Isabella
I have to admit, I was surprised to see Harry sitting right at the stage earlier tonight. After his apology for showing up accidentally, I didn't expect him to come right back and make his presence very well known.
Seeing him sitting in that chair drove me insane. He's a hot man, I will admit that as many times as I need to, and knowing he's kind and a good father makes him even hotter. He's just so effortlessly sexy, which drives me crazy. Naturally I'm going to take advantage of my job and mess with him, especially now that he's admitted to flirting.
But the icing on the cake for tonight was definitely him standing up for me. I never would've imagined that he would nearly get in a fist fight for me. Chris definitely wasn't expecting it either and he spent the rest of the night in his office tending to his bruised ego. He barely even acknowledged the other girls when they went to his office at the end of the night to tip out.
I've been dreading going into his office. Brynn offered to go in with me just to make sure he didn't do anything, but I know when he's pissed like this he won't care that she's in there.
My only regret for the night is that I didn't thank Harry. He really didn't have to do all that to stand up for me, but I appreciate that he did. Nobody has ever gone after Chris like that in defense of me before.
With my cash in hand, I take a deep breath and walk over to Chris's office. Brynn follows me, but stays behind when I go in. Once this is done, I'm ready to just book it home and put this night behind me.
He looks at me, clearly still fuming from before. I'm surprised Harry stayed for as long as he did without getting approached to leave.
"Who the fuck is he, Isabella?"
I shrug, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Cut the bullshit! He knew your name, you knew his name. Are you fucking him?"
"Christian, absolutely not! I have a life outside of this club, but I don't even know him like that!" I'm not about to give up the information that I know Harry from the dance studio.
He slams his hand down on the desk, making me jump. "What the fuck are you doing, huh? Trying to make me jealous? Looking for attention?"
My eyes roll at his accusations, "I'm getting really tired of you, Chris. Just take your money so I could leave. I'm tired and want to get home."
Walking closer to his desk, I put his cut down on the desk and cross my arms as he grabs it to count it. "You're short."
"I know how to count. You're just being a dick."
"Watch it before I take it all. You don't deserve shit with the way you're acting."
"That's not how this works, Christian. Goodnight." I turn and walk out of his office, ignoring as he yells at me to come back and not be a bitch. My heart pounds, but I hold myself together, trying to be strong until I'm finally alone. I hate showing how anxious he makes me.
Brynn knows that, which is why when she sees me she doesn't give me a hug or reassure me that I did good. We just pretend nothing happened and walk to the door together to leave.
"Are you good to get home?"
I nod, running a hand through my hair. "Yeah I'll probably just get a cab or something."
"Okay well text me when you get home, alright?"
"Always do- Oh." We stop in our tracks the second we get outside.
Harry looks up from the ground, biting the inside of his cheek as his eyes meet mine. "Hey." His voice is soft and sounds unsure.
"Hey." I bite my lip, looking over at Brynn.
She smiles a bit, looking between the both of us. "I'll let you guys talk. Night, Bells."
"Goodnight..." She walks away, leaving us alone together.
It's a bit awkward at first, since neither one of us knows what to say next. Of course I want to thank him, but I didn't expect him to be waiting outside for me. But then my mind goes to Christian. "We should probably not stand here... Chris..."
"Yeah, you're probably right... Can I walk you home? Is it close?"
I'm surprised at the request, but I nod. "Yeah, thanks." I lead the way toward my apartment and away from the club.
We're quiet for the first few blocks, barely even sharing a glance in each other's direction. It isn't until I feel him place something around my shoulders that I find my voice. His suit jacket. It's big and smells like his cologne, swallowing my figure. Looking over at him, my eyes fall from his face to his tattoos, covering his chest and arms.
"Take it, I'm fine." I start to take the warm material off my shoulders, not wanting him to freeze in just a tank top. My hoodie was more than enough for this walk.
But he shakes his head. "You looked cold. It's okay, Isabella."
My eyes search his for a second before I look away. "Thank you." He hums in acknowledgement. "And thank you for what you did in there. I really appreciate it."
"Of course. You deserve to be treated better than that. And look, I know I probably shouldn't have showed up at all tonight, but I'm glad I did. He's gonna wish he never touched you like that. Fuck, if I found out a man grabbed my daughter like that, let alone spoke to her the way he spoke to you..." He shakes his head, his anger bubbling up again to the point where he can't even finish his thought.
"I'm okay, Harry. Really, he was having a bad night and that's not him." I hate lying for Chris, but I just don't want to drag Harry into a situation he knows nothing about.
He seems to see right through my lies though, shaking his head. "Isabella. You can trust me."
Instead of continuing this conversation, I do what I know best and deflect. "You have a lot of tattoos. I didn't expect that, to be honest. Then again you said you liked tattoos."
I can tell that he considers calling me on my bullshit and making me have a real conversation with him, but he lets me have this one. "Not a lot of people really realize how many I have. I spend most of my time in button downs and suits, they're always covered up. Besides my cross, but I kind of like it that way. Plus they're really random and I got a lot of them done when I was pretty young." He shows off his right arm that is covered in all different types of tattoos. "There are a few in more hidden places though, like my legs and torso, but the majority of them are all right here."
"They're really cool. I just have the birds on my side and one behind my ear."
"Would you get more?"
I shrug, putting my hands into the pocket of my hoodie. "I don't know, maybe. The ones I have are meaningful and even though I think fun, random tattoos are awesome and look great, I just want them to mean something to me."
He nods, "I get that. It's why I haven't gotten one in a while. I've actually been meaning to get Ottie's name but I haven't had the time yet."
