Belle was in a panic, her nerves unsettled as she paced the locker room floor in 6-inch stilettos. Every so often when the bell chimed to signal an arriving customer, she would run over to the curtains, pulling it back just enough to peak through, hoping to see that it was Mr. Gold entering the club. But it wasn't him. She was beginning to worry that maybe she had scared him off, perhaps the whole tie thing was a bit too much.

It was now an hour past his usual time of arriving and still no sign of Mr. Gold. Disappointed, Belle gave up and walked to the vanity to remove her lipstick, might as well leave. She was heartbroken, wishing that she'd got his number or something, some way to talk to him and find out what has happened.

"Why the long face Belle?" Ruby asked before noticing that Belle was taking off her makeup. "You're not leaving, are you? A shitload of customers just came. I think it's some guy's birthday."

Belle put down the napkin that was smudged with her makeup and sighs. "Mr. Gold's not here."

"Sooo..?"

"So, I don't think I'm ready to dance for anyone else."

"Well, your dancing still needs some work, but you can get away with it for now, the fellas seem pretty wasted tonight."

That didn't help Belle feel any better about her situation. For Belle, it was Mr. Gold or no one at all.

Their boss Charming entered the locker room wearing a very dissatisfied face. He was sick and tired of the girls' unruly behavior. He has never supervised such an unmanageable group of girls since he started this line of work.

"Can someone please tell me why all of my girls are here instead of out on the floor? We have a full house tonight." He shouted loudly making the girls stiffen up and avoid their boss's eye contact. "You've got customers out there waiting, now let's go before I dock another percentage from your tips tonight."

All the girls quickly got up and scrambled, passing Charming on their way out of the locker room while he glared at them expressing his annoyance. Belle was the last to leave, hoping that after everyone had left, she could slip out of the club without anyone noticing.

Charming grabbed Zelena by the arm, stopping her on her way out of the locker room. "Tonight is one of the customer's 18th birthday, and I want you to show him a good time." He leans in closer to her. "And not your idea of a good time."

Charming knew about her using her other sexual talents to get a better tip. Countless of times he has told Zelena no sexual favors in exchange for money, he wasn't running a prostitution gig, Charming wanted to have a reputable business. But she always disobeyed him. Fortunately for Zelena, her boss couldn't afford to lose his best dancer.

A plan quickly etched itself inside of Zelena's wicked mind. If she wasn't allowed to dance for Mr. Gold anymore then neither could the new girl.

"What about Belle?" She suggested, gesturing to the new girl, lagging behind the others. "She needs the practice anyways."

Charming looked toward Belle, still shy and reserved, and he agreed she could use the experience. It was passed the time for her to open up like the rest of the girls anyway. "Fine. Belle go give the kid a lap dance, he just turned 18, so he won't be expecting much."

"Charming, but I-" She stammered, she wanted to leave, not dance for some strange teenager who probably would want to touch her body.

"No buts Belle, now march." Her boss tells her.

Belle began to walk out the locker room, passing Zelena who was wearing a smug grin on her lips. "Good luck Dakota, I'll keep Mr. Gold company when he comes."

Belle knew this was part of Zelena's plan, disguising her deceit in front of their boss as if she was trying to be friendly and help Belle out, but in reality, she wanted Mr. Gold back all to herself. It wasn't fair, but it wasn't like she had a choice, she still needed to make some money tonight, and Charming was adamant that she dance.

She sees the group of men in question sitting in the private section designated for large parties. A few other strippers were there, sitting on the laps of different people, including Zelena's little sister Regina. All the men were dressed in a green leather jacket with black slacks. The tag on the back of their jackets suggested they were a part of a biker organization called The Merry Men. This new observation only made Belle more apprehensive about her situation. These men could be dangerous, and Mr. Gold wasn't here to protect her this time.

"Dakota!" Regina called Belle over from the lap of one of the bikers. "Let me introduce you to Robin. He's the leader of The Merry Men." She said flirtatiously, rubbing the stubble on the man's face. "He's cute isn't he?"

Belle nodded. "Yes, he's very nice looking."

"What about her Robin, you think she's good enough for your little brother?"

"Aye, she's a pretty little thing," He said glancing over Belle's half naked body. "And I like the whole innocent look she's working with."

Regina giggled. "Innocent? Have you ever known an innocent stripper? She just likes to act as if she doesn't know what she's doing, but it's all a ruse. Isn't that right Dakota?"

"Yeah, I guess so." She said before noticing one of the other men of the group standing beside her, staring hungrily at Belle. He was the largest man she's ever seen, and she took a side step away from him.

"You'll have to excuse Little Jon. He's not used to being surrounded by beautiful women," Robin said, taking a drink of his liquor and handing it to Regina to have a sip too. "Come closer girl. We may look like wolves, but we won't bite. Unless that's what you want." Robin said before softly biting Regina's side, tickling her ribcage, making her and the rest of the men laugh.

