My Angel is the Centerfold
Chapter 7
"I don't know about this…," Carol said, tugging at the bottom of her dress. Pulling the hem of the dress lower covered more of her thighs. But it also jerked the neckline down, exposing nearly all of her breasts. She released the hem of her borrowed dress and quickly pulled the neckline back into place.
"We can switch if ya want," River offered, gesturing towards the even more risque red dress she shimmied herself into. Carol shook her head. She chose the black dress she was wearing because, out of all River's 'club' dresses, it was the one that offered the most coverage. The red one River was wearing had a slit so high she had to pull up the side strap of her panties to keep them from showing.
"I mean going out dancing…," Carol corrected. "I don't know if that's a good idea... Wouldn't you rather just rent a movie? We could get some microwave popcorn…"
River was leaning over the sink, putting her face close to the mirror while she lined her lips with red to match her dress. But when Carol mentioned the microwave popcorn, she stopped mid-motion and turned to give the woman a look of total indignation. "Carol!," she lamented, "...ya filed fer divorce today. We're not celebratin' with some bullshit microwave popcorn. We're goin' out. A bunch of my dancer friends are gonna meet us. We've got a VIP booth upstairs at the best club in Atlanta. Yer gonna have fun, I promise!"
Carol let out a heavy sigh. She knew some of River's dancer friends. They helped out at the bakery. And contrary to what Carol expected a bunch of adult entertainers might be like, all of them were sweet and friendly to her. She liked them. And going out dancing sounded like fun. She was just feeling nervous and self conscious about her appearance. Carol tugged at the neckline of her dress again. It was a halter style dress that tied at the neck and left her back exposed. But the cups didn't seem to be fitting right. Most likely because it was River's dress and her breasts were bigger.
"The top of the dress is too big," Carol said, pulling the fabric around to try and get it to sit right. River laughed as she plucked the box of tissues off the bathroom countertop and shoved them in Carol's general direction.
"Better get ta stuffin'," she suggested. Carol raised a brow at the tissue box in River's outstretched hand before they both exploded into laughter. Carol snatched the box and did as River suggested, stuffing tissues into the cups of the dress until the fabric stopped gaping. River finished applying her lipstick and scooted from the room, returning a few moments later with two wigs in her hands. She held them up in front of her, shaking them to make the hair move.
"I've got an idea," River said, her red lips spreading into a wide smile. "Yer gonna pick a stage name. And then you can pretend ta be someone else. A hot ass bitch that goes clubbin' all the time and gets all her drinks bought fer her. That's the kinda energy we need ta manifest tonight!"
Carol felt a nervous flutter in her stomach as she glanced between the two wigs. One had short pink hair and the other was blonde and much longer. She wasn't sure if she liked either of them. She'd been keeping her hair shaved down short for so long, it felt weird to even have her own hair growing back. But at least the short pink wig wouldn't get in her face or tickle her exposed back all night. She reached out her hand, tentatively pointing towards the pink haired wig in River's left hand.
"That one'll look cute on ya," River assured her, though Carol was sure the woman would have told her that no matter which wig she picked. "Now ya need a new name," River encouraged.
As Carol pondered who she wanted to be for the night, River helped her get the wig onto her head. When it was secure, River touched up her makeup for her. The nervous feeling in Carol's stomach increased as River finished the last coat of mascara. She was scared to see what she looked like with pink hair and a full face of makeup. Once she drummed up the courage to check out her own reflection in the mirror, Carol was pleasantly surprised. She was expecting to see a pink haired clown staring back at her. But she didn't look half bad. The pale pink hair of her wig had a slight wave to it and fell just below her chin. The dark eyeliner and shadow River applied gave her eyes a more catlike appearance. The black dress was the smallest and tightest she'd ever worn. But her figure was small and trim. The fabric hugged what little curves she had, accentuating them and making her waist appear smaller in contrast to her hips and the tissue stuffed cups of her dress.
"I always liked the name Melissa," Carol admitted. She wanted to name Sophia that, but Ed didn't give her much, or really any, say over their daughter's name. Sophia was his grandmother's name.
River snorted air through her nose, expressing her dislike of Carol's chosen persona for the night. "Melissa sounds like she likes microwave popcorn," River teased. "Think sexy," she suggested.
Carol hummed as she turned to the side, checking out her profile in the mirror. With the pink wig on, she reminded herself a little of the girl from Grease. The one that was training to be a beautician and accidentally kept dyeing her hair different colors. But her name was Frenchie. And while Carol wasn't sure what she wanted to be called for the night, she knew Frenchie wasn't it. Carol racked her brain, trying to recall the other characters from the movie. It had been years since she'd seen it. The only one she could remember for sure was Sandy. And that sounded a little old fashioned.
