Topless Tuesdays
Marley Quinn
Topless Tuesdays
by Marley Quinn
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
All Legit Work
Chocolate Milkshake
Tonight’s Gonna Be a Blast
Shelby
A Tiny Village
The Only Animal
On Stage
The Offer
Self-Touches
Extra Pepperoni
Penicillin
Pop Your Top
Last Is the Boots
Buck It Up
Squeeze and Fondle
Get Over Here and Kiss Me
Hot Stack
Home Is Where the Heart Is
Fantasy Night
See You Next Tuesday
Rinse, Lather, and Repeat
Zig Zag
Special Gifts
Burlesque Style
A Firm Push
When the Time Is Right
S-134
Not a Big Deal
The Same Coin
Pitch Meeting
Hypnotizing
Spacegirl
Bernice
Good Hands
Let Go and Trust
My Special Girl
Dessert
Big Night
Crossing the Line
All the Right Places
Mother of Whores
Cold
Santos
High Stakes Endeavor
In the VIP
Entangled
Indulgence
Know When to Say No
Come With Me
Monster
Charity
Ulterior Purpose
Secret Signals
Partnership
More, If You Want It
Something More
Anything Else
Crossroads
Test Drive
In Contrast
Transcendance
Bubble
Hope and Beauty
All Legit Work
A bell above the door clanged into life as Jenna pushed her way into the diner, the warm cloud of inviting odors and the noisy hubbub forcing her to pause for a long moment until she, at last, spied the familiar figure of her cousin Linda.
“There you are! You made it,” said Linda with a grin as she rose from the booth to give her cousin a brief but powerful hug.
“Wow, this place is something out of a time machine, isn’t it?” said Jenna with a smile as she slid into the booth opposite her cousin.
“Yeah, and the grilled cheese sandwiches are to die for,” said Linda with a chuckle as she sat down opposite Jenna.
“I don’t know. I’m really trying to watch my weight,” said Jenna as she picked up the laminated menu and began studying its contents.
“Nonsense! You’ve got a perfect body, as usual. I’d give anything to look like you,” said Linda with a brittle laugh.
“I think maybe I’ll just have a salad,” said Jenna, her eyes continuing to carefully scan the menu.
“Salad?” said Linda. “Jenna, no one comes to a diner for a salad, come on! Order something fun like chili fries.”
“Sure, sure,” said Jenna with a smile as she set down the menu.
“Look, if you’re worried about the prices, lunch is on me,” said Linda, reaching out one hand to rest on top of Jenna’s opposite hand.
“No, no, come on!” said Jenna, involuntarily pulling back from her cousin’s touch. “Is it because of this top? Yes, I got it at a thrift store, but it’s brand-name, I swear.”
“Relax, Jenna,” said Linda, leaning back in the booth with a friendly grin on her face. “It’s okay to be young and poor. Everyone goes through a phase like that. I’m just glad you showed up, today. It feels like forever since I’ve seen you.”
“Yeah,” said Jenna, her shoulders slumped. “It’s just Paul started doing his rotations, so he’s barely ever home, and I just feel like I’ve got to keep up.”
“Oof, that sounds tough,” said Linda before taking a long sip of her drink.
“I know this sounds whiny, but working from home is hard,” said Jenna. “It’s lonely and it’s boring. And on top of that, you’ve got to constantly chase after work and then get them to pay you the peanuts they owe you. I hate it!”
“Sounds awful,” said Linda.
“And now that Paul’s working such long hours, I just feel like I’m going crazy, sometimes,” said Jenna.
“I hate to pry, but how are things going between you and Paul?” said Linda before studiously taking another sip of her drink.
“It’s fine, I guess,” said Jenna. “He’s basically a zombie when he’s awake. And since he gets a discount at the hospital cafeteria, he almost never eats at home anymore. All he does is sleep or shuffle around in his pajamas, grumpy as hell.”
“Gosh, that’s terrible,” said Linda.
“Hi there, and welcome to the Epic Retro Diner,” said the waiter, suddenly appearing as if out of nowhere, interrupting Jenna before she could get a word out.
“Come on, Jenna, order something good! It’s on me, cousin,” said Linda, her eyes wide with delight.
“Fine,” said Jenna, her cheeks tinged with pink. “I’ll have a small chocolate milkshake.”
