by Gina Kincade
“Mmmmmmmm” was all that came out.
He smiled down at her. “That will work.”
He traced the features of her face. It was erotic, but so relaxing she was fighting not to drift off until he spoke again.
“I said you needed a sample to consider your choice, short of tools and toys,” Thorne remembered the cane and Cat as he said it, “unless you want to use yours...”
Maggie’s eyes flew wide at the idea of using either of them now and shouted, “RED!”
Thorne roared with laughter that shook the bed. “Okay then, no toys tonight.”
He was still laughing as he unhitched her bra and let her other arm free. He took the hand he had freed first and brought it to her lips.
“Tongue out please.”
Maggie stuck her tongue out with a question on her face. He ran the length of her fingers down the tip of her tongue before sucking them both clean himself.
“What do you taste?”
Maggie couldn’t fathom a response.
“Green?”
Thorne laughed again shaking his head.
“Plain English now.”
Maggie had no idea what she was supposed to taste like so her answers were more question than statement.
“Sweet? Maybe tang?”
Thorne dodged his head side to side licking his lips in consideration.
“I can see that.”
He kissed her deeply but gently, easing her up into his arms as he finished. Turning her and shifting the covers, he tucked her into bed.
“Such a vision you are Maggie. Get some sleep now and we’ll talk more once you’ve woken. You have pleased me greatly.”
Maggie had thought to take a hot shower, but now settled into bed, she couldn’t bring herself to move a muscle. She watched between heavy eyelids as he picked up and put away her clothes. He disappeared for a moment, reappearing with her blouse that he added to the pile. If he was remotely uncomfortable walking around her apartment naked it didn’t show.
She heard him moving around more than she saw him as she drifted closer and closer to the oblivion of sleep. She wanted to keep watching him but she was losing the fight. After more orgasms in one night than she could remember to tally, she was beyond ready to sleep. She felt a soft kiss above her brow as the darkness called her firmly. Tired of fighting it, she went.
‘I don’t want to wake up from you...’
Maggie hit snooze four times before she realized it was the coffeemaker buzzer not the alarm clock. She rolled over and stretched. Every place on and in her body, along with a few she didn’t know existed, moaned out in a delicious ache. She opened her eyes to find she was alone, still tucked in bed exactly as he’d placed her. She spoke out loud to the empty room.
“Dear God that man should be outlawed.” As soon as she said it, she recanted it. “No, I didn’t really mean that.”
The coffeemaker buzzed again which meant it had finished, likely some time ago and was getting ready to power down if she didn’t hit ‘hold’. She had not set it so he must have. Unsure why he wasn’t stopping the buzzer, she got up and granny walked to the kitchen. Her bones were not cooperating. Everything felt loose. She hit the hold warm button on the base as she realized he wasn’t there. Her eyes shot to the front door, the deadbolt was set.
“How the freaking Houdini...” she asked out loud as she went to check it. It was locked. An envelope on the floor with her key in it was the how.
She slipped her key back on the ring sitting on the island next to a bag from Panera. Okay, he might be forgiven. A scone and a muffie were inside, wrapped in tissue and a napkin. The muffie was even a little warm still.
As she set the napkin aside she noticed the message on it, smirking.
Final answer? –T
Rolling her eyes she spoke again to the empty room laughing. “Ooooooh that man!”
‘As the world falls down...’
Maggie clocked in just before the arm clicked into place to make her late. Jade watched her expectantly, finally demanding when Maggie hadn’t spoken.
“Spill.”
“Spill what?”
Jade had the look her mother wore when she knew something but was waiting for a confession. What Jade thought she knew, Maggie couldn’t fathom. She silently hoped it wasn’t somehow about the amazing sex she’d had last night, though there was no way she possibly could. Jade’s face shifted to mild exasperation.
“What did you do yesterday hmmmm?”
Maggie didn’t know what to say. She was torn and more than a little confused at how Jade could possibly know anything. As she debated her response, Jade tossed another whammy into the mix that snapped Maggie from confused to outright terrified shock.
“Ciara saw you.”
What the hell? Did she have a stalker? Where was Ciara when she saw me? Did she see Thorne? Did she see the kiss in the stairwell? WHAT? THE? HELL?
“Ciara? Ciara saw me what?”
Jade’s hands flew up in frustration as she responded.
“She saw you at the casino...going into the back room at the show? She said she called you and you ignored her? Ring any bells yet?”
Relief flooded over Maggie.
“Ohhh that.” She said as nonchalantly as she could manage.
“Yes, Oh that...” Jade eyed her warily. “What did you think I was talking about?”
Duck and cover ran through Maggie’s mind and she assumed a defensive pose.
“I had no idea what you were talking about. You launched in on me attacking with ‘what did you do’ with no frame of reference.”
The skepticism was everywhere. It was on Jade’s face, in her stance, even in the tapping foot her mother had so often used.
“Mmmm-hmmm. Sure you had no idea. So what exactly did you do little Miss Question-evader?”
Maggie decided that the truth on one front might get her out of additional scrutiny on others. She pulled the schedule and contract from her bag and handed them over.
