"I can't believe you." Natalie covered her face, shaking her head wearily. Kate grinned at her.
"It's your eighteenth. Let your hair down!"
Natalie had known Kate for most of her life, and they had been best friends all through school, though at times Natalie would wonder why. The first person she had come out to had been Kate, and her friend had been supportive, even enthusiastic about the whole idea, but her concept of 'helping' left a lot to be desired. Hence tonight. And the stripper.
"Hair, down." Natalie pointed at her long brown hair, "No sex worker aid required."
"Aw, that's harsh. She's not a prostitute Nat!" Kate pouted, "She's totally your type too."
Natalie groaned. As far as Kate was concerned, her 'type' was anyone slim and feminine. Her friend had spent many an evening quizzing her about which celebrities she liked, or who in college she fancied. She had resolutely refused to answer the latter, but she would never again be able to watch a film starring Scarlett Johansen without Kate casting aspersions on her motivation.
"I can't get enough of the girls who get notes stuffed in their g-strings by randy businessmen."
"Oh, my mistake, I forgot you were Natalie de la Ren, chick magnet." Kate gave her a gentle shove, "Fending off the girls left and right."
"Yeah yeah, thanks for that." Natalie sighed. Her record in love did not even warrant being called a record. If there were other gay girls at college she had no idea how to find them. Even if she did, she would be far too inept to make any kind of move anyway.
"Just enjoy it." Kate said sagely, "I will, she's totally hot."
"If my sister hears about this I'll have to kill you, you realise?"
"Everyone will take a vow of silence. 'No, I didn't see Natalie salivating while a sexy brunette gyrated in her lap'. See, I can get that down pat."
Natalie buried her head in her hands.
The night had been planned out by Kate, who had the seemingly endless enthusiasm needed to arrange such things. Left to her own devices Natalie would procrastinate until the day had arrived and then just ring around inviting friends to the pub. She'd probably enjoy herself more that way too, but an eighteenth birthday was supposed to be a big event and all.
Their first port of call was indeed their local pub where everyone would gather in the early evening before Natalie's mum, Kate's elder brother and her friend Tom's dad ferried them into town. They were then to tour a few bars before the moving on to the Blue Ice nightclub, where Kate had hired out a private function room. And arranged for the stripper.
Natalie was one of the last in her peer circle to turn eighteen, her birthday on the 24th of May coming towards the end of the school year, and had usually used it as an excuse to avoid trips to nightclubs and the like. She'd never been refused service the few times she had, but the deafening music, overpriced drinks and drunken men thrusting themselves at her even as she endeavoured to keep as far from the dance floor as humanly possible had been more than enough reason to take her excuses where they came.
Sending Kate away to bother her sister for a while, Natalie continued to get ready for the night. She was not one for putting huge amounts of effort into her appearance, and was thankful for the fact that she didn't ever really look terrible. She could not summon the interest to follow fashions, and tended to just wear things she thought looked nice and smart. She owned a few more revealing numbers that she had, at the time of purchase, thought were stylish and sleek looking, but they tended to attract even more unwanted attention, so were seldom used.
After settling for a dark purple top and navy blue jacket with black trousers, she followed the sound of her sister's despairing complaints to find where Kate had got to.
Three of her friends were already at the pub when they arrived; Dion, who she had known since primary school, Art (or Arthur, when she wanted to annoy him) and Madeleine. Art and Madeleine had been dating for what seemed like forever; they were always the most reliable of all her friends.
"Hi Gav." She waved to the owner as they passed the bar, heading towards the set of tables that had been shoved together. Her dad and his friends had spent many an evening in this pub, and Gavin had become something of a family friend over the years.
"Oh, hey there Nat. Happy birthday, now come and spend some money."
"Give me a sec." She grinned, "If you don't check my ID I'll be cross."
Dion leapt to his feet as they approached, scuttling around the table to give her a hug.
"Congrats to you, birthday girl." He said, "What did you get?"
"Why didn't you call and ask?" Natalie said with a grin. Dion's mobile had had an unfortunate encounter with a toilet bowl two days previously.
