·̩̩̥͙ $ * ☆ •̩̩͙ * ♡︎ * •̩̩͙ ☆ * ˚ $ ·̩̩̥͙

The money wasn't all that Mariah loved about stripping.

In all honesty, she loved the compliments she would receive from the men who came to the club. Sure, a majority of them were annoying and creepy, and a lot of guys were extremely touchy, which she didn't fucking like, but the shit they said boosted her confidence.

Mariah loved the attention.

That was the thing with her. Danny loved to call her an attention seeking whore, and Mariah loved to tell him to be original, because she swore she heard that in a movie once.

Other than at the strip club, Mariah didn't receive much love. At least, not genuinely, not real or from the heart. She hadn't since her mom died.

And she didn't consciously know it, but that's all she wanted. To constantly feel that heart warming feeling of feeling loved. To be loved.

iMessage–Superman💋
Just got to the club wya lil mama

iMessage–Superman💋
I brought you a lil sum

iMessage–Superman💋
Attachment: 1 image

Opening Fezco's texts with the biggest smile on her face, Mariah's heart warmed at the picture he sent, the familiar bag from her favorite Mexican restaurant held in his hand.

They had been up all night on the phone last night, talking about food and their favorite food. Mariah was pleased at the fact Fezco's favorite was Mexican food, because it's pretty much all she knew how to make being Mexican.

She was even happier when he told her his favorite place was some authentic place near his store, and not fucking Taco Bell or Chipotle.

Mariah had gotten to the club about 20 minutes ago, had just changed and was now in the middle of doing her makeup for when she was called onto the stage for her set.

Due to Fezco being her personal bouncer now, he was supposed to be at the club every night that she was.

Ashtray was thrilled hearing this–not because he was tired of Fezco and wanted his alone time at home, or because he wanted his brother to keep talking to the hot stripper that purposely butchered the fuck out of his name–but because that meant Fezco would be selling at the club more, which meant more money.

Fezco had just gotten to the club and exited Wayne's office after talking to him like he did every time he arrived, just to let him know he was there. It was like clocking in, in a way.

Now he was leaning on the wall next to the door with the words DANCERS ONLY printed on it, waiting for Mariah to come get the carne asada fries he bought her after she said they were her favorite food next to Wingstop.

iMessage–Superman💋
I'm in the hall

"Ima be right back," Mariah said to the girls she had been talking to while doing her makeup as she stood up in her vanity chair.

She dropped the lip liner she held in her hand before walking out into the lounge, opening the door to the hall.

Fezco glanced over at the door as it opened, smiling when Mariah half stepped out.

"Hiiii," She shyly smiled up at Fezco before engulfing him in a hug, wrapping her arms around his torso.

"Sup beautiful," He mumbled back, insides warming as he hugged her back with his free arm.

Fezco wanted the same exact thing she did.

"You lookin good," He let her know, smiling down at her as he ran a finger along the black straps that held the neon green two piece she wore together.

Mariah leaned back a little, allowing him to get a better look at her. Fezco's eyes fell onto her chest almost immediately, the neon green stars covering her nipples and only some skin surrounding them. Her nipple piercings poked out a little through the material.

He wasn't gonna lie, he really fucking liked those. Okay no, he loved them. Fezco had never been with a girl who had nipple piercings. He hadn't paid much attention to them during their first time since they were both pretty eager to get straight to it, but he sure appreciated them after.

His tongue darted out to wet his lips as he admired the rest of Mariah's body, taking their time to stare at her ass for a second. Shit, he loved that too. She had a heart tattooed on the left cheek, which he was shamelessly obsessed with.

He was honestly obsessed with all of her.

Fezco always thought he wasn't picky, he always thought he didn't have a type, but he was wrong. He most definitely has a type; Mariah.

"You like it?" Mariah's eyes lit up, smiling under his gaze. He loved her smile too.

"Hell yeah, look at you," Fezco smirked, slipping his finger into the strap he had been touching. "Ain't nothin new, lookin fine as fuck."

