A/N: So sorry for the long wait loves! School has been an absolute beast, but I'm free! I hope you enjoy the fourteenth installment of Red Lights! XOXOX!

Chapter Fourteen

The Red Fountain was already jumping when Flora pulled up in the lot. She wasn't surprised though. She wasn't working the early shift, so men had already come and gone before she walked through the back doors, the bouncer letting her pass with ease. Wolf whistles and cat calls followed her through the club until she was safe behind the black curtains, heading to her vanity to get ready for the night.

She placed her bag on the floor next to her stool after dumping its contents out on the table, surveying the choices she'd packed herself. There were the usual shades of red and pink, but tonight something else was placed on her vanity. Something new, and definitely not a part of her Red Fountain collection. No, the crystal bottle of perfume was far too expensive for Ms. F's taste. That, and on top of the delicate puffer was a red bow, a small note attached to it. Flora picked the note off, careful not to tip the fragile glass, and read it.

Any other rose could never smell as sweet.

A romantic play on words that drove Flora mad. She picked up the bottle, her curiosity getting the better of her, and took a whiff. The light scent of fresh roses and vanilla hit her nose pleasantly. It was a soft scent, something light and feminine, and not nearly as overpowering as the stuff Ms. F usually made her wear. Flora hated to say she loved it, especially because, even though the sender left no name, she was certain it was Riven. The last thing she wanted was to make his gift-giving a constant habit. Then she might actually give into what he wanted.

However, that didn't stop her from using the perfume, spritzing herself on the neck and in the insides of her elbows. Even using it, she felt classier. Fancier. Like she was getting ready for a ball instead of a strip tease.

"You smell delicious," Baby came up behind her suddenly and purred in Flora's ear, drawing out the last word in a way that sent shivers down her spine.

"New perfume," Flora replied with a slight smile, holding up the bottle. "It was on my vanity when I got in. Do you know who put it here?"

"A secret admirer perhaps?" Baby teased, leaning against Flora's vanity, elbows propped up so she could rest her head. "I wish I had someone to buy me things like that."

"You don't have anyone in your life?" Flora asked. That was surprising, given how outgoing, young, and pretty Baby was.

"I used to, but not anymore. His name was Manuel. We were young, dumb, and I thought we were in love. He's the one who convinced me to come out to Magix, to leave home behind and make our way in the big city. He said he was gonna make it big, become a star, and we'd be rich. I believed him. Stupid..." Baby trailed off, shaking her head.

"What happened?"

"The only stars he ended up seeing were the ones behind his eyes when he took a hit of cocaine. Then he started drinking on top of that. It wasn't a good mix. He got aggressive, started cheating on me. I couldn't take it so I left him."

The way she described her relationship so callously led Flora to believe that there were a lot of mixed emotions lying behind the scenes that Baby hadn't totally worked through. Flora didn't push for more, even though she now had a million more questions she wanted to ask. Those could be saved for another time. She didn't even know Baby well enough to ask such invasive questions anyway.

"And you ended up here," Flora opted to say, hoping that Baby would pick up with her story and connect the dots.

"That was by sheer luck," Baby announced, looking like she was still surprised about it. "I was doing real bad, practically begging on the side of the road for scraps. Faragonda came along and saw talent in me, but I was too young to dance so she kept me around to clean up the club until I turned 18. She let me practice and stuff in the meantime, but I've only been dancing for a few months."

"Why not just go home? Don't your parents miss you?" Flora asked, hoping she wasn't overstepping.

"My dad tossed me out when I said I was leaving with Manuel. He said if I left, I wasn't welcome back," Baby replied, her eyes misting over like it was hard to talk about. "Besides, even if things were different, after all I've done, he wouldn't want me back anyway."

"You don't know that."

Flora had to hope that Baby's parents wouldn't just abandon her. Flora knew that her parents were some of the good ones, actually some of the best ones, willing to go into debt beyond belief just to put her through school. She knew that not everyone had that luxury. But she had to believe that someone wouldn't just abandon their child in their moment of need. Unfortunately, by the look on Baby's face, that was exactly the case, and it broke Flora's heart.

"Yeah, I do," Baby said, a finality in her voice that stopped Flora from pressing on. "But it's fine. I love it here. These girls are all the family I need. I'm done with men!"

"Forever?" Flora asked, amused, glad to get the conversation back on a better note.

"Maybe. Dick is great and all, but I'm more of a pussy girl," Baby replied coyly, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. "It's the most important meal of the day."

Flora nearly choked, just barely getting her voice to work enough to ask, "So you're into girls now?"

