by White, Pat
And that’s when Jason knew he had to go. He would make something of himself, make her proud, and earn back her love.
Only years later did he realize how closely he’d followed in Dad’s shoes by abandoning his family when they needed him most. Mom’s boyfriend hung around long enough to enjoy home-cooked meals and rides to the track. He even found her stash of money in the china teapot. Once Plackard got what he wanted from Sharon McBain he dumped her flat. She found herself alone again, and this time Jason wasn’t there to help.
“Hey, you’re the new guy, right? The Stripper?”
Jason glanced up to see a man in a wheelchair headed his way. “Yeah, that’s me.”
The guy was probably looking for an autograph. Jason knew they sometimes let disabled fans backstage before a show so they didn’t have to fight the crowds in the arena.
“Loved your number the other night with the bondage,” the guy said.
“Gee, thanks.” J couldn’t keep the sarcasm from his voice.
“The things they make you do for this crazy job. Next thing you know, you’ll be stripping all the way down to your birthday suit.”
J fisted his right hand. There was no way in hell he’d expose himself like that, even if it guaranteed him a friggin’ promotion.
“Nice to meet you.” The guy extended his hand. “I’m—”
“What are you doing here?” Sandy called out, racing up to them.
“What?” J said. “I work here, remember?”
“Not you. Him.” She pointed at guy in the wheelchair.
“Hey, be nice,” J said, puzzled by her tone.
She ignored him and got in the crippled guy’s face. “I asked you a question.”
“Chill, little sister. You’re embarrassing me.”
Little sister? Oh, so this was Duke.
“Good, then maybe you’ll get the hell out of here,” she said.
“No can do. Tonight’s show is so close to home that I got me a spot on the card.”
Sandy dropped her backpack and kneeled on the cement floor. “Duke, you can’t.”
“Relax. Cosmo will take care of me.”
“No, come on, this can’t be happening.” She squeezed her head between her hands.
Duke glanced at Jason. “She was always a bit of a drama queen.”
“You’re her brother?”
“Yep, Duke Ryan. Nice to meet you.” They shook hands.
“You’re wrestling tonight?” J asked.
“I’m part of the finale. They’re sending me out with a two-by-four and a meat grinder.”
“What are you going to do with that?” Jason hoped he wasn’t on the card opposite this guy.
“The meat grinder’s for show. But the two-by- four...” The man’s eyes sparkled and he rubbed his semi-gloved hands together. “This is going to be great.”
He reminded Jason of a ten-year-old about to hop onto an electric scooter.
Sandy jumped to her feet. “You’re an idiot! A complete whack job!”
“I know. That’s why you love me.”
J thought she might slug him.
The locker room door burst open. “Duke!” Cosmo said, sticking out his hand. “Great to see you, son.”
“Thanks, boss.”
“Cosmo, this is unacceptable,” Sandy said. “My brother should not be in the ring, and I don’t need someone watching over me.” She glared at Jason.
“Now, cool down, young lady. Your brother is a grown man who makes his own decisions. And I was worried about you.” He pulled on the knot of his tie. “You seemed more stressed than usual, so I asked the new guy to keep an eye out. Who else would I ask? The other boys have families.”
“I don’t believe you. I don’t believe any of this. Tell me you’re not putting Duke in the ring.” Sandy slapped her hands on her hips.
“Only for a few minutes. He’ll be fine.” Cosmo patted Duke on the shoulder, then glanced at Stripper. “Now, to take care of your problem.”
Jason narrowed his eyes at the old guy. Problem? Was Cosmo about to blow his cover?
“You need a female.” Cosmo tapped his finger to his chin.
Hell, was he that transparent? Sure, he needed to get laid, but was it written all over his face?
“I do fine by myself,” he said.
“Not in the ring you don’t. Did you see the crowd last week when those two girls fought over you? It was electric! We’ve got to get you a hot female partner. The Stripper and The Virgin — that’s it! I’ll find someone by the time you go on.” He squeezed Duke’s shoulder. “Come on, Duke. Talk with me while I look for a virgin.”
