Chapter One

CHAPTER ONE

Ophelia’s Pov

“This is your stop, ma’am.” The cab driver said, the car slowly coming to a stop. “That will be fifteen dollars.”

I pulled out my worn out purse fishing out the wrapped dollar bills and handing them over to the guy. He eyed them disdainfully before his eyes met mine in the rearview mirror. “That’s it? You’ll only tip me two dollars?”

“It’s all I got.” I mumbled, color filling my face. I shouldn’t have been embarrassed, considering it was all I could afford. In fact, if the cab driver had any sense of decency, he should have been embarrassed considering he was an ungrateful and judgmental person.

Just because I was attending a prestigious and hella expensive university didn’t mean I could afford it myself. I had worked my brains off to earn a scholarship. Why couldn’t some people think that not everyone had it easy in life?

“Selfish bitch.” He muttered the words under his breath but nevertheless they were audible enough for me to hear. Deciding to ignore him, I walked out to the trunk, then grabbed the only luggage I had. A backpack and a single duffle bag, both black in color.

As soon as I slummed the trunk shut, he sped off. Leaving a light speck of dust rising in the air. “Jerk.” I muttered under my breath.

I grabbed my belongings, turning to the small rusty red gate and pushing it open. I peeked inside, catching sight of a small parking lot and a little building that I could only assume was my place of residence.

I also spotted a figure dosing off in a hammock, under a large tree. Approaching him hesitantly, I cleared my throat. “Uhm? Excuse me?”

Startled, the man sat up hurriedly, almost tipping over in the little hammock. When he was settled and steady, he looked up at me “Huh? Who are you?”

“I’m sorry for waking you.” I apologized, still speaking uncertainly. “Could you please point me to the landlord?”

“I’m the landlord.” He replied. “The name’s Thomas. If you’re looking for a place to stay, I can’t find you one. Every room is fully booked.”

“Actually, I spoke to you this morning, and you told me there was a room available for me. I booked it a few weeks ago and paid for it in advance.” I explained patiently and watched as recognition flared in his eyes.

“So you are Ophelia? Apologies. I’ll show you to your place.”

“In a minute” He added as he struggled to get off his hammock without falling out of it. All I had to do was wait patiently.

“This is it?” I asked looking around the plain looking room. It looked like nothing compared to the pictures I had browsed through on the website.

“Home sweet home.” Thomas, the man that was apparently my landlord spoke up, carrying some of my bags up the little four stairs that were on the front porch. Not that I had much.

“This is my room?” I voiced again when he paid no attention to my earlier question. “It doesn’t look like anything I saw on your website.”

“That’s because this is a $500 condo. The other houses you saw are all the way on the other side of campus.” Thomas explained, wiping the sweat off his brow. “And their prices are way higher than this. We can always make an upgrade of course. But it’ll cost you.”

Thomas arched his brow expectantly.

I sighed. Even if I wanted, I couldn’t upgrade to any other room. I knew the price would be way out of my limit, and I was hardly supporting myself. Sighing, I turned to Thomas. “That won’t be necessary. This will do.”

“Sure. Sure.” He replied, nodding his head in agreement. “If you change your mind, do let me know. Here’s my card.”

I took the card he held out, reading the information on it. “Thanks.”

“Enjoy your stay.” My landlord said in farewell, right before I was left alone. Left alone with my thoughts, I knew I had to take the next step of the day.

Finding a job.

****

“Could it just get any hotter?” I muttered under my breath, using one of the flyers I had picked from a small café in town to fan myself. The sun was high up in the sky, and my job hunting session was proving to be unsuccessful.

As a scholarship student, I wasn’t allowed to get job a on campus and quoting what had been said to me by Mrs.Witherstone “It’s University Policy. We expect the best from our scholarship students and that means no distractions at all.”

If there had been an English word to describe how disappointed I was, I would have used it. Since I couldn’t find a job on campus, I had decided to find at least one off campus. That too was turning out to be uneventful. So far anyway.

Now, I was two towns away from where I lived and I was completely running out of ideas. Every restaurant and café or every little shop I had applied to or checked out hadn’t been employing. Not even when I had volunteered. No one needed the extra help.

