Page 19 of The Toy Maker

“That’s ‘cause Kitty does it for him,” Sarah added.

I walked with them to the backroom, furrowing my brows. “Yeah, they seem to know each other pretty well.”

Before they could comment, a Cherry I barely knew popped out of nowhere, shoving my phone into my hand. “This thing’s been ringing non-stop,” she said, before disappearing as quickly as she arrived.

The screen glowed with an unknown number, and no voicemail was left behind, but I knew what they wanted. My stomach tightened with familiar dread.

Money was all Dad ever wanted.

I slipped into the narrow back hallway, the one hidden behind posters of glossy, overly-oiled men, their eyes forever half-lidded in fake ecstasy. The alley outside of Pink Cherrie reminded me of a place where women and children disappear without a trace, so I propped the door open.

I pressedcall. It rang once. Twice. Three times. There was no answer.

Typical.

Shoving my phone back into my pocket, I took a breath, staring down the dark alley as if it held some kind of answer. Allit gave me was silence and the distant sound of laughter spilling from the club’s side door.

Whatever happened tonight, it couldn’t be worse than what was waiting on the other end of that call.

NINE

With every cheerfor me to, “Drink up, bitch,” I felt my conscience slowly slipping away. I lost track of how many shots Jade slid to my side of the table, accompanied by demanding eyes.

“What the fuck are these?” The words slurred together as they left my mouth.

“Tequila!” they yelled as they waved down the bartender for the third time.

Kitty, being our group leader, decided to drag us to a club opening down the street from her apartment. It was a hole in the wall, refurbished to entice the upper-class city dwellers. Other full tables laughed around us, each one rowdier than the last.

I watched as a woman took a blowjob shot, letting the liqueur run down her chin.

“This place sucks more ass than my last boyfriend,” Jade whined over the blasting music.

“I agree,” Sarah pitched in, her boobs barelycontained in the crop top she arrived in. If she leaned forward another inch, we’d be getting a private show. And I was all out of ones.

“Then where do you hoes want to go?” Kitty asked before downing another shot. Her pink hair was in a loose braid, falling over her bare shoulders. Her corset still managed to show less skin than Sarah.

I began mentally putting together a study on the correlation of intoxication to the amount women call each other insulting names in a friendly manner. Cherries were the best test subjects I could ask for.

“Did you get that package yet?” Sarah asked Kitty, her words slurring slightly.

“Came in this morning,” Kitty answered with a nod. “And I’m going to need it after Tara’s performance.”

This set off another round of giggles before Jade begged Kitty to take us to her place and show us her package.

“Oh, baby,” Kitty purred, “you know how I love to hear you beg.”

Jade flicked her tongue in a surprisingly sexual way. I gasped like the drunken idiot that I had become. “Oh my God. Are you guys gay?” Not that I had a problem with that.

The laughter that followed told me that they were either overcompensating or I was way off the mark.

Kitty wiped the few tears from her eyes as she giggled. “Only after a few shots of tequila.”

“Yeah, Kitty is way below my standards.” Jade snorted. “Like, eight inches under.”

After everyone finished their last round and we managed to find the exit, we stumbled down the block. The city was bright, too bright if you asked me, and not close to shutting down for the night anytime soon. Other clubbers flooded the sidewalks, talking shit about the cheap liquor at the bar they just left. And although I had turned a corner at work, walking with the girls in skimpy clothing still didn’t feel safe.

Eyes wandered over our bodies as we trailed after each other, the lengthy looks making goosebumps form on my skin. And even though Kitty’s bachelorette pad looked close, it still took a while for us to walk in a straight line long enough to get there.