Strip For Me

Bright Eyes

Eren's POV

I reached for the door handle...and got hit in the face by the door. What the fuck? I rubbed my forehead, squinting as my vision cleared to see who had opened the door. 

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you standing there. I just came out for my smoke break." I found myself staring up into the eyebrows-I mean eyes-of a tall and really muscular blond man. Then my gaze traveled down his outfit, and my eyes widened in shock. He...was a stripper here? His outfit left nothing to the imagination. And I mean nothing. "Checking me out? Or are you just getting used to the uniform?" 

"Uh,  I...I was just a little shocked, that's all. Sorry. I've never actually been to a strip club like this before. I was about to go in to apply for the open positions...?" I ended in a question because he suddenly began to chuckle.

"Open position, you mean. All the positions except for one were filled yesterday. Work here isn't easy to come by. Whenever we have jobs to offer, we get dozens of people flocking here the next day. But our manager's really picky about this position, you see, so nobody's been deemed fit for it yet." He stopped laughing, but kept grinning. "If you're here for a job, I have a feeling she'll like you. Come on in, I'll take you to her." He ground out his cigarette in a dish next to him and led me inside the building. I looked around, gaping at the spotless establishment. There was a bar on the left, serving drinks to the patrons waiting for the show to start. The right side held a stage, with a small catwalk leading into the sea of armchairs where people sat chatting and sipping cocktails. I watched stage hands bustling around the stage, busily setting up and testing a shiny silver pole and polishing the floor until it gleamed. 

The blonde hulk of a man led me behind the stage and into a spacious office. I stopped at the door to be polite and wondered why there was a pole in this room as well. 

"Ms. Zoe, I have a new applicant for our open position." The woman at the desk looked up from the papers on her desk, adjusting her glasses and brushing her brown mess of hair away from her face. 

"Who? I don't see anyone. Did he run away from you, Erwin?" She grinned. Erwin turned around and beckoned me to stand next to him. "Oh, is that him?" She smiled kindly at me, motioning for Erwin to leave. "You seem like a very promising boy. How old are you?" She asked me all the standard questions, making sure that I had the right qualifications (age, background, criminal record, family, etc.). Once she was satisfied that I wasn't a fugitive or some cancer patient about to die in a year, she asked me to step back and stand next to the pole. Looking me up and down, she nodded to herself. "You've got a really nice build,  and your face is absolutely flawless. Could you take off your shirt for me?" I was a little confused. Did bartenders have to be shirtless? I asked her, and she laughed. "Of course not, silly. The only open position left is a stripper, and that's because I'm really picky about my strippers." 

...I hadn't intended to be a stripper. "I'm sorry, Ms. Zoe, but I thought the opening was for a bartender or something else like that. I don't think I'm the right material to be a stripper, so I think I'll be, uh, taking my leave now..." I wasn't completely against the idea because I'd heard that strippers got paid a lot of money, but I wasn't used to exposing myself to people, and I'd never tried dancing before. 

"Wait!" she cried. "You're the only applicant that's gotten this far in the process so far. I'm seriously considering you for the job, and it's so hard to find strippers that can hold up my standards...Could you please consider staying until I've decided?" She thought for a second, trying to convince me to stay. "Oh, you're looking for a job so you can pay for your mother's hospital bills, right? If you get this job, it'll help you pay for her bills and more. Being a stripper here is one of the highest paying jobs in this area, although it might not seem like that." Hearing that, I paused and thought about it. If it was for my mom, I'd do anything. And this seemed like too good of an opportunity to pass up. I could probably hide my job from my friends-I mean, Armin was too shy and nerdy to ever even look at a strip club, and Mikasa didn't seem very interested in these kinds of things. 

I turned back around and took off my jacket, then began unbuttoning my shirt. "You've decided to give it a shot?" Ms. Zoe's eyes brightened and she pumped her fist in the air. "Yes! Alright, okay. Could you turn around and flex for me?" I did so, slightly embarrassed about being half-naked in front of someone I'd just met. She gasped and squealed. "You're the perfect body type! I can't believe it! I'm so lucky! Okay, okay, one last small test and then I'll be giving you the job. I'm going to play a song, and I want you to dance, either on the floor or on the pole. That's all I need you to do, alright?" I blinked, a little shocked. I had no clue if I was any good at dancing or not. But this was an opportunity I couldn't afford to give up so easily. My mom needed me. I nodded and stepped closer to the pole, grabbing it with one hand. I'd give pole dancing a try-it didn't look all that hard when other people did it. 

She started the song, and the low, sultry notes wrapped around me as they blasted through the speakers. Closing my eyes, I let the music flow through me and began to dance. I vaguely felt myself twisting around, but I was too lost in the music to focus on it much. When the song ended, I opened my eyes and stared at the floor. What? How had I gotten upside down? I looked down...wait, or was that up?...and saw my legs wrapped firmly around the pole, effortlessly holding my body suspended on the pole. Whoa. I dropped to the ground in shock and snuck a look at Ms. Zoe as I stood up and brushed myself off. She was staring at me, openmouthed. Crap, had I sucked so badly that she was speechless? I opened my mouth to apologize, but before I could, she had jumped out of her seat, almost knocking her table over. She ran over to me and shrieked incoherently for a few seconds before calming down enough to breathe. 

"EREN YOU'RE AMAZING I'M SO GLAD I FOUND YOU OHMYGOSH ERWIN NEEDS A RAISE FOR FINDING YOU AHHH THIS IS AWESOME I'msohappyyouhavenoideaI'mgoingtomakeyouthestaroftheshowthey'reallgoingtoloveyou! *deep breaths* Okay...so we'll need a stage name for you, a custom fitted outfit, and someone to teach you the ropes. I think I'll get Erwin to teach you, seeing as how you already know him."

I saw a chance to ask a question amidst her frantically excited rambling. "Uh, a stage name?" 

"Yep! It's the name that the customers and viewers are going to know you by. It's usually a trait or something that represents you so it's easier to remember you by. For example, Erwins' is "The Commander" because he's so tall and muscular and commanding. A lot of the girls adore him.  I think, for you, it'll be something regarding your face...Let's see, what stands out about you? Hmm..." She stared at me, contemplating. "Oh! I know! Your eyes are absolutely stunning. How about...Bright Eyes?"