On Maggie’s fourth night at Doubles, she was relieved to see that Montana wasn’t working. She had been avoiding her ever since the confrontation. She’d even asked Shiver to point out Montana’s regulars so she could try to avoid them.
When Maggie sat down in the dressing room to put on makeup, she overheard the other dancers talking about a girl named Emma, who had danced at Doubles before and had just returned after a long absence. The dancers were clearly unhappy that Emma had come back. Maggie surmised by the way they talked that Emma was a club favorite, and the other dancers didn’t like the competition.
Maggie had just finished pulling up her stockings and attaching them to the garter belt she was wearing when she looked into the mirror and saw the most beautiful woman she’d ever laid eyes on. She knew it had to be Emma. She was the same height as Maggie, but with long, satin, blond hair and piercing emerald-green eyes.
Emma strode through the room as if she owned the place. Maggie watched, fascinated by her beauty and self-assurance. Emma wore a steady grin as she flipped her long hair over her shoulder. She went to the chair next to Maggie and sat down.
Emma looked over at her. “I’m Emma. I haven’t worked here in a while and don’t remember you from when I was here before.”
“I’m Maggie. This is only my fourth night,” Maggie said in a lively voice.
“Let me guess. These bitches here hate you and treat you like shit. Right?” Emma asserted.
Maggie giggled. “Yeah, something like that.”
“Well, that’s because you’re fuckin’ gorgeous,” Emma offered.
“Let me guess. They hate you because you’re gorgeous?” Maggie countered.
“Yeah, something like that,” Emma said, giggling.
Shiver walked into the dressing room and looked over at Emma and Maggie. She was pleased to see they were already talking to each other. The contrast between the two of them took her breath away, and she made a mental note to put the two girls onstage at the same time.
“Emma! How are you, sweetie?” Shiver sang.
Emma stood and embraced her. “You know, I’ve been doing OK.”
“Well, Jay and I are thrilled to have you back. Our regulars have been buzzing about you since Jay put the word out that you were returning. I see you’ve met Maggie,” Shiver said, giving Maggie’s forearm a gentle squeeze.
“Yep, I sure did. And I see the girls are the same pack of jealous, cackling hens they’ve always been,” Emma said, looking over Shiver’s shoulder to make eye contact with some of them.
“Now, now, darlin’, be sweet. You know it ain’t easy keeping up your clientele. They all just wanna make money, just like you and me,” Shiver said sweetly.
“Now, Shiver, you know I don’t give a rat’s ass about what any of the mean girls want,” Emma reminded her. “So, when do I go on?”
“They’ll be ready for you in about forty-five minutes. We’re gonna send you out by yourself for the first song, then we’ll send another girl in when the second song starts,” Shiver explained.
Shiver turned to Maggie. “I’m sending you out with Emma tonight. I think the two of you will look magnificent together. Two opposite-looking beauties at one time. It’s a good night for Doubles.” She smiled.
As Shiver walked away, a thought popped into Maggie’s head, and she turned to Emma without giving it any more consideration. “Hey, Emma, I was thinking we could team up and put on a show. You know, some kissing, undressing each other, that kind of stuff. I think we could make a lot of money.”
Emma’s flawless smile spread across her face. “Yeah, let’s show these girls how it’s done. You dance good?”
“I think I’m pretty good. The men like the way I dance,” she said bashfully.
“Well, great! Let’s rock this fuckin’ place,” Emma roared with enthusiasm.
Emma did her first return dance, solo. The men were in high spirits to see that she was back, and Maggie was happy for her new friend.
When the next song started to play, Maggie stepped up on stage and grabbed the second pole. After ten seconds, the two young women were entwined in a mass of silky hair, flesh, and muscle. It was the kind of show men fantasized about. With these two dazzling creatures touching each other, the clients went wild, and as a result, their tips were generous. After their first performance together that night, they spent some time at the bar having drinks and getting to know each other better.
“So how did you end up at Doubles?” Emma asked Maggie.
“Well, the money is really good, and my pimp thought this would be an easy way to supplement our income. I do some hooking on the side. Rock, that’s my pimp, sets me up with guys, and I meet them at a couple of places Rock owns,” Maggie explained, as if it were nothing.
“You’re OK with hooking?” Emma asked.
“Let me tell you, it can be a hell of a lot worse. My family sort of lost me when I was a kid. I ended up living in pure hell. Lots of horny adults out there—if you know what I mean. So dancing here and turning some tricks during the week is a hell of a lot easier than walking the streets looking for customers or being held in captivity and sold to different men every night,” Maggie confided with an odd sense of distance.
To hear Maggie talk as though she was giving the details of some other person’s life made Emma more curious about her new friend. Emma recognized the pattern—Maggie’s life was too painful to claim as her own, yet it was the painful memories that forced her to tell others about it. As a victim, Emma understood the connection and the distance with which Maggie described her life.
Emma really liked Maggie and decided to do everything in her power to keep her as a friend. It wasn’t easy to find friends when she was trying so hard to remain unnoticed in society. Only in the darkness of the bar was there a chance to stumble upon someone who would actually care. The two girls didn’t have much in common, their childhood stories veered in two different directions, equally heartbreaking. But they shared the same emptiness; the loneliness in the pits of their stomachs when they lay alone in bed at night, waiting to be rescued by sleep.
As time passed, Emma and Maggie began performing lap dances together for clients, earning a lot of money with each act. The two girls thrived on the sense of power their performances gave them, and they looked with satisfaction at the other dancers who had cast them aside.
Emma and Maggie became the show of all shows at Doubles. And, to make things even better, one night after dancing a few sets together, Emma introduced Maggie to Vincent and Tony, two men Emma knew and trusted—two very dangerous men whom Maggie would get to know much, much better.