Ostentatious decadence coupled with the distinctive scent of sensuality was definitely the scene Dominic Lawson was striving for. As he surveyed the layout of his penthouse, he grinned, the deep trembling of the bass reverberating from the speakers giving him life anew. The throngs of beautiful people writhing against each other under the sway of some of the sickest beats he’d ever heard reminded him of the parties he’d gone to throughout high school and college. The exception was, of course, that none of them held his distinct signature.  In high school and college, he had to suffer the inferiority of domestic beer and mediocre entertainment. But now that he was on the top of his game and incrementally adding to his vast empire, he could afford to saturate the scene with his specialized form of entertainment. He had enough money to throw the parties expected of someone of his stature but he wasn’t interested in towing the party line. His liquor was top of the line, the women on point, and the rules non-existent. It was no holds barred and as he caught the eye of a couple of scantily clad women grinding against each other, their sensual gaze focused on him, he realized that he wouldn’t have it any other way. Life was meant to be lived out loud and he was going to blow the speakers on the bitch.  He didn’t know the meaning of modesty.

The music reached a fever pitch and the women continued on their descent into depravity. It wouldn’t take long for him to get them into his bed and although the conquest was easier than he liked, he wouldn’t pass it up.  The thought of the three of them contorted on top of his satin sheets had his cock throbbing, straining against his trousers. It was a sure bet and he was certain that it was only going to be a matter of minutes before he disappeared to handle his business and if they were good, he’d  ask them to stick around for a little after party of their own.

The crowd was whipped into frenzy as the bass dropped and his girls capitalized on the moment. One of the beauties had the other’s ass to her front, her arms wrapped possessively across her hip and her chest.  Dominic watched with a growing interest as the instigator flicked her tongue against her friend’s ear, their bodies fused and moving on a wave of seduction. There was a promise of carnal desires in their gaze and as the woman fondled her friend, Dominic nodded and drained his glass.  He needed something to loosen him up and an hour with the two of them would do just fine.

 Just as he was about to make his move, he felt a strong hand cap his shoulder, effectively holding him in place. Only two people in the world had enough guts to put their hands on him and one hadn’t made the scene yet. That left his twin brother, David.

Dominic turned to face the disappointment etched on David’s face and exhaled slowly before casting his eyes about the penthouse. If he knew his brother as well as he thought he did, he was about to dress him down – the last thing he wanted was a massive crowd of witnesses.

Before David said one word to him, he grabbed his brother by the nape of his neck and directed him toward the kitchen. David had that look about him tonight that just screamed drama which told him  in no certain terms that he’d found out about the entertainment for the night.

As they traversed the expanse of the party, Dominic glanced at   his brother and exhaled heavily. They may have been identical in appearance but that was the extent of the similarities.  Both had dark brown hair, precisely trimmed goatees and arresting mahogany eyes. With their lean physiques and impossible charm, the bevy of women that practically threw themselves at their feet was staggering. While Dominic relished and partook of the females- in any and every way possible- David had remained true to his unrequited love for their best friend. It was his sensible side that kept that flame burning brightly but Dominic thought of it as a waste. With so many women jockeying for a position in their beds, why David would waste his time on a woman that had told him in no certain terms that she was off limits was beyond him.

It’s his loss, Dominic thought absently as he pushed through the doors leading to the kitchen. Once inside, he glanced at the caterer and gave her an imperceptible nod. The kitchen cleared in a matter of seconds and Dominic meandered toward the hors d’ oeuvres, considering them with a decisive grin.

“Alright, Davy, let me have it,” Dominic said as he picked up the smoked salmon crisps. Popping the tasty appetizer in his mouth, his brow crinkled as he chewed, “This is the best. Why don’t you try one?”

 “You didn’t tell me that you hired her to dance tonight.”

 “What’s there to tell? I needed entertainment and I had only one option.” Dominic scored another crisp and took his time, mulling over the several different ways this could go down tonight. In hindsight, he knew it was a bad idea to hire his brother’s obsession to dance for the party but he’d been in full party planning mode when he’d made the call. If the entertainment was to be as on point as everything else he did, he had to get the best and Red’s girls were definitely the best. Unfortunately, that came with a steep price. “Look, you know how this goes, David. The parties I throw are legendary and everyone knows that. I can’t put on some mediocre entertainment and expect for that shit to be copasetic. Red’s got the goods.”

“You told me that you wouldn’t do that to her,” David replied as he stepped into his brother’s personal space.  When Dominic offered an appetizer, he knocked it out of his hand, “She needs our help, not our tips.”

