CHAPTER FIVE

•BRIANNA•

Evening came around quicker than I expected and Cherry was at my house in no time. She came along with a big shopping bag in hand and I gasped upon seeing her.

“That is a big bag you’ve got there.” I commented as she walked deeper into the bedroom. “I thought you said you’ll buy me two dresses and shoes? There seems to be more than that.”

“Yes that’s what I said. But I changed my mind when I got to the mall.” She replied in a perfunctory manner and I smiled.

“Why would you do that? Spending all of your money on me.” I muttered.

“Firstly, I didn’t spend all of my money and even if I did, it’s for a good cause. Besides, I had to get more than two dresses because I want you to dress like a sexy professional so that people would have to take a look at you twice before they can look away.” She responded.

“You’re the best friend a girl like me can ever ask for. Have I told you that you’re my sister from another mother?” I cried out in appreciation.

“You don’t have to tell me, you are also my sister from another mother.” She replied and I hugged her so tight, that I almost got the wind knocked out of her.

“Can’t… breathe…” She managed to choke out as she softly hit me on my back and I immediately released her from the choke hold I called a hug. She started gasping for air afterwards.

“I’m so sorry about that. I didn’t mean to block your windpipe.” I apologized frantically.

“It’s not your fault. I guess you just got too excited.” She replied with a short smile.

The room was quiet before I decided to break the silence.

“What about aunt Doris and the others?” I asked, referring to her aunt and her family. Cherry lived with her mother’s sister because she was an orphan. Her parents died in a car accident while they were returning from a vacation and Cherry was the only survivor. Her aunt and her family took her in after her parents’ death and she has been living with them ever since.

“They are very fine. Aunt Doris sends her regards too.” She replied.

“Okay, that’s good.” I uttered. “Let’s rest a little before we go to the club tonight.” I said, already moving closer to my bed for a little nap.

“Yeah, we should. I’m so stressed from my shift at the restaurant… The whole place was filled up today.” Cherry agreed, mounting my sister’s bed.

We discussed about how our day went before we eventually drifted off to sleep, one after the other.

Cherry and I woke up around 8:30 p.m. and we freshened up to prepare to go to the club. We showered and dressed up in our bartender uniform which was red and white in color and stopped right above our knees. We climbed down the stairs to the living room but it was empty. We heard some noises coming from the kitchen so we entered there to see that Marie making dinner and mom was watching her.

“Hey guys… We are heading to the club now!” I hollered.

“Alright… Will you guys wait for dinner? It will be ready within a few minutes.” Mom suggested but Cherry and I shook our heads at the same time as if we had planned it.

“That won’t be necessary, mom. We have to go now so that we won’t be late.” I said and she bobbed her head.

“Okay then… You guys should take care of yourself and please don’t come back late.” She stated sternly and a smile appeared on my face. She was such a Mama Bear but I loved her like that.

“We won’t come back late, aunt. We will be back in no time.” Cherry responded, beating me to replying her.

“Good… Hurry along now, don’t waste time.” She said as if shooing us.

“Okay, bye!” Cherry and I called out, already moving towards the front door and out of the house.

The club was about four blocks away from my house so we walked as we usually did every other night. It was about ten to fifteen minutes walk.

We got to the club in no time and the place was already bubbling with life. Loud music was being played in the background and different activities were going on but we were already used to it. We went to the back room, dropped our bags and went to our different posts.

Well, there were a lot of customers tonight and that meant the pay would be a little higher than usual. It would be great if we got fat tips. Different types of customers were in the club. Those that were mentally stable and those that weren’t. The ones that came to drink, the ones that came to flirt and the ones that came to dance. They all had one thing in common though: they all came to have fun in their own little ways.

A few minutes into my shift, my boss, Mr. Cole, came out of his office. He stood directly in front of the bar stand as if he was going to order a drink, but I knew that he wasn’t.

“How are you doing today, beautiful Brianna?” He drawled out, trying to seem seductive but found his act disgusting and irritating. He didn’t fit into the category of men I would like.

He was handsome in his own way though. Five feet and eight inches tall, tan skin, dark hair and brown eyes. Any other lady might find him attractive but I didn’t.

“But Mr. Adrian would fit into the category of men you like, wouldn’t he? He’s gorgeous!” A voice sounded in my head and I shook my head, trying to get rid of the thought.

“Hey, are you there?” Mr. Cole asked, snapping his finger in front of my face and I immediately got back to the present.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I wasn’t listening. What were you saying?” I asked him politely.

He had an annoyed look on his face before replying. “I said, have you thought about my offer?” He quizzed and I groaned internally.

The thing was that, not long after I started working in the club, Cole began disturbing me about being friends with benefits but I always have him responses along the lines of “I’ll think about it” even though it was quite obvious that I didn’t pay his offers any mind.

He promised to increase my pay and some other stuff but I still declined because I wanted to make clean money and also set an example for my younger sister.

“You know, boss… I can’t, and will never accept this offer of yours. It cannot work. There’s the fact that you’re married with kids, and about 20 years older than me, and asides from that… I won’t sell my body to get a raise for no reason whatsoever.” I responded, finally mustering the balls to give him a piece of my mind.

“Bullshit! We can do this and keep it a secret. Nobody will know about it.” He uttered, looking very desperate.

“I said no! We’re talking about my dignity and my body. Doing this will go against everything I stand for. My answer is final.” I snapped angrily, not caring that my job as a bartender was at stake.

After I lashed out at him, his face contorted in anger and he looked scary as fuck, but I kept my stance, showing him that I wasn’t scared of him.

“Well, Brianna… we will see about that. I promise that you will come back crawling on your knees, begging me to fuck you and give you money for it.” He spat furiously. With one harsh glare, he turned away from the bar stand and walked back into his office.

I was so shaken by that encounter that I didn’t even notice the line of people waiting to order their drinks.