My Guilty Pleasure
Part 6
Part 6
“Hey earth to Howie”came a voice that snapped Howie out of his daydream. He looked up and saw AJ and Nick.”Whats up dude?You have been deaf all day”AJ said
“Oh….Im just tired”he said,’And I just found out that my wife doesn’t love me anymore’,he thought to himself.
“Well anyways, AJ and I are going to Hooters for lunch.Care to join us?”Nick asked with a smile.
Howie shook his head,”No that’s ok.Im not hungry”
The two of them looked at each other.”Ok since when is Howie Dorough not hungry?”AJ asked him
“Oh no,its Katarina huh?Is she still pissed off at you?”Nick asked him.
At the mention of her name,Howie just burst into tears.AJ and Nick just stood there awkwardly.That was so not expected.They haven’t seen him cry since his sister died so this must be really bad.They closed his office door and went over to him.
“Dude whats wrong?”Nick asked
“You forgot your anniversary didn’t you?”AJ asked him,”And she threw an ashtray right at your forehead and it hurt like fuck huh?”he asked him,”Cuz I cried just like that……like a fucking baby”he said.Howie and Nick looked at him,”What?”
“Dude what happened?”Nick asked.They let him cry for a few minutes and then Howie tried to stop himself.
“Im sorry,Im wasting your lunchtime,why don’t you two just come back?”he asked as he wiped his face.
“Dude,we didn’t even clock out yet and this an emergency so take all the time you need to cry if you wanna because I don’t want to work on this case”AJ said
“Shut up AJ”Nick said,”Just breathe Howie,everything will be fine”
“No it wont”Howie said.”Yesterday was so weird.Katarina hired a babysitter-“
“For who?”AJ and Nick asked
“For Isaiah-“
“Where?”they asked
“Shes with him now at the house”Howie said
“When did she believe in babysitters?”AJ asked
“Now she does.And she was still ignoring me about the whole going out thing and then…….”
“And then?…..”they asked
“I asked her,what did I need to do,you know?I was sick of us fighting….and she said that…….she wanted a divorce”he said and then tears began to fall again.
They both stared at him,shocked,surprised.”When did she believe in divorce?”AJ asked,breaking the silence.
“Did she say why?”Nick asked
“No,after that she ran out the room to get Isaiah or something”he said,”But she obviously doesn’t love me anymore.She obviously is sick of me and the fighting and is ready to move on”
“You did a prenup right?”AJ asked
“AJ!?Shit!You are just the King of Comfort!”Nick said
“Im just saying!What wont be comfortable is if she takes all his shit”AJ said
“We did have a prenup”Howie said with a sigh.”But when we did it,we didn’t think that we needed it”
“Well then you two need to talk obviously”Nick said,”Maybe theres still a chance?”he asked
Howie shook his head.He was up all night thinking about it.Katarina was serious.She didn’t want to be married to him anymore.”I think shes serious.No Im sure shes serious”
“That sucks dude”Nick said
“That’s all the more reason why you should come out with us to Hooters. Big boobies always make me happy”AJ said with a smile
Nick shook his head,”Don’t listen to him.But you shouldn’t mope in this office all alone.You have been in here all day.You haven’t had any of your 15 minute breaks yet.You need to get out and breathe and not think about her”
Howie sighed and looked at her picture.Nick put it face down,”Don’t think about her”he repeated.
“I’ll pay”AJ said.”You don’t have to spend a penny.Just splurge on some good old Hooters and just forget about her”
Howie sighed,he didn’t want to stay in this office any longer.”Ok I’ll come”he said and gave in.
“That’s the spirit”AJ said.Howie slowly got up and put his cell phone on its holster that was on his belt and got his wallet and put it in his back pocket.
“You don’t have to drive either”Nick said,”I’ll drive”
“Thanks”Howie and AJ said.
“Who said I was driving you too?”Nick asked
“You just did,shut up”AJ said.They all clocked out and headed over to Hooters.