"I'm into anyone who's into me," Baby said with a sassy smile on her lips. She sauntered over to Flora, leaning in like she was going to tell her a secret, her gaze a little too heated for Flora's liking. "Have you ever had pussy Rosie? I think you'd like it. You have the lips for it too."

Baby got closer and closer, leaning down to sit on Flora's lap. Her eyes raked over Flora's face, studying her intently. Baby's hand came up to stroke Flora's cheek, reaching down to grasp her chin, thumb running over her plump bottom lip.

"I bet you have a sweet pussy."

Flora stopped breathing. How could she get out of this situation? It was getting out of hand so quickly. Thankfully, she didn't have to wonder for long, her knight in shining armor coming to her rescue in the form of a pissed off Stage Manager.

"Baby, stop harassing Rosie. She doesn't want you to eat her," Musa instructed, her mouth pulled down into a frown.

"Yeah I know, it's just fun to watch her blush," Baby laughed, getting up out of Flora's lap. She turned to Flora with an apologetic smile, though Flora knew that it wasn't completely sincere. She'd enjoyed tormenting Flora too much to truly feel badly. "Sorry if I made you uncomfortable."

"It's fine," Flora shrugged it off, not admitting that she was still having trouble catching her breath.

Did that qualify as sexual harassment? Not that Flora felt harassed...maybe just violated. Not that that was any better. But this was Baby she was talking about; there was nothing malicious Baby could ever possibly do. So Flora let it go, standing up in her lingerie, ready for whatever Musa was going to throw at her.

"Good, glad that's settled," Musa said, checking something off of her clipboard. "Rosie, head over to Timmy for a fitting. There's been a change in tonight's show. Sunny's called out sick so you're covering her songs. That means that Baby, you need to get changed into the black wired corset and matching hose."

"Ooh, we're doing that number tonight?" Baby asked, suddenly excited.

"Yes. It was on Sunny's set with Mirta, but since she's out too for family reasons, I'm going to need both you and Rosie to perform."

"What's the dance?" Flora asked. She'd never had to cover anyone's songs before. She didn't even know if she'd know the moves, but Musa didn't seem concerned.

"Sexyback," Musa replied, a faint smirk on her lips as she took in Flora's look of horror. "Don't worry, I'm not going to put you through that again. Baby's dancing that one with Aisha. You're going to do Dangerous Woman. It's a solo piece - freestyle - but it requires a special outfit, so get your ass over to costumes. Now."

"Yes ma'am," Flora replied, hurrying over to Timmy's corner of the place.

It was just as crazy and cluttered as the last time she was in there, which happened to be one of her first nights working. Timmy had all of her measurements; outfits kept appearing in her size on the rack, so she figured he was just going off of the numbers he already had. She wondered, if that was the case, why he'd need her in person now.

"Timmy?" she called, peeking her head around a bolt of fabric.

A bright head of red hair peeked out from under a skirt of pink tulle. The man had been hunched over, hemming another costume, but he immediately dropped his work when he caught sight of her.

"Oh thank God, I thought you'd never get here," he sighed dramatically, pushing his glasses back into place and throwing his tape measure over his shoulders. "Get up on the podium and strip. You know the drill doll."

Flora did as she was told, much more comfortable with it this time now that she'd been through it once before. Timmy was clinical in his measurements, this time pinching her tighter, making her flinch. He wasn't this rough the last time. What kind of costume was this?

"So, what am I going to wear?" Flora asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

"You're the 'dangerous woman', right?" Timmy asked, taking a step back to look at her entire body.

"That's what I've been told."

"Then you're going to need to look dangerous," Timmy replied, reaching behind him to pull out a bolt of thick black material.

Oh. That was why the measurements were so tight. She was going to wear skin tight leather, or plastic leather...latex? Something that clung to her like glue. Part of that idea was not appealing to Flora at all. It could not possibly be comfortable. But then again, she'd always wanted to wear a leather suit, partly because she'd grown up wanting to be a superhero and that was all that they wore. That and she vaguely recalled the singer of the song herself wearing black leather on the album cover. Flora could only hope her ensemble would not be as ridiculous. She trusted Timmy's taste. He hadn't steered her wrong yet.

"I'm going to have to sew you into this, and when your set is up, I'll have to rip you out," Timmy explained as he started cutting the material, though Flora could've sworn there was a hint of complaining in his voice. She didn't blame him. Sewing her into something only to ruin it less than an hour later seemed like a waste of time and effort. But it had to be done. Flora felt bad for him. Timmy did not get paid enough for the shit the club put him through.

