The Nightclub

“Oh wow." she breathed. “I don't know what to say." John finished his coffee and stood up.

“If you ladies are going to move in to my place, I had better talk to Cal about getting a day or two off." Renee looked at the clock.

“Oh shit. I've got to get dressed. Dee-Dee and Jeannie are coming to take me shopping in a few minutes." Star stretched, but stayed seated.

“You two take off then. I'm going to hop in the shower for a bit." By the time she got out of the shower, Renee and John were both gone. She picked up the phone and dialed.

“Mom? Guess what? I'm getting married!" John went to the club to see Cal. But he ran into Big Jim and Tami first. “Hey sis." he said. Tami crawled off of the big bouncers lap.

“What's up?" she asked. He picked her up and hugged her, swinging her around in a circle.

“I asked Star to marry me and she said YES!"

“Put me down ya big oaf!" Tami grunted. “You're squeezing me in half damn-it!" John set her down and kissed the top of her head.

“I've gotta tell Mom and Dad about this." He went up to Big Jim and grinned. “How about being my best man?" he asked. Big Jim grinned back.

“I'd be happy to. And you can be my best man too, that is if your sister says yes." Tami came over and asked,

“What are you two up to now?" The bouncer dropped to one knee and smiled up at the tiny blonde.

“Will you marry me?" Tami hit him like a missile, knocking them both to the ground.

“Yes! YES! YES!" she shouted. John reached down and gave each of them a hand up. Tami promptly plastered herself to Big Jim, doing her level best to climb him like a tree so she could kiss him some more.

“We'll talk later when she calms down." John told his future brother in law.
He went on inside and found Cal in the office. He knocked and waited for Cal to look up.

“You busy boss?" “Not too busy. What's on your mind?" John came on into the office and sat down.

“Star and Renee are going to move in with me,” he said. “And we'll need a day or so off to get everything shifted." Cal sat back and lit a cigar.

“Moving in together huh? Well, that's good. I hope things work out for the two of you." He opened his desk and took out a loose-leaf binder. “Let's see the schedule." He looked and flipped a few pages back and forth. “How about this coming Monday and Tuesday? Those are our slowest days, and we can spare the three of you for a couple of days."

“Sounds great boss." said John. “Thanks." Cal waved the thought away.

“No problem. Anything else on your mind?"

“Well," said John. “I wanted to invite you to a wedding." “You and Star?" Cal sat up straight.

“Fan-fucking-tastic!" He handed John a cigar and passed him the desk lighter.

“Congratulations!"

“So I can tell her that you'll be there?" “Wouldn't miss it for the world." Cal said. About then Big Jim poked his head in the door.

“Hey Cal, Tami and I are getting married too. And you're invited."

“Wouldn't miss it!" Cal replied. “What is this? A fucking epidemic of matrimony?" he said in an aside to John.

“Now scat, both of you. I have work to do." John stood up and started for the door. “Hey you." Cal said. John turned back around. “Don't forget to let me know the date and the place." John gave him thumbs up and left.

John headed out of the club and told Big Jim that he was going shopping for rings. Jim called one of the other bouncers to the door.

“Take over for me, I'll be back in a couple of hours. Cal knows why." He and John fired up their bikes and headed for the closest mall. By the time they returned, rings in their pockets, Renee and Star were there in the dressing room. The guys slipped the rings on the appropriate fingers of their respective fiancées, and then got to work while the other ladies crowded around the two brides-to-be.

Renee had a ball shopping with Dee-Dee and Jeannie. They helped her spend a good $500 on clothes and shoes, and another couple hundred on makeup and costume jewelry.

Her first set of the night netted her a mere $60, but she made several hundred in table dances from guys who remembered her girl-next-door routine from the previous night. She was gaining confidence and experience with each new dance, and she was having the time of her life. Star was so hyper; she seemed to be a blur. Her happy mood was contagious and she raked in a pile from her table dances.

Tami was just as hyped up. But she spent more of her time cuddling up to her fiancée.
Then Kitty got up on stage wearing a typical Japanese schoolgirls uniform, dark skirt, white blouse, white socks and black shoes. With a simple plastic headband holding her hair back, she looked about 12 years old. When she started dancing, the place went wild, with guys crowding the stage, holding up money. She finished her set having collected over $400. Star was in the dressing room changing when Kitty came rushing through the door.

