Page 8 of The Toy Maker

“Up next we have Satara,” Kitty said my full name, and I figured I should move.

I pushed past the curtain and nearly died at the thought of falling. It took my eyes a moment to adjust to the strobe lights as I walked toward the center of the stage. There were loud claps and whistles from the crowd, all managing to somehow build my self-esteem and cheapen it at the same time.

“Satara is wearing a naughty little number that shows offallthe curves of her body.”

One wrong move and there would be nothing to hide anymore. I’d be naked in front of dozens of strangers. Adrenaline coursed through me, refusing to let me turn back. I took my cue to walk down the catwalk and did my best impression of a Victoria’s Secret Angel. The crowd hollered at my ass, and blood rushed to my face.

Before I could take another breath, I dove behind the curtain across the stage. All the other Cherries were waiting with bottles of water and peppy grins.

They cheered for me as I found my way to the backroom.

“Way to go,” the pixie laughed and handed me something to drink.

Jade grinned. “Yeah, you’re one of us now.”

One of them? My shoulders relaxed as I took a sip of water. I’d managed to suppress the fact that I still didn’t entirely know what being one of them meant. But my nerves threatened to return at full force, waiting for me to let my guard down.

“That wasn’t so bad,” I lied, trying to keep my expression neutral.

“The pussywalk never is,” Jade drawled, playing idly with the delicate chain around her neck, the dim neon light catching on the tiny charm dangling between her fingers.

I raised a brow at her. “Pussywalk?”

Jade glanced at the neon pixie.

“I’m Sarah by the way,” the girl interjected quickly, her tone forced, a little too eager to steer the conversation elsewhere.

I wouldn’t give up so easily. “Why’d you call it a pussywalk?” I pressed.

Sarah sighed, her shoulders rising and falling as she cast an expectant look at Jade. “The pussywalk is what we do so the men?—”

“—Or women,” Sarah added.

“—Can decide which one of us they want for the night.” Jade watched several different expressions flash across my face. None of them could be pleasant.

The room suddenly felt smaller.Tighter.

Disgust settled in my chest, weighing heavily on me. Lingerie was one thing: sexy, playful, maybe even empowering in the right setting. But this? This was something else entirely.

The gears in my head ground together until they caught fire. “Like prostitution?”

The girls all burst into laughter.

“We aren’t prostitutes. No one is allowed to have sex with us,” Jade promised, as if that single rule erased all my concerns.

Sarah nodded along. “Exactly. They just pay to play with us.”

I stared at each of them in disbelief. “I’m ninety-nine-point-nine percent sure that’s prostitution.” After stifling their laughter, it was clear they found my confusion amusing, which only made me feel stupid.

Sarah took pity on me, explaining, “We typically have an opening number, but we canceled that tonight, then we do the pussywalk. The hotter you dress, the more likely you are to be chosen by a rich customer with nothing to do except spend their money on renting you for a few hours.”

“We work partially for tips too, so the richer the better.” Jade grinned.

Sarah smirked at Jade. “The person who bought you can play with you for as long as they paid for. Which could be from thirty minutes to closing.” She shrugged, like it was no different from a shift at a coffee shop.

“I’m sorry.” I held my hand up before she could go on. “How do they play with us exactly?” The concept of being paid to act like a glorified sex doll gave me the creeps.

“They use toys.”