luck be a lady

Araceli's decision to take this job was merely out of curiosity, and the money of course. Unlike some of the girls she worked with, she didn't have someone depending on her, but she also wanted money fast and easy. The moment she step foot on that stage for the first time, her body knew exactly what to do, it was almost like muscle memory had set in. It made her wonder if this had been her job in the past. Back to the money, though, she reveled in the crazy amount of gold she had at the end of the night. The Pussy Cat's patrons had too much money on their hands, some were esteemed members of society, but instead of doing good with their salary, they spent it on these lovely ladies nightly.

Tonight was one of those nights when members of the guard where scattered around the room. The lights where dim and Araceli could smell the cigarettes the second she walked out of the dressing room, she knew she would need a long bath after this if she had any hope of getting the smell off her hair. She waited in the wings of the stage and the second she saw Brigitte leave the stage, she took the spotlight. She let her body move to the rhythm of the music, getting lost in her own little world. She could feel their stares which only encouraged her to slide down the pole slower.

When she looked up, Chel's eyes made contact with a man sitting off the right hand of the stage. She grinned at him, he was waiting for her to finish, he'd done the same the past three nights. He was extremely patient, he waited for her time on stage to be done and then he approached her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw another one of her regulars stop in his tracks, knowing full well he'd lost this fight already. Chel was wonderful to her regulars, but she proved to be as fickle as she was beautiful. Her hunger for money decided who had priority, so they learned fast that money talked with her.

She motioned to the man by her side to follow her, but Chel didn't even manage to take two steps forward before Orlando showed up with a drink for her. Her gaze traveled from the shot glass up to his face, his lips especially pulling her attention. She had to decide quickly if she wanted to earn some extra gold coins or have little fun. Her hand's grip loosened from the other guy's arm. "Sorry, hun, maybe some other time." she gave her regular a kiss on the cheek as an apology and sent him on his way.

When he was long gone, she turned to Orlando and raised an eyebrow. "I had time for a drink the last three nights, Orlando. Tres noches y no te he visto."

Despite the grudge she was holding toward him for the last few days, she snatched the shot glass from his hand. She gave him the satisfaction of clicking the rim of her glass with his before downing the tequila in one gulp. It burned her throat, but she didn't care, she needed it.

"Well, are you just going to stand there like a dummy?" Her hand shoved the shot glass back at him, gently hitting him on his chest.