get out of bed and I take my clothes off. Grabbing a leopard print gown from my closet, I put it on. I pair the outfit with black clog boots and hoop earrings. Wearing my natural hair out, I open sunglasses and put it in my afro. I decide to just take the bus instead of calling an Uber. I grab my purse before I leave the house.
Thirty minutes later, I am walking up the rodeo drove trying to find the Louis Vuitton store. After all, I've only been here once. I finally see it after walking for a while. When I get in I see Chanel immediately. She is holding a brown dress to her body, staring at her reflection in the mirror.
"Hey." I say, somberly.
"You're late." She tells me, still looking at herself.
"Yeah, the first bus was full, so I had to wait for the next one." I tell her.
"Bus?" She asks, "You took the bus here?"
"Yeah." I say, shrugging.
"Oh My God. That doesn't freak you out?" She says and I shake my head. "Like at all?"
"No. And why should it, it's public transportation." I tell her.
"Yeah, for poor people." She retorts and I roll my eyes
"Then that makes me poor people." I quip.
"I'm just saying. They let anyone on the bus these days, you can catch something on there." She points out.
"Careful, Chanel. Your privilege is showing." I say, giving her a tight smile.
She stares at me in shock. It's the first time she's looked me in the eye throughout our entire conversation.
"Privilege?" She asks.
"I didn't stutter, did I?" I say, walking past her and heading for the hangers. I browse through the items on the racks and I can't find anything I like. One, because each item of clothing costs like a thousand dollars.
"No, thank you." I say, staring at the tag of a blue lace gown.
"That'll look bomb on you." I hear Chanel say behind me.
"Bitch." I say, startled. "Don't be sneaking up on me like that."
"You should buy it." She says and I roll my eyes.
"I'm not paying three thousand dollars for a fucking dress." I tell her.
"But it's Louis Vuitton." She says with a French accent.
"And besides, I'm saving." I reveal.
"Ugh, I could always buy it for you, if you can't afford it right now." She tells me and I smile.
"Thanks, but no thank you." I tell her.
"Alright. Let's go to the other side." She says, pulling me towards her.
***
"Hey." I say, smiling at Miles as I walk inside the school's music room.
"I thought you wouldn't show up." He says as I sit beside him on the piano.
"I was out shopping with Chanel. She was a pain." I tell him, placing my purse beside my feet.
"Shopping for what?" He asks me as he adjusts the notes on the paper stand.
"Dresses." I say, smiling at him. "You know, for the Spring Fling." I add.
"Oh yeah. I don't think I'm gonna come." He tells me and I stare at him.
"What? Why?" I ask him.
"I don't have anyone to go with. And sincerely I don't want to spend the entire night sulking." He says and I nod.
"Got you, so you're gonna spend the entire night gaming and feeling sorry for yourself." I say.
"Pfft, feeling sorry for myself?" He quips.
I don't reply instead I play my favorite song on the piano, the Twilight score "Bella's Lullaby". Feeling like nothing else matters at this moment, the sound of the piano fills the room. My eyes dart to Miles and he has a stunned look on his face. I immediately stop playing and I burst into laughter.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" I ask him, laughing.
"Why did you stop?" He asks me, groaning.
"Because you're looking at me like I have three heads." I say, chuckling.
"Where did you learn to do that?" He asks me.
"Church." I tell him.
"Wow." He says in shock.
***
"Mr. Saxobeat" by Alexandra Stan starts playing as I walk on stage. The clubbers cheer for me as I climb the pole and start doing tricks. I twist and turn earning more cheers. It starts raining money and I keep spinning on the pole.
"I know that's right." I hear someone say and I try my hardest not to laugh.
I sensually get down from the pole and I walk to the edge of the stage, scanning the crowd looking for who to give a free dance. I pick a guy in front of me and he gets on stage. He sits on the chair and smirks at me. I straddle him, my back to the crowd and I grind on him, following the rhythm of the music.
"You're so fucking sexy." He says and I place his two hands. I take them on a journey through my body. Starting at my breasts, then my slim waist, and then I rest his hands on my bum. He squeezes it.
"You're a very..." I pause, "bad boy." I whisper in his ear before I catch his ear in between my teeth. I feel him get hard underneath me and I get up.
Show's over.
The bodyguards take him off the stage and I get back on the pole.
Some minutes later, I am walking out of the locker room. I just placed my heavy bag of money in my locker. I stop by the bar to chat with Gustavo, the bartender.
"Hey, how's it going?" I ask him.
"Tonight's a good night." He says, showing me his tips.
"Atta boy." I say, tapping his hat.
"Um, Jazz?" I hear someone say behind me and I turn around.
It's one of the bouncers.
"Yes?" I answer.
"You have a gentleman caller in the VIP booth." He tells me.
"What does he want? A dance?" I ask him.
"I don't think so, if he wanted that he would have just booked a champagne room." He says and I nod.
"Well, there's only one way to find out." I say, shrugging. "I'll see you later." I tell Gus.
I follow the bouncer to the VIP booth upstairs and I expect to see a lot of people, but it's just a man in a black suit smoking a cigar. He looks powerful as fuck. I wouldn't want to piss him off. I sit opposite him on the red velvet chairs.
"Hello, beautiful." He says, smiling at me. His smile lines show and his little dimples peek out. He has a cute smile.
"Hi." I say, tucking a strand of my pink wig behind my ear.
"You did great down there." He says before he takes a puff of his cigar.
"Thanks." I reply.
"Want some?" He asks me and I stare at him in thought.
"Sure." I say, staring at him. I move closer to him, our knees now touching.
He pulls out a brand new cigar from a glass case and hands it to me.
"Howard Cigars." I read out what's written on the edge of the cigar.
"It's my brand." He informs me.
"Oh really?" I say, intrigued.
"Started from the bottom, now we're here." He says and I chuckle.
"Not you quoting Drake." I say, laughing.
"Is it so unbelievable for me to know who Drake is?" He asks me, lighting my cigar.
"It is 'cause you're like forty." I tell him. Bringing the cigar to my lips before I draw smoke.
"Top forty, sweet cheeks." He says, winking at me. I start choking because I'm trying to laugh with smoke in my lungs.
"Careful." He says, patting my back.
"It's my fault." I say when I come to. "They are really good." I add.
"Thanks." He says, placing his hand on my thigh.
"I'm looking to do something fun tonight?" I tell him.
"What do you have in mind?" He asks, leaning into me.
"Whatever you wanna do is fine." I say, softly. He stares at me with passion in his eyes. My breath catches in my throat and I gulp.
"Let's go then." He says, jiggling his car keys in his hands and I smile at him