BOOK 2 SEQUEL TO RISKS OF LOVING YOU Pains Of Loving You

I get to the front door of the club and shove it open; my stomach is full of butterflies. In all the time I've lived here, I have never been inside this club. I never thought I would even visit, let alone come seeking employment here. The inside is dark, with the only light coming from the bar.

"Can I help you?" a very pretty older lady asks. She's standing behind the bar, wiping out a glass.

"I, um, need to see Mike," I say, taking another small step inside.

"Sure, honey. Come with me," she says, walking me down a long hall. She opens the last door.

"Shannon, give me a minute,"Mike says, without looking up from his computer. "November added some new program on this damn thing, and now I can't find my e-mail," he grumbles. I smile and walk around the desk, take the mouse from him, and click on the e-mail icon. He chuckles, "Hey, darlin'. How are you?" He asks in the fatherly tone that I've come to love. Mike and my dad had been best friends until my dad passed away ten years ago. After his passing, Mike had helped my mom out with my brother and me whenever she needed an extra hand. I used to pray that Mike and my mom would get married, but they were never anything more than friends.

"Could be better," I say, feeling the tears start to climb up mythroat again.

"What's wrong?" Mike asks, standing from the desk, pulling me over to the couch.

"Well, I need a job."

"Okay," he says, and I can tell he doesn't know what to think. "What's going on with the store?" he asks, and I can no longer control the tears.

"Tim stole all of our money, and I can't tell my mom," I cry, doing a face plant into his chest. I don't know what happened to the brother that I used to know, the one who would come home at night to check in on me after our father passed away. We used to be close; then he moved away to school and everything changed. When I graduated from high school, I worked at a local factory for eightyears, before it closed down due to the economy. Every week, when I got paid, I would put money away for savings. I have always loved to shop, and there were never any stores in town that carried anything that I would buy; so I made a plan, saved my money, and finally, my dreams were realized. "Temptations" was opened.

I sat up, looking over Mike's shoulder. "Three months ago, when Tim came to visit, he asked if he could help me out in the store. I had been working so many hours and was exhausted, so I agreed. I didn't know that the real reason he wanted to help me was so that he could rob me blind. Now he's gone, and so is all of the store's money...and mine. I can't tell my mom what happened; she's getting married ina few weeks and doesn't need the added stress from this situation. I have a private investigator looking into finding Tim and the twenty-three thousand dollars he stole, but who knows how long that could take. I've already lost my apartment, and had to put everything I own in storage while I stay in the back room of the store. I thought that I was doing ok, until I got a notice two days ago saying that I was late paying the rent for the store. I can't afford to lose my dream," I whisper, my voice hoarse from crying.

"Shhhhh, darlin', it's okay, everything will be alright. November is not using her apartment anymore, so you can stay there; and I can give you the money."I shake my head back and forth. "I can't take the money; it wouldn't feel right."

"I can't have you work for me, Liz," he says, as he places his right hand on my cheek. I feel bad pulling out the big guns, but I know I need money, and I can't take it without earning it.

"Can you recommend another club?" I ask pulling out my cell phone, looking like I'm going to take down whatever phone number he gives me.

"You're not going to work at another club," he says, running his hands down his face. "Jesus, I don't know what the fuck I'm thinking about doing this shit." When his eyes come back to me, I can tell that he's really torn. "Look, you can serve drinks, but you can't work onstage."

"Okay." I agree immediately. I never wanted to work on stage. I would if I had to, but the idea of taking off my clothes and trying to appear sexy just seems like a lot of work. "What's Trevor going to say about this?" Mike asks, and I looked away. Trevor likes to scare away any man who shows the least bit of interest in me. I'm pretty sure that I'm halfway in love with him already, but I know for a fact those feelings are not mutual. For a while, I thought of him as one of my best friends, until the day July was born. We ended up at his house, celebrating over a bottle of vodka. Things ended up getting hot and heavy. He had his hand down my pants, and I was so caught up in the moment that when he asked mehow long it had been, I told him "never". I didn't mean I've never had sex; I meant that I had never felt that kind of fire, like my whole body was lit from the inside out. As soon as I said the word "never", he stopped immediately. I tried to tell him that I didn't mean it like he took it, but he completely ignored me. He then handed me my shirt from the floor and left the room. He has been avoiding me ever since. Which is a good thing, because I had never been more humiliated in my life.

"Trevor has no say in what I do. We don't even talk anymore," I say, hearing the sadness in my own voice.

"Yeah, alright." Mike says, running his hand through his hair. "You can start tomorrow; just askShannon to get you a uniform."

"Thanks a lot." I say quietly, looking at the hands in my lap.

"Don't thank me yet, honey."

"This means a lot. I know that this isn't easy for you."

