The Gold Dollar Girls: Lady's Night

"Why don't you guys just leave me alone?" Clover grumbled.

"No," Misty said, "I won't. I thought we were friends but now I've got to wonder. Obviously you've got a problem with lesbians, so I guess that includes me."

Clover shook her head vigorously. "I told you I got no issue with that."

"Then what's the problem?" Roxanne asked, putting her hand on Clover's shoulder.

Clover shook it off.

"Look in the fucking mirror, Roxy."

Roxanne looked into the mirror. Her eyes met Clover's.

"No. Don't fucking look at me. Look at you."

Roxanne looked at her own reflection.

"Yeah, see? You're fucking hot and so is Misty. And every night that we fucking dance I know that guys like both of you better than me."

"I don't think that's true," Misty said.

"Of course it's true. I'm a fucking cow next to you guys. And it doesn't bother me most of the time because I may not be as good looking as you, but I'm good enough. But this is different."

"How is it different?" Roxanne asked, "Because we have the guest dancers?"

"Well, that doesn't help," Clover said, "But it's not the point. When men look at me, they're goddamn men. They may not think I'm the best looking bitch in the world, but they'd fuck me if they got the chance."

"But it's different dancing for women..." Misty said.

Clover's eyes were wet. "Yeah it's fucking different. I feel inferior. I feel judged."

Misty shook her head. "Oh no, Clover. These women are very body positive."

Clover snorted derisively. "Okay, at the end of the night you count your tips, Roxy can count hers and I'll count mine. And we'll see what fucking Betty and Veronica made. Let's see how fucking much they wanted to watch the fat girl dance."

She wiped her eyes with a Kleenex and blew her nose.

"I'm sorry, Clover," Misty said.

"No. I'm sorry I'm ruining your evening. Maybe I should just go home."

"Sure, if that's what you want, but I wish you would stay. Don't worry about what anybody thinks. We love you. We're sisters as far as I'm concerned. Right, Roxy?"

"Well, cousins, maybe," Roxanne said.

Clover looked into the mirror and sighed. "I really wanted to be here for you, Misty. But when I was on the stage I felt like I was back in the locker room in high school. Maybe you guys don't get that."

"When I was in high school," Roxanne said, "I was totally flat chested and had huge Coke bottle glasses."

"So same as now?" Clover asked.

"I had braces and terrible acne," Misty said, "And I was taller than most of the boys."

"And you were an aspiring lesbo," Clover added.

"Yeah, but nobody knew that."

Clover's shoulders slumped. "I'll stay," she said, "I'll dance."

Misty draped her arms around Clover's neck and kissed the top of her head.

"Thank you, sweetheart," she said. "Just come back out when you're ready."

Misty left the room, but Roxanne hung back. "Char...um, when Misty said that about being sisters....I shouldn't have..."

"Jesus, Roxy, don't get fucking mushy on me now."

She stood, adjusted her dress and said, "Let's go shake our asses."

Misty was on the second pole and Star had the third. Annika was on the floor, working the room.

"Which one do you want?" Roxanne asked.

"I'll take first pole," Clover replied. Ordinarily, she never took that pole. It was the closest to the bathrooms and the private area, and the foot traffic annoyed her. Tonight, though, she didn't care. She was just dancing for Misty and didn't expect to make any money anyway.

Just forget about who's watching and what they think, she told herself. There have been plenty of times you've danced when the entire audience was just four or five drunk dudes. She listened to the music. It wasn't so bad. It had good beats at least.

She found herself getting into the groove. Soon, a few women took seats in front of her. A handful of dollars were thrown on to the stage. It wasn't so bad after all.

Misty glanced over at Clover's pole. She seemed more energetic than she had earlier. If she was still unhappy, she was doing a good job of keeping it to herself.

When she checked on Roxanne, it was a whole other matter. She looked like she was having the time of her life. She was sitting on the edge of the stage, leaning back on her hands and thrusting her chest out. One woman was slipping bills into her thong, another was waving a fan of money at her.

For the next hour or so, everything went smoothly. Misty was very happy. She had always wanted to dance at a woman only event. The fact that she had put one together herself made her feel proud.

Sometimes she would lose herself in her dance. For a moment or two her movements would flow naturally, with no conscious intent or regard to their effect on her audience.

Now, as her worries about the success of the event, about Clover, about anything, faded from her mind, she felt almost as if she were levitating above the stage floor.

