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“Me getting a job at Unbidden Desires,” Dare answers before I can tell her not to, by the gleam in her eye she knows exactly what the fuck she just did too. Cunt.
“Are you fucking insane?” Luca shouts.
I raise my hand to cut him off and shoot a glare at her. “I’m going to look into the club more before I agree, Dare. I don’t do things like this half assed.” I turn my attention to Luca. “It was a long conversation. We can talk later.”
His eyes dart back and forth between the two of us before giving me a clipped nod. “It’s time for you to dance if you’re ready.”
The tangle of emotions that start to writhe in my belly are unlike anything I’ve ever felt before dancing. I clench my fists at my sides, trying to breathe through it.
“I'll see you out there,” I agree. They both get my silent message and head out of the office, leaving me alone as Luca starts to announce me for the crowd.
I shake my hands out, trying to put a name to the emotion I’m feeling. There’s too many getting me worked up to even begin to figure it out. There’s the usual rush of excitement, a love for performing, but there’s nerves and sadness. Regret. Unease. A bit like not being ready to say goodbye so you put it off.
Luca calls my name, no longer calling me Stormy but leaving it as The Original Rose. I shake my head, laughing to myself. He didn’t tell me he was going to do that. I guess it fits though.
Tonight is about more than just temporarily shutting down Steel Roses, it’s about closing a chapter on our lives. Things will never be the same going forward. I guess a part of me always knew that, but I don’t think it really sunk in until now.
Stormy was my stage name for a lot of years. Luca’s clever way of calling me out for my temper. For the change I went through. I was no longer Letty, but I didn’t really feel like Scar to him yet either.
I was wild and broken. Trying desperately to figure out how to glue the shattered pieces of myself back together. I built a name for myself as the dancer that took to the stage like a storm. Who danced and lived with reckless abandon.
I’m not that girl anymore.
I’ll never be the girl who came to the club to get lost in a crowd of bodies, ran from the nightmares to the bottom of a bottle, and left with a different person each night.
I’ll always be a dancer. Always have a special place in my heart and schedule for Steel Roses, but the moment I walked into the fights as the leader, the moment the whispers began on the streets, I gave up Stormy. I’ll forever be the Original Rose now.
I smile brightly at the crowd, waving as I jump up on the glass bar that doubles as a stage. We decided that since we are closed, we should do a whole renovation on the place too. Update it and make it a little more spectacular. Meaning this will be the last night I dance on this stage ever. The last dance ever danced on it.
No wonder I’m feeling a bit emotional about it.
The first beats of my first song start playing over the speakers the second I wrap my hands around the pole. I wanted the first song to be fun and upbeat. Playful like so many of my other dances here have been.
I face the VIP section, winking at our table before closing my eyes. I bounce my hips to the beat. Simply moving them back and forth as I stay on the balls of my feet. The fabric of my romper swishes under my ass with each movement.
I slowly glide my hands up the pole until my arms are straight over my head and I can slightly lean against the cool metal. I let the feeling sink into my palms as I feel it slowly warm up to match my own temperature. Draw in the heat of the lights as they flash down on my exposed skin. Soak in the cheers as the crowd recognizes the song,I Like It Roughby Jessica Foxx.
Just as she starts to sing, I tighten my grip on the pole, lifting my feet from the stage and pull myself higher up on the pole. I keep the routine exactly how I intended. Flirty. Playful. High energy.
I swing around the pole, doing a lot of the more elaborate tricks I’ve mastered over the years. Spinning my body, turning myself upside down, folding my body in half. Everything the crowd goes wild for.
By the time the song ends, I’m laughing. Infected by the atmosphere of the crowd. By my love for doing this. Some of the unease that’s been writhing in the pit of my stomach for days now finally starts to ease up.
I blow kisses and wink as I take calm and measured breaths to reset for the next song. My next choice is a bit of an odd one. I can admit it to myself. I wanted to do the opposite of the first one. Where my first routine was almost all pole work, this one has none.
I wanted to slow it down, but still something that held that teasing and almost taunting tone for the crowd. No one knows what we are announcing tonight.WICKEDby AViVA starts playing and I slide my body to the floor.
I conserve my energy knowing the last song is where I’ll really need it. Three dances aren’t hard for me, but I know the energy of the crowd is going to drain me. I have to make my next dance the best one of not only the night, but of my time here. My body moves on its own to the beat of the song. Slowing down before speeding back up as the pace increases. Every move is elongated and sensual, not as upbeat as the first dance.
The words of the song make this dance feel all the more like preparing to say goodbye. My own way of sending a message that nothing can stop me. Even if we are being forced to close our doors, we’re only going to turn it into our own success.
The song comes to an end and I finish the dance in the splits on the stage. I pull my legs out from under me, letting them hang over the edge of the stage, swinging them over the crowd.
I can’t count the times I’ve been in this exact same position before. Something that has always driven Luca mad. Tonight, he just gives me a small smile as I give him the nod.
He climbs onto the stage and brings the microphone with him. It only feels right that we end this chapter the same way we started it, together. As he reaches me, he plops down at my side, making me smirk. This is definitely a first for him. He’s never approved of my recklessness, let alone encouraged it like this.
“We have one last dance for you tonight before we close,” he announces to the club. Cheers sound throughout the room. Already riding the high of the night and the alcohol. “But first, our girl has something to share with you all.”