~
Hooters did cheer him up a bit. Nick even lied and told the girls that it was his birthday and they gave him more attention. However, once he got back to the office,his depressed state started up once again.He had to get out of here.He decided to take a sick day.He hasn’t had one in years and this was a good time as any.
He didn’t want to go straight home.He still felt weird around Sarai, ever since the other night and how she made him feel…..he was a little confused.He went to the beach and just walked and thought.He was trying to make himself face reality but it was easier said than done.He wished that he could tell the future.Wished that he could see when Katarina’s feelings started to change so that he could have stopped them from changing this far.But it was too late.He sat in the sand and just watched the waves.Not knowing what to do with himself.
~
Katarina sighed with relief when she saw that Howie’s car wasn’t there. She wasn’t ready to face him yet. She knew that they needed to have their big “talk”.But she had no strength right now.However, she was glad that she finally told him, now they could both move on.She still loved him but not like she used to.She felt that she loved him enough to let him go.
She walked into the house and saw Sarai and Isaiah watching some Mickey Mouse cartoon.
“Mom!”Isaiah said when he noticed her.He ran over to her and hugged her.
“Hey Baby,how are you?”she asked him
“Im ok.Sarai showed me this trick with her thumb and we have been watching Mickey”he said excitedly
“What trick?”she asked her.Sarai laughed and showed how she “pulled her thumb apart”.Isaiah squealed with delight and hid behind her.Katarina laughed.
“See?”he asked her.
“That’s wonderful”Katarina said,”Was he ok?I mean you don’t want to quit do you?”she asked her
“No,far from it”Sarai said
“Mom whats for dinner?Im hungry”Isaiah said.
“Yeah lunch was awhile ago”Sarai said
“Oh, we are gonna have Chinese again”Katarina said as she looked through the fridge.She had no strength to cook anything and knew that Howie probably didn’t either.She found the number and started to dial.
“I will see you tomorrow Katarina”Sarai said
“Bye sweetheart,thank you”she said.
“Your welcome”she said.She said goodbye to Isaiah.Sarai stepped outside and saw Howie pull into the driveway. She smiled, she didn’t want to be all corny but her heart would beat so fast when she saw him.She has been thinking about him a lot lately now.He was going to be her latest project.”Hey Howie”
“Hey”he said.He looked like he had a rough day.
“Rough day?”she asked sweetly with a slight flirty tone.
“You could say that”he said quietly.”See you tomorrow”he said and went inside.
Sarai sighed as she watched him go in.He was playing hard to get.She wore this outfit just for him, knowing that he would see it. She was wearing a red spaghetti strapped top with lace trim with glitter on it. She had on a denim mini skirt and small red heeled sandals.She was just going to have to work harder.
~
Sarai took a cab straight from the edge of the Dorough’s neighborhood to Roy’s place.She knocked on his door.
“Yeh?”he asked her
“You got the contract?”she asked him
“Oh its you”he said and let her in. His place was a mess and it smelled like beer and old food.She was not gonna let her place look like this.He looked through a pile of papers and then found it,”Its gotta coffee stain on it but Im not printing it out again”he said giving it to her
“Whatever”she said.She skimmed over it and then she got a pen out of her purse and signed it. She was excited, she finally got her own place.She handed it to him.
He smiled as he looked her up and down.He got a key out of his pocket.”Its all yours”
“Thanks”she said as she turned around and started to leave
“Wait,wheres the money?”he asked her
“What?”she asked
“I need the $500 now,it said so on the contract”he said
She sighed and realized that she didn’t have any money on her, just her Wachovia card.She knew he didn’t accept no damn Visa. Not in this dump. “Fuck”she whispered
“Give me the fucking key.I cant believe that I let you waste my time”he said coming towards her
“Wait!”she said as she saw Jackie’s envelope that said “Miami Savings” at the bottom of her purse. She opened it and saw that it was $2000 worth inside.All hundreds.”Thank you Jackie”she said to herself.
