Eden's Dance
"Welcome to Harvey's Burlesque Theater!" Ricky's voice echoed from the speakers. "For those unlucky few who haven't experienced a show quite like this one let me assure you, you're in for a treat. Through out the night you'll be presented with various men and woman but be forewarned, my fair skinned brothers and sisters. There will be nips, lips, and a whole bunch of dicks for all your view pleasure!"
Eden stood behind the velvet curtains. Fidgeting incessantly with her gloved fingers tips, she ran through the dance in her head. She giggled when Ricky gone off script and started filling his time on stage with his own humor. And judging by the audience's bouts of laughter, they were thoroughly enjoying themselves.
"Don't be alarmed if you're asked to volunteer. I think as a gift. You've been chosen to indulge in you fantasies. So it's safe to say a lucky few of you may be sleeping in the doghouse tonight because here at Harvey's our dancers aim to please your every desire. But are you ready?" Their raising cheers became music to Eden's ears.
She couldn't calm her racing heart as the familiar pangs of nervousness settled in, turning her mind into a whirlwind of dismal thoughts. Would her dance go smoothly? All it took was one misplaced step to snap an ankle or to fall from the stage completely. She'd die of embarrassment for sure and didn't even want to consider the hell she'd be in with Harvey.
Maybe Harvey's testing me and that's why he switched our sets. Her fingers came to rest over the hem of her detachable skirt and the barely working mechanism. An unwilling clasp would ruin her entire performance.
The noise in the auditorium dropped to low murmurs as Ricky circled back to his standard script; "Let's travel back in time, shall we? Back to the Garden of Eden and the original sin. And boy sin has never looked this delicious."
The fog machines where switched on and emitted white mist into the open space. It crept along the floor in wispy patterns and snaked around Eden's set, masking everything in a ghostly image.
"This apple is the sweetest and the juiciest of the whole damn bunch." He stepped back, shouting. "Give it up for Eden Burrows!" The audience dissolved into hoots and whistles as the lights began to dim.
Eden positioned herself with her back towards the curtain and glanced the stagehand hidden in the wings. The girl held up her fingers and mouthed her the countdown, "In five, four, three, two, one…."
Taking one last steadying breath, Eden raised her arms high above her head. She crossed them at the wrists and angled her hip out.
The velvet curtains pulled back to the sound of enthusiastic applause. Then Credence Clearwater Revival's song I Put A Spell On You filled the air and all became silent.
Red light shone down, bathing Eden with its brilliant color and as the fog billowed up around her it set the mood of the sultry performance.
She submitted her control over to the music and let the beat consume her movements. Her hips swayed to the rhythm of the drum as her gloved hands drift delicately down toward her sides. She spun around to face her admirers and met the same darkness.
All nervousness dissolved with her first hip thrust and a quick shimmy of her chest. The applause drove Eden forward, making her movements more significant and more dramatic than ever. She glided effortlessly across the floor and teased the crowd every chance she got.
They sat on the edge of their seats as she ran her hands over the clasp of her skirt, only to turn her back to them once again. She slipped a gloved finger between her teeth and pulled, repeating the movement with each fingertip until she could slide it from her arm with a light tug of her teeth. The garment became a prop. She swung it over her head then tossed it to the side off stage to move to the next one.
The other dancers appearing after her no longer existed in this moment; even Diamond was a million miles away. In Eden's mind, the audience was there only to see her, to praise her, and she marveled in their adoration.
Her movements were carried out with grace and fluidity that she almost found herself laughing at her faded nervousness. She knew this routine thoroughly and was executing every movement flawlessly.
The fear of the clasp sticking vanished the moment it came undone between her fingers. She whirled her back to the audience and threw open the skirt. Like clockwork, cheers for more rang out and echoed around her. She looked seductively back over her shoulder to give them all her slyest of grins and winked.
They begged for more. Wanted Eden to take it all off, or so she thought since she couldn't hear their cries of praise. But their cheers alone stood as proof. They were utterly captivated.
The red lights above the stage flashed once, then twice and the moment she dropped the skirt the lights shut off altogether and sent the theater into complete darkness.
She had precisely ten seconds to unhook the front of her corset, turn the fabric around and reposition it across her chest.
The lights flashed back on, once again bathing the stage in burning red as Eden swayed to the music. The audience went wild as she pulled the corset from her chest, and sunk slowly to her knees.
Dressed in nothing but a bra, thong and garter belt set, she took her time crawling down the little catwalk jutting from the middle of the stage. This gave her access to the audience in a more intimate manner that allowed the men and woman to come to her.
They rushed to the stage, tucking bills of various mounts into her bra and garter belt. A few let their hands roam over her bare skin, but Eden didn't mind. Attention was what she craved the most. Without it, she was nothing but another nobody.
A stack of bills flew high into the air and rained down around her.
The money from dancing was merely a perk. It allowed Eden to have a comfortable lifestyle. One that was filled with jewelry, beautiful clothes, and a lovely apartment that was the size of a closet in the middle of Portland's pricey Pearl District.
Eden stood, making her way back to the main stage. In the last few seconds of the song, she once again turned her back to the audience for one final tease. She unhooked her bra, glanced over her shoulder and let it fall from her arms. The lights faded, and there was a moment of silence before utter chaos erupted with the loudest of cheers, applause, and catcalls.