“Large!” said Linda.
“Fine, a large,” said Jenna with a little grin.
“One chocolate milkshake,” said the waiter, studiously writing down the order with an old-fashioned pen on his paper notepad.
“And a large order of fries,” said Linda.
“What?” said Jenna, but Linda silenced her with the universal finger gesture to remain quiet.
“Come on. We’ll share them,” said Linda, throwing Jenna an obvious wink.
“One jumbo fries,” said the waiter, his pen noisily scratching as it traced the words across the paper of his notepad.
“And a triple cheeseburger, rare, with the house sauce,” said Linda, her eyes wide with anticipation. “And onion rings on the side.”
“One hot rod with house and rings,” said the waiter, the corner of his tongue peeking out as he concentrated on writing down the order. “Anything else?”
“Drink?” said Linda.
“Water is good for me,” said Jenna, gesturing at the glass of water sitting on the table.
“Another cola for me. Thanks, Billy,” said Linda.
“Very good,” said the waiter with a small bow before turning and disappearing off in the direction of the kitchen.
“So, what were we talking about?” said Linda before noisily draining the last of her drink.
“Nothing,” said Jenna. “It’ll be fine. Paul’s rotations will end in a couple of months, and then we can get our schedules back to normal.”
“Mm-hmm, if you say so,” said Linda, slowly rotating her empty cup so that the straw tumbled in circles around the rim.
“It’s just part of being in a long-term relationship, Linda. Sometimes, you have to make sacrifices,” said Jenna.
“Right,” said Linda. “Now, it’s Paul doing rotations. Before, it was him staying up all night and cramming for his exams. Look, I wish him all the best in his quest to get his nursing degree or whatever.”
“Nurse practitioner,” said Jenna in a sharp tone of voice.
“Right, nurse practitioner,” said Linda. “Wow, that is a mouthful. Anyway, I wish Paul all the success in the world. The person I’m worried about is you, girl.”
“Me? Why?” said Jenna.
“Jenna, I’m saying this as your cousin who has known you since you were a little savage chasing me on my bicycle,” said Linda with a little laugh before continuing. “You look like hell, girl.”
“Thanks,” said Jenna with a sour frown.
“Hear me out,” said Linda. “I think I’ve got a solution to this. Come and work down at the Oyster with me.”
“What?” said Jenna, her jaw hanging open. “You want me to go work at that shady ass roadhouse? Come on!”
“What?” said Linda. “I think you’ll like it. And it’ll definitely get you out of the house.”
“Linda, no offense, but I am just not cut out to be a waitress at a place like that. I wouldn’t last a day,” said Jenna.
“No, a waitress? For a girl with a figure like yours? No way,” said Linda with a laugh. “No way. Jenna, I’m talking about you being a dancer.”
“Woah, woah, woah,” said Jenna, leaning forward to speak in a conspiratorial hush. “Linda, are you nuts? I’m not getting naked in front of strangers!”
“Relax,” said Linda with a chuckle as she patted the top of Jenna’s hand. “It’s all legit work, and there isn’t any nudity. County law forbids it.”
“Oh?” said Jenna, her eyes wide.
“Yeah, it’s just dancing around in skimpy tops and shorts and things like that,” said Linda. “And the customers aren’t allowed to touch you. But it pays really well, and I think it’d really cheer you up.”
“You want me to dance around in some Daisy Dukes on stage at the Pink Oyster?” said Jenna.
“Sure, why not? I think you’ll have a blast,” said Linda with a grin.
But before Jenna could open her mouth to reply, the waiter arrived with the food.
Chocolate Milkshake
After the waiter brought the food and drinks to their table, there was a long moment in which not a single word was exchanged between them, the only sounds their oohs and ahhs as they began to consume the feast between them.
“You remember what we used to do as kids?” said Linda, followed by a small belch that put a wicked grin on her face.
“Jeez, Linda,” said Jenna with a reproving tone but a smile on her face.
“No, not that,” said Linda before taking a noisy sip of her drink. “Remember how we used to dunk our fries in our milkshakes?”
“What? I don’t remember that,” said Jenna.
“I’m dying to try. Do you mind?” said Linda, but before waiting for any kind of permission, she seized her fork and impaled a thick stack of French fries and then guided them directly into Jenna’s milkshake.