“Hot damn I hot the jackpot!" exclaimed Kitty as she sat down and piled the bills in front of her.

“I got the idea from Renee's girl-next-door routine." she explained to Star. “I hated that damn outfit in school back home in Yokohama. But it sure paid off tonight!" Star looked thoughtful.

“Maybe if I got a catholic schoolgirl's outfit, we could go out there one after the other and make a killing."

Kitty got excited over the idea. “If we get all the girls to dress in their street clothes or school girl costumes, say one night a week, and we make it a regular event, then Cal can advertise it as a special night and get a bigger crowd in here." Kitty's eyes were lit up with greed at the idea of all the money they would pull in. Star was also enthusiastic.

“Let's go talk to the other girls, then we'll talk to Cal." The other dancers and even the waitresses were all for the idea.

Star and Kitty went to the office and peeked in. Cal was sitting back with his feet on his desk, smoking a cigar.

“Need something ladies?" he asked as he put his feet down and waved them on in. They laid their idea out for him, taking turns talking and feeding off each other’s excitement. Finally Cal waved his hands at them.

“All Right. OK Already!" he said. “Sheesh! Give me a week or so to get the publicity in the paper and posted in the entrance to the club. We'll shoot for a week from Friday. That OK with you gals?" they both nodded.

“OK. Star, Kitty, you two get things arranged with the other girls and keep me informed." They nodded again and got up. “Now Go on, get back to work the pair of ya." Cal said with a smile.
He pushed a button to summon a waitress to the office. “Tell John to come back here when he gets free for a few moments." he told her.

John showed up a few minutes later. “What's up boss man?" Cal peeled off a couple of hundred dollar bills from a roll and handed them to John. “Take that fiancée of yours out to dinner and a show on me. Get her something nice. And tell her privately that I said she and Kitty are a pair of geniuses. Hell, take Kitty with you." John left feeling mighty puzzled, but he figured Star would explain it all after work.

The next week went by in a blur for John. Moving the girls into his place went smoother than he had expected, and his role in the wedding planning was largely restricted to saying

“Yes Dear." at appropriate moments. It was just as well as far as he was concerned. Somehow Tami had talked Star into the idea of a double wedding. What he had come privately to refer to as the 'Unholy Trinity', Star, Tami, and Renee, were spending lots of time on the endless details involved in organizing what was taking on a complexity to rival that of a royal marriage. Pure heaven for the ladies, pure boredom for John and Big Jim.

The men figured that their parts were pretty much pre-scripted, and that if they managed to show up dressed and functional, they fulfilled their part of the bargain.

The Girl-Next-Door extravaganza went off like gangbusters. Cal had talked Gallery magazine to send a photographer since they had a regular Girl-Next-Door section each month, and thus avoided any legal problems arising from his use of the trademark Girl-Next-Door in his publicity. All the girls wore regular street clothes and/or schoolgirl outfits. The waitresses were dressed like high school cheerleaders. The magazine people were happy, the customers were ecstatic, and the dancers were raking in the dough.

Renee quit her day job. She was making a lot more at the club, and having a lot more fun doing it. Star and her had never been closer, and Renee loved being invited into bed with her and John on a regular basis. She had never been with a woman before that special night, and she had never even been curious enough to try. Now it seemed a natural part of her lovemaking. If Star weren’t going to marry John, she would have in a heartbeat. But since Star and John were very much in love, she would settle for what she could get for now.

Star was thinking that everything was almost like a dream. Too good to be true. If so, she didn't ever want to wake up. Sleeping with Renee had never occurred to her, although she had been with a girl once before. But now she couldn't imagine doing without her in bed and out. Star still much preferred John, but her best friend added a unique and addictive spice to her sex life. The date was set for the wedding and John was being such a lamb about the whole thing. She did wonder though, what her fiancée would think if he knew that she and Renee had engaged in an all girl three-way during one wedding planning session. Tami had been startled at first, but had joined in with wholehearted enthusiasm.

