The woman clinging to me had platinum-blonde hair and a dress so low-cut that from this angle, I could see both nipples and pretty much everything else. Christ, why even bother wearing clothes? But my job was to make customers happy, so I shook my head as if regretful. “Sorry, babe, but I’ve got to be up on stage soon.”
“Ah come on, Denver, you can be surrounded by my mountains anytime.” She rubbed her tits against my forearm.
“I’m not Denver, but good one.” With a little more force than I intended, I yanked my arm out of her grasp.
The real Denver was already talking to Emma and her friend when I arrived. “Good evening, ladies.” God, Emma looked hot. She had on a short gold skirt, a little black top with spaghetti straps, and high-heeled sandals at the ends of her delectable legs. She didn’t usually wear sexy clothes like that, and it pleased me to think that she’d worn them for me—well, for us.
“Did you make a new friend?” Denver was clearly amused. Over the young women’s heads, I gave him a look that clearly meant, ‘Fuck off.’ He smiled, obviously knowing what I wanted to say—and that I didn’t mean it.
Emma tugged on my shirt. “This is Maddie.” Maddie was a brunette and therefore not as prone to blushing as a strawberry blonde, but right now she was doing a pretty good job of it. Playing my role, I dipped my head, picked up her hand, and kissed the back of it. I winked at Emma as I straightened up. Emma giggled but her friend looked as if she’d been hit by a stun gun.
Emma said something, but I couldn’t hear, so I crouched down between the girls. “Look what came today!” she repeated. She pulled a paperback book out of her bag. It was jarring to see Tonio on the cover, but otherwise, it looked like a real book.
“Congratulations!” I gave her a quick peck on the cheek, and the brunette’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head. I was beginning to wonder if she knew how to speak. “Did you buy your copy yet?”
Finally, her mouth opened. “Of what? Oh! No. I mean, yes. I bought the eBook the first day.”
I tried not to grin. Emma had been thrilled when she’d sold nearly ten dollars’ worth of eBooks right after it went live, but I’d been pretty sure those sales had come from the four of us, Ronnie, and this girl here.
Denver looked at his watch. “We’ve got to get going.”
I stood, one hand on the back of each woman’s chair. Maddie—or was it Maggie?—stared at me like she was trying to memorize me.
Emma was staring in a different way. Like she was glad to see us and excited about our act. “Good luck with your new routine.”
I smirked. “We’re too good to need luck. Plus, Denver did a great job on the choreography.”
“True. He’s the best.” She beamed up at him, but Denver was studying the stage, no doubt mentally rehearsing.
“Gotta go,” I said loudly enough to jolt him from his reverie. “Enjoy the show, ladies.”
I made a beeline for the bar, with Denver at my heels. Once I pushed through the crowd, I motioned Tonio over. “Emma doesn’t pay for drinks tonight.”
“Of course not.”
“But don’t let her drink too much,” Denver added.
“Of course not,” Tonio repeated, sounding a tad exasperated.
“Send them some appetizers so she’s not drinking on an empty stomach,” I said.
Tonio rolled his eyes. “If you two are going to keep acting like mama bears, maybe we should see if there are any breakaway bear costumes you can wear on stage.”
I shook my head and tried to catch Denver’s eye, but he was looking at the stage again, his mind clearly on our upcoming act.
“See you after,” I said to Tonio.
Things were simpler up on stage. The music blared. The lights blinded. But it was simple. I preened—the women screamed. I teased, tempted, and tantalized… and they went crazy and threw money my way. All in all, there were far worse jobs.
I couldn’t see Denver since he was on the other side of the stage, but I knew we were in sync. Judging by the noise level, the crowd loved the new act. I liked all the flips, leaps, and other acrobatic shit Denver had included just for me.
I ran to the front of the stage and fell to my knees, sliding past a row of women all reaching for me. Then I hopped up and met Denver in the center of the stage for our signature move. Couldn’t do an act without that, and we’d be doing it again near the end of the routine—only we’d be wearing a lot less then.
The women in the audience went crazy—all except two. Somehow, despite the noise, Emma was talking to her friend. The next sequence in the routine brought me to the part of the stage nearest her, and I was glad her table was on my side of the large room.