Ruffles & Beaus

by Carina Adams

  “That’s right,” he scratched at his temple as if just remembering my past, “you’ve come so far.”

  “At least I didn’t peak before I hit thirty. Happy birthday, by the way.”

  Flames rose in his eyes. “Whatever you have on him must be good or he would have fired you by now.”

  “Fire? You mean buy me out.” I tried to look bored and hoped he couldn’t tell how much I wanted to connect my fist to his face. If he knew he’d keep pushing until I broke. “I’ve offered. He can’t afford to.”

  Alastair worked with some of the most ruthless people in D.C. and was able to school his emotions with the best of them. He wasn’t able conceal the shock that rocked him at my revelation. He hadn’t had a clue Rome and I owned Soiree together.

  I took advantage of his silence and stepped closer. “You and your pansy ass friends will be nice to my employees tonight. I protect my girls. And I’ve been waiting for an excuse to beat you senseless for years. Go ahead. Give me one.”

  Before he could throw another insult in my direction, I walked away. If I had stayed, we would have continued to sling shit and I’d lose my cool. He wasn’t worth it.

  I found Rome out on the patio.

  “Where in the hell have you been?”

  I ignored his agitated tone. “I wanted to wish the guest of honor a happy birthday.”

  An eyebrow cocked and he wiped away his smirk with a lap of his lips. “Yeah? How’d that go?”

  “He’s currently hiding while he plots revenge.”

  “Nice. We’ll have a few hours of peace, then.” He checked his watch. “Ruffles should be ready to start by now. I’ll go check on her.”

  “I’ll find Andy, then work the back.”

  “I’ll get the middle and front. If you need me…”

  “Yeah, yeah. I know the drill.”

  I hated Alastair because he'd grown into a judgmental douche, but his brother remained the polar opposite. There usually wasn’t much to do at Andy’s parties. Once the music started, the guests would find a seat and settle in to enjoy the show. My job was simply to make sure everyone had a good time by keeping the dancers safe and the patron’s hands to themselves.

  I found the good cousin standing with his buddies. They greeted me warmly. After a few minutes of mindless small talk, Andy let me pull him to the side.

  “How’d you get stuck here tonight? Draw the short stick?”

  “You know I go where Vi goes. Can’t let her have all the fun.”

  “Violet’s here?” Andy’s face pinched in confusion. “I thought it was Myra, Peaches and the new one.”

  “Myra and Ruffles were scheduled. Vi was added last night.”

  “My night just got a hell of a lot better.”

  I snorted. Homeboy pursued Violet like a dog in heat. “Keep dreaming. You don’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell.”

  “You say that now, but you might wake up tomorrow morning to find she’s quit and run off.”

  “Away from you, not with you,” I ribbed. “If you drive my girl into hiding, I’ll make your life hell.”

  “One day she’s going to realize she loves me as much as I love her.”

  “And one day I’m going to give up nicotine.” I tapped the box of smokes in my pocket. “In an alternate universe. Both would be fucking awesome, but will never really happen in this reality.”

  “You’re an asshole.”

  I nodded. “The asshole that spends all his time with the woman you want.”

  He laughed, “Touché.”

  A song began, the beat heavy and catchy, one I hadn’t heard before.

  “Enjoy the party,” I slapped his arm and moved away.

  I hadn’t made it to the back yet when the feeling in the room shifted. The men around me stirred, shifted in their spots, some mumbled words I couldn’t hear, all more animated than I’d seen them. Curious, I followed their attention to the front of the room.

  Most of the time I barely glanced in Vi’s direction. While every act was as different as the performer, I’d spent enough time at parties to know there wasn’t anything I hadn’t seen. I didn’t think anything could surprise me.

  I’d been wrong.

  Ruffles was on stage, but she wasn’t alone. Violet sat in a chair, forearms braced on spread thighs as her shoulders swayed to the beat. It was the new girl who captured my full attention, however. She stood behind Violet and her hips bumped from side to side with the beat, as she slowly ran her fingertips across the top of Vi’s breasts.

