Are You Faded?

Scandalous females will do just about anything for a dollar.

***

As much as I like to joke around when I tell my stories, most of them are pretty serious. This story is a little hard for me to tell. It resulted in some PTSD triggers which have affected the rest of my life. This was a very valuable life lesson learned the hard way.

I was only 22-years-old and just started dancing. I was still very unaware of my surroundings in this industry. You really do go into it believing there is decency in all human beings. You want to make friends with all of your co-workers. You believe everyone is supporting one another because you're in it together, right? Unfortunately, that is a shroud. Those cases are far and few between and if you come out making a few REAL friends you are very fortunate.

I got along with pretty much everyone at that time in my life. There was one particular girl I really liked. She went by the name Unique. God, she made me laugh! We had so much fun on our shifts at the club! I was stupid enough to trust her. Never in a million years would I have thought she would endanger my life.

Now let me tell you about a frequenting customer by the name of Maurice. He was a middle-aged, seemingly successful man who spent money and bought everyone drinks. He hadn't approached me directly, just stared and made me very uncomfortable. When he finally got the gall to talk to me it went as follows: "How much do you cost?" I was already creeped out by him so I retaliated with" I'm NOT for sale!" In a very misogynist tone, he replied, "I buy what I want and whom I want. You gonna learn that." I, of course, told him where he could shove it and avoided him at all costs.

Maurice would continue on his regular routine at our club. I just ignored him and wanted him to leave me alone. I did take notice that he spent a lot more time with Unique, however. Spending more money on her, making it rain on her stages, buying her drinks. I really didn't care as long as he left me alone, it just seemed suspicious.

After a shift on a Friday night, Unique asked me if I would like to go to an "After-hours club" with her. I told her sure, I'm down! I went to my friends Sarah and Josh, who also just worked that same shift with us, and invited them to come along. Unique seemed very uneasy about them tagging along. She knew I wasn't going without them so what choice did she really have?

Since I was the only one with a vehicle, we all piled in and started driving. Unique, giving me driving directions, seemed like she'd been there before. We ended up on the Southside of Phoenix, a place you really don't wanna be. The "after hours club" was nothing more than an industrial type warehouse. The parking lot is packed and there's a long line going into the building. Josh, Sarah, and I are realizing that we are the ONLY white people here. And we're getting all kinds of dirty looks. Me being me thought nothing of it. I like to mingle with all kinds.

We follow Unique to the back of the line to get in. No one is carding anyone or patting anyone down for weapons. We pay the cover fee and walk right in.

Inside this fairly large warehouse, there's a good size dance floor, a DJ, and a stage. There is also two fully operational, up and running bars, serving alcohol after the last call. It's already after 2 AM and the last call in AZ is 1:30 AM.

We're on the dance floor and out of nowhere Unique hands me a small plastic glass of Gin & Juice that is mostly filled with ice. Sarah isn't even 21 and has one drink in each hand. Still getting death looks from everyone around, Unique asks me after my first drink, which she insisted on buying me if I was "faded." She continued to ask me the same question. Unique disappears only to show up again with yet another drink which I did not ask for. Sarah also brings me a drink and I notice that Unique doesn't seem too happy about that. That was a little suspicious. She asks me yet again if I'm " faded." What did that even mean?

I was starting to feel strange. Not drunk, not buzzed, strange. I guess this is "faded"?

The DJ suddenly announces there will be a booty shaking contest held on the stage. Unique pulls me up onto the stage. At this point, I don't really care about what was going on. It was like all my inhibitions disappeared.

I can remember everyone booing me off stage because I was white. And people yelling "Got Milk" in the background. Unique and I are ushered down and into some back room behind the stage. At this point, I'm seeing floating colors in the air and feel like I'm not really in control of my actions. It was like I was dreaming and couldn't wake up but the voice inside my head was trying really hard to get me out of this trance. Definitely not the effects of alcohol.

Immediately after being pushed into this room, a fairly large bouncer locks the door behind us and is standing guard right outside of it. Not too soon after, I realize that Maurice is in the room sitting on a couch as if he had been expecting us. That voice in my head is now screaming at me to wake the fuck up!

Everything is moving in slow motion and Unique is now taking off my dress and then my panties. I think I'm telling her no. The voice is still screaming at me!

I start feeling an awful electricity forming in the back of my mouth. You know, right before you vomit? There's a small bathroom to the side. I walk hastily towards it but Maurice yells "No, no! That one is broken! Let her out to use the other one." It's then that I realize that Sarah is relentlessly pounding on the other side of the locked door, screaming at the top of her lungs to let me out. She had been there the whole time too. The same fairly large bouncer from before physically removed her from the door several times but she was very adamant.

Half naked and semi-wrapped in the dress I was wearing, Sarah grabs me and I get violently ill in the other bathroom. She's trying to hurry me along before they realize that we have no intentions of returning to the rape room.

Sarah is now dragging me through the parking lot. Although I can barely remember how I got to the back seat of my car, I do remember a man punching Sarah in her face so hard that she flew back and onto the pavement. Josh, trying to defend her, gets knocked out cold. I'm useless at this point as whatever they drugged me with is taking full effect now. Sarah is screaming at Josh lying on the ground to get up. He's still unresponsive and I'm scared that he might be dead. We're now surrounded by people with guns! Even Unique is getting a gun to her head. I know we are dead.

Out of nowhere two very tall men, whom I've never seen before, come to our aid. They block the thugs and start helping us. Josh finally wakes up and we get away in my car.

I have no idea how we all survived that night. We should be dead! I was violently ill for three days after that whole ordeal. Josh and Sarah both had black and blue faces for weeks after. Back then date rape drugs were only beginning to rear their ugly heads. You feel ashamed and stupid and like it's all your fault. Therefore, you don't want to even deal with the cops or hospitals. So you don't.

Unique didn't show her face at the club for a long time. I found out later Maurice paid her $300 to get me to his club and drug me.

I later mentioned the two men that helped us to Sarah and Josh. They were very puzzled and had no idea whom I was referring to...

I couldn't make this shit up if I tried!