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“Don’t worry about me,” I answer.
I’ll be staying away. Nice as Mimi and Salvatore are, there’s more than one reason for me to watch myself around that family. I’m aware who the Giordanos are. I did my research and it’s a known thing in Chicago that they’re a mafia family.
“If you need me for anything I’ll be there. The club’s safe word is red. If anybody tries anything you don’t like, you scream red,” she cautions with a stern expression.
Safe words….
I’m gonna have a hard time wrapping my head around this.
“Thank you,” I say.
“No worries. Let’s get you ready then.” The smile returns to her face and I feel more assured. The last thing I want is for her to think I’m going to chicken out.
I’m not.
* * *
I’m ready within the hour. My first performance is at eight. The club opens at seven, but most of the crowd rolls in at eight.
Tonight, I’m dressed in a white baby doll negligee. It looks like the erotic version of something Tinkerbell would wear. Underneath, I’ll be wearing a thong so people will definitely see my ass. The top of the body is completely see-through, so anyone looking can see my very pink nipples pressing against the white of the fabric.
My hair is up in a tight high ponytail, but the ends flow down long with a hint of a wave covering my shoulders. That is my only covering. The rest of me feels naked and exposed.
Louise gives me a hopeful smile as I step into the crystal ball and I suck in a breath as it lifts into the air.
I’m on the fifth floor. No one can see me yet. I’m supposed to move when the music starts playing. Salvatore, does all the fancy tech. He designed this whole set up, and I felt it was comparable to something you’d see on a movie set.
On my first step I’ll become visible and activate the crystal ball. Smoke and lights will come on, and so will I. People will see me. I’ll become the dancer I was five years ago, before my world changed.
This will be a version of the dream I hope for myself with a dark twist. As soon as I step out, men will be watching me, wanting me. Probably paying to have me for the night. It might be one, it might be two or three.
Anything meansanythingat The Dark Odyssey.
The music plays and I take that step. The lights go on and although I’m about fifty feet in the air and the music fills the room, I hear it… the sound of amazement and wonder. A gasp in unison of the crowd below. It’s just like before when I used to dance on stage.
The same magic mom used to talk about. My mother was my guiding voice and light in the darkest abyss. As long as I danced the magic would always be in my heart.
It comes to me now and I’m not here. I’m the girl I was six years ago, before the devil placed a ring on my finger and chained my soul to hell. I’m that girl who stood on the stage of the … in LA dancing in the grand ballet. I’m the girl who played Princess Odette, Juliet, Carmen, and many others. I’m the girl who looked out to the crowd and saw her mother watching on with pride.
Even though Mom is gone, the magic is still with me now as I move.
I glide in the crystal ball, becoming part of the music. The routine Tatiana made up was simple and effective reminding me of the opening steps to Swan Lake. For a moment I forget where I am and feel amazing. Over the last few weeks, I practiced every day for hours, but my body remembers how to move naturally. Mom always told me I was born to do this. On stage, or in a crystal ball. I dance and leap and smile, feeling like my old self again.
The time flies quickly and smoke arises one final time as I glide in the ball to the last corner of the ceiling. This should be the end now. I’m heading to the lounge, the ball slows on its device, and the light dims in its effect as the smoke rises up.
I twirl into a pirouette and curtsey, bowing my head giving the illusion that I’ve travelled into it.
However, as I lift my head, I see him. The guy from outside in the parking lot. I blink several times and my nerves spike when I realize it really is him.
He’s sitting in the owners’ lounge with a cigar slinked at the side of his mouth gazing on at me with that wild interest that captured me and would have beckoned me to stare earlier when we met if I wasn’t so wary.
This guy though has a presence about him that breaks down walls whether you’re wary or not. That coming from someone like me is a big deal. Looking at a man like that if you’re me is enough to trouble my heart and make my soul quiver.
Reality knocks me when I realize I’m just staring. My nerves spike then when it dawns on me that he’s sitting by the barrier in the owner’s lounge because he’s one of the club owners.
The ball stops a breath away. Light and smoke fades, but I know he’s still watching me and even though I can’t see him, I can feel him.
Chapter Three