“Give me $500 or the key bitch,Im not gonna say it again”Roy said
Sarai sighed and gave him 5 hundreds.”Happy?”she asked and then stomped out of the house.”Bastard”she said to herself as she walked away from his house and towards the motel.She smiled as she put the key on the key ring next to the Dorough’s.She shoved the envelope back in her purse.She could feel Jackie watching over her.
~
Overall, dinner was silent again unless Isaiah spoke up or someone’s cell phone rang. It was just like last night, an awkward dinner full of Chinese.
Isaiah finished his food and sat back in his chair and yawned.”You sleepy baby?”Katarina asked him. He nodded.”Its still an hour before your bedtime”she said,”You sure?”she asked him.He nodded.
“Ok well you still have to take your bath ok?”she said to him as she took him upstairs.Howie finished his food and rinsed all their plates off and put them in the dishwasher.He then went upstairs to their bedroom, it felt weird being in here now. He didn’t feel wanted in here, he hasn’t slept here in days.
Once Isaiah was done with his bath, Katarina tucked him into bed and turned on his Mickey Mouse nightlight. She gave him a kiss on his forehead and hugged him tightly,”Isaiah, you know that whatever happens, I will always love you”she said to him
Isaiah yawned and then smiled at her,”I love you too Mommy”
Katarina smiled sadly and said,”Good night” and then left the room. She walked into their bedroom and saw Howie undressing. “Go say goodnight to your son, he’s about to pass out”she said to him as she walked into the bathroom.He said nothing and left the room.
She had no strength to take a shower now. She was going to in the morning. She stripped down and put on her favorite Victoria’s Secret black baby doll slip. She found her reading glasses and put them on and picked up her book that she was currently reading and climbed into bed.
Howie walked back in, he sighed and went in the bathroom and took a shower. She finished a chapter by the time he came out, all dried off, wearing just boxers and a robe. She sighed, even though she didn’t have the strength, she couldn’t take anymore.”Howie? We need to talk”she said to him
“I know”he said as he looked at her.He walked over and sat on the edge of the bed next to her as she put the book away.”Baby I still cant believe this-“
“I know”she said,”Lemme just tell you where Im coming from, ok?”she asked him.He nodded.”This isn’t a spontaneous idea. Ive been thinking about this for a long time. At first I just wanted to be separated and see how that would work but its too late for us. We have been so unhappy for such a long time. We’re so good at covering it up, denying it but I cant do it anymore. All we do is fight and argue and stress each other out.Howie….”she said as she took hold of his hand,”I still love you but not like you love me. Its different now that’s why I really haven’t said it in such a long time.But I love you enough to let you go. I love you enough that I want you to be happy with someone else. I don’t wanna suffer anymore and I want this done as fast as possible”she said to him. She sat there waiting for him to say something. She practically just poured out all her honesty and her heart to him. What was he gonna say?
“I agree”he said with tears in his eyes,”I want this over as fast as possible. I did a lot of thinking today and I know that I have to move on. Heal, I guess. But Katarina I do still love you and baby if you need anything, ever, you know you can still come to me right?”he asked her
Katarina nodded as tears welled up in her eyes too. “I hired a lawyer and whenever you are ready to talk about the legal stuff, I want to do that first before we talk to Isaiah about this”
“A lawyer? Baby, Im a lawyer I can represent the both of us-“
“No, I wanna do this on my own”she said to him
“Fine”he said. He sighed, damn, how were they going to explain this to Isaiah? He was so young. He probably wasn’t going to understand.”I have one question though”
“Yes?”
“There wasn’t someone else right?”he asked her. He hoped that she was wanting this divorce on her own like she said and didn’t have anyone outside of their marriage to have an influence.
“Of course not”she said
“That’s all I need to know”he said. He leaned in and gave her one last kiss and then walked to the door,”Good night”he said to her and then closed the door. As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t sleep in the same bed with her. He had to get used to not doing that.
