Page 12 of For Your Eyes Only

My voice is wobbly, and I try to steady it. “It’s a little unsettling to have that many men so…eager.”

“I would love it.” She turns, holding her arms over her head. “Eat it up, boys!”

Shula isn’t afraid of anything except not being popular. She’s actually a sweet girl, one of the youngest dancers at the Rhino.

“You’ll get yours, don’t worry.” Bianca slides up behind me, helping me take the bobby pins out of my hair.

“Oh, Gia.” Shula turns to the side, holding out one of the straps. “I broke this again. Do you think you can help me?”

“You’ll have to pin it for now.” I massage cold cream on my face to remove the layer of makeup I’m wearing. “I’ll stitch it up tomorrow.”

Shula’s fake boobs are too big for her body, so she’s constantly blowing straps. She’s one of the first girls I met when Bianca and I moved into the condo—it’s not a house. It’s a blow-your-mind-it’s-so-fancy condo on the beachfront in West Palm—and she was thrilled to learn I could sew.

She’d been paying the dry cleaner through the nose to take in and let out her costumes. Sewing relaxes me, so I do it for free.

While I sat at the machine repairing her outfit, Shula told me all the worse things I could do for money besides shimmy in a skimpy costume—some from her own personal experience.

It only took one sleepless night turning over everything everyone said to me, and I decided I owed it to Biance to try her idea. She gave me a couch to crash on, she found me job after job, it was the least I could do.

On top of that, she truly believes I can be a huge success at a strip club without showing a bit of nudity, and a big part of the reason I agreed to do it was to prove she was wrong. I never thought it would work. I expected to bomb.

Boy, was I wrong.

It’s been a week, and the crowds keep getting bigger. Everyone wants to see the mysterious Glitter Girl.

I’ve been a dancer for a long, long time, but no matter how many times I perform at the Rhino, I come off the stage completely rattled by how insane the crowd goes when I finish.

My one consolation is Franco assures us the security here is top-notch. Still, I can’t help thinking about my mother. I can’t help thinking,What the hell is going on?

“I think it’s because there’s so much bad porn on the internet now.” Bianca hands me a tissue to wipe my face. “You’re elegant and gorgeous and a total mystery. It’s irresistible.”

“Maybe.” Images of my mother crowd my mind, and I have to push them away.I’m not my mother—just ask my aunt.

Bianca continues unaffected. “Everyone loves a guessing game.”

“They’re hoping your mask slips as well as your top.” Shula giggles, blowing an air kiss before heading to the stage, breasts fully out. “Maybe you can be like me.”

I honestly don’t know what’s making me so popular. I simply go out there and move to the music. No lie, I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop and for it all to come crashing down.

Bianca is so excited. I really think she’d been planning this all along because she already had an idea for the music and the costumes. She wanted me to use the namePuss in Bootsand to have signature boots for every performance, but I felt like that was too on the nose.

Instead, I took a bottle of glitter from her shelf, and it all clicked.Glitter Girl.I had these two glitter guns, and while I might be a virgin, I know how male anatomy works. Pulling the triggers, I shower everyone with glitter, the ultimate climax.

For whatever reason, the men love it, and it’s how I end my dances—coming in glitter all over the stage. Now I just want to go home and hide.

“One of these days, you’re not going to mind being a celebrity.” Bianca smooths her fingers over the wild curls of my unbraided hair.

“If my aunt knew what I was doing…”

“Stop.” She leans forward, hugging my shoulders. “You’re not doing anything wrong.”

“It’s lust, and… I don’t know what else she’d say, but it would be something bad.”

“Jesus! You’ve never even slept with a guy. How can you be bad?”

“She’d find a way. She always finds a way, trust me.”

Bianca shakes her head, standing straighter behind me. “We’ve talked about this. You’re a dancer. You move your body to the music. No matter where you are or what you’re doing, you can’t help the effect you have on others.”