"You are cruel, missy." He flicked her forehead, then rummaged in his coat pocket, pulling out a card, "Here."
"Thanks Dion." Looking around him, she waved to Art and Madeleine.
"Welcome to old age, Natalie." Madeleine said with her usual impish smile, "You do anything special today?"
"Well, Sara was nice to me for a whole ten minutes. That was pretty special."
"Sounds scary." Madeleine replied, "How's the new laptop going then?"
"Pretty good. Between them Dad and Sara can manage to pick something decent at least."
"Oh wow." Art laughed, "Nat let someone else choose tech gear for her. Crazy world."
"Not so much let; I didn't know they were getting it." Natalie said, "It'll be useful at uni, anyway. Now, who wants a drink?"
Tom, Matt and Cathy arrived while she was at the bar, so Natalie ended up ordering a larger round than she'd expected. Gavin made a big show of examining her driver's license, holding it up next to her face and making critical comments. Eventually, he passed it back.
"Drinks are on the house today, Nat." He grinned as she returned the card to her purse, "Well, this round anyway. I know you, you'll never leave if I give you any more."
"Oh, excellent, thanks Gav." Natalie closed her purse with an audible snap, shoving it into her trouser pocket.
They stayed at the pub for two rounds while the rest of their friends drifted in, the second being a more ad-hoc affair with each paying for their own. Natalie enjoyed it tremendously, being able to enjoy a conversation with her friends. Why they would go from here to a sweaty, noisy hellbox she was certain she would never work out.
As arranged, the convoy arrived just after eight, and Natalie's mum buzzed her mobile. Everyone drank up quickly – including a dismayed Dion who had to endure chants of 'chug' while he finished his almost full pint.
The ride into town was quick, the roads mostly clear. Natalie sat slumped in the front seat trying to zone out the world while her mum endeavoured to humiliate her in front of her friends. It was entirely deliberate – her mum put on an act of doting parent innocently embarrassing her daughter, but they both knew better than that. Fortunately, Art, Madeleine and Sasha, who were sharing the car, knew her mum well enough to see through it too.
"Thanks for the lift Helen." Sasha said cheerfully after they came to a stop near the town centre.
"No problem at all." Natalie's mum said over her shoulder, "You guys keep my little girl safe, okay? Promise?"
"Sure thing Mrs D." Art grinned, "We'll try and keep Miss Sensible out of trouble. Somehow."
"I hate you all." Natalie griped, slipping out of the door.
"Aw, cheer up Nat." Her mum smiled, "Have fun, hey? Maybe you'll meet a nice girl."
"We are not discussing that!" Natalie exclaimed, hurriedly swinging the door closed as her friends laughed knowingly.
The first bar Kate led them to was a relatively small, badly lit place with a strange smell. Natalie got little sympathy when she voiced this.
The bar was not particularly busy and they managed to appropriate a few tables in one corner for them all. Natalie took a seat while drink orders were collected. The music wasn't so loud that they couldn't carry a conversation, and surrounded by friends she could still have a good time even in an expensive, gloomy, smelly bar.
After a couple of rounds they moved on to a second bar, a louder, more crowded place as the evening crowds thickened. It seemed to Natalie a tradition to visit steadily worse establishments all night until arriving at the epicentre of awful that was a nightclub.
Without much space, their party split into smaller groups, Natalie taking up a place not far from the bar at a small standing table with a few other friends. Matt and Dion nobly offered to get drinks and barrelled off into the crowd around the bar while Sasha and Éléonore both abandoned her in a quest to find the lavatory. Natalie was left to mope on her own, resting her chin on her laced hands.
"Hey there." A face hove into view across the table, a guy in his early twenties with his shirt unbuttoned one step beyond not looking like he loved himself a little too much. Behind him another man hovered with obvious interest. Natalie sighed. "What are you drinking babe?"
Purposefully misconstruing him, but unable to stop herself, she looked at him blankly, at the empty table, then back at him.
"Nothing." She said.
"How's about I fix that for you?" He said with a grin.
"I've got a better plan. You leave me alone and maybe you'll run into someone who is even slightly interested." She returned his grin with one of her own.
