remember I picked it in a hurry because
“Sparkle” or “Tina” sounded too crazy
and too plain. Some girls picked names
of cities or flowers. I was always
curious why someone chose the moniker
they did.
“She says her name is Starla.”
More static came back loudly.
“Holy shit, send her in. I’m at the
bar.” Frankie seemed ecstatic that I was
there.
The girl nodded towards the doors
and another security guard. “I assume
you know where you’re going?”
With a few more smacks of her
gum, she went back to playing on her
phone. Not even bothering to focus
anymore on how badly I wanted to slap
this dumb girl, I turned on my heels and
headed into the cavernous room. Lasers
danced from the rigs hooked above the
catwalk stage. Brilliant lights twisted
and turned in vivid patterns across the
space. Small tables sprinkled the bottom
floor while the mezzanine was lined
with more tables that sat opposite from
VIP booths reserved for special dances.
A long dimly lit bar lined the wall to my
right. There were two flights of steps on
each side of the stage, leading to the
dressing room and DJ booth behind it,
with other flights of curved steps going
up to the top level.
Everything looked the same. Girls
wandered to the patrons in small pieces
of fabric covering their breasts and
bottoms. A few were in the middle of
doing dances. I knew most of the crowd
was here for the contest. There were
unfortunate boys who suckered their
girlfriends into signing up, hoping for a
quick shot at some easy money. Others
were slightly older women with raised
libidos, looking for kicks. Some were
drug addicts hoping to find a sugar
daddy or at least fund their habits. Then
there were those who happened to be too
naive for their own good and girls pretty
enough with low self-esteem and ears
sensitive to the seduction of the demon
whispers.
I walked to the end of the bar
where I could see Frankie unloading a
few bottles of vodka from a cardboard
box onto the illuminated stands against
the wall. The other bartenders were
scrambling to get the servers orders
filled, as the crowd of people grew
larger. I leaned against the bar until he
turned around. He knew I was here so it
was only a moment.
Frankie Pallatzo was probably in
his late fifties now. He still had a thick
head of pepper gray hair and a mustache
with a goatee. He spoke with a thick
New York accent. Gold rings were on
almost all of his fingers, and you never
wanted to piss him off. He must have felt
my eyes burning into the back of his
black and red bowling shirt as he turned
around. With a grin that lit up his whole
face, he shouted to the girl next to him
who was pouring shots.
“Take over – I’ll be back.” With
her nodding in understanding, Frankie
looked back at me and grabbed a bottle
of Hendricks off the top shelf and two
glasses, which he filled with ice.
Ducking under the bar, he motioned
for me to follow him up behind the stage.
With the two-way mirrors, you couldn’t
tell, but his office looked down on the
entire floor. At any given time, he could
see every girl, every patron, and all
activities backstage, too. Frankie ran a
tight ship. With the exception of the girl
at the reception desk, nothing appeared
different. The room was noticeably
quieter once he shut the door. The
windows still shook, but enough
insulation was in the walls that I did not
have to shout. He placed the glasses on
his desk and reached his arms out
widely for a hug.
“Greet all your old girls like this,
Frankie?” I asked with a smirk.
His laugh was deep and genuine.
“No, doll only those who make an
impression.”
With a quick wink, he made me feel
a bit better. Pouring the gin into the
glasses, I couldn’t wait to taste the
smooth liquid as it flowed over my
tongue and down my throat.
“I am surprised you remembered I
liked this.” I grinned and truly was
shocked. He must have had thousands of
girls walk through those doors.
Handing me my glass, he clinked
them together.
“You know I wasn’t twenty-one,
yet, right?”
A knowing expression grew over
his face as he let out a deep laugh “Like
I said, an impression. Here’s to old
friends.”
“Gratzie,” I replied and then closed
my eyes to drink deeply.
He coughed to catch my attention.
“So what do I owe the honor of this
visit?” he asked while sitting on the long
modern leather sofa and tapped the seat
next to him.
“I know you’re not here for a job,
but oh how I would love to see you
dance. And my girls, they would be
walking on eggshells for months
afterwards.”
With a raised eyebrow, I took
another sip. “Get me drunk enough and
you might just get your wish.”
A somber look came over his face.
“What is it, baby doll?”
You would think a man who ran
this kind of business would not have a
compassionate bone in his body, yet the
two months I worked here, I managed to
worm my way into his heart. Perhaps
because I simply showed up, was sober,
and made him a ton of money.
“You know you told me that people
come here because they are paying for
an illusion? I’d like to buy a ticket,
please.”
He sat in contemplation, letting me
have my moment. He understood,
because I understood; there was nothing
to say. He broke the silence with another
chuckle. “So if I get you drunk enough,
you would dance tonight?” The light
returned in his eyes as they shifted over
me.
