“You work here?” I said.

“Yeah,” my cousin Raven responded. I looked back at Lillian, incredulously. She had the same look.

“You’re related?” Lillian questioned, tilting her head.

“Yeah,” I said.

“Distantly, but still…” Raven added.

“Raven… you are a waitress here, right? You don’t strip?” I asked her.

~~~

My phone vibrated. It was Daisy. It read…  With clients right now.

I thought: 'Clients?'

~~~

Meanwhile…

“Uh, about that…” Lillian chimed in.

“Oh, shit, another one?” I asked.

“Actually, all of us got forced to try out by our boss when this became ‘The Factory.’ Some of us are dancers, some are waitresses and bartenders like myself.” Lillian said.

“Sometimes I’m a waitress, sometimes I strip. Most times I wait. Like 80%,” Raven said.

“What kind of convoluted bullshit… Did I walk into ‘The Player’s Club?’ Seriously,” I said, while Raven let out a short laugh, then saw that she was being called by another person.

“You sure you don’t need anything… cousin?” Raven said with a big smile.

“Nah. Matter of fact, might have to show me those moves that got you here,” Lillian added.

“What? We both love to dance! Don’t look at me like that…” I said to Lillian.

“It’s true, and I might show a little something to you…” Raven said before leaving.

Raven and I were cousins and the same age. We got closer in our teenage years with our tastes in music and our love to dance like no one’s watching. Raven had a caramel skin tone, was fairly curvy, had brown eyes, and had a big smile.

Lillian still had an incredulous look on her face.

“What?” I said.

“You’re related. Wow…”

“You’re acting like I’m the ugly one or something,” I said, laughing. I watched Raven’s hips sashay over to another booth. She bent over.

“I didn’t say it,” Lillian responded.

I saw one of the drunken males try to cop a feel on her curves. Raven turned around, catching him red-handed. I chuckled.

“That’s my not-so-little cousin,” I said.

“Isn't it a bit ironic?” Lillian asked me.

“What?”

“That all of a sudden you see the light, because your cousin works here.”

“No, I’ve noticed more in my old age that more and more of us dudes are on the sexual rampage. I'm not going to lie and say I'm an angel. Because in high school, man, I was mental, you know this. Me sitting next to Jaden in freshman Chemistry class. We were crazy…” I got interrupted by her and by my cell phone.

“I know. Chalk that up to ‘boys will be boys,’ I guess,” She said, shrugging.

~~~

I looked at my phone. A text came in from Daisy. Come on in, Daddy.

~~~

“Hey, Lillian, one more thing. Before I leave, what exactly is the backstory of The Factory?” I said.

“So, basically, this used to be a nightclub. I was here when it was a nightclub. Since our city is known for it, our boss turned this into a strip club, bringing Social Media hoes, viral internet twerking chicks, Daisy, Raven, yours truly, and others. The only dude here is security. His name is Lance,” Lillian said simply.

“Good to know. So basically, I walked into a rip off version of ‘The Player’s Club.’ Cool. So, I see you kept your job.”

“Yup. Keep the change. I got someone waiting for me,” I said, as I paid her, then left.

“She’s got him bad…”

~~~

As I looked to see where Daisy dragged me the first time we met, I thought about how me and my friends talked about girls daily in high school. The questions were: Who would get that pussy? Which girl is a freak? Which girl is a slut? All of this because for the first time they see a g-string up their butt. It’s sad really. But I, on the other hand, I was a geek.

I was shy but I had hormones too. I felt for them. But instead of saying:

“When you going to let me hit that?"

Or…

“Damn, that ass is fat!"

And give said ass a slap.

I befriended those girls who were called “sluts” and were called “freaky girls.” I really didn't know why… until now. I think it's irony that even now they would be associated with a guy with me.

~~~

As I searched for Daisy, a door opened.

An older man came out saying to me: “Oh, so, you’re the boyfriend? Hmm.”

Another man came out.

“That’s him?” He looked back at me, then at her, and patted my chest. I looked over and overheard:

“He’s got a good one there.”

I peered into the door. Charlie (Daisy) was still naked, wiping off their juices. I looked at her face and said simply: “Damn.”

I walked in softly and touched her cheek. I kissed her on her forehead carefully.

“Hey, Daddy,” She said with a look on her face that I couldn’t point out.

“Hey, Daisy, I am not even going to ask what happened in here, but did you say you had a boyfriend before I came in here?”

We looked at each other for a few seconds. She finally answered: “Yes.”

The ride just got faster. I guess I am dating a stripper now.