“Help yourself,” said Jenna in a rather sour tone as she sat there and watched her cousin gorge herself on the enormous bite.
“Oh, that was the best!” said Linda with a wide grin on her face after she finished swallowing the full flavor load. “You really should try it.”
“Are you kidding me?” said Jenna. “I’m already feeling bloated from this chocolate milkshake.”
“Oh, you’ll be fine,” said Linda with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Anyway, what do you think? You want to come dance down at the Oyster?”
“Oh, you were serious about that?” said Jenna before carefully taking a small sip of water.
“Yeah, why not? Listen, I’m going to throw out a number, and if that is close to what you’re making now, working from home, I want you to let me know,” said Linda.
“What?” said Jenna, but then she listened intently as Linda stated a figure. “Yeah, that’s about what I make in a week, more or less.”
“Well, if you come dance at the Oyster, you can make that in a single night,” said Linda, a smug grin on her face.
“Wait, are you serious? In one night?” said Jenna.
“Easy! Maybe even more,” said Linda before helping herself to a large bite of her cheeseburger.
“And there’s no nudity at all?” said Jenna.
“None. I told you, it’s against county law. This is a legit job, Jenna,” said Linda.
“Paul would have a heart attack,” said Jenna.
“Paul doesn’t have to know,” said Linda. “Wait, before you get mad, hear me out. Just come try it out and see if you like it. Then you can tell Paul whatever you want.”
“I don’t know, Linda,” said Jenna, studiously using a napkin to clean her hand of a nearly invisible drop of milkshake. “That just seems so freaking crazy. All those years of school just to shake my booty on stage?”
“Nah, come on, it’s a lot of fun,” said Linda. “Believe me, if I had the figure you do and the stamina, that’s what I’d be doing. I know lots of the dancers, and they’re a great bunch of gals.”
“If you say so,” said Jenna, suddenly lunging forward to take one last sip of her depleted milkshake, the sides of the glass now a scummy brown.
“What have you got to lose, huh?” said Linda. “You told me yourself you’re home alone all day and going crazy. Why not come down to the Oyster and be with people? And make a ton of money while you’re at it?”
“I don’t know,” said Jenna. “Wait, I just realized something. This is a nighttime job, right?”
“Of course,” said Linda with a chuckle. “The only people who want to see dancing girls in the morning are mega drunks and social pariahs. Nah, of course the job is at night.”
“Well then, I can’t do it. What would I tell Paul if he comes home and finds me missing?” said Jenna.
“Come on, Jenna. You told me he’s working crazy hours. I’m sure there’s one night where you’re sure he won’t be home,” said Linda.
“Well, he does go across town on Tuesdays to work in the ER of a hospital there. That’s the part of town where they’re always bringing in shooting victims and stuff, so Paul says it’s always crazy busy,” said Jenna.
“There you go! Come down to the Oyster on Tuesday, and I’ll introduce you to the manager. Don’t worry, he’s cool,” said Linda.
“This is nuts!” said Jenna. “I can’t believe I’m even seriously considering this.”
“Okay, well, let me ask you a question. If you got hired to be the backup dancer for a famous pop star, would you take that job?” said Linda.
“I don’t know, maybe. Why?” said Jenna, her eyes narrowed.
“It’s the same thing, Jenna. You’re getting paid to dance. It doesn’t matter if it’s on stage with a pop star or down at the Oyster. It’s show business,” said Linda.
“Show business, eh?” said Jenna. “And you’re sure there’s no nudity or anything else shady?”
“Relax, it’s all above board,” said Linda. “It’s just some guys who want to relax and have some fun and unwind, and seeing a pretty girl dance on stage helps them do that, you know? It’s almost like you’re doing a service for the community.”
“Sure, sure,” said Jenna with a laugh. “Well, when you put it that way, how can I resist?”
“So you’ll do it then? Awesome!” said Linda with a grin. “I can’t wait to tell the other waitresses.”
“Woah, hold your horses,” said Jenna. “I didn’t say yes. I’m still thinking about it.”
“Okay, what about this? Let’s do a compromise,” said Linda. “Just come down to the Oyster as a customer. Then you can see what the job is all about.”
“A female customer?” said Jenna, her eyes wide.
