A slam echoes down the apartment building corridor, it's overly bright artificial lighting flickered slightly, casting ominous shadows on the beige walls. The sound originated from the end of the hideous labyrinth of puke coloured walls, where I stood, my satchel on one arm, the other pressed palm flat on the eviction notice plastered over the lock to my door.
"Fuck!" I scream, dropping my bag and falling down beside it with a heavy sigh. Just as I thought my shitty life couldn't get any worse, I lose my fucking apartment! I roll my head back against the wall, pondering what my next move should be. I could sit here until someone charitable walks past and offers me a place to stay, but the chances of that happening are slim to none and I can't wait forever. Alternatively, I could go back to work and offer to take the night shift, at least then I'd have shelter, food and water.
I huff in deliberation, pulling my phone from my back pocket and dialling the one person who I did not want to know about this situation.
"Hello?" A male voice filtered down the line and I sighed again.
"It's me. I need a place to stay…" The reluctance in my voice was almost palpable.
"Oh, Jade… Sure, come over."
I pick up my shit and force my legs to push me to my feet. Fuck, I really shouldn't have done that extra shift.
Walking to my best friend's apartment doesn't take long. I could've called a cab but I'm broke and what's the point when I can cut through two yards, climb across a Laundromat's roof and wiggle my curvy ass through the air vent in the wall opposite his building - like the fucking ninja I am.
I slam my way up to his floor, my booted feet stomping heavily on each step. After four flights of stairs I'm at his door, banging wildly until he lets me in. He answers in just his boxers, his long dark hair messily flicked to one side and his abs tensing a little as he turns to walk away from me, back to whatever he was doing.
"You know, if we hadn't already been there, done that, I would totally consider jumping you right now." I comment, throwing my stuff down and shutting the door as I fall onto his couch. "I haven't been laid in, like, three months. Ironic seeing as I literally strip for a living." He looks up from his cereal and shakes his head.
"Thanks, Jade. That means sooo much to me." He rolls his eyes and goes back to shoving his mouth full of Lucky Charms.
"Fuck you, Beck. I'm taking a shower." I deadpan, stripping as I make my way across his apartment, throwing my clothes randomly and winking as I take the last step into the bathroom.
He eyes my body and gives me the finger, mumbling "Fucking tease" as I disappear into the only room of his open plan home.
It doesn't take me long to shower, helping myself to Beck's fancy shampoo and conditioner, I stand for a while under the pathetic drizzle of fluctuating tempered water and think about my life.
I'm broke, I'm single, I'm a stripper and I own nothing but the outfit I had on; a few different stripper costumes; and the box of shit the home repossession people got from my apartment, a box I won't even actually have until I figure out which home repo department took it. All in all, I'd say I have officially hit rock bottom.
"Jade, phone."
Beck's call breaks me from my thoughts and I switch off the water, wrapping myself in his towel and padding out into the apartment. After locating my phone from my jean pocket I see I have a missed call from my boss. I sigh heavily, slumping on the edge of my best friend's bed as I ring my boss back.
"Jade?" The raspy voice of my sixty year old boss come's rumbling down the line to me.
"Hey, Tony, it's me. I'm done for today, Tony. Didn't Marcus tell you?" I excuse myself immediately, the man usually forgets who's meant to be where and when.
I hear his deep chuckle before a small coughing fit, "No, Sweetheart. I've got a job for you… Manhattan." He tells and I groan, knowing it's too good of an opportunity to pass by. "It's at the Four Seasons, some kind of Bachelorette party. They want a girl and guy, so Blake is gonna go with you."
I'm already up and getting dressed, "I'll be there in a few, Tony, thanks." I say, ending the call and ringing Blake straight away.
"Hey, Babe."
"What we doing for this Manhattan gig? Police? Paramedics? Fire brigade? Lawyers? I've just got my suit cleaned." I list, rummaging through my backpack as he thinks about it.
"Let's go classic police." He decides and I shut off the call, ignoring Beck's stare as I drop my towel and pull on a black leather thong and bra. My police costume consists of a tiny figure hugging skirt that barely passes my butt and a small cropped shirt that exposes my toned stomach and only has one button so my voluptuous cleavage is very much on show. The only parts of this outfit I enjoy are the hat, badge and fake gun. I paint on a thick coat of makeup and dry my hair before tying it in a low ponytail.
Once dressed, I throw on my long coat, tie the waist and grab Beck's semi-hard dick through his boxers as I pass him on my way out, "I'm crashing here tonight, see you in a few hours."
I practically run the eight blocks to my work, not wanting to risk my costume being damaged by my usual obstacle-course route. Blake's waiting outside in a company car as I arrive and I jump in breathless.
"Fuck. Shit. I'm dying." I pant out, wheezing slightly, the years of smoking showing. The African-American muscle-man sat next to me rubs my back and offers me a cigarette that I take thankfully, lighting up and drawing in deeply.
"Manhattan, ey?" He says, his eyes alight and eyebrows raised.
Having regained the ability to breath I laugh a lungful of smoke out, "Probably rich bastards using our crappy Williamsburg based strip club so their rich friends won't find out they hired strippers." I muse, hugging him. "What routine do you want to use? The usual, 'noise disturbance…'? Or maybe, 'This is a drugs bust!' Or, my personal favourite, 'There's been a murder in this building and the suspect's on the loose.'"
Blake laughs deeply, shaking his head at my antics, "Oh, Jade… I'm in the mood for a drugs bust." He says with a grin and I nod happily, leaning back in my seat and exhaling heavily, shutting my eyes for a second.
Next thing I know, Blake is waking me from a nap, telling me we've finally arrived through the hellish New York traffic. Traffic, I seem to have slept through.
We enter the hotel and head straight for the lift, already having been told the room number by the client. The hotel is insane, all marble and gold, and despite the few times I've been sent on jobs here, I can't get over it.
The lift shoots all the way up to the Penthouse and I wait patiently for it to start going down again, but Blake pulls us out of the metal death-trap before it can. "Ever been to the Penthouse, m'Lady?" He asks in a mock British accent and my jaw drops.
"Fuck off."
