Alpha’s Virgin Stripper
Chapter 57

"I'll see you tonight."

Ashley turned to look at her friend. She had almost forgotten that she had been beside her all along. Ashley was replaceing it hard to keep track of time, especially now that she had not spoken to Kenji in almost a week. It all started after she tried to embrace him and plant a kiss on his lips after training.

Ashley fought hard to ignore the look of disdain on his face and the way he brushed her off. But, the image continued to reappear in her mind, no matter how hard she tried. Soon, she gave up and fully embraced it.

How could she blame him? Ashley stepped into her room and closed the door behind her. Now, she had only two hours until it was time to perform again.

She sought to take a nap, but she ended up soaking herself in the shower for those two hours instead. Once she stepped out of the shower, she made her way to the wardrobe and picked out her favorite designer two-piece. No matter the life problems she was having, Ashley never allowed personal issues to interfere with her work. She would not have gotten this far if she did.

She packed her necessary accessories, makeup tools, and every other thing she would need into her bag. She made a quick stop in Jojo's room but soon realized Jojo wasn't in. She thought of calling her but decided against it. She was probably in the dressing room already, getting ready for tonight.

Today, they were to make a joint appearance. That meant that they would all perform at a time. Ashley did not know why, because Bentley had not stated it in the memo she sent barely forty-five minutes ago.

Ashley finally found her way to the dressing room and subconsciously did one swift sweep around the room, in search of Jojo. Yet, her friend was nowhere to be found.

Zelda and Hadley sized each other's breast cups while Brandy and Zita focused on fixing their makeup and making last-minute adjustments to their dresses. Ashley walked past them, and only managed to flash Zelda a weak smile. She did not know why, but ever since Kenji's silent treatment began, she was beginning to lose strength. She had tried to ignore it for the first few days, but it was too clear now. She missed him, terribly. All efforts to reach him in the past few days had proven futile.

It was as though he put so many measures in place to make sure that she did not see him. Ashley placed her bag in front of a mirror. She stared at her image and heaved a grave sigh. Hadley crept up behind her, startling her only a bit. Ashley's eyes dimmed when she saw Hadley standing behind her. She could have sworn it was Kenji who crept at her back with a knife in his hands ready to tear her heart into shreds. So, she was seeing him now? Nice. "You good babe? You seem distant." Hadley started.

"Sick." Zelda chipped in.

"Dejected." Brandy followed next.

"Like someone else sucked Kenji's dick." Zita spat out. All eyes turned to her. The girls could always trust Zita to be the odd one out. Ashley flashed them her most sincere smile before she began to change.

She waited for almost ten minutes, for Jojo to arrive. But, when there was no sign of the young girl, Ashley had to ask. "Has anyone seen Jo?" She asked out loud, directing her question to everyone in the room, especially Zita. The girl must have sensed Ashley's eyes on her. She pouted her red polished lips before she spoke. "Perhaps, she got scared again and ran into her tiny little rat hole," Zita growled. Ashley did not have the energy, and neither could she replace the right words to give Zita a befitting reply. She was going to search for Bentley when the woman stepped into the room, closing the curtains behind her.

Her keen eyes scrutinized all their dresses, hairstyles, and makeup. When she landed on Ashley, her lips thinned into an annoyed frown. "What's happening today Ash? Why aren't you dressed yet?" Bentley scolded, taking slow steps towards her. What was Ashley supposed to tell her? That she was heartbroken? Of course not!

That was none of Bentley's business. "I'm fine. I'm just wondering where Jojo is." Ashley spat out. Bentley looked over her one last time before she spoke. "Jojo left an hour ago. Had to attend to some family emergency of some sort. Now, get dressed! You all make an entrance in the next fifteen minutes.

You haven't had a group appearance in over a year so you must make this one count. There are new guests in the house tonight and that is why we are welcoming them with our best five. So please, go out there and make money fucking rain!" Zelda and the rest of the girls cheered on. Ashley was unusually quiet.

She was the one known for being everywhere all the time. The girls took their positions beside their poles when the lights on the stage died down. They decided to begin with one of the choreographed dances they had never tried. Zita was first, Zelda followed next, Ashley behind, Hadley, and then Brandy.

The spotlights came on above every one of them until the stage lights blossomed to life, followed by the quick-tempo song. The girls held on to their poles and did a straight split, straight to the ground.

The audience roared. Bentley was right, there were a lot of new faces tonight, more than there had ever been. The dollar notes began to rain in the air before the girls even moved.

Ashley gave her all into her dance, it was all she had now. No matter what left her, no matter who decided to ghost her for days on end, her skill and passion for dancing would never leave her. She was dancing, twirling her body around the pole like she did not have a single bone in them. She whooped her sadness into the sweat that broke out of her forehead.

When their performance came to an end, she touched the ground again with a split and skidded into a smiling breathless halt. She felt whole again.

Ashley got off the stage, along with the other girls. Now, she had a smile on her face and she wished it would last for a long. They got back into the dressing room.

"I wish we can get to perform together every day," Hadley called out, taking the hose off her skin.

"And share the money every day? No thank you." Zita chipped in, the girls roared with laughter. The sound of the door creaking open caused them to pause and turn to the door. Bentley stood there, peeking through the door. She scanned the room before her eyes landed on Ashley.

"Ash, don't take off your things. Come with me." Ashley blinked twice, as though she had not heard Bentley the first time. The elderly woman frowned. "Hurry up, we don't have time." She snapped.

Ashley jerked out of her dazed state and followed Bentley out of the door. For the first time, her heart hammered against her chest. She knew what was coming, she had been in this situation more times than she could count.

So, why did everything suddenly seem scary?

She paused in her tracks, hesitant to move forward. Bentley noticed her pause and turned to look at her. "What is the problem? You know I won't have called you out if you had not been called by a VIP.

Let's go, he doesn't have time to waste." Bentley urged on, an obvious frown on her face. But, Ashley could not move. Kenji was already pissed for reasons she did not know. If he found out she was dancing, that could be the end of everything they had, everything they shared. Ashley had to do something.

"Bentley, I..." "Are you sick? Pregnant? Down with the flu?" Bentley attacked almost immediately. The answers to all her questions were negative and Ashley responded accordingly. Bentley forced a smile and gripped her by her left wrist. "Excellent! Now, follow me."