“Yeah, come on, girl! These are modern days. We get plenty of female customers down at the Oyster.”
“Wow,” said Jenna with a little shake of her head.
“See? You’ve got all these preconceptions in your head. Just come down and see us in action. What have you got to lose?” said Linda.
“What time?” said Jenna, arching one eyebrow.
“Come a few minutes before midnight so we can talk before the big rush,” said Linda.
“On Tuesday? There’s a crowd on Tuesday?” said Jenna.
“Come and see for yourself,” said Linda with a grin before reaching forward and spearing another forkful of potatoes.
Tonight’s Gonna Be a Blast
Every two milliseconds, Jenna’s eyes would fly up to the top corner of her phone to check on the time.
With more than an hour to go before she’d even need to leave the house, Jenna was on edge, her tummy doing flip-flops as she debated whether or not to go visit the Pink Oyster like she had promised her cousin Linda.
Paul, for his part, was long gone, off to work in the ER of a hospital on the other side of town. He had stumbled out of bed at six, his eyes bleary as he shoveled a bagel down his throat in between sips of scalding hot coffee, barely exchanging a word with Jenna before flying out the door.
On top of her debate about whether to slink out of the house behind Paul’s back to go to a sleazy bar, Jenna was also suffering from the inner torment of not knowing what to wear, should she actually be dumb enough to leave the house and go to the worst part of town.
The only things Jenna knew about bars like the Pink Oyster were from movies and the sometimes racy stories that Linda and her friends would tell, leaving her no useful clues about what the correct wardrobe for a female customer would be.
Should she stride in there, dressed like a businesswoman, looking to unwind after a long week of high-stress stock purchases and quarterly forecasts? Or should she dress a little more casual and down-to-earth, perhaps jeans and a simple top, in an effort to blend in with ‘the boys’?
As these thoughts and many more raced around Jenna’s head, she watched her phone’s clock tick over another minute. Paralyzed with indecision, Jenna remained stock still on the sofa, scarcely able to breathe.
But just when she resolved to make up her mind once and for all, she heard the front door of their apartment rattle as if someone was trying to turn the knob.
“Paul, is that you?” said Jenna as she sprang from the sofa, but when she peered through the eyehole, all she could see was the peeling paint of the dingy hallway outside.
Paul wasn’t the type to skip out of work early, so Jenna knew that there was no rational chance of him coming home to find her missing, but after the scare with the rattling doorknob, she felt sure that she had received a sign to stay home and not tempt fate with her wild-child cousin Linda’s ludicrous invitation.
Yet, curiously, as soon as Jenna decided that she wouldn’t go to the Pink Oyster, she immediately knew that she was going, and on top of that, she knew exactly what she was going to wear, a slim black dress that had been hanging in the back of her closet for far too many years.
Indeed, as soon as Jenna pushed back her clothes to go in after the dress, she spied an old pair of strappy heels on the floor, shoes that she had saved up for several long weeks to buy back in the era before she had met Paul, and Jenna knew that they’d go perfectly well together.
With a smile on her face and a fun, uptempo song playing from her phone, Jenna quickly got herself ready, pulling together an ensemble that was both chic and yet also flattering in a quiet, confident way, the dress offering just enough cleavage to show the world she was a woman, and Jenna loved the way the hem fell well short of her knees.
With her hair done, and a light coating of make-up, Jenna offered up a silent prayer of gratitude to her previous self for having gotten a pedicure the week before, her toes now proudly on display in the strappy heels that so gracefully paired with her dress.
Glancing over at her phone, Jenna saw with amazement that the hours and minutes had flown by, and it was now time to call the ride-hail car. In other words, this was her last chance to back out.
Yes, her stomach still felt a little light and loose, but when Jenna glanced in the mirror and saw how good she looked, she knew that she was going to go. After so many months of being stuck at home, Jenna was looking forward to being around other people.
After that, it was simply a matter of ordering a ride and then sitting in the back as the driver carefully wound his way across town to a section characterized by pawn shops, stores advertising beer and cigarettes, and cramped brick buildings, nearly every front stoop occupied by someone squatting, leaning, or hanging about.
“Here we go,” said the driver, pulling up underneath the blinking neon sign that Jenna had seen so many times from the highway, and she quickly gave him the obligatory five-star rating before stepping out.
