Who: Henry and Aria What: A meeting at Afterlife When: Last month Where: Afterlife Nightclub Rating/Warnings Lowish -- allusions to nudity, but SFW Status: Complete!
Henry’s evening routine usually consisted of closing up shop, preparing the deposit for the day, going over any paperwork Joseph, the store’s usually absent owner (and Henry’s landlord), had left for him to do and doing inventory. By the time that was finished it was usually pretty late and all Henry wanted to do was eat and go to bed. However, tonight was different. Joseph was actually in town for a change. He’d entered the store, a whirlwind of energy, and had practically shooed Henry out, declaring that the boy was young and so was the night, it was time the two of them met and he didn’t want to see Henry again until the younger man had truly enjoyed himself.
Henry had no idea what any of that meant. However, it was clear that Joseph wanted him out of the way for a few hours, and considering the living quarters located at the back of the store was where Henry resided, he didn’t have much choice than to venture out into the oncoming evening.
He was still learning his way around Orange County. Rose had been a fantastic guide, but Orange County was easily three times the size of the little town Henry had grown up in. A brief semester spent at Emerson College in the heart of Boston had opened Henry up to what living in a city was like, and despite his social quirks, he actually sort of preferred it. Every time he left he discovered something new: a new place to eat, a new store to visit, a new park where he could take pictures. The ghosts he sometimes ran into notwithstanding – there was always something new to find.
Which was the logic Henry used when he came across what he thought was a night club. He’d been to a few nightclubs in Boston on those Friday nights in which his roommate couldn’t find anyone else to be designated driver and would drag a-still-technically-under-raged-Henry out with him and the rest of his buddies until all hours of the morning. He’d made the surprising discovery that he actually sort of liked nightclubs, especially the more goth inspired ones. So a place called Afterlife seemed right up his ally.
Afterlife was the best of both worlds, as it were. It was a nightclub on one side, strip club on the other. Both parts were popular, though Aria believed the stripclub to be a bit more popular. Though she’d always expected that to be the case. After all, people always enjoyed attractive women stripping. Not everyone liked packing themselves onto a dancefloor, but the strip club? One could easily sit, enjoy some drinks and watch the dancers work their magic. It tended to be more relaxing than the dance club. It wasn’t exactly quieter, but it took less energy to sit and drink than it did to dance and drink.
Aria wouldn’t quite describe Afterlife as being goth, but it was goth inspired and it had an edge to it. After all, Aria herself tended to dress like she belonged in a death metal band. Shirts with strategic rips in it, boots, multi-colored hair that was mostly blue. Of course, the hair and skin color were a complete fabrication given Aria wasn’t human-looking. But it was how she’d looked before her dreams had turned her into an alien. And speaking of the dreams, Afterlife was based off of the club on her space station that she used for her headquarters. There was perhaps a slightly alien, or at the very least futuristic, aesthetic to the club as a result of being based off of something from her dreams. Though this club was cleaner than the one in her dreams.
At the moment, Aria was on the floor, mingling with a few of her regulars. She liked making personal appearances and connecting with the regulars. It kept her in-tune with what people liked about the place, and if they were unhappy with anything, she was aware of it. She did do her best to fix anything that people were unhappy with because she wanted them to keep coming back. After finishing a conversation with a regular, Aria moved over to the bar to have some words with her bartender before she turned and glanced over the crowd, keeping her eyes open for anyone who might catch her attention.
Henry had ventured to the nightclub side of the building first and instantly felt out of place in his jeans and plain t-shirt. He’d wished Joseph had given him at least the option of changing his clothes before practically shoving him out the door. At least the t-shirt was black.
One of the reasons Henry tended to like these types of places was that they were dark and he could blend right in with the crowd if he wanted to, which he usually did. It wasn’t as though Henry had a crippling fear of social interaction, but unless he had a camera in his hands to hide behind, he was incredibly awkward and he knew he was awkward, which really just made things worse.
Places like this, though, with the music and décor, and people just generally there to have a good time, Henry could relax. He ordered a drink and weaved his way through the crowd around the dance floor and towards the other side of the club. Suddenly, it was as if he was in a completely different place.
It wasn’t as though Henry had any kind of aversion to stripclubs, morally or otherwise. He’d just never been to one. Even his former college roommate seemed to draw the line at forcing Henry into using the fake ID he’d had made for him to gain access to one. As a result, Henry had no idea what the etiquette for being in one even was.
