Nicole sipped her club soda, eyeing the shot of whiskey Wynonna had left her with deep suspicion. Weeks of various forms of alcohol-unfriendly medications had left her without much tolerance, and the last thing she needed was to get drunk on the VIP couch of a strip club with her uncle sitting less than ten feet away. The rest of the patrons at Shorty's had no such compunction, and the noise levels stayed steady at 'earth shattering roar.'
Rowdy wriggled as the latest pair of pole dancers came over, their tips in hand, to give him a kiss and a belly rub before collecting the bills Tommy had started tucking under his collar.
"He is just the most handsome man in this whole damn place," cooed one, a black haired, green eyed beauty with improbably tall heels.
Her partner, a platinum blonde with a rose vine tattooed continuously along both arms and looping over her shoulder and back, nuzzled his cheeks affectionately and giggled when he licked her face in return.
Nicole rolled her eyes.
"I could just eat you up, yes I could! And such a good tipper to boot." She leaned over and brushed a kiss across Nicole's cheek before tucking her cash into her bikini top and sauntering backstage. As Nicole sputtered, she caught a flash of long brown hair and saw Waverly peeking from behind the curtain, her eyes narrowed as she watched the blonde disappear into the dressing rooms.
"Tommy!" Nicole hissed, glaring over at the nearby table where her uncle, along with Doc and Wynonna, were building some sort of structure out of dollar bills folded carefully lengthwise. Several of the dancers were lurking on various laps nearby, watching curiously, even as their fingers played automatically with the collars and earlobes of their temporary companions.
Tommy looked up with a sheepish expression. "How you doin' up there, Cole?" he shouted over the din.
"No more tips for Rowdy! The girls think I'm giving 'em out!"
He looked confused. "Is that bad?"
She groaned and leaned back, not even sure how to respond. "Rowdy!" she growled irritably. "Stop with the flirting already!"
He looked over at her, then huffed, turning back towards the magical break in the curtains where a steady stream of new friends kept emerging.
"Traitor."
The music faded out and the lights dimmed. A small spotlight blinked on and focused on the DJ booth where a burly bald man with a magnificent beard waved cheerfully out to the crowd. "IS EVERYBODY HAVING A GREAT TIME?" he shouted. The crowd roared its approval in response. "WELL, BRING YOUR HANDS TOGETHER AND WELCOME THE PRINCESS OF THE POLE, THE BRAINIAC OF THE BARSTOOL, OUR VERY OWN WILD AND BEAUTIFUL GENIUS, IN HER FINAL SHORTY'S PERFORMANCE, LET'S HEAR IT FOR WAAAVERLEEEEE!"
Utter pandemonium. The whoops and hollers vibrated the very walls of the building. Rowdy yelped nervously and crawled onto Nicole's lap, to her slightly pained amusement. She caught Wynonna looking at her speculatively, but before she could figure out why, the familiar raspy strains of Angus Young's famous guitar lick blared to life with that strong G chord, and instantly the stage was bathed in a swirl of lights.
Waverly stood at the head of the stage, the subtle sequins worked into her schoolgirl outfit glittering in the glare of the lights. A shot glass full of dark amber whiskey was held nonchalantly in one hand and she looked out at the adoring crowd with a look both amused and predatory.
Nicole's heart stopped when she saw Waverley's glance fall on her.
She was a fast machine
She kept her motor clean
She was the best damn woman I had ever seen
Waverly's eyes bored into hers as she downed her customary shot of whiskey then with wink and a nonchalance of long practice swirled herself aloft onto the nearest pole. Nicole felt her face flush and her stomach flutter at the sight. She gripped Rowdy tighter. Firm muscles worked smoothly under tanned skin as she swirled around polished brass with only one hand and one knee to hold her aloft; she moved with the agility of an acrobat.
Nicole gritted her teeth as one hopeful young man held a ten dollar bill in his teeth, trying to entice Waverly over to him. She smirked at him, blowing a kiss. With a well practiced wiggle she slipped off her heels before shimmying further up the pole. She twirled around twice then fell back until she was hanging upside down, her legs clamped firmly around the pole. Her scandalously short plaid skirt rode up to show off a lacy thong that made the deputy's mouth go dry watching her. Sensual hands slid through her cascading hair before gripping the pole just below her head, bracing herself. Then, with a smoothness that belied the difficulty of the move, she stretched one perfectly straight leg out over her head and deftly snagged the bill with her toes. Nicole gaped at the flexibility and strength Waverly demonstrated so effortlessly. Meanwhile the crowd was bellowing its approval, and more bills were held out with imploring looks. Nicole noticed that Waverly took them all with some sort of move that teased mercilessly but never allowed for accidental touching. At best the eager prospect for her affection would get just a whisper of a finger along the jaw, or a tickle on the top of the head. One older bald recipient of a tickle had his whole head turn bright red at her touch, to the hilarity of his companions.
Nicole felt her admiration grow for her friend — she brought a smile to everyone's face, yet somehow had a class and grace that took a performance that traditionally would have been raunchy and was instead playful, almost innocent, compared to most of her fellow dancers' performances.
Shook me all night long
Yeah you
Shook me all night
All night
All night long…
As the song came to a close, Wynonna and Tommy carefully placed their structure of bills, which Nicole noted appeared to be a rough approximation of a building, presumably Shorty's, at the end of the stage. Wynonna hooked one hip onto the stage next to it, another shot of whisky in one hand. The bounty hunter held up the glass and cocked an eyebrow in challenge to her sister, glancing meaningfully at the stack.
