Chapter 16 - Beginner's Luck

"I feel so stupid." AJ slumped in her seat, which at the moment happened to be Kelly's lap. "I must look like an idiot."

"You don't!" Kelly assured her, patting AJ's thigh encouragingly. Kelly was in jeans and a t-shirt, sitting slouched in a chair with her knees apart like so many of the guys she danced for in the back rooms. AJ straddled Kelly's hips; she wore a white men's shirt, open to reveal the bikini top and short-shorts she usually wore to serve drinks. Behind them paced Nikki, in pink boy shorts, a matching bra, and bare feet.

Kaitlyn pulled a curler from her hair and looked over from the vanity at the far end of the dressing room. "Maybe we should try a different song?"

"All of Vicki's song selections sound the same." Nikki reminded them as she walked closer. "Listen," she said to AJ. "There are two options: jiggle and bounce, or bump and grind. You don't have much to jiggle or bounce, so you have to grind."

Nikki came up behind AJ, who was still face-to-face with Kelly. Nikki grabbed AJ's hips and indicated the motion she was referring to.

"See?" said Nikki. "Like sex with your clothes on."

"Just close your eyes and pretend I'm Dean." Kelly said with a grin.

"I usually don't have an audience when I'm with him." AJ said in a dry tone.

"And you won't for the lap dance either," said Nikki. "Except for Big E., or whoever is watching out for you. But they aren't really watching you."

"They aren't supposed to, anyway..." Kaitlyn muttered to herself, having witnessed otherwise in the past.

AJ kept grinding as they spoke. Her competitive streak made her want to get this right. If Vicki's top earners couldn't teach her, she was hopeless.

"That's it..." Nikki said, nodding in time to the slow jam playing on the tiny dressing room boom box. "Now lean forward. Let Kelly get a good look at that ripe, juicy ass..."

AJ and Kaitlyn burst into laughter at Nikki's dirty talk, but AJ followed Nikki's direction. She leaned forward, arched her back and kept grinding. Kelly chuckled and dutifully looked down AJ's back, as if she were the actual client.

"Unnnh!" Nikki shouted, giving AJ's ass a congratulatory smack. "That's what I'm talking about!"

"This is like, half the work." Kelly assured AJ. "The rest is smiling and small talk."

There was a sudden gasp near the door.

"What is this I see?" Vicki's voice cut through the music and conversation, and the girls all froze with awkward smiles on their faces. Cautiously optimistic at the sight in front of her, Vicki waited for someone to explain.

"Someone's in training, Ms. Guerrero." said Nikki, smiling proudly at her protégé.

"And she's a natural." Kelly said, hugging AJ's waist. AJ looked over her shoulder, giving Vicki a little wave with one hand.

"April!" Vicki exclaimed, clasping her hands in delight. "I can't tell you how happy I am to see that this day has finally come!"

Kaitlyn covered her mouth with one hand to hide her smile. AJ turned back toward Kelly and used her cowgirl position to hide the roll of her eyes.

"All you needed was a little push, I just knew it." Vicki gushed.

Being desperate for more cash really helped. thought AJ, though she was loath to interrupt Vicki's moment of pure happiness. When the awkward encounter was over, AJ dismounted and went back to the vanity to make sure she looked right for her serving shift. Nikki came up behind her and gave her shoulder a pat. She really seemed to enjoy teaching.

"Next time we'll go over floor work." said Nikki. "Never underestimate the power of a sexy crawl."

AJ raised her eyebrows. "Looking forward to it."

Kaitlyn walked over and looked at AJ's reflection in the mirror. "So you're really doing this, huh?"

AJ hesitated, fiddling with the brush in her hand. "Do you think I should?"

"Of course! I mean, if you want it. You are a natural, Kelly and Nikki weren't just blowing smoke up that ripe, juicy ass of yours."

AJ's snort turned into laughter again.

"There's nothing wrong with using what your mama gave you."

"Yeah..." AJ sighed, trying to stay positive. "I'm hoping it will save that mama."

"The things we do for family!" Kaitlyn joked, giving AJ's butt an encouraging and sympathetic pat.

She thought she'd ease into it, maybe in a night or two after she'd had a few more lessons, but it turned out Nikki was eager to test her new student. As AJ set down a row of shot glasses in front of a group in business suits, she saw Nikki leaning over another group of customers two tables away. AJ couldn't hear what they were saying over Kelly's music, but if Nikki was walking the floor it meant she was looking for customers interested in private dances.