"Okay, darlin'." He sighs, pulling me in for another hug. "I'll see you tomorrow. Your shift starts at nine, but come around eight; I'll have one of the girls show you where everything is, and what you need to do." He stands, taking a set of keys out of his pocket. "These are for the apartment. You can get in through the basement door that's around the back of the house. Just let yourself in. Tomorrow, I'll help you get your stuff from storage, and get you moved in." I swallow hard, trying to control the emotions that are running rampant inside me."Everything is going to be okay, Liz," Mike says again, pulling me in for another hug. "Now, go get your uniform, and I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay," I whisper, taking a step away. "Thanks again, Mike; see you tomorrow," I say, leaving the office. I find Shannon back behind the bar; she gives me what is supposed to be a uniform, but feels like a few pieces of silk, and sends me on my way.

*

"Hey, girl," Beth-better known as Bambi-says, walking into the dressing room. When I first met her, I was a little intimidated. She's about five-nine, all legs, long brown hair, perfectly sun-kissed skin, and golden eyes. She came to Tennesseefrom Montana around a year ago, and has been working at Teasers ever since.

She taught me about waiting tables, pushing drinks, and smiling for a decent tip, if any. I asked her why she didn't work the stage; I mean I know for a fact that she would make a lot of money up there. But she said she was way too clumsy, and that the name Bambi wasn't given to her when she started working here. When she was little, her parents said that she could never control her legs, like they weren't attached to her body, so they started calling her Bambi.

"Is it busy out there?" I ask, putting on light pink lip gloss.

"Not really. There's a bachelor party coming in at eleven; they booked the private room. Rex saidthat you could help me with them. The tips should be good," she says, walking to the lockers across the room. I look in the mirror at my reflection and forget who I am for a second.

My light green eyes look brighter with the smoky eye-shadow I have on. My long blonde hair cascades over my shoulders, down to just below my breasts, which are straining the top of the black corset. It cinches in my waist, causing my hips to flare at the bottom; the fishnet stockings and black silk panties make me look like I should be going to the Playboy Mansion. It took me a few days of walking around in high heels to get used to them, at least enough to feel like I wasn't going to fall on my face every time I took astep.

It's been three weeks since I started working here. The tips are awesome, the hours are okay, and having a bed to sleep in at night rocks. The only downfall is that I have been tired a lot. Working two jobs is not easy, especially when one of the jobs you're working, no one can know about.

I met with Bill two days ago, and he gave me an update on my brother. He told me that he found out Tim had been in Alabama, but he's moved on since then, and Bill has yet to track him down again. I was starting to feel like I should contact the police, but the thought of my brother in jail didn't sit well with me.

"Okay, girl, I'm just going to change my shoes and we can go.Now, keep in mind that bachelor parties do tend to get a little crazy," she says, stepping into a pair of platform stilettos.

"What do you mean by 'crazy'?" I ask, feeling nervous. There's been a few times while I've been working when a guy would get a little handsy; but the bouncers always made sure to cut in before it could get out of control.

"Well, they tend to drink a lot more, and a lot of times, that makes them dumber than normal." I giggled. I couldn't help it; Bambi was one-hundred-percent lesbian, and thought all men were stupid. At first, knowing that she was attracted to women made it a little uncomfortable; then I realized, like a heterosexual person, she has a type, and I was not it. She smiledand shook her head. "If you have a problem, just tell me, and I'll step in."

"I'm sure they won't be that bad," I say, wondering how many people said that as their final words.

*

Trevor

"Yeah." I answer the phone, looking at the clock and seeing that it is just after twelve.

"Yo, T. You need to come to Teasers," Cash says, and I sit up in bed.

"It's after fucking midnight. I'm not getting out of bed to sit with you at a fucking strip club."

"Trust me, T. See you soon," he says, hanging up before I can tell"When I saw her, I found Mike and asked him what the fuck was going on? He told me that she needed the money, wouldn't take it from him, and threatened to go to a different club if he didn't give her a job."

"At any point, are you going to tell me who the fuck you're talking about, bro?" I ask, crossing my arms over my chest, trying not to reach out and shake him.

"Liz," he says, throwing up his arms. "What other woman would I be talking about?"

"You're telling me Liz is in there stripping?" I ask through clenched teeth, thinking of her in there. On stage. Half-naked. With men looking at her. Now I'm seeing red.

"This is your fucking fault, T!" Cash shouts, as he pokes me in thechest.

"You tell me, how's this my fault?"

"When she came to Mike for the job, Mike asked her what you were going to think about this; she said that you don't get a say in what she does." Well that shit burned. She was right. Technically, I didn't have a say in what she did; but she was mine, and I wasn't sharing her with anyone.

"Look, all I'm saying is be cool when you go in there. Ed's on the door tonight and said that Liz has been working a bachelor party."

"Jesus, this shit just keeps getting better and better," I mumble, running my hands over my head.

"Alright, I'm going to talk to Ed. You go in there and pull her aside;do not cause a scene."

*

Liz