Back on the street, Charlene walked fast for a couple of blocks, then ducked into a doorway to see how much money she'd taken. It was almost eleven o'clock now and there were more people in the street. She wondered if Mel would be in any shape to count change for the lunch crowd. She opened her fist and counted: four dollars and fifty-six cents. Not enough for a cab, but she could take the bus. Now, all she had to do was find the nearest bus stop and figure out which one to take and how far to go and where to get off...
She walked as fast as she could in her high heels. She tried to act like it was perfectly natural to be walking on the street in a dirty, sweaty, tight knit brown dress that clung so close to her body that it showed her nipples, her crotch and even the indentation on her flat stomach where her belly button was. Her white panties would visible if she bent over or raised her arms. Her natural boobs wobbled and swayed under the clingy fabric. It was a lewd enough display to attract anybody's attention.
A couple blocks later, after hearing a couple of catcalls and wolf whistles and a yell of "hey baby" from a passing car, she saw a bus stop. It didn't seem smart to sit out on the bench, for the world to see, so she stood a few yards behind it, in the shadow of a billboard, in the mouth of an alley next to a tacky stucco office building. In LA the buses came by about every couple of hours, it seemed, so she might have a long wait.
She thought about calling Deidre, her roommate and the club manager, for a ride but decided not to. This was just too embarrassing because Deidre was always "on about" her about taking risks with guys at the club. Deidre the Duchess never dated customers and she had a strict rule that no guys from the club ever come up to the apartment they shared. She wanted to keep her club life and her dating life strictly separate. She had her boyfriends and they fucked her, but they were never customers. Charlene, on the other hand, figured that if people wanted her body that badly, they would fuck her with all they had in them. If they paid good money to see her take off her clothes, and if it turned her on to exhibit herself and be used sexually, why not? Live the life to the fullest while she was still a knock-out. Beauty didn't last as long as your sex drive, so grab as much while you can and put out while guys were buying. Be sexual twenty-four hours a day, if you wanted it.
Now she wasn't so sure. Here she was, with no money and half naked, because a guy she went to bed with left her stranded at a hotel.
Standing there made her nervous. She was in the shade of the billboard, next to a big metal pole supporting it, but she was still visible from the street. People had to think she was a street walker, pretty desperate, trolling for a john way too early in the day and asking to get arrested.
She heard a voice whispering to her. It scared her half to death. -- she hadn't seen them coming. The short, ugly gang-type tough guy she had seen down the street before going into the restaurant was now talking to her. He must have seen her after all and sneaked up on her. He had just turned the corner of the stucco building and said, softly, "Hey, baby. Where you going'? Would you like a little company?" She stood stock still. "You're dressed hot. Would you like to hang out with a coupla studs?" He scared her because although he was short he was big, like a wrestler, and he looked hungry -- for her. There was no Billy, the club bouncer, around to protect her and this guy might hurt her.
She moved to put the steel pole supporting the billboard between her and thetough guy. Further back in the alley were some dumpsters and she figured if they were going to grab her they would drag her back there.
"Hey, come on baby. I won't hurt you. I can make you feel real good. Wanna go somewhere and party?" he said, menacingly.
