Masquerade (5 page)

Her eyes jerked open.
Blond?
Steve was the
blond
. Steve
that said she was incapable of having an orgasm. Beth wilted back against the
tub, still toying with herself, but unable to find the arousal
she’d
had only moments ago. She pleaded with her body to
give her release, but eventually knew the truth.

Once again, she shook with
a need she
couldn’t
satisfy...

Slapping the water in
frustration, Beth sat up. Salty tears mingled with the bath water that dripped
from her face as her shoulders slumped. The moment was broken, so Beth climbed
out of the tub and dried off.

Dejected, she put on the
bathrobe hanging on the door, then wandered into the kitchen, pulling out
sandwich fixings and making
herself
some dinner.

It sat mostly uneaten as
she stared out the window. Maybe she
wasn’t
meant to
be fulfilled sexually. It might be easier to resign
herself
to a life of celibacy and stop worrying so much about how abnormal she was. She
couldn’t
be the only person in the world incapable of
having orgasms. Maybe it was time to come to terms with her life and go home.

In the bedroom, her
intent to grab her suitcase
got
waylaid as she picked
up the uniform.
She’d
never worn anything like it. She
glanced at her suitcase, then back at the uniform.

It
wouldn’t
hurt to at least try the outfit on, would it? First, though, she dried her hair
and piled it in a spiky bun on her head. Smoothing lotion on her legs, she liked
the sheen it left. Her legs looked sleek. Beth applied eyeliner, shadow, and
blush next.

Then she put on the
outfit, surprised that it fit like a glove. Heels and mask completed the
costume. She turned toward the mirror like a slow-circling statue, astounded at
the transformation, finding it difficult to believe the reflection staring back
at her was really Beth Ritmour.

Gone were the baggy
clothes and flip-flops. Now, spiked heels accentuated legs honed through regular
gym workouts. The skirted boy-short-like bottoms fit snug. Thankfully, they
didn’t
ride low but covered her abdomen halfway to her belly
button.

She turned to look at the
back and frowned. No amount of yanking would get the material to cover the
bottom half of her buttocks. The little skirt, though, added a flirtatious
touch that Beth
kind of
liked. She cocked her hip,
trying for saucy, then giggled. This
wasn’t
like her
at all.

Her hands lingered on a
stomach flat and trim. Grief touched her and, just for a moment, the memories
threatened to overwhelm her. Shaking her head, Beth pushed it away and looked again
at the push-me-squeeze-me top that made her small breasts stand proud.

Strands of her wavy,
auburn hair had escaped the bun and fell alongside her face, framing a mask
that added the final exotic touches to her look.

Beth’s smile widened as
she ran her hands along the lines of her body. She looked seductive. Even
better, she felt sexy, maybe for the first time in her life. A quick flash of
tangled bodies and fevered kisses had her re-thinking that. She remembered
sexy.
She’d
known it once.

If she could parade
around in an outfit like this in public, then she could take more chances, put
herself out there in the hope that someone, someday would find her desirable.
Sally’s order about no fraternizing came to mind, and Beth
didn’t
have a clue, with that missive, where or how she’d manage to make her dream
happen.

Right now, though, she
felt ready to try.
She’d
never done anything like this
before, and the only way to find out if she had the nerve was to show up. The
clock read 7:30 and Beth realized
she’d
better get a
move on. She reached for her bag and almost fell over in the strappy heels. How
would she ever work all evening in them if she
couldn’t
walk around this apartment? Sliding them off, she slipped into her flip-flops
and covered her outfit with a pair of shorts and the baggy sweater
she’d
had on earlier.

She left the apartment
with a buoyant step and a light heart and wondered what, or who, was in store
for her night.

Chapter Five

As Beth passed a drug
store, she stared at herself in the mirrored window. She looked pale,
especially her lips, the pink lipstick that was normal for her at odds with the
outfit she wore underneath the street clothes. On an impulse, she went in and
purchased a ruby-red lipstick with a precious bit of Sally’s money, taking a
moment to apply it.

In too short a time, she
stood outside the club, and her minor case of nerves hit the majors. If she
didn’t
get her breathing under control, she’d soon be in
need of a paper sack. She worked to calm herself.
In through
the nose, out through the mouth.
Beth wiped sweaty palms on her shorts,
feeling the flirty costume underneath, which started her hyperventilating all
over again.

She
couldn’t
do this. She
couldn’t
parade around as some sort of
barmaid in a skimpy outfit, letting men she didn’t know ogle her. Sally had
said no funny business, but things happen,
didn’t
they?
And
who knew what manner of patrons the bar attracted?

This was crazy. Why had
she ever sent in that application? Doubt had gnawed at her the moment the train
tickets arrived with the note.
She’d
told her friends
nothing except that she was finally giving in to their requests that she live a
little.

No one knew she was here.
What kind of idiot leaves town without telling anyone where they were going?
She
could be mugged, raped, or killed
and no one would
know. Oh, wait. She
was
mugged
.

Beth shook her head. She
needed to go get her stuff and hightail it back to
Cape Girardeau
.

Except
they’d
asked for her identification at the train station when she came to Chicago.
And
she’d need money to buy a ticket since her return
voucher had been in her purse.

Screw it.
She’d
swallow her pride and call Tina.

She whirled, one foot
already in jog-mode, and stepped onto a sandal-clad foot. Even as she heard the
“oof” of pain and surprise, her forward momentum carried her smack into a lean,
muscled chest. Her hands came up to steady herself and, for a quick moment, she
recognized just how muscle-hardened the chest was. She could feel six-pack abs
through the man’s dark, silky shirt. His arms held her steady and, for a
moment, his head brushed her hair as he drew a slow, deep breath.