  It wasn’t the action that captivated me. The way she looked when she did it, all wide-eyed and innocent, was fucking hot. When she dragged her teeth over her bottom lip, tipped her head back and closed her eyes, I wanted to be the one on stage with her. As the song played, she acted out her part, and the lyrics came alive. Toward the end, she spun around to the front, dropped to her knees between Violet’s legs, and ran her cheek up the inside of Vi’s thigh as she teased both Vi and the audience. With one song, I was done.

  Rome always gravitated toward and then hired a certain kind of dancer. They weren’t all extremely thin, but they did have tiny waists, sculpted legs, toned stomachs, and oozed confidence and sexual charisma. Some were super model tall, others slightly short, and all worked the assets their mommas had given them. With a well executed glove peel or a sinful stocking role, they enthralled their audience and sent imaginations into overdrive.

  Violet had told me Ruffles was different. Now I understood what she hadn’t been able to put into words. This new girl didn’t fit into the typical mold; she wasn’t interchangeable with all the rest of our dancers.

  Our clients would lose their minds. She would make them go crazy. The best part was that she didn’t have any idea the amount of power she possessed.

  I couldn’t keep my eyes off her. I needed to find out what she looked like under the makeup, to see who Cady was when Ruffles wasn’t around. I wanted to strip the costume from her body layer by layer, and discover every inch of her.

  The two moved together like old lovers who knew exactly what the other one needed. The performance was dirty, yet gorgeous and lighthearted, perfectly choreographed to show two people who wanted more than they should. It was the hottest fucking thing I’d ever seen.

  I pulled my eyes away and searched the room for Roman. I wanted to turn and watch more of the show but I hurried toward my friend.

  “Are you watching this?” I leaned in close to him to make sure he heard me over the music.

  His gaze landed on the pair for a brief moment then moved back to the room. “No. I’m too busy doing my job.”

  I ignored the accusatory tone as I watched the women again, my eyes zeroed in on Ruffles. “When did they decide to do a combo?”

  Out of the corner of my eye I saw him shrug, but he didn’t look their way. “Ruffles was probably too afraid to come out alone. I told you, she doesn’t have what it takes. I give her a week, tops.”

  I disagreed. She shot the audience a naughty smile as Vi untied a string on Ruffles’ pantaloons. The new girl covered her mouth in mock surprise as they fell to the floor. All the blood in my body ran south.

  “I can’t work with her.” When he didn’t respond, I grabbed Rome’s arm, desperate for him to hear me. “You need to team her up with someone else.”

  He shook me loose. “It’s her first fucking dance,” he ground out, “she’ll get better. Or she’ll quit. Stop being so dramatic.”

  She didn’t need to get better. She had the art of seduction down perfect. I wanted to grab her and pull her up to my room. “Put her with someone else,” I demanded.

  “What in the hell is your problem? Can’t you do your job without being a pain in my ass?”

  “In two hours I’m gonna be balls deep and she’s gonna be screaming my name.”

  He coughed out a bitter laugh. “Jesus, you’ll say anything to get what you want.”

  “Yeah,” I admitted. “This time, it’s more than that. I’m givi
ng you fair warning. I’m taking Ruffles home tonight. Unless you want me to violate your precious policy, you’ll assign her to someone else.”

  My tone got his attention and he stared at me. “You don’t sleep with dancers.”

  “I fucked you, didn’t I?”

  His nostrils flared, either annoyed that I’d mentioned something we never talked about or pissed I’d used our past against him. “You don’t sleep with female dancers,” he clarified through clenched teeth.

  “No. I haven’t been attracted to any. Big difference.”

  “Seriously? Ruffles?” He tilted his head toward the front of the room. “You want to take her home?”

  The way he said her name, as if he thought she was repulsive and found my attraction unbelievable, made anger churn in my gut. Fuck him. For a minute I contemplated knocking some sense into him.

  As she did an adorable as hell little shimmy, I realized it was better if he didn’t understand. Bad things happened when Roman and I wanted the same woman. I needed to make my intentions clear. “I look like I’m kidding?”

