*𝓼𝓱𝓪𝓴𝓲𝓷 ⋰ 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔

in vegas, word traveled fast in general - but strip clubs moved at an even quicker pace. you didn’t break a heel or sneeze without the other girls and various facets of club employee’s finding out. which was the case tonight. instantly after leaving the champagne room to make her way to the stage for her second stage set - nicole was pulled away and informed of the outbreak in the vip room - and being one of the club’s veteran dancers, she’d grown to care for most if not all of the girls. but charlotte wasn’t just one of the girls - charlotte was nicole’s lottie, her prodigy, in most ways - lottie was nicole’s baby. she’d taken her under her wing almost instantly after meeting her, much like carmen had done for nicole when she first started out. saying little to nothing the blonde rushed to find someone to cover her time on stage and went in search for charlotte. angelo had directed her outside and almost nothing could prepare her for the sight she walked out to see. her baby looked almost defeated. mindlessly she approached slowly and inquired if she was doing alright - frowning when lottie gave no immediate answer, “i asked if you were okay... you want me to go fuck someone up?” nicole asked, part of her serious the other playful as she slid an arm around the younger femme’s shoulders. she wanted to say it happened to the best of girls, probably more than once, but that wouldn’t help. jealous spouses acting out of rage, fear, resentment, hopelessness, loss, tended to act on adrenaline without logic did crazy things. nicole figured when it came to matters of the heart, common sense wasn’t so common. people acted crazy and wanted to blame almost everyone but the person responsible. pout settling on her candy apple red tinted lips, it was almost easy to recall her own first run in with a jealous wife. with a cringe, she hastily shuddered the thought away, “or we can blow this popsicle stand and go get junk food and go watch shitty movies.”

@candysnixxx: thank god for my lightning fast cat like reflexes bc i was able to slap it into the fucking wall & crack it instead 😊😒

nikki: but i will buy coffee, smoothies, or food. love yooou 💖

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a good sense of humor didn’t go unnoticed in nicole’s eyes. the light hearted laugh that filled the empty back of the strip club proof of that. “very punny, i appreciate that. it’s not worth the tears though. beauty is pain and pain is beauty.” not that he was wrong, it was a heavy price, but the money she made was worth the eight hours of pain she dealt with five days a week. “if you poke my leg, i’m sure i’d feel it... my feet? i don’t think i feel much in that department anymore.” nicole’s smile softened at his question - initially she loathed when people started things off with ‘weird question’ because... usually it headed in another direction but heel size she could talk about without squirming. “not a weird question in the slightest, and no - they ask it’s a larger heel... but you don’t get baby strippers coming in here wearing eight inch heels without watching them eat shit or worse... five years in, eight inches in nothing i’ll wear eight inches to the mall or whatever. in short, yes the girls can wear whatever makes them feel most comfortable... not saying many of the girls would wear smaller heels because... the higher heel the better the tip.” watching as he digested her story she made a small shrugging gesture with her shoulders. “i’m full of surprises, what can i say.” the light and airy conversation was want she needed during her break to ease the never ending see of clients inside. “don’t play yourself short, plus it’ll be a quick and easy way to deflate an ex’s ego and keep you outta trouble.”

nicole was unapologetically coming to the surface. in her profession, she’d learned it was best to distance herself. it kept the mystery alive for the guests to come back. tuesdays through saturdays nicole hampton was candy,  the woman visitors couldn’t get out of their minds no matter how much or how hard they’d tried. she was taught early on to become her customer’s own personal drug of choice. addictive. sweet. yet still someone they knew nothing about. she was the fantasy clients sculpted into whatever they needed to keep coming back for more. though, with each passing word, candy seemed to slip further and further into the back of her mind. a melodious laugh filled the little space left between her and the blond at her side, attention returning as she followed in the suit of his simple motion turning to face him with efficiency. ❛ you’re good maybe too good, mr. king… we’ll have to see what happens, won’t we? ❜ nicole admitted, that was a dangerous thought to entertain. and her mind returned to the underlying promise in the ways she could think he’d take care of her way too easily. so easily it could have rolled right off her tongue. but luckily they were interrupted which prompted nicole to clear her throat and the impish smile which painted on her lips. analena, the bartender came out two drinks in hand and offered each their glasses. the club had great service but the perfect timing left the two girls shooting a look at each other. nicole breathed a thank you, returning zeke’s earlier squinted look as she took her usual white russian - but softened shortly after they were back in whatever bubble of solitude her break and his phone call fated them to. ❛ and thank you… even if i was trying to buy you a drink. to be fair accompanying you to one of the private rooms is the very least i can do for this. and i’m not one to deny your appetite. ❜ eyes falling to the drink in hand, for the sake of dignity as she ruminated over the new nickname bestowed upon her. niks. that was a first, and firsts were hard to come by at this point. the blonde’s green eyes moved back to lock on his just in time to catch his wink, trying to keep her breath steady and even. it was a losing battle. ❛ i don’t say no to pleasure, so be careful what you wish for. ❜ she couldn’t resist the glow that spread through her chest, so she reveled in it. beaming brightly, engulfed in simple conversation to the point of not really caring what time she’d left for break or when she needed to get back ❛ sounds like trouble… and trouble usually leads into a damn good time. between you and me, i’ve been enticed since you said something about biting. ❜

