The place was wired. Brody would have been beside himself. The longer we waited for Lottie to dance, the more the anticipatory vibe grew until the air was electric.
Then the lights went low.
Smithie took the stage.
“Gentlemen… fuck…” he looked at us. “And ladies. I give you Lottie Mac! ”
A roar tore through the massive crowd.
Holy cow. If I was Lottie, I’d have had cold feet too.
The lights went out, I heard Smithie mutter another “fuck” while he tried to get off the stage in the dark. Then the lights went on and Jet’s sister was there.
She was as pretty as Jet, bigger boobs, more makeup and a body to-die-for. She wore a kil er gold bikini, heavily embel ished with beading and sequins that I’d sel my firstborn child just to touch and a pair of strappy, gold sandals that she danced in like she was in bare feet.
And she could dance.
To say the girl could move was an understatement of tremendous proportions. She worked her body, she worked the stage, she worked the poles and she worked the crowd.
Not like this was her first night on the stage dancing, but like she’d invented it.
A hush came over the crowd, total, reverent silence throughout the first song.
When the first song segued into the second, the crowd came out of its stupor. They al started to cheer, to chant, to undulate.
Everyone at our tables was right along with them. My hands were over my head, I was shouting, “Woo hoo!” and
“You go girl!” After Lottie executed an upside-down pole slide with one leg up in the air and one leg wrapped around the pole, Shirleen and I turned to each other and did a high five, such was our excitement for the beauty of the overal sisterhood.
Lottie was the master; she worked it until the final notes of the song. Then, she stood stock-stil , reached behind her back and tore off her bra. You got a nanosecond of a glimpse of her magnificent br**sts then the lights went out.
When they came back on, the regular girls were there and Lottie was gone.
The crowd went wild. Everyone sitting surged to their feet and screamed, including me.
I barely got my ass back on the chair when I felt something at my ear and I heard Luke say, “Let’s go.” I turned to him and he was right in my face.
“Did you see that? That was great!” I yel ed. “I want to dance. I want a bikini like that. She’s my hero!” The crowd was stil roaring, chanting, clapping, begging for Lottie to come back. I could barely hear, they were so loud.
Luke’s fingers curled around my arm. “Let’s go,” he repeated.
“But… I’m having a good time,” I said.
He pul ed me out of the chair. “This place isn’t safe.
We’re going.”
“Luke.”
He pul ed me close, probably so I could hear, the roar was stil deafening. They were chanting Lottie’s name and had begun stomping their feet.
I looked at Luke and there was no sexy half-grin or flirty look in his eyes. His face was serious. “You want to answer to me, you keep this shit up. Now, we’re going.” I gulped, nodded, grabbed my bag and wrap and moved to walk away.
That’s when I felt it. The crowd wasn’t only wild, they were wild. Lottie had whipped them into a frenzy. Two songs weren’t enough. She could dance until her feet were bloody and it wouldn’t be enough.
I noticed that the others had realized it too. Tex was already moving Nancy out. He glanced back at me and boomed, “Go!” Trixie and Jason were helping Ada with Tod and Stevie leading the way. Indy, Jet, Al y and Annette were sliding around the stage and heading toward a side door.
Shirleen, Lavonne and Bear were settled in with drinks like they were sitting in their living room. I thought they were completely oblivious to the possible danger except Shirleen yel ed to me, “Go with your bodyguard, girl, Shirleen wil be okay. This ain’t no place for a pretty child like you. They get one look at you, they’l tear you to shreds.” I nodded, real y not feeling in the mood to be torn to shreds.