Mariah couldn't help but blush, no longer feeling slightly uncomfortable in the new outfit that Faye forced her to wear.

"My homegirl made me to wear it tonight, I thought it looked too tight because I lowkey gained some weight since I bought it and–"

"Nah whatchu mean, you look good," Fezco cut her off, furrowing his eyebrows as he checked her out again. "Lemme see, do a lil spin."

Mariah giggled, fully breaking their hug and doing a lil spin for Fezco.

"Yeah, you look hella beautiful, ma," He reassured her as he reached for her hand, pulling her all close to him.

Mariah smiled up at him, feeling so many butterflies that she swore she could throw up.

"Thank youuuu. But I have to go finish getting ready," She let Fezco know before she actually threw up.

Fezco nodded, leaning down to give her a kiss and handing her the bag with her food. "Ima be watchin you from VIP."

"Eyes on me?" Mariah asked him with a laugh as he stood back up straight.

"Only you," Fezco confirmed with a smile, making her smile again.

Mariah tugged on his chain a little, making him lean back down a little as she stood on her toes to give him another kiss.

"You allowed to be kissin yo personal bouncer?" Fezco squinted at her with a smirk when she pulled away.

"Shut up," Mariah laughed, pressing a kiss to his cheek before releasing herself from his grasp to go back to the lounge.

Fezco's smirk never faded, even as he walked down the hall to enter the main room, his knuckles rubbing the spot on his cheek that she kissed.

Mariah walked to the fridge in the lounge, placing the box of asada fries in so she could eat them after her set since she was about to go on.

"If any of you bitches eat my asada fries, ima beat them out of you," She announced to the girls in the lounge. She didn't play about her food.

"Not like you need them," Zara snickered from where she took a few mirror pictures in front of the big mirror in the lounge.

Mariah pretended not to hear her, because she knew she would either say some really fucked up shit about Zara and her twig looking ass or literally break her bones, and she was in a good mood.

Zara's insecure ass wasn't about to ruin that for her.

Girl, what ass

Mariah laughed at her own thoughts, plopping back down in her vanity to add some glitter to the neon green eye shadow that matched her outfit.

Faye stared at Mariah with an eyebrow raised, smirking when Mariah looked at her.

"The drug dealer?" Faye asked, referring to who had brought the asada fries for her.

Mariah smiled, "No, my bouncer," she half corrected, making them both laugh.

"Must be nice having a personal bouncer that'll fuck you and bring you food," Faye joked as she beat her face with a beauty blender.

"You're fucking your bouncer?" Cinnamon asked Mariah and raised her eyebrows. "Wait, what happened to D–"

"We don't talk about the D word anymore," Faye cut her off and gave her a disapproving look.

"Yeah, fuck him," Mariah agreed with Faye and laughed. "Drug dealers that look like Mac Miller is where it's at."

Faye snorted, "God, he really does look like him. And he's a drug dealer, isn't that funny considering the way Mac Miller died."

"Bitch that's not funny at all, you're both going to hell," Cinnamon laughed along with Faye and Mariah.

"Bitch we'll see you there, you're getting ready to go shove your titties in some old man's face," Mariah told her with a laugh. "You look good though. You might give someone a heart attack again."

"Oh my god, stop. That was so fucking embarrassing," Cinnamon cringed, the memories from the night that some old man requested a duo lap dance from her and Mariah.

Homeboy almost died that night to say the least. Like, literally.

"Embarrassing? I felt like the shit afterwards. Imagine being so hot you give someone a heart attack," Mariah laughed, jokingly flipping her hair.

"You bitches are just too hot to handle," Faye mindlessly shrugged, grabbing her Altoids box and popping it open.

"Ew, please don't shoot up heroin right now," Mariah gave her a look before looking away from Faye to put all her makeup away.

"Fuck off, I didn't tell you shit when you started eating that ginger's ass for weed," Faye scoffed.

"You're always talking about eating ass, you eat Custer's?" Mariah asked her with an eyebrow raised.

Cinnamon gave them both a weird look before laughing. "You two are something else."

