DEBORAH'S P.O.V
" Rachel, are you really sure this is going to work? I really need this money. Stanford's admissions close in 3 days and if I don't pay the entrance fee, I'll lose the scholarship."
" Will you stop stressing? It'll work."
"You look sexy." She said with a smirk. I stepped out from behind the curtain, tugging at the hem of the black corset bodysuit she made me wear.
I went to her to lend me money but even I know of her situation. Her mother was critically sick and she needed surgery. The church was unable to help with the million dollar she was asked to pay for the surgery.
They told them to keep praying for God to heal her. My best friend became a stripper to raise the money. And I'm about to be one too.
My heart dropped. I glanced at the mirror and flinched at the stranger staring back. Curves pushed up, thighs bare, red lips like some temptress from the devil's dreams. "I look like a Jezebel," I muttered.
Rachel rolled her eyes. "You look like a woman who's finally starting to act like she wants her life back." "This is ungodly." My voice was low and sharp with shame. Rachel stood in front of me now, arms folded across her own risqué outfit. "You know what's ungodly, Debbie? Watching your dreams rot because your daddy thinks the only place for you is on your knees beside a Bible or beneath a husband. Or the church preaching about oneness then turning around to desert us when we need them the most."
I winced.
She didn't stop. "Do you want to go to med school or not?" My throat closed. "Of course I do." "Then act like it." Her voice cracked slightly, and she sighed. "Look, I would've helped you with the money. You know that. But with my mom being sick and the bills piling up…" She trailed off, then gently touched my arm. "All I'm asking is that you use what God already gave you. Dance. That's it. Not sleep with anyone. Just dance the way you already do when you think no one's watching." I looked at her, my voice barely a whisper. "But that's… evil. My body is demonic." Rachel blinked slowly.
"I'm sorry but did you just call your body demonic?" I opened my mouth but nothing came out. She grabbed my face firmly with both hands, "Oh darling. Your body is not the problem. Your parents just made you believe it is. They feared what they couldn't control. You're a curvy girl, own it."
Before I could reply, a voice rang out from the hallway. "Girls, let's move! Time to give these men their fantasy!" Miss. Monroe, the club owner came strutting into the dressing room, dark-skinned, dressed in crimson velvet with matching heels. She walked in and tapped my butt playfully. I flinched. Monroe gave me a wink. "Don't be shy now. You're about to change your life, baby girl." I swallowed hard, throat tight. Rachel grabbed her mask and pressed mine into my hands. "Your body is perfect," she whispered again, slipping on her mask. "Let them watch."
I slipped mine on too. A black half-mask with golden glitter. My hands trembled as we made our way to the stage. The music hit me first. Deep bass vibrating through my chest. Then the spotlight found us. Rachel moved ahead, bold and confident, hips swinging. I followed, slow steps. And then—I grabbed the pole. As soon as my fingers wrapped around the cold metal, something in me cracked open. I spun. Bent. Arched. I felt so powerful. I'm in control here and no one can take it from me.For the first time in my life, I let loose. And then I saw him. A blue eyed man sat at the far left of the V.I.P section. His cold eyes burnt through the whole of me. They locked on mine and everything stopped. He sat alone, drink untouched. Dressed in black, watching like he owned the world. My pulse jumped as a small smirk came to his lips. I moved again, slower this time. The room roared with cheers and whistles. Money flew. But I couldn't look away. I felt everything from the ache in my thighs, to the sweat trailing down my spine, the sting of judgment buried in my skin and I danced anyway.
I was fire. And this stranger watched me burn. Rachel pulled me offstage just as the music cut. I was breathless, flushed and dazed. But I wasn't tired. I want to do that again.
"Girl!" she squealed. "Did you see how much they threw at you? I've never seen Monroe that excited." I wasn't listening. My eyes scanned the crowd. He was gone. My chest sank painfully. Monroe approached, clapping her hands. "Now that was a show. You've got something special, sugar. Stick around and we can make you a star." I shook my head. "No. I'm just here for tonight. I needed the money."
Monroe clicked her tongue, turning to Rachel. "We'll talk later. Let's settle earnings first. You girls did real good tonight." As she walked off, I finally found my voice. "How much did we make?" Rachel smirked. "You made five thousand." I stopped. "Five what?" "Five thousand dollars, Debbie. You're going to med school"
My mouth fell open.
" I got the entrance fee. I'm going to med school."
"Girl please. The entrance fee is only 3k. You even have enough to get the other things you need. I'm so proud of you," she said hugging me. "Now all you need to do is keep it safe and out of your family's reach."
My stomach twisted. "They paid that much for my sinful body," I whispered. Rachel frowned. "Shut that up. You earned every cent. And you were amazing." Monroe handed us our share. I stared at the thick stack of cash in my hand. It felt unreal.
I noticed my share was heavier than Rachel's. "Let's split it," I said. Rachel's face turned fierce. "Don't you dare." "Rach..." "No. You need this more than I do. You deserve to go to med school, Debbie. I've never seen anyone fight as hard as you do. I believe in you. So don't you dare give up on yourself now. At least one of us deserve to have our dreams come true." My eyes stung. I pulled her into a hug. "Thank you." She smiled. "Don't make me cry. I'll mess up my lashes." We laughed and walked toward the changing rooms.
Monroe called Rachel, and she left me behind to go the dressing room alone. Two men were whispering lowly at the stairwell. I didn't pay them any mind as I went to change. "Are you sure you saw him?"