"No, seriously… Client is in the Penthouse." He confirms and I literally fall to me knees, praying to the stripper-Gods for all our good stripper fortune. "Come on, Jade. If we're late you're gonna need to do a lot more praying." He's teasing but I immediately get off my knees and follow him to the door.
We share a grin before tearing off our coats and shoving them in a duffle, now in full on police-stripper mode. I knock loudly and am answered by the whole of the adjoining room falling silent. I knock again and shout, "Police. Open up, Police."
Before long the door is opened by a skinny blonde chick who waves us in and checks the hallway to make sure no one else heard my shout as she shuts the door behind us.
"This is a drugs bust!" Blake calls out to the room of around fifteen women and they all giggle.
The place is huge, two-levels with glass windows and furniture everywhere. One night in this room probably costs more money than Blake and I have had in our collective lifetimes.
I step forward and press play on the boom box I'm carrying, placing it on a counter. Blake rips off his shirt and all the girls scream and clap, except one I notice, who sits sulkily in the back.
"Whose party is this?" I call out and a stuck-up looking Latina steps forward.
"Mine. I'm Trina and it's my Bachelorette party." She supplies in a nasally tone. I fake smirk at her and begin to saunter towards her but she puts her hand out to stop me. "You're for my sister, Tori." She says, pointing to the sulky looking woman who now looks mortified, her entire face blushing bright red. "And he's for us!" Trina finishes, pointing at Blake and all of the woman rush at him.
I throw him a grin, lucky fucker is going to earn a tonne tonight, and make my way over to Trina's sister.
"So, your sister bought me for you…" I tease, trying to get the girl to at least look up from the floor where her embarrassed gaze has found home.
She tentatively looks up at me and smiles shyly, her big brown eyes connecting with my emerald ones, and I swear the world stops. I lose my breath and freeze, mesmerized by the person looking up at me.
"Yeah, sorry 'bout that."
Her words snap me from my trance and I shake my head a little. Jeez, I must be more tired than I thought.
I saunter closer to her and dance a little in front of her, pushing her up gently so she's sitting back, making sure my cleavage is in her face as I do. I hear her gasp a little at the sight so I know her sister wasn't wrong about her sexual orientation.
"Since I'm already here, might as well make the most of it." I growl seductively, unbuttoning the one button on my shirt and shimmying it off my shoulders. "The skirt's all yours." I breathe out and turn around, leaning forward so my ass is in her face and she has access to the zipper.
She gasps again and backs away a little, "I-It's okay. Seriously, I mean, you don't need to, Trina will still pay you." Tori rambles and I stand up turning back around and unzipping it myself, letting it fall to the floor between us.
I'm now dancing in front of her in nothing but a leather bra and thong, dropping, grinding and twirling all for her benefit. Her eyes never leave my body, following every move I make as I dance around her.
"You wanna touch, Doll?" I offer, literally feeling the sex rolling off this girl. She's pretty hot herself, I won't lie.
She shakes her head from side to side so erratically I'm afraid it's going to fall off so I kneel down over her, a knee either side of her lap and start to grind down on her, my huge jugs right in her face. She's tentative at first but I continue to give her a lap dance, free might I add, and it doesn't take too long for her hands to come to rest lightly on my bare waist.
"There you go, Sweetheart." I coo, sensing she's probably the sensitive type. My theory is proven when her face relaxes and her hands gently rub my waist. I find myself almost moaning and slam my mouth shut before it can escape.
My eyes narrow for a second as I muse over my reaction to her touch, shaking my head to clear my thoughts. I must seriously need to have sex if that's how I react to the touch of a virginal rich kid.
Tori's hands gently skim up and down my waist and I find my body instinctively leaning closer to her, our eyes locking together as I grind down on her. She releases a small purring noise and I cock my eyebrow, repeating my action to hear it again.
"You like that, Sunshine?" I growl huskily and she nods a little. Deeming my actions verging on unprofessional, I get off her lap and she huffs a little in protest. I smirk at her and continue my routine, finishing it to the best of my ability despite Tori's distracting stare.
When I'm done she grabs a roll of ones from the purse next to her and stands up, coming over to me and placing it in my hand. "Urm, thanks for the dance." She murmurs.
I look at her amusedly, "You know you're meant to give this to me whilst I'm dancing, Doll?" I chuckle and she blushes bright red.
"Yes, sorry, I forgot. I, urm, I have to go." She rambles before gathering up my clothes and shoving them into my hands, smiling awkwardly at me before rushing from the room. I shake my head as I watch her go. Poor kid, I must have really given her the time of her life.
Seeing as my only client just ran off I pack up and put my coat on. "Trina, your sister left so I'm gonna go." I state, leaving before she can protest, although I doubt she even heard me as she was removing Blake's G-string with her teeth at the time.
He winks at me as I leave and I throw up my middle finger at him, deciding he can get a cab back 'cause I'm taking the company car.
The whole ride home I'm fidgeting from the pounding in my lower areas. Tori really got me riled up with her touches. Luckily, it doesn't take long to drive home as it was late enough for everyone to have either reached their destinations for a night out, or gone home.
I get the driver to take me the few blocks more to Beck's apartment where I stumble up the stairs in my stripper heels, leaning against the door as I wait for him to let me in. He still won't give me a damn key.
Again, he's only in his boxers when he opens the door and I throw my stuff on a chair, turning to watch him where he stands motionlessly by the entrance. In seconds I'm across the room, my hands in his hair as I kiss him. Our lips clash together unceremoniously, his hands fumbling to rip my coat off me, my own forcing his boxers down to fully expose him.
Once my coat has been discarded of he lifts me up so my legs can wrap around his waist. I can feel the wet tip of his hard-on brushing against me as he throws me onto the bed, climbing on top of me and sliding my thong off down my long pale legs. I remove my bra at the same time, leaving us both naked. All I can think about is being filled by him and finally relieving my sexual needs.
His mouth immediately attaches itself to my hard nipples, sucking and biting how he knows I like. "Fuck me." I moan impatiently and grab his shaft, pumping it a few times with my fist before pushing myself down and feeding him into me.
"Yes. Yes. Yes." I groan as he starts to thrust in and out of me. I throw my head back and move my hips in time with his, "Fuck me." He uses my hips as leverage to pound into me harder and I can see his eyes lock on my bouncing breasts.
