You're Always You

Chapter Twenty-Four

Lydia Petrov

Lydia was mortified that David had noticed Richard in his... less than pleasant state. He got angry, Lydia knew that, but... Richard had soft sides, too. Just, when he was mad, he was mad.

It had gotten to the point now, at least, that Lydia was normally the only one that saw it. And, truthfully, she liked it that way. Lydia was able to work with him privately on bettering his anger.

Though, she wasn't perfect.

...And he still snapped at times.

When he did snap, Lydia was usually in a private location with him.

Lydia thought that it was private.

Now that David had... witnessed a portion of his anger, she was thoroughly embarrassed by her own behavior of pushing Richard to that point. She should've waited to talk to Richie at home, when they were for certain in private. Where someone wouldn't wander in to witness it.

Yet, Lydia couldn't change it. It was already too late. She also knew that she had to get out onto the dance floor or Richie would be scolding Lydia more.

Therefore, Lydia ushered herself to the dancefloor, mortified and embarrassed, as she began to seduce men out of their money. It was a bit amusing, and sad, that she was more embarrassed over the fact that David had witnessed herself and Richie than she was embarrassed over dancing.

At least, if there was any positive side to this, Lydia's energy was somewhat restored in her dancing. Having a break usually made Lydia tired, bt a break that ended in a fight definitely made her wide awake.

Lydia's embarrassed energy must have been good for business, however, since she certainly had lots of bills coming in her direction. A part of Lydia wondered what had... caused a change for them to be pushing money towards her.

...Though Lydia certainly didn't mind.

It was as she was tucking a few bills into her garter that she noticed David approaching her from the back area - for whatever reason he had been back there.

Embarrassment flooded Lydia's face again.

"Hey," David said with a frown. "...You alright?"

...

"Yeah, of course." Lydia said with a nervous smile. "Why?"

"You know why."

...

Lydia felt herself swallow sharply and crossed her arms over her torso. "Honestly, it's fine. It's my fault. I knew I shouldn't have made him upset. I should've talked to him about it later." Shaking her head, Lydia smiled. "Don't worry about it, though. Everything's fine."

"Just because you upset him, doesn't give him the right to handle you like that, Lydia."

...

Lydia frowned and glanced towards the ceiling. "It's not normally like that. I just made him upset." She fumbled out, shaking her head. "He already went through anger management. He's better."

"If that's better, I'm afraid to know how he was like before."

The woman opened her mouth, hesitating for a moment, before shaking her head. Lydia quickly attempted to change the conversation, her arms tightening around her torso. "So... what are you doing here?"

"...I needed a job." David said, seemingly looking embarrassed himself now, too.

Though, Lydia knew better than to judge him. When it came to working at a strip club, no one ever marched in and declared that this was their first choice. No one ever picked working at a club.

Lydia wasn't going to make fun of him, even though she debated about mentioning the fact how he saw himself as so much better than the customers. Now he was joining the men that wanted to have free access to a show as a job. It didn't scream good to Lydia, but... not all security were like that, she supposed. Some were just desperate - and David somewhat sounded like that.

"...Security, I assume?" She said, adding, "Unless you have a secret desire to work a pole. In which case, I'd be teaching you."

"Oh yeah, totally, was brainstorming my stripper name on the way here. You think 'Davie Cock-ett' is too on the nose?"

Lydia choked in her laughter and place her hand over her mouth, turning her head to the side with a smile. Upon getting her composure, she turned back to look at him with a smile. "...So security." She confirmed, given his sarcastic mannerisms. "Good to know." Turning her head, Lydia nodded to a man leaning against the wall. "That's Dee, he's head of security. Not sure if you've met him yet." Lydia said, adding, "He's also probably the least perverted man in the room. Most of the girls tend to trust him here."

Pausing, Lydia shook her head. "...No that's not true. Dee is still a pervert, just..." Lydia brought up her finger in the air and made a tiny rainbow in the air with her finger. "...The other gender."

"Oh good. Thank god I'm not stripping then." David said, which caused Lydia to start laughing softly again. The woman dropped her head to the floor and shook it slightly.

"So, you're not gay?" Lydia questioned, looking up at him. "I was... wondering, since you took me in the back and I just slept. And, y'know... I figured there's the whole stigma about being gay in the military," Lydia explained, adding. "I mean if you are, that's fine. Best way to get the dancers to flock over you is if you're gay, though. Few security men tried that before in the past. Didn't get them very far."

"That you think a straight guy can't be respectful says a lot, sweetheart."

...

Lydia cleared her throat in embarrassment, crossing her arms tighter over her torso. "...Sorry," She mumbled with a slight frown. Glancing to the side, Lydia opened her mouth to speak. "...And I know you know my first name, but I'd appreciate if you would call me Bambi here. I already have enough customers copping a feel on the street. I don't need them to be able to figure out how to find me outside of the club."

David seemed to give a soft sigh and rub at his forehead, closing his eyes for a moment when Lydia returned to look at him. "Yeah," He agreed.

"Thank you," Lydia said with a smile. "And I'm sure the other dancers would appreciate that as well. If you learn their first names, at least. Dancers tend to be wary of new security, though most of them follow after my lead. I'm one of the oldest here."

As Lydia continued to speak more and more, David's voice seemed to be getting softer and softer - almost in sadness. "Honey, you've been here too long..."

Lydia agreed, giving a shrug. "It's just... where life took me, I guess. Maybe someday I'll be able to do something else." She hummed, rubbing at her shoulder in thought. "I liked acting in high school, but it's not exactly like it's sustainable. Not even possible, really. No one lives off of acting."

"Not with that attitude."

Gazing at David, Lydia tilted her head somewhat in amusement. "...You think some washed up stripper could be an actress? You must be a very optimistic person."

"Game of Thrones makes you do worse." David said, humming with a nod. "So, yes."

Lydia laughed, a smile on her face as she gazed over towards him. "...Thank you." She ended up saying, though her eyes ended up getting shifted to the side as she heard someone calling her name. Rather, calling Bambi. "Ah," Lydia hummed, blowing out a breath. "Duty calls, military man. I just... think we serve in different ways."