“This is what I did.”
Jade took the packet and started dreading. The pages flipped faster as she went. She neither looked up nor spoke until she turned over the final sheet with a loud, “WHOAH!”
Maggie was elated to share the news, grinning wide at her friend’s response. She had planned to share the news anyway, long before the inquisition began.
“Yes ma’am, woah.”
Jade’s face fell then. “Does this mean you’re leaving Wenstry’s then?”
“Oh no, no, no. I will just go back to my original two days. I mean, Charlotte’s due back next week. Without the extra hours I’ll be homeless by New Years. I had to do something.”
Comprehension dawned across Jade’s face and she relaxed.
“I guess that’s right. You could always stay with me you know.”
Maggie guffawed. “Oh yeah Jade, that’d be lovely; you, me, and Barney with your parents upstairs. I appreciate it, but I think probably not.”
Thankfully Jade laughed.
“Hey, my parents love you. And, and Barney only humps the legs of my friends that he actually likes, the others he pisses on.”
They both laughed then.
“Geee Jade, I feel extra special now.” Maggie said with her nose scrunched up over a frown.
The question settled, they got to work for the hour overlap, still giggling off and on. Jade presented her with Mr. Markley’s bag and the necessary uniform just before she clocked out.
“In honor of your news madam. And because it’s time for me to go. Congrats. See ya next week.”
Maggie rolled her eyes. She could not however bring herself to grin fighting the urge to upchuck her scone at the sight of the bag.
“How gracious of you.”
Jade winked as the clock marked her clock out.
“I do try.”
THE REST OF THE AFTERNOON was busy with an unusual amount of door traffic. Maggie hadn’t even had time for a fiver in the washroom before it was time to lock the
door. She tossed the package from the casino in her bag, locked up and headed out.
Since she had been running late, she’d driven. Since it had been a busy day she’d walked past her car before she remembered it was there and had to double back. Saturday night or not, she knew it was going to be an early one. She was ready to drop.
Rounding the corner to the parking stand, she released the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. Thank God. There was no black on black muscle car surprise tonight. Temptation that he was, Maggie didn’t think she could take another night of ‘samples’ so soon, extraordinary sex or not. Thorne was the kind of man used to getting what he wanted, and Maggie needed time to reinforce her backbone if she could land solidly on where it was supposed to be.
The mail brought a new twist. An official looking envelope was the only thing in her box. The return address was a name she recognized but couldn’t immediately place. By the time she locked the deadbolt and set her bag down, she remembered. It was the firm Joseph had retained to represent them for the accident.
The envelope contained a single form looking letter. It was a notification to let her know the case was proceeding as expected and they had a tentative hearing date. August fifth in the Cook County Consolidated circuit, Judge Ahrend would be presiding. Her presence was not required, but the family was encouraged to be in the gallery.
Maggie was numb all over again. It had been months since that dreadful day. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to remember or didn’t care, it was that she...Oh hell who am I kidding? She had locked the folder from Joseph in a fireproof box in the wardrobe less than a week after she’d moved into the loft. She hadn’t opened it since.
There were too many emotions tied up in the papers and memories. One day she knew she would have to take them out and deal with them. She had naïvely believed she would be ready, and that she would get to choose when that day came. She was wrong, probably on both counts. Now, if not before, it was all coming out on August fifth, her personal D-day.
The blinker on the answering machine caught her eye. Dragging her free hand through her hair she set everything on the counter, turned and headed for a hot shower. She could deal with Joseph or whoever it was later, or maybe even tomorrow.
Emerging only when the hot water ran out, Maggie felt ancient. Her pruned fingers and toes echoed the assessment. Realizing she’d put the casino shoes on the counter with the mail, she snagged them before going to her room, dropping them into one of the wardrobes. They too could wait for tomorrow. There was no rush to break an ankle tonight. She was too tired to go to the emergency room.
She sat at the table and reread the letter over a bowl of cereal, too tired even to ladle and reheat soup. In just under two months’ time, if she attended, which she was sure was what she would be over-encouraged to do; she would be sitting in a room, listening to the details of her mother’s final moments over and over again. She was immediately drowning in exhaustion at the idea.
The sun was barely setting, dusk not even fully fallen as Maggie locked the letter into the box with the other documents and climbed into bed. Fanning the covers to settle in, she caught a nose-full of what could only be Thorne and sex. Her libido clenched with the inhale but even that wasn’t enough to outrun the soul deep wariness and lethargy she was feeling. She drifted restlessly to sleep, visions and images of her mother and Thorne competing for center screen in her mind.
‘That’s me in the spotlight...’
There was a lot to be said for living and working. It was nearly time to turn the calendar page to July before she recognized the time had passed. She had deflected Throne repeatedly, though not with untruths. She had been running her ass off.
Maggie had spent more than her Wenstry’s paychecks at the gas pump running back and forth to fittings and rehearsals trying to get ready for the stage. It had taken more time than she could fathom to get used to wearing and balancing the head piece. Who knew feathers could be so damn heavy? She had to readjust when the headpiece got paired with the shoes the first few times. She’d had a major wardrobe malfunction teetering between breaking her ankle or dropping headfirst off the stage when the headpiece shifted her off balance. Thank God she was only a bookend. This showgirl thing just might kill her.