In an unusual display of dominance, he grabs one of my legs, lifting it onto his shoulder so he can penetrate me further. At the feeling I moan and my thrusts get faster. "Yes, Jade." He pants, leaning over me more so my leg is bent further backwards.
Our movements become more frantic as we both get closer to our climaxes. I can feel his cock throbbing in me as I tighten around him and we come hard. His hot seed fills me and every muscle in my body tenses before relaxing fully.
"You're lucky I'm on the pill, you fucker." I murmur and I faintly hear him chuckle as he falls beside me and kisses my forehead.
"Night, Jade."
I can only grunt in reply as the much needed sleep consumes me.
oooOOOooo
I wake the next morning with the feeling of a heavy arm sprawled across my stomach. Groaning, I turn to see a very naked and very asleep Beck.
I silently curse myself for being so stupid last night and slip out of bed as silently as I can, gathering up all my belongings and locking myself in the bathroom. As quickly and quietly as I can, I shower and dress, doing my make-up before packing everything away and creeping out of the apartment.
Once on the street I take the subway a few stops before getting off and walking to my favourite coffee shop.
From the outside it looks like a record store, and in fairness, they do sell records and have live performances. There's a small stage in the back right hand corner, the record stand on your left as you walk in, the coffee bar just after that along the left wall and the rest of the space dotted with a mismatch of tables, armchairs, sofa's and wooden stools.
As I approach the counter the server looks up at me. "Jade!" Her wavy ginger hair bounces a little and she grins up at me, all the freckles on her face stretching. "Black two sugars coming up." She instantly goes about making my regular order.
"Hey, Bella." I say, smiling softly at her. She was working on the day I found this place and I've seen her every day since… I think she's developed a crush on me to be honest, but she's nice enough and it's flattering really. Not that I don't know I'm hot.
Seconds later I'm sat in my favourite armchair and Bella's bringing my coffee over, placing it on the oak table in front of me. "On the house." She states happily and I give her a lazily smile. One benefit of being adored by my barista is that I never have to pay for coffee; and being a broke stripper that's one of my life's few perks.
"Cheers, Darlin'." She looks like she wants to stay and chat but I hear the door jingle, signalling the entrance of a customer and she hurries away to serve them.
I sigh in relief and pull an A4 black leather notebook out of my bag, grabbing a pen from the pot in the centre of the table (another thing I love about this place.) The book is filled with my sketches and writings. There's buildings, faces, songs, plays, novels; you name it, I've got it.
Today I let my hand relax over the paper as I think about what went down yesterday, absently doodling to help myself think.
That girl, Tori. Why was I so worked up? I can't believe I fucked Beck. Beck! I promised myself after the break-up I wouldn't ever go there, it would ruin our friendship – possibly for good. I sigh to myself and chug back my coffee, frowning when I realize I've finished it already.
Sighing again, I get up and turn around about to go get some more when I slam right into somebody, their iced coffee spilling all over me.
"Fuck! What the-" Pure anger burns through me as I observe my ruined shirt; however, one glance up at the perpetrator silences me. I find myself staring into a familiar pair of mesmerising hazel eyes. A quick scan of her face and body confirms my suspicions and I slowly take a step back.
Tori hasn't spoken or moved a millimetre since the spillage and it forces me to get it together. "Fancy seeing you here, Sunshine." I drawl, "You know, if you wanted me to strip for you again you could have just asked, needn't have ruined my clothes." I tease and she's broken from her daze, smiling sheepishly at me.
"I'm so sorry, I'll pay to have them cleaned." Blushing, she grabs a napkin and starts to rub my front with it, then, blushing even more, she backs away. "That was not intentional molesting."
I laugh and sit back down, seeing Bella moving towards us with a jug to top me up. "Sit, Doll." I order Tori and she timidly makes her way around the table to sit opposite me, earning sceptical looks from the waitress.
"So, what brings you to this part of the city?" I wonder, sipping on my coffee and peering at her over the rim of my mug.
At my question she relaxes in her seat, "I had to escape from my sister and the wedding madness, there's no way she'd think of looking for me here and it's less manic than Manhattan." She explains with a shrug, her eyes falling to the table before I watch her perfectly sculpted eyebrows raise dramatically. "Did you draw me?!"
My eyes fall to my long forgotten notebook and to my surprise I see that I have indeed sketched her face. "Shit, that's awkward… I swear, I didn't even realise I'd done it." I quickly defend, leaning forward to go and slam the book shut. She's too fast for me, however, and grabs it before I can, studying my drawing intently.
"It's really good." Comes her only comment and I cock my eyebrow at her response.
"Thanks, I guess."
She passes me the book back, taking the time to fully examine my belongings and I. "Where do you live?" She asks, her eyes narrowing on the big duffel bag full of all my shit.
"I move around a lot." I deadpan, not wanting to fuel her intrigue any longer. "How about you? You're obviously not from around here…"
Tori chuckles at that, "Is it really that obvious?" She twirls the mood ring on her right pointer finger with her thumb as she talks, "I was born and raised in Los Angeles, but Trina claimed a West Coast wedding was so last season."
I raise my eyebrow a little at that, her sister really was as narcissistic as she appeared to be yesterday. "And you're gay." I decide to be blunt seeing as we've practically already dry-humped.
The Latina's face slowly turns red again and I find myself thinking how cute it looks. "Yeah… Sorry about yesterday by the way, I've talked to Trina about embarrassing me in public before but she never seems to learn."
I grin and place my mug down, gesturing for Bella to come and refill it. "It's okay, lucky for you I have no gender preference." At my confession both Tori and Bella's eyes widen. I smile up at the latter and she grins back, reluctantly retreating to the bar so as not to seem weird – neither Tori nor I have invited her to sit with us.
"She likes you." The brunette observes and I nod slowly. "I like you."
The second comment from the innocent women throws me off and I watch her intently. She's blushing but keeping her head up, obviously determined not to back down.
"I need a date to my sister's wedding."
I point to myself stupidly, not really knowing what was happening. No one ever likes me. They fuck me and leave me. Even if they do think they like me at first, when they find out I'm a stripper they're gone in a flash.