Cosmo walked away, Duke wheeling right beside him. Cosmo told some story that made Duke laugh.
J glanced at Sandy. She turned white. “Doc, you okay?” he asked.
She snapped her attention to him. “I’m your Virgin.”
“Excuse me?”
“That’s it!” She grabbed his arm and took off after Cosmo. “I’m your Virgin. I’ll be with you in the ring. That way I’ll be close to Duke.”
“Sandy, wait a minute.”
But she had a firm grip of his arm and J couldn’t help but run alongside her. They caught up with Cosmo and Duke as the promoter was cornering Precious Paulina. Sandy shouldered Paulina out of the way.
“I’ll be the Virgin,” she said to Cosmo.
Duke burst out laughing. Cosmo’s eyebrows curled in a look of disbelief. “You can’t go into the ring. You’re not…” He hesitated, and Jason had half a mind to slug the guy.
Sandy might not be a classic beauty who wore expensive makeup, a tight skirt and spiked heels, but she had a natural, earthy kind of appeal that outclassed all of these other females.
“I’m not what?” She dropped her pack and took a step forward, challenging him.
“You’re not the showbiz type,” Cosmo said.
“I’ve been a part of this business practically my whole life. If anyone can play a virgin girlfriend of a stripping wrestler, I can!”
“Out of the way, lesbo,” Paulina snapped. “I’ve agreed to be his Virgin.” She sidled up to J and looped her arm through his.
“Why don’t we let The Stripper choose?” Sandy said.
All eyes were on Jason. This was a no-brainer. If he chose Sandy, he’d have an excuse to stick close to her in and out of the ring. If he didn’t choose Sandy, she’d never speak to him again.
Never run her magic hands across his body.
J made her sweat it out, crossing his arms over his chest, eyeing Sandy up and down, then doing the same for Paulina. The female wrestler wore a revealing pink body suit, spiked heels and blood red nail polish. You could practically see her nipples through the spandex stretched across her chest.
“Sandy is more convincing,” he said. Sandy blinked, looking a little hurt, and he regretted his choice of words. “I mean—”
“Fine, if that’s what you want,” Cosmo interrupted. “You know what to do.” He nodded to Sandy. “No actual ring action. Hang out ringside, look concerned, prance from one ring post to the other.”
“I do not prance.” She ground out it in a voice so low J wasn’t sure he’d heard her.
Cosmo laughed. “Well, watch some videos, get some help from the girls, do whatever it takes. I want prancing. The two of you are an official team now. Get with Mable for a costume. Something white—a doctor’s lab coat. Bring your medical pack with you. The crowd loved it the other night when you came racing into the ring to help The Stripper. This couldn’t have worked better if I’d planned it myself. Come on, Duke. Let’s go over your moves.”
They turned to leave and Sandy put her hand on Duke’s arm. “You sure you’re up to this?”
There were a few seconds of strained silence. Duke’s face softened and he smiled, revealing straight white teeth. “I’ll be fine. You’d better go figure out how to prance, Nurse Virgin.”
“If the name fits.” Precious stormed off.
“Nurse Virgin and The Stripper—the cro
wd’s going to love it,” Cosmo bellowed.
He and Sandy’s brother wandered down the hall, Cosmo still congratulating himself on his new team. Sandy stared after them, a bit dazed, and finally whispered, “Why does he do this?”
“Do what?” J asked.
She jerked her attention to him as if she’d forgotten he stood mere inches from her. “Duke shouldn’t be anywhere near the ring. Why can’t he let go and move on?”
“Sometimes it’s hard to give up the past, I guess.”
With a silent nod, she watched her brother and Cosmo disappear around the corner.
“Shouldn’t we be working on our moves?” Jason asked.
She sighed. “In a minute. I need to find out where we are on the card.” She headed for the locker room and he followed. “Why?”
“Because I want our match to be back to back with Duke’s.”
“Oh, so this has nothing to do with wanting to be my virgin?”
She narrowed her eyes like she wanted to clock him with her backpack.