"Whatever," Faye rolled her eyes, getting up and walking towards the bathrooms, the Altoid box in hand.

"Cherry, for real, don't be doing that," Mariah called out after her.

Faye just flipped her off as she disappeared behind the door, making Mariah roll her eyes once, and then another time when Zara and her lil friend walked by.

Cinnamon laughed, noticing the look on Mariah's face.

"You really don't like that bitch."

"I really don't," Mariah agreed.

Mariah once caught Zara looking through her shit, and if it weren't for Wayne and some of the bouncers holding her back, she would have beat her shit in so fucking fast.

Ever since then, Zara had been bitchy as fuck, as if she wasn't the one looking through and tryna steal Mariah's shit. She loves to run her mouth but she could barely breathe that one time Mariah almost fucked her up.

And Zara was always trying to take Mariah's regulars, and it was unspoken rule not to try to take another dancer's regulars.

Mariah didn't consider Fezco a regular because she had mad feelings for him, but if she saw Zara even breathing the same air as him, she was swinging.

Just how she did when Zara made fuck me eyes at Danny a few months ago. Only this time, she's doing it for a guy who's worth it, and this time, she's actually gonna get a punch in before she's held back.

"You know Diamond and Chanel got into it last night," Cinnamon whispered to Mariah.

"Word?" Mariah scoffed, watching as Cinnamon nodded her head in confirmation. "I swear, every time I stay home, some good shit happens."

Cinnamon laughed, "Hope Zara doesn't try fucking your bouncer or else it won't be just Chanel looking all fucked up."

"I know that's right," Mariah muttered in agreement, smiling at the thought.

Not at the thought of fighting Zara–no, at the thought that Fezco wouldn't pay any attention to her. He wasn't interested in all that shit the dancers offered–unless it was Mariah offering.

He said his eyes would be on only her.

And he meant that.

Fezco hadn't even given a glance at the stage until he heard her name being called by the DJ, his eyes flickering away from watching Custer do a line to watch Valentine joining the other girls on the stage.

"You're always eye fucking her," Custer pointed out to Fezco, nodding at Mariah after taking notice in the way Fezco's eyes burned into her.

The few times that Fezco and Custer had been at the club at the same time, Custer never failed to catch Fezco staring hard at Mouse's babymama's baby sister.

Fezco kissed his teeth, glancing at Custer for a split second. "Fuck is you talkin about bruh."

Custer shrugged in response, still watching Fezco watch Mariah. "I know her."

"Word?" Fezco asked him.

"Yeah, she's my girl's best friend," Custer nodded, about to add in that he's only with Faye because Mariah hooked them up, and that he knew Mariah because he knew Mouse.

But speaking of Mouse, he slipped through the VIP rope and shoved a shot glass in Custer's hand before he could keep talking, smirking at Fezco as he took a seat.

"Sup bro. How's lil sis?"

Fezco side eyed him, choosing to ignore his question and just stay quiet before his eyes found their way back onto his girl.

Mouse just chuckled, leaning back in his seat and looking around until his eyes soon too found their way onto Mariah.

"Damn, Valentine's lookin good tonight," Mouse licked his lips as he checked her out, elbowing Custer as they both laughed.

Fezco glanced over at Mouse, head turned and all once hearing her name coming from his mouth, harboring a bad feeling in his stomach.

"Yeah, Fez was straight eye fucking her," Custer said, nodding at Fezco while Mouse kissed his teeth.

"Nah, I wasn't," Fezco laughed a little, shaking his head, knowing good and well that he was certainly eye fucking her.

Hopefully later it wouldn't be just eye fucking.

"Shit, I wouldn't blame you if you was," Mouse told him. "She's hot."

Fezco gave Mouse a look–which Mouse didn't notice as a dancer approach him–having grown sort of protective over Mariah. They weren't together or anything, but Fezco did not want this creepy ass fucking Mouse around her no matter what.

It was too late though.

—$—

By the end of Mariah's shift, Fezco had sold all the drugs he shoved in his pockets before leaving his house.