Such experiences had always been brief. A man would step to the rail, waving money, or a loud catcall would bring her back to ground. But the women watching somehow seemed to know that she was in another place. They respected that, watching without interrupting. Misty felt as if they were sending her positive energy. She spun on her pole, dancing with abandon. She and the crowd and the music and the pole were one.

Suddenly, with an uneasy letdown feeling, she came out of her blissful headspace. She was unsure what had broken her mood. Slowing her spins, she tried to get her bearings. She kept a grip on the pole and went into a languid, slow swaying dance while she waited for her dizziness to dissipate.

When her head cleared, she gazed out at the audience. A couple of the patrons clapped and someone let out a wolf whistle. She looked to see who it had been, thinking that she might focus some attention on them, perhaps draw them into a private dance. Instead, she saw the reason for her sudden discontent.

A familiar figure stood behind the nearest table. She was mostly hidden in the dark, but Misty recognized her long tan trench coat, and when she focused her eyes on her, the streaks of gray in her dark hair.

It was Carmen. Somehow, while she was dancing, she had caught a glimpse of that coat and known that it was her without any conscience recognition.

Why had she come to the Gold Dollar, Misty wondered. They had been broken up for nearly a month. It had been more than two weeks since they had spoken. She thought things were cool, that they had parted on relatively good terms. Certainly, there had been no mistaking that the split was final.

Carmen walked around the table, holding Misty's gaze. She stood at the rail, her hands in her pockets. Misty felt a chill. Carmen had taken the break up hard but she hadn't acted irrationally. Standing there, staring up at her with her hands in her pockets though, she seemed threatening. Why was she wearing her coat? It was a warm night?

Misty had the terrible idea that Carmen might be holding a weapon in her pocket now, a knife or even a gun. That someone might come into the club shooting someday was always a possibility she understood.

She glanced toward the door, thinking she could catch Lenore's attention, but she felt foolish when Carmen raised her hand and was holding a ten dollar bill.

Misty dropped to one knee in front of her.

"I don't want your money, Carm," she said.

Carmen might have been trying to smile but to Misty, she appeared to be smirking contemptuously.

"But this is a public business, Megan. Or, I guess I should call you Misty. You're at your job. I am a customer. Take the money."

Misty shook her head. "No, Carmen. Please, I want you to go."

"Have I broken some house rule? I don't see any reason I should have to leave."

Roxanne saw Misty kneeling at the the front of the stage. She squinted for a closer look, then crossed over To Clover's pole.

"Hey," she shouted over the music, "Isn't that the chick she just broke up with?"

Clover looked, then said, "Yeah, that's her. What the fuck do you think that's about?"

"Fuck if I know," Roxanne said, "But it doesn't look good."

She waved towards the bar, hoping Jo would see, know something was wrong, and get Lenore. Jo was busy pouring drinks and didn't look up.

"I'm going to get Lenore," Roxanne said.

"Who the fuck is Lenore?" Clover asked, but Roxanne was already hopping down off the stage. She continued her slow dance, keeping her eye on Misty.

"Take the money," Carmen said, "I have more." She pulled more bills from her pocket. A few fluttered to the floor. "How much do you cost?"

She reached forward and tried to stuff the money under the waistband of Misty's skirt. Misty jumped back, holding her hands up in front of her in a defensive posture.

"Oh, I ain't gonna have that shit," Clover muttered.

She strode toward Misty's section of the stage.

Carmen continued to wave the money. Misty turned to flee, but Clover was in her path.

Clover looked down at Carmen and caught her eye. She grasped Misty's arms and pulled her tightly against her bosom. Misty's mouth dropped open in surprise and Clover kissed her, grinding her lips down hard against hers.

Clover raised her head, winked at Misty, then looked down at Carmen again. That smirk was gone, replaced by an expression of shocked outrage.

"Give me another one, baby," Clover said loudly enough to be sure the woman could hear her.

She reached down and grabbed Misty's ass in both hands. Misty ground against her and put her hands on either side of Clover's face. They kissed again. There were cheers and hollers throughout the room.

Clover gave Misty a pat on the ass and another quick kiss, then stepped to the edge of the stage. She bent down until her face was in front of Carmen's.

"She's with me now, bitch," she snarled, "She don't wanna see you no more. Now I think you better get the fuck out of here before I beat you to death with these big fake titties."

Lenore and Roxanne had worked their way through the crowd. Lenore dropped her hand on Carmen's shoulder and led her away, to a round of applause from the audience.

