Chapter 2

She sighed the second she was in her rundown apartment, the rent is so cheap Bree hoped it won't arise health issues for her and Hazel in the long run. Bree feeds Hazel, bathes her, then she tucked her little sunshine into bed. Bree lets Mrs. Mancini into her tiny apartment when the clock strikes eight.

"Have fun on your date, sweetheart, you deserve it."

"I'm not going on a..." but on a second thought, it was the perfect excuse. Bree couldn't exactly tell the old lady that she will be checking out the strip club where she was going to work at. "...yeah, I guess you might call it that, eh...thank you, you have my number, Hazel is asleep. Help yourself to anything in the fridge." Though she only has bread and eggs it's nice to be polite to everyone and Mrs. Mancini was kind enough to be doing this for Bree with a rate that's probably the same since she was babysitting decades ago when she was young. Also, Hazel adores her with all the cakes that her next-door neighbor baked for them.

Without further doubt, Bree walked out of her small apartment complex and drive to Babes. Half an hour later, after ten minutes of contemplating her decision, she stepped out of her car. Bree was greeted by Elvis who smirked at her, then she smiled back at him, sweetly, and the mustache dude actually blushed which made her giggle and walked past the guy into the strip club with a lighter step on her feet.

Rocco wasn't lying, the men were far from the ordinary crowd you'd see in movies. Most were dressed in suits, work clothes, and some fine-looking jackets, even their shoes looked expensive. But what threw her into reality was what the women were wearing, she's not sure she can flaunt her body like that.

The bartender greeted her the second she reached the bar, Rocco fixed a couple of drinks before he was to her front and wiggle his eyebrows making her laugh. "So, you're coming back, it's a good start. Let me get my girl." Rocco called out to one of the waiters and said something that Bree couldn't hear over the loud music in the background.

A voluptuous blonde woman appeared and kissed Rocco on his cheek. "Dee, babe, this is Bree the one I told you about earlier. Why don't you girls talk and let her feel the vibe."

Bree couldn't stop looking at her sheer outfit, she doesn't understand how Rocco was okay with having his girlfriend showing off her tits and ass for all the men at the club.

"Hey, I'm Dee, look this may seem a bit overwhelming but trust me the money is worth it." She hooked her hand in Bree's arm and pulled her to the end of the bar where they can have a private talk. The single mom was thrown into the situation where Bree was greeted by another stripper with another set of sheer lingerie and glitter platform heels so high she wondered how all these women managed to dance in them.

Bree sits back on the barstool while Dee introduces her to Cassidy who is a struggling med student determined to pay off her student loans before she started her residency.

"Look, this is the best club in town, if Rocco took pity on you... gurl, I say go for it. You'd be paying bills faster than working in a stuffy office behind some desk where you need to kiss ass to get a decent salary." Cassidy blurted out her words and Dee giggled nodding along telling Bree this is the best way in making fast money.

Bree listened while her eyes took in the view, the bright lights, the stage, the intimidating dance poles, and smaller stages with poles on several areas of the floor. Her heart was beating faster, her hands were getting clammy, and her mind went back to Hazel and the bills stacking up on her bedside table.

She groaned and finally took a deep breath before she said, "So, how do I audition?"

Bree had spent the whole morning with Hazel before she dropped her off at the daycare. Then she spent over two hours at her lawyer's office wanting to push her cheating ex-husband into paying her full alimony and child support. But then she was hit with new demand, her ex wanted joint custody should she ask for child support.

"But that's not what the outcome of the divorce settlement is, it's all written on paper how can he do this?" but Bree knows there's nothing her sleazy husband wouldn't do to make sure she didn't get anything from him. The small amount of alimony barely covered all her basic needs and all her friends had shunned her when she was portrayed as an incompetent wife who couldn't keep her husband from straying.

The money she kept from her parents' inheritance had almost gone for paying her unqualified lawyers when she went up against her ex-husband, Everett.

The moment she reached her car she almost had a panic attack, her chest was heavy, and she had a hard time calming herself down until she finally cried, sobbing so hard, letting all her feelings out. It took her twenty minutes until she finally stopped crying, shook off her nerves, and drive to Babes, determined to get the job.

Bree was all alone, broke as hell while needing to make a living for her baby. She loves Hazel to death, she'd do anything for her even if she has to dance naked for a quick buck.

"Hey, are you okay? you looked a bit pale?" Elvis greeted her with questions. Bree had put on makeup, but her eyes were still a bit red. So she smiled and told him she was fine, from his questions she stamped the big guy as a big teddy when he conveys his concerns for her.

"Ex-husband stuff, I'm good, I just need to shake my ass and make it rain, right?"

"Eh...um, yeah, I guess." The big brute looked uncomfortable with her remarks and it actually made her genuinely smile at him.

"Thank you... for asking,"

"Uh, okay." Elvis shook his head, opened the door for her, and let her in.