Page 15 of Property of Gray

“Me?” I grin and shake my head. “No way. I’m here to support my bestie.” I glance over at Elsie Jo, who looks like she’s going to puke on her shoes at any moment. “Hey, you okay?”

“I really don’t think I can do this.”

“You’re going to be fine.”

“You got any tips for my friend?”

“Yeah, don’t vomit on the stage or the guys.”

“Oh, God.” She bolts to the bathroom.

I follow after her and find her hunched over a toilet.

Gathering her hair into my fist, I hold it back as she upchucks whatever she ate today. I scrunch my nose and bury it in the crook of my free arm.

“You’ll have to take my place.”

“What? Me? No way. My brothers would chop off my tits or something. Woods would kill me, and Fletcher would lock me up with Dirty.”

“I really need the money.” She falls back on her ass as the automatic flusher whirls.

“What’s going on?”

“My financial aid for school fell through, and if I can’t pay, then I can kiss nursing school goodbye. If I could get hired on full-time at the nursing home, they’d pay for my degree, but there’s not any openings.”

I know this. I do. I chew my lower lip.

“I’m sure I could talk to the club and get you a loan or something. They do stuff like that all the time.”

“I can’t ask you to do that.”

“But you’ll ask me to take my clothes off.”

We both laugh. “I mean, would you get up there with me?”

“And do what?”

“I don’t know.”

The thing is, if our roles were reversed, Elsie Jo would do it for me. She’d get up on that stage, nerves and all, to shake the only thing her momma ever gave her. A fat ass.

“I can’t believe I’m saying yes to this.” I’m going to need another shot or five.

I ask the bartender behind the bar if we can freshen up in the dressing room. I know the girls keep extra stuff back there.

There’s a couple of featured dancers working tonight. Honestly, I expect them to be rude because we are potential competition for them. But surprisingly, they give us pointers and touch up Elsie Jo’s makeup, explaining it needs to be heavier for being on stage.

Shoot. If I ever need my makeup done professionally, I know who I’m calling.

“You girls are up next,” a busty blonde tells us.

Great. “Ready?” I squeeze Elsie Jo’s hand. I have no freaking idea what I’m getting myself into or what’s going to happen when we get out on this stage. The good news is when walk out the rest of the bar is so dark I can’t tell how many people are in the crowd.

Someone whistles as the music starts. Else stands frozen like she’s an ice sculpture.

“Show us your tits,” some old dude heckles.

Fuck it. I wrap my hand around the pole and slide my back up and down it, pretending I know what I’m doing while my bestie runs off the stage leaving me to go it alone.