After about ten minutes, I find myself pulling up in front of the small white house. I kill the engine, grab for my jeans, and hop out to put them on.
Just as I’m buttoning them, the front door opens and two girls walk out. I notice one of them right away: Jade.
She gives me a curious look before smiling and walking over to me.
“Look who’s back,” she says teasingly. “You come back for your tie?”
I lean against my truck and look over her shoulder at the door. “It’s not what I forgot, it’s who,” I say firmly. “Where can I find Onyx?”
Jade quickly turns away and starts heading for the little black car that is sitting in the driveway. “I don’t know,” she calls over her shoulder. “I’ll let her know you’re looking for her.”
I quickly catch up to her and grab her arm. “Tell me.” I walk over to stand in front of her. I look into her eyes so she knows how important this is to me. “I need to know where she is. Can you just tell me where to find her?”
She lets out a breath of frustration before looking over at the other girl who nods at her. She turns back to me and rolls her eyes. “Follow us. She’s at work and we’re heading there now. I’m going to get in deep shit for this,” she mumbles.
“Thank you, Jade.” I don’t waste any time jogging over to my truck and jumping inside. I’ve waited too damn long for this shit and she’s going to listen to what I have to say.
I follow the little black car for what seems like forever. In reality it was probably a whole fifteen minutes. Still, fifteen minutes too long, and now I’m anxious as shit.
When we pull up in front of the huge black building, I sit there wondering if this is some kind of joke. There’s no way that the Onyx I knew would work at a place like this.
I sit here for a few minutes until I see Jade and the other girl get out of the car. Jade looks over at me and waves her arm for me to follow. “You coming or what?”
I take a deep breath to calm myself before getting out of my truck and slamming the door behind me. Every part of me wants to scream and break something. The idea of her working here makes me sick to my stomach. “Vixens Club,” I growl to myself while staring up at the neon sign.
She’s a damn Vixen? A stripper . . . like me. Well fuck me.
“OKAY, GIRLS, JUST REMEMBER TO have fun. This is free night. You are welcome to roam as you wish. Just remember the rule: no touching unless you put their hands there. You know what to do if someone breaks the rule. I’m sure there’s no need for me to go over it again.”
I get a few head nods from the girls and a hell yeah from Ash.
I stand up from straddling my chair and walk in front of it, facing my group of girls. The first shift of the night is almost done, and I made sure that all of my girls work together all night. I always stress their safety on free nights. I don’t like the idea of not being able to keep my eye on them individually. There are quite a few creeps that come in here and I would hate to have to break a heel off in a few of their asses. That’s why I have “the talk” with my girls once a week.
“Alright, ladies. Let’s get ready to make some cash then.” I smile and head over to my makeup station as the other girls head over to the floor.
I’ve been hiding in the back for the last twenty minutes. I’m not really sure why, but my game seems to be a bit off tonight. I keep telling myself it has nothing to do with Hemy. The truth is, I’m not very convinced. I could never convince myself of anything when it came to him. I went to sleep with him on my mind and woke up with him on my mind. I guess not much has changed over the years.
“Shit. Stop thinking, Onyx.” I rub my hands over my face and take a deep breath. “He’ll only hurt you again. Don’t do this to yourself. You finally got rid of that pathetic little girl that was nothing but a doormat for him.”
I curse to myself when I feel a hand grip my shoulder. I have no idea who it is or how much of my rambling they have heard, but I suddenly feel really nervous. I’m not ready to explain Hemy to anyone. I’m not sure I’ll ever be.
“What’s going on, Onyx?” Jade takes a seat at the makeup table next to mine and starts digging through her makeup bag. “Something’s been bothering you since last night. You can talk to me . . .”
“I’m fine.” I force a smile and look at myself in the mirror. My blonde curls are wild tonight and my makeup is a little too dark on the eyes. I look a lot different than I did four years ago. I can’t even imagine what Hemy must have thought when he saw me at the party last night. He seemed a little shocked, but couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off of me. It made my heart race, making it hard for me to think straight.