The Start of Something.

Shanell thought about going to the police, but felt that they would not help her. She imagined the guys being dragged into the police station as she picked them out of the lineup. The more she thought about this, the more their faces were hazy from the alcohol. She tried to at least remember the man with dark hair, and the older guy, but all disguising characteristics were now a blur.

She quickly left the table to grab her purse knowing that Danielle was a call away to pick her up from this nightmare night. She pushed the button on her phone to see her phone was dead like her hopes of an easy night.

"I did not hire you. I don't have your money," he answered back, still not raising his voice to match hers.

"Who the fuck are you then? This isn't your place?" Shanell snapped back as she felt anger and frustration take over.

"I am just watching it. I had no idea they hired you tonight."

Shanell snapped back, pissed off and not being able to get her money, and not being able to remember the two men who attacked her. "So what the fuck did you think was going to happen tonight? You were just going to stay hidden away while I danced then? Who the fuck does that?"

"Look, I am sorry for what happened. I had no idea they hired you. I was just told a few guys were going to be crashing here after they went bar hopping."

"I don't give a fuck. Just give me my money," she spat out, finally sitting down and holding her hand out, hoping to get money.

He softly answered back, holding his hands up in an effort to calm the situation down. "Which one of those guys hired you? I can try to get money from them."

Shanell pulled back her hand and realized she might get money from Danielle. "A friend told me about this. She said I would get $500 for this."

"Who did your friend talk to?"

"I don't fucking know...fuck. I need the money for this," Shanell said as she huffed out a deep breath from the frustration.

"I mean...I got like a hundred on me," he offered as he began to clean up.

Shanell nodded her head and then looked at him defeated as this day was not getting any better. She looked at her phone hoping that it had a sliver of life and would turn on.

Shanell felt hunger finally creep up and picked up the fork. With an ounce of calm reserve coming back, she began to eat. Thinking about the hundred she would get plus the money she made from last night, the thought of having enough money to find a new place was a real possibility. She knew getting her old place back was not going to happen, but at least she was not broke.

"Can I use your phone? Mine is dead and I need to call my friend for a ride," Shanell asked with a more calm tone, hoping it would help and the guy would let her.

The man picked up a roll that was on the table and took a bite of it. He then swiped his hands on his jeans to wipe the crumbs away before sliding his phone in front of her. Shanell swiped the phone on and realized she did not remember any other number other than Ashanti's. Danielle's number was stored in her phone that would not turn on.

"Can I get a ride home? My friend is not picking up," she asked, hoping he did not realize she never called anyone.

"Sure."

Shanell felt a little at peace that she could get home and the fear of getting harmed from this guy was not there. The thoughts of who he was came to her and she wanted to know more. "You don't look like the person to be friends with those guys from last night. What's your deal with them? Is this your place?"

"It's my brother's place. He is out of town and asked me to watch the place and asked if his coworkers could crash for the night after their party."

"So they were not your friends at all last night?" Shanell asked as she touched her temple to feel the pain from being punched last night.

"Let me get you something for that. I really feel bad about what happened. I heard stories about those guys from my brother. He said there were a few guys from his firm that were assholes. I did not know they were here though."

"Your brother's firm? Is he a lawyer of some sort?" Shanell replied, knowing that her chances of suing were diminishing. The thought of being on a stand against a group of lawyers now brought a pin to the idea of trying to get revenge by a lawsuit.

"Yeah. Those guys were a bunch of lawyers. Bunch of dick lawyers, but lawyers none the less," he said with a smirk of disgust.

"I still don't know your name," Shanell said as she saw a gleam of hope that this guy would hold true to the fact he was going to give her some money.

With his hand extended he answered back," "Oh, I am sorry. I am Joe."

"I am Shanell." Shanell took his strong hand and quickly felt his strength. It was not hard but it was not a soft and weak handshake either.

"We can leave as soon as you want. I just wish I could offer you more."