Belle's heart quickened as she nervously steps closer within the group of men. She looked toward the entrance of the club, screw the money, maybe she could make a run for it. The irrational thought fled as quickly as it came. Belle needed this job to support her and her father. She also needed a gig where she could make fast nightly money, and this place was all there was in her small town.

The leader of the group Robin looks over to a younger man that was sitting next to him. "How about this one, Will?"

The young boy looked just as nervous as Belle. "She's okay."

"Well don't just sit there lad." Robin grabbed Belle by one of her wrists and pulled her onto Will's lap. The young man looked at Belle in shock, as if he has never had a beautiful woman straddle his lap before. His hands remained planted on the booth, scared to touch her or even make the slightest move. "Test her out, go on, touch her."

Belle felt sorry for the young man. He looked as if this was the last place he wanted to be. It was the same for her. She wanted to be in Mr. Gold's lap not this 18-year-old boy's. Will's trembling hands left the booth and slowly rose to Belle's hips. Before he had a chance to take hold of her, she spoke.

"Will, is it?"

"Yeah." The pubescent boy squeaked out.

"Can we go somewhere a little more private?" She asked, but the look on Will's face was less than enthusiastic about leaving his big brother. Belle leans in closer to his ear and whispered. "So I can give you a stunning view of my most popular attraction."

Another famous stripper line courtesy of Ruby.

Will's mouth dropped wide open. He looks over to Robin who was laughing, as was the rest of the bikers, at the dumbfounded look on his brother's face. "Well, you heard the lady Will, get the hell up. I'm not paying these girls to sit around and look pretty for you."

Belle got up from his lap and held out her hand to help Will up while he tried to hide the boner in his pants from the rest of his brother's friends. As he left with Belle to the private area, the rest of the bikers cheered lively at their youngest member's descent into manhood.

Belle walked into the private booth first before she noticed Will still standing nervously by the curtains.

"S-so how's this s'posed to work?"

Belle smiled, Will seem really sweet, but that didn't mean she was any more willing to dance for him. She's reminded of her first time dancing for Mr. Gold, she was just as reluctant as Will is, and it only made her miss Mr. Gold more.

"Come have a seat." She said patting the empty spot next to her. He does, and Belle continued to smile to help him relax. "So today's your Birthday?"

"Yeah. Well tomorrow, but it's almost tomorrow anyways." He said with a small shrug.

"But it's a school night." She said to engage him in small talk.

"Seniors are released a month earlier than the rest of the school." Will explained.

"Makes sense. Have you decided what university you're going to yet?"

"I got a full ride scholarship to UCONN. I play basketball, and I'm really good at it." Will tells her.

"That sounds really amazing. I'm sure your family is very proud of you, what position do you play?" she asked, trying to extend the length of their small talk.

Belle and Will continued to talk. The conversation turned very informative for the young man. Belle even began to explain what he would expect in college. Will forgot all about being nervous and enjoyed talking to Belle about college and his future in sports. Her plan worked, and she was happy that Will was no longer thinking about a lap dance.

xox0xox

In the front of the club, Mr. Gold just walked into the Rabbit Hole, internally cursing the traffic for making him late. He did his usual routine and scanned the club, eyeing the whole room, searching for her. Mr. Gold noticed a rowdy group of gentlemen being entertained by Regina and a few other strippers, thankful that none of the girls with the men were his girl. After failing to locate Belle, he took a seat at the bar and had a drink while he waited for her.

"Hello Mr. Gold, drinking alone?" Zelena flirted, caressing his shoulders.

Gold ignored her advances, removing her hands from his shoulders. "You know who I'm here for. Would you be so kind enough to let her know that I'm here."

"Well, of course I would," She bit her lip provocatively before continuing. "But I'm afraid Belle's rather busy at the moment. She's already in the private area with another guy."

"Don't lie to me Zelena. It has never been your strong suit. You should just stick to dancing." He tells her.

"I'm not lying, and she seemed quite happy while escorting him back there." She said desperately trying to make him forget about the new girl. "So it looks like it's just you and me, like old times."

"Zelena I'm not in the mood for your games tonight. Just go inform Belle that I'm here."

"I'm serious Mr. Gold. She's really back there with some other guy."

He knew how jealous of a person Zelena was, but he never thought she would stoop so low as to lie to him about the whereabouts of Belle. He doesn't take Zelena's word, he instead leaves the devious woman at the bar and goes over to Ruby. Belle said they were friends, and he trusted her word over Zelena's.

"Good evening Ruby." He said, pulling her attention from her client. The client having made a wise choice to not interfere in matters regarding Mr. Gold and lets his dance be disrupted.

"Mmm. Well hello Mr. Gold." Ruby said, getting up from the lap of her client to address the man in the expensive black suit.