Even with the front door closed, Jenna could hear the boom of music over the gentle roar of the cars on the highway, a sharp smell of motor oil and cheap beer in the air.
With a hard knot in her throat, Jenna squared her shoulders and confidently strode over to the front door, seizing its somewhat greasy handle and pulling it open.
Inside, a rather large man with a sizable gut was perched on a bar stool. The man took one look at Jenna and then turned his attention back to his phone, idly waving her through with one hand.
“Ah,” said Jenna in a quiet voice as she walked past the man down a small hallway and then turned to enter the main area of the bar.
Inside, the music was booming at high volume, but there did not seem to be too many customers scattered around the various tables, but Jenna did see one man avidly watching a young lady on stage wearing cowboy boots and a cheerleader’s uniform dance and gyrate to the beat.
“Jenna, you made it!” cried Linda from behind Jenna, embracing her cousin as she turned. “Welcome to the Oyster!”
“Thanks, I guess,” said Jenna, taking a step back from her cousin, her cheeks flushed with pink.
“Wow, you look great,” said Linda, giving Jenna’s dress and shoes a once-over. “Tonight’s gonna be a blast!”
Shelby
Despite the slightly off-putting melange of odors, Jenna found herself nodding along to the beat of the music as she sat back and took in the atmosphere.
According to her cousin Linda, the real crowds wouldn’t arrive until later, so Jenna satisfied herself with doing careful little studies of the early birds, most of whom were grouped around the stage where a rather well-endowed woman was dancing in a cowgirl outfit.
Even though the Pink Oyster was definitely far outside the norms of the kind of places Jenna and Paul would frequent on their vanishingly rare excursions together out of the house, Jenna still felt a tiny frisson of excitement run down her spine.
After so many long, bleary months of working from home, wearing sweatpants all day, and feeling like a rat in a cage, it was good to be out somewhere that felt free and wild and alive. For even at this torpid pace, it was clear that there was a pulse of explosive energy in Pink Oyster, and Jenna lapped it up gratefully like a lost traveler in the desert stumbling upon an oasis.
“Sorry,” said Linda, sliding in fast across from Jenna. “Turns out we’re shorthanded tonight, so it’s just gonna be me and Michelle on our own.”
“Oh, that’s all right,” said Jenna.
“Look, I invited you down here, and now I’ve got to leave you. I feel like shit about that,” said Linda.
“No, actually, I’m glad I’m here,” said Jenna. “You were right. I really needed to get out of the house!”
“Told ya!” said Linda. “Okay, chica, I love you. I’ll swing by when I get a moment, but if you feel like leaving, no hard feelings, all right?”
“I love you too, cousin,” said Jenna with a little wave as Linda hopped up and tore off toward the back of the bar.
With nothing else to do, Jenna’s eyes naturally drifted to the curvy brunette on stage, gyrating her heart out to some uptempo country songs.
At first, Jenna found the dancing a bit too grotesque and provocative, but as the song continued, she began to marvel at the intricate footwork of the woman on stage all while wearing cowboy boots.
Indeed, as the track switched over to another lively country music song, the curvaceous brunette on stage began to exhibit some true athletic prowess as the twisted and turned and bounced to the rhythm.
Far from being some prurient display of bare skin and thrusting bosoms, Jenna started to realize that she was watching a first-rate dancer put on a command performance.
It was only the baldly sexual nature of some of the thrusts and moves that prevented it from being something you’d pay big money to go see at a fancy opera house.
Sure enough, as Jenna watched the statuesque brunette mimic taking off her top and flinging it over her shoulder in time to the music, she began to realize how odd it was that there were so few opportunities to watch women dance, even though every woman she knew, including herself, loved to dance.
Why was that? Oh, right. There were those stupid reality shows that sometimes featured a dance or two, but that was all part of some silly game. Why was it so hard to just watch women dance, especially beautiful women who know how to move their bodies?
Not just sexually, of course, but sensually as well, that deeply artistic expression of grace that transcends mere carnal lust but is, instead, the closest that you can get to touching the divine while still on this side of eternity.
Done right, a beautiful woman’s dance truly was a spiritual work of art, and Jenna grew to realize that she was watching such a rare event unfold in front of her as the brunette on stage threw herself down into a split that threatened to rip apart the crotch of her tiny shorts, both hands lifted high above her heaving chest.
