Holly Helps the Displaced Elf

Lucy shook her head. "Here. Take my robe." Underneath, Lucy wore a sheer dress loaded with sparkles, designed to be stripped off layer by layer. Now that she was more exposed, it was easy to see why Lucy was the star of the show. She had a flawless figure with long legs, narrow hips and tear drop shaped tits.

Holly smiled. "I just want to see the dressing area and the costumes." But she took the robe. They walked through the door to the performers area.

When they left the office, all three men let a collective breath escape, and laughed at the sexual tension that had been generated. Moe peeled off a hundred dollar bill from a wad in his pocket. Fidel scoffed, and unwrapped two C-notes of his own. They looked at the boss. The boss took five Benjamins and tossed them on his desk.

"$500 is the buy-in. I think she's worth it, don't you?"

Moe and Fidel nodded, and added $500 each to the pile. Whsht watched, but didn't understand the transaction.

Andrew picked up the money, counted it twice and put a rubber band around it. Then he wrote "Holly - $1500" on a blue post-it note and stuck it on the pile. Inside the wall safe, it joined one other pile of hundreds. Whsht zipped to the safe before it closed, and saw a faded blue post-it with "Lucy" written on it. The sum of money below her name was crossed out several times, starting with $300. It now read "$3000." Twenty other blue notes with the names of other women were in the safe, but the dollar amounts were crossed off completely, and the money was gone.

"First one to bang her gets the money," said Andrew. "Plus the ride of his life."

They all three laughed at that.

"I hope she's not another Lucy," said Fidel. "That bitch has an iron-clad pussy!"

Moe chuckled. "No pussy is off-limits for ever. Right, boss?"

Andrew smiled. "Never has been before."

"Except for that Lucy," said Fidel.

"Shut up about Lucy," snapped Andrew. "Now, get back to work. And keep a sharp eye out when the new girl is dancin'. You know she's goin' attrac' a lot of attention. We don' need no stranger putting his dick where our dick belongs. You get me?"

Moe nodded, and made a fist the size of a raccoon. Fidel rolled his shoulders into a boxer's pose and twisted to the side so that Andrew saw the sharp stiletto he kept on his hip.

"I think we goin' have some fun," said Andrew.

Whsht thought they were acting like pigs. The sooner Holly was quit of them, the better, he thought.

Lucy didn't talk much. She showed Holly where the unused costumes hung, and helped Holly to pick up a couple of outfits she could use. She told Holly where to go to buy the more intimate stuff.

"Shouldn't the boss pay for all the costume?" Holly asked.

Lucy smiled. "It couldn't hurt to ask, could it? We'll hit Andrew up on our way out."

Holly was assigned a locker, with a flimsy lock. She looked concerned.

"Don't keep anything but your costumes in there," said Lucy. "Those locks won't keep out a toddler. None of the girls want your stuff, but you'd be a fool to keep your drugs or your money in there, though."

"I don't use drugs," said Holly, but she knew she couldn't keep her money on her when she was up on stage. "What do the girls do with their money when they are on-stage?"

"Moe, Fidel or one of the bartenders will hold it for you. I'm not promising you'll get it all back, though. There is sometimes a handling charge. A lot of the girls have boyfriends or husbands who come to the club and hold their money. Some girls know that their men will end up taking the money anyway. You could try hiding it, but that never works."

"What do you do?" said Holly.

Lucy looked suspiciously at Holly.

"No, no!" said Holly. "I'm trying to learn. I don't want you to tell me your secrets. Just give me some ideas."

Lucy considered. "Okay. I know Linus sent you here, so you already know him."

"We go to the University of Miami together. We have the same math classes."

Lucy didn't smile, and hearing that Holly went to school with Linus seemed to make her even more cautious. She pursed her lips before answering.

"Yeah, well, Linus holds all my tips."

Holly smiled. "Yeah, he looks trustworthy."

Lucy scowled. "You stay away from Linus."

Holly frowned at that suggestion. "I really can't. We're working on his complex math problem together."

"He told you about the app he's working on?" Lucy seemed surprised. "What, are you trying to steal his ideas?"

"No, no," said Holly. "I'm just a math nerd. He has the most interesting problem I've run across in quite a while. I just want to solve it. I couldn't care less what he does with his precious app."

