AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“The day is when I need someone. It makes the least amount of money, and several of the dancers are ready to move to the evenings if we can find a replacement. But I’m not going to hire you without knowing you can get on stage and take your clothes off. Down to your panties. You can keep those on, though it’s probably too much to hope you’re wearing a g-string?”
Heat flushing through her face, Emily shook her head. She’d never owned a regular thong, must less a g-string, and right now, that was making her feel even less confident. Even though she’d tried to look nice to come to apply for a job, she hadn’t expected an audition.
In the back of her head, she realized she’d been hoping she would either be told ‘no’ immediately or—worst-case scenario—she’d be hired but need to be trained. She wanted the chance to find another job before actually getting up on stage and taking off her clothes in front of an audience.
Oh no, oh no, oh no…
The music died to scattered applause. Emily jumped as another woman suddenly appeared at the back of the stage and came down. She was almost completely naked, except for a barely there red-mesh thong that was completely see-through. It matched her fire-engine hair. Fabric hung from one hand, probably the clothes she’d had on before she’d started stripping.
“Hold on, Cassie. Emily is going to go up first for an audition,” Victor said to the blonde. The redhead paused, now also staring at Emily, who felt like her cheeks were so hot, they must be visible in the darkness.
“Okay, go get ‘em, girl,” the blonde said. She even sounded sincere.
Oh God.
What choice did she have? None, really. She needed a job. She needed money. She was out of options.
Forcing one foot in front of the other, Emily swallowed hard as she stepped up the stairs.
“Faster, sunshine,” Victor snapped out.
Something about the authoritative order helped her move faster, and she suddenly found herself at the top of the stairs at the back of the stage.
The bright lights hit her, hot and blinding… but not nearly as blinding as she wished because when she blinked, she could see out into the restaurant. It was not nearly as empty as she might have hoped. There were quite a few men scattered among the tables, and—worse—seven of them right up against the edge of the stage.
She could see their faces. Their leers.
“Dance!” Victor yelled from backstage. There was a part of her that recognized that he was trying to help her out, but this time, the command didn’t work. She froze.
How the hell had she thought she’d be able to do this? She’d never gotten naked in front of any man before. Tears clogged her throat, and she took a step back. One of the men started jeering.
“Take off your clothes, ice queen!”
“She sucks. Where’s Cassie?”
“Move, fattie!”
Choking on her tears, Emily dashed off the stage, the taunts of the men ringing in her ears. As she ran off, Cassie ran on, and she could hear the cheers over the music as the pretty blonde came out on stage.
At the bottom of the stairs, the redhead was still there, mostly naked, with a sympathetic expression, while Victor shook his head as if he’d known it all along. Emily’s knees buckled, and she sat down heavily on the bottom of the stairs, tears streaming down her cheeks as she pressed her hand against her pounding heart.
“I don’t think this is the job for you, sunshine,” he said.
“Why did you send her up there like that?” the redhead asked, giving him a mean look. “You can tell she’s never stripped before.”
“To show her that she’s not going to be able to do the job.” Victor sounded exasperated. “I don’t think she had any idea what she was getting into. Now she knows. Come on, sunshine. Let’s get you out of here.”
“Oh my god, Victor, give her a minute. Here, I’ll stay with her. You go do whatever it is you need to do.” The redhead waved him off, and after a second glance at Emily, who couldn’t meet his gaze, he left. Sitting down next to Emily, the redhead rubbed her back. “Deep breaths, sweetie. That’s it. One more. Now, let it out slowly. Good. So, my name is Penny. What’s your name?”
“Emily.” She managed to get her name out, though it still felt as if she was choking. The back rub and sympathy helped, as did the deep breaths, but she was distracted by the naked boobs swaying so close to her arm. She supposed casual nudity wasn’t a big deal after getting undressed on a stage.
Victor was right. She didn’t think this was the job for her. The courage it must take to get up there and get naked under all those leering, judgmental eyes… desperation apparently wasn’t enough. She’d frozen.
Maybe if she tried again now that she knew what it would be like? But just the idea of going back up there made her want to break down sobbing. Knowing what it would be like made it worse, not better. Ignorance had been bliss.
“Why do you want to be a dancer, Emily?”
“I don’t.” Emily hiccupped. “I’ve never gotten naked in front of anyone before, other than my best friend. But I got fired yesterday, and it seems like no one else is hiring, and I’m desperate, and?—”
