Page 112 of The Fire We Make

Jovon, who had been staring a hole in Joy’s face since the moment he entered the section but hadn’t uttered a word all night, suddenly joined the conversation. “Flow is your cousin?” he asked with rounded eyes, using Melody’s stage name.

Joy smirked knowingly. She was used to that reaction from men in regard to Mel. She was just the type of beautiful and alluring woman who had men at attention even at just the mention of her. Where Joy was always able to fade into the background – a skill she used to her benefit – Melody lit up every room she was in and everyone took notice.

“Yeah,” Joy said, not feeling obligated to offer an explanation of the intricacies of their connection.

Jovon nodded once, his expression unreadable as he stood, putting the rolled blunt behind his ear.

“I’m coming too,” April said, already standing and setting her drink aside.

Without another word or glance back, Von started towards the stairs leading out of VIP. Joy and April followed, with Ace at their back, drink in hand.

Jrue and August opted to stay behind in the section, content with the set of dancers entertaining them.

They weaved their way through the dance floor and rows of tables until they made it to the front of the venue. The club was packed out and Joy was concerned that they wouldn’t have a place to sit until Von approached the table that sat front and center stage.

Joy watched with interest as he spoke quietly to the men. Without protest, they stood and walked to stand off to the side of the stage with the other people who weren’t able to procure a table.

The four of them took the men’s seats with Von taking the seat closest to the stage and Joy sitting across from him with Ace and April in the middle.

Soon, the ambient purple light lowered until the only illumination that remained was the soft white spotlight shining on the pole in the middle of the stage.

A chopped and screwed version of Usher’s Love In This Club began playing over the speakers as Melody or “Flow” stepped onto the stage.

Joy’s mouth curved in a smile watching Melody slowly make her way to the pole. Metallic lavender floss with dangling silver beading caught the light with each shift, roll, and seductive swing of her hips .

She danced slowly, owning the stage, the room, and everyone in it. Each pop, drop, and hair flip pulled the patrons deeper under her trance.

Joy leaned back, watching with pride.

Mel crawled towards their table, throwing a smile in Joy’s direction.

Her smile melted into a smirk as her gaze shifted beyond Joy and landed on Von. She settled directly in front of him, never breaking eye contact.

She moved fluidly, her body bending with the music and damn near boneless as she kept that same steady eye contact.

Von picked up the stack of hundreds that Joy hadn’t even noticed was sitting on his lap and peeled off half, sprinkling it over Mel in a delicate trickle.

Mel smirked while continuing her routine, then quirked a brow. Von licked his lips before picking up the rest of the stack and continuing the unhurried trickle over her until she was surrounded in a pile of hundreds.

Joy watched the interaction for a few more moments before Mel shifted away, returning to the pole and doing a series of intricate and smooth moves that created a beautiful routine.

When the song ended, she posed on the pole and blew a kiss before the lights went out completely.

The entire club erupted in applause and whistles.

Joy stood, smoothing her dress and April did the same.

Ace nudged Jovon lightly. “We heading back up.”

Jovon blinked once, like he was coming back to himself, then nodded and stood.

Back in the section, August and Jrue had swapped out dancers and Jovon ordered more bottles.

Joy moved to sit on the edge of the section but Ace’s hand on her arm guided her to a couch right in the middle. Joy opened her mouth to protest, preferring to be off to the side and out the mix, until Ace silently pulled her down onto the couch beside him. When she looked down over the railing, she discovered each entrance was perfectly visible from that angle.

She looked up at Ace who winked down at her before ordering refills of their drinks.

Joy pulled out her phone to text Mel, and found a message from her already waiting.