Lucy considered her answer. Then she said, "Come on. Let's get you some music, and then we'll get you an advance from Andrew for your private, intimate things."

The music took a while to choose. Lucy liked the music by Beyoncé and in a pinch, by Donna Summers -- loud instruments, strong rhythms, powerful women. Holly favored jazz, which not even Whsht could support. Lucy told her to choose three songs of varying tempos. Holly preferred a longer piece with more complexity. In the end, she settled for the Doors "Riders on the Storm," because of its sexy drums and instrumental parts. As alternatives, she agreed to two standbys that most of the other girls used as well, "Sympathy for the Devil" and "Gimme Shelter," both by the Stones.

On the way out of the club, Lucy and Holly stopped by Andrew's office. Lucy knocked briefly, then opened the door. Andrew looked surprised at first, then relaxed when he saw that it was Lucy.

"Your new girl needs something besides granny panties, and I want to change up my wardrobe some, too. How about an advance?" Lucy stood next to his desk with her hand out, as though it were a foregone conclusion that she would get some money. Holly stayed by the door.

Andrew reached into his pocket, retrieved his wallet and peeled off several hundreds for each of the women. Lucy kissed him on the cheek, and walked back to the door. Holly looked at her -- was Holly supposed to give Andrew a kiss on the cheek, too?

Lucy answered that with a crisp order to her: "Let's go."

Holly settled for mouthing, "Thank you," to the boss.

Outside, Holly counted the money again. $500!

"Strippers must make a lot of money!" Holly said.

"Not really. And not all of them, that's for sure," said Lucy. "It's a young girl's game. Like a baseball player. You're only great for the first few years, then you need to get out before you make a fool of yourself. Remember that."

"Still, this is a lot of money!"

"Just remember -- you're in the entertainment business. You're not a picture on the wall or a porn DVD. If you want to be successful, you have to entertain the customer. After all, there are about forty nudie joints in Miami, and horny boys and girls can take their money to any one of them."

They visited a porn shop, a Victoria Secrets and a Kohl's to find the right kind of clothing to tease the customer with. The first requirement was to insure that it would come off easily. They didn't spend all the money, and with what was left they treated themselves to new spiked heels.

"You're going to need a stage name," Lucy said. "Something you can tell the customers. You never tell them your real name, or your address, or anything personal about you. It also helps to have a made-up story of your childhood and teenage years. Something to get the customer feeling sorry for you."

"Well, I did grow up in an orphanage," said Holly.

"That's the kind of thing some of the girls use. But if it's true with you, you better avoid it. Remember, you don't want them to know anything personal about you."

"What kind of name should I use?" she asked.

"Go with a popular movie star. That way the customer has a little Hollywood glitter to fantasize about. Like Keira, Carey, Mila, Emma, Shailene. Jennifer has been done to death, and nobody can pronounce Saoirse."

"What's your stage name?" Holly asked.

Lucy laughed a little. "Well, with my black hair, I just went with Raven. It's easy to remember and descriptive. Customers can come in and request me."

"I suppose I could always change mine if I didn't like it."

"You can change it every night if you want, but it won't get you repeat customers. How about 'Dakota'?"

"That's a state. Or two states," said Holly.

"It's also the name of a very hot actress from a soft bondage movie. You don't have to use it, but men might think it enchanting."

Holly chuckled at that. She was beginning to see that working at the club was a bit more than just chucking your clothes.

Over the next few hours, Lucy acted as a kind of house mother to Holly. She explained the lineup of the performers, and how frequently she would have to perform. She emphasized that Holly should not try to perform in anyone else's time slot. If she did that, she could easily find herself with an ugly knife scar.

Lucy explained that it was expected to hang around the stage after her performance to talk with the customers. It was a good time to pick up a few extra tips, and a time to schedule personal lap dances or VIP encounters. Although some girls hang around completely naked, Lucy advised against it.

"Once they've seen you naked, there's not a lot of interest in watching you strip again."

Holly thought she sounded like Whsht with her advice.

Lucy brought her up to speed on the local and state laws concerning nudity and the sale of food and alcohol. For the most part, anything goes regarding the display of a girl's body. Touching was frowned upon, but it was something that happened. Moe and Fidel would intervene if you couldn't handle the customer, but most girls had to set the line on what they would permit the customer to touch, or how long they could keep their hand in one place, and which orifices were definitely off-limits.

