jscottgrand:

-4-

It only takes Johnny ten minutes to blow through the 11 dollars in cash he had in his pocket when he walked into Ooh La La. The lunch time special is dollar Dixies but he only buys one beer. He spends the rest on the stripper with long chestnut hair. Johnny notices her right away. She has a face that makes him think of California and girls with skin that taste like salt water taffy. She has a face that reminds him of Jess.

Johnny takes a seat at the foot of the stage, watching intently as she slowly drops into a split before him. She’s short but has long legs for her size. 
“Aren’t you all handsome!” she says with smile.
Johnny blushes. He knows she’s just working him but there’s a warmth to her voice that makes him want to believe she really means it.
“What’s your name?” he asks.
“Meredith. But you can call me Merry.”
She lifts herself up from the floor and moves closer to him. Johnny likes that she’s not all inked up like the other girls. Her skin is unmarked, except for the tiny tattoo of a broken heart that sits between the thumb and forefinger of her right hand. He leans forward and presses a ten dollar bill into her fingers.
“I ain’t seen anything beautiful in a long time.”
Johnny gets up from his seat and heads to the bar. He wonders if they’ll cash a check.

Episodes 1, 2, and 3.

If you enjoyed this, please consider buying my book, Trash and Vaudeville, which is available here and on Amazon, in paperback and Kindle versions, or my e-chapbook, Fireflies, which is available here.

Original work by by j. scott grand is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.