Blood Secret (32 page)
2
M
allory stood behind the red curtain. On the other side of it, center stage, Alec warmed up the crowd, reminding them that the more skin the performers revealed, the louder he expected the audience to get. “Foot stomping is appreciated, but not mandatory,” he said to a few laughs.
allory stood behind the red curtain. On the other side of it, center stage, Alec warmed up the crowd, reminding them that the more skin the performers revealed, the louder he expected the audience to get. “Foot stomping is appreciated, but not mandatory,” he said to a few laughs.
“I see some familiar faces out there,” he said. This was met with shouts and clapping. “As you know, this is a huge night for New York burlesque—and I don’t just mean because Supersize Suzy is visiting us tonight.” This brought another round of applause: Supersize Suzy was a six foot two inch, double D–breasted British transvestite who had recently been made infamous by her unbridled performance in a burlesque documentary called
Fan Dancers.
“And if that isn’t enough, we are starstruck to have with us tonight—fresh off her latest movie set—the mysterious, magnificent, Mistress of Delight: Bette Noir.” More applause, whistles, and a few random shout-outs of her name.
Fan Dancers.
“And if that isn’t enough, we are starstruck to have with us tonight—fresh off her latest movie set—the mysterious, magnificent, Mistress of Delight: Bette Noir.” More applause, whistles, and a few random shout-outs of her name.
From her perch behind the curtain, Mallory smiled. She remembered how, at the first show she’d gone to, the audience had gone wild when Bette’s name was announced. And that was before she became world famous for dating the pop star Zebra, appearing in a national Dolce & Gabbana campaign, and getting rave reviews in an indie film directed by Jake Gyllenhaal. “But first, I have the great pleasure of introducing to you our opening performer: the sexy, sassy, incomparable Moxie!”
At the sound of her stage name, Mallory reflexively straightened her back. She tugged on her elbow-length white gloves to make sure they were easily removable, and straightened her headpiece. These were nervous, unnecessary tics. She was, as always, perfectly prepared for her performance. Maybe more so tonight than ever before.
The song “Puttin’ on the Ritz”—the synth-pop 1983 cover version—filled the room. The curtain receded to one side, and Mallory felt the heat of the stage lights bathing her in a red glow. From the darkness in front of her, the full house roared. She knew she was a sight in her costume, but this wasn’t a fashion show. Being a sight wasn’t enough. Burlesque was all about the reveal—revealing parts of her body, yes. But in doing so, she would elicit a reaction from the audience that revealed something about them.
Mallory shimmied to the front of the stage, twirling the fluffy pink boa draped over her shoulders. She sensed the audience’s collective anticipation. Although she’d practiced on the stage many times, it felt dramatically different to be in front of people. In the months since the Blue Angel had changed ownership and she’d stopped performing, she’d almost forgotten what it felt like to play off a crowd.
As the song kicked up-tempo, she swiveled her heels in opposite directions, launching into an improvised Charleston. At the same time, she tugged off one glove, throwing it into the audience to an appreciative roar. She loved the way the pink beaded fringe on her dress moved with her hips, and she exaggerated her kicks in the front and back to maximize the dramatic flair of silk.
When the song came to the lyrics “walk with sticks or um-ber-ellas,” she retrieved a black walking stick from the floor and used the tip to tease off the spaghetti straps of her dress. With another shimmy, her breasts were exposed, her nipples covered in pink sequined pasties with pink tassels. The audience shouted her name, and she let the dress fall to the floor so she was clad in only the boa, pasties, a pink thong, thigh-high white fishnet stockings with garters, and her black patent heels. She used the boa to tease the crowd, covering her breasts and then revealing them in flashes. She turned her back to the audience, holding the boa in either hand, stretching it across her nearly bare ass and rubbing it back and forth. Then she bent forward and moved the boa so she was rubbing it between her thighs from the front to the back. This whipped the crowd into a frenzy, and when she turned to face them again, she dropped the boa and shimmied her shoulders so the tassels on her pasties twirled dramatically.
The red curtain closed.
“That performance would almost make Prohibition tolerable,” said Bette.
Mallory was breathless and could only smile her thanks. She heard Alec retake the stage to introduce the next act.
“Another round of applause for Moxie, the sexiest flapper to grace the stage since Louise Brooks,” said Alec. The audience clapped. “Moxie, come on back out here.”
“What is he doing?” Mallory asked Bette. “He’s interrupting the whole flow of the show.”
“Better go humor him,” Bette said. She handed Mallory a black silk robe.
Mallory quickly covered herself and returned to the stage. A few people stood to applaud her. This was embarrassing. What was Alec thinking?
“I don’t know how many of you are aware of this, but in addition to being The Painted Lady’s opening performer, Moxie is also the creative director of the club and producer of the show you are seeing tonight. And I’m hoping she might take on one more role—that of my wife!”
Alec got down on one knee. Mallory looked at him in shock.
“Oh, my God! What are you doing?”
He pulled out a small black box and opened it to reveal a beautiful art deco, antique diamond ring.
“Marry me, Mallory,” he said, his voice low and husky with emotion.
Mallory wasn’t sure if the low roar she heard was the sound of blood rushing to her head, or if it was the sound of the crowd, or if this was simply what it felt like to be truly shocked for the first time in her life.
“Oh, my God,” she repeated.
“What do you say, Mal?” he asked with that wonderful teasing glint in his eyes.
Was this really happening? After all the years, the mind-blowing sex, the jealousy, fights, uncertainty, missteps, soul-searching, and compromise, could it really culminate in this one perfect moment?
“Yes,” she managed to breathe. “I’ll marry you.” He stood up and hugged her. Through a blur of tears, she watched him slip the ring on her finger.
He held her tight, and all she could think was that she didn’t ever want this happiness to end. She had no idea how to leave the stage. She didn’t want to. She didn’t trust the magic of the moment to follow her into “real life.”
But on the stage, anything was possible.
APHRODISIA BOOKS are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018
Copyright © 2012 by Edith E. Bruce
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
Aphrodisia and the A logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.
ISBN: 978-0-7582-7795-4
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