Tami was very nervous about the upcoming wedding. Sure it was going to be a big church affair, but she was dreading having to tell her mom that she was working as a stripper. In the meantime, Big Jim was the most attentive and gentle lover that she had ever been with. He treated her like a princess and she loved it. He had a few rough edges of course, but that was part of the attraction. Tami was only 5'1" and weighed right at 100 pounds. When she sat in the big biker's lap, she felt safe and protected. The fact that he said she was perfectly welcome to continue dancing after the marriage was the clincher. Now all she had to do was figure out how to break the news to Mom that she spent her night's half naked in a bar.

The Gallery magazine with the pictorial and article about the club came out on schedule and business at the club picked up dramatically. Twice a month, there was a Girl-Next-Door night and on alternate weekends, there was an amateur night. But Cal made sure that the girls dancing in the contest were indeed amateurs and not just dancers from another club. That was another big draw. Cal gave each of the dancers a nice Christmas bonus. He was making more money, lots more money, and he was properly grateful.

March 1st. The day of the wedding arrived, and John was as calm as any groom ever is. Big Jim was a wreck, and had to be given a little something to calm him down a tad.

John's family had shown up a week before the wedding, and introductions were made all around. His mom took the news about her daughter and son working in a topless bar far better than either had expected. It turned out that his kid brother had picked up a copy of Gallery and seen his sister and brother in the pictorial. He had shown his dad, who had shown the mom, etc.
Star's mom was resigned to her daughter’s choice of profession by now. And John won her over right away by being himself and knowing when to keep his mouth shut.

A week after the wedding, while the two couples were still on their honeymoon, a fire broke out and the club burned down. Cal was killed in the fire, but Josh had managed to get everyone else out unhurt. The couples came home to find themselves out of a job. They sat around John and Star's kitchen table over coffee to discuss the future.

“There are other clubs here in town." Star said, “But I won't dance at any of them."

“Why not?" asked Tami

“Because they're either run by the mob, total dives, or hooker hangouts." Jim answered.

“Or all three." added Star grimly.

“John, I've only got a couple thousand in the bank." Jim said. “I can get a job fixing bikes or bouncing at another club, but it's going to be really tight."

“I've only got a few grand in the bank myself." John told him. “But what I do have is a third bedroom and plenty of space. That is if it's OK with my wife." he winked at her. Star swatted him on the shoulder.

“Of course you're staying here,” she said. “You're family."

Renee sighed. “I suppose I can get my old job back. But I really liked dancing." Then John had one of the ideas that can border on genius or insanity.

“So who needs a club?" “What are we going to do big brother? Dance topless on a street corner?" Said Tami scornfully.

“Not quite Dippy." he replied. He turned to his brother in law.

“Think Jim, when we had our bachelor party, what did everyone say when the dancer left?" Jim laughed. “I think the general reaction was

“What a SKANK!'" John turned back to the girls.

“And she was supposed to be the best on call dancer in town. You girls have her beat by a mile."
Renee straightened up and looked thoughtful.

“SO you think we ought to start our own strip-o-gram service."

“Sure." said John. “And not just you three. We can get Kitty, Dee-Dee and Jeannie in on this too. And any of the other girls from the club you think might work out."

Jim piped up with, “Sheila did secretarial work for a while before she started waitressing." Star brightened as an idea hit her.

“Maybe we can rent a building for the office."

“I was thinking we would work from here at first." John said.

“No, think about it." Star insisted. “We can have a couple of the rooms in back set up with couches and easy chairs, put in lights and rent them out for bachelor parties and stuff."

“I married her for her looks, but she insists on being a genius too." John declared. He leaned over and kissed his wife soundly.

“I hate to be paranoid." Jim said. “But if we rent rooms for bachelor parties, I want cameras covering the whole room at all times. That way if someone claims something went on in there, we can prove them wrong."

“And they might want to have a tape of the party. If not. We'll keep the tapes on record. Good thinking Bro." John said.

Star went to get her address book from her purse and brought back the cordless phone. She called the other dancers and waitresses from the club and told them to come on out to the house and that it was important. She finally put the phone down.

“They'll all be here tomorrow night at 6." she said. “Renee honey, please get me some notebooks and pencils from my desk. We have a lot of planning and work to do before tomorrow night."
They totaled up their combined savings and assets. Then Jim got on the phone with a realtor. Renee used her cell phone to call another realtor. Star took off to head for city hall to find out about getting an adult entertainment license.