Clover looked around the room. Annika and Star had stopped dancing. Like everyone else, they were watching Lenore walk Carmen out.

Roxanne stepped to the rail and Clover helped her up on to the stage.

"What the fuck did you say to her?" she asked, "I think she pissed her pants."

Clover shrugged. "Told her Misty was my girlfriend now."

"From what I saw, you did more than tell her."

"Yeah, well, I wanted it to be convincing."

Carmen's money littered the stage. Roxanne stooped and gathered it. Misty was standing against the back wall, looking shellshocked. Roxanne went to her and held out the money.

"I don't want that," Misty said.

"No, honey you earned it. Take it."

Misty reluctantly took the money. When Clover came over, she said, "Thank you, honey."

Clover shrugged. "Babe, you know I got your back."

Misty nodded. "I'm gonna need to take a minute."

"Take all the time you need," Roxanne said.

Misty left the stage, and Roxanne returned to her pole. Clover looked out at the audience. Fuck, she thought everybody's looking at me. Annika and Star had resumed dancing but somehow, she had become the center of attention.

She sighed deeply and started to dance, thinking that they would lose interest, but the crowd in front of her kept growing.

The Dykes on Bikes crew had spent the whole evening hanging out at the bar, but now they pushed through the crowd to stand at the rail in front of Clover. A couple of them were waving money.

She danced over to them, dropped to her knees and arched her back. They stuffed the money between her tits. She winked and blew them a kiss, then stood up, feeling better than she had all night.

Someone started clapping in time to the music. A few more joined them.

Clover turned her back to the audience, thrust her ass out and started to twerk. When they cheered, she twerked faster. They cheered louder. She faced forward again, swinging her hips and shaking her tits, feeding off of their energy.

One of the bikers, a big girl half again her size, pulled off her leather jacket and started dancing at the foot of the stage. She had huge pendulous breasts stuffed into a leather vest. Every move Clover made, she copied. When Clover swung her hips, she swung hers. When Clover squeezed her tits, she squeezed hers.

Her friends were urging her on; hooting, hollering, patting her on the back as her dance grew wilder.

In the dressing room, Misty heard the commotion and wondered what was going on. I better get back out there, she thought. She was feeling all right. She had just been momentarily shook up by Carmen's appearance and both shocked and amused at Clover's response.

Her eyes opened wide in shock and amusement again when she stepped back out of the dressing room.. One of the Dykes on Bikes contingent had climbed on the stage and was dancing with Clover. Annika was still working her pole, but it seemed that everyone else in the room, even Star, was watching them.

Astrid had cranked up the music to a faster tempo and a harder driving beat. The two women danced in a frenzy. The biker yanked open the snaps on her vest, shrugged it off her shoulders and threw it into the crowd. In response, Clover rolled down the top of her dress to expose her breasts.

They faced each other, swinging their tits back and forth, then closed the gap between them and mashed them together. They step back, dancing fast, hips jerking and fists pumping.

The noise from the crowd was deafening. Misty stepped back onto the stage. Roxanne said something to her, but she couldn't make it out over the din.

She leaned closer and Roxanne shouted "Do you believe you're seeing this?"

Misty laughed and began clapping along with the audience.

Clover turned around and the biker did as well. they bumped their asses together at least a dozen times. Then the biker spun back, grabbed Clover by the hips and started grinding against her.

Clover bent down and the biker dry humped her from behind. Clover pushed back, making exaggerated O faces.

Someone in the audience shouted "Ride 'er, cowgirl." The biker threw her head back and howled, while making a gesture with her hand like she was throwing a lasso.

Roxanne could see Clover's knees start to wobble and knew she was nearly exhausted. She moved over next to the biker and touched her shoulder. The woman took the hint immediately. She took a step back. Clover stood up, panting for breath. Roxanne put her arm around her waist for support.

The biker stood next to Clover, took her hand and raised it over their heads. Thrusting her other hand up in a fist, she shouted, as loudly as she could, "Big! Girls! Rock!"

The audience roared. Clover smiled weakly and waved. The biker kissed her on the cheek and jumped down off the stage to a furious round of applause.

Misty joined Roxanne in wrapping her arm around Clover.

"You ought to go rest a little bit," she said.

"No," Clover said, her breathing still a little ragged, "I want to dance with my bitches."

"Okay," Roxanne said, "But if you die, we are keeping your tips."

