Attitude
The club was finally open for business. I stood at the bar in my usual gear-tight black pants, an unbuttoned black waistcoat and a black cowboy hat. I watched the crowd pour in-98% ladies. More importantly, 95% ladies with a lotta bling. A particularly giggly group entered. About half a dozen girls, barely outta their teens. One of them was dressed particularly conspicuously-in a short, tight white dress and a bouncy bridal veil. I'm guessing it was her bachelorette party. I straightened up and headed backstage. "You boys ready?" I asked my group o' hunks who would soon be rakin' in the moolah. I heard a chorus of "Oh, yeah, Dallas!" and "Bring it on, Miami!". I smiled. "Good. So let's get this show started."
"Good evening, Miami!" I drawled into the mic. The ladies whooped and cheered back at me. "I like your enthusiasm, ladies. I'm guessin' that'll keep us here for a looong time." I winked. I looked into the crowd and noticed Miss Bachelorette sittin' with her giggly posse right in the front row. There was only one girl in the group who wasn't giggling. I took a closer look and realised-with a little shock-that it was Miss Attitude from this morning. I wondered why I hadn't noticed her when she walked in. The little lady stuck out like a sore thumb. She was the only one in her little gang not in a sparkly dress or a tiny miniskirt. She sat still in her chair, her denim-clad legs crossed and her big black T-shirt hanging loose on her skinny frame, staring at me in shock. Well, she obviously recognised me. "Let's hope y'all have fun tonight, ladies." I said, looking at her.
I headed to a little niche in the corner of the stage where I was hidden behind the thick red curtain but I could see the performers and the first two rows of the audience at the same time. The first show was starting, starrin' my best boys, led by The Kid. I watched them perform, keepin' an eye on the audience as well. The bachelorette was beside herself, as were most of her friends, except Miss Attitude. She looked embarrassed. The Kid held out his hand and pulled the bachelorette onto the stage. Her friends shrieked and whooped, but lil' Miss Attitude rolled her eyes. My mouth tightened. If she thought my show was shit, she needn't have come at all. The Kid danced with the bride-to-be, lifting her and spinning her around and gettin' his hands all over her. Ohh yeah. I'd taught him well. He was causin' some of the more uninhibited girls to throw dollars onto the stage. Yeah, baby, I thought, That's the kinda response we aim for here.
When I returned to the stage to announce the next act-a solo of Mark "The Hunk" Robinson-I noticed Miss Attitude had deserted her gang. Had she left already? I felt a little spark of irritation. Then I spotted her standing alone at the bar, gettin' herself a drink an' talkin' to Rod, our bartender. I went backstage and then made my way to the bar. The little lady had her back to me, but Rod saw me comin'. "Hey Dallas!" he called. "Hiya, Rod. Maybe you can introduce me to you lil' friend here." I tipped my hat at Miss Attitude, who'd seen me and choked on her drink. "This is Laila Kumar. Laila, this is Dallas, the owner of Xquisite." said Rod. "Pleased to meet you, Laila." I said, lingering on her name. "Wish I could say the same." she replied curtly. Rod shook his head as I chuckled. "You got a sharp tongue, missy. Want me to do somethin' to it for ya?" I asked, leaning forward slightly. She pulled back, maintaining her delicate, straight-backed posture. She reminded me of those old black-n-white movie actresses-girlish, yet proud. "So how'd you know Miss Laila here, Rod?" I asked, watching Laila sip her drink, looking at me nervously outta the corner of her eye. "Oh, we go to college together." said Rod as he mixed drinks for two older ladies who'd just appeared at the bar. "Miami University, huh?" I drawled down at Laila. "Yeah." she said, giving me a full view of those chestnut-coloured eyes over the rim of her glass. "What do you study?" I asked. "Physics." she replied. I raised my eyebrows. "Physics." I repeated, wrapping my tongue around the word as I looked her up and down. Her T-shirt had the word "Kelly's" printed on it in yellow cursive writing. "Who's Kelly?" I asked, looking at her T-shirt, "Your girlfriend?" She snorted. "As if. It's the diner where I work." she replied, "Haven't you heard of it? It's pretty famous." "Naw. Jus' moved here a week ago." I replied. She nodded. "Figures," she said, "Where are you from?" "Tampa," I replied, straightening my cowboy hat. "But I'm guessing that's not where you got your Texas accent from." she said wryly. I grinned. "You're a sharp lil' lady," I said, leaning against the bar on my elbow, "I grew up in Austin." She smiled. She had even white teeth that looked startling against her dusky skin. I found myself looking down at her for a few moments more than I should have. "Who's on next?" asked Rod, jerking me back to reality. I looked at the stage and realised Mark was finishing his act. "Richie." I said, straightening up to go announce Richie's act. I turned to Laila. "It was a pleasure meetin' you, lil' lady," I said, "Would you like to grab a drink sometime?" She smiled. "I'll get back to you on that." she said.