  His eyes zoomed in on my face, looking for any sign that I might not be serious. He shook his head. “I’ll take her tonight.”

  “’Cause she won’t last the week?” I scoffed. “She’s about to be Soiree’s biggest act.”

  As the song came to a close his disbelief turned to wariness. “Whatever. I’ll move teams around, keep you with Vi.”

  I glanced toward the front of the room to find Violet still fully dressed, which meant she was staying for the next song. Either Rome or I had to go escort Cady back to the cottage to change for her next act. I took a step forward, anxious to introduce myself, but Rome stopped me.

  “You don’t work with her, remember? I’ll take her.”

  I was going to thank him, but he kept speaking. “You should know you don’t stand a chance. Ruffles lives with Liv’s girlfriend. I’ve heard they have a complicated relationship. Pretty sure she’s less than straight.”

  “We’ll have something in common, then. I’ll take her anyway I can get her.”

  He laughed over his shoulder. “Hundred bucks says she won’t glance sideways at you.”

  Oh, he was on.

  Eight

  Cady

  The last note of Sofi Tukker’s “Best Friend” hadn’t faded yet when Violet stood, grabbed my hand, and tugged me out the door. “After your final dance, you mingle,” she explained hurriedly. “Then you can flirt and play and watch the rest of the show. Make them love you even more and the tips will roll in. Until then, you immediately find the exit. Someone from Soiree will be waiting for you and then your partner will take over.”

  That first someone was a preppy looking redhead with a wide goofy grin. Vi hesitated for a split second when she spotted him standing on the patio, but only long enough for me to notice. Her sharp intake of breath told me she hadn’t expected to find him-whomever he was-waiting for us.

  “Andy,” she greeted coolly, only a hint of confusion on her face.

  “Future wife,” he answered back. His eyes devoured her as if she was the Treasure of Lima, but never slid in my direction.

  “'You mean future ex-wife,” Vi deadpanned. “We’d divorce the moment I sobered up. Plus, you only think you could handle me. I may look innocent, but these claws would rip you to shreds. We wouldn’t want to ruin this pretty little face, would we?” She patted his cheek forcefully as she pursed her lips.

  He lifted his hand, and for a split second, I thought he was going to reach for her. He clutched his chest, over his heart, and smirked. “Run away with me. Right now.”

  “This charming fool is Rome’s cousin,” Vi explained with a bemused sigh, “he helps out sometimes. But most of the time, he throws parties.” She leaned her head towards the noise behind me. “Like tonight.”

  There was a stinging bite in her words, an undercurrent running between the two I wasn’t able to read.

  “You know,” Andy mused with a shy smile, his eyes still glued to her, “all I heard was that you think I’m charming.”

  Violet rolled her eyes and hugged me quickly. “I’ve gotta get back. You’re safe with this geek. Who’s walking her to the cottage?”

  “I am,” a grating voice clarified from the shadows.

  Before I had time to react, Roman stepped between us and snatched a piece of black fleece from Andy’s fingers. “Go.” With a slight cock of his head and sharp tone, he sent the other two scrambling back toward the house. Once they were out of sight, he shook out the material and when he held it up for me, I realized it was a robe. “Put this on before you get cold.”

  As if he willed them there, goose bumps erupted everywhere and a shiver ran down my spine. It made complete sense for me to be chilly, I reasoned with myself. Even though it was August, fall had come early and temps had started to drop. Plus, I was outside in nothing but a sheer keyhole teddy.

  I froze in place. Holy shit. I was standing in front of Roman, practically naked.

  The color drained from my face. I slipped my arms into the plush softness he offered and pulled the sides tight around me to put as much of a barrier between us as I could. In an attempt to fend off my embarrassment, I focused my attention on knotting the belt. He’d seen hundreds of girls in less, I had no doubt, so there was no reason to feel awkward.

  At least that’s what I tried to tell myself.

  It could’ve been worse. I was in a teddy and not completely naked. I closed my eyes and thanked God Randy insisted all dancers start out with a base layer until they got comfortable wearing much less in front of strangers.

