Sinful Angel

Chapter 2: Luke

**TWO YEARS LATER**

"Luke! Thank god you're here, Justin came down with the flu and-"

"Don't worry, I talked to him already." Cindy thanked me again before rushing off to take care of whatever it was she did. I held back a sigh of frustration as I turned to the right, heading towards the staff changing rooms. It was empty when I walked in, and my expensive shoes made barely a sound on the plush carpet. I set my bag next to the chair of my vanity and stared at myself in the mirror.

Yeah, I said vanity. Turns out the scenes in movies where the strippers are in a communal area with all their own mirrors and space are more accurate than you'd think. I might not be an actual stripper, but I wasn't too damn far from it. You could say my job was a little more... intense than merely stripping for cash to be shoved in my underwear. I was never that desperate, thankfully. But after Mads and I split I wasn't in the greatest place in any kind of way.

This place, Stripes, had been my saving grace. I looked around the room, trying to remind myself that I enjoyed being here. No. More than that. I needed it. Stripes had given me control of my life again, and even though it was starting to feel tedious and burdensome I just knew that if I left I'd begin to spiral. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, but eventually. All the heartbreak and hurt I'd managed to shove down into a deep dark corner of my heart would start leaking out until I was three bottles deep and no way to turn back.

With the reminder of the person I'd been a year and a half ago, I blew out my frustrations on a breath and got changed for my scene with Justin's customer. We had a similar build and style so we covered each other as needed. Plus, Justin was the one who helped me get my ass in gear and introduced me to the place, so I felt like I owed him.

The door opened just as I picked up my black silk bag of tools, Cindy's face peering around the corner from me.

"Oh good, you're ready. Here's what you need to know for tonight's clients," she said as she handed over a tablet. I began to skim through the first client as she continued. "You're really saving my ass tonight Luke. I know that you've been struggling the past couple months, so I really appreciate you coming in on your day off."

My eyes shot up to hers, wondering how she'd been able to tell. She gave me a small, secretive smile before patting my arm and then leaving me alone again. Jesus, maybe the rumors had been true after all. All the "agents" as we were called had whispered about Cindy's seemingly psychic ways, but I'd never had reason to believe them until now.

Brushing that moment off, I checked out the first client once more. Mid 40's, female, 5'4" with a slim build. Submissive, and curious about delving more into that side of her. Green light on most options that were listed, and the rest were in yellow. Any of my personal hard limits were unavailable to select, which made things easier for everyone involved.

I picked my mask off the vanity, placing it around my eyes and let out a deep breath, letting my every day side disappear, and letting the one I needed for this job take it's place. Everything but the four clients of the night could wait until tomorrow.