AJ watched the way Nikki flirted, taking mental notes in case the unsolicited offers ever dried up. She watched long enough to see Nikki look up and point in her direction. The shy guy next to Nikki followed the line of sight and smiled when he spotted AJ. The other guys started jostling him, as if it was his special night out.

They just want to feel special.

AJ fought the instinct that usually made her look away and ignore the attention.

You can make them feel special, because you are special.

The echo of Layla's advice helped her put on a big smile and she waved instead.

As promised, Dean's best friends came with him for fight night. Seth and Roman were still against him taking part in Regal's fighting ring, but they were with him, period. They knew he wouldn't change his mind about participating, and they'd promised long ago to always be there and watch his back.

In spite of their doubts, they all had the same reaction when they walked into the warehouse. Goosebumps, and a rush of emotions. The energy was undeniable; it was in the walls and the floor, in the rattle of the cage as the last panel of chain link fence was locked in place, and in the growing din of people waiting for the festivities to begin. It hit them in that moment, that Dean wasn't there in spite of the danger; he was there because of it.

They pushed their way through the crowd, to the back of the warehouse where a small row of offices was blocked off from the rest of the open building.

A large hand slapped against Dean's chest when he tried to walk through the cheap black curtain. Dean looked up, and up, and up. The guy was over seven feet tall and about three times wider than Dean and his friends.

"Management only." the guy said in a monstrously deep voice.

"I'm here with Regal." Dean said, hoping that would be enough.

"You fighting?" asked the bouncer.

"Yeah."

The giant seemed to buy it. He glanced over at Seth and Roman, and motioned with his chin.

"They fighting?"

Dean glanced back. Seth and Roman were looking pretty tough but they answered honestly and shook their heads no.

"They wait here." said the giant. "Go on in."

Within the curtained area, Regal sat at a plastic folding table, adding names to a hand written list with two columns.

"I'll be with you in just a moment..." he said haltingly, when he sensed Dean approaching. As Regal continued to scratch out a card, Dean took a moment to look around. It was clearly a temporary set-up. He figured they had to move around to avoid getting busted.

Regal smiled genially when he looked up. "You made it." he said, as if he was pleasantly surprised.

"I said I'd be here, didn't I?"

"Indeed." Regal agreed, going back to his list to double check it.

Dean began to fidget. The anticipation was starting to get to him. He had to say something snarky to fill the silence.

"You need me to sign a waiver so my family won't sue you when this is over?"

Regal chuckled. "No, no paperwork necessary. I see you brought your friends?"

Dean looked around the room again, to figure out how Regal knew that. The temporary set-up included a security camera pointed at the curtained entrance. Dean saw his friends on the small monitor near Regal's elbow. They were waiting patiently for him to come out.

"Yeah...is that a problem?"

"Not at all. It's a little early in your career to have a posse, but it works."

Dean smiled impishly. He could tell Regal was ribbing him.

"You'll be third." said Regal, tapping his pen against the left column. "Do you have a stage name?"

"Do I need one?"

"How about: Mean Dean, the Fighting Machine." Regal teased.

Dean shrugged. "Better than Boy Wonder."

Regal laughed. "Careful or I'll write that down."

"They can call me whatever they want."

"We'll just call you Dean, then."

"Works for me."

"Are you ready for a fight?"

"Always." Dean hesitated for a moment, and then asked: "It's not Heath, is it?"

"No, he hasn't been back since you caved his face in. I think he's retired." Regal answered, his tone matter-of-fact.

Hasn't been back? Hopefully he woke up and made the choice himself. Dean wondered, but didn't ask. Regal's remarks were typically facetious, but that one put an odd chill in Dean's spine.

Maybe because you're the one who couldn't stop punching him in the face. Regal's not the monster here.

Dean cleared his throat and made the voice in his head go away.

"You should go out there and watch with your friends." said Regal. "Someone will go to you when it's your turn."

"Sure." Dean nodded. "And...thanks. For the opportunity."

Regal looked up, once again surprised by his latest young recruit. The combination of detachment and respect was refreshing, compared to the grizzled, entitled veterans who always demanded the best spot on the card. Coach Michaels had left an impression after all.