Waverly rolled her eyes, and as the last rattle of the drums faded away, she took a few quick steps then slid across the stage on her knees right through pile of bills, snatched the glass from Wynonna's hand and downed the whiskey with a flourish. Her grin was positively wicked, and she turned to Nicole again, her eyes sparkling.
The lights went out.
The excited screaming nearly blew out Nicole's eardrums and Rowdy staggered to his feet and howled.
As the lights came back up again to their normal levels, Waverly had vanished, nothing but a few stray bills left behind to indicate her presence. Bottles and shot glasses were lifted in unison as the crowd took up an adoring chant.
"WA-VER-LY! WA-VER-LY! WA-VER-LY!"
Wynonna collected the remaining money from the stage and tucked it into her jacket pocket, joking with the nearby patrons as she did so. She glanced over at Nicole's flushed face and glazed expression and sauntered over, assuming a look of feigned innocence.
"Sooo, Haught-Mama!" She gave Rowdy a friendly slap on the butt, to his delight. "What did you think of the performance?"
Nicole swallowed. She couldn't quite bring herself to meet Wynonna's knowing look. Instead she glanced over at her uncle who sat chuckling with Doc at their table.
"I— um, well," Nicole stammered, feeling pressured.
Wynonna merely chuckled. "Yeah, that's what I thought." She pulled the money from her pocket and pressed it into Nicole's hand. "Dressing room's that way," she gestured through the curtain. "You should give her the rest of her tips."
Nicole's eyes widened. "No! I mean, that can't be allowed, right?" She swallowed again, her eyes flickering to the break in the curtains.
Wynonna shrugged. "Private party tonight. Besides," she jerked her chin towards Doc. "Anybody else tries, Doc'll sort 'em out." She picked up Nicole's cane and poked her with it. She waved at Doc who tipped his hat at the both of them. "Go on. Ya know Rowdy wants to."
Nicole couldn't disagree with this. Now that the noise levels had dropped, Rowdy had resumed his watch over the stage entrance; hoping for more love from the dancers.
"Fine," Nicole mumbled. "For Rowdy."
"Yep! For Rowdy."
"Right."
"Right." Wynonna's insincerity was almost painful to observe.
Nicole grabbed the cane and hauled herself to her feet, taking care to smack Wynonna in the leg as she passed. Rowdy immediately joined her, his tail wagging furiously. "Come on, partner."
Behind the curtain the noise levels dropped noticeably. Nicole stepped aside to let a dark skinned woman wearing an orange bikini pass her on the way to the stage. The woman appraised her. "Doc let you back here?"
Nicole nodded quickly and held out the fistful of bills as proof. "Just bringing Waverly the rest of her tips."
Rowdy took that opportunity to woof softly at the women and press his head against her knee, begging for some affection.
Nicole rolled her eyes. "Rowdy, behave!"
The dancer's face softened and she quickly knelt down to rub his chin and chest. She glanced back up Nicole before rising and resume her journey towards the stage. "Second door on the right," she called back over her shoulder.
Nicole straightened her shoulders and stepped forward as her heart started to pound. She knocked softly at the partially closed door before sticking her head through cautiously. "Waverly? I just—"
Her voice caught and any coherent thought she might have had fled. Waverly was in the middle of pulling up a pair of skinny jeans over a more practical pair of panties, and bare from the waist up. Her skin was smooth and her breasts were full and swayed slightly as she moved.
Nicole licked her lips and she felt her stomach clench as Waverly looked over her shoulder to see her standing there. The dancer's forehead creased as she took in Nicole's frozen expression.
"Nikki, are you okay?"
The sound of her voice galvanized Nicole into action, and she spun, almost falling on her bad leg, to give Waverly some privacy. "I'm so sorry!" she stuttered. "I didn't realize—"
There was a pause, then a quiet chuckle behind her.
"I'm decent now, deputy."
Nicole turned around more slowly, noting sourly that Rowdy was sprawled across Waverly's feet, a blissful expression on his face. Waverly thankfully now wore a t-shirt topped by loose sweater, hiding the distracting figure underneath. She held out the money, feeling extremely awkward. "I— um— Wynonna said—" she gulped. "You forgot these!" She cursed the fact that she seemed to have any kind of coherent conversation today.
Waverly reached out a hand, her eyes never leaving Nicole's face. Nicole extended her hand, cursing herself at her trembling fingers. The bills slid from her fingers as Waverly pulled them slowly away, then dropped them uncaring to the bench besides her. Nicole watched them flutter to rest, then dragged her eyes up to Waverly's face. Warm brown eyes were dark and glittered back at her. The churn in Nicole's stomach intensified at the expression she saw there, a hint of longing and a wealth of affection. Waverly's lips parted slightly, then her cheeks reddened and she broke their gaze, clearing her throat. Finally she took a step forward and tucked her arm into Nicole's.
"Come on, you two," she said. "I've got a party to attend."
Rowdy pushed his way past them and bounded back down the corridor towards the stage.
Nicole took a deep breath and nodded. She firmly instructed her stomach to behave, and bumped their shoulders together in a friendly way. "Let's go Wave. You've some smiling and waving to do."