"Would you come with me?"
"You don't even know my name…"
"What's your name?" She asks.
"Jade."
"Jade, would you please come with me to my sister's wedding?"
To say I'm confused would be an understatement. A gorgeous, cute, seemingly intelligent girl just asked me out and I have no idea what to say. I read her completely wrong yesterday, she's definitely not as innocent as I thought.
"I-I guess?" Did I just fucking stutter? Holy fuck, what is wrong with me. "I mean, whatever, sure, if I can make it." My meagre attempt at trying to regain some of my dignity makes her laugh and I'm enchanted by the melodious sound.
"Great! Here… That's the information you'll need." She grabs a pen and scrawls the details down on a napkin. Even her handwriting is perfect.
I glance down to read it, "This afternoon?!" Is she crazy? "I don't have anything to wear…"
When I look up I see her smiling softly, the right side of her bottom lip is caught between her teeth as she thinks about something. "Let's go shopping then." It appears to be a suggestion but she leaves no room for me to quarrel before standing and holding her hand out. "Come on."
oooOOOooo
Tori literally drags me around EVERY goddamn shop in the whole of Manhattan. "You know, I can't even afford any of this shit." I groan as she passes me yet another dress, my arms already full with the rest of the shops produce.
"It's okay. I'm paying." She shrugs and I frown.
"No."
"Yes."
"Tori, no."
"Jade, yes."
"Tori."
"Jade."
"Stop!"
"Stop!"
Her incessant copying is halted only when I stop talking myself, therefore allowing her to win this particular battle, much to my disgust. "Fucking copier." I whisper under my breath and glare at her, flopping down on a stool as she continues to flit around the store.
Suddenly, I hear her cry out, "Jade!" Panicking, I drop everything and rush to find her, worried something was wrong.
"What?! What's wrong?!" I exclaim when I come across her behind a huge clothes rack. Squatting, I hold my chest as my decrepit lungs try to take in oxygen and I wheeze painfully.
She squeals and shoves a dress at me, "I've found you the perfect dress." Her grin is so adorable I partially, and only partially, forgive her for almost giving me a heart attack.
"For fucks sake, Tori! I thought something was wrong." I half-yell, my shouting capability slightly marred by the fact I'm struggling for breath. At my words her grin melts into this sloppy smile that I find hard to translate into any given emotion.
"Aweee, Jade. You were worried about me." She says happily and points to the dress. "Go try that on." Her demand is paired with such a hopeful expression, I can only sigh, huffing loudly as I turn and stomp into a changing room.
The dress is made of bottle green silk and has a very very slight sparkle to it. It's strapless and the bodice tightly contains my breasts before floating out into a skirt from my hips to my mid-thigh. I look fucking hot and Tori seems to agree when I step out of the changing room so she can see.
"Woah." The Latina breaths out, her eyes scanning up my body slowly, taking it all in.
"I'm hot. I get it… So?"
"That's the one." She determines and I have to stop myself from cheering loudly. "Now for the shoes." My celebrations are short-lived and I roll my eyes for the thousandth time today, returning to the dressing room to get changed.
Once the shoes have been chosen (plain black, suede heels) we go to the register and the sales assistant totals the two purchases up.
"That's going to be six hundred and thirty dollars and forty cents." My eyes bulge out of my head at that and I instantly pull Tori away from the desk.
"Fuck no." I say, reluctantly withdrawing my hand from her arm to cross my own in a defiant stance. "You are not spending that much money on a stripper you met yesterday."
I watch as she closes her eyes and inhales a little. "You're not just a stripper. You're Jade and you're the date of the maid of honour at a very important wedding. Please, let me do this… Just think of it as me repaying you for the dance yesterday." She teases and I have to resist chuckling.
I say nothing to accept her actions, but don't protest as she returns to the counter and pays for the dress and shoes.
We leave the shop in silence; however, once we get outside I pull her to the side of the pavement and look her dead in those beautiful eyes.
"How long do we have until we need to start getting ready?" I ask and she glances down at her watch to confirm the time.
"Two hours."
"Good. I want to take you somewhere."
Tori nods curiously and I take her free hand, leading her swiftly down the nearest Subway entrance and scanning my yearly ticket twice to get us through the barrier. She looks kind of nervous and it becomes obvious to me she's never ridden the Subway before.
"Don't worry, Doll. I know my way around this shit hole like the back of my hand." I assure her and she smiles softly at me, stepping slightly closer to me, our conjoined hands the only thing between us as we wait on the platform.
Soon enough, our train is arriving and I pull her on the metal contraption fast enough to get her a seat. I stand in front of her so our knees are brushing and hold onto the bar mounted to the roof, essentially blocking her off from the 'horrors' of the Subway life.
"So, how come you're so loaded, Princess?" I ask, the question having been nagging on my mind since I entered the penthouse her sister was staying in.
Tori blushes a little and looks down as she speaks. "My dad works for the federal government in law enforcement." She supplies my answer and I'm slightly taken aback. That's a pretty humble job to get loaded by.
"Cool. My dad's a drug lord, I bet they'd get on great." I joke, although it's completely true.
Tori looks slightly embarrassed and I chuckle, brushing back some hair from her reddened face. Our eyes connect and we stare at each other for a little while before the trance is broken as the train comes to a juddering halt at our stop.
I take her hand again and lead her through the crowds and back up onto the street, dodging across a few roads and up the stairs to The High Line – New York's famous ex-railway garden walkway.
Our hands remained connected as we slowly stroll down the line, Tori taking in the view and the plants. "I hoped you'd like it." I murmur and she turns to study my expression thoughtfully.
"I love it." She whispers back.
We walk to the end of the line and find a secluded bench to sit on, hidden from the rest of the visitors by foliage.
"Thank you, Jade. This is so beautiful." Tori says, her voice low as she turns to me as much as she can.
"No problem, Princess." I shrug and turn to her just as much.
"You're homeless aren't you?"
Her soft question takes me aback but I don't show it, looking away and nodding slowly.
"Stay with me whilst I'm here? I leave on Wednesday… That gives you five nights to get your shit together." Her cursing surprises me and I look at her, my eyes scanning the hopeful expression on her face.