"You're quite welcome." said Regal. "Just remember: I might put you in the cage, but it's up to you to get yourself out."

"You just described my entire life." Dean joked darkly, turning to go.

"Everything good?" Roman asked when Dean reappeared outside the curtain.

"All good." Dean reported. "I'm up third, let's go watch the first two."

Three guys over six feet tall found it easy to push their way through the crowd, right to the edge of the cage. There was space blocked off around the entrance for people to get in and out, whether they were walking out or being carried. There was a buzz going, a few names they kept hearing, some returning fighters that had never faced each other before. Dean didn't hear anyone wondering about new guys. He knew it was his job to make them talk about it afterward.

Roman and Seth surveyed the crowd; they really did look like bodyguards in that moment. Dean's mind was only on the cage. He lifted a hand and put his fingers through the links. He closed his fist, pulling slowly to see if it had any give. He knew from experience, from messing around with neighborhood kids from a young age, he could take all kinds of abuse, especially when it was just for fun. He wondered if it would be different here, with money on the line.

Just do what you did to Heath. But harder, and faster.

He was so focused on the links he barely noticed the muffled voice of the announcer on the mic, or the two men entering the cage. The bell rang. Dean blinked once, and the two fighters were on each other. The crowd was roaring like a pack of angry dogs, demanding blood and violence.

Dean's pulse quickened, and he wondered what he was hungry for - the roar of the crowd, or just the blood and violence. The sick satisfaction of punches landing square on their target, and the eventual outpouring of energy from the audience when the other guy went down; it was that mix he craved.

It was an equal match-up, but neither contestant had much stamina. The bell rang again, and the exhausted winner raised two shaky arms above his head, enjoying the cheers of those that bet on him as much as he could with his eyes swelling shut.

It wasn't too bloody in there, so they didn't bother with hosing down the floor. Dean's vision narrowed as his own fight approached, and he couldn't tell how much time was passing. He wouldn't have been able to describe the fighters in the first two bouts, since in his mind they all had his own face, his hands. They were celebrating his victory, and mourning his defeat. Thoughts were coming too fast to understand or sort, so Dean waited until a pretty blonde tapped him on the shoulder and beckoned him to follow her. He felt two hard claps on both shoulders, and without looking back he knew Roman and Seth were telling him: Good luck in there. Please don't die or kill anyone.

Dean taped his fists and his wrists while the second fight played out. He practiced throwing punches, striking the air in front of him viciously, trying to imagine what the impact was going to feel like. The crowd noises crested again. It was his turn now. He continued disconnecting, his head emptying as the pretty blonde led him toward the gate. The people around the cage didn't have any faces; it was just a mass of energy making his bones vibrate. Once inside, he paced, smacked the palm of his hand with the opposite fist a few times, and wondered what the people in the audience saw inside the cage; a kid in jeans and an old white t-shirt, or a wild animal?

Another announcement. His opponent stepped in. As Dean continued to pace, he zeroed in on the other guy's face, staring straight into his eyes to gauge and intimidate him. Just some punk kid; is that what Regal thought of him? Or was this punk kid really like him, a vicious killer underneath the unwashed hair and blank expression? Dean sneered; that face pissed him off. If some punk kid was stupid enough to step into this cage with him, he was going to teach him a lesson.

Just like Heath.

The distorted voice on the loudspeaker said a bunch more bullshit, and there was an excruciating few minutes to wait while money exchanged hands over the two newcomers. The gamblers had to base their bets on looks alone, without a record to consult.

Finally, the bell rang again. Dean stopped pacing and put his fists up. He bounced and shuffled toward his bullseye and waited for an opening. The other guy's sloppy first punch was all he needed. Dean's fist shot out and slammed into his opponent's nose. It felt like he broke it. It looked like he broke it. The other guy stumbled away and fell on his back, blood pouring from the crooked lump on his face. He didn't get back up. The crowd fucking loved it, a one hit KO. Open hands all around the cage began to slap the fence, celebrating this rare event. Dean didn't believe it until he heard the bell ring again.

His mind had been emptied for the fight, and now that it was over the thoughts poured back in, making his heart pound with too many emotions to count. He could have sworn he heard Seth and Roman, shouting for him louder than anyone else, more relieved than anything. Dean checked his hand to see if he'd taken any damage. Not even a smudge.