❪ ⠀ * ⠀ ─── ⠀ 𝒃𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒓𝒕 𝒊'𝒎𝒂 𝒅𝒐𝒈 𝒊'𝒎𝒂 𝒇𝒍𝒊𝒓𝒕 ﹕ physiognomy. ⠀ ❫ ❪ ⠀ * ⠀ ─── ⠀ 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒍 𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒂 𝒊'𝒎 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒅𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒓 ﹕ vestiary. ⠀ ❫ ❪ ⠀ * ⠀ ─── ⠀ 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒂 𝒃𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉 ﹕ analysis. ⠀ ❫ ❪ ⠀ * ⠀ ─── ⠀ 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒂 𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉 ﹕ selfhood. ⠀ ❫ ❪ ⠀ * ⠀ ─── ⠀ 𝒈𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒖𝒔𝒔𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒔𝒌 𝒎𝒆 ﹕ sms. ⠀ ❫ ❪ ⠀ * ⠀ ─── ⠀ 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒏 ﹕ tweet. ⠀ ❫ ❪ ⠀ * ⠀ ─── ⠀ 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒚 𝒊’𝒎 𝒂 𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒓 ﹕ para. ⠀ ❫ ❪ ⠀ * ⠀ ─── ⠀ 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒚 ﹕ music. ⠀ ❫

in truth, the longer nicole sat the more she was just a little dazed. not star-stunned. just dazed, entranced, she’d even dare to say enticed. was it strictly her own luck that the competition was a dazzling, charming, bold god? it’d dawned on her, he was more than just the competition - he was the beloved zeke king - did hollywood not hire any normal-looking guys? or was a chiseled jaw apart of the job requirement? the sandy hair and hazel eyes were pretty damn good, but it was his smile that hit home. it managed to be both cocky and adorably welcoming at the same time. ❛ you might just have to, just so i can make sure you get taken care of. properly. maybe you’ll forget you have a phone. either way, i’ll be looking forward to it. ❜ there was a small voice in the back of her mind that echoed ‘nicole, you’re drooling snap out of it bitch’ and for all intents and purposes she tried, though his next replied physically compelled her to give him a hard once over. ❛ from where i’m sitting there’s no drink in your hand and that’s a shame.” her eyes narrowed on his hand before softening and searching his features before she took it upon herself to finish drinking in the sight before her. ❛ if we’re going total relaxation to really take off the edge? you should be heading up to one of the private rooms and forgetting the vip area. i’m just a dancer and i don’t have a prescription pad or anything but you could say it’s doctor’s orders. ❜ the unspoken girl code had all but flown out the window but that thought vanished as she saw one of the bartenders poke their head out stealing her attention briefly, ❛ babe i’m on break… favor though, drinks? please? my usual and whatever the king party was drinking upstairs? i’ll cover it at tip out. ❜ nicole was quick to flash one of her famous million-dollar smiles and with that, the bartender was gone. once again she was left alone, and there was no doubt the vivid green in nicole’s eyes blazed, even shimmered a bit upon the feeling of their palms touched to shake hands. the petite blonde turned to minimize future distractions, ❛ the pleasure’s all mine, zeke. ❜   nicole shook her head, half-amused, half-baffled…baffled by the self-reliance in her actions. her gaze flickered between the legend himself and their hands mindlessly inching a bit closer. ❛ as far as rules go, i’m not a big fan myself… but off the clock, you should find out for yourself... i was thinking about tipping out early, if you’re here in about an hour you can help me figure out if i taste as good as i look. ❜

“years and years of ignoring the pain - honestly. it’s not like they get more comfortable... you just get better at not feeling.” nicole explained laughing softly, “but they do get to me on busy days. not gonna lie to you.” it was somewhere between their casual conversation and looking at him it dawned on the blonde why he looked so familiar. it was the guy that had booked her for his birthday - the one she’d cancelled on last minute. now nicole wasn’t one to feel bad, but he seemed decent. decent enough to make a mental note to offer a dance or something later. “you know what i usually save this as a best for last story but after your night - we’ll just jump into it. so about a week ago, we decided to host a male dancer night... but the guys got delayed? so naturally, my boss puts me up on stage with another girl... hell hath no fury like three hundred ladies who came to see dudes, not me and a friend of mine doing a handcuff routine. like guys? melt... those ladies? if they wouldn’t have gotten booted out for the night i without a doubt would’ve been covered in drinks. lots of drinks.” rolling her eyes as her laugh filled up the empty space between them, it was hard to ignore the flush in her cheeks at the mere reminder of the story. “by the sounds of it, you should probably steer clear of the main room... after my break i can get you into a vip room or something.. if you want? you know, just away from the line of fire. and i’ll walk you in there, we’ll really piss your ex off.”