Tricks (23 page)

case of maternal instinct? I consider

my next move carefully. Call Bryn.

"Okay. I'll go. Pick me up at ten."

376

A Poem by Ginger Cordell
Move Carefully

Who knows what lurks beneath that beautiful

rock you want to turn

over?

I once thought

I wanted to live on a mountain. But

how high before the altitude

would take its toll?

Now I want to dive

under

deep water. But can

I hold my breath, stand the pressure?

How low

can I go, and will

Fate keep the sharks

far away, or will Destiny in fact send some

hideous sea creature to catch me in its jaws, drag me down?

377

Ginger They Call Vegas

Sin City, like calling it what it is somehow legitimizes the name.

Las Vegas
is
Sin City. Whole lot

*

of sinning going on, from fancy

high-rise casino rooms to sleazy

well-off-the-strip motel dives.

*

People come here specifically
to
sin. But I wonder whether

it's really true that "what happens

*

in Vegas stays in Vegas."

People stain themselves here.

I bet, no matter how hard they

*

scrub themselves after sinning, when they go home, a certain

amount of stain remains visible.

*

Then, I guess, it's up to the spouse or significant other to recognize the meaning of that dark splotch

*

ghosting beneath the bleach.

Most of 'em probably don't want to look. Don't want to know.

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The Reason

I know so damn much about the sinning is I have pretty well been pushed into causing some

*

of it. As sin goes, at least so far, my own participation

has remained fairly mild.

*

See, when Alex and I first hit

town, like a few weeks ago,

Lydia seemed okay with giving

*

us a place to crash. Alex called her from the bus station.
Hey, girl. You said to look you up if

*

I ever made it to Vegas. Well,
me and a friend just got here.

Could you come pick us up?

*

It was early morning, and

Lydia was not real happy about having to pull herself

*

out of bed. We waited a couple of hours, sipping coffee, until she finally showed, took us back

379

to her small tract house south of the city in a burb called

Henderson. She keeps her place

*

neat, with pretty flowers in trim

beds, giving the impression she wants to give--legitimate.

*

See, for a while Lydia worked as a stripper in a fairly nice

club near the Stratosphere.

*

I made pretty good money.

Most of it went to the house, which took a big cut for keeping

*

the girls safe. I did all the work, they reaped sixty percent of
the bennies. Hard to swallow.

*

So Lydia got smart, started her own business--Have Ur Cake

Escorts. Now she takes a cut from

*

the girls (and guys) whose "dates" she sets up.
I
still strip for fun

once in a while. All on my own terms.

380

Her Neighbors

Are completely clueless about her means of support.

They think she's a showgirl.

*

The ultimate Vegas dream.

Anyway, she let Alex and me

move into her spare bedroom.

*

But not for free.
You can stay for a week gratis. After that,

I'd appreciate a little rent.

*

She never asked why we were there, although she did mention

Alex's dad.
How's he doing?

*

Alex shrugged.
Same ol,
you know? But if he happens to call, I don't want to talk to him.

*

Far as I know, he never did, and Lydia let the subject

drop. Alex and I looked for

*

under-the-table jobs, but they're

hard to find, unless you're good with pulling weeds for five

381

bucks an hour. A week came.

A week went by. Two. Plus a couple of days. Finally Lydia

*

said something.
Okay, here's
the deal. Both of you are pretty

girls. Great bods, with that fresh

*

look guys (especially old ones)

appreciate. You could make

boatloads taking off your clothes.

*

The clubs are careful about underage girls, but work for me, no one will check your IDs.

*

My first reaction was no way

would I ever let evil old pervs

see me naked. That's when Lydia

*

mentioned how much money

we could make.
Easily five

hundred a night. And that's no

*

touching allowed. Bachelor

parties alone could make the two of you very comfortable.

382

What She Forgot

To mention was that her cut for setting us up in the exotic

dancing business was one-third

*

the hourly rate. Tips are ours to earn and keep. And hey, considering Lydia handles all

*

Have Ur Cake calls, screenings, and advertisement, she's

worth every penny. As per her

*

well-advised counsel, Alex and I

work exclusively as a team.

Sooner or later,
Lydia said,

*

you'll have to deal with a jerk
who won't want to hear "no

touching allowed," if you decide

*

to stick to that. With two of you,
you've got a fighting chance, or at the very least, a witness.

*

So far, though we've had many

requests for more, and a few

grumbles when we say no way,

383

the men have all honored the "look but don't touch"

rule. Our two-for-one fee

*

is three hundred an hour

(a bargain!) plus tips for straight dancing. Private

*

lap dances are twenty dollars per song. Girl-on-girl action

adds another hundred to the tab.

*

Besides Lydia, we give a cut to our regular taxi drivers, who keep us off their meters.

*

They're cool and weren't hard to hook up with. Pretty much

everyone in Vegas is a scammer.

