Chapter 2: Money Talks

Mature content

Darkness and hazy red lights were the only things that were in the air, disseminating through the room and wrapping itself around me. The smell of aged and beat-up wooden chairs was probably the only scent that filled this place besides the alcohol and perfume that flooded this place like a tsunami. The red lights were like safe lights in a photographers dark room. The dark room that showcased your art and ultimately, your heart. A vulnerable girl graced the stage and reached her hand out, grasping the pole. I watched as she climbed up the pole, ascending to the top of the ceiling,nearly becoming pitch black and invisible. Like a photograph, she plummeted into the liquid below her, twirling and floating mellowly above the liquid. Various shapes and figures settled into colors of black and white. Her darkness turned into something visible, she became an image. With every step she took she unveiled more and more about who she was, I could see her story-the story she was now presenting in front of a bunch of men.

"Woo! Baby turn around!"  Some guy hollered out to the brown-haired beauty as his body  was sprawled out in the chair, looking overly comfortable. I glanced over at my friend Derrick and we both started laughing at the guy. Derrick shook his head, taking out his wallet as he pulled out a few dollars. Hanging out of the side of his wallet was a picture of his wife and 3 children, they were beautiful. He had no reason to be here in this dark, cloudy room with a bunch of women who were nothing but sub-par imitations, while his wife was the real deal, a diamond. I watched as Derrick shoved the money back into his wallet and he yanked his credit card out of the wallet, turning towards the ATM. The brown-haired girl was swaying back and forth around the pole while green paper was fluttering in the murky air.  "I'll be right back" He said as he walked away and I  flipped open his wallet, slipping 10 one hundred dollar bills inside.  Now, I'm not a nice guy by any means but there were moments when I felt like being generous and this was one of those rare times.

My gaze came back into contact with the winsome woman up on the stage, her body moving like honey dripping from a metal spoon being held at an angle. Like wooden chop sticks, her legs were perfectly aligned and straight. It was as if she were some sort of gymnast, I watched her body wind around the pole as her legs were in a 'V' formation. I sat there in the chair,  taking it all in intently.  "Come over here, sweet cheeks!" The wretched old guy called out to her, getting closer to the stage.

 A smug smile traced itself across my lips, the brown-haired beauty was giving him no attention. She swung herself around on the pole, facing me as she stopped dancing and her heels reached the ground. A wink flashed from her right eye, and she bent over slightly, blowing me a kiss,resembling a dainty little fairy, or perhaps a mermaid,she was like one of those silly exotic creatures people believed in. "Yeah, finally!" The guy shouted out from behind her while he stood there with his jaw nearly touching the floor.

The brown-haired beauty ambled along the arduous stage, before vanishing behind the curtain like a magician. "That was the last girl for the night. Closing time is in an hour!" The bartender shouted out from behind the bar. Derrick stood up, throwing on his jacket , swinging his head back as he finished the drink in his glass. "Well, I'll see you around man" Derrick said to me and I nodded.

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The air outside of the club was just as dusky as the air inside the club. Something felt strange and somewhat familiar to me, it was a feeling I had experienced not too long ago. All my life I had been hiding, yet here right now it was impossible for me to be invisible. The moon's intense radiance was shining down on me like a targeted spotlight that couldn't be evaded. No matter what moved you made, left or right, up or down. The moon followed you like some kind of skilled assassin hiding on top of the building with their rifle aimed right at you. The aroma of cancer, asthma, bronchitis, and soot filled my nostrils in the most devious way. A trail of smoke was rising up from a  girl's mouth, slithering into the air like a snake. Although she was standing at an angle with her back to me, her silhouette was distinct and prominent. My eyes trailed along her body, slowing down at the glimpse of her legs. Tone and sleek, like the legs on a model she stood there taking in the poison while sharing it with the rest of the world. Without her even turning around or moving closer to me I knew exactly who she was, the brown-haired beauty.