"What about Cassandra?," Carol offered, biting back a grin as she waited to see what River's opinion on the name would be. In Carol's opinion she was quite opinionated for someone that called herself Trixie while she was baring her titties for cash. How seriously River was taking her choice of a fake name was actually starting to crack Carol up a little.
"Oh," River exclaimed. "Now that's more like it! Cassandra sounds like a bathroom blow job kinda girl!"
"What?," Carol gapsed, letting out a high pitched giggle. "I don't know if she's that kind of girl..."
"There's only one way to find out," River teased. With another laugh, she grasped Carol's hand and pulled her from the bathroom. They stood in the hallway as River pulled high heeled shoes out of the closet for each of them. The ones she gave Carol were platforms, which River insisted were easier to walk on than regular high heels. But Carol still felt a bit like a baby deer walking for the first time as she headed down the hall toward the living room.
To Carol's relief, Daryl was gone. Harley wasn't sure where he went. She shrugged and said he went out on the apartment balcony to take a phone call and then took off on his bike. Carol was curious about where he went. She found herself wondering if Daryl had a lady friend he spent time with on the weekends. But since Harley was the one babysitting the two younger girls, Carol told herself it didn't really matter where Daryl went. And it wasn't really her business anyway.
River drove them into the city. And about forty minutes later, they were on the upper level of a large nightclub sipping cosmopolitan martinis and laughing with a whole gaggle of River's dancer friends. Carol was nervous at first. Especially to climb the stairs in her high heels and short dress. But after her first drink, she was able to relax a little. Once she started on her second one, she actually began to enjoy herself. The music was loud and the dance floor was crowded. But they had a great view from above it. Men kept cruising by their section, stopping to offer the girls drinks or ask them to dance. A few of them left and headed for the dance floor. But Carol was content where she was. She wasn't really much of a dancer. And she was scared to even try in the shoes she was wearing. But she did let River coax her out of the booth and over towards the balcony railing so they could get a better view of the dance floor.
"Excuse me miss, this is for you."
Carol turned towards the waitress, glancing curiously at the fancy glass on her tray that was filled with layers of red and orange liquid. It looked good. But whatever it was, she didn't order it. They were all drinking cosmos and pitchers full of margaritas.
"What is it?," Carol asked.
The waitress smiled as she explained that the drink was a tequila sunrise. "It's from the DJ," she added, pointing across the crowded dance floor to the raised platform at the other end. The man in the booth seemed to have been waiting for this moment. Because as soon as Carol looked at him, he lifted his hand and waved at her. Carol stood there for a moment, feeling slightly dumbfounded. She'd never had a stranger send her a drink before. River jabbed her lightly with her elbow. The gentle contact jarred Carol back into reality. She took the drink from the tray, holding it in front of her as she lifted her other hand and waved back.
"He DJ's at the strip club sometimes," River said, leaning in close so that Carol could hear her over the thump and pound of the music. "Some a'them guys are real pervs. But he's one of the nice ones."
Carol glanced across the crowded club. It was hard to see much, with how far away the man was. She could tell that he was black. And probably at least her age or older. Because his hair was mostly white mixed with gray. It was long and twisted into dreads that he had tied up into a wild bundle on his head. He was wearing a button down shirt with a bright pattern of tiger stripes on it. The black lights that were set up around his booth made his shirt and the whiter pieces of his hair glow. There was a large colorful sign hanging in front of the booth that said King Zeke in the same glowing bright orange as his shirt.
"Go talk to him," River encouraged. "Thank him fer the drink." Carol took a nervous sip of her drink. It wasn't a cocktail she was familiar with. But it was actually delicious. And much better than whatever the pink stuff was that River kept ordering them. Maybe I should thank him, Carol thought. The idea of making conversation with a strange man in a glowing tiger shirt frightened her a little. But thanking him was the polite thing to do.
"Okay," Carol said, laughing when River nearly jerked her arm off pulling her down past the other booths towards the stairs. Carol kept her hand on the railing as they descended the stairs. And she was grateful for River's hand in hers as they weaved their way across the crowded dance floor. When they reached the DJ booth, the man was already halfway down the stairs. His face was lit with a handsome smile.
Carol paused on the bottom step, her stomach flipping and flopping with nervous energy. River broke the ice for her, pulling her up the next to steps and getting the man with a friendly hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"Hey Zeke," she chirped. She turned back, grabbing Carol's hand again to keep her from running back down the steps. "This is my friend Cassandra."