  One day I might be like the rest of them and feel overdressed dancing in more than pasties and a thong. I was definitely not that comfortable yet. Especially not around my boss.

  To his credit, Roman’s eyes never left my face. In fact, he looked almost bored. Perhaps my performance hadn’t lived up to his impossibly high standards, even after we’d spent hours working on my form and perfecting my routine. Maybe he wasn’t able to hide his dislike of me as much as he thought he could.

  I didn’t care if he liked me. I had plenty of great friends and didn’t need another. However, I did need help so I could excel at my job. I’d assumed he’d have feedback, considering I’d worked my ass off all week. I wanted him to be proud of me, or at least a little impressed, because I had listened to every single word of advice he’d given me.

  I stared up at him and waited for him to say something about the dance. Anything.

  He didn’t pick up on the hint. He moved to my side and put his hand on the middle of my back. Without meaning to, I tensed, completely uncomfortable. If he felt the change in me, he didn’t comment and gave me a little push.

  “I’ve got to get you to the cottage and Myra back here before Vi’s routine ends.”

  When they’d told me I was the opening act, I’d assumed I’d perform my two routines and then be gone, tucked away out of sight where I could relax for the rest of the night. That might be how things were done in clubs, but for private parties we alternated performances to give the other dancer a chance to change.

  As we traipsed across the lawn, I struggled to keep my heels from sinking into the soft earth. The second time I stumbled, Rome made an annoyed guttural sound and grabbed my arm to steady me. “Your focus for next week should be learning how to walk.”

  “Hey, stilettos are harder than you'd imagine.”

  “I didn’t specify in heels. Watching you move is like seeing a baby giraffe try to take its first few steps.”

  I wanted to pull away, but his quick pace would have been impossible to keep up with if he hadn’t been helping me. “Well, if that’s all you could find wrong with the dance,” I huffed, “I’m a happy girl.”

  “You want me to critique you right now?”

  It was rhetorical, but I ignored him. “Giraffes are quite graceful. I’m taking it as a compliment.”

  “You would.” I didn’t need to see his face to kno
w he was rolling his eyes. “That wasn’t even one of your dances. You two shifted shit around without telling me. We will talk about that later.”

  “I thought we kicked ass.”

  “Of course you did.” He sounded angry, not annoyed, and that surprised me.

  “It’s all an illusion, right? You told me to turn them on. We did.”

  “It was a cheap trick. Every man gets hard at the idea of watching two women together. You got scared and didn’t think you could do your job on your own, worried you couldn’t make them want you, so you called in reinforcements.”

  I yanked my arm from his grip and stopped abruptly, letting him get ahead of me. I braced my hands on my hips, ready to give an earful. At the last second, I changed my mind. He already hated me, and probably wouldn’t believe it had been Vi’s idea, not mine, because she’d been nervous. I refused to snitch. He could take his shitty opinion of me and shove it.

  “It wasn’t a cheap trick,” I sneered the words. “I was scared, yes. Did you see the men in there? Their pocket change is more than my nana makes in a year. Myra told me she’s seen half of them in gossip magazines. They date models and actresses, not girls like me. Yes, I was scared they wouldn’t want someone who looks like me. So I did my job the only way I could.”

  Roman spun and closed the gap between us, his face contorted by rage, and grabbed my upper arms. “Someone who looks like you?” He spit out each word as he shook me slightly. “They want a fantasy. That’s why they come to parties like this. They want what they can’t have, not the norm. Nothing more, nothing less. It’s your job to show them you have something no one else can offer, something they can only get from you.”

  “That’s what we did.”

  “No,” he argued. “You told them you’d rather eat pussy than suck dick. Now you're unobtainable, out of their reach. Sure, if they throw money your way, you may be interested. They get enough of that in the real world.”

  I hadn’t thought about it like that. Before I could respond, or apologize, he dropped one arm, spun around, and dragged me the rest of the way to the cottage. Myra was ready and came outside as soon as she saw us.