Chapter 5 - Dress Up
The girls went back to Kaitlyn's apartment to get ready for work. Since AJ's parents didn't know where she worked, she almost always got dressed at Kaitlyn's. It was more fun that way anyway, since they always helped each other finalize hair and outfits.
While Kaitlyn took off her t-shirt and searched her dresser, AJ stood in front of Kaitlyn's closet and flipped through a small stash of work clothes – mostly pairs of skin-tight shorts and bikini tops. It was time to dress up and become another person for a few hours.
"Sooo…" said Kaitlyn. She found a hair band and pulled her hair back so she could re-do her makeup. "Do you like him?"
"Who?" AJ asked.
"Oh my god, quit stalling."
AJ laughed. "I'm not stalling. I just wanted to make sure I knew who you were talking about."
"Who else would I be talking about?"
"I don't know, they were all being nice to us!"
Kaitlyn made a sound of frustration. "You won't even tell your best friend in the whole world what you think of the guy that clearly likes you?"
"You're going to have to be more specific…" AJ said innocently.
"You're messing with me!" Kaitlyn exclaimed, as she finally realized it.
"A little bit." AJ admitted.
"If I weren't half naked right now I'd go over there and pinch you."
"Ooh, lucky me." AJ said suggestively. She picked out a standard ensemble and walked to the adjacent bathroom so she could change in front of a mirror. "Do you like him?" she asked Kaitlyn.
"Well gee, I don't know," Kaitlyn replied, mocking AJ's innocent tone. "Who are you talking about?"
"I'm trying not to get my hopes up." AJ admitted as she slipped out of her normal clothes.
"What?!" Kaitlyn chirped. "Why?"
"You know how I get."
"Aw, sweetie. You don't have to marry the guy."
"I know, but we should at least be friends first, right? I hardly know him."
"Right, but you can get to know him while you make out and all that fun stuff."
AJ made a skeptical face in Kaitlyn's general direction. "Can I?"
"Are you questioning my wisdom?"
"Always."
"Okay, you want to take it slow. So, you do like him?"
"Do you?"
Kaitlyn stopped her hands and rolled her eyes skyward. "You are so enfuriating."
"Answer my question!" AJ shot back.
"YES, I think he's awesome and perfect for you and that you should get married and have twenty babies and name them all after me."
"All of that, after meeting him once?"
"I'm joking." Kaitlyn murmured, pausing as she applied heavy eyeliner. She stepped back from the mirror and blinked, checking the design. "We apparently all went to high school together. Anyone that can survive that hellhole is a hero in my book. Although, I guess they did drop out before they finished. Wait, do we know what they do for work? We never really talked about that."
"Dean helps out with his dad's business, limo driving. I'm not sure, aside from that."
"Well we know they're disciplined and motivated. The muscles..."
"Yeah, they were lookin' pretty good." AJ replied.
"They felt good too." Kaitlyn turned in place in front of her bedroom mirror, making sure her shirt fit right – low and tight. "I wanted Roman to cover me and never get off. I mean, never get up. I mean-!"
AJ laughed. "I know what you mean. What is it with you and guys laying on top of you after exercise?"
"I like to be rewarded for hard work."
AJ snorted. Kaitlyn made a sound of disgust at her judgment.
"Oh, Raaandy..." AJ said in a falsetto impression of Kaitlyn. "Stretch me, Randy."
"I did not sound like that."
"I am barely exaggerating."
"You should try it with Punk. He'd melt at your feet."
"I don't need his help to stretch. Also, he has a girlfriend."
"And now you have Dean!" Kaitlyn replied with exaggerated wonder and awe.
"And now I have Dean." AJ echoed, finally admitting that she did want it to go somewhere, even if it wasn't on the fast track.
"You already met his friends, and they're awesome, so you don't have to worry about that anymore."
"Good point." said AJ. Dolph's friends had not exactly made her feel welcome.
AJ was distracted from their conversation when she realized she was missing something from her parent's house.
"Shit!"
"Forgot the eyeliner again?"