"Look, I really want to thank you for last night. I am just upset that it happened and I got stiffed for the party. I really needed that money."

Joe smiled as he answered before turning around to clean up the small mess from his cooking. "I will see about getting you some money if I see them again. I am really sorry that you had to deal with them."

Shanell stood up and quickly put on her sweatpants knowing that she had nothing to cover herself other than the length of the t-shirt. She then knew the shirt was not hers, and the one she was wearing was lying on the floor ripped.

"One more favor...do you mind if I umm take your shirt? Mine is not all that wearable."

Joe turned around to see her face as he smiled his response, "Sure, no problem."

Shanell went to the bathroom and saw that the side of her face was bruised, but not bad. It would take hours of makeup to cover the damage, but it could be done. She washed up the best she could in the shortest possible time. The thought of getting home and showering was now something desired among all other things.

Shanell left the bathroom and saw Joe with keys in his hand. "You ready?" he asked as she stood there wondering if he was going to give her the hundred he said he had on him. Knowing that he was not involved made her even question taking the money, but the need to have it outweighed everything else.

Shanell got into Joe's pickup telling him she needed to be dropped off at the club to get her bag that had her apartment keys and her clothes. The thought of them getting stolen was not a concern as she knew the bouncer would most likely put them in the manager's office at the end of the night.

The ride to the club was not long, but she sat quietly hoping that she did not have to bring up the money he was going to give her. Joe had offered the money, and a twinge of guilt about bringing it up again lingered in her mind. He had stopped the attack from happening and was now giving her money, just to pay for something he was not involved in.

When they pulled up to the club she saw Joe reach into his back pocket to pull out his wallet, and the worry about bringing up the money and not getting the money was quelled.

Joe opened his wallet and just grabbed all of the ready cash in it right in from of her eyes. "This is everything I have."

Shanell looked at him and wanted to say keep it, but she knew her situation at home needed her to be a little greedy. "Thank you. Thank you so much for helping me too."

"I am just sorry that I did not get there sooner."

Shanell was back at the club hitting the buzzer to be let in by Frank who cleaned up during the day. She counted out one hundred and twenty dollars as she knew her only hope of salvaging her life was through Danielle giving her money, and being her chauffeur for the weekend. Her mind worked through her problems easily finding the solution to making her life work again. She would get Danielle to get her home and back to work for the weekend, while scanning enough cash to put a deposit on a new place by Monday.

The money from a Friday night, and Saturday night was good enough to afford a new place, and possibly for an Uber back and forth for awhile. It was not the end of the world, and she knew it would have to make due until she was stable enough to get another cheap car. Defeat was not an option and giving up was something she swore never to do. Even if her friend did not come through with the money, the money from this week was still enough to find some dive hotel to bed down in for a week or two.

She quickly grabbed her bag and went straight for her phone charger in hopes that she could get Danielle or anyone else to come pick her up. It was when she pulled the charger out that she realized she left her phone on the table back at the apartment with Joe.

"Fuck!" Shanell cursed out as the emotions from yesterday were now trying to boil over into today. She thought about how to contact Danielle, and how if anything she could get a hold of Joe in hopes he would return her phone to her.

Shanell walked over to Frank and asked him for a ride, and to see what numbers he had stored in his phone. There was a slim chance he had a number she could use, and that small chance was her only chance.

***

Shanell was home in bed hoping to get enough sleep as possible before going back to the club to earn her life back. The makeup could cover last night's hits, and the money she earned could shake the setback Ashanti gave her by skipping out on rent and her car.

She woke up just in time to get ready. Tonight was going to be a heavy makeup day, and she had Chandra from the club picking her up. She did not have a ride home, but that could be solved once she got there. There was not a night that went by that someone needed a ride home or someone was not offering to help someone who needed a ride too.

Shanell was ready after almost an hour of making sure she was good enough to pass off as someone who did not take a few hits to the face. An extra supply of cover-up in-between sets would help insure the ruse could continue all night too.

