made me laugh. Others made me cringe. Some made me do both.
Finished, I shook myself off, zipped up, and turned the sink on with my elbow. I was afraid to touch the knob with my hand. There was a layer of black scum and pink hand soap on top of it. I rinsed my hands off under the water, and then used my elbow to work the lever on the paper towel dispenser. It was empty, so I wiped my hands on my pants.
As I was heading out the door, a bouncer pushed past me and charged into the bathroom. I had to slink against the wall to avoid being run over. He paused, then turned around and looked at me.
“You see girl inside?”
His accent was thick and I had trouble understanding him at first. He leaned closer. I could smell his cologne.
“Girl,” he repeated. “You see her?”
“In there?” I shook my head. “Just me and an old guy. Maybe she’s in the stalls?”
“Da.” He started to turn away.
“Who you looking for?” I asked.
“No one. You go back to table. Enjoy show. Look at pussy. No worry.”
He walked over to the stalls. Shrugging, I let the door swing shut behind me and made my way through the crowd. There was a lot of commotion. Most of the bouncers had disappeared. I wondered where they’d gone. Whitey was standing outside his office door talking to Otar. They leaned close together. Whitey kept jabbing the bigger man in the chest with his finger, shouting something in Russian. Even though Otar was twice his size, he seemed scared of Whitey. The bouncer headed for the front door. He seemed worried—the first expression I’d ever seen on his stone face. Whitey scanned the crowd. His eyes lingered on me for a moment before moving away. I didn’t like how they made me feel. I hurried to the table and sat down. Lakita was on her second dance, gyrating to the latest by Fergie.
“What’s going on?” I asked Darryl and Jesse.
“Don’t know,” Jesse said, “but it must be something important. The bouncers took off backstage and Whitey looks pissed as shit.”
“About what? Was there a fight or something?”
“Nope.” Jesse shook his head. “Who knows? Maybe one of the girls stole some money or something.”
“Got to keep his pimp hand strong,” Darryl said, his eyes never leaving Lakita.
“You like that?” Jesse asked him.
Darryl grinned. “I hate this fucking song, but damn if she don’t make it better.”
They laughed. I tried to join in, but found I couldn’t. My stomach hurt. I felt tense. First Sondra hadn’t come out. Then that shit with the bouncer in the bathroom. There had to be some connection—but what? Even the other strippers seemed nervous. They kept glancing around the club, looking over their shoulders, distracted. Cowed. There was definitely something serious going on. Something bad.
After that, the fun seemed to go out of the evening. The Odessa’s atmosphere became muted, its energy drained. The customers didn’t clap as loud, didn’t tip as well. The dancers moved slower. Even the DJ seemed off, stepping over songs and fucking up the mix. Darryl and I finished our beers, and left the rest for Jesse to drink.
“You guys taking off?” His voice rang with disappointment.
“Sorry, man,” I apologized, “but I can’t stick around. Darryl needs to go in.”
“Damn straight,” Darryl said. “And so do you, Larry. You keep taking off work to look at pussy and GPS is gonna fire your ass. Besides, your girl ain’t here anyhow.”
Jesse twisted the cap off another beer. “She probably got tired of you stalking her and bailed.”
“Fuck you both. Twice.”
We said goodbye to Jesse, told him to be careful driving home, and then we left. Otar wasn’t at his usual spot. In fact, nobody was watching the door. More proof that something was up; people could just walk in now without paying. Definitely not business as usual. When we got outside, I saw why.
The moon was out and the sodium lights hummed and buzzed. Despite the illumination, it was still dark
Finished, I shook myself off, zipped up, and turned the sink on with my elbow. I was afraid to touch the knob with my hand. There was a layer of black scum and pink hand soap on top of it. I rinsed my hands off under the water, and then used my elbow to work the lever on the paper towel dispenser. It was empty, so I wiped my hands on my pants.
As I was heading out the door, a bouncer pushed past me and charged into the bathroom. I had to slink against the wall to avoid being run over. He paused, then turned around and looked at me.
“You see girl inside?”
His accent was thick and I had trouble understanding him at first. He leaned closer. I could smell his cologne.
“Girl,” he repeated. “You see her?”
“In there?” I shook my head. “Just me and an old guy. Maybe she’s in the stalls?”
“Da.” He started to turn away.
“Who you looking for?” I asked.
“No one. You go back to table. Enjoy show. Look at pussy. No worry.”
He walked over to the stalls. Shrugging, I let the door swing shut behind me and made my way through the crowd. There was a lot of commotion. Most of the bouncers had disappeared. I wondered where they’d gone. Whitey was standing outside his office door talking to Otar. They leaned close together. Whitey kept jabbing the bigger man in the chest with his finger, shouting something in Russian. Even though Otar was twice his size, he seemed scared of Whitey. The bouncer headed for the front door. He seemed worried—the first expression I’d ever seen on his stone face. Whitey scanned the crowd. His eyes lingered on me for a moment before moving away. I didn’t like how they made me feel. I hurried to the table and sat down. Lakita was on her second dance, gyrating to the latest by Fergie.
“What’s going on?” I asked Darryl and Jesse.
“Don’t know,” Jesse said, “but it must be something important. The bouncers took off backstage and Whitey looks pissed as shit.”
“About what? Was there a fight or something?”
“Nope.” Jesse shook his head. “Who knows? Maybe one of the girls stole some money or something.”
“Got to keep his pimp hand strong,” Darryl said, his eyes never leaving Lakita.
“You like that?” Jesse asked him.
Darryl grinned. “I hate this fucking song, but damn if she don’t make it better.”
They laughed. I tried to join in, but found I couldn’t. My stomach hurt. I felt tense. First Sondra hadn’t come out. Then that shit with the bouncer in the bathroom. There had to be some connection—but what? Even the other strippers seemed nervous. They kept glancing around the club, looking over their shoulders, distracted. Cowed. There was definitely something serious going on. Something bad.
After that, the fun seemed to go out of the evening. The Odessa’s atmosphere became muted, its energy drained. The customers didn’t clap as loud, didn’t tip as well. The dancers moved slower. Even the DJ seemed off, stepping over songs and fucking up the mix. Darryl and I finished our beers, and left the rest for Jesse to drink.
“You guys taking off?” His voice rang with disappointment.
“Sorry, man,” I apologized, “but I can’t stick around. Darryl needs to go in.”
“Damn straight,” Darryl said. “And so do you, Larry. You keep taking off work to look at pussy and GPS is gonna fire your ass. Besides, your girl ain’t here anyhow.”
Jesse twisted the cap off another beer. “She probably got tired of you stalking her and bailed.”
“Fuck you both. Twice.”
We said goodbye to Jesse, told him to be careful driving home, and then we left. Otar wasn’t at his usual spot. In fact, nobody was watching the door. More proof that something was up; people could just walk in now without paying. Definitely not business as usual. When we got outside, I saw why.
The moon was out and the sodium lights hummed and buzzed. Despite the illumination, it was still dark
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