followed, Harlin’s addiction to cocaine grew alarmingly fast. He spent all the money Alessa made to feed his habit. As a result, his demands on her increased. He pressured her to get into prostitution at the bar. He demeaned and degraded her at every opportunity. He accused her of being useless, a failure, so dumb she couldn’t follow simple instructions. Even his crew noticed the changes in Harlin.
Harlin finally took matters into his own hands. If Alessa wouldn’t do things his way, he would force her hand and arrange everything himself.
It was a Saturday night, and Alessa had finished her last set on stage. She had changed into a new outfit, before heading out to mingle with some of her regulars at the bar, when Harlin stopped her.
“I have five guys lined up for a lap dance,” he told her. “They expect to get what they pay for. When you get in that room with them, you will do what I taught you. If you don’t, there will be a price to pay when we get home. Do what I say and don’t be stupid.”
Hot tears burned in Alessa’s eyes. His words stung, and the way Harlin treated her reminded her of why she had ended up on Dauphin Street. She had run away from home to get away from being abused. Now she stood looking into his face. The man she had briefly idolized for saving her life was a monster. Harlin’s good looks disappeared, and his charm diminished.
Harlin gripped her viciously by the arm and brought his face so close that his nose rubbed up against hers. “What did I tell you about crying?” he hissed. “Pull yourself together and get in there and do what I said. Right now.”
Alessa was tempted to complain to Jay or Shiver but resisted the impulse. She feared what Harlin would do to her later. He was a loose cannon, and no one, not even his crew, knew when he would detonate. Everyone he knew had shied away from him, and she understood that he was becoming more desperate for money to support his drug habit.
Alessa was shaking when she walked into the room where lap dances were performed. The first client was already waiting there. He was a tall, handsome man with broad shoulders. The muscles on his arms rippled, and as he sat on the sofa, she noticed he had unzipped his pants. Alessa turned on the music and began the dance moves Shiver had taught her. The man was careful not to be too openly aggressive with her. Throughout the thirty-minute dance, he wore a taut expression.
The man looked away from her. “That was good! Are you here tomorrow?”
Alessa grabbed her stuff and reluctantly nodded.
Before he left the room, he turned back to Alessa. “That guy of yours is going to be good for your business. He sure was right about you. That was worth the fifty bucks I paid him.”
Alessa gasped. “Wait! You paid him fifty bucks?”
The man nodded and, with a perverse smile, left the room. Alessa returned to the bar, and a few minutes later, another man approached her. He was short and forty pounds overweight. Tattoos crawled over his flabby arms, and his teeth were yellowed from the overuse of tobacco. The stench of stale whiskey on his breath was so overpowering, she feared she might get drunk from breathing the same air. His fingernails were encrusted with dirt, and a pungent odor hung about him as she went into the lap dance room with him. The extra weight on his belly that hung over his pelvis made it impossible for him to do anything to her. She was relieved at this until he told her to turn around and face away from him. It was a blessing not to have to look at his disgusting face anymore as she continued to dance against his lap. He grunted and groaned, and the most revolting noises escaped from his twisted lips. Alessa had to resist the urge to scratch his eyes out when he held her hips. Alessa couldn’t wait to get away from him. All she wanted to do was shrivel up and die.
When the time was up, the man gave her a greasy smile. “Baby, that was hot!” he declared. “Was it for you, too?”
Alessa looked at him, shocked, but remembered Harlin’s warning. “Yeah, sure,” she answered mechanically, “it was a real turn-on.”
He winked at her and left the room.
Alessa took three more men into the lap dance room that night. She was numb and exhausted by the time she went back to the dressing room to change into regular clothes before going home.
Shiver noticed that Alessa looked tired. “You doing okay?” she asked, concerned. “You had a lot of lap dances tonight.”
Alessa gave her a tired nod. “Yeah, I’m fine. Like you said, the lap dances are pretty easy. I’m tired. I haven’t been sleeping well lately.”
Shiver took Alessa at her word. “Well, you go home and rest up. Drink warm milk before you go to bed. That should help you sleep better.”
It will take a lot more than warm milk to help me sleep, Alessa thought to herself. She smiled weakly and went off to find Harlin, her tormentor, in the bar.