When Beth raised her head
and leaned back, she saw a dark mask not quite hiding deep-sea blue eyes
crinkled with laughter.

“You, uh, have your
equilibrium back?” Amusement tinged his voice, making it feel more like warming
cocoa than a dark, bold coffee.

Either way, Beth knew
that, given the chance, she would taste the elixir without hesitation. Hell,
she’d
just about jumped him earlier. If it
hadn’t
been for him backing off, she would have. She needed
some distance.

“Yes.” Being this close
was intoxicating. “Thank you. You can let go of me now.”

“Then you might consider
stepping off my foot?”

Mortified, Beth realized
she indeed was still standing on the man’s foot. She jumped back, throwing
herself off balance in the process. Strong arms steadied her until she found
her balance.

“So,” he said. “You’ve
been standing here a bit.”

She scowled. “You were
watching me?”

He shrugged and leaned
against the brick. “Hard not to stare when a beautiful woman is rooted in
place, doing her own staring, and at nothing more than a door.”

A rush of heat somewhere
in the
fire-engine
red territory suffused Beth’s
cheeks.

“First day jitters?”

She nodded.
Something
like
that.

“You
ever
done
this type of work before?” His body appeared loose as he leaned
against the wall, so why did she feel like he was a tiger coiled tight and
ready to spring?

Unable to find her voice,
she again shook her head, surprised when she saw his shoulders relax.

“Having second thoughts?”

Beth rung damp hands
together, then wiped them on her shorts.
“Maybe.”

“Then maybe you should go
back to wherever you came from and forget all about whatever reason you’re here
for.”

“I need the money. My
purse got stolen, remember?”

He shrugged. “That’s easy
to fix. I could stake you what you need to get to wherever home is.”

“No.” The word was out of
her mouth before she could think. Surprised at her own response, Beth recognized
the truth in her own words. She
didn’t
want to go
home. She was about to step way outside her comfort zone, and she wanted to see
if she had the guts.
And
maybe, just maybe, to find some
sort of normal in her life, at least as pertained to sex. Maybe then, she could
find someone to love.
Someone who could love her through
thick and thin both.

She straightened her
shoulders and turned toward the door of Club Masquerade. “I want to do this,”
she said, thinking
she’d
said it low enough he
wouldn’t hear.

Anthony came around her
and reached to open the door. “That’s my girl,” he said.

Without giving herself
any more time to think, Beth stepped into the club, ready to take on the new
world she’d been offered.

It was just shy of 8:00 p.m.
and the place was filling up. The lights
were dimmed
,
but Beth figured the place was maybe three-quarters occupied. As near as she
could tell, everyone wore masks.

A couple jostled their
way past her and stopped in front of a man who could have passed for a behemoth
Grizzly Adams.

“Jack’s our bouncer.” Anthony’s
voice, so close behind her, made her nerves tingle. Beth shivered as she turned
and stared into his eyes, vivid against the black of his mask, even in the low
light.

“Jack is Sally’s husband.
You run into any issues and I’m not around, he’s your guy.”

Beth
nodded,
her mouth suddenly dry. She wet her lips and Anthony’s eyes followed her
tongue. Had he stopped breathing? She knew she had.

A throat cleared behind
them, yanking them out of the moment.

“You two want some
privacy?” Jack said, his voice sounding
like
he’d been
chewing marbles.

Beth gulped as Anthony stepped
back and introduced her, hands deep in his pockets.

“Welcome aboard, Beth,”
Jack said. He looked from one to the other. “You know the rules here, right?”

Yep. That lump in her
throat had grown to the size of an egg. She
didn’t
need to get fired her first night on the job. “Sally told me,” she answered.

“Follow them and we’ll
get along just fine. Now I think
you’re
both about to
be late for your shifts.
Get
clocked in and hit the
floor. It’s looking to be a busy night.”

Dismissing them, Jack
turned back to the door as another couple entered. He checked their I.D., took
their cover, and handed them masks.

That explained why
everyone’s faces
were concealed
. She glanced at the mask
still held in her hand.
Except
me.

Beth held her mask up to
her face and followed Anthony down to the main floor, finding it hard to pull
her eyes away from his tight ass. Even shadowed, his wide shoulders and lean
hips matched the finely honed definition of any male stripper. Uncharacteristic
longing filled Beth.

When Anthony turned and
gave her a saucy salute, then veered toward the bar, Beth went in search of
Sally. She needed a distraction in a big way.

Outside her new boss’s
office, Beth stopped short. A smile touched her face like a slow pour of honey
as the conversation outside the club replayed itself in her mind.

Anthony had said she was
beautiful.

All alone in the hallway,
Beth did a little dance of happiness.

Tonight was going to be
awesome.

Chapter Six

Under the tutelage of
someone Sally introduced as Holly, Beth
was shown
a
locker and stowed her things. She slipped into the heels that had been provided
with her outfit and almost face-planted on the floor with her first step.

Holly, taller than her by
several inches, laughed as she watched Beth try to walk in the unfamiliar
heels.

“You are going to kill
yourself walking in those tonight. What are you, a size seven?”

Beth nodded, and Holly
stepped over to her own locker, rummaging around until she came out with a pair
of shoes that, while still feminine, had half the heel of the stilettos that
had come with Beth’s uniform.

“Here, wear these for
tonight. Tomorrow, spend the day at home in those.” She indicated Beth’s shoes.
“And wear them every day at home until you are used to them. Okay?”

Beth grinned. “Okay.” While
the new shoes were still taller than she
was used
to, she
could walk on them without too much of a wobble. “Thank you. These feel much
better.”

Holly smiled. “No
problem. Now, ready to learn the ropes of your new job?”

“Uh, I’m not sure. This
is a first for me.”