"Why do you want me to?" I ask in a whisper.
"Because I like you and I want to spend as much time with you as I can."
"But I'm a stripper. We met because I was fucking stripping for you."
"Our occupations don't define us, Jade. We all have to find some way of making it through this harsh life… We were unexpectedly acquainted, I'll give you that. But you're the best unexpected acquaintance I've ever made." She smiles softly at me and I can feel her thumb rubbing the back of my hand.
"You're such a dork, Princess…" I chuckle, finally looking back at her. "Okay. I'll stay with you. Five nights can't hurt, right?"
"Right."
We silently watch each other for a few more minutes before I stand and tug her arm. "Come on, Doll. I can't let the maid of honour be late." I murmur, grinning and pulling her up.
Panic flashes across her face as she realises the time and she frantically drags me down onto the street, our bags flapping around us, and into the nearest cab. She's practically screams the location to the cabbie who immediately accelerates off, fast enough that I grip Tori's hand and the car door.
"When we get there you can change in my room, then go find a seat whilst I join the bridal party. I'll meet you as soon as the ceremony is over and we can head to the reception together, okay?" She pants instructions at me as we tumble out the cab, Tori flinging way too much money at the speeding cab driver.
I then proceed to be forced to fucking run up, like, ten flights of fucking stairs at the fancy hotel the wedding is in, the very same one I came to strip at just yesterday. "To-Tori. I'm dying." I gasp as we fall into her assigned room.
Speedily and completely unabashedly, she strips down to her underwear, stopping and rushing over to me.
"What the-?" I get out before the half naked Latina heaves me to my feet and strips me to. "Hey! I'm the stripper here." I exclaim, finally regaining my breath and pushing her away indignantly to undress – and then redress – myself.
When I'm done with my own outfit I look up and see Tori. My mouth drops and I can't tear my eyes away from her, she's so gorgeous. Her dress is a red satin, floor length, strapless number and it literally takes my breath away.
"Oh wow, Princess… You look so stunning." I murmur and she looks up from where she was adjusting her necklace, smiling at me softly. I can see a faint blush arising on her insane cheekbones.
"Thanks, Jade." She brushes a piece of hair behind her ear and looks me over once again. "We're going to be the hottest couple out there." Her eyes widen as she realizes what she said and comically tries to backtrack, "Not that we're a couple… Well, this is a date. But, I mean… I didn't mea-"
I chuckle, stepping forward and lightly pressing my puffy pale lips to her thin crimson ones. "See you after the ceremony, Sunshine." I whisper gravelly, quickly departing before she can regain speech.
oooOOOooo
I ignore the stares of all the hormonal men in the room as I find a seat near the back, making sure I'll be able to see Tori at all times during the ceremony.
Since I have some spare time, I take my phone from the clutch Tori lent me and scan through. I have a bunch of missed calls and texts from Beck, which I ignore, only reading the ones from work letting me know my schedule for the next few days.
It's not long before the groom comes to the front. He looks nice enough; a dark black tux to complement his pale skin with his mid-length brown hair combed back, forming a small quiff at the front. I look down and see a leaflet on the seat beside me, lifting my arse sideways a little to grab the one I'm sitting on.
I scan the front to give me something to do and also because I want to make an effort for Tori, you know, learn about her family and shit. I know, I know, Jade West is turning into a pathetic arse-licker.
The leaflet reads:
Thank you for joining us to celebrate the union of
Drake Parker & Katrina Vega
On September 28th 2018
Underneath there's a picture of the happy couple on vacation somewhere, Trina wrapped in Drake's arms as he kisses her temple. It's sickeningly sweet and I scoff loudly, yet, much to my annoyance, find myself wondering if Tori would want that sort of thing at her wedding.
Luckily my thoughts are disturbed by the band starting to play a soft wedding march signalling the entrance of the bridal party and I watch in awe as Tori, on the arm of a suited man, makes her way down the aisle. Despite the strong and unadulterated sense of jealously I feel at the sight, I can't help but think how insanely lucky I am that she's mine – even if it is only for the next five days.
Once she's made her way to the small platform and fallen into her assigned position, her eyes search the crowd for me, smiling widely when our gazes meet. I smirk back and give her a minute wave, gesturing back to the front where her sister has now arrived accompanied by a middle-aged Latino man. I assume that's Tori's father and watch as he sits next to a woman that must be my date's mother.
As the ceremony commences I get bored and turn a little to keep my eyes firmly on Tori the entire time. At the end people are sobbing and everyone stands to clap as the newlyweds exit the hall, obviously going to the reception room.
The rest of the guests filter out, babbling about how beautiful it was and how cute Drake and Trina are together. Personally, I make my way straight to Tori's side, ignoring the confused looks of Trina's friends as they recognize me from her bachelorette party.
"Hey." I say softly when I finally get to her, not knowing whether it was okay to let people know we are together.
My confusions are instantly clarified as Tori pulls me into a hug, leaning back and kissing me softly. "I can't believe you kissed me and ran away!" She exclaims, slapping my arm so pathetically I literally don't feel a thing.
"Well, I didn't want to be late, did I now, Princess?" I smirk, gently pressing my lips to hers once more.
We're interrupted from our kissing by the sound of someone clearing their throat. "Tori…?" A deep, gruff voice says.
I immediately step back from her, but she recloses the distance between us, taking my hand in hers. Her skin is so soft and her small hand fits so perfectly in my own petite one that I can't help but smile dopily at her.
"Hey, Daddy."
At her words I whip my head around to give my attention to the man standing in front of me – the very same one I watch walk Trina up the aisle only half an hour ago. "Hello, Mr Vega." I blurt awkwardly, my strong accent coming through as I get nervous. I can hear Tori giggle a little at my side and I squeeze her hand to reassure myself.
"Tori, aren't you going to introduce me to your date?" Her father asks and she stops laughing, nodding at her dad.
"Oh- Oh yeah, of course. Daddy, this is Jade. Jade, David Vega."
I gently remove my hand from Tori's, holding it out in front of me to shake her father's. For a second it looks as though he's not going to return my gesture and I almost retract my hand; however, eventually his hand comes up to grip mine firmly and we shake for a few seconds. "Nice to meet you, Sir."