"Hey, don't be like that. I'll show you a real good time."
"Really? Are you going to catch the late showing of Fidelio at the Royal?" Natalie shook her head, "Or simulate aneurysms in a crowded oven saturated with pheromones and sweat?"
The young man looked baffled for a moment, as Natalie hoped. With any luck he would just decide she was a weirdo and leave her alone.
"You kinda lost me there." Persistent, the guy leant across the table towards her, "The name's Jayce, by the way."
"Is it now? I don't believe you, James." Natalie privately exalted at his sudden scowl – dead on.
"Jeez girl, you're feisty." He chuckled. Natalie did not like the term 'feisty'.
"Hey man." Matt, returning from the bar, spoke up from over her shoulder before Natalie could make another attempt at getting through the idiots skull, "You're barking up the wrong tree there. Wrong forest."
Matt deposited the drinks he carried on the table and stood next to Nat.
"Oh, hey, didn't know you had a boyfriend." The guy held up his hands defensively, "Fair play, man."
"Still off the money buddy." Natalie groaned inwardly, wishing Matt would just roll with it, "If you got a cute sister she might have more luck."
Natalie could see the cogs in the guy's head spinning for a moment, his expression incredulous. These days Natalie didn't really have any issues with people knowing she was gay, but she wasn't in the habit of spreading it around either. It rarely made anything easier.
"Sheesh, what a waste." The guy laughed once he had collected his thoughts, "You coulda just said." Natalie was mildly surprised – no ideas on 'joining in' or 'converting'. Maybe that only happened in crappy films?
"Yeah, I can see how I was giving off mixed messages." She rolled her eyes.
"Don't try, don't get." The guy smirked, "Have a good one, anyway." With a wave he turned away, returning to his curious friend who appeared to start quizzing him immediately.
"Thanks for that, Matt." Natalie picked up the bottle of Beck's he had brought her, "You're a regular hero."
"Hey, got him to go away, right?" Matt grinned, "Plus he thought someone like you would go out with me. Ego boost, right?"
Natalie snorted at that. Matt had no problem getting girls, a talent she envied tremendously.
"It must be nice to be straight." She said, not for the first time in her life.
"If I respond to that you'll just hit me." Matt replied.
Natalie glowered at him. Whether that was a dig about the men who seemed to flock to her in unwanted waves, or just her general uselessness when it came to romance and women she did not know, but Matt was likely to play either card. The unsympathetic sod.
They moved on to one further bar that evening, which Natalie decided was the worst for no better reason than it fitted her theory of spiralling awful. At least this time she managed to avoid being chatted up by random men, though her failure with women continued on its one hundred percent winning run.
The final stop of the night, Blue Ice, was a relatively new incarnation of a nightclub that seemed to go through similar transformations every few years. Natalie had no idea where it currently stood on the relative popularity scale of city centre clubs – they seemed to rise and fall arbitrarily, and her own lack of interest was absolute. From the outside it looked like they were attempting some sort of modern, clean motif, with lots burnished metal panels and a blue and white colour scheme in keeping with the name.
"Well, this is the fanciest public toilet I've seen in a while." Natalie muttered under her breath. Art, overhearing, simply rolled his eyes. Her friends knew her too well.
There was a queue outside of boisterous, impatient people waiting for the opportunity to hand over money and subject themselves to heat, noise and overpriced pisswater, with two bored looking bouncers half-heartedly counting people through. Obviously they hadn't had the opportunity to assault anyone yet that night.
Natalie felt slightly awkward trailing along behind Kate as she strode up to the front of the line, a handful of VIP tickets in hand, while those in the queue watched them irritably. She was a firm believer in the principal of orderly queuing, and jumping to the front was anathema to that. Society might very definitely collapse were she to keep it up.
By the time Natalie arrived at the door one of the bouncers was already holding it open while the other stood glaring at those waiting, arms folded.
"The suite is off to the right past the small bar – follow Sasha, she knows where it is." Kate said as she counted Nat through the door, obviously checking the numbers alongside the bouncer to ensure there wouldn't be any mix ups.
Natalie passed through the atrium, following on Sasha's heels as instructed, and through another set of doors into the club proper.
