Cornered: On the Ropes

Chapter 5

Asha met her at the edge of the crowd. "You're sure? You don't have to."

"I know, but I want to. I'll be right back." Liv hurried to the back while Asha went on stage, thanking everyone for coming out and tipping the dancers so generously. Liv starting peeling off her clothes before she even got to the dressing room, where Audrey was waiting in a make-up chair. "Hey, Aud. Give me a minute and you can work your magic."

"It's your party, girl," Audrey replied, waving a make-up brush at her. "Take all the time you want."

Leaving her clothes at her old station—it looked so bare now compared to the others, since she had taken home all her keepsakes—Liv quickly pulled on her latest and last stripper outfit and hurried over to Audrey's chair. "Thanks, Audrey. I really appreciate it."

Audrey kissed the top of her head before spinning the chair around. "It's my pleasure." She looked down at the picture on her phone and nodded. "I can't match the hair, obviously," she said, "but I'll do my best to replicate the rest of the look."

"You're the best." Liv shut her eyes and stayed as still as she could as Audrey did her make-up. When she looked at her reflection, she giggled in delight. "It's perfect! Thank you!" She did a little spin to check out different angles of her outfit. "It all works?" she asked.

Audrey nodded. "I think so. Have fun out there, Marley. I'll be out to watch in a minute."

"See you out there." Liv left the dressing room and went to the music booth, knocking on the door. Noah, the DJ for the night, opened the door a crack. "You've got the theme queued up?"

Noah nodded. "I better not get a copyright notice tomorrow, that's all I'm saying." He was grinning, though, and he held out his fist for her to bump. "Have fun out there. I'm gonna miss you."

"Thanks. I'll miss you too." Liv pulled the music booth door shut and went to the stage's back entrance. It was a rarely used feature, since the element of surprise wasn't high on the list of why most people went to a strip club, but she wanted a moment to enjoy Rhea's reaction before she started her dance.

This is my—this is my—this is my... brutality! Rhea's wrestling theme, slightly remixed to make it more danceable, filled the club as Liv parted the curtain and stepped out onto the Corner Shop stage for what was probably the last time. Loud cheers and hoots erupted from the crowd, but Rhea's jaw dropping was Liv's favourite reaction. She had copied Rhea's ring gear as best she could, and Audrey did what she could with make-up; since Liv's hair was far longer, it softened the effect somewhat, but she hoped it didn't ruin it. Even with Noah's musical mastery, Rhea's theme wasn't an easy song to strip to, but Liv did her best, holding Rhea's gaze as often as she could. Once she was done dancing, Liv grabbed her top from the stage and hopped down into the crowd, sitting on Rhea's lap. "So, how did I do?"

Rhea kissed her long enough that the crowd started clapping. "If you show up to work like that," she said at last, "Hunter's going to let me go."

"You can always come work here!" Cindy piped up, making everyone laugh.

Asha gave Liv and Rhea a moment to kiss again before she went back on stage. "Friends, I hope you enjoyed the last dance of our beloved Marley. Liv, why don't you go get dressed and then we can give you your presents so you and Rhea can head out?"

"Sure." Liv kissed Rhea again before sliding off her lap and hurrying to the back. Audrey met her there again, this time helping her peel off the rest of her stage outfit and clean up before getting back into her regular clothes. She tucked the replica gear into a tote bag and took one last look around the dressing room. "I really am going to miss this place."

Audrey squeezed her hand. "Come back any time. Seriously. I bet Cindy would even give you a lap dance for free," she added with a laugh as they headed back out to the stage area.

The music was softer when they came back out, more conducive to conversation, and the tables were pushed as close together as possible. Rhea was sitting at one end beside an empty chair, and Asha was setting a large ice cream cake on the table. "Think you can eat and open presents at the same time?" the owner asked.

"No one had to get me anything," Liv insisted, "but yes." She set her clothes tote on the floor and kissed Rhea before sitting down. "Thank you, everyone. You're the best."

"Well, you didn't stay on stage long enough to get your tips," Maura pointed out, handing Liv a gift bag, "so we had to do something."

As Asha handed out slices of cake, people brought gift bags over to Liv, and each present was personal and lovely. Cindy got her more rings for her nipple piercings. Maura, as promised, gave her a gift card for installing a stripper pole, as well as a copy of her favourite book. Noah had made CDs featuring all the songs she danced to. Liv did her best not to cry, especially after Audrey had been nice enough to do her make-up in a hurry, but it was hard. "God, I don't even know what to say," Liv sniffled. "This is all too much. Next time WWE's in town, if I'm on the card, you have to come watch. My treat."

Asha raised her cake plate to make a toast. "You tell us the night, and I'll shut down the club. I'll say it's a private function. We'll be there."

After all the gifts were given, the party started winding down, and everyone made sure to hug Liv before they left. "You're not staying to clean up," Cindy insisted when Liv tried to help clearing the table. "Rhea, you take her home and give her a lap dance, okay?"

Rhea nodded. "You heard the woman. Go say the rest of your goodbyes and we'll head out. I'll start taking your gifts out to the car." Asha had brought out a box from an alcohol delivery and Rhea started loading the gift bags into it.

Liv had never been kissed, hugged, and squeezed so much in one day in her entire life, and she loved it. Tears still threatened to fall, but she knew they were mostly happy ones. The Corner Shop would always be open to her, and she would never forget it. "Bye, guys! Love you!"

It was pitch black when Liv and Rhea left the club, and the parking lot was a sea of brake lights as people were either leaving or starting their cars remotely. "My lady," Rhea intoned, half-bowing as she opened the passenger door for Liv.

"Thank you." Liv hopped in with a giggle and looked back at her box of gifts. There was everything from clothes to books to sex toys, and she loved that each gift said not only something about her, but the person who had given it to her and their connection. When Rhea got in the driver's seat, Liv kissed her cheek. "Thank you for coming. You didn't mind...?"

"Didn't mind what?" Rhea asked with a chuckle. "Watching you dance in gear like mine, stripping to my song?" She shook her head as she checked the rear-view mirror before backing out of the parking stall. "Only thing I minded was that we weren't alone so I couldn't show you how much I liked it."

Liv blushed a bit. "You can show me tomorrow... uh, later today. I think I need some sleep."

"Same." Then Rhea grinned over at her. "That gear you were wearing tonight—it's yours, right? Not the club's?" When Liv nodded, Rhea licked her lips. "Good. Then I know what I want for my birthday."

Normally when she and Rhea got to her place after leaving the club, they were already taking each other's clothes off before the door was fully closed, but they were were both tired. Rhea left the box of gifts in the living room and Liv set her gear tote beside it. "Shower," Liv said, barely stifling a yawn, "or sleep?"

"Sleep." Rhea pulled her down the hallway to her room. "Real sleep. You can have a lap dance after breakfast."

"Can we work that into my training routine?" Liv quipped. "I like the sounds of that."

They undressed each other slowly, touching but not teasing, and tumbled into her bed. As they kissed and laughed until they fell asleep, Liv couldn't remember a better night.