Dominic put his hand up between the two of them and gently pushed him back, “Yo, step back, son.  I’m having a great night don’t fuck it up for me.”

David glared at him and then shifted his gaze around the kitchen, disgusted, “I wouldn’t dream of fucking up your night, Dominic. I’ll wait for her at the door. Maybe I can talk her out of dancing tonight.”

“You can’t talk her out of something she wants to do, David.” Dominic gritted his teeth as he squared his shoulders, “When are you going to get it through that thick head of yours that she doesn’t want our help? We’ve tried, we’ve failed. It’s time to move on, man.”

“I’ll never stop trying, Dominic. She’s our friend and I really care about her wellbeing. I want more for her,” David answered. Looking up at his brother, he sighed, “I can’t watch her.”

“You can’t be her keeper either, Davy. She’s made her choice in life. As a friend, you could learn to stand by her.” Dominic clapped David’s shoulder and gripped it tight. He hated to see his brother in the throes of such conflict but it was of his own device. Time and time again, he’d voiced his misgivings about the crush David had on Livvy Morgan but his brother was just too far gone. It was going to take an act of God or a severely broken heart to get David to wake up and the last thing he wanted was his brother suffering with an addiction he could never assuage. It was a lost cause, however; David would never let go of Livvy.

Dominic shifted his attention toward the burst of music as the doors flew open, revealing his best friend, a wide smile inching over his lips.  Jack Eton had been his boy for years, running the streets and through the streams and streams of women, leaving untold numbers of broken hearts in the dust. There was nothing that Dominic wouldn’t have done for do for Jack and he felt that the same went for Jack. They were thick as thieves and would be for the rest of their lives if he had anything to do with it.

Jack grinned deviously as he hiked his thumb over his shoulder, “With the multitude of ass out there, I have to wonder, why the hell you are two shooting the shit in here? You wouldn’t believe the amount of indecent proposals.” Jack reached to give Dominic some dap, acknowledging David with a slight nod, narrowing his brow, “What’s up with you, Davy?”

“I’m alright, Jack. Dominic,” David started as he began to move past them, “I’m not sticking around. You two together…”

 “And what is that supposed to mean?” Jack asked, feigning offense.

“Two words: plausible deniability.” David laughed at their twin expressions, “Jack’s already a force to be reckoned with- adding you into the mix, Dominic, is pretty fucking detrimental to the safety of all involved. You should come with a warning label.”

“Fuck you,” Dominic groused as he clipped his brother’s shoulder. The men laughed heartily as they walked toward the door. Considering his brother, he asked, “Davy, you going to be alright?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. I’ll wait to talk to her after the show. Maybe I can persuade her to give up the dancing.” David glanced at the doors and shrugged his shoulders, “It’s worth a try.”

“Good luck on that one, brah,” Dominic said to David’s retreating form. Turning toward Jack, he laughed, “So, what’s this about those indecent proposals?”

Jack stared at the swaying doors with a slight frown on his face, “What’s up with Davy?”

“He’s in love with a stripper,” Dominic answered with a slight chuckle. At his best friend’s surprised expression, he asked, “What?”

“David, your uptight, stick in the ass, brother is in love with a stripper?”

“Yeah, ain’t that a bitch?” Dominic shook his head and sighed heavily, “He’s looking forward to nothing but a whole lot of heartache.”

“Damn, that’s fucked up.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s not going to be pretty.”

“Nah, I’m not talking about that,” Jack said seriously. He met Dominic’s gaze and huffed, “I hate that song.”

“Fuck you, Jack,” Dominic fired back, “are you coming or not?”

Jack laughed, “It would make your night and you know it.”

“You are one sick individual, Jack Eton.”

“Yeah, but that’s why you love me. Now, show me to the promise land, my friend.”

Dominic pushed the doors wide and nodded as the music revved up once more, the crowd of people whipped into a heady mixture of debauchery and sin waiting to happen, “Welcome to paradise, Jackie boy.”

~*~

Livvy could hear the muffled tones of the music as the elevator rose, her thoughts mired with the way she’d left Damien. Her confrontation with Ms. Geraldine, although not as nasty as it could’ve been, had its desired effect; she wasn’t in the mood to face the sensual leers of the men and bitchy women much less dance for them but there was little she could do about it.   She’d set about the path and had to walk it, no matter how shitty she was feeling. The only thing that was on her mind now was to do her set and go home, something she knew Red wouldn’t allow.  She and three other women were his dime pieces, the cream of the crop, expected to bring the house down and lure potential customers back to the club with their own brand of advertisement.  Before her night was over, she would have to mingle, give a few lap dances, and entice through sinful temptation.