Once he closed the door, Katarina burst into tears. She was surprised that he was so understanding. He was always that way however, but she expected an exhausting argument. She laid down and cried herself to sleep.
~
Sarai walked up to The Heat. There was a line around the building to get in. She was excited. What was she going to be doing? Was she going to be serving drinks and dancing on the bar like in that Coyote Ugly movie? That would be cool. Even though she never bartended before. She had on a black and gold beaded bra top that had black and gold beaded fringe that hung down right above her bellybutton. She had on black, tight, leather booty shorts and black leather thigh high boots.
She went up to the front of the line to the bouncer, which pissed some people off in line.”You need to go to the back like everyone else”the bouncer said
“I work here! I was at the audition yesterday”Sarai said
“Whats your name?”he asked
“Sarai Cruz”she said
“Shes good”came a voice, it was Will. He was standing at a side door near the entrance,”Come on”he said. She followed him inside. They went down some steps to the basement.”Nice outfit”he said
“Thanks”she said with a smile as she followed him into a room where the other girls were.
“Take it off”he said
“Excuse me?”she asked. He gave each girl a box.
“Everyone strip and put these clothes on now”he said sternly.The girls obeyed and opened their boxes.
“What the fuck?”a dark skinned girl said as she pulled out some hot pink underwear that said Pleasure on the back of it,”I aint wearing this”she said.
Sarai pulled out the same thing. She had a hot pink tube top that said Guilty, black fishnet stockings, black knee high boots and a fishnet top to go over the tube top.
“Everyone else is wearing it. Put it on or get out”Will said to her.
The girl looked at him and threw the box down,”Then Im out.I aint a slut”she said as she walked out.
“That’s fine bitch I don’t need you”Will called after her.”Oh I forgot to mention that you all get $1000 tonight if you stay”he said,”Seems like that bitch aint into that, who else isn’t?”he asked
The girls were silent and they all put on the clothes. Sarai smiled, $1000?! She would do anything for that kind of cash.
“Ok its very easy ladies”Will said when they were all ready. “There are new cages that we built all around the club. All you gotta do is dance, tease the guys, that’s it, just have fun”Sarai smiled, easy enough.”Ok line up”he said and he gave each girl a number. Sarai was number 7.”Its simple, if you are number 4, you go to cage number 4.Don’t worry you wont stay in the same cage all night, everyone will alternate”he said
“This is exciting”the blonde next to her said,”Im Emilie”she said to Sarai
“Sarai”she said simply
“I think Im the youngest one here”Emilie said, then she whispered,”Im 17 but don’t tell anyone”
Sarai looked at her, Emilie didn’t look 17, she looked like she was 21, 22 maybe.She smiled.”Don’t worry, me too”she whispered back. Emilie smiled at her. She held out her pinky finger and shook hers. They had a bond already.
“You are basically walking advertisements for my new club, Guilty Pleasure. Hence the words on your breasts and ass”he said to them. He walked up and down the line and adjusted some girls outfits. He looked at Sarai,”This outfit was made for you”he said to her
“Thanks”she said, even though she felt her breasts were going to pop out of her top and half of her ass was hanging out of the hot shorts that she was wearing.
“Ok its showtime. Its very simple. I want you all to walk out there, holding hands. I don’t care if guys ask you to dance, or for your number or to buy you a drink. Don’t pay attention. The only time I want you to break out of the line is if you are going to your cage understand?”he asked them. They all said yes. “Ok lets go”
He led them down a hallway and up some steps to where the club was. Sarai held Emilie’s hand and the person in front of hers. Once they got into the club the DJ announced the “Guilty Pleasure Dancers”. A lot of guys were trying to touch her, dance with her, everything that Will said. A lot of girls were giving her evil looks. They were just hating. She saw cage number 7 and broke away from the line and got in. It was pretty big and there was a pole in the middle of it. The DJ put on “Candyshop” by 50 Cent, she smiled, she loved this song! She started to dance, working the pole like she was a pro. Guys even threw money at her. She smiled, this was her kind of job!