"You better start praying doll. I have thirty minutes to get you dressed and then you're on."

Flora received a standing ovation for her dance.

It was the most money she had ever gotten for a dance. Ever. She was practically rolling in it, and would've clocked out and left for home right after Timmy ripped her out of her strapless one piece leather bodysuit had Musa not threatened to fire her if she let the money get to her head. Flora almost felt sad watching Timmy rip up the costume. As many worries as she had about that thing, it made her look fan-fucking-tasitc - sucking in her waist two more inches and giving her butt cleavage. She didn't even need the gloves, six inch stilettos, and the nylon thigh-highs to make the guys bust a nut.

As soon as she put one foot on the stage, she had them right where she wanted them. The club was practically silent as the first notes of the song filtered through the club, the spotlights focused only on her, cascading up and down her body, drawing attention to her chest, her hips, her long legs. The fact that the dance was a freestyle meant she could do whatever she wanted, so she focused on what she knew how to do best: moving her body. She barely touched the pole - the suit didn't really allow for stunts anyway - instead opting to get down low and personal with the clientele. Hands were grabbing at her tits, her ass, trying to pull at her loose curls, but she was always out of reach. Always a tease.

It made her feel powerful, and she loved every second of it.

"Hot damn girl!" Aisha shouted, high-fiving Flora as she approached the bar. "I knew you were a fast learner, but I'm impressed. My protegé is growing up."

"Thanks Aisha," Flora blushed, not used to being complimented by her instructor. "I learned from the best."

"Kiss ass," the girl said, a smile pulling at her lips. "But you're right. I am a damn good teacher."

"Seriously though, that dance was fire," Baby gushed, still not over it. "Like holy shit."

"Yeah girl, you're gonna push us out of the limelight in no time," Aisha added.

"No one tell Sunny," Baby muttered under her breath, and the girls all laughed.

"Thanks guys, that means a lot," Flora said, and she was telling the truth. These girls were two of the best dancers here, and if they said she was good, then maybe she was better than she thought. Maybe she could actually tough out this whole exotic dancer/stripper thing instead of living in the fear that one day they weren't going to want her.

"I had to refrain from touching myself," Baby said honestly, and Aisha spit out her drink. "I'm serious. Like I'm gonna have to go home and take a cold shower after this."

"Jesus Christ, I'm out," Aisha said, taking her drink and walking off into the crowd, leaving Flora and Baby behind.

"The both of you, you're so straight it's hysterical," Baby rolled her eyes, laughing under her breath.

Flora and Baby both stood at the bar, soaking in the atmosphere. Sparky was swamped with customers, her bottles flying. She hadn't even been over to say hello, shoving their drinks across the counter with an apologetic smile before getting right back to work. It was a busy night, and with two girls down, everyone else was working overtime. Galatea was currently running between two different parties, and Aisha had already picked up a few stragglers in the time she'd left the bar. Flora felt kind of bad for taking a breather, but she had just exhausted herself with that dance. She deserved a few minutes to herself.

Unfortunately, those few minutes were just that. Minutes.

"My two favorite girls," Andy came up and greeted them, his smile wide as both girls leaned in to give him side hugs. "How are you tonight?"

"Fabulous," Baby flirted with him as she twirled a piece of her hair. "Rosie here just blew me away with her dance. Did you see it?"

"Did I?" Andy repeated, running his hand through his hair. "That was just about the hottest thing I've ever seen in my entire life."

"Really? You can't think of anything hotter?" Baby asked with faux innocence, looking up at him coyly.

"I don't know how anything can possibly top that dance," Andy replied, a wicked grin gracing his face. "Actually, there is one thing..."

"And what's that?" Baby asked, pulling at the collar of his shirt.

"If the two of you did that dance...together. For me," Andy said, looking between Flora and Baby expectantly. "What do you say?"

"I don't know Rosie, what do we say?" Baby looked over at Flora, her expression giving nothing away. "Are you willing to do an encore?"

"It wouldn't be in leather..." Flora started, beating around the bush. She looked over to Andy, and saw the hope start to fade in his eyes. She felt bad. He was a loyal customer. He hadn't tried anything creepy. He was a great tipper. Besides, the dance was with Baby, who despite her escapade earlier in the evening, Flora could rely on to not be weird about a duet. There was no harm in doing the dance. She didn't want to be cruel. "But as long as you don't mind, I'm willing."

Andy immediately perked up again. Baby gained a wicked gleam to her eyes, pulling Andy to the back to find an empty private room. Flora trailed close behind, pulling the curtains to the room shut. This was going to be a dance no one wanted to disturb.