She thought about telling Chandra about what happened, but also did not want to get the other girls angry at Danielle either. If they all turned on her the chance she would give up the money for the party would be gone as well. Instead, she kept the conversation to the club only about how Ashanti had skipped town with her money and car.

The night was like another night as Shanell watched the men shuffle in, gawking at her, all thinking she was a piece of meat. She took it with pride that she had the body to make a man get excited, and knew she dressed like someone who wanted to be gazed at with lust. The notion that it was the means to the end also played in her mind as did the bad music she paraded her body to.

By the end of the night Shanell heard that Danielle was picked up for distribution of a controlled substance. The idea of getting the needed money from her went out the door with hearing about how she got busted selling coke to an undercover cop. She knew it was the reason why she gave her the bachelor party as the drug trade was more lucrative.

Like another setback in her life, Shanell thought about how to deal with another setback. Her new plan in her mind was to buy a cheap pay as you go phone off and find a motel to crash in until she had time to get another cheap apartment.

Just as the crowd began to die off, Shanell went behind a set of stairs to give herself privacy as she counted up her money. It was her little spot where she could see the men as they entered the club, but it was dark and set off in the corner to give her concealment

As the money flipped through her fingers from the average night's take, Shanell knew it was enough to get her to one of her goals. The stress of yesterday faded into a new challenge that she was now able to deal with. It was when Joe walked past the bouncer that she felt tonight might get a little better.

He walked to the bar and then to a large chair with a glass of soda in his hand. The chair he sat in was away from the dance stage, but still close enough to see the dancers. It was the chair guys sat in that did not want to tip the dancers, but watch the show. It was also the cheap chair guys used for getting a non-private lap dance.

Shanell put on her white bikini top so she was no longer topless but still able to show off every curve of her round breasts. The extra short miniskirt was to cover up the g-string that was wedged in her ass crack. She walked over to Joe and just knew in her heart that he was there to return her phone.

She knelt down right in front of him so the manager would think she was flirting and asking the guy if he wanted a dance. "Hey you."

Joe smiled and put down his soda on the table next to him before reaching into his pocket to pull out her cellphone. "Hey there. I came by hoping to see if you were working. I thought you might want this back."

Shanell took the phone and smiled wide as she felt a weight had been lifted. "Oh, my God. You are a life saver. I really thought I would never get it back. Between the money and the phone, it's been bad. Thank you so much though."

"You welcome. It's the least I can do. I guess everyone needs a small win now and again." Joe smiled back and grabbed his soda from the table.

The magnitude of gratitude she felt towards him was almost bursting now. Shanell had lost all hope of getting her phone back and really regretted doubting this man who had saved her from a sexual assault and now returned her phone. He did not have to do anything to help her, and yet still gave money from his own pocket to help pay for the party she got stiffed on.

"I need to give you something to say thank you. Let me get you a dance at least," Shanell offered, feeling that she needed to repay him in anyway she could.

"I can't have you pay for a lap dance for me. Besides, you told me you were hard pressed for money," Joe replied, looking at her and not the girls on stage.

"Fine then. I will give you one for free," Shanell shot back, smiling as she knew she was going to win the discussion.

"You serious? I mean, I was happy with the thank you."

Shanell grabbed his hand and motioned for him to go to the back area where the private dances were done. Joe looked at the direction he was being pulled and then at her. "Why there? You can just do it here."

Shanell laughed a bit and continued pulling. "Privacy silly."

Shanell led him to the back area and pulled the curtain open so they could enter. Shanell walked in and unlocked the door to the VIP room which was a completely separate room in the back area. While the back area did the private dances, the VIP room did the expensive private dances. Shanell only used this room to get the very rich customers to payout for dances, but she knew other girls would abuse this privacy with doing sexual favors for wealthy patrons.

She closed the door behind her, and took the glass of soda from his hand. The loud thump of the music was now muffled as the room blocked the ear drumming sounds of the club. When she saw Joe was sitting, she walked right in front of him and pulled off her skirt to reveal most her brown skin for him to see.