"Yes sir. I'd recognize those blue eyes anywhere. He sat In the V.I.P corner. He wasn't even hiding."
"He shouldn't be here. That bastard's stepping on our turf." "We wait till he's about to leave. Then we shoot him. Make sure he's dead." My blood ran cold at that. I turned quickly and hit the banister withy waist.
" Who is there?", one of them yelled
I slipped quietly to the corner of the hallway with my heart pounding in fear and there Mr. Blue Eyes was, talking to another man. The same eyes locked on mine. Blue Eyes. Looking behind him, I saw the men at the stairwell pushing people around and closing in on him. Without thinking, I grabbed his arm and yanked him into the dressing room. "What the hell.." I slammed the door shut and spun to face him. He raised an eyebrow, stepping closer. "Have you gone mad?" "I....what? No!" He tilted his head. "You sure? You dragged me in here like a woman possessed." "They're trying to kill you!" I hissed. "Two men were outside talking about waiting to shoot you." His face shifted into this very cold and sharp mood. But his body didn't move. Then I heard their footsteps. "They're coming here " I whispered. Without thinking, I yanked off his jacket and pushed him onto the couch. He blinked, surprised. "What are you do..." I straddled him and pressed my lips to his. The door burst open just as he closed his eyes. I turned to them and made sure my body shielded his face. They can't see his face from this angle. All they can see is a stripper kissing a man. The men froze. "Oh damn," one of them muttered. "Sorry. Didn't know anyone was here." The other snorted as they left. " You'll be servicing me next,baby. I'll talk to your boss," he said licking his lips. The door closed and I let out a breath. I waited. A second. Two. Their gone.
I shuffled to get off him but in one swift move he pulled me back to him by my arm.
His mouth landed on mine like an exalted prayer on his lips. He slammed them down hard and our noses brushed, bodies impossibly close, desperate to close any lingering space. The magnificence of it was so much that it tore a gasp from my throat, more a whimper than a moan, but it snapped a tether in him. His tongue thrust into my mouth and licked his way around my lips until a convulsing throb pierced down low in my abdomen. I waited for the warning bells to ring through my mind, to force me to pull back and evaporate from the situation like I was never really there in the first place, but they never came. Instead, my head was filled with the sounds of my hands desperately gripping his neck and lush brown curls in my hands, our lips kissing and sucking and biting.
His hands went roaming, one hand reaching over to expertly slide me back over his lap with not even a whisper of protest. Straddled across him, the waist of my body suit hitched over my hips and exposed the most sensitive parts of me, but not once did my hands leave his neck or the crush of his curls that I'd coated my fingers in. And it was only when a free hand of his suddenly came up to clasp my jaw in it that my bones seemed to melt underneath my simmering skin.
There was a frenzied keen that slipped past my lips but he swallowed it up—swallowed everything up and breathed a life into me that I didn't know I could ever feel again. My hands clawed at him and tugged him closer, my hips rotating and undulating across his lap until I was mindless, unhinged and panting and needy. His lips were wrenched away from mine in the span of a stuttered heartbeat and then his eyes were on mine, tugging my attention from his lips as he glanced at me lazily, and then that hand that had bracketed my jaw was suddenly in front of his mouth.
I couldn't look away. I was hypnotized, spellbound and utterly enthralled. My eyes were cloudy with desire and his finger was in his mouth, sucking leisurely and slow. Making sure that I was watching. And then the material of my bodysuit was no longer in the way as he forewent my underwear completely, shoving the lace band of the simple white panties to the side and diving that finger inside me without warning. Something broke in me and my mind soared, leaving my body. It took a long while for me to return to myself. He groaned, a painful pleasure coating his voice.
"Fuck,"
When I finally pulled away, dizzy and flushed, the guilt set in. " Oh god, What have I done?" He didn't answer. He just stared at me.
I stood, hastily reaching for my clothes. "I have to go," I said, heading for the door. "Try not to get killed." I was almost out when his voice stopped me.
"Come here tomorrow." I turned. "What?" "Come. Here. Tomorrow."
"I wasn't even supposed to be here today." He didn't blink. "God, you're weird," I muttered. I grabbed my bag and left.
He watched me go.
I got home and opened the door as quietly as I could. "Where are you coming from?" My heart froze. My father stood in the hallway. "Rachel's place," I said quickly. He narrowed his eyes. "And what exactly were you doing there till four in the morning?" My throat felt dry. "We were… praying. For her mother." Silence.
I could hear the seconds ticking. God please, I promise not to do this again. Please. "Alright," he finally said. "Pastor Jethro wants the wedding moved up to Saturday. The fitting is tomorrow. Don't be late."
"SATURDAY?" I shrieked. "That's three days from now."
"Yes and so?"
"But daddy,i don't ..."
"I no longer wish to discuss this. You are getting married on Saturday. That is final. Is that understood?"
"Yes, sir." I ran into my room and locked the door. I fell to my knees and prayed for forgiveness. But even then I could hear the voice in my head laughing.
I thought back to the club and a giddy feeling rose up in me. He fingered me.
A man fingered me. And I liked it.
That night, I dreamed of blue eyes and velvet hands. And the fire that danced between us. But even that didn't hide another part of me that rose up in excitement.
I'm going to med school. I'm going to make Grandpa proud.
I just have to figure out a way to convince my father to let me go.