Despite the pretence at modernity on the exterior, the inside of the club brought about the same sinking feeling Natalie always had in such places. Polish the stainless steel all you like, it was still dark, crowded and ridiculously loud with the monotonous pounding of whatever subgenre of dance music was in favour at the moment. Natalie made no bones about her ignorance on that score.
A tug on her jacket reminded her that she only had to endure this trial long enough to reach the promised haven of the VIP suite. Sasha tried to say something to her, but to Natalie it was just lost in the cacophony. She simply shrugged and waved her friend on.
The VIP area of the club, hidden behind impenetrable velvet rope and another surly heavy, had its own section at the bar and an open space with a small dance floor and a few sofas, with three individual suites leading off from it. Kate had booked one for these for the evening, and Natalie made a beeline for it as soon as she worked out which one was theirs, ignoring the small group that was lounging in the open section, laughing uproariously at something.
The first thing Natalie noticed about the room was the noise, or the lack thereof. Heavy speakers circling the room sat almost silent, with the noise from the rest of the club noticeably muted by the presumably well insulated wall. The stifling warmth was also somewhat diminished, no doubt an effect of the room not being crammed full of humanity in all its sweaty glory.
The suite itself was fairly small, but perfectly adequate for their group, particularly when most would be out on the main dance floor a lot of the time anyway. Three big sofas sat in the centre, set around a Perspex table with bands of blue lights running across the underside. Another long chest high table ran along one wall with a set of high stools tucked beneath. A large flat screen television dominated the other side, currently showing a garish music video with the prerequisite scantily clad women gyrating around some guy with no shirt on in a club where you might be able to stick both arms out and spin in a circle without jamming your thumb up someone's nose. A music video when the music wasn't actually playing in the club - worthwhile.
"I told you you'd like it." Kate jumped her from behind, throwing her arms around her neck and sending Natalie stumbling forwards.
"You know I'm going to stay in here all night, don't you?" Natalie said with a grin, shaking her friend off.
"I know you, don't I?" Kate rolled her eyes, "This way you can tell people you're a normal, well adjusted person and went out partying for your eighteenth while at the same time being the antisocial dweeb we all know and love."
"You wound me, madam." Natalie flicked her middle finger towards her friend, "And I refute your definition of being sociable."
"Yeah, but your definition includes arguing with random people on internet message boards, so I'll pass on that one."
"People sometimes post factual inaccuracies on the internet. I can hardly let that stand, can I?" Natalie said, her expression the picture of earnestness.
"It has been known." Kate replied drily, "Aaaanyway, champagne?"
A large magnum had been left in an ice bucked on the central table, along with a set of flute glasses. Matt and Laura had already wandered over and were looking at it curiously. Laura fished the bottle out, turning it in her hands.
"Hey, Elly, is this a good one?" Matt called.
Éléonore looked over to him.
"I don't know anything about that stuff." She said in her soft accent that always made Natalie think things she really ought not to, "Racist."
"It's a positive thing!" He said, "I wish to share in your continental wisdom."
"Well," Éléonore's accent became even thicker – deliberately, Natalie suspected, "around la Rive Droite in Paris it is popular for men to duck their heads in ice water just before they go out. It enlivens the skin, they say, and women cannot resist."
Éléonore was not from Paris, Natalie knew. She had in the past, rather tetchily admitted she had been to London more often than her own capital city. But then she was probably making it all up anyway. It was hard to tell with Éléonore sometimes.
"Oh really?" Matt drawled, "Will there been swooning?"
"Not even Nat will be able to resist your charms." Éléonore said sagely.
"Now we know you're bullshitting." Dion put it. Éléonore held a hand up, index finger and thumb close. A little bit.
"Oh, I don't know. I'm thinking Matt would look great with his head soaked." Natalie offered.
Before long everyone caught on, and Matt was surrounded by friends encouraging him.
"If I do, do I get a kiss from the birthday girl?" He said hopefully.
"No dice." Natalie shook her head.
"Anyone? I need a guaranteed return on this."
