A/N: I DO NOT own Inglourious Basterds, it is property of the magnificent Quentin Tarantino, or the rights to It Don't Mean A Thing...by Duke Ellington.
Limoncello
"You ready?" Donny asked as we pulled up in front of the club.
"Yeah." I sighed.
"You sure?"
"Stop asking before you psyche me out." I snapped.
"Sorry. Don't worry you'll do fine." he assured me before grabbing my hand.
He turned odd the car and opened the door before stepping out. I sighed deeply then waited for him to open the door for me and help me out.
"Shit we didn't think of a plan B." I said softly as we walked up the steps. There was no guarentee I would get the job.
"How about, do a good job or fuck the rest of us over." Donny put an arm around my waist.
I turned around and punched him in the shoulder before putting a hand on the doorknob. I took a deep breath before opening it and stepping inside.
BIRBIRBIRBIRBIRBIRBIRBIR
Je peux vous aider? asked a man standing right beside the door.
(Can I help you?)
Eh...ne parle Francais.} Annabelle lied.
(Eh...don't speak French.)
I looked over at her, trying to figure out her angle here. We'd never talked about where we were pretending to be from. She knew I didn't speak any other languages, and it sounded like it'd be pretty obvious if an American was working there.
"My apologies. How can I help you?" he asked, switching to English although his accent was too thick to understand anyway.
"I was supposed to have an audition in..." she grabbed my wrist and checked my watch "...ten minutes."
"Ah, yes. What is your name?"
"Bettie. Bettie McCord."
"Hmm Bettie...well, I'll show you where you can go get changed, then you'll come out here. You see that stage over there?"
He pointed towards the center stage, where a bone-thin girl had thrown her dress behind her, exposing her non-exsistent breasts. I looked from her to Annabelle.
There was no way in hell she couldn't get to job.
She said something else to the man before he led her back to a door beside the stage.
I stood with my hands in my pockets. In front of the stage was a table with three guys seated, all whispering to each other. I walked over to them before clearing my throat, hoping that at least one of them spoke English.
Oui? the one nearest me asked.
(Yes?)
"My girl is auditioning, I was wondering if you wanted me to sit somewhere or something." I shrugged.
He looked at me for a moment and I thought that he might not have understood me before he stood up.
"Pierre Lacoste. You're American?" he extended a hand.
"That an issue?" I replied, shaking his.
"No, no, on the contrary. Most of the men who come in here love American girls. They're a little wilder than our usuals and pair up nicely with the French ones."
"Great to know. Where do you want me to sit?"
"Why don't you pull up a chair over here?"
I nodded before grabbing a chair behind me and pulling it up the table beside Pierre's.
"That's Thomas Cartier and Gilles Nette."
I nodded at them, giving a little wave. One of them simply glared at me and the other gave a small smile.
I sat down and rested my hands on my knees.
"So, tell me about this girl of yours." Pierre raised an eyebrow.
"Well...I guess you could say she's a little bit like Josephine Baker..."
BIRBIRBIRBIRBIRBIR
I sighed as I looked at myself in the mirror. I could feel the girl behind me's eyes as she finished getting dressed. I ignored her. I was here to do one thing and one thing only. Get this job.
I had a couple tricks. Liked to watch me dance. It was something I had gotten pretty good at.
There was a knock at the door.
"You ready yet Ms. McCord?" my guide asked.
"One minute." I said over my shoulder.
I sighed and winced, adjusting my dress. The strapless plunging neckline threatened to fall down, which was the effect I was going for but it was kind of a nuiscance.
I stood up and fluffled out my curls before checking myself out in the mirror. Good.
I glanced at the brunette in the corner and quickly shifted her eyes elsewhere, pretending she hadn't been staring. I shrugged it off. Hardware like mine, you'd be hard-pressed not to stare.
I listened to my heels click against the laquered floor as he led me back out to the stage. I stood behind the curtain, waiting for the girl performing to finish up.
"Are you nervous?" he asked, turning to me.
"Just a little bit." I smiled, looking up at him through my lashes and giving him a small hint of false innocence.
"I'm sure you'll do just fine." he smiled before sliding a hand down over my ass. I looked over at him. He was handsome. Grey eyes. Pink lips. Develish looks. He couldn't be more than thirty. A small mustach sat over his lips and he smiled handsomely.
"I hope so." I threw back my hair flirtateously, hoping he had the authority to put in a good word for me. I really needed to land this. Who knew how disappointed Aldo would be if we went back home for me to tell him that I'd failed. Not to mention how disappointed I'd be in myself.
There was a small amount of applause and we waited a moment before the girl before me walked through the curtains. My guide gave my ass a small squeeze before pushing me through.
"And you are...Bettie McCord?"
"Yes." I smiled, stepping forward.
"Okay Bettie. Would you like any music?" he motioned towards the band.
"Um, do you guys know It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing?"
"We do." the bassist nodded. A tall black man, with an uncanny resemblance to Louis Armstrong.
"Okay." I smiled nervously. I looked down to find Donny, siting at the end of the table and looking up at me with his dark eyes.
There was a long moment of silence where I closed my eyes and thought about what I was going to do before the first few notes of the bass sounded through.
I moved my body slowly, putting my hands on my hips and shaking them. Hell, music had always been in my veins. My soul. Why had I been worried? This was nothing.
As I continued to move I couldn't help but open my eyes and look down at Donny, who's eyes were completely filled with dark lust. Dancing for him was something on my list I had forgotten to name, and as I did it I couldn't help but feel a tiny surge of arousal course through my veins.
I smiled, shaking my hair out of my face and pulling off an elbow-length glove. As I turned my head I could see the gentlemen who had been escorting me around give a small smirk. I must have been putting on quite the show.
I tossed one of my gloves to the table below me, giving a sly wink before slowly shimmying my way out of my dress. Donny's face was flushed, and I felt red-hot blood pound in my own chest. Not only were we in public now, but in front of other people...and it was hot.
I watched him squirm as I shed by bra, dropping it to the floor as well and raising my hands over my head, exposing my breasts. Donny fidgeted, crossing her legs and I could tell he was getting hard. By the looks on the guys' next to him's faces he wasn't the only one either.
The entire time the only thing I could think about was him. We had planned to go on a little picnic as soon as we were done here, but we might need to take a little detour....
The guy who appeared to be in charged signaled the band to cut off before giving me a light round of applause.
"Do you have much experience?" he asked, standing up.
I stood for a moment unsure whether to play innocent or go the sexually vamped-up way. While a numerous amount of men found girls who were seemingly innocent and pure attractive, others didn't.
"Just a little." I shrugged.
"Hm, well...congradulations. You're definantly the best we've seen today."
"Thankyou!" I exclaimed, jumping up and down. I noticed all four of them look straight at my chest, entranced as I bounced up and down.
I bent down and gathered up my clothes before running back again to get dress. Now that work was out of the way, it was play time.
BIRBIRBIRBIRBIRBIRBIR
"So...did she get the job?" I asked, turning to Pierre.
He looked after her as she disappeared behind the curtain.
"I'd like to say so. You're a lucky man." he stood up before shaking my hand.
"Yeah I know." I smiled. Ann and I were going down to the beach after this for a day out.
"When can she start?" he asked.
"Uh, tomorrow?" I choked out, forgetting we were trying to get this done as soon as possible.
"That's our busiest night, but I think we can squeeze her in. Our regulars will liker her."
"I hope so."
We would relax today, but tomorrow was all work.
