Page 79 of Lost Lyrebird

Beside me, Roxy adjusts her teal G-string with a snap.She’s laughing at something Charlotte said as she pulls a matching bra from her locker and adds the layered pieces of her stewardess costume until everything is in its rightful place.

Her new lingerie is on the higher end, and the makeup littering her vanity has been replaced with some from top-name brands.Even her ash-blonde hair has fresh highlights, and her dull matte lipstick now holds a fresh coat of lip gloss that shimmers with tiny sparkles.Every bit of it gives me the impression that no cost has been spared in her attempt to maintain the top spot in this unspoken battle for hierarchy at the club, which is fine.I love a challenge.

Zora runs a brush through her long, golden hair and throws it over her shoulder, “Ya’ll will never guess who I ran into the other night?”

“Who?”Eva takes a second to respond as she lines her lips with red lipliner.

Zora spins around to address the group.“Mateo.I was just at the grocery store pickin’ up a couple of things for dinner, and little man, who’s not so little anymore, was there buyin’ big boy wrappers?”

“What?Candy?”Honey, the newest girl, asks with utter sincerity, and the entire group bursts into laughter.

Zora frowns at her.“Jesus, Honey, no.Condoms.The boy’s all grown up now, and he was loading up on condoms.”

Eva saucily adds, “Goose’s boy is sure growin’ up mighty fine.I can’t wait ’til he’s not jailbait anymore.”

My ears perk up, and I look around.All I see is naked flesh—tits out, someone lotioning their legs bare ass in the air, bits on full display, because, in the dressing room, there is zero time and room for modesty.It’s something new dancers, like Honey, the one to my left, cling to for a few months, but all modesty goes out the window eventually.

I toss my hair and bend further over as I continue pulling up my white fishnets, mainly to hide my expression.It may not look like it, but my ears have zeroed in on the gossip.

Purrs and “Mm-hmm’s” follow.Then Eva fans herself.“I’d love to teach that boy a thing or two.If Goose isn’t up to havin’ the talk about the birds and bees with him, I sure am.”

“Well, if he was buyin’ condoms then he sure as shit already knows about the birds and bees, right?”This comes from Zora.

Eva smiles wickedly.“Yeah, but I’m talkin’ about a lesson with show and tell, no words necessary.”As a unit, the girls laugh and high-five each other.

Honey laughs along with them, but it’s an uncomfortable laugh.

Remembering the kid who brought Finn’s pills, I ask, “Who’s Mateo?”

Roxy raises an eyebrow and turns away from me without answering.

It’s Eva who does.“The dark-haired boy who stopped in a while back.You saw him, didn’t ya?Good looking, kind of emo.That’s Goose’s son.”

My heart stutters and tumbles over itself in shock.I snap my gaze to Eva.“He has a son?”

“Yeah, about what?”Eva glances around at the others.

“Seventeen,” Charlotte chimes in, dousing herself in perfume.She’s an older redhead with breasts so large they enter a room a full second before she does.“High-schooler.Goose used to let him hang around here a while back, but that stopped when one of the girls started flirting with him.Kid’s never been back since, except the other night.”

“Jeez, Charlotte!That’s too much!”Eva waves her hand.“We don’t all wanna smell like a burnt rose.”

Roxy says, “Kid probably got his first chubby right here in this room.”

Charlotte shakes her head.“Don’t let the boss man hear you talkin’ about his boy that way.He’s protective as hell of that kid.”

My mouth moves on its own.“He really has a son?”Nearly every woman stops and stares at me for a moment.I realize how that must sound.“Is he… or was he married, or is his son from a previous relationship or marriage or something?”

Raven appears in the doorway.By the scowl on her face, it’s clear she caught some of the conversation.As the other girls sense her presence, an uncomfortable hush fills the room.

“We open in ten.Be ready and where you’re supposed to be.And if you want to keep your jobs, I suggest you stay away from Mateo.Is that clear?”She points at a few of the dancers, her glare forcing nearly every woman to avoid eye contact.Then her gaze lands on me.Her frown deepens before she turns and disappears.

I move to my vanity to brush out my hair.I rip through any tangles with aggressive strokes.

Silence follows, except for a few hushed exchanges.

Eva stops behind my vanity before she goes out the door and lowers her tone so as not to be overheard.“Not married, but I think he was at one point.And he must still love her, ’cause he’s never shown much interest in anyone here.He keeps his personal life pretty private, though, so it’s hard to say.He never touches the dancers, and anyone who comes on strong with him doesn’t stick around long.Just a word to the wise.”

I meet her sympathetic look with a forced grin.“Thanks.”