Stripped

Chapter 3

Ten years later...

"Come on Kara! Can we go already?" I shouted at my roommate while waiting for her near the door, pacing anxiously. "We're going to be late!" As much as I loved my best friend, her constant tardiness made me crazy. She was always the cause of the two of us being late to work.

"Will you relax?" Kara responded, sounding just as exasperated with me as I was with her. "You don't even like going. Why are you always so worried about when we get there? It's not like Brad keeps track of when we come and go." Kara appeared in the hallway wearing the tiniest denim skirt I had ever seen paired with a red crop top. "How do I look?" She asked excitedly giving me a spin so I could see her whole look.

Truthfully, Kara looked beautiful, but I never liked the way she dressed. "You look like you're going to freeze. But yes you look fine." I answered. I knew by the time we made it to the club that Kara was going to be shivering and whining about being cold despite the fact that I warned her and that it was almost October.

"Will you stop being a mom and please just tell me I look good? Just because you're perfectly okay with wearing nothing but yoga pants and jeans, doesn't mean I have to be." She flicked her blonde hair over her shoulder and pulled her coat on over her clothes.

I sighed, and put my own coat on. The argument was pointless and I didn't have the energy for it anymore, "Fine. If you freeze tonight I don't want to hear it." I slung my duffel bag over my shoulder and headed for the door, flicking the light switch to off before locking the door behind us.

Club Cherry was only a couple blocks away and made it easy for two girls who didn't have a car to walk to work. It was my favorite time of night, just after the sun set and deep
purple streaks could still be seen in the sky just before the moon took over fully. The two of us took this time to prepare ourselves for whatever was in store for us at work. We linked arms and walked together in silence, using this time to clear our heads.

The club came into view as we turned the corner onto Main Street, the neon sign stood high above the buildings around it with the words, nude girls, blinking across it. Already a line was forming alongside the building. A bouncer was at the door, pulling the velvet rope back for only a few people at a time. We walked past the line with our heads held high, not giving anyone a second glance, despite the hooting and hollering Kara's outfit ellicited from the crowd. The line didn't consist entirely of men, there were a few women among them but they mostly were quiet. They understood how humiliating it was to be catcalled so vulgarly in front of people. They didn't stop anyone from doing it, but at least they didn't contribute.

The bounce, was smiling at us as we approached, "Evening Raven, Kandi." He said, using our stage names so no one would know who we really were. In a gallant manner he pulled aside the red, velvet rope and swept his arm aside to let us in. We both giggled our thanks and ran smack dab into a huge crowd of people. The music was thumping and someone was already up on the pole. Kara waved to the red head who hung upside down on stage as we elbowed our way through the crowd to the back of the bar where the changing room was. "We're going to make so much money tonight!" Kara said excitedly over her shoulder.

As much as I hated large crowds like this, I had to agree. We were going to be busy tonight. Even though I was fully clothed I could already feel their eyes on me, many of these men were regulars and recognized every one of the strippers that danced here. The feeling was vile but I tolerated it, I made twice as much in a weekend at Cherry's than I did waiting tables so I just dealt with it.

Finally, we had weaved our way successfully through the massive amount of people and found the dressing room. Several of the girls were already dressed and waiting for their turns on stage. This was where Kara and I went our separate ways. She had made friends with the other girls but I hadn't. Sometimes I heard them talking about me when they thought I couldn't hear them. They thought I was stuck up, but I didn't pay them any mind. Kara was the only female that I managed to get along with, the only other friend that I had was Jake. Thinking about him made my heart hurt, it had been ten long years since I last laid eyes on him.