You're Always You

Chapter Six

Lydia Petrov

"Baby!"

"I'm coming!" Lydia yelled back with annoyance, trying to finish what she had been focusing on in the mirror. Specifically, making sure her makeup actually looked decent instead of disgusting. Lord knows how many times she tried to do her makeup the past... ever and her boyfriend, Richie, commented every time it wasn't perfect.

Not wearing her makeup around her boyfriend was basically not possible. Lydia even had to wear makeup in her sleep, though it looked disgusting from her rolling around in the morning. If she didn't wear makeup, he wasn't going to sleep with her ever.

"Bambi!"

Lydia gave a groan. She had literally just finished putting on eyeliner when her boyfriend called her for what felt like the tenth time. Holding her eyeliner in her hand, Lydia stepped out of the bathroom and leaned against the frame, glaring at her boyfriend on the couch. "You couldn't have waited two minutes?"

Seeing the familiar blonde hair, Richard turned to look over his shoulder from the couch. He gave a hum, his arm resting lazily over the back of the couch. "Oh, you're putting on makeup?"

...

"I do every morning, Richie," Lydia said, letting out a breath mixed with a sigh. Richard was always just... so impatient. "What did you need?"

"I was hungry," Richie informed Lydia, his eyes shifting back over to the television which was still running, though the sound was muted.

Lydia tapped the eyeliner against her arm in a hum. "...Okay." She said slowly. "We can go out to eat when I'm done getting around. Remember I made plans to go to the mall this afternoon with Sasha - she'll be devastated if I cave on my plans. So, we should eat at the mall."

Richie made a face and shook his head. "I've got a meeting at the club. You know, the investment to open up a second one." He explained, giving a yawn while dropping his head back on the couch. "You should make me something~!"

Tapping her foot softly against the ground, Lydia gave a slight frown. She nibbled on her lip in thought before shaking her head and starting to walk towards the kitchen. "Come here, Richie. I want to show you something that's in the kitchen."

Richard, though surprisingly, stood up and began to follow after Lydia. Upon stepping into the kitchen, Lydia leaned back against a counter and smiled over towards her boyfriend. "So there's this new thing in the kitchen. It's pretty fascinating, really. It's this... thing that, in about five to ten minutes, it can make you whatever you want."

Raising up his eyebrows in surprise, Richard crossed his arms over his chest. "Really?"

Lydia nodded and stepped over to her boyfriend. She took his hands, uncrossing them, and kissed his knuckles. "Yeah," She cooed with a smile while looking up at him. "It's called your hands. Make it yourself."

Richard gave Lydia and unamused look and gave a groan. He stepped towards his girlfriend and wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her back into his chest. "Come on, baby~..." Richie said, leaning down to kiss at her neck softly once her hair was swooped to the side. His fingers played at the bottom of her shirt, sliding up to caress her stomach. "I'm just so tired."

"...Fine," Lydia said, resting her arms on top of Richie's happily. She had a smile on her face and leaned back against him, shaking her head somewhat. "You're insufferable."

"I know, babe," Richie said while sliding his hands out from under his girlfriend's shirt. "That's why you love me."

That was up for debate. He was persistent, that was for certain. If Richie wasn't so determined to win Lydia's affection using any means necessary, Lydia wouldn't have been with him for twelve years. They first started to date in high school, though Lydia was not interested in him in the slightest. He was creepy, at first. Just... talked to her and hung around her as much as he could. He asked her on dates, repeatedly, until...

Well, until Lydia said yes.

Being with Richie? Well, it made her smile. It also made her want to throttle him, occasionally. It went back and forth. He had these really, really sweet moments. He also had these annoying moments, like being far too lazy.

The fact that he somehow managed to become the owner of a strip club after graduation was... well, it was a bit shocking. Lydia just... she didn't see it coming. However, Richie was good at that. He also promised Lydia that he would take care of her. It was one of the things Lydia loved about him - how willing he was to take care of her.

It was for that same reason that, after graduation, she was able to move out from her parent's home and move in with Richard. Lydia cut ties off with her parents entirely - and it was wonderful.

God, Lydia's parents were... something. That was for sure.

Richie hated them just as much as Lydia did. They never approved of him.

And, well, Lydia didn't care. They were out of her life. The only person in her life was Richie. Well, Richie and the friends that Lydia ended up making while working at the strip club for him.

Lydia had been a bit reluctant to start working at Richie's strip club at first. She never saw herself as that kind of person. Dancing sexually for money. People tucking dollars in her clothing. People groping her, even if it wasn't permitted.

But, Richie insisted that Lydia was hot. If she worked there, more people would come. And, Richie wouldn't have to pay for another girl to work at the club. Lydia, in a sense, was free. Free because Lydia lived with Richie.

Therefore, Lydia didn't even keep any of the money that she made. She just brushed it off onto Richie, who took care of all of the finances for both of them. It worked out well.

All Lydia had to do was dance.

Though at first, she was very reluctant. She wasn't even that good. But... she got better. She got better and, somewhat, began to enjoy it. Growing up, Lydia always loved to perform in the musicals and shows in high school. She dreamed of being on Broadway, but both Richie and herself knew that it wasn't even a sliver of a possibility.

They crushed it real quick from their future and instead, Lydia ended up on a pole.

In a way, Lydia didn't mind the attention that she got in the club. The looks, the bills being pushed towards her. It was all perfectly fine and she got used to it. She started to see herself as acting, in a way. Becoming a different person. Lydia liked to pretend that, when she was dancing, she wasn't Lydia. Rather, she was Bambi - her chosen stripper name.

What Lydia hated was being outside of the club. Lydia hated when frequent visitors to the strip club saw her, recognized her, and tried interacting with her. She hated when these customers that visited her frequently saw themselves as more than what they simply were. She was a live, sexual show to them and they were merely there to pay her.

That was it.

Though the worst of these customers are the ones that decided to treat Lydia like a stripper outside of the club. Outside of the club, Lydia wasn't Bambi. She was... Lydia. The only time she was Bambi outside of the club was to Richie - who had first started calling her Bambi as a nickname. In time, she decided to make that nickname her stripper name. But still, outside of the club, she was Lydia to anyone else. Therefore, people touching or groping her in various places?

It was not appreciated.

At the same time, Lydia needed to handle it carefully or they weren't going to come back to the club. If she handled a situation carelessly and they decided to not return to Richie's club, Richie would be pissed.

...Most of the time, Lydia just took the groping. It was for a fleeting moment, anyway.

"Here you go," Lydia said, leaning down to kiss Richie's cheek softly before passing him a plate. "I need to finish getting ready. Sasha texted me that she was leaving soon for the mall."

"Alright," Richie said, his eyes casting from the television to Lydia. "Hey, can you confirm with Sasha that she's working tonight and tomorrow at the club?"

Lydia hummed and nodded her head. "I think she knows. She said she was working with me. But, I'll double check." Lydia said as she returned to finish her makeup in the bathroom.