“Hey earth to Howie”came a voice that snapped Howie out of his daydream. He looked up and saw AJ and Nick.”Whats up dude?You have been deaf all day”AJ said
“Oh….Im just tired”he said,’And I just found out that my wife doesn’t love me anymore’,he thought to himself.
“Well anyways, AJ and I are going to Hooters for lunch.Care to join us?”Nick asked with a smile.
Howie shook his head,”No that’s ok.Im not hungry”
The two of them looked at each other.”Ok since when is Howie Dorough not hungry?”AJ asked him
“Oh no,its Katarina huh?Is she still pissed off at you?”Nick asked him.
At the mention of her name,Howie just burst into tears.AJ and Nick just stood there awkwardly.That was so not expected.They haven’t seen him cry since his sister died so this must be really bad.They closed his office door and went over to him.
“Dude whats wrong?”Nick asked
“You forgot your anniversary didn’t you?”AJ asked him,”And she threw an ashtray right at your forehead and it hurt like fuck huh?”he asked him,”Cuz I cried just like that……like a fucking baby”he said.Howie and Nick looked at him,”What?”
“Dude what happened?”Nick asked.They let him cry for a few minutes and then Howie tried to stop himself.
“Im sorry,Im wasting your lunchtime,why don’t you two just come back?”he asked as he wiped his face.
“Dude,we didn’t even clock out yet and this an emergency so take all the time you need to cry if you wanna because I don’t want to work on this case”AJ said
“Shut up AJ”Nick said,”Just breathe Howie,everything will be fine”
“No it wont”Howie said.”Yesterday was so weird.Katarina hired a babysitter-“
“For who?”AJ and Nick asked
“For Isaiah-“
“Where?”they asked
“Shes with him now at the house”Howie said
“When did she believe in babysitters?”AJ asked
“Now she does.And she was still ignoring me about the whole going out thing and then…….”
“And then?…..”they asked
“I asked her,what did I need to do,you know?I was sick of us fighting….and she said that…….she wanted a divorce”he said and then tears began to fall again.
They both stared at him,shocked,surprised.”When did she believe in divorce?”AJ asked,breaking the silence.
“Did she say why?”Nick asked
“No,after that she ran out the room to get Isaiah or something”he said,”But she obviously doesn’t love me anymore.She obviously is sick of me and the fighting and is ready to move on”
“You did a prenup right?”AJ asked
“AJ!?Shit!You are just the King of Comfort!”Nick said
“Im just saying!What wont be comfortable is if she takes all his shit”AJ said
“We did have a prenup”Howie said with a sigh.”But when we did it,we didn’t think that we needed it”
“Well then you two need to talk obviously”Nick said,”Maybe theres still a chance?”he asked
Howie shook his head.He was up all night thinking about it.Katarina was serious.She didn’t want to be married to him anymore.”I think shes serious.No Im sure shes serious”
“That sucks dude”Nick said
“That’s all the more reason why you should come out with us to Hooters. Big boobies always make me happy”AJ said with a smile
Nick shook his head,”Don’t listen to him.But you shouldn’t mope in this office all alone.You have been in here all day.You haven’t had any of your 15 minute breaks yet.You need to get out and breathe and not think about her”
Howie sighed and looked at her picture.Nick put it face down,”Don’t think about her”he repeated.
“I’ll pay”AJ said.”You don’t have to spend a penny.Just splurge on some good old Hooters and just forget about her”
Howie sighed,he didn’t want to stay in this office any longer.”Ok I’ll come”he said and gave in.
“That’s the spirit”AJ said.Howie slowly got up and put his cell phone on its holster that was on his belt and got his wallet and put it in his back pocket.
“You don’t have to drive either”Nick said,”I’ll drive”
“Thanks”Howie and AJ said.
“Who said I was driving you too?”Nick asked
“You just did,shut up”AJ said.They all clocked out and headed over to Hooters.
