found while even a little tipsy. Too easy to be attacked and not be able to run or fight back and I haven’t been here for long enough to know the risks yet.
“I can’t tonight, sorry! Maybe some other time?”
The smile falters a little on her face, like she wasn’t expecting me to say no. “Why? You got some boyfriend waiting or something? You could bring him.”
I look over her shoulder and find the other girls watching us, whispering amongst themselves. I shift on my feet awkwardly. “It’s not that, tonight just isn’t good for me. I’d love to next time though.”
Diamond smirks and calls out, “I told you, Miss Untouchable thinks she’s too good for us. C’mon, Mel, we have shots waiting for us. Leave the frosty little bitch to her night.”
My stomach drops as they all giggle and leave me behind. It’s not a big deal, I don’t need to be friends with any of them. I don’t need friends.
I walk out of the club and set my bag into the back of my car, sliding into the front seat and turning it on to let the engine run to warm up a little. I wriggle my feet out of the heels I’ve been stuck in for hours and sigh at the relief. God, it feels amazing to finally let them breathe.
I drive over to the gas station and grab something greasy for dinner, ignoring the looks from the guy behind the counter. I don’t know if I’m being paranoid or if he really has been down at the club and seen me on stage but fuck, I try to get in and out as quickly as possible.
The parking lot is quiet, no one else here tonight, thank God. There’s usually not many people here, and they always stay away from me. I’m glad to be able to sleep in the car, only cracking the window the tiniest bit to let in some air and then putting my seat back and throwing a blanket over myself. It’s not ideal but it’s also safer than I was back home by a long shot so I don’t fucking care.
I sleep like the dead.
Now that my job is secure, I hope, I figure out where the hell I’m going to transfer my college credits to. The simple answer is Southern Miss but Coldstone is too small to actually have a campus and I don’t have a phone with internet access to look that shit up.
So I sit outside a takeout place with free wifi and sip an icy cold coke while I search. The freaking heavens must be looking down on me because there’s a college campus in the next town over for me to transfer into. I still want to take online classes, to save fuel and because college isn’t exactly my scene, but to transfer I still have to show up and sign paperwork.
Oh, and hand over a sizable chunk of my tips. Can’t forget that heart-wrenching part.
It’s easy enough to get an appointment right away and my shift at The Boulevard doesn’t start until nine tonight so I seize the freaking day and just get it over with. There’s no point surviving here if I don’t have an exit strategy and there’s no way I wanna be shaking my tits on stage forever.
The drive isn’t that long but with the air conditioner broken in my car and the hot summer sun blasting down I kinda want to die a little. I’m thankful for my tiny shorts and the little cami I’m wearing because my skin is on fire.
When I finally park and get out of the car I catch my reflection in the car window and, lord help me, I look like a hot mess. I run my fingers through my hair as I tie it up, trying to get it off of my neck and out of the way. There’s no rescuing the rest of my look. I make peace with that because, hell, who exactly am I trying to impress here?
I’d rather repulse people and keep them the hell away from me, especially here. The office building is older and needs an update but it’s clean and welcoming enough. A couple of guys hold a door open for me and make flirty eyes at me but I duck my head as I thank them and scurry through like my ass is on fire.