“What? A guy can dream, can’t he?”
“You keep dreaming.” She shook her head and kept walking. “Said I’d never do it, never get into the ring, never parade myself around like this,” she muttered to herself.
“Why? What’s the big deal?” he asked.
She stopped short of the dressing room. “People get hurt in the ring. Haven’t you figured that out yet? Or did that concussion erase your short-term memory?”
“I remember,” he snapped.
“Good. Then you remember that wonderful strip routine you did with the girls. Do a repeat of that and make my job easy.”
J touched her arm to stop her from going into the dressing room.
“What?” she asked.
“About that strip routine.”
“Yeah?”
“I could use some help with that.”
“Later. I need to take care of this first.”
“I’ll wait out here. A few of the guys,” he hesitated, “I’d rather wait out here.”
“Give me five minutes.”
Sandy disappeared into the locker room, probably negotiating all kinds of ridiculous things in order to get her match on the card near her brother’s.
Something didn’t add up, Jason thought. She was kind, loved her brother and would do anything for him, yet she was providing the other wrestlers with drugs that potentially caused heart attacks? Did she need money to pay Duke’s medical bills? It’s not like she lived extravagantly. He figured that out after being in her apartment.
Jason leaned against the cement wall and pulled out his cell phone. The lab should have the pills by now, maybe even have a preliminary report.
“Hicks,” the tech answered.
“It’s McBain. You got anything yet?” He wanted to cut and run, get the hell out of this place before those sweet green eyes of Sandy’s made him blow this assignment.
“This is one weird-ass compound,” the tech said.
“Excuse me?”
“No steroid I’ve ever seen.”
“So, it’s not a steroid?” Jason said.
“Not sure. I need time.”
“How much time?”
“Don’t rush me. I get nervous.”
J pressed his forefinger and thumb to the bridge of his nose. “Fine. You got my number.” He ended the call.
“Bad news?”
He jerked at the sound of Sandy’s voice. “Don’t sneak up on people like that,” he growled.
“Whoa, chill out, Stripper.”
“Okay, Nurse Virgin,” he retorted.
“Nice.” She started walking. “Got a spot on the card right before Duke.” She stopped a few feet away. “You coming?”
“Where to?”
“Wardrobe, then we need to practice.”
“Practice what? You saying no?”
She squared off at him, angry, yet he thought he saw hurt in her eyes.
“Hey, I’m not thrilled with this virgin thing, so lay off the jokes,” she said.
“Sorry.”
She continued walking and he realized he was being a smart ass to keep her at a distance.
“I still can’t believe I’m doing this.”
He felt a pang of sympathy. “Don’t worry, kid. I’ll take care of you.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.”
* * *
It was the right decision, the best decision; exactly what a little sister should do to protect her big brother. So why was Sandy on the verge of bursting into hysterics?
“The shirt’s too tight!” She pulled on the white cotton.
“Stop that or you’ll rip it.” Mable the costume designer batted her hand away. “Stand straight.”
Sandy followed Mable’s order, but hated the way the cotton curved around her breasts.
“How about a push-up bra?” Mable said.
“Forget it.”
“A little tissue then. Girl, you need something to give you some oomph.”
“I have enough oomph, thanks very much.”
“Would never know it. Are you wearing, a sports bra?”
“Yes.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“Damn things smash you to nothing. You should be proud of your bosoms, flaunt them.” Mable motioned with her hand.
“I’m proud. I’m just private.”
“Here.” Mable shoved a lace bra at her.
“I’m not wearing someone else’s bra!”
“It’s better than what you’ve got on.”
“Forget it.”
“You can’t go out there all bound up like that. Even virgins have titties.”
“Fine,” Sandy snapped. She went into the dressing area and whipped the curtain closed. She’d go braless before she wore someone else’s lingerie. Ick. Why was she doing this again? Right, because of her brother’s complete lack of sense.
She ripped off her shirt, unsnapped her bra and slipped the shirt back on. Truth was, it felt good to be free of the sports bra. She hoped the white button-down shirt was thick enough to hide what needed to be hidden, like her dark areolas. She’d always been self-conscious about them.
