Love Me Again

Chapter 7

At one point while we danced, I stopped all of a sudden and wondered what it would be like to work here again.

I remembered the day I met James when I applied for the job here. I was desperate to have a job. I was living in a shelter. Although it wasn't that bad compared to other shelters, I knew I couldn't continue like this. I wouldn't survive.

So when I passed by the club one day and saw they needed dancers, I immediately walked inside. As I passed by the bartender while looking for the person in charge of the club, the bartender called out to me.

"The club is closed. You need to leave," He said without looking up from what he was doing.

"I know. I'm here to apply for the job, the one for dancers." I clarified and stopped walking.

He finally looked up and scanned me, probably trying to see if I was joking or not, "Your lucky the boss is here right now. Come with me. His office is right around the corner."

We walked up the staircase, and he stopped in front of a door marked only with the name James Walker. He knocked and opened it when we heard a "come in".

I walked inside and stopped when I saw a man who looked in his twenties. He would have been very handsome to me if I didn't just get my heart broken by another man.

He looked up probably to see who was bothering him when he was so busy with what I could see. He looks at me and backs down at his work then he did a double-take. Probably surprised to see a woman here, since the only person working here right now was the bartender.

He stood up and walked towards me until he was standing in front of me.

"Hello, may I help you with something?" He looked surprised to see me.

Wasn't he used to girls coming here? He did have a flyer for more dancers outside of his club.

"Hello, my name is Elizabeth Bell, "I said sticking my hand out for him to shake, which he did, "I am here regarding the flyer outside of your club about needing more dancers."

He told me to take a seat.

"I do need more dancers, but you are aware that this is a strip club and we need strippers, right?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm aware," I replied.

Once he made sure I knew what I was getting into he started the interview. He wasn't shocked when I told him I was homeless. He told me a lot of the girls who work here are. He also told me that he had an apartment unit that the girls could stay in if they needed it.

I told him how I didn't have any dancing experience and how the only time I have stripped was in the bedroom. He laughed and told me that was all there was to stripping.

He said he would have one of the girls teach me the routines and the basics, and I would start dancing in two weeks. That would be after I have had time to get used to it.

I got the job. In the beginning, it was difficult trying to build up muscle to be able to dance on the poles. But after a while, it got easier and I started to perform. It was uncomfortable when I first started due to the continued stares from men but it slowly became easier. I danced without having to think about the routines, and I stopped thinking there was anything wrong with it.

The girls became family, and James was more of a friend than a boss. Everyone was treated with respect and James made sure all the girls were safe while they were dancing and when they were going home.

I still struggled with the divorce and losing my baby, but the routine helped take my mind off it. Everything was looking up. That was until one day when I was dancing, I looked at the crowd. Something I tried not to do, but that day I did and I saw Francisco Daniels, Blake's brother, staring back at me.

I knew he recognized me. He looked shocked, his face showed every emotion: surprise, pain, and sadness. I didn't look back at him as I finished dancing. Hoping somehow he didn't recognize me, but I knew he did.

After I finished the dance, I ran off stage as I heard Francisco calling out to me, but I didn't turn around. I couldn't, it hurt too much to see Francisco as he looked so much like his brother.

I ran into the bathroom in my dressing room and grabbed the razor. I sat down on the floor and started to cut my arm above the other scars from my previous cuts. I cut both my wrists and watched as the blood dripped from my hands onto the ground.

As I faded into the darkness, I heard a knock on the door. I thought I heard Francisco calling my name. I tried to answer him but the darkness consumed me.