Gray and fierce, her eyes eyes met mine, feeling me out without even daring to blink or look in the other direction. There was some questionable force that stood between the two of us, a repulsive attraction. "I'm an exotic dancer not an object" She said quickly, with her voice as sharp as a knife. "And?" I asked her, with my eyes glancing over her once more. "What do you want?" She questioned me, as she took a drag from the deadly poison hanging out of her mouth before convulsively throwing it at the ground. White clouds of smoke flashed in front of me as she released a toxic yet slightly seductive ambiance into the air. "Who said something was being given?" I asked her and she remained silent, biting her lip and looking away from me. "No one said that. And you're not getting anything from me, I'm an exotic dancer not a prostitute" I frowned after she said that. "You blew me a kiss-" I mumbled before she cut me off. "That was for the performance. I would never give myself up for money!" She retorted. "Oh please! Look at you and your baby face, you know nothing about life. I've been around longer than you have sweetie, I've seen it all. You're already dancing half naked on stage for a bunch of men...All it takes is a price. Money is a powerful thing and money talks. What's it going to take? 100, 1,000, 10,000, 1,000,000?" I said to her while staring at her intensely, letting her know I was serious. Her body tensed up and she crossed her arms looking up at me. "What do you want from me?" She asked again, nearly pushing her head back into the filthy looking wall that stood behind her. I knew I had her right where I wanted her, she was mine-for now.

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Warmth and satisfaction were infusing  the inside of my car, yet my mouth felt cold as I sucked in my breath. The brown-haired beauty had her head in between my thighs, following  the motion of a yo-yo. She  was causing a shuddering vibration to emanate from within her mouth as she hummed "Mmmm".  I interlaced my fingers into her feathery brown hair and clasped onto it, dominating her every move and establishing the pace until she made me too weak to hold on any longer. "Do you like that?" She asked, while looking up at me insidiously. I didn't say anything to her, there was nothing that needed to be said as she took me over the edge and into a euphoric trance.

She knew what she was doing, and she did it well-almost perfectly. She looked  up at  the rear view mirror, examining herself and smoothing down her hair that I had just tousled and muffled up with my hands. Her fingers slid over the trench coat she was wearing, straightening out any crease that might've gotten into it. I pulled myself together also, and slid the money on the dashboard. It was questionable whether or not she really had never done this before, or if she was just astonished over the amount I gave her. The warmth from her hand gracing the back of my neck felt inflicting. I looked at her and she simpered, leaning in trying to get our lips to connect. "Hey! Don't try and kiss me, that's not even necessary" I said insolently, looking at her like she had lost her mind. I had no idea who this bitch was, I didn't know if she had herpes or some other strange disease. One could say that was a dumb excuse considering what I had just done with her and that is true but, it was just too awkward to kiss after everything that just took place, it wasn't like she was special to me anyways. "Well...What do we do now?" She asked me and I shrugged at her. "Go our separate ways" I said with my voice dragging on, trying to get rid of her. "I need to get to the train station...I don't have a car. Is it possible for you to drive me there?" She asked. I sighed, rolling my eyes and locking the car doors, starting the car and cruising off towards the direction of the train station.

This girl knew how to move her mouth in many ways than one, she didn't know how to shut the hell up. She rambled on and on about college and tuition and all of her financial issues, while I sat there remaining silent. I hoped she would get the hint that I didn't care but she just kept going and on and on. As a child my mother always told me to never bring home a woman that wasn't worthy enough of being introduced to her. Even though she was no longer here physically, I could feel her presence around me, I could feel her watching me and shaking her head at me, I could feel her haunting me and condemning me for the things I had done and the things I was doing lately. If she were the raindrops that fell down in the sky, she would actually be holy water, falling down from the sky and cleansing people of their sins. There we were bolting down the street like a comet, swift and cold as rain drops began cascading through the sky. "Slow down! You're going to pass the train station!"  Sometimes I wished I had a heart, and wasn't as cold blooded but that would never happen. I slammed the breaks rigidly and she yelled at me. "What are you doing?!" I looked her in the eye, showing no remorse. "Get out" She looked at me, perplexed. "What?" She asked me, and I sighed tapping the dashboard with my hand. Tap tap tap! "I said get out! Tu no hables Ingles puta?" I said as I unlocked the doors, reaching over towards her side of the car and opening the door. "Bu-but it's raining!" She protested. I didn't care, I pushed her shoulder and she quickly jumped out of the seat like a cat, slamming the car door shut. Bam! "Bitch!" I muttered under my breath as I careened off onto the road, leaving her on the side of the street in the cold and misty rain. Screech! I heard her voice but couldn't make out what she was saying. In my rear view mirror, a brown-haired beauty stood there in the middle of the road with her mouth open, screaming incoherent words and moving around mercurially as the rain seeped into her hair, her clothes, and the pores on her skin. The tip of her middle finger was the only thing salient and still on her body, and it was stark like a knife.