Tonya paused and thought hard for a second before she spoke. “Umm, how ’bout Tender? I like it ’cause it starts wit a T.”

“Okay, sounds good ta me,” Goldie said, seconding that nomination.

Kat added, “Yeah, dat’s whut’z up! It kinda has a ring ta it.”

It was a done deal. Now Tonya had an alias, her club name. Next, they put on some music and had Tonya—now Tender—do her thing. “Aiight. Let’s see you move.” Tender wasn’t sure what they wanted. She did what she’d done for Todd, since he was the one that thought she had it going on. The young girl was really beautiful and could dance. Jackie’s cousin had been right. Kat and Goldie looked at each other as they had the same thought. Tender had the goods to be the next hot flava at the clubs. “… Make eye contact.” Goldie told her. “And always keep smilin’. No matter what bothers you or how scared you is …” Goldie and Kat were impressed. They spent the next few hours breaking down the language of the strip world and getting her ready for her debut.

TENDER WOULD RECEIVE her baptism by fire at Wild Things, a nightclub where anything goes: touching, fucking and sucking. No holds barred, if the price was right.

Goldie and Tender, chauffeured by Kat, pulled up in style in front of the club. They were late so they hurriedly grabbed their gear and processed into a jam-packed room thumping with the music of Biggie Smalls. There seemed to Tender to be as many dancers as there were customers. Making their way through the loud, smoke-filled hotspot was a task in itself. But they managed. They wouldn’t have had to push through a crowd if Kat had been on time. Tender tried not to show it, but she was amazed at all the naked and half-naked dancers. It was all she could do to keep a straight face and not gawk.

Most of the girls were good-looking. A few were straight-up dogs, but had nice figures. A select few even had models’ looks, with well-sculpted bodies, flat stomachs, nice breasts and nice fat asses. They were all shapes and sizes. There was someone for everyone here, no matter what their tastes were. Even an ugly female could make decent money if she had a personality to pull it off and was on top of her game as a dancer. But a dumb stripper would get played out every time.