Nuit Noire

whisper

Lightning cracked across the inky black sky that overlooked the famed city of angels. The night was thick with sin as locals and tourists of varied ages explored the different commodities the city had to offer. One such commodity being the "Sunrise, Sunset Gentleman's Club". The name suited the 24-hour club perfectly. Dancers were out at every, and any hour of the day, to service all manner of people. Maybe this was why Saiorse was so tired; she was always working. She shivered as she flicked the dying embers of her cigarette to the turbulent sky. Thunder cracked as the rain continued to pour in heavy waves. Drawing her faux fur jacket closer to her slim body, she leaned against the back wall of the club. 'What has my life become?' She thought as she lifted the cigarette to her cherry red lips and took another drag. One thing was for sure, she was truly going nowhere. Saiorse took the cigarette from her mouth and pursed her lips as she blew the grey smoke into the heavy rain⠄

Beside her, the steel grey door leading to the interior of the busy club opened with a resounding bang. Its echo quickly faded with the steady drumming of rain onto the soaked pavement. "Scarlet!" A booming voice called from the opening. Saiorse turned to Marcos with a sigh. Of course, she never gave them her real name, she was determined to not let her career be defined by her time as an exotic dancer.

Marcos was a tall and burly man with a smattering of ebony hair that was slicked back with a mixture of baby oil and sweat. His caramel skin was nearly covered in ink. Calligraphy names of women from his past and different tribal tattoos scattered across his skin and gave him an altogether intimidating air. Saiorse instinctively tensed at his presence, he had never touched her but one could never be too careful in this business. Trust was off limits. "Five minutes till the next song, Querida!" he called over the rain.Thunder rumbled again in the distance as if to reflect storm racing through her mind. She let the cigarette fall from her slender fingers and then twisted it beneath her red bottomed shoe into the sparkling pavement; imagining Marcos's face under her heel. With silent grace, Sairose made her way past his hulking presence and into the adjacent dressing room, all the while avoiding eye contact as it would only encourage him.

Once she was safe behind the dressing room door, she quickly reapplied lip gloss and touched up the foundation encasing her naturally pale skin. Tonight would be easy. It was only Thursday and Thursdays were a generally light crowd who never asked too much. The handsy type generally stuck to weekends and the occasional Wednesday. Saiorse glanced into long mirror hanging from the red plaster wall. Full lips painted a seductive red and eyes carefully framed in a slanted black arch. Her long red mane was tamed for the night and lay silkily against her pale skin. The ends of it tickled her lower back and wrists as she moved to stand from the crouched position she had assumed in order to check her appearance. Her eyes fell into a steely grey exterior as she prepared herself to dance for complete strangers. The silky blue lingerie that encased her lithe body kept her skin cold and her mind clear. It's just a dance, she reminded herself. Just a dance.