Chapter 4 Not As It Seems

• As I stretch every toned muscle in my perfect physique, I feel it burning in my core. Today is going to be a disaster, so I only but pull the blankets over my head and turn onto my side to go back to sleep. But that idea is very short-lived as Savanah comes bursting through the door.
• And yes, as I snap at her, she knows that today is going to be one of those, so she only but looks at me and shoves the paper underneath my nose, "Come, we have to get this. Come, Lexi, get up."
• I throw my hands in the air and try to politely wave her off to leave my room, yet she does not listen, "Come on, Lexi, we are not going to get another chance like this."
• I grunt at her as I grab the paper from her hand; she has circled an advertisement in thick red pen under classifieds. "Dancers Wanted."
• Well, it does not say what type, but it is at the most popular Club in New York City. As we always say, you got to start from the bottom and work yourself up. And this, this will give us that experience we need when we hit the big leagues one day.
• Still feeling that irritation crawl in the bottom of my core, I slowly make my way over to the shower. As I step into the shower, it feels like little angels dancing on my skin. A slight breeze tickles my nipples, and they instantly harden.
• I grab a bath sponge and lather it with body wash. I rub it down over my chest…my shoulders…my neck. I slide it over every inch of my toned body. I close my eyes and rinse the shampoo from my hair. Every second, every minute, my body is still raging. I can feel the tension build up.
• Once I am done, I wrap a towel around me and head back to my room to get dressed. I slide my slender legs into skinny black jeans, a dark button-up shirt. In precisely twenty minutes, I flip my jacket over my shoulder and make my way downstairs.
• Savanah gives me the once-off nod, and we head out to the car.
• I can truly say that if it were not for the storm that is brewing inside of me, I would be completely beyond excited for this gig. But there is nothing whatsoever that can get me out of this mood. Yes, I should have gone for the treatment a long time ago, but hey, you cannot fix what is broken.
• So I throw my head back to get the last few winks as Savanah navigates the car through the city. In little less than twenty minutes, we are in the parking of the most popular Club in town. It is said that it is invitation only that gets you through the door, and if that fails, you better have a whole wad of cash on hand.
• But all that being, if you can get to be one of their dancers, you will be set for big money. And that is the only driving force that is pushing one leg ahead of the other. I so feel like to sit in my hole and let the day fly by, but we got to put food on the table somehow, and my relentless quest to saddle Lucas Lucero is eating into our budget.
• Pushing all the angst aside, it takes us goddamn five minutes to convince a very asshole of a doorman that we are here for the job. Well, we soon find out why he is so reluctant to let us in. There is a line of nearly fucking twenty girls ahead of us.
• I only but look at Savanah while I give myself an up and down, "Sav, you really think that we are going to make this one?"
• "Hey," her voice comes through stern as she pushes behind in the queue, "We are way fucking prettier than all of them. So what we have a little wait, but it is not like we need to be somewhere else in any case."
• Well, I only but grunt at her as I feel that little irritation ramp up two steps higher. I know myself, and god, I know I am not going to last to the front of the queue. But I am here for Savanah, and she is here for me. We don't leave each other like a sack of shit.
• And yes, leave each other is something that we do not do for the next three hours. God knows why it is taking so long, but we soon find out.
• As we step into this little room, there is as, and it is there as clear as day, there is a fucking pole in the middle of absolutely nowhere.
• Now, this is not happening; I turn to Savanah that looks somewhere between shocked and yet excited, "Sav, is this for club dancers?"
• "Lex, it just said dancers wanted."
• Then immediately, that irritation snaps, and I am in her face in front of a group of fifteen girls behind us, "Did you at least phone the goddamn number?"
• "Lex, relax."
• Well, you do not tell me to relax; the last thing I am going to do after waiting for three hours while you have just wasted my time is…I'm not going to relax.
• "Savanah, babe, I love you like a sister, but if this is a stripping gig, then I am going to fucking punch you."
• But before we can even ponder for a moment longer, there is the voice of a man shouting from inside the room, "Next!"
• And as he says "Next!" again, I know, and it does not take me two seconds, and I completely blow off.
• "What the fuck?" My voice echoes as I enter the room, but I am not sure who is more surprised, "Lucas Lucero."
• There is nothing but a goddamn sexy smirk on his face as he stares at my ass in a pair of rather tight skinny jeans, "Lexi." And as he bites into the bottom of those supple lips that I can still taste from the night before, my knees give in weak, and I can barely but speak. Then he continues. "Baby doll, I did not take you for a stripper?"
• I immediately shoot my glance in Savanah's direction, "Next time, phone the fucking number. You have just wasted three hours of my time, and now you made me see this goddamn asshole on top of that as well." Then I stop for a brief moment to catch my breath, and then once again, I continue, "Can you not think, Sav." Then I shoot my glance back to Lucas, "And what the fuck are you doing here?"
• He only but throw his hands in the air as I start to blow off my temper, replacing every single word with a curse, feeling absolutely irritated and pissed off. Poor Savanah has stopped dead in her tracks, she has not said a single one word, yet she only but shakes her head at Lucas. Now it is as if Lucas knows exactly what she is saying, so I snap at her once again, "Do you want to give him my fucking bra size as well? This is none of his business. Now let us go unless if you want to become a goddamn stripper."
• With that, I watch as Lucas raises from his chair and walks towards where I have been leaning against the pole. His voice is only but a whisper, "Baby doll, come with me."
• "What," I push his hand away in an instant, "Are you going to show me a booth next?"
• He only chuckles, "I can, but I am scared of what you might do to me."
• I only huff at him as he leads me out of the room; with slow, agonizing steps, I follow that sexy ass upstairs to what I believe must be his office.
• Once we are inside, he firmly kicks the door shut; there is only but a mumble that comes from my lips, "Do you own this place?"
• "Yes, baby doll, but I prefer spending my time at the other club."
• "But strippers?"
• "Yes, baby doll, but do I look like a man to you that…" He stops for a single breath. "Perhaps let me not ask that."
• Then he leads me to a couch that stands in a far corner, "Now, baby doll, please tell me why you are so mad?"
• Under short, stuttering breaths, I struggle to stop my heart from raging out of control, it is suffocating, and there is no end to end. My body starts shaking as I am finally consumed.
• Then it turns black.