Elly drily informed him that the result would be its own reward, but even Matt wasn't drunk enough yet not to have worked her out this time. After some mock back and forth negotiation, which included the threat of a kiss from Art if he refused, Matt gripped the edge of the ice bucked and plunged his head in, water pouring out as he did so. A cheer went up as he stayed under for a full ten seconds, blowing bubbles, before resurfacing, throwing his arms up in triumph. Laura hopped over and gave him a peck on the cheek – his reward – while everyone else laughed. Matt grinned broadly, water dripping from his dark hair and soaking his shirt.
"Damn, that sobered me up. Crack open that champagne!"
Dion did the honours while, gripping the cork as he did so to stop it flying away, and Natalie was on hand with her glass to stop any going to waste.
"How frugal, Nat." Tom said as he offered out his own glass. Dion ignored him, putting the magnum back into the diminished icewater bucket.
"Frugal is in vogue." Natalie replied, "And sensible shoes. True fact."
Tom took over sommelier duties and before long everyone was boasting a glass. Kate, who was always forward about such things, tapped her glass a few times with a pen to draw attention.
"Okay then, first all thanks to everyone for coming here tonight. I know the words 'Natalie' and 'party' are a pretty off combination."
"Oh thanks."
"You're welcome." Kate grinned, "So, I met Nat on the first day of primary school, and I guess we became friends or something. I don't remember much from back then, but I do remember a party where a certain dark haired little girl insisted on trying to work out how the magician was doing his tricks."
"That was my seventh." Dion laughed.
"Natalie learnt how to spoil everyone's fun at a young age." Kate continued, "So anyway, we grew up a bit, and met a few more of you reprobates. I'd invite myself around her house, drag her out to play and generally make a nuisance of myself while she developed a fine line in sarcasm and complaining, and fixed my dad's PC every other week.
"I don't think there is a person here who's never thought 'shit, I don't know – best ask Nat', so she was always a handy best friend to have. Except during PE, oh how I regretted our friendship during those tortuous sessions."
"Oh come on." Natalie said, "I'm lazy, not incompetent."
"Yeah, the perfect doubles partner, thank you very much." Kate replied, "I can just hear Mr. Chilvers yelling while you shuffle off after another ball you couldn't be bothered to run for.
"Anyway, after we moved up to high school you sods - " Kate broke off to point at Matt, Sanj and Dion, her face mock-stern, " – you ugly gits asked our little nerd princess out one too many times and drove her to the pink side. Though she's somehow conspired to be even less successful with the girls than Tom since."
It was something of a running joke that those of her friends who had asked her out in the past were responsible for her sexuality. In reality, it had never even been a consideration – the idea of dating any of them had felt so alien and wrong that she had dismissed it out of hand. She had eventually come to the conclusion the in the same way as she did most things – laboriously studying the facts and following the logic through.
Kate's speech rambled on for little longer, until people started becoming noticeably antsy, not least Natalie herself, who had always had an aversion to being the centre of attention. Finally, she cut off almost mid sentence, thrusting her glass out over the table.
"To Natalie, then. As good a friend as anyone could hope to have." For a moment, Natalie met her friend's eyes, and Kate's sincerity shone through despite the gentle teasing tone of her speech. Glasses were thrust out to meet Kate's, and her friends echoed the sentiment. Unbidden, Natalie felt a lump in her throat as she looked around at the smiling faces of her friends.
"Am I dying or something?" She asked flatly.
"That's my final surprise tonight." Kate replied.
"Oh, could we move it to before the stripper? It'd be wasted if I died of embarrassment beforehand."
"What time is that?" Art asked, quickly following up with, "I should probably know when so I can stay clear," as Madeline sent him the look.
"Yeah, staying clear sounds like fun. I'll join you for some of that." Natalie said.
"She's due at around eleven-thirty." Kate replied, before pointing at Natalie, "You I'm going to duct tape to a stool."
"It'll be Dion's eighteenth all over again." Laura said.
"You wouldn't need to tape me to a tree to see a stripper." Matt laughed. Nat grinned at the memory of Matt, too drunk to stand up, being taped to the tree in Dion's back garden and left there all night. Art, Sanj and Dion had taken a pile of left over snacks upstairs and had competed to pelt him from a window for over an hour.