Staring was probably at the top of the list of things not to do, even if one suddenly found themselves in such a place without any kind of warning. Henry caught himself doing just that and quickly brought his drink to his mouth for a quick sip. Despite his social awkwardness, Henry was a curious person by nature and once he had satisfied himself that he was still in the same place he’d wandered into earlier, looked around for somewhere to sit.
Aria had tight security around the club for multiple reasons. First and foremost was to weed out the people who got rowdy after downing a few drinks. Second was because she was extremely cautious of fake IDs and people underage getting into the club. She even had bouncers at the door that went between the two parts to keep an eye on those who came and went. Another reason was that she was protecting one of her employees, Miranda, whose father was making trouble for her. Aria protected her own, sometimes viciously, so the fact that she’d go so far to protect her employee wasn’t out of the ordinary.
As she was looking over the crowd, she noticed the young man in jeans and a t-shirt almost as soon as he walked into the stripclub. And it was obvious to Aria that he’d never been in a stripclub before. Having worked in such clubs her entire adult life, she’d long since learned the look people got when they came into one for the first time. Smirking to herself, Aria decided to have a little chat with him. Perhaps if he was made to feel comfortable, he would come back. So she approached him as he seemed to be looking for a place to sit.
“Hello,” she greeted him. She was tall, her combat boots adding a little to her height, and she was statuesque in physique. She worked out, and she certainly worked out hard enough to maintain the same body type and muscle tone that she’d had while she’d been a dancer. Luckily for the young man, her skin was mostly covered, as opposed to the dancers. She wore a black tank top, but that was the extent of how much skin was showing.
Henry was still looking for a place to have a seat when the woman approached him. Even though her greeting was cordial, Henry was on immediate alert. People so very rarely sought him out, especially in places with crowds like this. He figured she must have caught him staring at the dancer currently on stage and she was either going to chastise him for being a perv or laugh at him for not knowing what the hell he was doing.
“Hi,” he said, making a conscious effort to keep from looking towards the stage, even as the other patrons around him whooped in encouragement for what the dancer was doing. Unfortunately, he was concerned that if he kept his eyes on the woman next to him, she might think he was staring at her, and perhaps that wasn’t the best first impression to give while meeting someone in a strip club. As a result, Henry’s attention kept bouncing back and forth between the floor and the tall woman in combat boots, which probably wasn’t giving the best first impression either.
Then came the conundrum of what to follow-up the greeting with. Henry was the furthest thing from suave. A number of things ran through his head, which were immediately rejected as being stupid or corny. Finally he just gave up and decided to just lay it out. “I’m sorry. I’ve never, uh, never been to a strip club before. I’m not really sure what’s appropriate to say to someone.”
While Aria didn’t claim to be an expert on human behavior, she knew enough to know when someone was embarrassed or otherwise uncomfortable in certain situations. For instance, as Henry’s attention kept moving between the floor and herself, she could tell that he wasn’t sure exactly what to do or what to look at. She wasn’t about to chastise him nor was she going to laugh at him. Not outwardly, at any rate. Sometimes Aria was amused by those who had never been in a strip club before.
“Do not apologize, everyone has a first time experience in a strip club.” Which was the truth of it. Most first-comers had a similar look to them. “I recognized the look on your face. I’ve seen it before in plenty of people.” Her gaze swept over to the stage momentarily, taking note of which dancer was currently performing before she looked back at Henry.
“My name is Aria, and welcome to my club,” she introduced herself. Of course, that might put him more on edge knowing that she was the owner. But she hadn’t gone after him for not knowing how to act. “Try to relax as much as possible. It’ll be more enjoyable if you stop worrying about every little thing.” It was advice, though she wasn’t the gentlest of people. But at least she was trying to be helpful.
Aria’s words at least put Henry’s mind a little more at ease and he relaxed a little. His eyes moved towards the stage. He hadn’t lived such a sheltered life that he’d never seen a naked woman before. Aside from the way she moved on the stage, she didn’t have anything he hadn’t seen before. He noted immediately how graceful the dancer was, which he figured was no small feat considering how tall her high heels were.
He looked back at Aria. “Thanks,” he said and smiled a little sheepishly, “it’s kind of a relief to know I’m not the first awkward guy you’ve ever had in here. My name’s Henry.”
Aria had high standards for her dancers, wanting to have a quality product to show people. But she also knew the amount of work that went into exotic dancing. Those who cared about it worked hard to keep in shape and knew exactly how to use their bodies. She did like to see how people reacted to her dancers as well.