"That would be so sweet." We smile over at each other before I look back down at the ground while we walk.
He breaks the growing silence. "So, if you don't mind my asking, how long have you been working at the club?"
"I don't mind. I've been at Afterlife since it opened because I was with Chris at the time but I've been working as a dancer for like six years now."
"How did you get introduced to the club scene?" His questions just seem genuinely curious and nothing more, which is a bit refreshing.
"I needed the money. Shit happened and I wanted to go to college and so I took on these loans and worked at the dance studio, but it wasn't enough to cover everything so Christian suggested the clubs. He wasn't serious, but I found a club and they took me on and the rest is history."
He looks over at me, "Do you like it?"
I don't know why, but I feel safe talking to him right now. "For the most part, yeah. Of course there are some guys that take it too far but they usually get banned from coming back. The fun definitely got toned down when I got sober but I still really like it."
"You're sober?"
I nod, "Two years."
"That's amazing, Isabella." I can't help but smile a bit at the praise, still really proud of myself for getting sober.
"Thanks."
I can't help but notice how he doesn't walk in a straight line. He's not drunk, I know since he was nursing that one drink the entire night and it still was half full when he left. Still, he bumps into me every so often. Not enough where it's annoying, but it's like a light touch to let me know that he's still there even when I'm not looking.
Usually I'm in a rush to get back home, but now I'm dreading how close we're getting to the apartment.
"What did you study in college?"
"Just marketing. I wasn't very good at the school thing but I managed to get my degree and get relatively good grades."
He nods, "Do you think you'll pursue a career in marketing? Because I know people you can get in contact with, and I'd even vouch for you. Not even to work in my company, but I have a lot of contacts in the industry."
Scrunching up my nose, I shrug. "I don't know. Honestly, I know there's a stigma around it but I actually like being an adult entertainer. The pay is great and it's just dancing which is what I love anyways."
"But..." He raises an eyebrow at me.
"No buts." My voice comes out defensive, but I'm not about to unload all my issues with the club onto this man. He already knows more than he should about me.
He shrugs. "I don't know, I guess I just figured that Christian would be a reason to leave. Not even the industry, but at least that club. He shouldn't have that power over you."
"I know how it looks, Harry. But I've known him for a really long time."
Harry abruptly stops walking, standing in front of me so I can't walk away from him. "Isabella. I know I don't know you very well, but I know enough to recognize that you deserve better than this. You shouldn't feel stuck in this club just because you had a relationship with him. He's holding you back."
"You're right you don't know me very well. Because I don't feel stuck in that club. And what exactly is he holding me back from because I'm the one every guy goes in there to see."
"Yeah well, this behavior from him is going to get worse if it hasn't already. He treats you like his property, Isabella! You can't keep working for him, it just empowers him."
My head shakes. "Look, if this is you trying to 'save' me from sex work-"
"No, no, no. That's not what I'm doing." He cuts me off quickly, shaking his head with wide eyes. "I just don't think working at Christian's club is a good idea at this point given how he's acting now that you're not together anymore."
"And what would I do? Start over at a whole new club? Because those guys aren't going to just follow me anywhere. It's a pay cut."
"I'll pay you." His words take me aback for a second, rendering me silent. "You leave Afterlife, I'll supplement your income. Double it, even." The look on his face tells me just how serious he is.
"What?"
He shrugs, his jaw setting. "I'm not even asking for anything in return, though I can't lie, it'd be nice to get something."
"So you want me to be your sugar baby?" It's hard to even wrap my head around the offer.
"If that's what you want to call it."
Sure, I've been a sex worker for a long time, but I've never gone as far as having sex for money. I haven't even had sex with anyone other than Christian. Even though we're broken up, it feels weird to think about being with another man, let alone the father of one of my students.
He already told me that he was flirting with me, which means he has feelings there for me. And of course I think he's attractive and maybe I even have a little crush on him, but is this the answer to that? And even if we don't have sex, why would I want someone paying me just to not be a stripper?
Shaking my head, I cross my arms. "Look, Harry, I think it's best we just pretend this never happened. Let's keep whatever this is between us professional. I teach Ottilie and I don't want to confuse her in any way if she were to find out about this. Thank you for what you did at the club, but I think it's best if you don't show up again."
His shoulders slump and he looks slightly defeated, but he accepts what I say with a nod. "I understand. But Isabella, I hope you at least consider what I'm saying. Men like him, they become these evil monsters when they don't get what they want. You have so many opportunities to do something different, whether it's in this industry or trying something new. You are talented. And I'm always going to be here if you need help. No questions asked, no strings."
He means well, and I can see that. But I don't need saving. I can decide what I want for my own future and if one day I leave Afterlife it'll be because I made the decision to. Not because some rich guy is paying me to quit. I've only just decided that I'm leaving Chris for good, but leaving the club will take time.
We continue walking the last few blocks in silence, so many words and questions hanging unspoken in the air between us. I do my best not to think about his offer, but it's hard not to imagine having sex with a man that looks as hot as him. It's a mindfuck really.
As we get to my apartment building, I slow to a stop, turning toward him. "This is me."
"Okay, good. I'll get a cab home, don't worry." He shoves his hands into pockets and I can't help but notice how toned his arms are.
"Great. I'll see you on Wednesday, thanks again for everything." I shrug his jacket off my shoulders and hold it out for him. He hesitates for a second, his eyes scanning down my body before looking at my face again as he reaches forward to take it.
"Yeah, I'll see you then. Goodnight, Isabella."
"Goodnight, Harry."
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