AN: This is my first time writing Eliot/Parker and my first really shippy story at all, so don't flame me too bad! On second thought, if it sucks, tell me the truth!
The entirety of my experience with strip clubs is from TV, so if you're someone who spends a lot of time at strip clubs, please, tell me what you think and I'll do some editing :)
[*]
Eliot sipped a root beer as he sank into the plush armchair. It was as close as he allowed himself to drinking on the job. The hitter scowled at the blonde next to him, bouncing in her seat and letting out loud cheers to the mostly naked woman dancing in front of them. Parker saw his glare and smiled at him, and Eliot hastily turned his head, surveying the room instead.
The Leverage team's latest job involved a strip club owner called Willy Callahan who was blackmailing the dancers, bartenders, waitresses and investors at his club, pretty much anyone he came into contact with. However, he was allied with a particularly violent street gang, so no one did anything about him. Nate's plan involved stealing the valuables the gang kept in the safe of the strip club and framing Callahan for the theft, something the gang wouldn't take lightly.
Eliot could see Callahan twenty feet away across the club, leaning toward Sophie and grinning lecherously at the grifter's cleavage. The club was a wide room with several stages and poles with chairs situated around them, areas for private dances, and a long bar. It was dark, but the floors of the stages were lit up so Eliot could see Sophie and Callahan pretty well. The two were sitting in armchairs identical to those in which Eliot and Parker were currently residing.
Eliot was there for backup, but Parker didn't have anything to do at this part of the job. The thief insisted on coming just for fun, and now she was throwing bills to the dancer on the raised stage in front of them. Eliot knew he should have refused to let Parker tag along, but when she'd asked him and smiled just that way he found himself agreeing before he knew he'd opened his mouth. Eliot grimaced at Parker, who saw and grinned at him, her laugh somewhere between a giggle and maniacal. The hitter turned away again quickly; if he was blushing, it was just because it was very warm in the club.
"Can you see her?" Hardison asked into the team's ears through their coms. Sophie, professional that she was, didn't flinch, but continued to butter Callahan up to convince him of the 'business opportunity' she was offering.
"Yep." Eliot muttered, making sure his line of sight to the dark-haired con artist was not impeded. The dancer from their stage finished and Eliot smiled politely as she walked past, but didn't respond to the suggestive wink she gave him. Parker sighed hugely, falling back into her armchair.
"I'm out of money," she sighed mournfully.
Eliot rolled his eyes. "That's whatcha get darlin'" he chastised gently. "You should pay attention to the job first, and stare at half-naked women later." But Eliot smiled at the thief. He'd learned that lesson himself, many years ago.
"But I'm bored," Parker whined. "Sophie, did you get the keycard yet?"
Eliot heard the grifter's dignified cough over the coms, a subtle signal for radio silence. Sophie waited until Callahan turned to a waitress to order more drinks before responding. "The keycard's in his inside jacket pocket," she whispered. "I can't get to it!"
Parker let out a loud sigh, encouraging Eliot to glare in her direction. "I'm getting drinks," she decided. The thief jumped up, the movement causing the hem of the clinging red dress she'd worn to ride up. Eliot caught a glimpse of black lace as Parker walked in front of him to the bar.
The hitter shook his head to bring his mind back from the places it had just gone. A few seconds ago he had warned Parker not to get distracted, and look at him now! For a moment, Eliot considered how strange it was that he was completely comfortable in the middle of a strip club full of mostly naked women, but the sight of the black fabric against Parker's pale skin had made his mouth water. Eliot forced that thought away and concentrated on Sophie's attempts to reach the keycard in the mark's jacket.
"How's it going?" Nate asked over the coms. Eliot sat forward and casually checked the time; it was around three thirty in the morning, a half hour from the club's closing time.
"We don't have much time," the hitter replied. "Sophie?"
"I'm trying!" She whispered anxiously. Sophie was playing with Callahan's jacket, complaining about the heat, using every trick she could think of.
Eliot jumped back in his seat when Parker crossed his line of vision a few inches in front of him. The thief set a pair of martinis on a low table and plopped back down in her seat. Eliot gulped and forced himself to look away from the creamy skin of her neck when she downed the cocktail in one gulp. "Sophie, what's taking so long?" He hissed.