Deep down, frustration was welling up and I was turning up short. However, I wasn’t giving up yet. I had to find a way. I only had myself in this.

After walking for a while, a flashy purple poster that had been pinned to a tree caught my attention. Walking to it, I plucked it off the tree reading the words on it. As soon as I realized what it was saying, my eyes lit up.

‘ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A JOB? WORRY NO MORE. APHRODITE’S AISLE IS HERE TO OFFER YOU A PLACE AT THE GENTLEMAN’S CLUB.’

I was excited, that was until I caught sight of the ‘GENTLEMAN”S CLUB’ part. I wasn’t stupid and neither was I naïve. I knew what a gentleman’s club was, and putting it more directly, it was a Strip club.

Reading the instructions further, I could tell it was only a corner away and that I could perhaps find it. I know it didn’t take a genius to know that the club was most probably hiring a new ‘girl’, but perhaps I could land a job as a waitress. Probably.

I only had to hope. With that decision in mind, I decided to seek out the club.

The interior of Aphrodite’s Aisle looked like nothing compared to its exterior. A massive chandelier hang from the center of the ceiling, illuminating the expensively set stage that was in the front of the room. A pole was placed at the center of the stage, conforming my suspicions.

It was a Strip club.

Velvet table clothes were laid out lavishly on each table and luxurious furniture was all I could see. Unlike the exterior that gave off the vibe of an old warehouse, the interior looked like it had been plucked out of the pages of prestige and luxury itself.

If I was guessing correctly, the exterior looked that way to provide the club with privacy.

While I was still taking in the club, I didn’t realize a metallic bucket was right in front of me until I was stumbling into it. The clunking sound filled the room as the bucket fell and all could was cringe as I stared at it.

“Who goes there?” A male voice called out from the shadows.

“Um, I’m just here for a job?” I said, my response coming out more like a question due to my uncertainty. “I saw this and came here.” I added, holding the poster up and waving it in the air.

“Ahhh. Well, come in then.” As soon as he said this, he came out from the shadows and into the light, where I could see him clearly. I didn’t know what to expect but I definitely did not think I would be seeing a man as old as he was. Not that he was that old, probably in his mid-40s.

He wore a beach-themed shirt and white pants and his blonde hair was slicked back with gel. Held between his figures was a large cigar.

Dark eyeliner and eye shadow lined his hazel brown eyes, something that gave him an exotic and mysterious look. He kind of reminded me of Magnus Bane from The Mortal Instruments. That is if Magnus Bane was ever blonde.

“What do we have here?” he said, his eyes raking over me and taking in my red tank top and black skinny jeans. “You’re a gorgeous one. Just what I’m looking for. What’s your name sweetheart?”

“Ophelia.”

“A name as beautiful as you are.” The man said. Since I wasn’t sure what his name or position was, I didn’t know what to address him as. “Have you thought about a stage name? You’ll need one.”

“Stage name?”

“Darling, I guess you already know what a gentleman’s club is. It is obvious that if we said we were hiring, it would be strippers. Exotic dancers if you prefer that.” He explained, checking out is black painted nails. “And since you fit exactly what I’m looking for, it would only be right if you got a stage name.”

I know it would come to this but….”Aren’t you hiring anyone? Like a waitress or anyone else?” I asked hopefully. Maybe they would need one or perhaps I would fill another position without becoming a stripper.

“I hate to break it to you dear, but we are only hiring girls that can dance and nothing else.” The man explained. As if sensing my disappointment, he added. “Look, you don’t have to take the job, but at least consider it. Here’s my card.”

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a business card, one that had the same colors as the poster. I reached for it. Turns out, the man’s was Hans Porter, and he was the manager of Aphrodite’s Aisle.

“Call me when you change your mind.”

“Okay.” I replied.

****

Later that evening, I sat in my room, holding Hans’ card in my hands, thinking. I had been thinking a lot for the past two hours and it was slowly turning into a headache.