"Yeah." AJ said regretfully. "Can I borrow?"
"Of course." Kaitlyn answered, smiling softly as she walked to the bathroom and handed the tube to AJ. "You never have to ask."
"Thanks." AJ smiled gratefully.
"Have you thought any more about moving in with me?" Kaitlyn asked, walking back to the mirror in her bedroom so she could apply blush to her cheeks.
AJ was inches away from the mirror in the bathroom, applying her own eye make up.
"I mean," Kaitlyn leaned back and turned so she could project her voice into the next room. "Half your stuff is here already."
"I know..." AJ called back, telegraphing regret. AJ stepped out of the bathroom, barefoot in her short shorts and bikini top. She leaned against the door jamb and scrunched her mouth up on one side, watching Kaitlyn sweep the broad brush against her cheek.
"You know I want to." said AJ. She spotted a crooked nail in the floorboard in front of her, and poked at it with her toes. "I'm waiting for my mom to get better. She still needs help sometimes, and my dad is always working."
Kaitlyn straightened and smiled sadly. "I understand. But the second you want to move out..."
"I'll be here, don't worry."
"Good." Kaitlyn smiled, and glanced down before returning to her mirror. "You look hot, by the way."
"Thanks." AJ scrunched one shoulder and stuck out a hip in a cute pose before she went back to the bathroom to check herself out. "What are you going to wear?"
"Mmm, I was thinking of going with a cowgirl look tonight. Then, when I walk backwards, I'll say 'Look: reverse cowgirl!' The customers love that stupid shit. Especially when they're drunk."
AJ laughed. "When you do it, it's actually funny."
"Aw, thanks." Kaitlyn smiled to herself and took out a tube of lip gloss. "I just don't want Vickie to see it as an invitation to whore me out."
"She'll probably buy a mechanical bull or something." AJ murmured in absent-minded agreement.
"I feel like the guys that pay to be there behave better than she does." said Kaitlyn. "She tries to sell me like a prostitute. But then she calls me fat."
"Oh, please." AJ scoffed, blinking her eyelashes apart as she stepped back from the bathroom mirror.
"Cougar in charge!" Kaitlyn screeched loudly.
"Nooo, don't even start!" AJ yelled back.
They were silent for a few seconds. And then, in perfect unison…
"Excuse me!"
They fell into laughter, interrupted only by a text alert on AJ's phone. Kaitlyn was closer, so she grabbed it as AJ ran out of the bathroom.
"Kaitlyn-!"
"Ohhh, it's from Dean." Kaitlyn teased her. She only held the phone away from AJ's grabby hands for a few seconds, before allowing AJ to check it herself.
"It's just the address for the party tomorrow night." AJ reported.
"Just the address?" Kaitlyn asked skeptically.
"Well...it also says 'BE THERE!' in all caps with three exclamation points."
"Aww!"
"Don't 'aww,' there is nothing to 'aww' here."
"He loooves you."
"Finish your makeup." AJ told her friend, biting her lip to keep from smiling.
Dean tucked his phone into his pocket and stopped by his dad's home office before heading out. He didn't want to get in trouble for wearing the wrong thing again.
"How do I look?" Dean asked, still fastening the buttons on his shirt cuffs.
Roddy looked up from his paper work and took off his glasses. Dean was in a black dress shirt, black tie, black slacks and his old, beaten up black boots. The pants were a bit wrinkled, and the tie was loose, like he was afraid it would choke him if he wore it properly. The kid was out of his element, but he was trying. That was more than Roddy could ask for with such a last minute request.
Dean noticed his father had that look on his face, like he was proud yet oh-so-amused by something his son had done.
Roddy shrugged, mischief making his eyes sparkle too much for Dean's liking.
"You look like ten bucks."
Dean eyebrows raised and he frowned with acceptance.
"That's better than nothing."
A look of concern crossed Roddy's features.
"What happened to your hands?"
Dean glanced down at the tape over his knuckles. "I helped set up a ring at the gym." he said casually, coming up with a story on the spot. It was half true, like all of his covers. He'd helped set up the ring, sure. But there hadn't been any accidents. He wasn't ready to tell his dad about the unceremonious end to his training.