"The man has an unholy affection for his coat!" Sophie muttered distractedly, still directing a charming smile at the club owner.
Eliot heard a muffled sound over the com and looked to his side. His eyes nearly bugged out of his head when he saw Parker trying to get the pimiento out of her olive with her tongue. He became even more distressed when Parker swallowed the pepper and began sucking on the olive.
"What are you doing?" He hissed anxiously, consciously ignoring thoughts of exactly what else she could suck on.
Parker rolled her eyes and swallowed the olive. "I'm bored!" She complained. "Why is it taking so long? It can't be that hard!"
Eliot swallowed and shifted nervously in his seat at the connotation of her words. He had no idea why she was suddenly affecting him like this, especially in the middle of a con, when he usually had tunnel-vision on the job.
"If you think this is easy, try it yourself!" Sophie whispered angrily. She wasn't used to failing, and having the experience rubbed in her face wasn't helping matters.
"Fine!" Parker said with a smile. Eliot could only watch, entranced, as she jumped up out of her seat and pulled the red dress over her head in one fluid movement.
"Parker!" He gasped, choking on his own breath. "What the hell are you doing?"
"I'm getting the keycard," she said simply, before walking around the room toward Sophie and the club owner, slipping around the patrons of the club and several cocktail waitresses. No one paid any attention to another scantily clad woman in a strip club.
Eliot was frozen into his seat as he watched her walk away. The black lace panties and bra left long stretches of shimmery white skin visible and all he wanted to do just then was run his hands down her long legs and hear her moan his name.
He nearly gasped again when she reached her destination.
Parker strutted up to the club owner on the heels Sophie had loaned her and quickly straddled the surprised man. Sophie's own expression was priceless, and Eliot would've been laughing at it if he hadn't been openly staring at the thief's movements. She was giving Callahan a lap dance, and Eliot's expertise in the area informed him that it was a very professional act. The man's hands had rested on Parker's hips and she moved in a way that made him close his eyes. If Eliot hadn't been watching very carefully he wouldn't have noticed her hand slip into Callahan's jacket and slip the ID card to Nate, who was passing behind the chairs at that moment. Nate disappeared into the office with the safe and Parker leaned forward to whisper something in the mark's ear before sliding off the chair and walking composedly back toward Eliot.
The hitter's eyes were bugging out of his head as he watched the blonde thief walk toward him. The only thought going through his head was that the view from the front was even better than watching her walk away. Parker grinned at the look on his face and picked up her dress from where it lay crumpled on the floor. She sat back in her seat and calmly sipped her cocktail.
Sophie finished the conversation with the mark and waited for Nate to return the card to her. There was a slight choking noise over the coms, then Hardison managed to get his words out.
"Damn, girl!" He sounded absolutely shocked, and Eliot couldn't blame him. "Where did you learn that!"
Eliot had forgotten that the hacker was watching the scene through the security cameras, and his lips curled a bit in anger.
"People don't notice when you rob them if you're naked." Parker stated matter-of-factly.
Nate exited the office, carrying a bundle of folders under his coat and slipped the keycard back to Sophie. As she tucked the card into the cushions of Callahan's chair so that he'd think he dropped it, Nate cleared his throat.
"Well, um," Nate stuttered a bit. "That's the end of the second stage of the job, so I'll, uh, see you guys tomorrow." Nate removed his earpiece and Sophie did the same as she excused herself from the club owner. She left the club with Nate by a back door.
Parker drained her cocktail and pulled out her own com, motioning for Eliot to do the same. Curiously, he tucked his into his pocket.
Parker stood in front of his chair and leaned in to whisper in his ear. "The job's over. Wanna get naked now?" She grinned and walked toward the front of the club.
Eliot gulped as he watched her walk away, then realized what she'd said. "Hell, yeah!" He muttered as he quickly followed her to the door.
[*]
I can read M-rated sex scenes and then complain about the grammar, but I was blushing the whole time I wrote this. Take pity on me and review, please!