THE BIG MOVE (Miami Hearts Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

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                  By the time I’d snapped myself into my costume, shook my braids out, and secured my springy dark curls with hairspray, I’d decided that I’d take a customer up on his offer for me to escort him, if the opportunity arose. It had before, and I’d always politely declined, so there was no reason to assume that the same thing wouldn’t happen.
                  I’d applied a cherry lipstick and was smearing some gold, shimmery eye shadow on my lids and cheeks to match the gold sequins on my dress when I heard Parker announce my name.
                  “Sol, on deck, Sol on deck, everyone give it up for Sugar.”
                  I was going to have to learn to get ready faster if I really wanted to stay on the setup crew for the extra money. I dabbed my forehead lightly with a powder puff, aware that I was starting to sweat again just from the stress of rushing, and strode out of the dressing room.
                  The lunch crowd of customers at the club was always a lot different from the dinner and after-hours crowds, but that didn’t mean I gave any less of an effort. For the most part, these were hard-working individuals looking to blow off some steam in the middle of their workday, or graveyard shift employees looking for a last laugh before going home and to bed. No matter what time of the day it was, I always tried to give my best onstage and when working the customers. I never knew when I’d get a good break — and a lot of money.
                  As I walked up the stairs to the stage, towering in my stilettos, I gave a confident grin right into the spotlight trained on me, pausing at the end of the catwalk to allow some time for my music to start up. The bouncers finished gathering up the dollars Sugar had earned, gave a nod toward the DJ booth, and then Parker made my final announcement.
                  “Everyone, please give a warm welcome to Sol,” she purred over the sound system, her low voice reverberating throughout the club. “She’ll brighten your day right up.”
                  Scattered applause throughout the tables was instantly drowned out at the loud, infectious beat of my song. Most of the girls liked to dance to the latest rap and pop songs, but that music didn’t really speak to me. I preferred Latin beats, salsa and merengue, brought up to club standards with searing remixes and big bass.
                  As I shimmied my way down the stage, dancing in perfect and complicated time to the rhythm of my song, I couldn’t help but think back on my earliest performances on this very same dance floor. I hadn’t had enough money to afford some of the more elaborate costumes of my fellow dancers, so I’d gone to a thrift store and purchased some lingerie I thought looked nice. I also didn’t have a handle on the tall platform shoes all of them wore, so I thought a nice pair of heels would suffice. I used the pole as a dancing partner rather than a means to expand my routine, and I’d danced to straight-up salsa, no extras thrown in.
                  I’d done my best, but my reception was lukewarm, at best. Only a few customers had clapped once my routine was done, and even less left me dollars during my performance.
                  It was Faith who’d taken me under her wing, demonstrated how to get a bigger bang out of my performances, and loaned me shoes and costumes from her own collection until I could afford to begin my own.
                  Without Faith, I wouldn’t have been able to last here at the club. Parker probably would’ve tolerated my presence for as long as my pride held out, but I would’ve eventually slunk off into the darkness, ashamed that I’d failed at dancing for a living. I’d always been a good dancer, back home, loving to spin around the floor of my home in bare feet, Antonio barely able to