Either way, she felt long overdue for a damn good kiss.
That thought was very swiftly followed by the memory of those two cops’ faces, pressed into Gentry’s mind like an imprint. She could picture them both so clearly, even though they’d only met for a precious few minutes. The man with the lean runner’s body and the blond hair, his green eyes crinkling at the corners when he smiled at her. The man with the powerfully built body of a wrestler and the dark hair, and oh, his brooding gaze. Gentry licked her lips and wondered what it would feel like to press them against Lincoln’s lips. Would he lean into the kiss and run his fingers up through her soft hair at the base of her head? If she turned to kiss the blond one, Seth, would she feel his tongue press into her mouth? His hands roving up and down her body while Linc kissed her neck and shoulders from behind, his cock stiff against her ass…
“Jeez, Gentry,” she blurted out loud to herself in the empty dressing room.
She blushed at her own surprised face in the mirror. Clearly, bits and pieces of last night’s steamy dream were still floating around her brain. She shook her head and tried to shove those naughty thoughts way, deep down where they couldn’t distract her. But there was no compartmentalizing Linc and Seth away. They were standing tall and proud in the forefront of her mind, whether she liked it or not. And to be honest, she kind of did like it. Just not while she was preparing to perform for a packed blues lounge of avid listeners.
But then, what if Seth and Lincoln were part of that packed lounge?
What if they kept their word and really did show up to watch her perform tonight?
Gentry was nervous they wouldn’t show, but she was almost equally nervous that theywould. Normally, she was the type to thrive under pressure. She liked a big audience. She fed off the vibes of the crowd, gaining more energy from their response. Gentry felt confident she could rock their world. She never got stage fright anymore, not since she was twelve years old performing for her first solo in front of her hometown church congregation. But she really,reallywanted to make a good impression on those two men. Tonight was her chance to prove she really had the talent, not just one good but weird night.
She hoped her sexy dream wouldn’t interfere with her focus. What if she looked out in that crowd, saw Seth’s and Linc’s handsome faces, and immediately pictured them naked? What if she blushed so pink there was no hiding it? What if they somehow guessed at the steamy thoughts swirling around in her head?
Gentry hardly got a chance to ponder this possibility before there was a sharp, insistent knock at the dressing room door. She opened her mouth to say “Come in” but the door was already swinging open.
Ricky came barging inside with a tense smile on his face. He looked anxious and hot, with a light sheen of sweat over his skin. He was out of breath, like he had just been running or carrying something heavy around the backstage area.
“I thought I heard my little birdie singing in here,” Ricky greeted her loudly.
“Oh, I hope I wasn’t too loud. I was trying to keep it quiet,” Gentry replied, turning around in her chair to face him.
But he was already striding up behind her, arms outstretched. His meaty hands landed on her shoulders and he began to rub her shoulder muscles in deep circles, much to her dismay. He meant well, and she never got the sense Ricky was trying to put the moves on her, but he definitely seemed to lack an understanding of personal space. He grinned at their reflection as he rattled off some of his usual pre-show pep talk lines.
“Big night, Saturday night!” he chirped.
“Busiest night of the week,” she said, repeating something he’d said a million times.
“Full house out there! We handle the booze if you handle the blues.” He chuckled.
“I can do that,” she replied.
“So, you ready to raise the roof? Knock their socks off?” Ricky asked rhetorically.
“Mmhm,” she murmured.
He tapped her shoulders. “Stand up and do a little twirl for me. Let me see how good you look!” he instructed.
Gentry slid off the chair and stood up, holding out her arms as she slowly turned around in a circle. Ricky’s expression went from strained excitement to a melting frown as he looked her up and down. Gentry saw his face fall and dropped her arms, slumping a little.
“Wait. What’s wrong? Is the pink too much?” she worried.
She looked down at the dress—it was quite modest, concealing her shoulders and chest up to her neck, with the skirt falling almost to her ankles. It didn’t reveal much of her figure, as Gentry had been going for a more ‘cute’ than ‘sexy’ look for the stage.
But Ricky held his chin in his hand and scrutinized her for a moment.
“Hmm. No. This won’t work. We need something with a little more va-va-voom, if you catch my drift,” he hinted. “Let’s see what we’ve got to work with.”
Ricky went to the closet and opened it up. He proceeded to meticulously flip through each piece of clothing and costuming crammed in there. Gentry looked on with concern, wincing at the red sequined gowns, feather boas, fishnets, and platform shoes that looked like they might just activate her fear of heights. After a few moments of hemming and hawing, Ricky held up a black slinky dress that wouldn’t clash with her golden kitten heels.
“This one is perfect. Put this on—but not in front of me! Respect, you know,” he added with a jaunty shrug as he reached for the doorknob.
“Right. Uh, thanks,” Gentry muttered.
“No problem, princess! Now, get dressed and put a smile on that pretty face because you’ve got about five minutes ‘til stage call,” he quipped, and disappeared out the door.
Gentry’s heart pounded as she hurriedly changed out of her humble pink dress and into the clingy black one. She felt a little bit naked, with her arms and legs exposed like this, but she didn’t get much time to worry over her reflection before it was time to rush out to the stage.