Chapter 3 Leather dress

Maya sighed. “Don’t ‘Maya’ me like that. You think I like saying it? But you need 3 million, not 300. You can’t waitress your way out of this. Not in a year. Not in five.”

Eleanor stared at the ground.

“I’m not… I don’t do that.”

“I know,” Maya said, softer now. “But there are other ways to be in those rooms. You talk. You pour drinks. You look pretty. Some of the girls clear 20k in a week if they play it right. Rich men tip like it’s nothing.”

“And what if they want more?”

“Then you say no and you walk. You’re not stupid, Lea. You’re the smartest person I know.”

Eleanor laughed, but it wasn’t a real laugh. “Smart people don’t end up here.”

“Smart people do whatever they have to.”

The silence stretched between them. An ambulance pulled into the bay behind them.

“I have a shift tonight,” Maya said. “At Lux. Downtown. The VIP rooms are full of footballers and tech guys. One of them asked for ‘someone new.’ I told them about you.”

Eleanor’s head snapped up. “You what?”

“I said my friend needed work. Desperate. But not desperate enough to be stupid. They’ll pay just for you to sit there. 2,000 euros. For one night.”

2,000 euros.

That was four months of rent. That was half the debt to the men. That was nothing compared to 3.1 million.

But it was something.

“I can’t,” Eleanor whispered.

“You can,” Maya said. “And you will. For your mum.”

Eleanor closed her eyes. She saw her mother’s face in the hospital bed. ‘Don’t bother saving me’.

She hated that. She hated that her mother thought she was a burden. She hated that her father was rich and didn’t care. She hated rich men.

But hate didn’t buy kidneys.

“Fine,” she said. The word felt like glass in her throat. “One night.”

Maya squeezed her hand. “We’ll go at midnight. Wear the black dress. The tight one. And don’t wear a bra. They like that.”

Eleanor didn’t answer. She just nodded.

As they walked back into the hospital, the city kept moving around them. Sirens. Traffic. People spending money they didn’t think about.

And Eleanor made a choice she swore she never would.

The night was chilly. The kind of cold that bit through leather.

Eleanor and Maya walked down the zebra crossing. Cars splashed through puddles and didn’t slow down. Eleanor’s arms were wrapped around herself. The dress she had on wasn’t helping.

It was black leather. Tight. It ended halfway down her thighs and clung to her like a second skin. Underneath, a lace G-string that felt like nothing and too much at the same time. No bra. Her nipples were hard from the cold and from fear. The 6-inch platform heels made every step feel like she was going to fall.

They arrived at the club’s entrance. “Lux”. The name was in gold letters above the door. Two bouncers stood there, big and bored.

They looked Eleanor and Maya up and down. Slow. Like they were pricing meat.

Maya smiled. The kind of smile that knew what it was worth. She reached into her cleavage and pulled out a black card. Eleanor’s eyes popped wide open.

The bouncers looked at each other, then stepped aside.

Once inside, the noise hit her first. Bass vibrating through the floor. Then the dark. A long corridor with red lights on the walls. The air smelled like perfume, sweat, and money.

“Now remember Eleanor,” Maya said over her shoulder, not looking back. “Loosen up. Just give them what they want. But only on your terms.”

Maya was smiling. It was dark but Eleanor could tell. That easy, practiced smile.

‘Fuck.’ Eleanor thought. ‘How did things end up this way.’

She was going against every conviction she had to save her mother’s life. Her mother, who had sold their things to put her through college. Her mother, who was dying in a hospital bed right now.

They walked through another door and the lights shot up in Eleanor’s face. She squinted and took in the view.

Dancing. Drinking. Talking. Gambling at low tables in the corners. Poles. Girls in heels and less than nothing. Men in suits throwing cash like it was paper.

This was not the kind of club she had in mind.

This was a place where girls gave their bodies up to men so easily, and the men paid for the privilege of pretending it was a choice.

The lace G-string rode up with every step. The heels made her ankles wobble. She felt exposed in a way that had nothing to do with skin.

As they swerved through the crowd, Maya called out to people, waving. She grabbed Eleanor’s wrist and yanked her toward a booth.

“Maya, no. Wait. Hold on!” But the music swallowed her words.

“Hi. Good evening.” Maya greeted the table of men like they were old friends. There were three of them. Suits off, shirts unbuttoned, watches that cost more than Eleanor’s yearly rent.

They lit up when they saw Maya.

“This is my friend,” Maya said, pulling Eleanor forward. “The one I told you guys about.”

One of them, the one with gelled hair, leaned back.

“Wow. I wonder how many of your kind she’s told about me too.”

“What?” another one asked, confused.

Eleanor forced a smile. It felt like it would crack her face.

“It’s nice to meet you.”

They didn’t care. They were already pouring her a drink. Vodka. No mixer.

Eleanor took it because her hands needed something to do. She counted seconds in her head. It had been ten minutes. Ten minutes of fake laughs and hands brushing her arm and eyes looking at her chest.

Then one of them, the gelled-hair one, pulled her closer. His hand landed on her thigh, high. Too high!

“Come here, beautiful.”

Maya and the others laughed. Like this was normal. Like this was the price of entry.

Eleanor felt naked. The dress was so short. No bra. The leather was cold against her skin and her nipples were tight against it. She could feel every stare.

The man’s hand started to slide up, under the hem of the dress.

Something snapped.

Eleanor threw a slap across his face. Hard. The sound cut through the music for half a second.

The table went silent. Shocked.

Eleanor froze, panting. Her hand hurt. Her heart was hammering. She put down the glass of vodka

She turned and ran.

Behind her she heard Maya: “I’m so sorry. She’s never like this. She must be on something.” And then footsteps following.

Eleanor stumbled toward the back, following signs for a restroom. She burst through the ladies’ room door expecting quiet.

What she got was worse.

Two people were fucking against the ceramic sink. A girl in a dress pushed up around her waist, a man behind her. Their moans echoed off the tile.

Eleanor turned away, face burning. She’d only taken four steps when Maya rushed up to her and grabbed her arm.

“What the hell was that?!” Maya hissed, dragging her into a stall and shutting the door. “You can’t do that here, Lea. These guys pay to be touched.”

“His hand was under my dress,” Eleanor snapped. “In public.”

“And?” Maya threw her hands up. “That’s the job. You want the 2,000 or not?”

“I want my mother to live,” Eleanor shot back. Tears were threatening again. “I don’t want to be groped for it.”

Maya stared at her. Then her face softened. Just a little.

“Okay. Okay. Breathe. There’s another way.”