“Okay, first of all,” Esmerelda says, shoving one finger up toward my face. “We don’t show our asses, not entirely. Second of all, even if we did, he has to know that you’re only taking that ass home to one man to play with. Or in my case, several,” she says with a wicked smile and a shrug.
“Essie,” Annabelle says, wrinkling her nose. She turns to me with a smile. “The good news is, he hasn’t said no.”
“Annabelle’s right,” says Rose. “It’s an adjustment for most people. Remember how long it took your parents to come on board with it? The good news is you got it out in the open, so there’s really nothing standing between you two anymore.”
“Only when he sees me tomorrow—if he comes.”
“A chance to see you take your clothes off? Oh, he’ll come,” Esmerelda assures me.
Definitely not helping.
“As much as I hate to bring up his name, Francis never had a problem with it.”
They all groan and protest at that old news.
“It’s true!” I point out.
“Honey, Francis met you after watching the show. The only thing he knew was what he saw on that stage. And don’t forget how much he treated you like a plaything in the beginning,” Rose points out.
Now that I think about it, she’s right. The rose-colored glasses I had in the later part of our relationship did a terrific job of discoloring how it all started.
“Your ass better not be thinking about going back to him,” Esmerelda warns.
They all offer their enthusiastic agreement with that.
Jerome stands up and flaps his hands in the air. “Honey girl, forget about all this noise you’re airing.” He leans in and rests his large hands on my shoulders. “Tomorrow, you gonna get up on that stage and you gonna shine the brightest you’ve ever shined. Because you are Honey Dewberry, and Honey Dewberry doesn’t let anyone dim her light.”
He leans in closer with a grin. “And Honey, that boy will be so impressed his Mama and Daddy will be singing hallelujah by osmosis.”
* * *
I’m still riding the high from last night’s gal pal pow-wow. Frankly, the support of The Girls and Jerome’s words of encouragement were just the kick in the butt I needed.
Honey Dewberry is back better than ever.
I’m in my outfit, a pink corset and ruffled bottoms with light pink fishnet stockings and long, pink satin gloves.
Each of The Girls has specific props we use to play a version of three-card monte with our body.
Rose has a wreath of red roses to go with her green satin outfit.
Esmerelda has a series of black scarves to go with her black lace outfit.
Annabelle uses a parasol to match her baby blue outfit.
And I have feathered fans.
I’m on after Rose and before Annabelle. Then we all do a number together at the end, which is really more of a slap-sticky comedic set that incorporates poking some fun at the crowd. They always eat it up, and we end the show having fun.
Backstage, I’m wondering if a certain someone decided to join tonight’s crowd.
The butterflies that always invade my stomach just before my bit are flapping their wings twice as hard as usual. It’s only when I step onto that stage, with nothing but the spotlights blinding my eyes that they settle back into hibernation.
This is it. The place where I shine the brightest.
If Giuseppe is out there somewhere in the darkness behind those lights, he’s in for the show of a lifetime.
My smile gleams as the music starts up.
One pop of my hip and the show is on.
It’s a fun, sexy, sensual, but playful progression from the first satin glove to my corset and finally my bottoms.
When the song stops and I offer another gleaming smile and a wink to the audience, the feathered fans are covering more than most women expose at the beach.
But it’s all still so scandalous, yet innocent.
Which is the beauty of the tease.
When I dance my way off stage, Rose is there to hug me. Annabelle offers a thumbs up and a wink before dancing out to take my place behind the dropped curtain.
Amazing! Esmerelda mouths with a grin.
And it was amazing, or at least felt that way.
Only time will tell if Giuseppe agrees.
That’s if he even came.
My first act helped me further relax and have even more fun in the final act, all of us drawing more laughs and cheers than usual tonight.
All in all, a first-rate performance from The Girls.
As we rush off stage after an encore, we’re all laughs and chatter.
In the dressing room we continue, congratulating ourselves on another successful performance as we get dressed and remove the stage makeup from our faces.
“This almost makes up for the stand-in we had to use the past two Saturdays,” Esmerelda scolds.
“Hey now, we’ve all had to borrow a Saturday or two in our time,” Rose reminds her.
“I suppose that will be one positive if he didn’t come tonight. No more Saturdays off for me,” I say with a begrudging smile.
“No negative thinking, Honey!” Annabelle scolds. “I bet he’s waiting in the hallway right now as we speak.”
When we finally do leave the dressing room, I’m almost as surprised as the rest of The Girls when I see the huge bouquet of pink roses.
They block out the view of the man holding them.
When he pulls them lower, my heart does a double-take.
“Francis?!”
Chapter Thirty Honey
Francis gives me a hesitant smile over the massive bunch of roses in his hands. There must be at least three dozen in total.
I realize that I forgot to tell the backstage crew that he was officially persona non grata at this point, thus canceling his standing backstage pass.
“What are you doing here?”
His gaze darts to The Girls, who I feel take up protective stances on either side of me. He drags his eyes back to me with a slightly pleading note in
