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Chapter Three
Blair
My engine purrs as I change gear and weave through traffic, my grin widening the faster and faster I go. I know I have an obsession with staying on the move, of pushing myself just to feel alive... to forget, but I don’t care.
I locate the club easily enough, finding a space right outside which makes me raise my eyebrows. What kind of city is this? The street is quiet in the afternoon light, lined with bars and even a strip joint, but on the corner, there’s a cafe that seems to be open with a nearly full parking lot. Oh well. Flicking down the mirror, I check my lipstick and blow myself a kiss before I get out.
The sign outside is dim, and the black front doors look ominous. There is a ticket booth to the side and posters across the exterior of girls in dresses, jewels, and bras all perfectly put together with a sensual appearance. There’s one next to the door that catches my eye. It’s of a blonde girl, her eyes downcast and red lips puckered in a pout. She’s in a silky dress with her breasts pushed up, the fabric ruched up at one hip showing her curves. She looks like a pin-up girl, and I whistle.
Turning away, I knock on the door and wait, bouncing on my toes. Just as I’m about to knock again, it opens, and the woman from the poster stands there with a friendly smile on her face. “Hey there, you here for auditions?”
I nod, instantly liking her. She has a kind face. A smile tips up her lips, and she welcomes me inside, looking me over. I start to get defensive, but she winks at me. “Damn, love your style, you’ll fit right in. My name is Lexi, what’s yours?” she asks, extending her hand, and I see the truth in her eyes. There’s no guile on her face, which is weird. I guess I’m used to lying to everyone and keeping my cards close to my chest.
“Blair, my name is Blair,” I answer, shaking her hand. My chipped black nail polish is obvious next to her perfectly pink nails.
“Beautiful name, I have a feeling we’ll like each other,” she comments as another voice sounds.
“Is that the last one? Hurry the fuck up, Lex!” a grumpy voice yells.
She rolls her eyes and wraps her arm through mine and pulls me through the club. “Ignore her. That’s Allegra, she’s always mardy. Welcome to burlesque, babe,” she chirps as we move through two opened doors and into the club.
My mouth almost drops open. I’ve been in a lot of clubs—shady ones, street ones, and the highest quality—but this... this is something else. It’s like I’ve stepped into another world. It’s cosy yet huge. There is a massive stage taking up most of the back wall with an area for the band to the side. The bar is to my right, the back lined with glass to reflect the stage, and tables are scattered throughout. Lush velvet carpet covers the space, not to mention the chandeliers providing a low, sexy glow. It screams sensual without being tacky. Instantly, I feel welcome and at home here, and I know I have to dance on that black lacquered stage.
“What do you think?” Lexi asks, looking down at me.
“It’s incredible,” I breathe and then clear my throat. “I mean, yeah, it’s good.”
She laughs and pulls me over to a group of girls gathered by the stage. There are two women up on the platform, one with a sour face who I’m guessing is Allegra. The other is grinning. She has long, thick, black curly hair thrown over one shoulder, with tanned skin, long black leather boots up to tiny leather pants, and a bustier. She looks like a fucking wet dream, and the confidence she emits has me grinning.
Lexi hops up on the stage between them, leaving me with the other girls who are also here to audition. They shift nervously and chatter amongst themselves, giggling and getting to know each other. I roll my eyes, prop myself up on the closest table, and cross my arms. The women who work here run their eyes across us before Allegra stops on me with a considering expression.
“You are here to audition. We have rules. First of all, this isn’t a sex club or even a strip club, so if you thought it was, leave now. This is burlesque. This is art, this is about creating a fantasy. About confidence and owning your body. I can’t teach talent, so you either have what it takes or you don’t. We will audition each and every single one of you, and we will pick the song. I want you to move. After that, we’ll ask you to sing. We are only taking one new girl... so good luck.” Allegra smirks as Lexi steps forward.
“Look around at the other girls. Each wants this as badly as you, but their success doesn’t lower yours. All we ask is for you to show us what you’ve got.”
“What they said. I’m the manager here, and these girls are my family. No one disrespects them or my staff. If you get the job, you are one of us for life.” She looks us over and stops on a chatty blonde near the stage. “You first.” She whistles, and the lights come up on the stage as we take the table to the left, sitting back and watching. The girl nervously climbs up onto the stage and the house lights dim, then a spotlight shines on the blonde as she swallows anxiously. Her clearly dyed hair is dark at the roots, and her thick brown eyebrows are impressive. She’s skinny but good-looking, however the nerves will kill her.
The music starts with a low, steady beat. She misses the first and second cue, and she looks at us uncertainly before closing her eyes, sucking in a breath, and beginning to move. She sways slowly at first before she loses herself in the music. She dances across the stage, sensually and slick. She’s good, really good actually.
After her, two more girls auditioned. One panicked and ran off crying, and the other couldn’t dance at all. Lexi, Allegra, and the manager whisper amongst themselves before Lexi lifts her head and looks at me. “Blair, you’re up.”
I see the other girls shooting me glares—they hate me already, I know it. I didn’t bother to sit with them or get to know them. As I stand, I wink at them. I’m confident, bordering on cocky, but it will put them on edge too, which I need.
Because Ineedthis job, I don’t just want it.
I have to be a part of this.
“Watch how it’s done,” I purr cockily as I strip off my jacket, toss it on the table, and flip up onto the stage.
I stand under the light, lower my head, and close my eyes until the music starts. It’s slow, sensual. I instantly throw myself into it. Clicking one hand at first before I start to tap my thigh, and when the beat kicks in, I drag my hands down my thighs and start to sway, shaking my hips from side to side as I lift my head and make eye contact. Smiling seductively, I turn and bend before flowing onto the floor and onto my back. I lift my hips as the beat increases.
I flip, dance, and turn on the floor before swaying to my feet. Dragging my hands up my body, I part my lips on a gasp and tip my head back. Swivelling, I shake my ass before lifting a leg and circling as I dance before tilting my head to the side. I flip my hair as I grin and lean onto my knee and shake my hip. Twirling across the floor, I goen pointebefore leaping into the air, coming down on my knees, and smashing my fists into the stage with the music before pumping my chest and back and crawling to the edge.
Lifting my legs in a V before I slip off, I sway across the floor to the judges who are grinning at me. Lexi’s smile is so wide, I know it’s a good sign. I press my hands to their table, flip my hair as I start to shimmy up and down, and then spin around their chairs, dragging my hands on the wood, almost touching them, almost, before I twirl away with a laugh and leap up onto the stage for the big finish.
The beat is building, I feel it. I spot the rope at the back of the stage as I twirl and leap onto it, climbing. As the beat starts to reach its climax, I twist my foot in it and drop. As the music cuts out, I’m upside down with my leg held in the rope and a grin on my face.
Breathing heavily as adrenaline pumps through me, I untangle myself and flip from the rope. I run my hand through my hair before I take a cocky bow as whistles and claps begin. I climb down from the stage and grab my jacket, slipping back into it. Lexi winks at me and claps, Allegra watches me with appreciation, and the manager is grinning, impressed.
