They Call Us Show Girls

[B e t h y <3]

Yes. Caden should indeed be nice. I love awkward moments. Haha.

Bri sucked in as much air as she could and walked out into the dark. Her hands shook as she looked up and down the street, her phone ringing as she waited for Meimei to answer. Brielle was continuously cursing under her breath. A couple of sketchy guys looked Bri up and down, as if debating on hitting on her. Obviously, this is where she was her weakest.

 

[KERFUFFLE]

Caden stepped out into the dark, turning left to head for home. Something in the corner of his eye made him stop and look back, however- someone, whom he thought from his vague viewpoint he recognised, was there. He then realised who it was. "Brielle?" he said, taking a few steps towards her.

 

[B e t h y <3]

"Yeahhh... uhm, hey, Caden..." Brielle said, looking anywhere but at him. She took a couple steps closer, just because those same guys still haven't moved on. She gave up on Mei and hung up the phone. The guys finally decided Bri just wasn't worth the effort, and left. Bri let out a sigh of relief and looked up at Caden. "I-I was just, going home..." Bri lied through her teeth.

 

[KERFUFFLE]

Caden wasn't buying it. He had a knew job, but he'd still been there long enough to know that Brielle walked home, often by herself. Which was fine when it was light, of course, but it wasn't then. He asked her, "On your own?" watching after the guys who'd been looking at her as they walked down the street. "Are you sure about that? Feel free to say no if it makes you uncomfortable but I can walk you home, if you like."

 

[B e t h y <3]

Bri smiled at his offer. "That'd be great, actually. You see, I'm absolutely petrified of big cities in the dark, and Sebastian had already left, and Meimei wasn't answering the phone," she started rambling, before stopping herself. She didn't need to bore Caden with all her fears.

 

[KERFUFFLE]

Caden just smiled and nodded at her. "I can't say I blame you, honestly. I certainly wouldn't want any girl friends of mine wandering around here at night." He gestured for her to lead the way to her home, walking beside her. Close to look like he was with her. But not too close.

 

[B e t h y <3]

Brielle offered a small smile and walked to the left. "So, how are you liking this big promotion you'e gotten? More than you expected?" She wrapped her jacket around herself tighter and adjusted her bag.

 

[KERFUFFLE]

"Honestly, even watching my brother up there for about six years I had absolutely no idea what to expect when I was told I'd be taking over. I mean, the reaction I got was better than I thought, I'm glad you girls seemed to like my ideas, much more than I thought you'd take to them. I have to say, I'm looking forward to really getting them out there. This show's been following the same principles for as long as I can remember and I just feel like it needs something new, you know?" Caden said. "So do you actually like my ideas or has everyone forgotten that honesty is actually allowed now that the diva has left the building?" he chuckled.

 

[B e t h y <3]

"I honestly do like your ideas. I liked when you came on stage and pushed us to get something besides fake smiles in the show. Something Mr. Fletcher didn't care about was what our faces looked like. It was more of the rest of the body, and showing as much as possible before we became a strip club." Brielle explained, nodding, "Oh, I'm so glad you encourage honesty. Why'd he leave, anyways? Your brother, I mean."

 

[KERFUFFLE]

Caden nodded. "My brother is a very technical dancer. And it appears the only emotion he's particularly familiar with is p'ssed off, so he's never thought it was important. But, although I could never dance as well as him, I'd try to make up for it by really trying to sell it to whoever's watching, through my face and through movement, even if it's nowhere near perfect." He smiled then. "He left because he was dead certain that he's destined for bigger things and that he doesn't want to miss his 'window of opportunity.' He's turning thirty this year, so he's starting to worry about his age, you see. He's never been the same since the day when both that fact and that he noticed for the first time that he was getting the signs of a frown line between his eyes," he chuckled. "He announced he was leaving and then did everything in his power to make sure I didn't get his old job."

 

[B e t h y <3]

Brielle let out a little laugh. "That's quite funny, actually. I would have never pegged him to be only thirty. I thought he was much older. And what exactly did he do to try and make sure you didn't get his job?"

 

[KERFUFFLE]

Caden laughed and said, "I might tell him that. Perhaps not that you specifically said that, to keep you safe, but his reaction would be classic. Older than thirty- ha! As for what he did, to begin with it was just petty comments about me towards the employers but eventually he went as far as offering them bribes and giving them threats. But, of course, everyone knew in the end that if he was responsible for me not getting the job, his said window of opportunity would have been slammed and bolted shut."