Matt had been seemingly none the worse the next day, once someone had woken up and cut him down, but Dion spent the rest of the weekend picking sausage rolls and bits of quiche out of his mums flower beds.
After champagne had been drunk and Natalie had been the butt of a sufficient number of jokes many of her friends decided to venture out on to the dance floor. Sanj offered to get her a drink while she fiddled with a controller she had found for one of the flatscreen televisions. Eventually she found a Blackadder repeat – a vast improvement, she felt – but couldn't work out how to get the sound to play through the imposing speakers.
Laura kept her company over the next hour, along with a steady rotation of other friends taking a break from the dance floor. At one point one of the haggard looking guys who liked to tell people they were barmen but were actually just shepherds of empty glasses came around with a tray of snacks. Crisps and dips. VIP treatment indeed.
She ventured out of the suite once to get a round of drinks. Feeling like a gallant adventurer, she went as far as the rope that cordoned off the communal VIP area from the rest of the club, stopping briefly to snigger at Tom and Sasha, who seemed to be competing to see who could manage the crappiest looking dance. Obviously she would blow them both out of the water on that scale, but she had always taken her complete inability to dance as a suggestion that she should not bother.
She was forced to fend off another smirking lothario at the bar, some thirty year old who thought she would be impressed if he tried to pay for everything, and she and Éléonore both were propositioned on the short walk back to the suite as they passed by those in the communal area of the VIP section. Natalie was glad to able to duck back into her haven.
As the minutes ticked by – of which she was acutely aware, being unable to avoid checking her watch constantly – Natalie found herself growing more nervous. The alcohol helped a little, though she had never been a particularly heavy drinker and always went through them quite slowly. She wished she could just calm down and enjoy herself, like any normal eighteen year old on her birthday, without the sword of Damocles that was the stripper hanging over the night.
It wasn't as though she didn't like the idea of looking at naked women – she liked the general principle very much indeed. The idea of doing it in public, surrounded by other people, with a woman who was paid to be there and had no interest at all in Natalie was not one she relished in the slightest.
She was sat alone in the suite, staring morosely at the silent antics of Rowan Atkinson et al on the wall mounted television when she felt a tap on the shoulder.
"Hi there."
Looking away from the silent screen, she turned her head, her eyes widening. Was this...?
"My name's Amy." The woman was...incredible. Her large green eyes were warm, her pale skin flawless and her gentle smile friendly and inviting. Her black hair reached a little past her shoulders, and she wore a sunflower hair clip at her left temple. Her makeup was very light and her clothes were more casual than most in the club, though the navy blue t-shirt and jacket still showed her slim figure and clung tight across her chest. "I was told to ask for Kate? Kate Weaver?"
"I...I'm not sure where she's gone." Natalie managed to find her tongue after a moment, trying not to stare, "Dance? I mean, dance floor. She's probably on the dance floor." Oh god, she was blushing now, she could feel it.
"I am a little early I suppose." Amy said, now looking a little amused, "You wouldn't happen to be the birthday girl, would you?"
"Uhm, yes, but this was all Kate's idea." She said quickly, "Ah, I don't mean to be rude! It's just..."
"Don't worry, it's fine!" The young woman laughed, "I understand. Just try to enjoy yourself, hey?"
All evening she had been dreading this moment, but now faced with the woman herself Natalie felt a faint thrill running through her. Kate had been spot on with one thing at least; Amy was definitely her type.
"Sorry I didn't get more dolled up." Amy gestured at her clothes, "I was in labs really late. Kate said you'd prefer something like this anyway."
"Labs?" Natalie asked, feeling dazed.
"I'm a med student at the Uni." Amy said cheerfully. Natalie stared at her as if she were speaking some foreign language, "Yeah, not many people believe me when I say that."
They were interrupted then by the return of Kate.
"Hi hi!" She carried two drinks, one some bizarrely coloured cocktail and the other a bottle of dry cider. She passed the cider to Natalie, and turned to face the new arrival, "You must be Amy."
"The very same – Kate, right?"
