tabby by tb mann

Author:tb mann [tb mann]
Language: eng
Format: epub

12

Tabitha

The music stopped, sending the club into silence, while the spotlights trained on the stage shut off. If it hadn’t been for the foot-high smoke that settled on the stage floor, I would have had a clear view of Bae where he sat with Ed, the owner of the Gentlemen’s Den, and Mike, the stage manager. A sight I wasn’t ready to see. At least not until I had some clothes on.

Despite my initial slip-up during the first few moves of the routine—Ed had coughed before I completely immersed myself in my new persona—I recovered to finish the dance without another mistake. Something that only two days ago I would have never been able to do. But the moment Bae told me he believed in me, something shifted inside me. Confidence I’d never had before filled me.

What I hadn’t been prepared for was the rush of adrenalin that raced through my veins. Between it and the release of my nerves, I wanted to throw up.

Ensuring my back faced them, I stood and rushed off the stage, where Arin waited with a dressing gown. “You were fabulous, blueberry.” He pecked the upper corner of my forehead before ushering me back to the dressing room. “Get dressed and then we’ll go out and celebrate.”

Going out wasn’t exactly what I wanted. Not after putting myself on display like that, but I nodded.

“Good girl.” He slapped me on the ass while handing me my clothes.

I used the time alone in the bathroom to calm my racing heart. The coolness of the bathroom floor against my overheated skin took away my urge to revisit my lunch.

I did it! A large smile stretched across my face. I danced, no stripped, in front of people. Even made a mistake. And I survived. That wasn’t to say all my issues were resolved. Or that I looked forward to dancing night after night, but now I wasn’t frightened of making a fool of myself and failing. The idea of making a mistake didn’t make me freeze and bring on a panic attack.

A knock sounded on the door, vibrating against my back, before Arin asked if I was okay.

“Yup. I’ll be out in a minute.” I heard him move away from the door, and the minute I judged him to be far enough away, I scrambled to put my clothes on.

The heavy makeup itched from the sweat, and I eyed the sink, wanting to wash it off. But until I left the club, I’d keep it on. It had taken me two hours to apply it through trial and error, but once it was done, I looked nothing like myself. Just the way I wanted.

Poking my head out the door, I searched the room for Arin or even Bae. Even though the club was still closed for the day, the possibility of running into someone without one of them by my side made me uneasy. While most people would think that this was the perfect time to go nosing around, it wasn’t.

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