Chapter 13 — Jim

It was nine-thirty Friday night. Kim stood in the shadow of the strip club, trying to press herself into the wall and be as inconspicuous as possible. She was wearing blue jeans and a bulky-knit sweater over her stripper outfit. Crying had smeared her makeup into a Halloween mask.

Dan almost missed the turn into the parking lot. He was going too fast and had to hit the brakes hard, nearly getting rear-ended by a little red Jeep. Kim stepped out of the shadows and waved to him, sobbing with relief. He drove over to her, skidding to a stop in the loose gravel.

Dan hopped out of the car wearing a t-shirt, sweatpants, and bedroom slippers, but Kim didn’t care. He looked like a hero to her. She buried her face in his chest, sobbing. She drew in his scent, mixed with a trace of Old Spice.

“Dan, I fucked up. I didn’t get fired, but it was really close. They sent me home and I can’t come back until Tuesday.”

She finally got Dan to hug her, but it was a tentative hug. That was okay because all she wanted reassurance, not a sexual come-on—at least for now. After her accident, she thought she’d never actually want sex again. But Dan was such a good guy and so understanding and had helped her so much over the last couple of weeks—maybe it could work out.

“What happened, Kim?” he asked Dan’s presence calmed her down enough she could talk. “I had a backroom session with Jim, one of the boss’ friends. I think maybe the boss owes Jim a lot of money. Anyway, Jim started getting rough and freaking me out. I need this job, so I tried to stay calm and go with the flow, but when he tried to spank me it was just too much. You know, last year that psycho bitch spanked me right before she tried to drown me. Anyway, I couldn’t take it. I ended up screaming. Then it got all confusing. The bouncers came in and the boss came in and one of the girls led me out, and I could hear lots of yelling and stuff but none of it made any sense to me and I just cried, and I didn’t know what to do, and I couldn’t find my golden diamond, and I knew you could help me through this, so I called you, and I’m so glad that you came.”

“Are you okay?” Dan asked, releasing the hug, and looking into her eyes. Kim thought it was dear that his first thoughts were about her wellbeing.

“Yeah. The boss sent Chastity in to take care of Jim, but I had to give her all of my tips for the night. Emerald is my ride home, but it will be a couple of hours until she gets off.” She looked around the parking lot. “I don’t like standing out here. It’s not safe. Some guys get the wrong idea.”

Kim heard footsteps in the gravel behind her but didn’t think anything of it until she heard the voice that went with them. Then her blood turned to ice. It was Jim.

“Well, hello there pretty lady. Who’s this you have with you? It looks like he’s all ready for bed. Did you wake your pimp up, or is he just a John from that motel over there who couldn’t sleep?”

She could tell that Dan was about to get all macho, so she put her hand on his chest to silently ask him to calm down. She could feel his heart racing.

Dan was bigger than Jim, but Jim was younger, and she knew from their time in the backroom that he was carrying a gun. She didn’t know who would win if they got into a fight, but it didn’t matter. She knew who would lose: she would.

Kim quickly came to a decision. She spoke to Dan in hushed but urgent tones. “Dan, you have to stay out of this. Jim is my problem and I have to handle it.”

She was amazed at how calm she was. Earlier tonight she was hysterical, but now she could see clearly. She knew what she had to do. She hated the idea of Jim touching her, but if she could get through this maybe in some fucked-up way it would mean she was closer to healing.

“Come on over here, little girl. I do believe that we have some unfinished business, don’t we?” called Jim standing about fifteen feet away, scuffing his feet in the gravel.

Dan kept his voice down, but it was filled with rage. “Let me take care of this creep, Kim. If he even touches me, I can throw him in jail for assaulting a police officer.”

Dan had told her all about Captain Barr having it in for him. There was no good way for Dan to explain why he was at a strip club in the middle of the night, wearing his slippers, getting into a fight over her. Jim may go to jail, but Dan would probably be out of a job and could even lose his pension.

“Yeah," said Kim. “He’ll be in jail and I’ll be working a street corner trying to pay for Janice’s school fees. Look, I have to take care of this guy or I’ll lose my job, Dan. I’ll lose my job and end up working at that motel, doing guys worse than him every night. I have to do it for Janice, don’t you see?”

Kim turned to Jim. “Okay, Jim. Everything’s fine. I’ll take care of you. Just let me say goodbye to my friend.”

“That’s okay, sugar. I want it to be clear to everyone that you are coming to me of your own free will," called Jim.

The veins were bulging on Dan’s forehead. “Kim, you have to let me get rid of this guy. I don’t want you going off with him.”

“No, Dan. No! Don’t fuck up my job. Please.”

Dan glared at her. She felt the anger pouring out of him and hoped that none of it was directed at her.

“Listen, Dan, you have to accept me as I am. This is part of my job, and until I find a way out of this shithole, I’ll have to deal with jerks like him. If you win the lottery and ask Janice and me to move into your mansion then you can come back and arrest anyone you like. But until then you have to let me take care of my daughter.”

Kim knew she’d never convince Dan to back off, so she stopped using words. She turned and started walking towards Jim. With every step she took, she got further away from Dan and his protective aura. With every step she took, she felt the panic creep back in. With every step she took, she saw more clearly that she had just made a big mistake. She wasn’t ready for this. She didn’t ever want to be ready for something like this.

She stopped about four feet in front of Jim, wanting to be just out of his reach. She felt a cool wind blow on her face. Music drifted out from the club and mixed with the sounds of cars driving by. Her mouth was dry and tasted like an ashtray. “Listen, sweetie. I’m sorry about earlier tonight, but I can’t handle rough stuff, okay? Let’s just climb into your car and I’ll make things up to you.”

Jim nodded and led Kim to a big pickup that was parked nearby. It had dual rear tires, a crew cab, and a custom paint job with pinstripes. “This is my fuck-truck,” he said, proudly. “There’s a lot of room in the cab, and you’re gonna need all the room you can get. I already blew my first load with Chastity. The second time is more fun cause it takes longer”

Kim’s knees went weak. She almost turned and ran. She had to remember to be brave for Janice and Dan and the other dancers and everyone else who would be affected by her actions here.

After they climbed in Jim started the truck. “Where are we going?” asked Kim. “I thought I was going to take care of you in the parking lot.”

“No," replied Jim. “There are too many people walking thru the parking lot. We’re not on the clock so I want to see your whole bag of tricks. If you wanna keep your job, you’re gonna have to work your ass off for me tonight, little girl.”