"Have you by chance seen Belle?"

"Yeah, and she's been waiting for you."

"Has she now?" Mr. Gold smirked at the thought of Belle waiting patiently for him. "Well, I should apologize to her for my tardiness. Would you mind letting Belle know that I'm here."

"No, not at all, but she's in the private dance area with someone."

So Zelena was telling the truth, and if she wasn't lying, then she probably had something to do with it. Didn't matter, he cared for Belle, and he wasn't going to stand around and wait for her while she grinds her body on some strange man who didn't give a damn about her. He relents, considering that it was his own fault for being late.

"Then show me to the booth so I can retrieve her." He tells Ruby.

"Sure." She said, Ruby was willing to do anything for Belle and her first and very wealthy customer Mr. Gold, but she was with one of her regular clients. "I'm a little busy at the moment, can Ana escort you back there?"

Gold turned and saw the red queen herself. Anastasia was a young and gorgeous woman with long blonde hair. She was wearing a sexy black and red lace lingerie that color coordinated with her red lipstick and black eyeliner.

"Mr. Gold!" She exclaimed, excited to see him and gives him a hug.

"I wasn't expecting to see you here again." He said surprised to see her. "How's your sister?"

"Ella's fine, and I wanted to thank you again for finding that school for her. She loves it!"

"I had a feeling she would." Ana's youngest sister was born with special needs. It was the reason Ana began stripping. After their father had died, Ana's mother's income wasn't enough to take care of 3 girls, one of which had special needs. When Gold heard her story, he talked to the dean of Storybrooke Academy for Gifted Children and took care of the expenses. "But why are you back here? The Dean has informed me that he has given her a full ride scholarship."

"Well old habits die hard, and besides, I wanted to see all my friends." She explained before taking Mr. Gold by the hand. "Now come on, let's go find your girl."

Gold followed Ana to where the private dances were performed. He was trying so hard to stay calm, but imagining Belle sitting on someone else's lap, rocking and grinding her body while another man's hands touched her was going to drive him to do something foolish perhaps.

When they reached the occupied booth, Ana peeks in slightly. "Oh."

"Oh?" Mr. Gold asked, fearing his suspicions had came true. "What do you mean by oh?"

"Here, take a look."

Gold stepped closer to the curtains and took a glance inside the dark room. He sees Belle sitting beside what looked to be a teenaged boy. They were talking... just talking, and nothing more. The boy wasn't even looking at her body, as they both were looking at something on his phone, something that sounded like cheering at some sort of sports game.

"They're just talking." He smiled.

"That Belle," Ana chuckled. "She sure is a strange one, not one ounce of a stripper in her body."

"There's certainly isn't." Mr. Gold chuckled, which was more to hide the sigh of relief he let escape. He closed the curtain and turned back to Ana. "How would you like to do me a favor?"

"Yeah anything, I owe you one anyway."

He slipped a hundred dollar bill into the side of her thong. "Trade places with Belle, and show this nice young man the time of his life."

Ana gave Mr. Gold a very kinky smile, before turning and opening the curtain dramatically to get the attention of the young man. Will almost dropped his phone when he saw the outlandish, but beautiful, woman's unexpected entrance.

"Belle you're needed outside. I can take it from here." She said giving Belle a notably peculiar wink.

"Oh- okay," She said, wondering if all of Ana's theatrics were that necessary. She gets up and says her farewells to Will who was motionlessly gawking at Ana's body, paying Belle no attention as she left the booth.

"So I'm only an hour late, and you're already dancing for another man." He teased from inside another booth just as she was passing by it.

Belle's eyes grew wide. She even considered that they were playing a trick on her and that she was seeing things. But how could she explain hearing his voice? She walked into the booth to find that it was really him, sitting like he usually did with his legs open and arms splayed along the top of the couch and cane placed neatly across his lap.

"That was a very naughty thing to do Belle."

She smiled and walked the short distance to his lap, giving him just enough time to clear his lap of his cane. "Where have you been? I thought you weren't coming back."

Gold chuckled lightly. "There's nothing in this world that will keep me from seeing you."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. "Don't ever keep me waiting like that."

He takes hold of her sides and pulls her back. "I'll try not to, but if there should ever come a time that I'm late, you need to be a good girl and be patient."

"I tried to be, but it's hard when I miss you so much."

"Then perhaps you need a lesson in being patient." He suggested, loosening the knot of his tie and removing it from his collar.

"Are you gonna teach me?" She asked sweetly in her Australian accent, a bit diluted from being in America for a few years now.

"Indeed." Mr. Gold said before taking hold of her hands. "Let's start with your first lesson."

Belle watched him wrap his black silk tie delicately around her wrists. "Which is?"

He pulled the tie snug. "Self- Control."

Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews on this story and its AU.
And let me know what you think of this chapter.
-RL