Only a small patch of fabric covered her dark pussy lips from his sight as she straddled his body. She moved her head slowly to his face, smelling the cologne he must have just put on.

"Now, it my turn to thank you," she whispered in his ear while grinding her pelvis down against his crotch in hopes of a male reaction.

"I have to say, you are really beautiful. I can't get over how pretty you look," Joe said as he leaned forward like he was just going to have a normal conversation and not a lap dance.

Shanell heard those words a hundred times a day and they became just as plain as a simple hello from a stranger. She knew her body could get any man's attention, but some of the men she danced for told her they preferred white girls over black. The few black men that did come in the club would always pick her as she knew she was only one of the two girls of color in the club.

Joe was about to say something else, but Shanell wanted him to be at peace with getting rewarded with her body. With her finger to his mouth, stopping his lips from moving she said, "You're going to love this."

Joe nodded as she saw the look of shock on his face before turning around presenting her brown backside to him. She began with twerking her ass right near his face, letting him see how perfect it was. The thin piece of her string barely hid anything and only spreading her ass cheeks open could anyone tell it was there. She danced her ass around before sliding her finger to the top of her g-string and then followed it down so she could pull it out.

The seduction of almost showing him more played out as she heard him comment. "Oh...God...Oh shit."

Shanell slowly turned around and straddled his body, and then leaned in to whisper in his ear, "Just relax and get hard for me. I want to feel your cock get erect as I grind against it."

Wrapping her arms around his neck she felt his muscles around his shoulders and neck. Knowing that those muscles saved her body from last night, she felt compelled to reward him with more of a dance now.

Still grinding on his groin she finally felt the bulge of his excitement. She smiled quickly as the feeling her dance got him aroused. "I feel it...your hard for me."

Not stopping with just a grinding lap dance, she began to slowly bounce on him as to stimulate what it would feel like if they were fucking. Normally she would do this with her ass only and never looking at a guy. Now she faced him and saw his rugged features as a man she wanted to please.

Her eyes went towards his and she stared into his eyes thinking about how this man rescued her. The idea that this was not a dance for money but a gift of something more that she was giving to a man who deserved her body.

Shanell bounced her g-string covered pussy harder and harder and thought that sex with him would not be half bad as he looked handsome for an older white guy. With each subtle grind of her body against his package, she knew she was doing everything to simulate sex.

Shanell did not expect to moan, but it slipped out. The first moan was subtle, but the second and third were longer and more intense. She felt the tingles of pleasure from her sex as she bounced and simulated intercourse with him. She felt her pussy was wet now from all of the grinding and loved how each bounce on him only made her more excited.

She moved both hands to her back and untied her top and let her ebony breasts free for his eyes to feast upon. She saw his eyes grow wide and heard his moans as it added to hers and wanting more, she grabbed his hand and put it right on her right breast.

"Touch me all you want," she said, still looking him in the eyes seeing his lust.

She never let any man touch her during a dance, but she knew this was no normal dance. Her inhibitions were lowered from both the amount of alcohol she had and the fact Joe was no normal man. To her it was not allowing him to touch, but wanting him to touch her dark breasts now.

When his other hand reached up to gently cup both of her tits, she leaned back grinding even harder, almost trying to see if she could feel the head of his cock so she could have it touch her clit.

When she felt it pulse from her movements, she leaned back and purred at him. "I can feel you liking this...OHHH I feel it."

Shanell moaned again loud as she felt a series of pulses in his pants knowing his white erection was trying to break free from its confines. His fingers were rubbing her dark nipples making them point straight out and her pussy begged for more stimulus as she continued to bounce on his crotch, dreaming his cock would be out so it could slide right inside of her.

"You liking this?" Shanell softly asked as she stopped bouncing to position her pussy so it was directly on the bulge of his jeans. His erection was pressed upwards facing his stomach and pushed against his body from the underwear he was wearing.