“Never go all the way”, Red had told her at her first engagement, “but hook those fuckers on yo scent. They hungry enough, they’ll pay for the full meal.”

 Yeah, that was Red Dickerson, all class and no bullshit.

“Livvy, you want a bump before we turn this bitch out?”

Livvy surfaced from her fugue state to see a tiny hand thrust in front of her with a small mound of white powder situated between the index and thumb. Turning fully, she eyed Red, who was busy with a call, then back to the woman in front of her, shaking her head woefully. There were certain truths about the life  Livvy lived and certain things she refused to get involved in, no matter how fucked up  things were.  Prostitution was one, drugs was the other.

 “Nah, Jerrica, I don’t need that mess,” Livvy answered as she stared at the younger woman. Jerrica had just turned eighteen and was already working the pole, had been for almost a year.   Each night,   she watched as a once vibrant and optimistic young lady spiraled into oblivion. Jerrica was gorgeous; with her perfectly proportioned body, pecan toned skin, alluring golden eyes, and long and curly jet black hair, she was the epitome of natural beauty. It was that natural beauty that had made Jerrica a headliner. The pressure of performing, of skirting the lewd and lascivious had provoked the birth of a new beast entirely. Livvy had known that Jerrica had stepped outside of the carefully crafted boundaries that Red had erected but it wasn’t up to her to save the misguided.  Still the same, she felt compelled to warn her once again, “And if you knew any better, you’d drop that habit, babygirl. It’s not good for you.”

“This is nothing, Liv,” Jerrica laughed as she lifted her hand to snort the powder.  Livvy watched as she closed her eyes and exhaled her heart heavy.  Jerrica was wasting herself, her potential, and her youth on the pursuit of the almighty dollar and there was nothing that anyone could do about it. Once that truck came barreling down the highway no one wanted to stand in front of it.

“Ms. Olivia Morgan’s too good for that, though,” Mia taunted as she leaned against Livvy’s left shoulder, “she’s way too high class to drop to such lows. Right, Olivia?”

Livvy scowled and ignored the jab. She didn’t have to answer to anyone, including Mia, who’d targeted Livvy the first night she had stepped into the club.  There was definitely no love lost between them and Livvy barely tolerated her and her antics and was forced to endure all for the sake of a dollar.

Mia frowned and clipped her shoulder, “I’m talking to you, bitch. You think because you have a few repeats and you’re headlining that you are above the rest of us, right?”

Anger coursed through Livvy and she was seconds away from pouncing, already visualizing her method of attack. This evening had proven to be one fuck up after another and adding one more tally to that list was tempting enough. At this point, Livvy could give a shit whether Red dismissed her; she was just ready to end this night and go home to her son.

Livvy made to turn to Mia but was stayed by a heavy handed clap on her shoulder. Lifting her eyes, she met Red’s slick smirk and exhaled heavily, knowing the hungry look in his eyes. It was solely about making money for him and he was going to protect his investment by any means necessary.

“Now, now, Honey, we don’t fuck up the merchandise,” Red warned lightly as he cast his gaze to Mia, “not before we have to show it off.”

“Well, tell that merchandise to leave me the fuck alone,” Livvy shot back acidly as she eyed the numbers ticking off. The throbbing bass was getting louder, reverberating through the small compartment.  It was time to get it; Mia and her sorry ass were already forgotten.

“I’ll leave you alone, alright, bitch. After we finish here, I’m going to kick yo ass all up and down this block!” Mia exploded. She went for Livvy but was pushed back by Red, his gaze pinning her to the other side of the elevator.

“After you bring me the money,” Red reminded sternly.

 The elevator toned its arrival and its doors slid open revealing a sea of people mingling just outside of the penthouse, the raucous revelry flooding the corridor. The music was substantially louder, the bass shaking the expensive looking scones that lined the walls. Livvy absently wondered what the other tenants had to say about the disturbance but knowing the owner of the penthouse they were heading to, she reconciled that he wouldn’t give two shits about the complaints. Dominic’s ego was just about as large as his bank which made way for certain concessions. Having a friend on the PD didn’t hurt either.

They disembarked the elevator, the conflict from seconds ago forgotten, pushing past the throngs of the young and beautiful, garnering their fair share of leers and hungry gazes. There was money to be made here on top of the fee Red had collected for them to make an appearance. Livvy’s irritation dissipated as the crowd parted for them, leading toward the epicenter of depravity.

It was show time.