Renee and John left to visit their respective realtors to check out possible building rentals.
Tami and John worked on creating a coherent business plan.

“You got a good head for figures Sis." he said. Tami barely looked up from her papers.

“Straight A's in math big bro." A couple of hours later, they had the outline of what they wanted to do. John got up stiffly and stretched.

“Oh come off it Tami. Time for a break." Tami stood up and stretched her arms over her head. She linked her fingers and turned her hands palms up. She yawned and twisted from side to side, then relaxed suddenly, bringing her hands down.

“Got any beer in this joint?" John went to the fridge and took out a couple of bottles. He opened them and passed one to his sister.

“So, do you think we can pull this off?" Tami paced back and forth, sipping her beer.

“I don’t know,” she said at last. “It's going to take a lot of work and someone has to be solidly in charge." “So how does it feel to be married?" John asked. His sister grinned at him.

“Better every damn day." They sat back down and got back to work. The breeze from the swamp cooler died away as a buzzing noise came from above.

“Goddamn." John yelped as he raced for the switch and turned it off.

“The goddamn motor or the bearings went out again." He got his tool belt from the closet and went out to climb up on the roof to check the cooler. He came back down a little later, greasy and dusty and thoroughly pissed. “I gotta replace the whole fucking unit,” he said disgustedly.

Tami winced. “That's gonna cost."

John picked up the phone and started calling around to find a swamp cooler that he could get on short notice. He found one and hung up.

“I'm going to go pick it up and get it back here. The sooner I get it up and running, the better."

“If you think I'm staying in this sweat-box while you run around in an air conditioned car, you're nuts." Tami announced. John swatted her across the tight seat of her jeans.

“Then get a move on,” he said with a grin. Tami shook her fist at him and went to get her purse.
3 hours later, they were sore, tired, and filthy from removing the old cooler, then hoisting and installing the new one. They sat under the air vent enjoying the cool breeze for a bit.

“Shit, I'm a mess." Tami moaned. “And I'm gonna have to turn these pants into cutoffs." She gestured at her legs. “Look at this. The knees are torn all to hell and I have a big rip in my shirt!"
John snickered.

“You show more than that in a pair of shorts and a halter top." Tami tugged at the neck of her shirt.

“I'm going to take a shower,” she said. John grinned.

“Good thing I got a second bathroom." Tami went off to get cleaned up and John went into the shower in the master bathroom. He kept his shower cool, saving the hot water for Tami. Besides, the cool water felt great after all that heat. He came out of the shower, dressed in a pair of gym shorts and nothing else. He wasn't planning on going anywhere, and this was comfortable.
Tami was wrapped in a towel and had another around her hair. She was up on a kitchen stool, trying to reach the row of videotapes on the top shelf of his bookcase. John walked up behind her and asked. “What ya looking for?"

Tami was startled and lost her balance. She fell back and would have likely been hurt if John hadn't caught her. He lowered her to her feet and let go of her.

“Thanks." she said. “But next time, try not to shove half your hand up my twat as you do it."
He bopped her lightly on top of the head with the side of his fist.

“Dipshit, my hand didn't even get close to your cooch and you know it." Tami started climbing up on the stool again.

“A girl can hope can't she?" John shook his head and walked off.

“By the way Sis. The top shelf is all porno. In descending order, the other shelves hold Science fiction, westerns, comedies, action/adventure, and chick flicks. The bottom shelf as a mishmash of everything else." Tami pointed to a few tapes on the end of the shelf with unlabeled cases.

He stood by the TV and cleared his throat.

“OK you all know me,” he said. “What I have is a way for us all to keep making money now that Cal's is gone." Kitty cocked her head to the side and eyed him shrewdly.

“You aren't talking about selling anything are you? If you are, I'm outta here." Star got up to stand beside her husband. " No selling. What we are going to do is open up a premium exotic dancing service. And we need you to come work for us."

With that, everyone tried to talk at once. When John finally got things under control, he laid out the whole plan.

“I'm in.,” said Kitty,

“It's either that or leave town to dance." Jeannie and Dee-Dee also chose to get in on the action. Jenny raised a hand. I just finished a course in accounting,” she said. Sheila sighed.