I had no intentions of becoming a stripper but good God, how else was I going to pay my bills? I was only able to cover this month’s rent with a lot of saved up money, and there was a lot of stuff I needed. Clothes, food, shoes, textbooks and other learning materials.

Knowing it was the only option, I sucked up my pride and picked up my phone, dialing Hans’ number into it. He picked up on the first ring. “Changed your mind, darling?”

“Yeah. I think I’ll take the job.”

“Splendid. So what’s it gonna be?” Hans’ inquired from the other side of the phone. I could tell he was really excited about this.

“What is gonna be what?” I was puzzled. What was he asking about now?

“Your stage name, of course.” I had no doubt he said with an eye roll.

“Oh.” I replied sheepishly. “Will Miss Purrfect do?”

“Miss Purrfect. I like it. Well, Miss Purrfect, I promise you won’t regret this.”

I hoped I wouldn’t.

****

By the time I got to Aphrodite’s Aisle, I was 30 minutes late. I pulled the back door open, the same one I had used the first time I got here. Hurriedly walking through them, I walked inside hoping I hadn’t made Hans wait that long. It wasn’t long before I caught sight of him.

Today, Hans wore a sequin violet shirt matched with black denim jeans. His hair had that tussled look, as if he had just gotten up from bed.

“I’m sorry I’m late.” I mumbled as soon as I was in hearing distance.

“It’s alright love. Anastasia and I haven’t been waiting that long.” Hans replied. As soon as he mentioned her name, I noticed the woman beside him. She was as tall as a Victoria’s Secret Model, but way much curvier than they could ever be.

She was stunning, with a defined jawline most Hollywood actresses would go miles for to have naturally. Her button nose glinted in the light, courtesy of her highlighter. Her cheeks were rosy, lips smeared with a light shade of lip gloss, surprisingly. Her lashes were long, making her icy blue eyes much more alive than they looked.

My cheeks flushed with color as soon as I noticed what she was wearing. Sweet Mary, I could see her nipples through that mesh top. Had she been wearing that all day? Realizing I was staring, I looked away, but it was too late. With that little smirk on her face, I knew she had caught me.

“You must be Ophelia, or should I say Miss Purrfect. I have had a lot about you.” The woman, Anastasia, as I heard Hans call her, stretched out her hand in greeting. I took it, shaking it in mine. “Nice to meet you.” I muttered.

Up-close, she towered over both Hans and I, which I believe those 8 inch heels she was wearing played a big part. However, I also believed that without them, she was still taller than the both of us.

“Well, this is Anastasia, also well known as Miss Gazelle.” Hans explained, gesturing at her. “She’s a professional pole dancer, the best one in town. Miss Gazelle will be training you for a week before your first show, and will be taking you through her most popular moves.”

“Oh.” I breathed, not expecting what Hans had said. I thought Hans would expect me to start on the shows right away, but turns out, it wasn’t. In truth, I was relieved that I wouldn’t have to start right away, and would have to take on whatever Anastasia or Miss Gazelle brought onto the table.

Suddenly, training didn’t look so bad. I was definitely looking forward to it.

I regretted everything I had said. Training was brutal. Every second of it.

I hadn’t realized how so out of shape I was until it had come to practice with the pole. My thighs were bruised, and my arms hurt from holding up much of my body weight for long periods of time. My legs shook with every step I took.

“Alright. It’s time to take a break.” Miss Gazelle announced, walking over to the radio and turning off the music. By the looks of it, Aphrodite’s Aisle had a studio. I was starting to believe that the club wasn’t what I believed it to be. It seemed like it was far different from the ‘stereotypical’ Strip club.

“Thank God.” I gasped out, slumping to the floor in relief, causing Miss Gazelle to laugh. I stared at her from where I was slumped on the floor. She was hardly out of breath. How was she doing that?

“It gets easier with time. All you’ve to do is practice. Lots and lots of practice.” She said, staring down at my dramatically gasping form in amusement. “And we have a long way to go.” She added.

“What do you mean? I thought we were done?” I asked, eyes widened as I stared at Miss Gazelle in horror.

“Oh darling, it’s just the beginning.”