~
Hooters did cheer him up a bit. Nick even lied and told the girls that it was his birthday and they gave him more attention. However, once he got back to the office,his depressed state started up once again.He had to get out of here.He decided to take a sick day.He hasn’t had one in years and this was a good time as any.
He didn’t want to go straight home.He still felt weird around Sarai, ever since the other night and how she made him feel…..he was a little confused.He went to the beach and just walked and thought.He was trying to make himself face reality but it was easier said than done.He wished that he could tell the future.Wished that he could see when Katarina’s feelings started to change so that he could have stopped them from changing this far.But it was too late.He sat in the sand and just watched the waves.Not knowing what to do with himself.
~
Katarina sighed with relief when she saw that Howie’s car wasn’t there. She wasn’t ready to face him yet. She knew that they needed to have their big “talk”.But she had no strength right now.However, she was glad that she finally told him, now they could both move on.She still loved him but not like she used to.She felt that she loved him enough to let him go.
She walked into the house and saw Sarai and Isaiah watching some Mickey Mouse cartoon.
“Mom!”Isaiah said when he noticed her.He ran over to her and hugged her.
“Hey Baby,how are you?”she asked him
“Im ok.Sarai showed me this trick with her thumb and we have been watching Mickey”he said excitedly
“What trick?”she asked her.Sarai laughed and showed how she “pulled her thumb apart”.Isaiah squealed with delight and hid behind her.Katarina laughed.
“See?”he asked her.
“That’s wonderful”Katarina said,”Was he ok?I mean you don’t want to quit do you?”she asked her
“No,far from it”Sarai said
“Mom whats for dinner?Im hungry”Isaiah said.
“Yeah lunch was awhile ago”Sarai said
“Oh, we are gonna have Chinese again”Katarina said as she looked through the fridge.She had no strength to cook anything and knew that Howie probably didn’t either.She found the number and started to dial.
“I will see you tomorrow Katarina”Sarai said
“Bye sweetheart,thank you”she said.
“Your welcome”she said.She said goodbye to Isaiah.Sarai stepped outside and saw Howie pull into the driveway. She smiled, she didn’t want to be all corny but her heart would beat so fast when she saw him.She has been thinking about him a lot lately now.He was going to be her latest project.”Hey Howie”
“Hey”he said.He looked like he had a rough day.
“Rough day?”she asked sweetly with a slight flirty tone.
“You could say that”he said quietly.”See you tomorrow”he said and went inside.
Sarai sighed as she watched him go in.He was playing hard to get.She wore this outfit just for him, knowing that he would see it. She was wearing a red spaghetti strapped top with lace trim with glitter on it. She had on a denim mini skirt and small red heeled sandals.She was just going to have to work harder.
~
Sarai took a cab straight from the edge of the Dorough’s neighborhood to Roy’s place.She knocked on his door.
“Yeh?”he asked her
“You got the contract?”she asked him
“Oh its you”he said and let her in. His place was a mess and it smelled like beer and old food.She was not gonna let her place look like this.He looked through a pile of papers and then found it,”Its gotta coffee stain on it but Im not printing it out again”he said giving it to her
“Whatever”she said.She skimmed over it and then she got a pen out of her purse and signed it. She was excited, she finally got her own place.She handed it to him.
He smiled as he looked her up and down.He got a key out of his pocket.”Its all yours”
“Thanks”she said as she turned around and started to leave
“Wait,wheres the money?”he asked her
“What?”she asked
“I need the $500 now,it said so on the contract”he said
She sighed and realized that she didn’t have any money on her, just her Wachovia card.She knew he didn’t accept no damn Visa. Not in this dump. “Fuck”she whispered
“Give me the fucking key.I cant believe that I let you waste my time”he said coming towards her
“Wait!”she said as she saw Jackie’s envelope that said “Miami Savings” at the bottom of her purse. She opened it and saw that it was $2000 worth inside.All hundreds.”Thank you Jackie”she said to herself.