"Ah." Roddy believed the lie easily, since it was all too plausible and he had experience of his own in that arena. "Other than that, you look fine." Roddy said, chuckling as he placed his glasses back on his face. "Thanks for doing this, Dean."
"No problem, Pops." said Dean as he walked out.
"Hey." Roddy called out.
Dean backed up and looked at him expectantly. Roddy leaned back in his chair, his proud and amused smile still present. His glasses were off again, so he could see Dean's face.
"Those were some pretty girls you had over earlier."
Dean averted his eyes and sighed, feeling like a teenager about to be embarrassed by dad talk.
"You datin' one of 'em?" Roddy asked, now highly amused.
Dean shrugged, and fiddled with the buttons on his shirt sleeves.
"Maybe." he said. "Hopefully, soon."
"The blonde or the brunette?"
Dean smirked, keeping his cards close to his chest.
"Which one do you think?" he asked.
"Ahh, you like brunettes, don'cha?" his father asked.
"I like girls. They can have any hair color they want."
Roddy chuckled. "Fair enough. So, how'd ya meet?"
Dean fidgeted in the doorway, wondering when the interrogation would end.
"They went to our high school." he said. "I ran into AJ the other night, it was random."
"AJ…" Roddy repeated, attaching the brunette's face to the name. "What does that stand for?"
"You know what?" Dean said, becoming more and more agitated. "I have no fuckin' clue."
Roddy laughed and relented, putting his glasses back on as he turned back to his paperwork.
"Alright, why don't you get going."
Dean made a face that said Finally!, not that Roddy could see it. He backed away from the doorway and walked toward the stairs.
"Call me if anything weird happens." Roddy called after him.
"Will do." Dean called back.
"And don't say anything rude this time, I don't want any complaints!"
"No promises." Dean muttered to himself.
"Dean!"
"AlrightI'mleavingandIwon'tdoanythingstupidIpromise!" Dean shouted wildly at the top of his lungs right before he flew out the front door. He was mostly joking. Mostly.
"Christ." Roddy muttered to himself as the door slammed, wondering if it was worth the anxiety, wondering what Dean would do if the wrong button was pushed. "I should have done the job myself..."
The girls put sweatpants and coats over their skimpy outfits for the work commute. For one, it was getting cold out at night, and if they were ever stopped by the police for any reason, they didn't want the cops to get the wrong idea.
On the other hand, if the cops got the right idea, Vickie might appreciate the extra business.
Kaitlyn parked in the rear lot of The Kitten Club, where the rest of the employees parked their cars. One of the bouncers was waiting out back, smoking a cigarette before his shift, illuminated by the blue and pink neon sign that said 'erotic and burlesque...' in teasing cursive letters.
"Ladies." he greeted them, his glance fleeting and respectful.
"Keep us safe tonight, Erick." Kaitlyn said in her usual jokey way.
Erick chuckled quietly, showing just a hint of a smile behind his big red beard and mustache.
The club was empty, closed since 7:00 PM to leave time for clean-up between shows. At least Vickie had a crew that mopped and wiped tables down. She could be mean, but she didn't make the girls do too much dirty work before their shifts. AJ and Kaitlyn helped set up tables and made sure everything looked neat before retreating to the dressing room to see who was working that night.
In a dark blue robe, Alicia was seated at the first of three vanities, putting lotion on her long legs. She greeted them and flashed a friendly smile, happy to see they were working tonight. There was a certain combination of girls that enjoyed working together, because they got along and were also better at making money, which was always good for everyone involved.
AJ could see the tops of two blonde heads moving behind an opaque wooden room divider with clothes slung over the top of it.
"Oh, it's the good crew." Kaitlyn recognized immediately.
"Don't tell Vickie," said AJ. "If she realizes we're having an easy time out there, she'll never let us work together again."
Hearing their voices, Summer Rae poked her head around the side of the divider.