"And you, Jade. We'll have to talk more at the reception." His tone is light but I sense suspicion in it - he must be one of those overprotective parents I've always thanked god I didn't have, but secretly longed for at the same time.
"Shouldn't you be accompanying Mom to the reception?" Tori asks her father, narrowing her eyes at him as she takes my hand back into hers. His eyes light up in fear for a second as he realises he's kept his wife waiting, rushing off to meet her.
When he's gone I let out a sigh of relief. "Isn't it a little too soon to be meeting the parents, Sunshine?" I tease, watching in amusement as her face reddens.
"Shut up." She mumbles, embarrassedly hiding her face in her free hand. "I did not plan that." She adds as she looks up at me innocently.
I chuckle and wrap my arms around her waist, kissing her softly. "I know you didn't." I whisper as we pull apart. "Now, don't we have a reception to get to?" I ask, my voice gravely with lust.
oooOOOooo
The reception is being held in the ballroom of the hotel, just a short walk across a small courtyard.
"Did you enjoy the ceremony?" My date asks me, poking my side with her delicate fingers.
"I enjoyed watching you." I blurt out, not bothering to hide my feelings now; I'm too relaxed and comfortable around her. "You were easily the most beautiful one up there- You really stole the show."
I watch as she blushes and looks at her feet, leaning heavily on my arm as we walk across the cobbles in our heels. For once, my stripper experience comes in handy as I navigate the courtyard with ease, so use to wearing heels in strange places.
"I'm pretty sure you're the one who stole the show, Jade. Every man in that hall was staring at you at every opportunity." She mumbles a little and I can hear the jealously in her tone, making me smirk to myself.
"Good thing I only had eyes for you then, huh?" I nudge her playfully as we enter the reception room, taking her soft, petite hand as she leads me to the head table where the bride and grooms immediate family (plus their dates) are sitting.
I rush to pull out Tori's chair for her, smoothly slipping it in and under as she sits, placing myself in the seat beside her. I can sense the judgemental stare of Trina amid the intrigue of the rest of the table, specifically of the adolescent sat on the other side of me - who I later learn to be Drake's younger sister Megan.
Drake's best man, and brother, Josh, soon stands to make a hilarious speech, followed by Tori's which is pretty funny itself.
As she sits I lean into her and capture her lips softly for a second, "That was a beautiful, funny speech, Doll." I murmur, not giving a fuck about the onlookers anymore, just wanting to enjoy my time as this gorgeous girls date.
"You think so…? It wasn't as good as Josh's." She mumbles unhappily and I instantly pull her closer to me, wrapping her in my arms.
"It was one of the best speeches I've ever heard, Sunshine… And I've heard a lot- comes with the occupational territory, I guess." I hum my reassuring words in her ear, pressing light kisses to her neck and the shell of her ear.
She cuddles closer to me and lets out a small breath, "Thank you, Jade." Her voice is a little shakey and I pull away to give her some space, not wanting either of us to pass out right now. The floor looks too fucking hard to comfortably break our falls painlessly.
It wasn't long before they brought out some of the best food I've ever eaten in my life. I swear, I didn't stop eating until Tori physically tore my plate away from me, scolding me a little for my gluttony.
"Jesus, Jade! You're acting like you haven't eaten anything decent in a year." Her shocked whisper causes me to momentarily reflect on the truth behind her words, guiltily hiding my face in my napkin with the pretence of wiping my mouth. "Y-You haven't, have you?"
Her tone was softer now and she gently cups my face, pulling it to her. "Oh, Jade… I'm going to help you."
"No you're not."
"Yes I am."
"Tori, no! That wasn't part of the deal." I moan, hearing the resolution concrete in her tone. I'm met with a steely glare and find my face contorting into a sheepish grin. "Dance with me." I abruptly stand, taking her hand and dragging her onto the dance floor where the bride and groom had just finished their first dance.
A soft piano melody starts to play and I pull the stunning woman against me, my arms winding around her waist as a smooth male voice begins singing the lyrics. Tori relaxes into my embrace and I can feel her body moulding into mine.
We sway slowly to the song, her soft breath fluttering over my neck with the way she rests her head on my shoulder.
I softly sing the chorus in her ear, my husky accented voice murmuring the lyrics engraved in my mind from years ago.
"And even if it sounds crazy darling I won't let you go
And even if it don't stop raining darling I won't let you go
And even if the world's burning darling I won't let you go
Even if it sounds crazy darling I won't let you go."
"I won't let you go, Princess." I whisper as the song ends, pulling away just enough to brush my lips against hers. God, her lips are amazing. The way they respond to mine so eagerly and suck my bottom lip into her mouth. The way Tori moans- Holy shit! She's moaning. She's moaning and we're making out on the dance floor at her sister's wedding, shit, fuck, shut it down, Jade.
"Tori- Baby. As much as I love this, I'm pretty sure we're centre stage right now." I mumble against her lips and she immediately freezes, slowly pulling away and glancing around us, her cheeks reddening. "Maybe it's time we called it a night, Love? Drake and Trina are leaving anyway."
At my suggestion, the adorable Latina nods and gently takes my hand, leading us to the group gathering to bid the happy couple farewell. I'm left to stand on my own as Trina drags Tori away to have, what appears to be an angering, conversation across the room from me. I watch their faces contort in anger, frustration and eventually relief and satisfaction, a hug being shared before Tori returns to me and Trina rushes off to the car.
Everyone waves except me, choosing instead to watch Tori wave as the black limo pulls away from the hotel and out of sight round the corner.
"Can we go now?" I whine, my own voice annoying me, but not being able to gather enough energy to care.
My beautiful companion turns to carefully examine me, smiling to herself a little as she looks down to pull her room key from her purse. "You head up and get settled in whilst I say my goodnights and goodbyes, I'll be fifteen minutes max." She then makes a cute little promise face that I can't resist pecking lightly.
"Hurry." I command, grabbing the key and turning to stomp my way to the elevator, riding it to the tenth floor before getting out and locating Tori's room.
I'm going to admit it, even though I've been in there to change earlier, I'm kinda nervous about going in. I mean, I have no idea what's happening with myself and Tori, but I know it's special and I know I don't want to fuck it up.
