Fool Like Me

“Presenting, our main girl, Harley Quinn!”

I took a deep breath and walked on the stage that has been my home for the last couple years. I
gave the crowd of men a grin. I tried not to think about how awful my job really was. It was a
performance. Or so I told myself. I wrapped myself around the pole and dipped down. I could
see every male break into grins and throw their money on the stage.

And I’d coined the name the moment I applied for the job. The lingerie I had worn that day had
somehow resembled the character from the Batman comic books. Colton (my boss) had a
twisted mind. I chose to ignore it and follow his instructions. One thing I knew without question
was that I never wanted to be on his bad side.

I rolled around on the stage with my red and black lingerie and a fake grin plastered to my face.
And you’d think stripping would make a decent amount of money. And it would if it weren’t for
Colton. In all honesty, this was my worst nightmare. I was a fucking stripper. What could be
more degrading?

Stripping for your best friend/ex-boyfriend.

I stumbled as I spotted him in the crowd, but gained my composure quickly. I couldn’t screw up.
Screwing up meant being on Colton’s list. I shook the thought from my mind and continued my
performance, telling myself it wasn’t him and I was really just imagining it. I bit my lip behind my
boa and gave the crowd a seductive look. I heard the cheers and watched them dig around in
their pockets.

Then I smiled sweetly while blowing a kiss as I walked off stage, still feeling a bit shaken up.
There was no way in hell he was here. It wasn’t his scene and it was nowhere near where he
lived. I took a few deep breaths and focused on changing into my next outfit.

“Emily.” Colton. I breathed in the glitter and perfume of backstage before turning to face my
boss.

Colton was attractive for a strip club owner. You’d think they’d be pretty sleazy and crusty. He
wasn’t, at least not on the outside. But I didn’t want to see him on his bad days. I’d heard stories
from the other girls that had been on the receiving end of his bad side. None of them talked about
it but they were shaken up in their own way.

I smiled at Colton. “Yes?”

“I saw that stumble on stage.”

“Damn. I thought I covered it pretty well.” I spoke from behind a costume rack and changed into
my next costume.

“Nope. It was noticeable. What happened?”

“I just slipped. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to wearing heels every night.” I forced a small laugh
and he gave me a half smile.

“Right. Well, don’t let it happen again. I’m already going to dock your pay because of it.”

He walked off before I could say anything or protest. “Son of a bitch!” I whispered to myself.

“Em, you’ve got a lap dance waiting.” I sighed at my friend at the strip club.

“Thanks, Charlie.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose and hoped to god it wasn’t the person I thought it was. I changed
into my most revealing lingerie and threw on a robe before I entered the private room reserved
for lap dances. I breathed a sigh of relief when I didn’t recognize the person sitting there. It would
be the only time in my life that I would be okay with a lap dance.

---

I sat in the bathroom backstage and forced myself to calm down. Leaving the private room I ran
right into the person I didn’t want to see. Thankfully, he was distracted so I made a quick
getaway but it still shook me and I just wanted to cry. I couldn’t believe he was here. I heard a
knock at the door and jumped.

“Yeah?” I said hoping my voice didn’t give anything away.

“You’re closing tonight, Emily.” Colton again.

“Okay.”

Closing tonight. I could easily hide backstage and avoid everyone. And I only had one dance left.
I prayed that I wouldn’t get another lap dance or anything else, but I wasn’t counting on it. That’s
why most of them came to this strip club. It wasn’t high end or anything special. But they had
one of the best strippers in the area. And I really wished it wasn’t me.

---

Around one in the morning everyone began leaving. I watched from backstage not wanting to
draw attention to myself and saw that my best friend/ex boyfriend was leaving with his three best
friends. Who also happened to be my friends. Or they were. At one point. I pushed the tears
back and pushed it away for later processing.

And I when everyone left, I was only too relieved. I had the entire place to myself and even
though it would take a few hours to close it was time alone to think about everything and keep
my mind off of everything at the same time.

I started with the bar. Organizing bottles of alcohol and cleaning up the messes the bartenders
left. Then I mopped the floor around the bar and moved onto the main floor. I cleaned every table
and chair and mopped the floor again. I organized costumes backstage and made sure
everything was where it needed to be for tomorrow night’s show. I nearly tore open the envelope
that Colton left on my makeup stand.

At the same moment I nearly broke down crying. I had barely made five hundred dollars. I had
done the most work out of anyone and I probably made the least amount of money. It wasn’t
even going to cover my rent this month. And that meant I probably wasn’t going to be eating. And
I couldn’t save any of it.

I began crying as I thought about all of this. How could I have made so little? I wiped away the
tears and pushed the thought from my mind. Fuck Colton. I finished cleaning the club and
focused on other things. All I wanted was my bed. And in all reality, I wanted a better life. Things
weren’t suppose to end up like this. And now they were. And I literally hated everything about
myself and my job.

I ran my hands under my eyes again, wiping the tears away. Crying on my way home would
only get me into more trouble. I locked the doors of the club and shoved the keys in the pocket
of my purse. I took a deep breath and tried to gain some confidence.

“Emily?”

But finding confidence when you just realized your best friend/ex-boyfriend knows you’re a
stripper isn’t the easiest thing to do.