The experience at the gas station had built Mary's budding confidence up to a new level; working her stuff was beginning to come as naturally to her as free throws had once upon a time. As she walked back to her car with her newfound self-assurance, an idea began to form in her head. She figured that if she had been able to convince that impoverished looking gas-station attendant to drive all the way into town and drop a few bucks to see her dance, then there was no telling who else she could get to visit her. Nor could it be told how much money she could make; but at this moment, the potential seemed unlimited.
She drove back into town with her windows down, singing along to her radio at top volume, all but inviting people to stare at her while she drove by. As she drove, she formulated a plan. Even though she hadn't been on the club's list of dancers for the weekend, she could still do some work. She could put on her skimpiest, sexiest bikini, go to the beach, frolic around, and tell every man there to come visit her at the Foxxy Laydee during the week. It was a shame she didn't have any business cards to hand out, but she figured she could talk to Clive about that on Monday.
***
After Mary had found her way back home and changed into the white bikini she had brought home from her first day at the Foxxy Laydee, she walked across the hall and knocked on her next unsuspecting victim's apartment door.
"Who is it?" Harold's voice issued from inside.
"It's Mary, your neighbor from across the hall."
Mary heard some loud scurrying inside the apartment – perhaps even the sound of something breaking. Then, a mere half-second afterward, a sweaty Harold frantically opened the door.
"Wow, you move fast for a man your age," Mary teased.
"Still quick like a fox, baby," Harold said with a wink. His eyes roamed down and delightedly consumed her scantily clad body.
Mary noticed him leering and smiled. Placing her hands behind her back and squirming like a naughty schoolgirl, she whispered, "Harold, I was hoping you could do me a biiiig favor."
He lifted his eyes to meet hers, and she could see that they were filled with surprise. "You? Want me? To do you a favor?"
Mary nodded. "See, I just started my new job this week, and I really need the money, and I thought you might want to become one of my regular customers."
"Oh? Where do you work?"
Mary bit her lip before answering, "It's a place called the Foxxy Laydee. Perhaps you've heard of it?"
Harold's eyes lit up. "That's the place with the dancing girls!"
Mary nodded demurely.
Harold licked his lips to keep a bit of drool from escaping at the corner. "Oh, goodness, I bet you make a ton of money."
"Well, not yet. Like I said, I've only been working there for a week. And I only work day shifts, so it's harder to make tips. But if I had a regular paying customer like yourself, well, that would help out a lot."
Harold thought for a minute, and a nervous look crossed his face. "You know, sweetheart, I'd love to. Believe me, I'd love to. But I've got Doris here, you know? And if I went somewhere without her, she would start asking questions. And of course I'd have to make up a lie to tell her about where I went, but then if she found out where I'd really been, it could get ugly."
Mary smiled. "I understand. But if she ever leaves to, I don't know, play bridge or something, and you find yourself with a couple free hours between 10 AM and 6 PM, then you'll know where to find me. Oh, and please spread the word. Tell all your friends to go to the Foxxy Laydee and ask for Virgin Mary."
Harold nodded enthusiastically. "Anything for you, baby. I'll go through the whole apartment complex, door to door, spreading the word!"
"That's kind," Mary chuckled, "but you don't have to go that far."
Harold shrugged. "Hey, I've got plenty of friends here with money and time to burn, and no ball and chain tying them down."
Mary tilted her head and smiled at him sweetly. "Thank you so much." She leaned in and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek, making sure to give him a face-full of cleavage in the process.
"My pleasure," Harold mumbled into her left boob.
***
After getting explicit directions from Harold to make sure she wouldn't get lost again, Mary then made her way to the beach. It was still a gorgeous, sunny day, although the breeze made it a bit too chilly for all but the heartiest individuals to set foot in the water. Nonetheless, Mary still found plenty of people enjoying the sun and sand on this early fall day in southern Florida. Immediately upon her arrival, she set about finding men who appeared to be there without women or children in tow. Fortunately, there was no short supply of such individuals.
She walked up to a couple of muscular guys with closely shaven hair and tattoos. They seemed very friendly and receptive to her conversational advances. After a bit of chat, she found out that they were military men. She revealed her job to them, and then asked them if they would like to see her dance. "Of course," they answered. "Great," she smiled at them as she twirled her hair. "Bring your friends, too."
***
Things continued this way for more than an hour. Mary figured she must have talked to at least fifty different guys while she was there, and all of them had seemed pretty interested in paying her a visit at the Foxxy Laydee. Well, all of them except for that gay couple, but even they had said they might swing by just for the hell of it.
However, Mary's self-promotional efforts came to a screeching halt when she approached a brawny blond lifeguard. "Hi there," she smiled as sweetly as possible. "What's your name?"
The lifeguard smiled back at her briefly from his station, before turning his sunglass-shielded eyes back to the water. "My name is Mark."
"Hi Mark. I'm Mary." She wiggled a bit, but he did not look back at her. Nevertheless, she continued to try to attract his attention. "Um, so, not many people in the water today, eh?" she blabbered.
"No," Mark answered, keeping his eyes on the water, "but I still have to watch the ones who are."
"Oh. Of course you do. Well, I'll make this quick, then. My name is Mary and, well, I just wanted to let you know that I dance at the Foxxy Laydee weekdays from 10 to 6, and…"
Mark finally looked at her again, but it was only to cut her off sharply. "Excuse me, Miss, but there's no soliciting allowed here. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
"Oh, but I…but I, um, wasn't going to ask for money from you, I was just going to ask you to come see me…" Mary stuttered lamely.
"Ma'am, please leave now or I'll have beach security escort you out."
Mary thought for a minute about the possibility of meeting the security man of her dreams here on the beach, the way Lucy had met her boyfriend Kevin Kinkirk at airport security in Buffalo several months ago. But she decided to leave peacefully instead. No reason to cause a nasty scene in front of all the potential new customers she had just scored.
As she drove home Mary decided that, despite the embarrassing ending, it had been a very productive day.
***
A/N: I apologize for the long delay between chapters. Please rest assured that I will not abandon this story before it is finished, even though that might take a long time.