 

[B e t h y <3]

Bri grinned, "Well, as long as you don't name names. He already hates me enough, as it is." Her eyebrows furrowed together, "Threats? Sounds like such a loving brother. Maybe he should get some psychiactric help..." Brielle's building was around the next block. And then she and Caden would have to go their separate ways. Why was Bri so disappointed in this thought? She convinced herself it was because she had a couple of people dropping in for a quickie in about an hour or so. Who wouldn't rather be with a charming, attractive man than some creep who has a toe fetish?

 

[KERFUFFLE]

"Don't take it personally, he hates most people. Especially dancers who are better than him, and who are younger than him," Caden replied. He nodded. "I do worry about him. He wasn't always this way. I guess in his quest to be good enough and thin enough and strong enough he lost it a little bit. In some ways I can't help but feel sorry for him, but in others I can't because he inflicts it on other people." He followed her to her door of her place, glad now that she hadn't taken the walk by herself. He wondered if she had any people coming over later, but he didn't have the heart to ask. It was his least favourite thing about being involved with the place. "I guess I'l see you tomorrow, then," he said to her with a tentative yet charming smile.

 

[B e t h y <3]

Brielle listened to his explination, nodding as she mulled it over. She returned Caden smile and said,"Yeah, I'll see you in the morning..." She turned around and greeted the doorman as she walked inside of the apartment complex. Brielle pushed the 'up' button next to the elevator and tapped her foot as she waited. Patience was not a virtue that Bri was blessed with.

 

[KERFUFFLE]

As Caden made his way home he now had two things on his mind that he wanted to push out; the fact that he still would be arriving home to an empty apartment, and now the fact that Brielle would probably have to deal with some guy turning up at her door to get his money's worth. If he had a say, he'd offer the dancers more pay and get rid of the after show policies, but he had no choice- not only that, but the fact was that currently they weren't attracting the sort of audience who came just for the show. About forty minutes later he arrived back at his quiet city apartment, calling Maria just to hear her voice- he barely noticed at the time, after all, love is blind and deaf, apparently, but she seemed distracted and not entirely willing to talk at the time.

 

[B e t h y <3]

Is she a cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater?!

Brielle dropped the bag by the door step, and went into the bathroom to freshen up a bit. She looked at herself in the mirror and sighed. "Why do I have to be semi-attractive?" she asked herself, before getting undressed and hopping in the shower. Once she got out, there was a knock at the door. She looked at her makeup, wiped a couple smudges away, and headed towards the door. After looking through the peephole, she saw that it was her first customer. "And the games begin..." she murmured before opening the door with a seductive smile.

 

[KERFUFFLE]

Hmm.. I haven't decided if she's a cheater or not. I'm not sure if she's that evil... Or maybe she is... I don't know, but certainly she's losing interest in her current boyfriend, which means she's an ungrateful little b'tch who doesn't deserve him.

Caden talked animatedly to Maria about his first day as the new director. His enthusiasm was generally met with, "Mhhms" and "Greats," but, again, he hardly noticed because it always made him so happy to hear from her. He figured she was probably tired anyway; she worked hard and it was getting late. His face fell a bit, however, when he told her he missed her and she simply said, "Yeah," as though she was barely listening anymore. And somehow, "Love you," didn't have quite the same connotations without the 'I'. While he tried to keep a positive outlook on it all, Caden had felt something had changed about their relationship since she'd been away, thinking back to all of their recent conversation. It was a hard revelation; they'd been together for five years now, and he genuinely believed he was the only person he'd ever truly loved before, and now he wasn't even sure they had a future anymore- what else could possibly explain even a slight spark of attraction towards someone else, when he'd sworn he'd only ever had eyes for Maria?

 

[B e t h y <3]

Hmm. Well I guess we'll see then. Definitely ann undeserving b`tch. Haha

Brielle was on the couch, exhausted after her two customers had left. She hated this part of the job more than anything in the world. The phone rang next to her, and she picked it up, saying a clearly tired "Hello?" It was Jeremy, Bri's ex. She asked him why he'd called, and he responded by saying how stupid he felt for dumping her. They talked a little while more, and Jeremy mentioned he'd be coming to one of the shows while he was in New York.

 

[KERFUFFLE]

And Bri should tell Jez to stay away because Caden is so much better...

Caden suddenly didn't feel like staying up any longer anymore. He hoped that things would just look brighter in the morning, and that he might make some sense of what was going on with his relationship, whether it was that he felt things would be alright, or if something needed to be done. He went to bed, though, despite his best efforts, falling asleep was hard for a few hours. But eventually he did.