The voice on the loudspeaker had a happy, excited tone when he came on to officially announce the winner. Had he bet on Dean? Dean blinked a few times, not sure what to do next. Was that it? That's what all the build-up had been for? As he was deciding whether to be excited or disappointed, the cage was opened and the guy with pulp for a face was helped out by his people. Dean gave them room, waiting until they were through the gate, before he made his own way out.

"That was amazing!" the pretty blonde gushed as he exited the cage. "You may not realize this, but that guy actually seemed like a threat when we auditioned him."

She had the fearless energy of a young news reporter working with her first lead. Dean had barely noticed her when she'd led him in. Now that his pre-fight daze was fading, he got a better look at her. She was pulling him by the wrist back through the crowd, back toward the makeshift office, and it dawned on him that she might actually work for Regal.

"Did you see that?!" she asked the boss once she'd dragged Dean past the curtain. Regal had a phone to his ear, so he held up a finger, asking them to wait. "We definitely underestimated you." the woman continued without Regal's input, releasing Dean's wrist so she could look through the papers on Regal's desk. "I almost feel sorry for the guy."

"Some guys just can't take a punch." Dean remarked, not sure where this was heading.

Regal's phone conversation ended abruptly, and he turned to the others in the room. "We've had a last-minute drop-out. Dean; are you up for another fight?"

Dean looked from Regal, to the blonde, and back to Regal again. They both smiled, sensing his hesitation.

"It will triple your pay." the blonde explained.

Dean frowned and nodded. "In that case, fuck yeah." he answered.

"Wonderful." Regal said, as serene as ever. He turned to the blonde. "Renee: Claudio and Mr. Owens are up next."

"Yes, sir." Renee said happily, smiling at Dean again as she exited the office.

"Your assistant?" Dean asked, feeling like a dope again when Regal chuckled.

"My niece. How's your hand?"

"Didn't feel a thing."

"Good. You'll be on again, second to last. It will be a challenge this time, I promise."

AJ steeled herself against her building nerves, and pretended that she'd done it a million times before. Pushing through the curtain, she entered one of the private rooms at the back of the club, smiling for the guy in the hot seat. He looked as nervous as she felt, which was a relief. His polo shirt was buttoned up to his neck, and he adjusted his glasses as if to hide how he was checking her out.

"Hi." said AJ, flashing him a big smile. She'd covered her bikini with a halter top and a short denim skirt, and the heels she wore added five inches to her height.

"Hi." said the guy, wiping his palms against his pant legs.

"Someone told me it's your birthday today." AJ reported, trying to sound flirtatious.

"That's right." he said, with a nod and a chuckle.

"What's your name, birthday boy?"

"Adrian."

"Well, my name is Amber, and I'd like to dance for you, if that's okay?"

The guy nodded very convincingly. AJ smiled, and gave Big E. a quick glance to let him know she was good to begin.

Her heart was racing, but she managed to put on a performance that seemed to please the customer. She stripped to her bikini, dancing slowly so she could concentrate on keeping it sexy. Nikki told her he'd get hard if she was doing her job right, that there was nothing wrong with it as long as he behaved himself. When she climbed onto his lap, she found she was doing her job perfectly. AJ tried to think about Dean during that part, but it also made her feel guilty, since she hadn't mentioned this new job duty to him yet. Adrian was a perfect gentleman, so she felt safe placing his hands on her hips as she writhed on his lap. He moaned once under his breath, and his hands inched toward her ass.

AJ debated whether or not to stop him, and decided there was no room for half-measures if she was going to do this right. She leaned forward, just like she did with Kelly. She showed him what he wanted to see, and let him touch what he wanted to touch. If only he'd known it was her competitive streak coming out.

His friends had paid for two songs; when the second was coming to an end, AJ stopped slowly and did her best to dismount gracefully, giving his chest a rub on the way off. Adrian let out a satisfied sigh and thanked her.

"That was..." he trailed off. His mind had been blown.

"Would you believe me if I said it was my first time?" AJ asked him.

His eyes widened. "Are you joking?"

AJ shook her head. "Total newbie." she admitted. "Thanks for not noticing."

"No, that was wonderful. I don't think I can walk yet." he said, only half-joking.

