JAUREGUI MAFIA

Chapter 1

CAMILA

The only thing running through my mind as we make our way to the bar is: this place used to be a strip club. Now, it's a trendy nightclub that caters to New York's elite and whoever is lucky enough to be allowed entrance. Tonight, that includes Dinah and me. How we got in, I have no idea, though I suspect it has something to do with Dinah.

At almost six feet tall, she has the body of a model and the looks to boot. Dressed in a sequined dress and sky high heels, she appears every bit the big city girl she pretends to be. With every step we take, I can see men and women eyeing her in lust .

"I heard this place used to be a strip club," says Dinah, echoing my thoughts.

Dinah and I just met today. We're both juniors at Spearcrest University. She's my new roommate in Vaserley Hall, one of the upperclassmen dorm buildings at Spearcrest. As far as I know, we're also the only transfers in our hall.

Whereas I completed my breadth requirements online while volunteering internationally, Dinah went to the local community college in her hometown, eventually saving up enough money to pay the remainder of what her scholarship at Spearcrest doesn't cover.

We're both new to the area, and not even minutes after meeting me, Dinah suggested that we go to Olympus, the hottest club in New York. Earlier, she told me that the small town she grew up in was too isolated, and she was excited to become a New Yorker as quickly as possible. I believe her. She already looks the part, and I could have sworn that earlier she asked me to "pass the watta bottle, dahling."

I slide a sidelong glance at her, wondering what she's hiding behind her glamorous façade. I understand the desire to abandon roots better than most, but I usually do so by running from place to place, never settling down. I can already tell that Dinah, on the other hand, is choosing to become a different person entirely.

It's alarming to watch.

"But, like, a high end one," Dinah continues.

A surprised laugh tears through my throat. "A high end strip club? Do those even exist?"

I've always thought of strip clubs as seedy places, but as I look around, I can envision Olympus as a classy strip club. Even if those words together feel like an oxymoron.

There are dancers hanging from human-sized birdcages overhead. They're dressed in stylish, little black dresses, but I imagine that back in Olympus's strip club days, the dancers above used to wear absolutely nothing.

The bars enclosing the cages are black and shaped into webs of intricate, beautiful gothic designs. Instead of a covered bottom, the bases of the cages are made from thick glass, allowing the club patrons to see completely into the cages from below. I hope the dancers are wearing underwear, but I keep my head down just in case.

The rest of the nightclub has a modern gothic aesthetic that gives the place a noir and forbidden vibe. It makes me feel like I shouldn't be there, but I'm lucky to be. There are grand chandeliers that hang above the cages. The walls are painted a matte black, and the floors are concrete with a shiny, black epoxy finishing.

Above the chandeliers and suspended cages, the ceiling is a pure white, contrasting starkly with the blackness of the rest of the club. The bar area, too, is a clean white painted over intricate, wooden fixtures. There are several tables cut into the wall throughout the club and hidden by rich, velvet red curtains that hang from the high ceilings and brush down to the floor for ultimate privacy.

A VIP level is also above us, partially covering the high ceilings on one side of the club. It has a balcony view that overlooks the rest of the club, but as far as I can see into it, which isn't very far at all, there doesn't seem to be anyone up there.