"Oh, thank god!" she exclaimed, relieved just knowing AJ and Kaitlyn would be serving drinks and food while she danced.
"What is it?" said Kelly, wandering out in her underwear and nothing else. "Oh, awesome!" she said once she realized what the fuss was about. Her smile was bright as she reached for one of the tops hanging on the divider.
"We love you guys too." said AJ, smiling at their reactions as she tucked her purse and coat in her locker.
Kelly went over to the second vanity and studied herself, checking out her own ass before she put her top on. Alicia finished with her legs and got up to find her sexy sailor costume. Summer was humming a tune to herself while she slipped a dress over her head.
Kaitlyn looked around the room, put a finger to her chin and pursed her lips. AJ raised a suspicious eyebrow at Kaitlyn's obvious thinky face.
"You know what we should do..." Kaitlyn said slowly, narrowing her eyes at AJ.
AJ narrowed her eyes too. "I think I do..."
"Does anyone wanna go to a party tomorrow night?" Kaitlyn asked the room.
"Yeah!" Summer agreed readily. She came out from behind the divider in a turquoise dress adorned with what looked like a million tassels.
"Sure, why not?" Kelly said, since she had nothing better to do.
"You have to come too." AJ told Alicia as she walked back toward them.
"Where is it?" Alicia asked, more hesitant than Summer.
"I dunno, some guy's house." Kaitlyn said, sharing everything she knew and drawing a laugh from AJ.
"Is it someone important?" Summer asked, walking over in her bright dress, swinging her hips purposefully to get the tassels twirling.
"Ooh, nice." Kaitlyn complimented her dance moves and her new outfit. "No, not a 'business' party. Just some cool guys we met yesterday. They invited us to a friend's party, and they were really nice so we want to return the favor and bring all the girls we know to this next thing."
"Are they hot?" Summer smiled, dreaming of the possibilities. If they weren't made of money, they at least had to please her in other ways. Kelly chuckled but didn't turn from the mirror.
"The ones we met definitely were." AJ nodded.
Summer shrugged. "Okay." she said.
"Yeah, I'm down." said Alicia.
"Do you think Brie and Nikki will come?" AJ asked.
"I think so..." Summer spoke distractedly as she caught sight of herself in a nearby mirror and stroked her hair. "Nikki told me she broke up with whoever she was dating. I bet she'd love to go."
"I want to walk in with an army of hot girls." said Kaitlyn.
Kelly looked over her shoulder and caught Kaitlyn's eye. "That will be so good..." she said, grinning at the thought.
"Did someone say hot girls?" Nikki's voice rang out from the doorway. There was a chorus of hellos as the twins entered. Nikki greeted everyone in the small dressing room with a kiss on the cheek, even AJ, who accepted the affection begrudgingly. Brie went straight to one of the vanities and put her stuff down. She wasn't usually that quiet, but AJ didn't think much of it at the time.
"You look cuuuute," Nikki said, elongating her vowels as she looked at AJ's reflection in the mirror. AJ had taken her advice and put her hair in loose pigtails that rested on her shoulders. It made her look much younger than her years, but the Lolita look really worked for certain customers.
"Are you dancing tonight?" AJ asked her.
"Yeah." Nikki sighed. "Get them all nice and drunk for me, 'kay?"
"Body shot specials all night." AJ reminded her, raising her eyebrows a few times.
"Oh, goodie." Nikki said sarcastically. "Who volunteered for that, Vickie herself?"
"Excuse me, ladies!"
The voice of their boss made them all flinch involuntarily. They recovered before she appeared in all of her animal print glory.
"Hello, hello!" she greeted them with a big smile. "Some of us are a little late, I see."
"We're already dressed, Ms. Guerrero." Nikki told her sweetly, trying to reassure her.
"How wonderful!" Vickie replied, sarcastically sweet. "Did you manage to get your shoes tied too?" She suddenly stopped smiling and gave her employee a dirty look for talking back to her.
As soon as Vickie turned her back, Nikki rolled her eyes and shared a look with her sister.