Just then, however, the song came to an end, and the gorgeous brunette dancer on stage got to her feet amidst a scattering of applause and then walked off stage.
“Whew, sorry about that,” said Linda, throwing herself into the seat across from Jenna. “So, have you had a look over the menu? I got time to put your order in, now. And don’t worry about the price, all right? It’s on me. You’re my guest. I insist.”
“Thanks,” said Jenna, giving her cousin’s hand a quick squeeze. “Actually, I haven’t even looked at the menu. I was too busy staring at the dancer. A tall, brunette girl, do you know her?”
“Oh yeah, Shelby. She’s gorgeous,” said Linda with a chuckle. “I think she used to be a model out in LA a couple years ago.”
“Wow, no kidding?” said Jenna with a low whistle. “She is an amazing dancer.”
“Well, all right!” said Linda with a grin. “I had a feeling I knew you’d like it. Tell you what. When Dusty shows up, I’ll introduce you.”
“Wait, what? Who is Dusty?” said Jenna.
“Dusty’s the owner of this place,” said Linda. “Looks kind of like an old-time hippy, but don’t let that fool you. He is one sharp cookie.”
“Okay,” said Jenna with a chuckle.
“Anyway, you hungry? Want something to drink?” said Linda, one hand tapping on the menu.
“I don’t think I’m up for eating anything right now,” said Jenna. “But what about a glass of wine? Would that be possible?”
“Are you kidding? It’d be my pleasure!” said Linda with a huge grin. “Anything else?”
“No, that should do it,” said Jenna.
“All right. I’ll get this order in,” said Linda, hopping up to her feet.
“Wait, there is one more thing,” said Jenna.
“Sure,” said Linda, bouncing up and down on one foot.
“Is another girl going to come out and dance?” said Jenna, a nervous grin on her face.
“Ah ha! Just be patient, cousin,” said Linda with a tinkling laugh before turning and heading off toward the kitchen, leaving Jenna with a curious buzzing sensation pulsing throughout her entire body.
A Tiny Village
After Linda left to go get her drink, and with no one on stage, Jenna was left to let her eyes wander around the Pink Oyster once more. This time, a few more customers had drifted in, and there was now a little buzz of conversation going on.
As Jenna watched a group of boisterous college-age boys come in, she realized that she’d heard so many stories about the Pink Oyster over the years that she’d built up an image in her mind of non-stop drunken brawls and depraved perverts slipping dollar bills into the panties of some blown-out old broad, but reality was nothing like that.
Yes, there was a bit of a sour odor of old beer and sweat wafting around, but at the same time, it felt lived-in and comfortable. Furthermore, many of the customers looked like perfectly ordinary people, and Jenna could see more than one couple sitting at their tables, enjoying a meal just as if this were a regular restaurant.
Of course, regular restaurants didn’t have sexy women dancing in skimpy clothes on a stage, but so what? You didn’t have to be a freak to enjoy that. People needed to get out of the house and put on some nice clothes and go be around other people. What was wrong with that? Nothing, that’s what.
Jenna’s train of thought was interrupted when Linda came bustling over to her table, a tray perfectly balanced on one hand.
“Here’s your wine, sweetie,” said Linda with a grin as she set the glass down onto the table.
“Thanks, cousin,” said Jenna with a smile as she took in the generous pour in the glass.
“I don’t have time to sit, but I have some good news,” said Linda. “Dusty is here, and he said he wants to meet you.”
“Oh?” said Jenna. “Remind me again who Dusty is.”
“You silly goose,” said Linda with a laugh. “He’s the guy who owns this place.”
“Oh, right, right,” said Jenna before taking a healthy sip of her wine, a large smile spreading across her face as a warm glow suffused her belly.
“Oh here he is now,” said Linda. “Hello, Mr. Dusty. This is my cousin Jenna.”
“Mister Dusty was my father’s name,” said Dusty with a merry chuckle. “Just call me Dusty. Everyone does.”
“Right, right,” said Linda, her cheeks tinged with pink.
“Nice to meet you,” said Jenna, her eyes widening as Dusty leaned forward to pick up her hand and gently place a quick kiss on the back of her hand.
“Mind if I sit here and chat for a second?” said Dusty.
