girls stuck together, hustled in and out of the club, bent the rules in every way they could. Other girls formed cliques and went out with each other on their nights off; but I never got close to them, not the way I did with Caddy.
On that first night she took me out into the club and we strolled around saying hello to people, stopping for brief chats. I watched and learned, feeling a bit like the new girl at school.
‘Mind if we sit with you for a bit? … Special occasion, is it, lads? … Ah! Congratulations! Are you going to come and have a dance with me? … Yes – this is Viva – she’s new. I know! … Don’t worry, I know you’ll look after us, won’t you? … Ah, I’ll have to leave you to it, then – I’ll get told off if I sit here too long… well, let’s go to the VIP area, then you can have my undivided attention for as long as you like… You guys need to be doing shots, especially if it’s his birthday…’
I felt a bit nauseous, thinking that within the next couple of hours I was going to be taking all my clothes off in front of a room full of complete strangers. It felt surreal, and watching the other girls take their turns on the pole made it somehow worse. I kept one eye on the stage as Caddy and I sat and chatted with the various groups, trying to get some idea of how it all worked. Someone announced the girl on to the stage in a barely intelligible voice that reminded me of fairgrounds. There would be a ripple of applause, maybe, just audible above the music. She would dance for two tracks, the first with clothes on, then stripping off in the second. The first girl was good, plenty of turns and spins, inverting in her second dance. She got a good cheer when she came off the stage, a little crowd forming around the pole. The second one, by contrast, was rubbish – just a lot of walking around the pole, a few dips and turns, a half-hearted spin and then she was done.
That was something of a comfort. Even I could do better than that.
As it turned out, I had to do my first lap dance before I even went on the pole. Thankfully I had the chance to watch Caddy doing one first, and, although mine was a clumsy effort, the young lad I was entertaining was already so drunk he was barely conscious.
‘It’ll get easier,’ Caddy said to me as we walked back to the club to look for our next targets. ‘The trick is going for the ones who are pissed but not so pissed they’ve forgotten what they’re doing here. It’s a fine line.’
After that, it was my turn for the pole. My heart was pounding as I stood off the stage waiting for my name to be called. It’s just a job, I thought. You can do this. You can nail it.
‘Give her a big cheer, it’s her first night – it’s Viva!’
For the first minute or so, nobody was particularly paying attention. I started off with some easy climbs and spins, but that wasn’t much fun. Carousel spin into back hook – that got some attention. And then a quick invert, splits at the top. Stripping off my clothes while dancing around the pole wasn’t as easy as I’d thought it was going to be – but it didn’t seem to matter. By this time the gathering around the stage had grown and I was getting some half-hearted applause. This made me braver. Spin to the floor, little peek-a-boo, knees together, bum out. End of song. I grabbed my clothes and my shoes and skittered off the stage.
Caddy met me as I was coming out of the dressing room a few moments later. ‘Come and meet Nigel and Tom,’ she said. ‘They loved your dance, they’ve been asking after you.’
I was breathless and perspiring a little, full of adrenaline. I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. I’d done it, and it hadn’t been so bad really – actually, it had been fun. I’d caught glimpses of faces in the crowd, watching me – they liked me, and I’d only just started.
Hours later, so tired I could barely think straight, I was next to Caddy in the dressing room as she peeled
On that first night she took me out into the club and we strolled around saying hello to people, stopping for brief chats. I watched and learned, feeling a bit like the new girl at school.
‘Mind if we sit with you for a bit? … Special occasion, is it, lads? … Ah! Congratulations! Are you going to come and have a dance with me? … Yes – this is Viva – she’s new. I know! … Don’t worry, I know you’ll look after us, won’t you? … Ah, I’ll have to leave you to it, then – I’ll get told off if I sit here too long… well, let’s go to the VIP area, then you can have my undivided attention for as long as you like… You guys need to be doing shots, especially if it’s his birthday…’
I felt a bit nauseous, thinking that within the next couple of hours I was going to be taking all my clothes off in front of a room full of complete strangers. It felt surreal, and watching the other girls take their turns on the pole made it somehow worse. I kept one eye on the stage as Caddy and I sat and chatted with the various groups, trying to get some idea of how it all worked. Someone announced the girl on to the stage in a barely intelligible voice that reminded me of fairgrounds. There would be a ripple of applause, maybe, just audible above the music. She would dance for two tracks, the first with clothes on, then stripping off in the second. The first girl was good, plenty of turns and spins, inverting in her second dance. She got a good cheer when she came off the stage, a little crowd forming around the pole. The second one, by contrast, was rubbish – just a lot of walking around the pole, a few dips and turns, a half-hearted spin and then she was done.
That was something of a comfort. Even I could do better than that.
As it turned out, I had to do my first lap dance before I even went on the pole. Thankfully I had the chance to watch Caddy doing one first, and, although mine was a clumsy effort, the young lad I was entertaining was already so drunk he was barely conscious.
‘It’ll get easier,’ Caddy said to me as we walked back to the club to look for our next targets. ‘The trick is going for the ones who are pissed but not so pissed they’ve forgotten what they’re doing here. It’s a fine line.’
After that, it was my turn for the pole. My heart was pounding as I stood off the stage waiting for my name to be called. It’s just a job, I thought. You can do this. You can nail it.
‘Give her a big cheer, it’s her first night – it’s Viva!’
For the first minute or so, nobody was particularly paying attention. I started off with some easy climbs and spins, but that wasn’t much fun. Carousel spin into back hook – that got some attention. And then a quick invert, splits at the top. Stripping off my clothes while dancing around the pole wasn’t as easy as I’d thought it was going to be – but it didn’t seem to matter. By this time the gathering around the stage had grown and I was getting some half-hearted applause. This made me braver. Spin to the floor, little peek-a-boo, knees together, bum out. End of song. I grabbed my clothes and my shoes and skittered off the stage.
Caddy met me as I was coming out of the dressing room a few moments later. ‘Come and meet Nigel and Tom,’ she said. ‘They loved your dance, they’ve been asking after you.’
I was breathless and perspiring a little, full of adrenaline. I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. I’d done it, and it hadn’t been so bad really – actually, it had been fun. I’d caught glimpses of faces in the crowd, watching me – they liked me, and I’d only just started.
Hours later, so tired I could barely think straight, I was next to Caddy in the dressing room as she peeled
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