When they returned to True North, "Raven" introduced "Dakota" around to the other performers. "Dakota" had the last makeup table in the dressing room, where the mirror was cracked and dimmed with age. As she looked around, she was surprised that all the other women had tattoos on their lower backs, their hips, their ankles, their chests, and some had extensive work done over an entire arm or two. The tattoos sometimes contained foreign words or were written in an unknown alphabet.

"It's not a requirement to have ink, is it?" she asked, her eyes sparkling a little.

"It's not a requirement, but it's not anything that anyone objects to. I don't have any, because being ink-free makes me stand out from the other girls at the club. The girls have tattoos for different reasons, but at least one reason is so that they stand out from the girls the customers see in their daily lives."

Holly couldn't contain her excitement. "If I were going to get a tattoo, I know just what it would be. Euler's identity! It's a jewel -- e raised to the i times pi plus 1 = 0. How perfect is that?"

Lucy rolled her eyes. "I suppose it depends where on your body you put the tat. Kind of like, you had to be there."

"I know Linus would get a big charge out of it."

Lucy froze at the mention of Linus's name. "Excuse me," she said. "I have to get centered before the show." She left "Dakota" with the other girls in the main dressing room.

Holly sat down at the last makeup table, and looked into the cloudy, cracked mirror.

"Don't mind her, Dakota," one of the women said in a high pitched voice. "Raven thinks her shit don't stink. I'm surprised she spent any time with you at all."

"Thanks," said Holly. She started to apply her makeup, her eye lashes and style what little hair she had.

"You're gonna do fine, Dakota. You have a banging bod. And the johns like it when a girl is a little nervous up there, you know? They want to protect their little lamb." She laughed a high-pitched squeal. "I'm Lexie. Nice to meetcha, Dakota."

"Nice to meet you. But I'm not nervous."

"And don't be too bummed that you're the first one up there. They never put the new girls near the end. That's saved for Raven, and sometimes, for me." Lexie posed, stretching her arm to full length, then laughed her tinkling laugh.

"I don't mind being first. I'm more interested in how much time I have between sets."

"Well, you can walk around and talk to the johns," said Lexie. "You can line up lap dancers and VIP visits. You and let the johns buy you drinks. So it all depends how much down time you really want. Me, I'm not happy unless some john is stuffing dollar bills between my tits or paying for his lap dance. I'm busy the whole night."

"I need the time to study though. At least right now, my studying is more important that taking money."

"Oooh, the boss won't like you talking like that. Keep it to yourself, honey. Remember, you have to pay the house for the time you're on stage, and you have to tip the DJ, just to be sure he doesn't screw up your set. And you should tip the bartender and the waitresses, to be sure they give you the watered drinks, and not the johns. You don't want to get tipsy before you perform! So, the whole idea is to make money, not to study. If you want to study, go to a library, honey."

"I'm here to study with a guy named Linus. He comes here a lot."

Lexie rolled her eyes.

"I know Linus. We all know Linus, and we all know to stay away from him. He's Raven's property. She doesn't take kindly to anyone trying to distract him from watching her perform. Or maybe it's the other way around. I don't think Linus wants anyone to distract him from watching Raven perform."

"That's weird," said Dakota. "Linus was the one who suggested I come here. We're supposed to study together."

"Listen, honey. The last girl that tried to put her claws in Linus was sorry she did. Raven kept customers away from her, and the poor girl wound up working for almost nothing. She left to go to another nudie bar, but she learned her lesson to stay away from Linus."

Holly finished dressing and watched the clock. Her first performance was fast approaching. She could hear the music getting louder in the club area. The dressing room was filled with women putting on their finishing touches.

Holly looked at her outfit in the mirror. She looked like a business secretary, with a short skirt, cream blouse and business jacket. Beneath it all was some fancy underwear. She wore garters and panty hose, and was a little worried about getting them off easily. If it didn't work, she'd try another outfit later.

Lexie looked her over.

"Pretty good, pretty good. You feed into the John's fantasies right away. But here," she said. "Try this."

Lexie handed Holly a pair of stage glasses to make her look like a geek. Holly had to admit, the glasses helped to make the character. Then Lexie gave her a pencil and a steno pad.