Timidly, I open the door and step in, looking around the large room and truly taking it in this time. It's insane! The wall directly in front of me is completely made of glass and leads out to a small balcony; a bed protrudes from the left wall and a desk along the right. There's a door to what must be a bathroom in the far left corner and a huge walk-in wardrobe in the near left corner.
This hotel room alone is larger than any apartment I've ever owned and it doesn't even have a kitchen. I shake that thought from my head as I enter the room and clean away the mess we made whilst changing earlier, folding our clothes neatly and putting them into a drawer in the wardrobe.
I find Tori has already unpacked and have a small snoop around, putting away my very few items in a small drawer in one of the bedside tables; on the side that doesn't have Tori's stuff on and looks unslept in.
Fucking hell… I don't have any pyjamas, they're still at the home repo and I haven't had the time to collect them yet. Sighing loudly, I awkwardly perch on the end of the bed, removing all my clothes and pulling on a fresh bathrobe from the bathroom.
I literally just got a chance to lie down for the first time in, like, sixteen hours, when my phone starts to buzz. I huff, annoyed that I've been disturbed and lazily rolling over to grab my phone, answering it without checking the caller ID.
Big mistake. It's Beck.
"Jade?!" His voice sounds frantic and worried.
"Yeah."
"Where are you? I was starting to think I was gonna have to call the cops. Last night was-"
"Just living my life, Beck. Now, fuck off. I'm trying to sleep." I deadpan, cutting him off and switching off the phone.
I really can't be dealing with his shit right now, I fucked up so badly sleeping with him and now he's gonna think I'm into him… Which could not be further from the truth, hell I'm currently lying on the bed of an extremely beautiful, kind, amazing woman.
Speaking of whom, I can hear the lock being fiddled with outside so she must be done downstairs.
"Hello, Sunshine, how were the goodbyes?" I ask casually, resting on my elbows to watch her enter.
She looks me over before sighing heavily and dropping down onto the bed beside me. "I hate old relatives, they're so snotty and judgemental." She whines and I chuckle, turning on my side to face her, brushing some hair off her face.
"Snotty and judgemental relatives are the best 'cause you can piss them off the easiest." Her chocolate eyes narrow on me as she mirrors my position, flipping over on her side to face me.
"You're certainly something Jade… Jade what? I don't even know your last name!"
"Jade West, pleasure to make your acquaintance, Princess." I murmur hoarsely, "Now, you don't happen to have any spare pyjamas, d'you?" I gesture down at the robe, wiggling my arms so the baggy sleeves wave around above us.
Giggling, the tanned woman grabs me a vest and some shorts, chucking them across the room at me.
"Why, Miss Vega! Is that any way to treat your guests?" I tease in a posh accent, stripping myself of the robe to squeeze into the too small top and shorts, my breasts practically bursting out and a large proportion of my ass uncovered. "Now, if I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to objectify me in these clothes."
I look up to see Tori watching me, her mouth fallen open a little and her hand gripping the drawers handle tightly. "N-No! I wouldn't… I didn't mean…" She stutters out cutely. Cutely, what the fuck, Jade? Cutely, really?
Determined to keep the upper-hand in this little flirting game, I saunter across the room to stand in front of her, slowly taking her free hand and resting my other on her shoulder, cupping her cheek a little.
"It's okay, I'd happily give you a free show." I mumble huskily, my lips brushing over hers very lightly as I lean forward, keeping eye contact so I know how she's reacting to my actions.
"How about I be your last show?" Her voice is so soft I barely hear her, straining my ears to take in her words.
"A girl's gotta eat, Tori Vega, and don't you dare make a Moulin Rouge reference." Pulling back an inch or so, I rub her cheek gently with my thumb, watching her calculate her next sentence carefully.
"Not like that you don't… Let me… Please Jade, let me help you." Her words are like velvet, wrapping me in a cocoon that I don't ever want to break free from, but I have to, 'cause that's life, people come and go and you can only rely on yourself.
I let my hands drop away from her, taking a few steps back until I'm stopped by the bed. "I don't need your help. That wasn't part of the deal." I say firmly, my jaw locked and my stance ready to flee.
"FUCK THE FUCKING DEAL, JADE!" Her yelling catches me off guard and I stare at her in shock. "I want to help you because I can and because I like you and because even though I only met you yesterday and you're the biggest asshole I've ever met, I've already fallen for you." She rants, pacing until she reaches my position.
My shocked expression stays firmly plastered on my face as she approaches, pushing me pack down onto the bed and crawling up my body to connect our lips in a heated kiss.
Her hands tear at my clothes as mine snake into her hair, clutching onto her for dear life as she strips me of these pathetic excuses for pyjamas. For the first time in my life I find I'm embarrassed to be naked in front of someone, automatically covering my privates from her view.
She seems to take that as a hint that she should also be naked, pulling back to unzip her dress and throw it across the room, quickly following that with her underwear.
She's so beautiful. I've never seen someone so insanely perfect. Every freckle, every curve, every inch of her is just pure perfection, like the gods created her personally to fit their godlike visions of humanity.
Gently, she pulls my hands away from my body and looks me in the eye as I lay beneath her, hopelessly submitting to everything she does. She lowers herself until her lips make contact with my breasts, taking her time to kiss, suck and lick what she finds there.
A moan erupts from my lips and my hands weave themselves into her hair. "Tori." I groan, my core throbbing at the stimulation she's giving my breasts. She pauses for a moment and I look down to see her watching me over my heaving chest.
"Your boobs are the best." She purrs, "But I can think of something else that I'll like better."
Her tone only aids to increase the growing wetness between my legs and I pull her head back up to mine to connect our lips passionately, one of her hands slowly making its way down to my slit.
Before I can stop myself, my hand shoots down to grab hers and pull it away from its destination. "No. Not like this." I growl, flipping us over so now I'm the one on top. "Together." I pant in explanation, watching the confused look on her face smoothen with understanding.
I push her legs open and sit back, slipping my right leg under her left and very, very slowly shifting forwards until our soaking cores meet.