“Give me $500 or the key bitch,Im not gonna say it again”Roy said
Sarai sighed and gave him 5 hundreds.”Happy?”she asked and then stomped out of the house.”Bastard”she said to herself as she walked away from his house and towards the motel.She smiled as she put the key on the key ring next to the Dorough’s.She shoved the envelope back in her purse.She could feel Jackie watching over her.
~
Overall, dinner was silent again unless Isaiah spoke up or someone’s cell phone rang. It was just like last night, an awkward dinner full of Chinese.
Isaiah finished his food and sat back in his chair and yawned.”You sleepy baby?”Katarina asked him. He nodded.”Its still an hour before your bedtime”she said,”You sure?”she asked him.He nodded.
“Ok well you still have to take your bath ok?”she said to him as she took him upstairs.Howie finished his food and rinsed all their plates off and put them in the dishwasher.He then went upstairs to their bedroom, it felt weird being in here now. He didn’t feel wanted in here, he hasn’t slept here in days.
Once Isaiah was done with his bath, Katarina tucked him into bed and turned on his Mickey Mouse nightlight. She gave him a kiss on his forehead and hugged him tightly,”Isaiah, you know that whatever happens, I will always love you”she said to him
Isaiah yawned and then smiled at her,”I love you too Mommy”
Katarina smiled sadly and said,”Good night” and then left the room. She walked into their bedroom and saw Howie undressing. “Go say goodnight to your son, he’s about to pass out”she said to him as she walked into the bathroom.He said nothing and left the room.
She had no strength to take a shower now. She was going to in the morning. She stripped down and put on her favorite Victoria’s Secret black baby doll slip. She found her reading glasses and put them on and picked up her book that she was currently reading and climbed into bed.
Howie walked back in, he sighed and went in the bathroom and took a shower. She finished a chapter by the time he came out, all dried off, wearing just boxers and a robe. She sighed, even though she didn’t have the strength, she couldn’t take anymore.”Howie? We need to talk”she said to him
“I know”he said as he looked at her.He walked over and sat on the edge of the bed next to her as she put the book away.”Baby I still cant believe this-“
“I know”she said,”Lemme just tell you where Im coming from, ok?”she asked him.He nodded.”This isn’t a spontaneous idea. Ive been thinking about this for a long time. At first I just wanted to be separated and see how that would work but its too late for us. We have been so unhappy for such a long time. We’re so good at covering it up, denying it but I cant do it anymore. All we do is fight and argue and stress each other out.Howie….”she said as she took hold of his hand,”I still love you but not like you love me. Its different now that’s why I really haven’t said it in such a long time.But I love you enough to let you go. I love you enough that I want you to be happy with someone else. I don’t wanna suffer anymore and I want this done as fast as possible”she said to him. She sat there waiting for him to say something. She practically just poured out all her honesty and her heart to him. What was he gonna say?
“I agree”he said with tears in his eyes,”I want this over as fast as possible. I did a lot of thinking today and I know that I have to move on. Heal, I guess. But Katarina I do still love you and baby if you need anything, ever, you know you can still come to me right?”he asked her
Katarina nodded as tears welled up in her eyes too. “I hired a lawyer and whenever you are ready to talk about the legal stuff, I want to do that first before we talk to Isaiah about this”
“A lawyer? Baby, Im a lawyer I can represent the both of us-“
“No, I wanna do this on my own”she said to him
“Fine”he said. He sighed, damn, how were they going to explain this to Isaiah? He was so young. He probably wasn’t going to understand.”I have one question though”
“Yes?”
“There wasn’t someone else right?”he asked her. He hoped that she was wanting this divorce on her own like she said and didn’t have anyone outside of their marriage to have an influence.
“Of course not”she said
“That’s all I need to know”he said. He leaned in and gave her one last kiss and then walked to the door,”Good night”he said to her and then closed the door. As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t sleep in the same bed with her. He had to get used to not doing that.