Carol noticed the man's grin went from admiring to amused. Almost like he knew Cassandra wasn't her real name. He closed the distance between them and reached for her hand. He grasped it gently, lifting it to his lips and placing a soft kiss on the back of her palm. Carol's eyes widened. And she looked up to meet his gaze. His eyes looked almost black in the flashing lights of the club. But they were kind. And though he was still holding her hand, his touch was gentle. She could tell that if she pulled her hand away, he would release his grip on her immediately.
"Cassandra," he uttered. "Beautiful name for a beautiful woman." He glanced back towards the platform he'd just stepped down from. "Won't you join me on the royal dias?," he asked, a hint of teasing flirtation in his voice.
Carol was nervous to go anywhere with a man she never met. But it wasn't like she was leaving to be alone with him. Up on the platform, they'd be in full view of the entire club. He wouldn't be able to do anything unsavory to her up there. She hesitated a moment longer before she finally grasped the man's hand with hers and nodded. His smile widened, crinkling up the skin at the outer corners of his dark eyes. He moved down the steps and escorted her up into the booth with his hand on her lower back.
With how loud the music in the club was, it was oddly much more quiet behind Zeke's large table of equipment. Carol supposed the speakers were angled in a way that would keep him from going deaf from doing this night after night. He turned away from her for a moment, fiddling with a few of the knobs and dials on the large table. Then he turned back and reached for her hand again.
"I'm Ezekiel," he said.
The fact that he used a slightly different name than the one River called him made Carol smile. She was flattered that he was offering her his real name and not the one on the large glowing orange sign. It only seemed right to repay him with her real name in exchange for his.
"Carol," she replied, nervously glancing down at her feet before she met his gaze again.
"Now that's a name fit for a queen," he said, his eyes moving down over her body and back up again. He lifted her hand to his mouth, kissing it again. But this time his lips lingered against her skin.
The sound of River's high pitched laughter drew Carol's attention away from the man at her side. She turned towards the noise, shaking her head when she saw that her friend didn't even make it past the bottom of the small staircase before she was approached by a man.
River was standing on the bottom step in her heels, putting her breasts eye level with the man that approached her. And he wasn't being shy about taking a look. His eyes were glued to her body, his hand resting on the curve of her hip. Like the man that invited Carol into the DJ booth, this man was black. But he had a bald head and a slight gap between his two front teeth when he smiled. He was wearing several gold chains around his neck and an expensive looking leather jacket. Carol could tell he was trying to coax River towards the dance floor with him. River was laughing and shaking her head. But then the man stepped back and showed off a few smooth dance moves. After that, River shrugged her shoulders and took his hand, allowing the man to pull her onto the crowded dance floor.
As much time as Carol had spent with River, she'd never actually seen her friend dance before. The way River moved was like something from a choreographed movie. Before long, a small circle formed around her and the man with the gold necklaces. The people around them were cheering and clapping, enjoying the show they were putting on.
"I hope this doesn't come out sounding wrong," Ezekiel said, "...but I miss seeing her at the club. I love watching her dance." Carol nodded her understanding and returned his smile.
Carol kept an eye on River as she and Ezekiel talked a little more. He got her a set of headphones and let her help him run the giant turntable. She wasn't sure how much help she actually was, but she was having fun. Ezekiel flagged down one of the waitresses and ordered her another drink. This one was orange like that last one, but in a different glass that had sugar around the rim of it. Carol was taking her first sip when she heard her name being called from the stairs.
"Cassandra!"
Carol turned, her eyes widening when she saw it was one of River's dancer friends outside the DJ booth. Carol couldn't remember the name the girl was going by tonight, but at the bakery she was Cyndie. Her dark eyes were wide and she looked slightly disheveled, like she might have run or pushed her way through the crowded dance floor. Ezekiel moved quickly, opening the partition and quickly escorting the girl up onto the platform.
"We've got a red alert," Cyndie gasped. Carol furrowed her brows. If 'red alert' was code for something, she didn't know what it was. Her first fear was that the man River was dancing with had done something to her. Like drug her from the club or into the bathroom to assault her. Carol quickly scanned her eyes over the crowd until she spotted River. But River looked fine. She was still dancing with the same guy and appeared to be having a good time. The beat of the song was slower. The guy had his hands on River's hips and she was snaking and rubbing her body against his to the rhythm of the music.
The girl directed Carol's attention across the club towards the large lighted bar area with a point of her neon green painted fingernail. "River's crazy fuckin' nazi husband is here!," she shrieked. "...and she's over there rubbing herself off on some random nigga! We need to get her and get the fuck out of here! Right now!"