"Take as long as you need." AJ said with another friendly smile as she gathered the clothes and shoes she'd left on the floor. "I'll be out there serving drinks when you get back."

"Oh, wait-" Adrian said, reaching into his pocket for a crisp twenty-dollar bill. It wasn't Nikki's footballer tip, but it would supplement the cut that Vicki was going to give her. Something told her that Adrian would give her more if he could.

Big E. maintained his poker face as she passed him on her way to the dressing room. AJ wondered if he'd peeked.

"AJ!" Kelly and Nikki both shouted when she entered the dressing room, from the direction of Vicki's office. They rushed her on both sides, enveloping her in a congratulatory hug as if she'd just scored her first goal in a soccer game.

"What are you guys doing here!?" AJ demanded, since they'd almost given her a heart attack.

"We snuck into Vicki's office when we saw you slinking toward the private rooms." said Nikki.

"We watched on the security cams." Kelly said, grinning.

AJ groaned and covered her face with her skirt. The only reason she'd felt confident was that she thought they were alone.

"You were so good!" Nikki gushed, protesting AJ's embarrassment before she had a chance to vocalize it. "Did you like it?"

"It...didn't suck?" was all AJ could offer.

"And you did the move!" Kelly reminded her.

"You let him see that ripe, juicy, ass!" Nikki elaborated through gritted teeth, drumming on AJ's butt with both hands until she laughed with them.

The crowd got raucous when they saw Dean near the cage again. He tried not to let it go to his head. He wondered if he would be able to do it again, or if it had been dumb luck and a bad opponent the first time around. Regal hadn't said much about the second fight, but Dean was thinking, if he ran things, he would save the toughest guys for last. He was beginning to understand the distorted announcements, and it sounded like they were building him up as the surprise killer of the night.

"You got this, brother." Roman said, somewhere behind him.

"Second time, just like the first." said Seth. "Lights out."

Dean nodded, and paced. Stretched his shoulders out, and paced. Rolled his neck, and paced. By the time his next opponent was entering the cage he was still wound tight as a coiled spring. He stared at the big, lumbering figure coming through the gate, waiting for the guy to look up. It took Dean a full ten seconds before he understood what he was seeing. A tall man with long black hair and a bushy black beard, wearing a stained white tank top and baggy blue jeans...

Oh shit.

The color drained from Dean's face. The vest with the name stitched in red was absent, but Dean knew. Luke. His name was Luke.

"Oh shit." Seth echoed his thought.

There was nowhere for Dean to go. The driver of the truck they'd stolen the night before was between him and the door of the cage. There was also a crowd of people who already had money riding on this fight, watching their every move. Dean's stomach roiled when he saw Luke's expression shift, as if a light went on over his head. He'd been recognized too. Dean never took his eyes off of Luke, but Luke glanced beyond his shoulder, and Dean knew he saw Seth and Roman back there on the other side of the fence.

The announcer's voice suddenly came through clear as a bell in Dean's ears.

"The man you see before you has lost his livelihood and he's here with nothing, I repeat, nothing to lose but this fight!"

Luke stared, dead-eyed and determined, and Dean was suddenly back to being some stupid punk kid. Yet a very grown-up part of him realized what he had to do.

In the main room of the Kitten Club, AJ was waiting on a drink order at the bar, and Kaitlyn came over to see how "Amber's" first private dance had gone. There wasn't any time for the full details, so they agreed to talk about it on the way home from work.

It still felt strange that Dean had no clue what she was up to. She usually found it so easy to tell him the truth.

Fifteen minutes before the end of her shift, AJ got another request. It seemed the word was out, and instead of just being groped and propositioned by the people at her own tables, her coworkers were letting her know who else asked for the petite brunette.

"He's cute, and he's rich." Cameron reported. "I can tell."

"Where is he?" AJ asked, hoping to get a good look before she agreed.

"He's already back there," said Cameron. "I told him I'd send you."

AJ sighed angrily, the sound covered by the music Nikki was dancing to. "Cameron-"

"Girl, I told you he was rich and cute." Cameron cut her off, offended that a beginner might get picky. "You can't always get both. And don't act like you can turn that money down."

AJ had to lean away when Cameron spun away and flipped her hair at AJ's face. It only pissed her off because she knew Cameron was right.

