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“How about we just get ready?” Noel said with a chuckle. These guys loved having fun—it was what they seemed to live for.
Jesse got into his naughty elf outfit, and Noel groaned. He hated that damned thing, though the crowd seemed to love it, especially given the time of year. Noel was known as the stripping hipster, so he carefully pulled on his costume, making sure all the rip-away panels didn’t come undone. Then he checked himself in the mirror.
“Do you think your Good Samaritan will be in the audience tonight?” Dean asked with a wink.
Noel didn’t want to think about that sort of thing. It was Saturday night, which meant the crowd would be big, hyped up, and rowdy as all hell. What he really wanted was to just get through the night, and then he could go home and not have to return to this place until Tuesday. This was a job, and it paid for his apartment and fed him and Wiggles. It also paid his college expenses. “It doesn’t matter. He was a guy who was nice enough to give me a ride home when it was snowing like hell. That’s all.”
“And did he make a play for you?”
Noel shrugged slightly. “He might have, but I shut him down quickly. Though he could also have been genuinely nice, and as jaded as I am, I assumed what he said was a line. Who knows. It was one ride on a snowy night, and I’m grateful for it.” He met Dean’s gaze. “Not that fucking grateful, so save that sex look for the crowd out there who will buy that act. I know better.” He shooed Dean away and helped him into his Officer Randy outfit. Of all of them, Dean was the only one who had the build to pull off that act. Jesse, like Noel, was smaller, more willowy, and slight.
At one time, Noel had dreamed of being a ballet dancer. He took classes for years and was danged good. He’d even had interest from various companies. But all that changed with an injury when he was seventeen. In an instant, the dreams for his future were gone. Then, at eighteen, he’d found himself on his own and needed a way to make a living. He understood how to express himself through movement, so this job had been a breeze to get, especially with his lean body and angel face.
“Well, I took a peek out front, and I must say, there’s a man standing in back who could give me a ride home any time he wanted.” Dean glided away in his most dramatic fashion.
Noel was tempted to check for himself, but the music started and Jesse the Naughty Elf took the stage. Noel was next, and he knew he needed to be ready.
Jesse ranoff stage in his thong, his little butt bouncing as he hurried back to the dressing room. He flashed a thumbs-up as Frankie followed him, handing Jesse a wad of cash. Clearly the guys were out tonight, and they were in a spending mood. Noel closed down the part of his mind that wondered if he was doing the right thing. He needed the money, and he could make enough tonight to last him through the rest of the month and pay part of the rent.
“Gentlemen, it’s time for a favorite of ours, and we know he’s one of yours as well. So give a great welcome to our favorite hipster, and he’s no coward—Noel!”
He hated that introduction, but the crowd roared as he sauntered on stage like none of this mattered. It was part of the schtick and how he made it through each and every show. Noel reached the center of the stage and cocked a hip to one side, then dramatically shifted to the other, spreading his legs, flashing a hint of what he had underneath. He brought a finger to his lips as though he were wondering what to do next.
The music began, and Noel did a back flip, easily landing on his feet. The crowd applauded and whistled as he spun on his toes to the rousing beat of the music, his shirt flying off as he did so that when he came to a stop, his golden skin glistened and glowed under the lights.
“You want some of this?” Noel asked with a wry grin he had perfected months ago, running his hands down his chest and belly before returning to his toes and into a pirouette before once again coming to a stop. The crowd was breathless, and Noel loved this moment. The beat of the music came faster, and Noel spun with it, lowering a hand to his waist. He tugged on his tear-away pants, and they came off. He held on to them, raising his hands above his head, the faded-jeans-colored material flying above him like a flag that he twirled and bobbed before letting the fabric fly to the side of the stage just before he came to a stop with his back to the audience.
In his usual flourish, he turned and put his finger to his lips, like he was wondering if he’d been bad. “You know what Mama always said. Make them beg for more… and then don’t give it to them.” He grinned wickedly, which brought down the house each and every time. “Thank God I’m not my mother.” He turned toward the audience, rolling his hips, and cash rained down on the stage.