"You can use the pencil in your act, too. Nothing better as a phallic symbol, except maybe a cigar." Lexie laughed at her own joke.

"Thanks," said Holly.

"You're up, honey," Lexie said to her. "Get out there and shake your money maker."

Holly listened for her music selection, and felt the beat of the song in her body. The lights, which had been dim in the audience section of the club, were hot and bright on the stage. The spot light roved around the dance area, as if looking for Holly. Holly waited until the light was near her side of the stage to step off.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome the True North's newest attraction, Da--Kota!" The DJ strung out the first syllable so long that the name sounded sillier than ever.

As she stepped out on stage, Holly was partially blinded by the spots. She gradually became used to the lighting, and scanned the "sniff" seats around the stage and the other tables farther back. The place was almost empty. One old scarecrow and two fat business suits sat in three of the sniff seats. The scarecrow nursed a bottle of beer and seemed to have trouble keeping his teeth in his mouth. The suits kept pawing each other, urging the other to start engaging with the dancer. Moe stood about five feet from the suits as if he expected trouble.

Holly strutted on stage, and circled the pole area. She walked to the edge of the stage between the customers, and realized that the stage was shaped like a giant penis, with the tip toward the customers. The pole was near the front of the stage, where everyone could get a good look, no matter where they sat in the club.

Holly pretended to write something in her steno pad, then re-read it, and tossed the props over her shoulder. Then she removed her jacket, a shoulder at a time. She made a point of looking directly at the men she could see. They had broad, salacious grins on their faces. She supposed that was a good thing.

Then she saw Linus sitting at a table at the side of the room. His head was lowered, and he wasn't paying any attention to her. Even when she unwrapped her tight skirt, he didn't seem to notice. Holly was disappointed, then realized that he might not recognize her. Sure, her short hair was the same, but she didn't dress in business suits, and nobody knew her as "Dakota." At least, nobody knew her as Dakota yet.

She fumbled with her blouse buttons, until it lay open. She used her hands to spread it like wings so that the johns could see the shape of her body without the camouflage of the suit. The scarecrow pounded his beer bottle on the stage in appreciation. The suits both licked their lips, ran their hands through their receding hairlines, and then laughed a nervous laugh.

Holly noticed a young guy approach Linus and sit at his table. They began to talk, even though the young guy kept looking at the stage. Then she recognized the young man as one of their classmates from the math class they shared. She wondered if the young man would recognize her if Linus didn't, or if he just liked to gawk at naked women without caring who they might be.

She lost the blouse and stood on the stage in her undies and hose. They were made sheerer by the intensity of the spot lights, but it didn't bother her. She wore less than that when she went to the family friendly beaches, and wore nothing when she went to the nude beaches. No big deal.

She didn't see Whsht when he zoomed to the stage. Whsht pinched her buttocks and whispered in her ear, "Quit daydreaming up here. You're putting everyone to sleep. Don't you know any sexy moves, Miss Holly?"

Holly started to undulate to the increasing tempo of the instrumental portion of the Door's song. The scarecrow laughed until he had to refit his teeth in his mouth. The two suit were staring with their mouths open. Holly liked the effect she was having on them. She checked Linus's table, and found that Linus and his friend were both watching her. Linus seemed to have a new-found interest in "Dakota."

Holly unfastened her bra, but kept it in front of her. That allowed the men to imagine how her tits would look when they were finally free. She was a little excited by the intensity of the men's stares, but when she checked her nipples, they still were dozing.

"Get on with it," said Whsht. "Your set's almost over and nobody had paid you any money. You're going to starve if you keep this up. Or get fired. Come on! Engage the audience!"

Holly dropped her bra, and used her arms to squeeze her breasts into a giant bundle of warmth. The men in the sniff seats held out dollar bills, which made Holly smile. She dropped to her knees and crawled toward the scarecrow first.

The scarecrow combed his hair, and held out his dollar bill, folded length-wise. She edged closer until she was within arm's length of him, and he inserted the dollar into her cleavage. His fingers didn't stop there, though, and he copped a quick feel of her left booby. Then he snatched his hand back, and hunched his shoulders, as if expecting smack in the back of the head from Moe. Moe had moved closer to him, but Holly shook her head. "It's okay," she indicated. And to prove it, she loosened her grip on her right boob, so that it swung free before the scarecrow's face. He dropped his teeth.