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No, I wouldn’t because I’d set up the damn party, and the people coming in weren’t as good of actors as I was. They hadn’t trained to be cool under too much pressure. It was easy to play an easy part when there weren’t too many variables.
Me suddenly being there was a variable.
Evan, Aidan, and several others, including some of the cheetahs from the ancient pack in Rome, were coming in to act like they were tied to the energy company. We had glamour charms for some of them, but the goal was to confuse them with a mix and also the power that would be there so we could maybe figure out what the magic Lisa was using was.
I went on stage and focused on my set, shocked when I felt so much anger in my direction that it almost made me lose my grip.
“You just got here, sugar,” one of the employees near the stage. “What are you rushing off for so fast?”
“I apologize, but the other dancer reminds me of someone who has my heart,” a silky smooth voice that was like honey on my ears that I knew well said.
Intimately.
“Did she do you dirty?” the woman chuckled. “Go get a private dance then and hash out your feelings.”
“My feelings are the problem, not the woman,” Mason grumbled. “Excuse me, I don’t want to ruin the mood.”
“Nothing ruined,” she pushed, putting her hand on his chest to stop him.
I caught that when I spun around, and that was when my normal routine stopped and I worked the pole in a way that I could watch what was going on.
Mason stepped back so her hand fell. “I don’t like the objectification of women and them being seen as entertainment. I thought I could get past it, but I’m not there yet it seems. I’m sorry.”
I knew he wasn’t saying it for her, but because he knew I could hear him.
I let go of the pole and moved to the end of the stage, squatting down with my knees together so I didn’t seem to be instigating him. “Honey, you’re looking at it with a focused lens of someone who looks down on everyone and simply has excuses that they’re a jerk.”
“I don’t feel like I am,” he whispered as he turned to face me. His silver eyes were bubbling with emotion, and the pain on his face was the only reason I couldn’t get annoyed with him.
“I was having fun dancing,” I told him. “If someone objectifies that, it’s their thing. I could walk down the street and people have a problem with it. That’s not on me, right?”
“Yes, but it’s hard to be around. I don’t like women being mistreated.”
“Because you see them as being forced. No one’s forced here. We’re all willing and having fun, honey. And there’s nothing wrong with being entertainment.” That fire came back in his eyes and I hurried on. “Actors are entertainment. They make movies. They get paid millions of dollars to do it.” I felt better when he eased down and there was more curiosity in his gaze.
“That’s fair,” he hedged.
“What about singers? Don’t people pay to go to concerts for entertainment? Race car drivers. Hell, you go to the opera for entertainment and those people are respected as legends. So your idea of entertainment is what’s got you stuck.” I waited until he nodded again. “MMA fighters are wearing about as much as I am and punching each other bloody.
“People get off on that too. People go too far with that. It’s just not dancing and is exciting so people don’t judge it as often, but people do judge it. You get what I’m saying? It’s not what we’re doing but what people put on it. So don’t put the extra on it and you’ll be fine. We’ll still be here when you’re ready and even if you need help to get past whatever has been living rent-free in your head.”
“Thank you, I’ll think on that,” he accepted, giving me a quick wink before heading out.
I went to get off stage since the songs from my set were done and I didn’t want to be in the way for the next dancer. The woman who had talked with Mason followed me, and I found Lisa talking to someone else backstage as well.
“You sound like you’re corporate with all of that,” the woman said, making it clear that wasn’t a compliment.
I raised an eyebrow at her. “A lot of what they’ve said to me stuck. Don’t we all work for them because we like their message and the way they do things instead of other places?” I turned to head out front to be available for private dances and bottle service but froze when Lisa snorted.
“Spoken like a kid who’s just too easily influenced and can’t think for herself,” she drawled.
I gave her the look she deserved. “So clearly, you’re not someone they rescued.” There was more I was going to say, but I was shocked at how insulted she immediately looked.
“No, I’m not a fucking idiot who got caught in more than I could handle,” she snapped.
“Those fools deserve what they get if they can’t learn any basic self-preservation,” the dancer next to her added. “Demons who play the victim card make all supes look bad and weak.”
“So do people who talk out their fucking ass about shit they could never understand,” I seethed, taking a step towards her. “You should learn somebasic self-preservationand not talk on what you don’t know.”
