My hips rolled to the beat of the music, as I dipped low and slowly swirled my way back up. I used one hand to finger comb my hair to one side as the other hand skillfully slid down the length of my body; pulling my dress up to show just a bit of thigh before lowering it back down.  

My hand was more than my own in that moment. It was an imaginative means of enticing all of those watching to wish that my hand was their own. For them to fantasize about the way I would be able to swirl on their pole as expertly as I swirled on this one. The green paper began to shower the stage in less fragmented flurries as I slid my back alongside the pole before I gracefully onto my knees. My hands  came to rest on the floor as I locked eyes with the man directly in front of me. I allowed my knees to slide out to the sides before quickly bringing them back in, allowing my back to arch with the rhythm I had created. 

He was hooked. 

I began my slow crawl towards him, crossing one arm in front of the other, baiting him in with my catlike eyes. The liquid courage I had taken down was in full effect as I stopped in front of the man. His blue eyes scanned my face as his square jaw that was lined in a five o'clock shadow unhinged.

I extended one hand to tap his jaw closed. My hand trailed down his neck before I closed my fingers around his tie and pulled his face closer to mine, 

“Show ain’t free, baby.” 

He hastily stuck his hand into his suit pocket to retrieve two hundred dollar bills  which he placed in front of me on the stage. His rough voice seemed to tumble from deep within his chest as his eyes locked onto mine.

“Never thought it was.”

I yanked him close to me and allowed my nose to skim from the bottom of his jaw and up to his temple. I could feel his breath permeating through the thin fabric of my dress and fanning over my breasts.

As the music began to fade out I loosened my grip and allowed his tie to slide from my hands.

“That is it for amateur night folks! Say goodbye to our last performer, Celine. Wasn’t she great for her first time?” 

The hostess on the stage questions as I begin to pick up the money that I collected during my performance. 

“Go ahead and give her one more round of applause, and if you were too stingy to the first time, give that girl some money!”

Laughs fill the club but a few more dollars do fall from the air. 

“All right, so as soon as we get this all straightened up, there will be some professional exotic dancers coming out to end your night off right!” Her high energy was met by excitement from both the male and female patrons in the club. 

I shyly bowed off of the stage with my bad full of crumpled money and towards the corner booth where my two best friends sat waiting with huge grins plastered on their faces. 

“Well, well, welllllll,” Linda drew out, “Who woulda thunk that our little ole’ Celine has some nahs-stay up in her?”

“Oooo, girl, I would have been the last to know. Not our little Celine,” Sam chuckled.

My brown cheeks flushed in embarrassment. 

“Oh stop,” I tucked my hair behind my ear,  “you two are the ones who thought it would be funny to take me here.”

“Well, yeah! We didn’t think you would actually do it,” Linda scoffed.

I guffawed as I set my money in the booth and slid in, “Then why did you blackmail me into doing it?!”

“Because we wanted to see you do it,” Sam retorted, “And boy oh boy was it worth it. How much did you make?”

“Ummm… Well, I know that I made at least two hundred dollars.”

“How do you guesstimate that?” Linda’s head cocked to the side

“Well, that man in the suit gave me two hundred dollars.”

Sam sputtered on her drink as her eyes bugged out.

“Two HUNDRED dollars?! Does he know you’re not going home with him?”

I smacked her shoulder, “Of course he knows! Why would anyone think that I am a prostitute dancing on amateur night?!”

“...Well, it would be a good way to drum up some business.”

“LINDA!”

“I’m just saying,” her hands shot up in a defensive manner, “That would be some good marketing right there. Getting paid to preview the goods before you seal the deal. You get to keep your clothes on and leave something to the imagination,” her hands slowly rested back onto the table as her voice trailed off.

I shook my head as I reached out to reclaim my cocktail off of the table. 

“Ya’ll are something else and high off of your own very personal brand of crazy.”

“We know. How would you like a bump of it though?”

Celine could not help the laugh that erupted from her throat. As much as Linda and Sam got on her nerves, she loved them like the sisters that she never had. 

“But back to Mr. Suit and Tie over there…”

“What about him?” I took a sip from my drink.

“Well, he is looking over here.”

“No, he’s not.”

“YES, he is.”

I rolled my eyes. “Then stop looking back, don’t be rude Sam.”

“I’m not being rude, he’s the one that’s staring like we are putting on a show.”

“In his defense, I did just put on a show.”

Sam let out a sigh and opened her mouth to say,“I just feel-”

“Guys, I think I would make a good pimp. Like, do ya’ll think that I would make a good pimp?”

Sam and I whipped our heads around to look at Linda.

“Don’t look so nonplussed,” she admonished, “It’s a valid question. I think I could help all of those women. I am an intelligent woman with drive and amazing marketing skills. I really think I can help them take their prostitution skills to the next level.”

Sam looked at me and I quickly shook my head. 

“I did it last time,” I quickly placed the drink to my lips to busy them.

“Fine. Fine. Fiiiiiiiine,” Sam drawled out, she shook her head and turned her attention towards Linda.

“Linda..Honey?”

“Yes?”

“I love you. We both love you.” I nod my head enthusiastically at this mentioning, “So believe me when I say I speak for both of us and it comes from the sincerest of places… But, What the fuck are you thinking?”

“I knew you were going to say that and in the midst of your melodramatic speech, I came up with an answer.” 

“Oh my.” My head fell down to meet the table.

“Women need proper representation in this city. I can help them greatly expand their profit margins. It’s all about presentation and marketing to the right client base in the proper attire. I mean, look at Celine, she just appealed to every man’s school teacher fantasy without taking off an inch of clothing. That is power. That is money. I can monopolize on that,” Her fingers are now interlaced in her hair as her business side consumes her.

Welp, that is all that she is going to be talking about for the rest of the night. 

“Celine?”

“Hmmm,” I mumble from the table.

“He’s coming over here.”

“Who is coming over here?”

“Mr. Suit and Tie,” I hear the excitement lacing Sam’s voice, “Mr. Goddam Suit and Tie is coming over here.”

I whip my head up in enough time to see come to a stop in front of our table.