A week of preparation longer than originally planned, Maggie could finally balance and hold herself well enough to take the stage. It would be a long night with two shows and two receiving lines. Though she really wanted to hit the floor for the tip opportunities, she decided ahead of time to hold off at least for the first night, maybe longer.
An hour to curtain, Maggie was chewing a straw backstage nervously waiting. The stage manager came through, gave her a swat across the ass and told her to break a leg. Cynder laughed openly at Maggie’s face of dismay as she came across the room.
“It means good luck Mags, not literally break your leg. Breathe. You’ll do fine. Heather’s on your side with you, we switched her and Jenny out. You couldn’t fall if you wanted to. She’s got you. Just remember to breathe.”
Maggie could only nod before Cynder was back out again. To her amazement, the show was over before she knew it had started. She had been so caught up in remembering to balance, breathe and smile she’d missed it. The room itself was really no different than rehearsal either except for the applause. With the bright lights shining in their faces, she had no real recognition of if the chairs had bodies in them or were empty before the clapping.
Heather pulled her aside as they came off stage.
“That was pretty good for your first one out. Can I give you a piece of advice?
“Sure.”
“You did real good with the balance and breathing. Think happy and glamorous though for the smiling part. Whatever you were thinking about to remember to smile?”
“Yeah?”
“You looked like you might bite somebody.”
Maggie’s face fell. “Oh no.”
“It’ll be okay. Nobody gets it all on the first one. Just...happy and glamorous from now on okay? Deal?”
“Deal.”
Maggie took a deep breath. They had to go out for signatures and pictures. She didn’t have high hopes.
Her line was not long, but she got a few to her amazement. The last in line was a little middle-aged woman who wanted a picture and her autograph. She introduced herself as Rae Rose. Maggie would have guessed her in her late forties or early fifties, surprised to find out she was in her late sixties. Rae Rose boasted that she had the picture and autograph of every showgirl she’d ever seen, trading card style. Back in the day she’d been a showgirl herself. She flashed her own trading card to show Maggie. It was black and white, but impressive. She still had the body for it though maybe not the strength by Maggie’s assessment. When the photo was taken, Rae Rose finger called Maggie to lean in before speaking.
“Let’s you and me have a little chat. You’re new. I can tell. Listen here to Rae Rose darling. Everyone in the room wants to be you or be with you when you walk on that stage. You can own it, or you can destroy the illusion. It is completely up to you. In this world,” she waved a hand around the room, “you are royalty, nobility, and to some, a god. Don’t let fear or nerves beat you out of your throne. Step up and wear that crown girl!”
She put her finger in Maggie’s face then, up close between her eyes, leaning in right behind her hand.
“When you can do that...” she paused but didn’t waiver, “you will have the longest line here every time. I guarantee it, and I’m never wrong when it comes to showgirls.”
Maggie was speechless. She managed to stutter out ‘Thank you’ when Rae Rose hugged her and moved to another line. Maggie remained completely dumbstruck.
She waited patiently for everyone to finish so they could return backstage together. As she watched, true to her word, Rae Rose got her picture taken with every showgirl. What Maggie noticed, was that Rae Rose did not have a ‘little chat’ with anyone else. She didn’t stare at each interaction
, but she saw enough to know it hadn’t happened. She was speechless all over again.
Taking the stage for the second show, Maggie thought about being royalty on stage but switched to happy and glamorous when an image of Princess Diana in a showgirl headpiece nearly caused her to miss a step and launch off the side edge of the stage. She would need to refine her royalty focus. Random was going to get her killed, or fired.
Heather told her it was better but to keep working. The small improvement and a couple more in her line after the second show reinforced her faith. She could do this.
She had Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday for shows. As she had started the stage on a Thursday she now had four days to recover and get herself together for round two. She was working Saturdays and Mondays only again at Wenstry’s now that Charlotte was back which left her an odd Friday-Sunday off combination. She planned to come in Sunday and watch the show through a couple times for pointers now that she had a better understanding of what she was seeing.
She’d cleaned her area, hung her things and went to cash out. To her surprise, her two short lines of about a dozen people total had netted her sixty-five dollars after the house took their cut. She was excited by the prospect of longer future lines. Autographs and photographs paid out nightly. Her tip base was paid weekly. One good night would cover fuel for all three days back and forth. She renewed her motivation to do well at this as she realized she needed to get better fast or dip into the savings. It really was now or never.
She downed a Red Bull, got into her car and was on the road replaying Rae Rose’s ‘little chat’ over and over again, pulling into her stall before she knew she had arrived. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew she needed to pay better attention when she drove but the surreal of her first night had not yet faded, she was wound. She might not have needed the energy drink but as Thorne had pointed out about other aspects of her life, she’d erred on the side of caution and being too awake instead of just awake enough.
She grabbed the mail and cha-cha’d her way up the stairs with her shoes in a bag over her shoulder.