This is what you signed up for. she thought. She went quickly to the dressing room, to make sure she'd look okay up close. She put on an extra shirt, so she'd have something to strip off, and then gave her limp hair an extra fluff.

When she walked to the back, Big E. held up one finger to let her know.

"One song." he said. "I'll be right outside."

"Thanks." AJ said, putting on her bright smile as she stepped through the curtain. The sight that greeted her inside the room was like a slap to the face, and her smile disappeared. Cody Rhodes, Dolph's best friend and the biggest asshole AJ had ever met, sat in the special seat on the other side of the room. The smile on his face was so smug it made her sick to her stomach.

"Little April Foley." he greeted her. "I thought that was you."

AJ shifted uncomfortably, her confidence gone. She knew she could turn right around and walk out of there. She hadn't approved it beforehand, and that was one of the rules. But she knew Vicki only followed the rules when it suited her, and she'd never hear the end of it if she walked out on a client. There was no way Vicki wouldn't find out. Not with the way Cody's mind worked. AJ knew he'd complain to management before she could get back to the dressing room.

Cody held up a clip that was thick with bills. "Why don't you come sit on my lap and help me count this money? I promise I won't tell your boyfriend." He smiled again. "Ex, or current."

AJ looked at the money, concentrating on the green. She tried to forget who she was, so she could pretend to be someone else for a while. It didn't really work; all she could think the entire time was that Cody was going to tell Dolph, and all of Dolph's friends, and all of their families, and that it might get back to her parents, to everyone she'd ever known. For every bill that he tucked into her bikini bottom, Cody - Kaitlyn's boyfriend, once upon a time - called her poor, a little slut, a liar, or a whore, and by the end of that one song there were so many twenties strung to her hips that she had tears in her eyes from all of his comments. He was laughing as she left, despite his wallet being empty.

Once she made it to the bathroom, AJ forced herself to calm down, letting her anger overpower whatever emotions Cody had dragged out of her. Then she went straight to Cameron, catching her just as she was putting on her coat to leave.

"Did you know?!"

Cameron looked surprised. "Know what?"

AJ stared at Cameron's face, searching for a reason to believe it had all been a cruel prank. But Cameron wasn't that clever, and as far as AJ knew, she didn't know anyone from her former circle of friends.

AJ shook her head. "Don't ever schedule a dance for me. Ever again."

Cameron sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes. "I see that fat wad of cash in your hand. You're welcome."

The name Cameron muttered then glanced off of AJ like a single rain drop, but Cody's words still rang in her head. She'd been worried about telling Dean about the first dance. Now she didn't know how she was going to tell Kaitlyn about the second.

Roman and Seth did their best to carry Dean between them. Dean's arms were slung over their shoulders, and his shuffling feet gave him the appearance of walking, but it was their momentum carrying him forward.

"We're almost there." Seth told him, begging him not to pass out.

"Did it look convincing?" Dean asked. He tried looking up, through two swollen eyes, and he felt a trickle of blood running down his throat from the tooth that had been knocked loose. He coughed to clear his throat, and the pain in his abdomen made his vision go white for a few seconds. His chin dropped again.

Seth and Roman shared a glance over Dean's bowed head, as they all hobbled toward the truck.

"Were you holding back?" Roman asked.

"He said-"

Seth stumbled, and Dean had to stop talking and grit his teeth. His ribs were fucked.

"He said if I let him win, he wouldn't kill me."

Finally they reached their vehicle, and they let Dean slump against the car while they opened the back door for him.

"And he said..." Dean wheezed. "He said if I let him really kick my ass...he wouldn't kill my friends."

They didn't know what to say. With the two of them there, there was no way Luke would have even gotten close to fulfilling those threats, let alone gotten away with it. But they had no idea who Luke worked for, or who else was looking for that stolen merch. Dean had been alone in the cage with him, and he'd taken the beating for all three of them just in case.

They spent most of the trip in silence, listening to Dean mutter curses at every bump in the road. They tried to convince him to go to the hospital, but Dean insisted they just take him home, that he'd recover on his own.

"Just don't tell my dad." he whispered as they helped him up the stairs to his room. He made them promise, even though they were certain there was no way he could keep this a secret from Roddy. He'd have to come up with the best lie ever told, they said, or the truth would come out eventually.

Dean was more worried about what he was going to tell AJ the next time she saw his face.