He was watching the last guy Mariah gave a private dance to walk out of the booth while counting the money he made as he leaned against a wall by the door of the private booth Mariah had been in, standing along with the rest of the bouncers who stood outside the doors of the other booths in case a customer decided to push limits.

He got to stand by Mariah's because he was her bouncer, and he liked being her bouncer and all because it made sure she was safe at the strip club, but he wasn't fucking with having to glance into the room every couple minutes to see her with another guy.

If Fezco could, he'd buy Mariah out every night. He couldn't help but be jealous as fuck. He knew that it was her job and he respected that, but he wished he was the only guy she gave private dances to.

And so did Mariah.

She didn't like private dances, but she hated them now that Fezco was right outside. She really hoped he wouldn't feel some typa way about it.

Like, she really hoped he wouldn't start being like Danny.

Fezco tried not to eavesdrop and shit, but he noticed the way Mariah spoke differently to her customers compared to the way she spoke to him. She didn't tell them she wanted to give them head.

Haha no but in all seriousness, she wasn't the same. It was like he got special treatment or some shit because she was a million times nicer to him.

So private dance after private dance, he felt slightly less jealous, exchanging smirks with Mariah every time she lead another guy into the booth. Blushing once, when she whispered in his ear that she wished it were him in the booth with her.

Fuck, he really fucking liked this girl.

"Heyyyy," Mariah whispered, placing her hands on Fezco's shoulders from behind him shortly after her last customer exited the booth. "I have time for one more danceee!"

Fezco glanced back at her, meeting her eyes with his as she smiled. It took a minute for him to realize that she was offering him a private dance.

He smiled back, and as much as he would love a private dance from her, her shift was over in like two minutes, and he didn't wanna keep her at work, knowing that she wasn't gonna let him pay for her services.

"I'm cool ma, why don't you go get yo shit so I can take you home," Fezco suggested, turning slightly to face her as she raised her eyebrows.

"I miss when you were too shy to reject me."

Fezco kissed his teeth, "I ain't rejecting you, I jus know you ain't gon let me pay and ion like that. You workin for free and shit. You let all yo customers leave without paying?"

Mariah rolled her eyes at Fezco's smirk. "No, didn't I tell you that only fine ass gingers get discounts?"

Fezco shrugged, acting dumb when he did remember. "Don't remember that."

"Whatever," Mariah sighed and laughed as Fezco half nodded in the direction of the lounge.

"C'mon, lemme walk you to the lounge."

Mariah accepted, walking towards the hall with Fezco followed closely behind her, folding the bills in his hand and shoving them in the pocket of his hoodie.

"You did really good on your first day," Mariah told him. "This was like, the first night in forever that no guy has touched me. It's nice feeling protected. You're like, dead ass my Superman."

"Word," Fezco smiled a little, feeling accomplished.

"I hope you accept tips."

Fezco squinted his eyes at that, looking down at Mariah as they entered the hall and walked towards the lounge door.

"Yeah? Why's that?" He asked, fighting away the smirk that threatened to form on his face.

Mariah smiled up at him before shrugging, "I wonder."

They just stood there in the hall for a while, intensely staring at each other and smiling in silence.

Fezco's smile was evident in his eyes, which gave Mariah uncontrollable butterflies. She was for sure giving him that tip later, wink wink.

It seemed like forever when Fezco finally bent down a little to lean in and kiss her, but Mariah acted quick and placed her hand on his chest to stop him.

"I don't think I'm allowed to be kissing my bouncer," She told him and pushed him back a little before smiling and disappearing into the lounge.

Fezco smiled to himself, slightly shaking his head as he exited the hall to find Wayne and let him know he was leaving for the night.

He glanced up at feeling someone's gaze on him, eyes meeting Mouse's, who had been at the bar flirting with the bartender when he noticed the fucking kid he supples and his fucking lil sister in law smiling and making fuck me eyes at each other.

Fezco half nodded at him as a greeting once he found Wayne, choosing to ignore the glare Mouse was staring with.

But Fezco couldn't help the bad feeling he got in his stomach once realizing that Mouse had seen him with Mariah.