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Chapter 2

Previously

Guardian Belikov's money was snatched away from me...as well as any hope for me to survive in New York City…

It's been a week now since I was mugged, my bruises have turned to a light yellow on my face and my ribs are pretty much healed. I'm not sure how I did it but after the attack I managed to walk to a park and find somewhere to rest. A moment of weakness led me to almost calling Guardian Belikov.

But it's only been a week. No way could I do it, especially if he found out that his money was stolen. I had to let them think that I'm strong and that I can handle this, if I had any future with Lissa I had to do this.

So now I'm walking around the heart of New York City, searching for any clubs or restaurants that may be hiring. My attempts were unsuccessful; most places wanted proven experience like on a resume. I couldn't get a resume any time soon so I kept looking, there had to be something.

Eventually I hit a pretty flashy side of town, but I was desperate. I couldn't keep sleeping on a park bench, I wouldn't. I walked past a conspicuous club and I saw a sign saying help wanted, must be young and attractive. I thought this was an unusual sign but I entered anyway.

As soon as I walked in I knew why the sign had asked for young and attractive. It was a strip club… I can't believe I had stooped this low. But I promised myself that I wouldn't be a stripper, just a waitress.

I examined the girl working at the bar, she was really pretty I'll give her that.

"Um, excuse me?" I called out to her nervously

"I think you're in the wrong place, go run back to mummy and daddy" The bartender replied giving me a weary look.

I readjusted my features, making me look confident and not someone to mess with.

"Look, I noticed the sign outside and as you can see i'm young and attractive so when do I start?" I said with as much Rose bravado as I could muster.

She looked at me a bit surprised, obviously not many people spoke to her this way, but she has to learn she can't mess with Rose Hathaway. No matter how desperate I may be, I wont show it.

"Confident aren't you?" she said with a slightly amused smile

I nodded giving her my man-eater smile.

'Well, you might just fit in here follow me' She told me

I can't believe I'd done it, i'd finally gotten a job. Not in a place that I would ever expect but I was desperate and willing to do anything to get off that park bench.

I followed her to what looked like a beauty room, where all the girls would get ready for their shift and make each other look gorgeous for extra tips.

"Sit" She commanded

I sat.

"Now, as you realize I'm the owner of this club and I decide who gets hired. So, I'm going to give you a trial. Use whatever you need to make yourself look amazing and use any of the costumes you find. You have 20 minutes for you to start to try impress me and my audience" I examined everything in the room as she started to walk away.

"Thank you, for this" I said

"Don't thank me yet, you need to impress me," She said with a wink

I thought about it, I promised myself that I wouldn't be some stripper. But desperate times called for desperate measures. I made a new promise; I will never sell my body for money to other men. That would be my ultimate low and I hoped that it wouldn't come to that.

As I was fixing my hair and putting on make-up I thought of what Lissa might be doing, the past week I have been teaching myself how to reach into her head when I was sad and needed to get away. I learned so far that Lissa wasn't coping with my absence either, Guardian Belikov followed her everywhere and I enjoyed the view I got of him when I saw him through Lissa's eyes.

She had been put in all of her old classes and even met a guy that appealed to her, I was glad that she had found someone. I was surprised that she hadn't hooked up with Aaron again though, but hey who was I to judge? An about-to-be stripper in New York City with no money and nowhere to live.

I looked at my reflection, my foundation was layered smoothly on my face and my eyeliner made my eyes pop. I was never an expert on make-up but my gorgeous exotic features would make up for that. I chose the skimpiest costume I could find, the bra only just covering my breasts and underwear that had colourful tassels on them. The entire outfit was red; I chose the highest stilettos I could find that were also red.

I was so nervous; I had never danced in front a crowd before. In front of my friends yes, but never like this. I thought about all the movies I'd seen and decided to just improvise.

The bartender was back, she looked me up and down.

"Very impressive, I hope you dance as well as you look. I'm Sydney by the way" she introduced herself.

I looked at her more closely, she was young and blonde, very skinny. Almost borderline anorexic I thought. I noticed a Lilly tattoo that looked as though it was slowly fading on her cheek and a deep sadness in her eyes.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Rose" I said a little flustered.

"Alright, Rose your on!" Sydney gave me a little nudge and I stood behind the red curtain.

The red curtain opened and I made my way to the pole, I gave my man-eater smile to the crowd and heard a few men wolf whistling. The music started and I pulled off the sexiest moves I could muster.

Once the music was done, my underwear was full of 1 dollar, 10 dollar, and even 20-dollar bills. I had pleased the crowd there was no doubt about that, its just a question of whether I impressed Sydney.

I walked to the curtain and made my way back to the beauty room, it was full of gorgeous girls of all types.

"Well Rose, judging by all those bills you certainly impressed the crowd and therefore have impressed me" Sydney said with a smirk

"So Rose, welcome to Lusty Lady"

I smiled at her.

"When do I start?" I asked

"Tomorrow night, come by at around 8:30pm and we'll show you the ropes"

I nodded and left with at least $100 in my back pocket, hopefully I'll be able to pay Guardian Belikov back…

That's if I'll ever see them again, I walked down the streets to find the cheapest motel and crashed in exhaustion as soon as I hit the bed.

I dreamt of the Russian, swooping me off my feet and taking me back home…

I'm enjoying writing this so i might continue! Please leave feedback and review! xxSezaxx