“Sure, of course,” said Jenna, her cheeks momentarily flaring a bright red.
“Can I get you anything to drink, Dusty?” said Linda.
“Uh... I’ll have what she’s having,” said Dusty as he eased his lanky frame into the booth across from Jenna.
“Coming right up!” said Linda with a beaming smile before whirling off in the direction of the kitchen.
“This your first time here?” said Dusty, leaning back in his seat.
“Yes, sir, it is,” said Jenna, nervously fingering the base of her wine glass.
“Really?” said Dusty, his bright blue eyes twinkling with merriment. “Well then, what do you think of the place?”
“It’s, uh... very colorful and interesting,” said Jenna, her fingers leaving a sweaty trail on the base of the wine glass.
“Ha!” said Dusty with a grin. “That’s okay. I like your honesty. You know, I bet you’re wondering what an old fart like me is doing running a place like this.”
“No, no,” said Jenna. “It’s a very nice place.”
“Sure,” said Dusty with a laugh. “Well, Jenna, I’ll tell you something, and I hope you’ll forgive an old man if he rambles on a bit, but when I was about your age, I was drafted to go fight in a war halfway across the globe.”
“Thank you for your service,” recited Jenna.
“Yeah, yeah,” said Dusty with a wry chuckle before continuing. “Anyway, I’ll skip all the parts that a young lady doesn’t need to hear and just get to where me and my buddies came across a village high up in the mountains, and for a long time, we were watching them through our binoculars, you see?”
“Sure,” said Jenna, nodding her head.
“And what do you think I saw that day, Jenna? I saw some young women dancing,” said Dustin with a brief shake of his head. “Doesn’t matter where you go in this world, a big city or a tiny village, poor country or rich, you’re always going to find women dancing.”
“I see,” said Jenna.
“I guarantee if you could find some indigenous tribe in the jungle and send down a drone to film them, you’d find the same thing. It’s in our human DNA that girls like to dance,” said Dusty.
“I’ve never heard this before, but I think you’re right,” said Jenna.
“Mind you, I wasn’t thinking about dancing too much in those days,” said Dusty. “But as I got older and, perhaps, a little wiser, I started to see it everywhere I went. And that’s when I knew that I had to open my own strip club.”
“Strip club? Interesting,” said Jenna, subtly leaning in closer to Dusty.
“Yeah, back then, I thought it was more about the nudity,” said Dusty with a hearty laugh. “So when the county changed the law, I thought this place would tank. But guess what? Barely a tiny dip in the take, that’s all.”
“Wow,” said Jenna.
“Yeah,” said Dusty. “Don’t get me wrong, the nudity is great. But the real draw has always been the dancing. There’s just something primal about it, do you know what I mean? Like, girls want to do it, and men want to watch them do it.”
“I know exactly what you mean,” said Jenna, utterly unaware that she was licking her lips after she spoke.
“And that leads me to the reason why I wanted to sit down and have a chat with you,” said Dusty.
But before Jenna could respond, Linda arrived with Dusty’s drink.
The Only Animal
“Here you go, sir. Best wine in the house,” said Linda, a huge grin on her face.
“Thank you, uh...” said Dusty.
“Linda,” said Linda.
“Right, Linda. Thank you,” said Dusty, lifting his glass in a small toast to Linda.
“Absolutely!” said Linda, still beaming. “Anything else I can get you?”
“Not at the moment,” said Dusty before taking a probative sip of his wine. “My word, it’s been a long minute since I drank any wine.”
“Oh, really?” said Jenna as Linda gave her a quick wave goodbye and then sped off toward the interior of the bar.
“Actually, these days, I don’t drink too much,” said Dusty with a chuckle. “But I sure used to when I was a young man.”
“Oh, you’re not that old,” said Jenna with a shy smile.
“Ha!” said Dusty with a merry twinkle in his eyes. “Anyway, back in those days, I guess I was more of a whiskey and beer man.”
“That does sound like what a man would drink,” said Jenna with a grin.
“Traveling around the world, drinking whiskey, and watching beautiful women dance. Almost sounds like paradise, doesn’t it?” said Dusty.
“It sounds like quite an adventure!” said Jenna before helping herself to a generous sip of her wine.