Kaitlyn, ever the brave one, hopped up and showed her outfit to Vickie before she could make a snide comment.
"What do you think?" Kaitlyn asked, turning in place. Her cut off jean shorts revealed the curve of her ass just slightly, and her red and white checkered shirt was tied tightly under her breasts. Vickie looked relieved.
"Kaitlyn," she began in her well-meaning but patronizing tone. "This is so much better than last week. If you could just try this hard every time, I wouldn't have to yell at you so much."
Kaitlyn furrowed her brow. "...Thanks?" she said with uncertainty. She was pretty sure there was a compliment in there somewhere.
Summer Rae shook her hips when Vickie turned to look and appraise her.
Vickie smiled and clasped her hands under her chin. "You always look perfect, Summer." she declared. "You'll go on first tonight."
"Oh my god, thank you!" Summer rushed up and hugged Vickie, causing all the other girls' stomachs to turn. They liked Summer, but she was a total suck-up and the two of them together were unbearable.
Once Summer let her go, Vickie turned back to the twins with bad news.
"Brie? Nikki? You can go on right before Kelly."
"Gee. Thanks." Brie said under her breath. Second to last was not the gift that Vickie made it seem. The customers tended to hoard their money when they knew Kelly was coming up next.
"Uhm, excuse me?" Vickie said, her tone sickeningly sweet once more.
"I said we'll make you a fuck-ton of money." Brie said louder.
"Mm-hm." Vickie nodded. "Yes you will."
AJ thought she was going to escape this encounter without a harsh comment. As Vickie went back to her office, she glanced at AJ's chest.
"AJ, please, stuff that bra with something that won't pop or fall out."
AJ's eyes began to roll involuntarily at the comment. As Vickie walked away, Kaitlyn got AJ's attention and shook her head.
"Your tits are perfect." Kaitlyn stage-whispered.
"We should have variety." Brie mumbled in an annoyed tone, since her breasts were in the same size range as AJ. Brie dropped into a chair, inspecting her face in the vanity mirror and not looking pleased at what she could see. There were bags under her eyes, visible even through the heavy makeup she applied, and her involuntary frown wasn't doing her any favors.
"Where is everyone else?!" Vickie screamed from her desk. "Ten means ten, god dammit! AJ! Kaitlyn! Go out and start seating!"
"We got it!" Kaitlyn shouted back. Her enthusiasm sometimes infuriated Vickie, since it was often facetious and in spite of Vickie's insults. But Kaitlyn was very popular with the customers, and Vickie was shrewd enough not to let personal feelings get in the way of business.
"Bring it in, girls." Kaitlyn said, gesturing with her hands as she moved to the center of the dressing room.
"No, Aksana isn't here yet!" Nikki begged.
"I gotta go out there now, she should show up on time if she wants in on the good luck boob bump! Oh, by the way: party tomorrow night? Party?" Kaitlyn raised her eyebrows expectantly, pointing first at Nikki then at Brie.
"What, are we having one?" Nikki asked, confused.
"We're going to one," said Kaitlyn. "And I need all the hot girls I can get. I want to have fun, just say you'll come!"
"I'm in." Nikki said, no other questions asked. "As long as there's alcohol and hot guys, I don't even care what else is happening."
"That's the spirit!" Kaitlyn said, in that exaggerated tone that sometimes only AJ could recognize as mocking. "Brie?"
"I don't know..." she said, barely looking up from her makeup bag.
AJ looked at the more serious twin, and she caught Summer Rae's eye afterward, but the blonde merely shrugged, flashing a small grimace like she didn't want to deal with Brie's problems, whatever they were.
"Zack will lose his shit if we bring twins." Kaitlyn said to AJ.
Brie turned in her seat. "Who's Zack?" she said in a pouting tone, curiosity getting the better of her.
"Um..." AJ struggled to find the right words to describe him.
"Ladies!" Vickie screamed, sounding very un-ladylike herself.
Kaitlyn and AJ nearly ran into each other in their scramble to escape to the main stage area. A room full of horny, leering men was preferable to being near Vickie.