I know it is a short one, and it has been slow - forgive me, the next chapter will be here soon. Thanks for the comments - they are greatly appreciated.

"No, Nicky, thanks but I don't need a feather boa."

"Come on Vause, it's a theme, at least try to go with it."

"Screw the theme, I'm not dressing up and I would take it easy on the corsets in that part of town if I were you."

"Fine." Nicky says in a clipped tone. "Be ready at ten then, we will pick you up".

Alex throws her phone onto her bed as she walks past and climbs into the shower on the far end of her open plan bedroom space. She has been lazing around her apartment all day and she needs to find her party mood before going out tonight.

The party they are going to is one of those monthly events that happens on the last Saturday, the venue in which it is held is around the corner from one of the upmarket "Gentlemen's" clubs and it makes for an interesting mix of people on the street, especially with the party's burlesque them.

Although Alex does not spend as much time in Cape Town as she used to, and she is a little out of touch with the party scene, she has always liked these parties; they usually has a nice mix of girls, some butch, some femme, some sporty and some who you would never have guessed by looking at them that they were gay. The bar service is good and the venue is comfortable and not very far from her place.

Alex shuts off the water and steps out onto the mat where she roughly dries her hair before collecting the rest of the droplets of water from her skin with the towel. She looks through the limited selection of clothes in the wardrobe and takes out a pair of black jeans and a dark top that has short sleeves so as not to cover the tattoo on her arm and it is cut in a way that makes it drape across her body showing off a little bit of cleavage as well as a hint of the salt shaker on her left shoulder. She does some understated makeup, understated until she adds the liquid eye liner that has such a dramatic effect, even when she puts her dark-rimmed glasses back on.

Despite the foolishness of trusting the weather in Cape Town, she leaves her jacket on its hanger and walks to the kitchen to fix herself a drink before drying her hair.

Alex is sitting outside on her wraparound balcony, loving the warm night air and the sounds of the city when the intercom buzzes. It is just after ten. She shuts the door grabs her keys and shoves her phone into her pocket, she has some cash; all good.

It is about a minute after buzzing on the intercom that Nicky sees Alex walk through the front gate to her building. "Hot" she thinks to herself. The Jeep's door opens and unlike most who have to clamber into the high vehicle, Alex just steps onto the running board and slides on in.

"Nice ride." Alex says. "My parents could not figure out what to get me for Christmas so they settled on this – it suits the vibe of this town" Nicky said half apologetically when she thought of how Alex would be perceiving this overstated tank-like car but she quickly changed the subject – "It is going to be a great night, Vause, that girl I got together with the last time we went out to the beach club is now the DJ here and she is really good, like REALLY good" she nodded at Alex as she said it with a stupid grin on her face and Alex just rolled her eyes and let out a deep, husky laugh .

They pulled up to the venue a couple of minutes later and Nicky asked her driver to fetch them at three unless she called him earlier. The crowd of smokers outside on the pavement and those who were just waiting to have their tickets exchanged for stamps on their wrists all seemed to be quiet for a second to take in the new arrivals before continuing with their conversations. Nicky pulled out the tickets and they were inside at the circular bar in a matter of seconds. They each ordered a drink and Nicky insisted on ordering a round of tequila "to get things going".

The burlesque show would start in about half an hour so both women spent some time talking to people they knew who were also out for this party. The burlesque theme was a new flavour to the scene. The girls were not skinny, they were curvy, decadent and mysterious in a way. Alex wandered off to the bathroom before the show and saw through a slit in a section of divider curtains, a blonde girl squirming with one hand reaching over her own shoulder and the other reaching behind her back trying to get the clasps on her corset up to within reach of her own hands. Alex stood for a moment contemplating this blonde girl who looked far too slender and fresh-faced to be performing in a burlesque show but soon decided to offer some help.

"Oh thanks that would be great! I'm new to this and I've never performed in front of anyone other than my training group before. Getting into these outfits is treacherous."

"It looks that way. How is it that you are here doing your first performance, isn't it more daunting performing in front of a group of women?"

"My boyfriend, Larry, thought it would be a good idea, a safer space than a mixed crowd but I don't think he realised that a girls only party would probably mean that the girls are mostly there, well… with girls"

"I know what you mean. But I think that you are going to do absolutely great." The deep tones of this woman's voice were like a warm caress to her shaken nerves. She wasn't sure what to make of it but she liked her, liked her hand closing up her bodice, loved her eyes and her mouth and how tall she was.

"Wow." She says absentmindedly before: "Hi I'm Piper."

"It's good to meet you, Piper, I'm Alex."

There was that voice again...

"You are all laced up and ready to go, you're going to be fantastic out there! Come and find me afterwards and I will buy you a drink."

"Thanks. And I might just take you up on that!"

Alex heads out and makes it back to Nicky's side near the bar just as the music is toned down to allow the hostess for the evening to announce the start of the show.