“Frankie, I don’t have anything to
wear. And I’m certainly not showing off
my tits!” I couldn’t help but grin in
return.
“Seriously, you know that isn’t an
issue. I have enough booze to sedate an
army, and a wardrobe full of clothes for
you to pick something out. Please let this
old man die happy.” I breathed out
heavily, still laughing. “Starla, how
about instead of watching the show, be
the show tonight. Just one dance, for old
time’s sake, and give these brats a run
for their money.”
I set my drink on the glass coffee
table and stretched my arms above my
head, looking at him as if he were crazy.
His pupils dilated in anticipation of my
answer. Maybe this is what I needed. I
could forget, just for one night that
everything was falling apart. I wouldn’t
be completely naked. It would be just
like at the beach, except with horny men
screaming and throwing dollar bills at
me. And there it was, the song of the
siren playing in my ears, luring me into
the dark waters.
“Let’s do it!”
The Madame was none too thrilled
with Frankie’s hairball scheme, knowing
she would be dealing with a house full
of angry girls. She couldn’t contest his
orders, so she gave me free reign over
the costumes they sold. I had forgotten
how comfortable a pair of four inch
Lucite heels could be, and how damn
sexy you feel walking in them. Since I
wasn’t competing for the money, I chose
a very simple black and white string
bikini and a tight little sequined tube
dress to cover up in. I had already flat
ironed my long brown hair poker straight
and had on enough makeup. A little gloss
to catch the light and I was good to go.
“You’re forgetting something”, the
madam coughed while handing me a
cheaply made garter belt.
“Oh yes, the badge of whoredom,
how silly of me,” I replied smartly.
Ignoring my remark as if she didn’t
hear me, I slipped the piece of lace up
my leg.
Feeling the ribbon crackle in my
hand, a new thought surfaced in my
mind. This was a modern day scarlet
letter. This was why some women
couldn’t ever move past this; they carry
it as though it were really them and not
just a bad choice. I knew how lucky I
was. Even in this moment, the spark was
still screaming at me.
As I peered out from the stage
entrance, I noticed a girl waiting for the
contest, shaking in her boots. She was
beautiful, but you could tell she was
beyond freaked out. Her long blond hair
was set into soft waves that tumbled
down her back. She must have been
around five foot two. Her eyes paced
frantically around the room as she
chewed on her nails, looking for
direction.
I gave Jimi the DJ a song I wanted
to dance to, and since I was last, I had
some time to kill. I decided to approach
the girl who was now walking to sit up
in the VIP area with a few other girls.
She could not see me come up the stairs
since her back was facing me. I gently
tapped her on the shoulder, which
caused her to jump. I smiled brightly and
reached out my hand.
“Hey, I am Starla. I am doing a
special dance tonight and I was hoping
you could help me with it.”
She looked around nervously while
still holding onto my hand.
“Me?” she whispered.
I nodded approvingly and motioned
for her to follow me. The other girls
stared her down viciously at the special
attention she was receiving.
“What’s your name?” I yelled
while walking down the steps, carefully
holding onto the rail to prevent tumbling
down.
“Kinzey,” she shouted back.
Leaning back slightly with a turned
head, still making my way down, I
yelled over my shoulder. “That’s your
real name or your stage name?”
She
stopped
and
looked
bewildered. “My real name, why?”
I smiled and pulled her up to the DJ
booth. “Jimi, cross Kinzey off the list.”
They both instantly looked at me
strangely.
“What do you want your stage name
to be? Don’t ever use your real name;
you will have a life after this.”
“Um, um, um.” Her eyes danced
around hoping for inspiration to strike
quickly.
“Oh I know, Reese!”
I pursed my lips together at the
boring name then turned back to Jimi.
“Put down Reese, please.”
After he saluted us both, we walked
back to another area of the floor closer
to the ladies room where it was a little
less packed, smiling and flirting with the
boys along the way. I stopped to watch
the girl who was currently on stage. I
understood what Frankie meant now.
There was no performance in how they
moved. It was ass jiggle, strut, strut,
squat for a dollar, shake your tits and the
same routine again. Most of them also
had personalities as dry as the Sahara
desert. True, men were not looking for a
rocket scientist, but if you couldn’t make
them buy into the show, you were just
wasting their money and losing out on
making yours. My focus turned back to
Reese.
“How old are you?”
Her
fidgeting
started
again.
“Eighteen, ma’am”.
Blowing out a deep breath, I
muttered, “Lord, help me!”
“Look, I am going to have you do
something very simple that will win you
this contest. You are far prettier than any
of the others tonight, and they have no
idea what the hell they are doing. I just
want one favor in return.”
She was soaking in all the
information I was giving her, eager to
get her hands on some cash. “Yeah, what
do I need to do?”
“I am going to do my dance and at
the end, I am going to give you a signal
to walk towards the stage. I am going to