The Dancer, Part Three
Part Three
It was almost time.
My hands were practically shaking as I stood just outside the room I was supposed to be dancing in. I didn’t like being the center of attention in general, but this was worse in every way. What was I thinking??
Part of me wanted to bolt out the door, yet I remained frozen in place. I had now told Autumn twice that I’d do this for her. I couldn’t bail now, could I?
It would be fine. I would be dancing for old classmates that I barely knew any more. Strangers I’d never see again. It would be fine. I would leave at midnight with whatever dignity I had left, and $500 in my pocket. And a good life lesson to always get the details for future gigs.
Autumn’s instructions echoed in my head as I waited for the impending ‘show.’
‘Money can go in your bra or thong.’
‘Give dances to anyone who asks.’
A myriad of other instructions that included how I needed to balance stripping and lap dances, and how I needed to dance the full 45 minutes, as instructed. It was exhausting, and I hadn’t even started yet. When the blonde girl bounded off to take care of whatever other hosting business she had to attend to, I let out a sigh of relief.
A few minutes later, the blaring music in the other room was abruptly cut off mid-song, causing a chorus of “aww’s” and “boo’s” from everyone nearby.
“Attention, everyone!” Autumn’s familiar voice filled the room over the speakers. “For those that haven’t heard, we have a stripper to help us count down to midnight.” Oh my God, she was making it sound like it was my job or something! But before I could consider fruitlessly calling out to correct her, Autumn called my name out. “Bella Ryan, everybody!”
I was a dancer. I could do this.
Allowing myself a second to take a breath, I forced myself to don a faint smirk. Then I strutted out into the living room before I lost my nerve and/or before I could talk myself out of this.
My stomach sunk the moment I crossed the threshold into the room. There were a LOT of people. Some crammed onto couches, other sitting on folding chairs or the floor, and even more standing on the outskirts of the room. The coffee table was conspicuously clean compared to all the other surfaces in the house littered with bottles and red solo cups. Oh God, it was supposed to be my stage . . .
I wanted to run. I wanted so badly to run. But I didn’t have a choice. I was already here, I had already committed myself to Autumn. So I carefully stepped up onto the coffee table, forcing myself to keep the smirk that was normally reserved for the rare dance number that called for it. I could feel the dozens of eyes looking me all over. A feeling that would certainly only get worse once I removed a layer or two.
“How many of you remember Bella from high school?” Autumn asked. Her voice was easily heard thanks to the mic she held to her lips. My face flushed as a good fifteen or twenty hands shot up. I had been able to blur out the faces before, but now I recognized a good number of girls and guys that I vaguely knew in high school. I wasn’t necessarily a prude, but I never wore anything nearly as revealing as I was wearing right now to class. I could see a good number of the girls whispering and giggling, while the guys looked both intrigued and excited.
“And how many of you are ready for Bella to strip?” Rather than raise hands, the whole room cheered and applauded this time. ‘Smirk. Keep the smirk. Everything is fine.’ I told myself as I looked over the sea of faces. Just for good measure, I put a hand on my hip so they both weren’t awkwardly resting by my sides.
“Ready, Bella?” Autumn smiled over at me. The question clearly wasn’t meant for answering, as Autumn snapped and pointed at the guy beside her. Apparently the DJ, as he turned to the laptop beside him and started up the music again. “Have fun!” The blonde's chipper voice sounded out over the music and cheers of the crowd.
And, before I could allow myself one more thought of fleeing, I began to dance.