Setting the tray of drinks on the crowded table, Shannon pasted a professional smile on her face, and dodged nimbly as a customer tried to sneak a hand under her short skirt. There was very little about this job that surprised her now, unlike the somewhat naïve eighteen year old she had been only a month earlier. Not that she had ever been particularly shy; she would never have applied for the job as a hostess in a men's club in the first place if she had been.
She had thought she was going into it with her eyes open, but within days they were opened even wider. Mattie, one of her fellow students had suggested she apply when she discovered Shannon was skipping meals to pay tuition fees. Apparently Mattie herself had been in the same situation the previous year, and took a similar job to make ends meet. Now she offered to arrange for Shannon to have a chat with Dirk, the manager of 'Blue Heaven Gentlemen's Club', saying that the wage offered wasn't much, and what passed for a uniform was pretty minimal, but the generous tips received from some patrons more than compensated. Shannon had no real objection to wearing a skimpy outfit, because after all some of the bikinis she wore at the beach showed a lot more.
Explaining the requirements of the job, the manager pulled no punches, cutting to the chase by asking her to remove her outer clothing, pointing out that if she wasn't comfortable with being seen in her bra and panties, she certainly wouldn't be comfortable in a scanty uniform. After all, the clientele came to look at attractive women, and the hostesses were a necessary appetiser for the main course. He was frank in his appraisal of her figure, suggesting that if she was interested, he was always looking out for new 'podium dancers', which she guessed was just a polite word for strippers. When she flatly refused he had shrugged, then told her there were only four hard and fast rules. Encourage the customers to buy expensive top shelf drinks, no drinking on duty, absolutely no drugs, and no upsetting the customers.
The four hour shifts would suit her perfectly, giving her time to study without cutting into her sleeping time. OK, so sometimes, mostly weekends, she wouldn't finish until long after midnight, but she could work around that, and she wouldn't need to work on the quietest nights unless she chose to.
She was unable to contain a giggle when shown the uniform the 'Blue Heaven Angels' were required to wear. Skimpy, she saw, had definitely been an overstatement. In addition to a blue wig, there was the briefest of bras in a matching blue, so brief that she would be lucky if it covered her nipples. What had prompted her amusement was a small pair of almost transparent 'Angel' wings, fastened to the back, and wired to retain their shape. The ensemble was completed by high cut briefs, with an attached skirt barely long enough to cover her crotch. "This is for your tips." Dirk commented, pointing out a small pocket at the side of the skirt.
Telling her to put her jeans and shirt on he took her into the club proper, so she could get the feel of the place before making a decision on whether or not she wanted the job. He had already told her that the size of her tips would depend on how popular she was, and how amenable she was with the patrons. Now, in the dimness of the room, which was largely lit by the reflected lights from the stage, she was beginning to understand what he meant by 'amenable'. One hostess good naturedly pushed a customer's roving hand from under the back of her skirt, before plucking a banknote from the fingers of his free hand and tucking it into her bra. Moments later, further across the room, another girl stood smiling as a man holding a note between two fingers pushed his hand, and the note, inside her bra. Both hostess and customer having got what they wanted, she twisted away and went to take a drinks order at another table.
Shannon looked uncertainly at Dirk, but he merely lifted his shoulders dismissively. "None of the girls allow what they are not happy with." Taking what at first glance appeared to be a wristwatch from his pocket, he held it out for her to study. "We don't want any unpleasant scenes, so if a guy tries to go too far, just press this button and security will take him aside for a quiet word. It's for you to decide what is too far." A quick glance around the room showed that each of the 'Angels' was wearing a similar accessory.
Somewhat reassured, Shannon began to reassess her reluctance. What she had seen happening was nothing that she hadn't seen scores of times in various nightclubs around town. On more than one occasion she herself had had her boobs and ass groped on crowded dance floors, and shrugged it off as a hazard of the social scene. At least the girls here got more out of it than a tweaked nipple. Moments after agreeing to give the job a try, starting the following night, she had an unexpected shock. A door marked 'Staff Changing Room.' beside the bar opened and a man emerged. Crossing to a group seated at a table, he pulled up a chair and started giving 'high fives' to the others, and laughing loudly at their raucous ribbing.
Shannon looked at her new employer with eyebrows raised questioningly. "Looks like one of the girls gave him more than he can get out here," he grinned. Seeing her still puzzled expression, he went on. "Some of the girls are willing go a little further to please customers, and earn some extra cash. They take them into the back room, and the house gets half – to cover lost takings when they are otherwise occupied."
"You mean they......?"
He nodded. "Sure. Provided they don't leave the other girls overworked, why not? It's an all round win situation. The customer gets what he wants, the girl makes money, and the house makes money." He glanced at the stage where a dancer was coming to the end of her performance. "That makes it easier for the girls to get offers. Watch." Already bare breasted, the girl knelt near the edge of the stage and leaned back, supporting herself on one hand and thrusting her hips forward. An audible sigh of anticipation rippled through the wide eyed audience, as with a flourish she tugged off her g-string and spread the shaven lips of her vagina with two fingers. As she left the stage to a smattering of applause, one of the patrons beckoned to an 'Angel' and whispered. With a nod of her blue wigged head, she rubbed her forefinger and thumb together meaningfully, and led him in the direction of the staff door.
Before they reached it, the door opened again and a long blue wigged girl in a matching uniform came out. Locking the door, she grinned as the key was plucked from her fingers, and turned to the bar and picked up a tray, heading for a table where a customer was signalling for service. After taking the order she went to the bar, and returned to the table with a loaded tray, before looking around for more orders. Spotting Shannon, she grinned and came over. "Hi Shannon, I see you made it. What do you think? Going to give it a try?"
"Mattie? Oh my god! I didn't recognise you with the make up and stuff."
Her friend fingered the long blue wig and grinned. "That's the idea. I don't want to be recognised. The rest of the gang wouldn't understand, because they've never had to go hungry to pay for their studies." Addressing the manager, she asked "Is it OK if I take my break a few minutes early?"
