"You're beautiful," he whispered in my ear as I danced against his lap, grinding into him provocatively. I could hear a smirk on his lips as his hands came around my waist and pulled me against him, nearly ruining my routine.
"But I'm not stupid," I huffed, yanking out of his grip and finishing his lap dance by turning to face him completely and straddling his hips, my lips nipping up his tattooed neck, tongue slipping underneath the collar of his hoodie and slipping across his collarbones causing him to shudder, hands moving once again to my lower back and holding me in place, fingers slipping under my booty shorts, something papery being put between my G-string and asscrack.
"Then what made you chose this job of all things?" he inquired as I breathed down his neck seductively and rubbed my chest against his, the song starting to come to a close.
"Circumstance," I said quietly as the song ended completely and I backed off, his friends began to laugh and cheer, money being tossed at me. Hurriedly, I gathered it all up before swaggering off, swaying my hips maybe a bit too much, the feeling of the rolled cash in my thong all to familiar, my heart beating too fast, the Adderall fading quickly, and strange butterflies smacking against the inside of my stomach as I dizzily slipped into the dressing room and collapsed against the wall, unwanted tears slipping quietly down my cheeks, smudging my makeup. I hated my job.
***
Sixteen-year-old Karmen Kingsten hasn't had it good all her life, her mother being a pill-popper druggie and her father having left awhile ago. To add to her plate she has to get through highschool still and care for her baby cousin. The only way to support her family is through stripping. Karmen's barely holding on, the only thing keeping her sane is baby Benz. But what happens when Karmen's life gets entangled with an upcoming rapper's, job complications, addiction, her past, and the ultimate threat--her heart being broken..?
As Claire aims to leave her oppressive stepfamily behind, she befriends Zion. Will he be her ticket to freedom or a distraction in achieving her dreams?
*****
Claire Olsen has had a crush on Zion Petrakis since the first time she laid eyes on him, but he never noticed, instead only having eyes on the school's it girl, Maddie Jennings. Knowing she couldn't compete with Maddie, Claire hid her feelings for Zion, satisfied with admiring him from afar. However, when a series of events led Claire closer to Zion, her feelings for him grew from infatuation to love. And despite fighting hard to keep her feelings contained by distancing herself from Zion, he was determined to show her that he's earned a spot in her life.
[[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]