AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My gaze fell to a spot near the side of the building. A shiver of unease passed through me and I quickened my step.
A week ago, Dash, one of the other dancers, had come flying into the back room screaming about how some assholes were trying to kill Gray, my other bestie and work hubby. The memories of rushing outside with the rest of the crew and seeing him on the ground as two guys beat the shit out of him were as fresh now as they had been that night.
The attack had been an isolated thing, but it still freaked me out that he’d been targeted by those jerks because he was a stripper.
Gray was healing from his injuries, but seeing my big, strong friend bleeding on the ground and barely able to talk from the wound on his head was going to stay with me for a long-ass time.
Shaking off those thoughts, I hurried into the club.
“Yo.” Mitchell, one of our bouncers, upnodded me as the main doors closed behind me.
“Hey.” Keeping close to the walls, I made my way toward the back room, our staff area.
The inside of the club matched the outside in that it was boring and a little campy with wood paneling and grungy carpets, but whoever organized this event had obviously spent a small fortune sprucing the place up.
It had been transformed into a magical garden of sorts with sheer panels of material covering the walls, all folded and draped in ways that created intricate patterns and the illusion of elegance. Swaths of the same material and what looked like vines of ivy were draped over the bars that held the lights to the ceiling, hiding the sound and light equipment. Strings of fairy lights twinkled whimsically as they dangled from the ceiling and several huge panels with lights and vines in them had been set up so they created room dividers and blocked all the unsightly parts of the club, including the bar, from the area around the stage.
About half the tables had been removed. The ones left had been rearranged to create a cozy area around the stage and were draped with fancy tablecloths and had floral centerpieces on them. It even smelled good in here, like they were diffusing real flower scents. The usual chairs had been replaced with bougie-looking gold ones, and in the middle of the space honest-to-goodnessthronesand ornate wooden side tables now sat on a platform facing the stage. In front of it sat a smaller platform, with a pole.
That wasn’t part of the club’s design. The only pole we had was the one on stage.
“You made it,” Kai said as I slipped into the back room. “Only five minutes late.”
“Did you see all that stuff out there?” I motioned to the door as it banged shut behind me. “What kind of event is this?”
“Bachelorette party,” Zane said.
“I hope they’re loaded. I really need the tips.” I stripped off my jacket and carefully hung it on the rung near the door.
River, Zane’s twin, grinned. “They are. Some guy in a tux screeched at me when I shoved one of those hanging plant things aside to get past it. Apparently, they’re not only delicate, but also super expensive.”
“They’re real?” I asked.
“All of it is.” Blaze didn’t look up from the book he had his nose buried in. “I’m no florist, but that many orchids, lilies, and roses would be expensive as fuck. Not to mention whatever those vines are.”
“No wonder it smells so good out there,” I noted. “Let’s hope these Richie Riches didn’t blow their budget on flowers and’ll actually tip us.”
“Unlikely. Rich people don’t tip. That’s how they stay rich.” Zane tugged on the hem of my crop top. “Only you could pull this off.”
I struck a pose. “That’s the bonus of not being built like a brick shithouse. I can wear pretty stuff and not look like I accidentally shrunk it in the wash.”
“Has anyone ever seen a brick shithouse?” River asked. “What does that even mean?”
“No clue.” I shrugged off my top and wiggled out of my sweats.
“It means that whatever the structure it’s referring to is more sturdy than necessary.” Knox glanced at Kai, who nodded. Along with Blaze, they were the brains of the crew.
“Huh. So I look like a brick building? And why not just say ‘brick house’ and not shithouse? Is that a poop-kink thing?”
Kai, who’d just taken a big gulp of water, coughed and spit it out in a fine spray.
“You’re lucky you’re so pretty.” I patted River on the head and went to put my clothes away in a locker.
“Really?” Knox wiped water off his bare chest and shot Kai an unimpressed look.
“Sorry.” Kai pounded his chest. He cleared his throat. “I just got the worst mental picture in my head and it was either spit, or choke.”
“That’s what she said.” Zane’s tone was teasing, but his expression was blank, as usual.