“Okay, I’m coming out.” She slid open the curtain. “Ta-da.” She extended her arms. “Well?”
Mable looked over the top of her glasses. “Now that’s the spirit. Pretty, perky bosoms. Perfect for a virgin nurse.”
The door popped open and Stripper stuck his head inside. “You done? Yee—owsa. Nice shirt.”
She let her arms fall to her sides. “Give me a minute.”
“Okay.” He grinned.
“Out!”
“Yes, Nurse.” He saluted and shut the door.
“How about a lab coat?” Sandy picked through a pile of clothes.
“Got one right here. And the skirt.”
“What skirt?”
“Don’t take that tone with me. It’s a long frilly thing left over from Penelope’s wedding to Stuart the Shark.”
Sandy held up the lace-overlaid skirt and made a face.
“Hey, we work with what we got,” Mable said. “Cosmo said virgin white. That’s it.”
“What did she wear on top?” Sandy asked, hoping for a turtleneck.
“She wore a halter cut clear down to her navel.”
“I guess I’ll stick with this.”
“Thought you would.” Mable winked as Sandy slipped the skirt over her jeans, then she handed over the lab coat. “You’re all set. Lookin’ good, kid,” Mable offered.
Sandy eyed herself in the full-length mirror. “I’m awfully ... white.”
“Go on, get out of here. You look like the perfect Virgin Nurse.”
“Great, thanks.”
“Welcome. And tell The Stripper I’ve got a new pattern for tear-away pants if he gets tired of tripping over his feet.”
Sandy headed for the door.
“And Sandy?” Mable said.
“Yep?”
“Remember, virgins have more
fun.”
With a groan, Sandy whipped open the door and found The Stripper standing there.
“Wow,” he said, following close as she headed for first aid.
“Stop it,” she said.
“What? You look good.”
“Enough.”
“I’m trying to be nice. Where are we going?”
“I’m going to first aid to see if Johnny needs me.”
“Listen, I talked to Cosmo. He says the only thing we should practice is our entrance.”
“So, he’s really not going to make me go into the ring?”
“Nope.”
“That’s a relief.”
“But...”
“Uh-oh.” She stopped outside of first aid. “But what?”
“He wants you to practice walking like a virgin.”
“And what, exactly, does a virgin walk like?”
“Rigid back, swinging hips. He said something about walking like Snow White. Does that make any sense?”
Good grief. Snow White was a former valet for Oscar the Louse. She wore a long gown and carried a magic wand—obviously Cosmo got his fairy tales mixed up. With a rigid back, the valet walked like she balanced a tray of fine china on her head, yet the lower half was all swing. Sandy never could figure out how she managed that.
Nor did she want to draw so much male attention to body. That kind of walk attracted men who claimed to love you to get into your bed, and leave before the morning paper hit your front steps.
“I won’t walk like her,” she decided.
“Okay.” The Stripper put up his hands. “Then let’s talk about the storyline. I’m fighting Dr. Killroy who’s mad because I stole his assistant, Nurse Virgin, from his office. Apparently Dr. Killroy has a thing for you, but never told you because he was married—now separated—and he knew you wanted to keep your virginity until you married, but he wasn’t sure you’d have him because he’s not a virgin and—”
“Stop. Who came up with this storyline?”
“Cosmo. It’s last minute, but not bad, at least according to the writers. He phoned them for feedback. They wanted you to walk in with a bowl of cherries, throwing them to the crowd, but I said you wouldn’t go for it.”
“Smart man.”
“Not that smart, but I am getting a feel for what you’re into and not into.”
“I’m so not into being a virgin.”
“Wait until you hear this: the story is that you hang with The Stripper because you’re amazed by my lack of inhibition ... and my pecs.” He crooked an eyebrow. “See, apparently, you like touching me.” He closed the space between them and she couldn’t move. “All over,” he whispered. “Running your hands around my butt, then you touch me in front ... like you’re fascinated by my ...”
