this man, but she knew that once she did, everything would change.
He stepped closer as she picked up her bra and collected the twenty dollar bills strewn around the stage. The crowd roared with appreciation, and Candy smiled as she climbed down and moved back towards the door of the hallway.
She waited there for a moment and let him watch her, his wicked grin still fixed on her and his white teeth flashing.
“I’m going to get you,” he mouthed at her.
Candy felt a pulse of excitement between her legs, but she was also afraid. Could she even consider getting involved with another man after what had happened with Simon?
She dipped the end of her finger into her mouth as if she was shy and blew him a kiss before she pushed open the doors to the hallway and disappeared inside. As they closed behind her, she collapsed against the wall and breathed in deeply.
“Oh my god,” she whispered. “What the hell am I going to do now?”
6.
Destiny leapt forward and hugged her as she came into the dressing room, and Candy smiled and patted her on the back.
“You did great,” she told her. “How do you feel?”
“I feel great!” Destiny grinned. “I’m so glad I just took the bull by the horns and did it!”
“Well, at least Marv can’t blame you,” Candy smiled. “But seriously, if it’s not your thing, don’t feel pressured.”
“Yeah,” Destiny smiled. “It was fun once, but I don’t want to do it every day, no offense.”
“None taken whatsoever,” Candy laughed.
She spritzed herself with perfume and put on a lace teddy and suspenders. She reapplied her lip gloss and flicked her hair. She really did feel amazing, especially after the day’s emotional rollercoaster, and now she was on a high.
She left the changing room and went back down to the club doors. She peered through one of the small, circular windows and looked out at the crowd. It was still heaving in there, and Marv looked like he was struggling to keep on top of everything behind the bar. Renee came back towards the doors and pushed them open.
“We swapping over?” she asked aggressively.
Candy nodded and made her way out into the crowd. Even though there were a hundred men in there she could chit-chat with, there was only one on her mind, and she wasn’t going to stop until she found him.
She moved into the crowd and the scented mix of sweat and cigarettes filled her lungs. She breathed out and turned towards the bar, hoping that someone, anyone would buy her a drink.
A leery old man put his arm around her and started to ogle her cleavage, and Candy politely moved him away and carried on walking. As she turned past a group of men, another man reached out and grabbed hold of her and dipped his fingers into her bra.
“Excuse me,” she pouted, just wishing they would all leave her alone.
Another one of them squeezed her butt cheeks and pulled her close to him. She was trapped in a circle of lecherous hands, and although she knew she could handle it, she just wanted to scream at them all and tell them to back off.
“Hey!” a deep voice came from behind her.
She turned and looked over her shoulder to see him standing there, his fists clenched and his eyes full of rage.
The men encircling her dropped their hands and looked nervously at each other and then back to him. He was standing there, his wicked smile turned into a sneer and his chest heaving.
“Sorry, man,” one of the customers said. “We didn’t know she was with you…” He trailed off and disappeared back into the crowd.
Candy looked up at him and realized she was smiling. He had come to her rescue and now all she wanted was to get him on his own.
“Come with me,” he said as he took hold of her hand and led her through the crowd to the bar.
He pulled out a stool and sat her down right in front of Marv before sitting down next to her. He pulled her chair close so their legs locked together, and Candy’s heart was