Once he closed the door, Katarina burst into tears. She was surprised that he was so understanding. He was always that way however, but she expected an exhausting argument. She laid down and cried herself to sleep.
~
Sarai walked up to The Heat. There was a line around the building to get in. She was excited. What was she going to be doing? Was she going to be serving drinks and dancing on the bar like in that Coyote Ugly movie? That would be cool. Even though she never bartended before. She had on a black and gold beaded bra top that had black and gold beaded fringe that hung down right above her bellybutton. She had on black, tight, leather booty shorts and black leather thigh high boots.
She went up to the front of the line to the bouncer, which pissed some people off in line.”You need to go to the back like everyone else”the bouncer said
“I work here! I was at the audition yesterday”Sarai said
“Whats your name?”he asked
“Sarai Cruz”she said
“Shes good”came a voice, it was Will. He was standing at a side door near the entrance,”Come on”he said. She followed him inside. They went down some steps to the basement.”Nice outfit”he said
“Thanks”she said with a smile as she followed him into a room where the other girls were.
“Take it off”he said
“Excuse me?”she asked. He gave each girl a box.
“Everyone strip and put these clothes on now”he said sternly.The girls obeyed and opened their boxes.
“What the fuck?”a dark skinned girl said as she pulled out some hot pink underwear that said Pleasure on the back of it,”I aint wearing this”she said.
Sarai pulled out the same thing. She had a hot pink tube top that said Guilty, black fishnet stockings, black knee high boots and a fishnet top to go over the tube top.
“Everyone else is wearing it. Put it on or get out”Will said to her.
The girl looked at him and threw the box down,”Then Im out.I aint a slut”she said as she walked out.
“That’s fine bitch I don’t need you”Will called after her.”Oh I forgot to mention that you all get $1000 tonight if you stay”he said,”Seems like that bitch aint into that, who else isn’t?”he asked
The girls were silent and they all put on the clothes. Sarai smiled, $1000?! She would do anything for that kind of cash.
“Ok its very easy ladies”Will said when they were all ready. “There are new cages that we built all around the club. All you gotta do is dance, tease the guys, that’s it, just have fun”Sarai smiled, easy enough.”Ok line up”he said and he gave each girl a number. Sarai was number 7.”Its simple, if you are number 4, you go to cage number 4.Don’t worry you wont stay in the same cage all night, everyone will alternate”he said
“This is exciting”the blonde next to her said,”Im Emilie”she said to Sarai
“Sarai”she said simply
“I think Im the youngest one here”Emilie said, then she whispered,”Im 17 but don’t tell anyone”
Sarai looked at her, Emilie didn’t look 17, she looked like she was 21, 22 maybe.She smiled.”Don’t worry, me too”she whispered back. Emilie smiled at her. She held out her pinky finger and shook hers. They had a bond already.
“You are basically walking advertisements for my new club, Guilty Pleasure. Hence the words on your breasts and ass”he said to them. He walked up and down the line and adjusted some girls outfits. He looked at Sarai,”This outfit was made for you”he said to her
“Thanks”she said, even though she felt her breasts were going to pop out of her top and half of her ass was hanging out of the hot shorts that she was wearing.
“Ok its showtime. Its very simple. I want you all to walk out there, holding hands. I don’t care if guys ask you to dance, or for your number or to buy you a drink. Don’t pay attention. The only time I want you to break out of the line is if you are going to your cage understand?”he asked them. They all said yes. “Ok lets go”
He led them down a hallway and up some steps to where the club was. Sarai held Emilie’s hand and the person in front of hers. Once they got into the club the DJ announced the “Guilty Pleasure Dancers”. A lot of guys were trying to touch her, dance with her, everything that Will said. A lot of girls were giving her evil looks. They were just hating. She saw cage number 7 and broke away from the line and got in. It was pretty big and there was a pole in the middle of it. The DJ put on “Candyshop” by 50 Cent, she smiled, she loved this song! She started to dance, working the pole like she was a pro. Guys even threw money at her. She smiled, this was her kind of job!