“Believe me, there are plenty who come in here and are uncertain of what to do. There are also some who are so nervous they become all thumbs. Glasses get dropped, drinks spilled. Just remember to breathe.” Aria said. “I am pleased that you came in to see what Afterlife has to offer, Henry. There are plenty of treasures to be found.” And she meant more than just watching the dancers or getting a lap dance.
Though she doubted that Henry was ready for a lap dance given it was his first time here.
Oh, no. Henry was definitely not ready for a lap dance. If he hadn’t known where to look when a dancer was on stage, he’d be even worse with one straddling him. Again, Henry wasn’t prudish by nature, just socially awkward and often unsure what to do with his hands if a camera wasn’t in them. He was thankful now that he had a glass that he could hold, even if the drink in it was mostly gone by now.
What Aria said about “treasures” did catch his attention. He tilted his head slightly at her, a brow raised in question. He glanced towards the stage again, just as the current dancer finished her act to a rousing applause and left the stage. Did Aria mean the dancers? He wasn’t sure. He looked back at the club owner. “What kind of treasures?” He asked curiously.
Oh she liked that he asked. Sometimes it was better to let people discover the treasures at hand, sometimes it was better to give some hints. There were different kinds of treasures to be found. If this club was exactly like the one in her dreams, her answer would be anything he could imagine. Which included drugs and things of that nature. But given she ran a legit business here, no contraband would be found here.
“The dancers are one, of course, but they are not the only ones to be found here.” The bars were very well-stocked, even having some rarer liquors, at least as far as being found in America went. There were a few others as well. The VIP rooms, sometimes the DJs and live bands she had play in the club. Among other things.
Henry’s head was still cocked to the side as Aria spoke, giving him the look of a curious puppy-dog who wasn’t quite sure what it was being told, but seemed to like the words it was hearing. He smiled a genuine smile at the bar owner, far more relaxed now than when Aria had first approached him. “I’d ask what the other treasures are,” he said, “but then I couldn’t find them for myself. That’s part of the fun, isn’t it?” To Henry it seemed like part of the fun. So long as he didn’t wander somewhere he wasn’t supposed to be, or bothered someone who didn’t want to be bothered. But he was usually pretty good at avoiding those. Mostly.
“Do you own the other half too?” He asked next. He gestured with his glass towards the door he’d come through from the part of the bar that had the DJ.
Aria nodded a bit. “Precisely. The treasures are for the customers to discover.” And everyone tended to have slightly different definitions of what a treasure consisted of. There was a variety of things to be found. There tended to be something for most people here if they looked. Though sometimes it could find them without them putting much effort into it.
“Yes, I do. I have DJs in most nights, but I also try to book live bands as well now and then.” Local bands, that was. After all, any band that was well known would be too large for what her club could hold.
So far finding a space that literally had two clubs in one was a big treasure right off the start. Live music was a plus, too. Henry enjoyed watching live shows. He liked most music, and live shows meant that most people were paying attention to the band and he could much easier blend in.
Henry smiled. “That sounds like fun. I’ll definitely come back the nights you have a live band playing. And I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me. You’re probably pretty busy.”
Having two clubs in one was not something that Orange County seemed to have. Which had been precisely why Aria had chosen to do it. It made Afterlife stand out from the other clubs and strip clubs in the area. And, well, she did choose her dancers well, which also helped.
“Entertainment is listed on our website for ease of knowing what bands are coming.” Aria grabbed a piece of paper from the bar and jotted down the website on it before handing it to him. Clearly he was interested, so might as well give him the website. “You’re welcome. I do like mingling when I have the opportunity.” Aria wasn’t always polite or hospitable, but Henry had caught her on a good evening.
And Henry had certainly been lucky to have caught the club owner on a good evening. She had helped him relax and get used to the atmosphere of the strip club portion of her space to the point he no longer felt awkward and unsure of where his eyes should be.
He took the piece of paper she handed to him, looking at the website address. It was easy enough to remember, but he nodded his head and put it in his pocket anyway. “I’ll check it out when I get home,” he promised. He would too. He was very curious to see what kind of bands Aria would book for her club, never mind what kind of local music a place like Orange County would produce.
A new dancer had just been announced and had come out on stage to the applause and whistles of the audience. Henry glanced towards her with a much easier expression on his face than earlier, then back to the night club owner. “Thanks again,” he said, offering his hand to shake, “I’ll definitely be coming back here.”