The three of them made up a disorganized, hip bumping chorus line. Roxanne and Misty danced energetically, while Clover stood between them, doing little more than swaying. After a few minutes, one of the bikers handed up three shot glasses of tequila.

Misty raised her glass high in the air, and Roxanne and Clover followed suit. To a loud round of applause, they drank. "I gotta sit down," Clover said. The three of them gathered up the money on the floor, then left the stage. Roxanne went to the bathroom, then the dressing room to rest for a few minutes. Misty went to help Jo at the bar. Annika and Star moved to the center poles.

About a third of the audience headed toward the door, apparently feeling that they had seen the evening's climax. The bikers had commandeered one of the emptied tables. Clover walked over to it.

"You got room for one more big girl?" she asked.

They all loudly voiced their welcome. "Hell, yeah!" "Sit the fuck down!!" "One of us! One of us!"

Clover sat, and someone handed her a bottle of Bud.

"Are you?" The girl she had danced with asked, "I mean, one of us?"

Clover shook her head. "I love you guys, but I'm all about the dick."

"Oh, we've all got big dicks," one of them said.

"Yeah, mine is out in my saddlebag if you want to check it out," someone else suggested.

Clover chugged down half the beer. Dykes or not, these bitches were her kind of people.

*****

By eleven o'clock, most of the crowd had left. Misty had a couple of women on her rail, but the rest of the holdovers were gathered in front of Annika and Star, as they had most of the night. Those bitches made some good money, Roxanne thought.

She sidled over to Misty's pole. Without missing a beat in her dance, Misty said, "It looks like Clover has got herself a fan club."

"Yeah, meanwhile, I've got nothing. So, if it's cool with you, I'm going to change and have a drink at the bar."

"Okay." She kissed Roxanne's cheek. "Thanks for being here."

"It was fun."

After she had changed back into her t-shirt and cutoffs, Roxanne considered joining Clover and her new biker friends, but decided she ought to steer clear. Clover was obviously basking in being the center of attention.

Jo was behind the empty bar, leaning on her elbows and watching the dancers. Roxanne joined her.

"Get you a drink?" Jo asked.

"Don't bother, I can get it" Roxanne said, "Just enjoy the show."

"Oh, I am."

"Crushing on Misty?"

"How did you know?"

Roxanne shrugged. "Because everybody does."

She poured herself a rum and Coke, then counted out her money and handed Jo her tip.

Lenore was leaning near the door, sipping on a bottle of Blue Moon. Her eyes met Roxanne's and she smiled.

Roxanne smiled back and took a seat at the bar. Lenore came over and sat down next to her.

"You didn't have any trouble tonight, did you?" Roxanne asked.

"Aside from Misty's ex? Nah. A couple of dudes came by, but when I told them to shoo, they did."

Roxanne glanced at her muscular arms. "Oh, I'm sure that people do what you tell them."

Lenore cocked one eyebrow, but didn't reply.

"I hope you weren't bored all night."

"No, I got to watch the dancing most of the time." She dropped her hand on top of Roxanne's. "I really liked watching you. I like your style."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. I like that you come off sweet and innocent, but at the same time, it's obvious that really, you are a nasty, naughty girl."

Roxanne leaned closer. "I am a very nasty, very naughty girl."

"You probably need some discipline."

Roxanne feigned a theatrical sigh. "It never really seems to do any good."

Lenore laughed, and her stern expression transformed to an almost cherubic countenance. "It's too bad you're done for the night, I would have liked to get a private dance."

Roxanne tilted her head and looked at her over the top of her glasses. "I suppose I could freelance."

"I suppose you could."

Roxanne finished her drink and slipped off the stool. "Then let's go," she said, holding her hand out to Lenore.

Lenore took it and followed her toward the back of the club. As they passed the rest rooms, Misty came out. She smiled and winked at Roxanne.

"Have fun, ladies," she said.

Roxanne led Lenore into a private room. As soon as she had shut the door, Lenore turned and leaned into her, pressing her back against the door.

Roxanne looked up at her. "Customers are not supposed to touch us," she said.

"I'm not really a customer."

"That's true. And I'm off duty."

Lenore lowered her head, and Roxanne parted her lips to receive her kiss. It was firm, but not rough. Lenore's tongue explored Roxanne's mouth. When it withdrew Roxanne's tongue chased it. She licked Lenore's lips and kissed the underside of her chin.