He gave them his biggest smile, his arms over his head, and was finally able to see out into the audience. The huge man from last night was there in a suit that hugged him like a glove, standing in the back, his gaze locked onto Noel’s.
Noel had long ago forgotten to be shy or embarrassed by a room full of men looking at him on stage nearly naked. It came with the job, and Noel worked hard on his body to keep it in shape and the cash flowing in. But in that moment, with that pair of incredible eyes watching him, it took all his willpower not to run from the stage. He swallowed and kept his smile in place, slowly moving along the front to give each person a good view. Letting them look was the way he got paid, and the money seemed to fall like the snow from last night.
Once the show ended, Noel sauntered off the stage the same way he had when he was fully clothed, racing to the dressing room as soon as he was out of sight of the patrons.
Noel pulled on his jeans and a T-shirt right away and turned when Frankie entered with his costume and his money. “Thank you,” he said.
Early on he had offered to tip Frankie, but he always shook his head. The man was honest as the day was long. Noel supposed you had to be, running this kind of business in Milwaukee. “I run this place to be safe for everyone, and that means that you all get all your money. Those men out there pay me enough to get in and drink like fishes. I do really well” was all Frankie had ever said, and Noel had never heard of him misbehaving with any of the guys. Stories went around about owners taking advantage of the entertainment, but that never happened here. “You got yourBeauty and the Beastnumber with Dean in half an hour.”
“I’ll be ready,” Noel said. “You know that.” He was always prepared and didn’t believe in holding up the show.
“You always are.” He turned to leave, but paused. “There’s also a man out front who has asked to see you. I explained that no one gets backstage during a show, and he asked if you might be available afterward.” Frankie took a deep breath.
“Is it the guy from the back in the fancy suit? I saw him,” Noel added after Frankie nodded. “Tell the guy I’ll join him once the show is over. And no, I don’t know what he wants, but at least out there, the bartenders and you will be able to make sure he doesn’t pull anything.” Though honestly, if he were going to, he would have done something last night when they were in the car. Instead, he had been kind and—dare Noel even use the word—a gentleman.
Frankie nodded. “All right, but if he tries anything, he’s out of here.” Frankie left, and Noel began getting ready for his next number. It was always a crowd-pleaser. But even as he went through his familiar routine, he couldn’t help wondering what the man from last night wanted.
ChapterTwo
David knewthe moment Noel came out of the door beside the stage. Every eye in the room gravitated toward him, including David’s. Since he’d sent his message, he had watched the various performances for most of the evening, surprised by how cheesy many of them were. Yet every time Noel came out from behind the curtain, David couldn’t take his eyes off him. There was something in the way he moved. He seemed to glide across the floor as he came closer.
Even last night, when Noel had been wearing all those layers and looked like the kid fromA Christmas Story, all bundled up, he still carried that grace with him. Not that David had known last night who Noel was or what he did for a living. He had been on his way home from an event and had been passing when he saw Noel. He had asked his driver to stop, and when he got out of the car, those first sharp words about cocktail wieners made him smile. And as bitter as it was, he had only offered a ride on a cold snowy night to be kind to someone who seemed to be freezing. It wasn’t until Noel snapped about buying a ticket like everyone else that David understood.
Men stood and tried to get Noel’s attention. He smiled and continued forward, acknowledging them, but kept moving until he reached David’s table. “You asked to see me,” Noel said. “And thank you for the ride last night.”
David motioned to the chair across from him, and Noel sat down. He wore jeans and a simple T-shirt, but they hugged him perfectly. “I’m glad you made it home okay.” David was never tongue-tied. He made his living with his voice and by using his words. It was what he excelled at, but this man had him sitting at a table in the back of a small club, not sure what the hell to say. “I don’t even know why I’m here.”
Noel’s incredible eyes widened. “That’s something I don’t think I’ve heard before.” He lifted his gaze toward the bar, and one of the men came over. “A sparkling water, please,” Noel said in a gentle voice that belied the sharpness David had heard last night. “So what do you want? Why are you here? You don’t look like the usual kind of guy who comes in here.”