"Together." She repeats, sitting up to connect our lips as we grind against each other, small moans and gasps leaving our lips as we work our way to ecstasy – falling off the edge together in a flurry of screams and curses.
She slumps back, pulling me on top of her as we stretch out, exhausted from our activities. I place a sloppy kiss on her forehead as she rubs my back, snuggling down together under the covers.
"Woah." I whisper, pecking her lips and resting my forehead on hers. "That was really something, Princess."
"That was- God, that was the best orgasm I've ever had." She murmurs, sounding a little shocked, her eyes flitting over to meet mine. Chuckling, I peck her irresistible lips again and nod in agreement.
"That was definitely the best I've ever had… That was my first time."
"WHAT!?" The brunette in my arms cries out in disbelief.
"No, no, no. Not my first time having sex! God, do I look like a virgin to you?" I retract my statement immediately, "I meant… Shit, Ok… I meant- What I meant was that- That was my first time making love… as opposed to having sex, I mean." I try to explain, completely mortified at what I'm saying.
Tori's silent for a little while, allowing for me to grow more and more uncomfortable by the minute and I'm on the verge of getting up and leaving when she finally speaks. "That was my first time too, then."
I turn my head to meet her eye, returning the soft kiss she gives me as she settles down further into my arms and the bed, obviously shattered from her long day.
"Night, Sunshine. Sweet dreams." I whisper.
"Goodnight, Jade West." She mumbles sleepily, already half asleep.
I watch her sleep for a while, tracing her features with the pad of my pointer finger and occasionally dropping soft kisses all over her face. "I've fallen for you too." I tell her, before I find my eyes drooping shut, sleep consuming me.
oooOOOooo
A weird tickling feeling on my chin disturbs me from my slumber and forces me to become acutely aware of the blistering sunlight filtering through my eyelids. I crack my eyes open only to be greeted by a mass of cocoa-coloured hair, my breath disturbing it a little causing it to brush against my face.
Tori.
Her naked body is cuddled into mine as she sleeps, her head using my large breasts as pillows and her legs tangled between mine as though she's trying to keep as much bodily contact between the two of us as she can.
Last night.
Woah, damn. I mean, last night was the best night of my entire life. Hell, the entire day was the best day of my life! Tori's just perfect. She's everything you could ever want, you know?
She's like the sound of a rainstorm; or the first coffee of the day; or an amazing dream; or when the water's hot in the shower before you turn it on; or big fluffy blankets; or your favourite panties. She's flawless, perfection, fucking heavenly.
And mine.
Well, for the next four and a bit days. For the next four and a bit days I have the highest honour of dating the most gorgeous human being on the planet, who has the soul of a fucking angel, and I'm sure as hell not wasting that.
Slowly, as not to disturb the sleeping beauty, I pry myself out from under her and out of bed, turning on the coffee maker on my way to the bathroom. I REALLY need to shower… Yesterday was such a long day and I only showered quickly at Beck's in the morning.
Speaking of, he's left me, like, one hundred text messages and voicemails trying to find out where I am and what I'm doing. Like it's any of his business anyway.
After I shower and dry myself off, I slip on my robe and brush my teeth – just in case Tori wants to do some morning kissing – which I think I'll insist on. She's still asleep when I re-enter the bedroom, adorably curled around my pillow. I snap a few pictures of her, just to remember this moment for when she's gone and life's returned to being a shit stain.
She's mumbling a little as I pour our coffee and I'm pretty sure I heard my name a few times, a small smile omnipresent on my lips. Unsure of how she drinks hers, I just add a little milk, she seems like the type who likes milky coffee.
Once I have coffee's situated on either bedside table, I crawl up beside her sleeping form and start to pepper small kisses all over her exposed skin. "Wakey wakey, Sunshine." I murmur, pulling her gently into my arms.
It's weird, I've never been this affectionate or sappy before. Never. She brings out this side of me and I'm not sure whether I want it to go away. Screw that, I never want it to go away. Just like I don't want her to go away.
"Mornin'." She mumbles, rubbing her awakening face into my neck. "What's time?"
Urgh, her cuteness is killing me. "It's eight, Babe. I've made you some coffee." My hands are rubbing her back as she comes too and a huge grin splits across her face.
I receive a kiss on the cheek as she pulls away and sits up on her own, looking around until she spots the coffee on her nightstand, instantly grabbing it and breathing in the warm steam. "Mmmm, thanks, Jay."
"Jay?" My ears perk up at this new nickname.
A light blush covers her cheeks and she looks down into her coffee sheepishly. "Well, that just came out… But I like it, so it's staying." I chuckle and nod in acceptance, liking the way it sounds on her lips.
"So, Sunshine. What d'you wanna see today?"
She cocks her head and watches me thoughtfully for a second before replying. "Empire State… I want to stand at the top like Meg Ryan and wait for Tom Hanks to come find me."
"You don't want me to find you? I have to say, Ms. Vega, I'm mildly offended." I tease, shuffling closer to her on the bed and taking her jaw lightly with one hand, drawing her face to mine for a soft kiss.
"Mmmm, nope, I definitely want Tom Hanks." Tori murmurs as we break apart and I grab her empty coffee mug, shoving it back onto the table before I attack her. She squeals loudly as I tickle her and falls into my arms helplessly. "I guess you'll do." She pants cheekily and I'm forced to resume my torture. "Okay! Okay! I'm sorry, I don't want anyone but you." Her yells pause my hands and I look down her lovingly.
"Good, 'cause you're stuck with me…" For the next four and half days anyway, obviously I'm not going to ruin this perfect moment and tell her that though.
She giggles a little and hugs me tightly, leaning up to catch my lips with hers. "It's not fair… You had a chance to shower and brush your teeth. I look like a troll and probably smell like one too." She complains and I instantly bury my face into her neck, taking a big sniff so she can hear what I'm doing.
"Nope, no troll here, just an adorable Latina." I taunt and receive a soft thump to the arm in return.
"Shut up, maybe you're the troll." She whines, rolling out of my arms and off the bed. "I'm going to get ready, then lets head to your café for breakfast. I'm sure that hot waitress is missing you." She winks as she saunters into the bathroom and my loud scoff is muffled by the sound of the shower being turned on.