*

As for the actual stripping,

Lydia gave us some pointers.

Turns out I'm a better dancer

*

than Alex. Her boobs are bigger, though, and really beautiful.

I swear I never knew I leaned

384

toward girls until I met Alex.

Guess I never let myself lean any

way at all. Didn't dare get close

*

to anyone, male or female.

But Alex and I are tight. I love her heart. Her brains. Her body.

*

The men we perform for like when we dance with each other, breast-to-breast or belly-to-ass,

*

tan skin against pale, ebony hair on blue-streaked blond, fingers

touching hidden places we won't

*

let "clients" touch. Powerful!

That's how I feel, seeing how

helpless we make them. I so enjoy

*

reducing them to masturbation.

It's like they are masturbating for me, and I can control when

*

they come by how I move

my body, what I let them see.

It's a game I win every time.

385

Another Few Weeks

We'll have saved enough to get our own place. Maybe a nice little townhouse closer

*

to downtown, where most of the action is. Tonight

we've got a bachelor party.

*

Great gigs. Tips are good.

And when there's a crowd in the room, the dicks mostly

*

stay hidden. I'm standing by the window, keeping

watch for the cab, when Alex

*

comes into the room, wearing a yummy short leather skirt.

Just got a ten o'clock. We should

*

be finished with the boys before nine.
Younger guys tend to get

started early. The best man booked

*

us for seven, and they should all

be well on their way to passing

out before we even get there.

388

386

Which is why we collect our

basic fee up front. Don't want to get caught with our fingers

*

in some drunk guy's wallet.

Of course, we do hope they

stay awake long enough to

*

reward our girl-girl routine.

We knock on the condo door at seven on the dot. The guy

*

who answers is pretty cute.

Hello, girls. Come right in.

Can I get you ladies something

*

to drink?
We decline and he escorts us inside, where a half

dozen guys are ogling cable porn.

*

While I ask Best Man for cash up front--six hundred, split

seven ways--Alex flirts.
Okay,

*

boys, where's the groom? We

want to treat him right!
Where did she learn that shtick?
Stripping

387

for Dummies?
Hah. Anyway, once the cash is safely tucked

away, Alex outlines the rules:

*

Absolutely no touching, or we

leave immediately One lap dance is included, for the groom only

*

If any of the rest of you are into
that, it will cost extra. Tips are
encouraged! Any questions?

*

One rat-looking dude pulls his eyes from the TV screen

action.
How much for head?

*

A couple other guys laugh

nervously, but Alex has it covered.
You'll have to ask

*

your buddies. We don't do head,
except on each other, and that

will cost an extra hundred.

*

No surprise that Ratman

reaches into his pocket for a Benjamin Franklin.

388

Seven Fifty, Minus Commission

Toward a place of our own,

Alex and I bid adieu to groom,

Best Man, et al. Poor bride.

*

We're giggling as we get into

Leonard's cab.
What's so funny, girls? Care to share?

*

Alex hands over a fifty.
No

offense, Len my dear, but men are just so disgusting.

*

I mean, really. Would you dare

beat off in front of your best

friends? We
crack up again.

*

Lenny looks into his rear-view

mirror, grins.
Only if

you two were dancing for us.

*

It's a short drive to our next

appointment, in a not very nice

part of town. Lenny promises

*

to stay available,
Just in case

you need a quick ride out of here. Be careful, okay?

388

389

Hey,
says Alex,
no worries.

But if we don't call you in an hour, it's okay to come looking.

*

She gives him a twenty for caring and off we go. Unlike

Best Man, this guy is a pug,

*

short, wrinkled, and bug-eyed.

He doesn't talk as we handle the business stuff, but he does

*

pay extra up front for a three-song

lap dance. I glance at

Alex, who nods, meaning

*

she'll do it for him. She knows

I never could. After a little

girl-on-girl rubbing, she goes

*

to take care of it. He sits

very still in his chair, staring as she strips free of her bra.

*

Suddenly his hands are all over her. "Hey. Cut it out.

Absolutely no touching allowed."

390

No good. Alex's eyes go just a little wild.
Okay, man, we're

out of here.
She tries, but

*

the creep snakes his arms around her waist, squeezes like a hungry boa constrictor.

*

All I want is a hand job. Give
it to me, I'll let you go. You,
over there, play with yourself.

*

So much for control. Good

thing it doesn't take long. He

finishes with a loud,
Aaaagh!

*

He does let go of Alex, who wipes her hand on his shirt.

We grab our clothes, throw

*

ourselves out the door, mostly

naked. Yank on what we can at a dead run. Suddenly Alex

*

starts to laugh. She holds up a wad of bills.
Stupid shit

just gave us a really big tip.

391

Later, After Several Shots

Of whiskey (Lydia buys it for us, as long as we

drink it post-business only),

*

Alex and I go to bed.

Fresh from the shower, her skin is warm and apple-scented.