∞ ∞ ∞
Aiden returned home after the meeting. He was tired, but he didn’t want to wait until tomorrow before mentioning his idea to the ACG. After a quick shower, he flopped on the couch, and pulled out his phone. He hit the speed dial for Caleb, connecting with a video call.
Caleb’s forehead and blue hair came into view first before he adjusted the angle so Aiden could see his entire face.
“What’s up?”
“We’re doing a big festival in the Playground soon and I need your help. Yours and the teams.”
“Okay. What do you need?”
“We’re throwing a district wide festival and we need security to work the event—to keep an eye out in case the Purity Alliance tries anything. The clubs have bounce staff but this isn’t their area of expertise and there aren’t enough of them for the job.”
“And you can’t request assistance from the police because they might scare off the people you’re trying to draw in. Plus, they might bring the P-Bots with them.”
“Exactly. The festival organizers plan to hire a small security company but I thought as an extra precaution...”
Caleb grinned. “The Arch City Guardians could be there to keep everyone safe. It’s perfect. The event could push the Purity Alliance into taking their next big step. And if we’re already on the ground, we have a better chance of stopping and catching them. As an added bonus, it’s a chance for us to get some good PR in for the team.”
“Look at you thinking of all the angles.”
“I’ll run it by Strong and Helios but I’m sure they’ll be on board. Send me all the details for the event and we’ll get it set up on our end.”
“Will do. And thanks, Caleb. I really appreciate it.”
∞ ∞ ∞
They had less than two weeks before Halloween. Everyone jumped into high gear to plan the festival and get the word out about it. Flyers were printed and passed out to every guest who set foot in the red-light district. Playground businesses with digital billboards flashed news of the event every hour on the hour. And the Players blasted it out on their social media accounts to get St. Louis Twitter and Facebook talking about it.
By the time Halloween night rolled around, they were ready to go. Two large, connected parking lots and the streets surrounding them were blocked off and transformed into the main festival grounds. There were food carts, vendor stalls selling T-shirts and artwork of popular entertainers, and tents where dancers put on small intimate strip shows or demonstrations for those who wanted to learn exotic dance. Everyone was hyped and excited. The Players didn’t usually get a chance to work with from people from other clubs. And they were finally doing something to fight back against the people who wanted to bring them down.
On the biggest stage, each club was allotted time slots to showcase three of their best performers. Smaller stages scattered throughout the festival gave every dancer an opportunity to perform. Josephine had given Aiden and Suzie two of the Fox’s main stage slots.
Honored, and excited to show everyone what he could do, Aiden had choreographed a new routine using a special extra tall pole. And to make sure he’d stand out under the night sky, he’d eschewed his usual black for an all-gold outfit. It was one piece, the top a sheer mesh tank with a neck scooped so low it dipped beneath his nipples. The bottoms were gold lame shorts with a heart cutout on each butt cheek. Glittering gold ribbons crisscrossed and wrapped around his legs all the way down to his bare feet. And he’d sprayed gold glitter in his hair.
Suzie’s eyes went wide when she saw him.
“Wow. You look great.”
“Thanks. You do too.” Her Lolita dress was a soft powder blue, with red hearts on the fabric, and white lace trim. She’d dyed her hair silver and tied her signature corkscrew pigtails with blue satin bows.
They stood off to the side behind a curtain, waiting while the first exotic from their club danced.
“Have you had a chance to talk to your heartbreaker?” she asked.
“Not really.” He and Mike had exchanged a few texts, mostly just to stay in touch with the promise that they would talk once Aiden wasn’t so busy with the festival. “I’m waiting until all of this is over.”
Suzie tsked. “You’re stalling.”
Aiden blew out a breath. “Yeah, I am,” he admitted. “He’s saying the right things—that he wants me for me. But I’m not ready to trust it. And to be honest, he doesn’t fully trust me either. Not after the way I ended things between us so quickly. So, we’re stuck.”
“You’ll work it out,” Suzie said with a sympathetic smile.
Aiden sincerely wanted that to be true.
“Glimmer! You’re up!”
Aiden signaled to the stage manager that he was ready. He took a second to center himself, before strolling onto the stage to loud applause. The extra tall pole waited for him, spotlights reflecting off the silver metal. He’d asked the house DJ to put together a mix for him since his time slot was longer than the usual three minute and thirty second song. The music started with Cardi B’sMoney, one of his favorite songs. Aiden began to dance. He coyly avoided getting on the pole, dancing around it, stroking it, working up the audience for what he knew they wanted.