“It was. Oh, it was. But it wasn’t always glamorous,” said Dusty. “Like the time we woke up with scorpions in our bed. Or the time we got robbed by narco-terrorists who left us standing on the side of the road in our underwear.”
“Gosh, that sounds so dangerous,” said Jenna.
“It was, it was,” said Dusty with a deep chuckle before taking a small sip of his wine. “But it was worth it, you know? After all, you only live once.”
“So true,” said Jenna, taking another healthy swallow of her wine.
“So, tell me about yourself, Jenna,” said Dusty. “Have you ever danced professionally before?”
“Professionally? Oh, gosh,” said Jenna. “Not really. As in no. No, I haven’t.”
“Oh? And why is that? I can see you’ve got the figure for it,” said Dusty, his eyes freely roaming across Jenna’s body in a way that sent a tingle running down her spine.
“I... I don’t know why. I’ve never even considered it,” said Jenna.
“Really? How interesting,” said Dusty, his eyes twinkling. “But you do like to dance, don’t you?”
“Oh yes, I used to love it!” said Jenna, a flush of color rising to her cheeks. “Gosh, back when I was in college, we used to go out every weekend.”
“Go out to the clubs and dance?” said Dusty, his eyes locked on Jenna’s.
“Definitely! That was the best part,” said Jenna. “Most of the guys were so oafish and stupid, but me and the girls would always have a blast on the dance floor.”
“I wish I could’ve seen that,” said Dusty with a friendly grin. “Perhaps I will get to see you dance tonight.”
“What? Oh gosh no. I just came to check out the place,” said Jenna.
“Yes, and now you have, so what do you think?” said Dusty.
“Ah, well, yes... it’s really nice, it is,” said Jenna. “I’m sorry. I’m just babbling.”
“Don’t apologize, Jenna,” said Dusty in a kindly tone of voice. “It’s okay to be nervous. You look like a very smart woman, and I’m guessing most of the time, you’re exercising your brain.”
“Yes, that’s right,” said Jenna, taking another sip of her wine.
“Therefore, the other side of you has gotten rusty, the physical side. Dancing is all about turning the brain off and letting the body take over,” said Dusty.
“Wow, I never thought of it that way, but I think you’re right,” said Jenna. “After cramming all week, I would crave to be out there on the dance floor. And yeah, it did help me forget about all that stuff going on in my brain.”
“Plenty of animals can walk or swim or perform incredibly athletic and graceful maneuvers, but humans are the only animals that can dance. Did you know that?” said Dusty.
“Wow, no, but I can see it, yeah,” said Jenna, a large grin spreading across her now quite warm face.
“Dancing is the purest physical expression of the soul. That is why it is the oldest and highest form of human art,” said Dusty.
“Wow,” said Jenna, draining the last few drops from her wine glass.
“And yes, men can dance, too. Of course! And some men do dance beautifully,” said Dusty. “But for women, it comes from somewhere deeper and purer. It is as if her body becomes one with the music.”
“Yes! Oh my god, I know just what you mean,” said Jenna, her cheeks flushed with color.
“I can see it in your eyes that you do,” said Dusty with a wide smile. “Sometimes, I can see a fire in the eyes of the truly transcendent dancers, the ones who can keep hundreds of even the dumbest and drunkest oafs in check.”
“Gosh, that’s a funny way to put it,” said Jenna with a wine-fueled giggle.
“But it’s true!” said Dusty with a merry chuckle. “Put a man on stage, and you might get cheers, and you might get boos. But put a pretty woman on stage, and you get a happy audience every time.”
“Happy audience? I like the sound of that term,” said Jenna, her cheeks now crimson with wine-fueled heat.
“And no one is happier in the audience than me,” said Dusty with a soft sigh. “Even after all these years, if I see an amazing dance, I am blown away just like it is the very first time.”
“Somehow, that sounds kind of romantic,” said Jenna with a dopey grin.
“Yes, that’s it!” said Dusty with a grin. “It really does feel like falling in love again.”
“That’s just so, so beautiful,” said Jenna with a little giggle.
“So, are you ready to fly again, Jenna?” said Dusty.
“Huh? What?” said Jenna.
“Look, the stage is empty. I am inviting you to go up there and dance and reconnect to that beautiful, primal side of yourself, Jenna,” said Dusty.
“Oh my,” moaned Jenna.