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“You know Arch doesn’t like you here. It’s late.” He frowned but I gave him a small smile.

“I’m also twenty.”

“It was only yesterday that you were five and climbing onto my lap to steal my fries. There’s no way in hell you’re twenty, or that means I’m really old,” he grumbled, narrowing his eyes. “Didn’t you just start high school?”

“Nope. I’m in college.” I laughed lightly, my eyes finally landing on Riley in the dimly lit room. She was sitting in a booth with Ander, the pair of them having a conversation while he got a lap dance.

My chest ached as the dancer moved towards Riley and straddled her lap, confusion hitting me. I had no reason to feel hurt by it, but something nagged at me.

I eyed some of the other dancers around the room, and I felt nothing for them. I didn’t care that their tits were out on display, or imagined touching them.

Looking back at Riley, my heart picked up the tempo, and my body heated at the thought of her fingers sliding into my pants as her lips trailed across my neck.

“Luna,” Milky said sharply, snapping me out of my daydreaming. “I asked if you were going to stand there all night or sit down?”

My face flushed, and I started walking towards Stanley’s friends, speaking over my shoulder. “Sorry, it’s been a long night.”

His eyes burned into me until I sat down beside Stanley, and one of the guys rolled his eyes.

“Dude, you brought your girlfriend?”

“Don’t be a dick,” Stanley threw back, my heart warming until he added, “Her parents own the club. They’ll probably give us discounts if she’s with us.”

The guys all whooped and cheered dramatically at that, making me scowl.

“It doesn’t work like that. Those girls keep a decent percent of their tips, so Mom won’t give you a discount because it’s stealing from the staff.”

“They’re just strippers, Luna. If they wanted good money, they should’ve gotten a real job, like when your mom met your dad and he stopped her whoring around. He gave her arealjob. I’d never let you dance or get on your back in a place like this. It’s disgusting. It’s for desperate, single moms who are too lazy to work.” Stanley snorted, his friends snickering and making jokes about throwing tinned food on the stage instead if they needed to feed their kids that badly, and I snapped.

“Don’t talk about people like that,” I demanded, hoping my voice sounded firm. “Their jobs are really hard. They work really long hours in awful shoes, they put up with men assaulting them regularly, and they pay taxes just like everyone else. My mom liked being a dancer, and for your information, she didn’t give it up because she met my dad. They grew up together and he let her work here when he bought the place. He gave it to her because she loves this place.” It was a little lie. Dad signed it over to her due to crew problems before I was born, but Stanley and his friends didn’t need to know that.

Stanley scoffed, sneering at me. “You can’t assault someone who’s waving their tits in your face. They’re literally begging to be touched. Of course your mom liked being a sex worker. She got paid in piles of money and orgasms. I feel sorry for your dad now though. He probably can’t even feel the sides anymore when he fucks her.”

They all laughed, tears pricking my eyes. “Why would you even say that? Of course a sex worker can be assaulted. My mom was raped and…”

“That’s theft, not rape,” one guy piped up. “Unless they paid.”

I got to my feet, and Stanley grabbed my wrist firmly. “Where are you going? Don’t be so fucking sensitive.”

“Sensitive?” I hissed, trying to pull back but he wouldn’t let go. “You’re calling my mom a whore and being a dick. You always get like this in front of your friends.”

“You’re causing a scene,” he said in a threatening tone, his fingers biting into my skin as he tightened his hold. “Sit down and stop being dramatic. I don’t know why I put up with you when you get like this. You can be such a baby.”

“I don’t know why I put up with you either,” I spat before I could think about it. “Let me go. We’re done.”

“Are you breaking up with me?” He laughed dryly, but I saw frustration flash across his eyes. “This is because of your fucking cunt of a friend, isn’t it? She’s brainwashed you.”

“It has nothing to do with Riley. It’s because you’ve become such a massive asshole. It’s like I’m dating a completely different person!”

“You want to leave me? Fine. Your timid pussy’s not even that good anyway.” His eyes gleamed with cruelty, making his friends chuckle. I yanked back again, this time almost landing on my ass as he let me go.

I turned before he could see the tears fall, moving across the room quickly and almost running into Milky who grabbed my biceps to steady me. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Can I sit in the office until closing?” I choked out, knowing he was going to ask questions but not wanting him to cause a scene.

His muscles tensed as he glanced over at the table of laughing men, his voice turning cold. “What did the jackass do to you? Did he fucking hurt you?”

“No, he’s just showing off in front of his friends, so I broke up with him. Please, can I…”