"Yes indeed. Also wow, I thought you might have touched up those photos a bit, but you look even better in the flesh." Damn Kate, it was so easy for her. Well, she wasn't gay and lusting hard, but still. Not fair.
"That's nice of you to say. Post the same on my site, hey?" The stripper slash student grinned, "You never mentioned the birthday girl was such a hottie though!"
"I know, it's totally unfair. You should see how the guys moon after her at college."
"I can imagine."
"I'm still here." Natalie muttered, "And they do not moon."
"There is definite mooning. I've seen it." Kate nodded firmly, "I should introduce you, shouldn't I? Amy, this is Natalie de la Ren, birthday girl and tragic lesbian. Nat, this is Amy Munroe, exotic dancer extraordinaire, and future surgical consultant."
"Tragic?" Natalie protested, while simultaneously considering the aptness of that description.
"Consultant?" Amy said at the same moment, before shooting a we're-in-this-one-together grin Natalie's way.
"Right, now you've got something to talk about! I'll just go and grab you a drink Amy, be right back."
In a whirl Kate was gone, leaving Natalie staring forlornly after her. So she was alone. Alone with a beautiful woman who was soon going to be taking her clothes off and...doing things.
"So, she's..."
"Infuriating, yes." Natalie finished for her.
"I was going to say interesting, but we'll go with that." Amy replied, "So, do you have any special requests for tonight?" Natalie mentally shied away from the emphasis she put on the word special.
"Do you have Kerplunk?" She said.
Amy laughed. "Oh god, I haven't played that since games day at school when I was ten," still smiling, she shook her head, "Way to throw off my sexy routine, Natalie."
"I'm well experienced at removing all things sexual from my life."
"Well anyway, I'm serious." Amy gave another bright smile, and stepped in a little closer to Natalie, "Tonight I'm just here for you."
Natalie was acutely aware of the invasion of her personal space, the green eyes hovering so close to her own, of lips curved upwards and slightly parted, of dark fabric stretched taut across full, high...
Tearing her eyes away, Natalie took a step back, face flushed. She was usually better than this, much better. She was master at not reacting to girls she found attractive, of self sabotaging any romantic prospects she might have before they could even spark. Not that staring, blushing and tripping over her tongue was likely to be a successful plan of attack either.
"Just...whatever you decide. I'm not too experienced at this kind of thing, you know."
"Right you are, skipper." Amy said, "Satisfaction guaranteed."
Natalie somehow doubted there was any way she could be satisfied by this kind of environment, however pretty and smart Amy might be. If anything, that only served to personalise it, and make it even more uncomfortable and embarrassing.
Taking a drink, Natalie diverted her eyes once more to the safety of her silent television screen. Amy settled down in the chair next to her, and after a few moments began filling in the dialogue along with the actors on screen. Surprised, and a little emboldened by alcohol, Natalie joined in. Soon she was providing the words for Blackadder, while Amy would play the Prince, Baldrick or whoever else might be on screen, all punctuated by one or other of them descending into a giggling fit.
Eventually their silliness was broken up by the returning Laura.
"Hi there." Natalie jumped at the voice from just over her shoulder, "You two seem to be getting along well."
Natalie craned her neck to see Laura standing over her, looking amused. Amy stood up to greet her.
"I guess you must be Amy?" Laura said.
"That I am, it's nice to meet you...?" She replied.
"Laura - LHJ to most of this lot." She offered a hand, "I think you may have discovered the secret of getting Natalie to come out of her shell a bit."
"I knew that an encyclopaedic knowledge of Blackadder would come in handy one day."
"Yeah, no wonder it was a secret so long in the finding."
Kate arrived back shortly after with Amy's drink – one of those fruit juices that were like normal fruit juice but in a glass bottle and six times the price – and others starting arriving back from the dance floor. Amy met with universal approval, obviously, and she was soon talking amongst them as though she was just one of the group. Matt, being Matt, tried hitting on her almost immediately, but was rebuffed in possibly the worst way Natalie could conceive.
"I'm all Natalie's tonight." Her simple statement had brought raucous laughter and, irritatingly, a warm feeling to go alongside the intense embarrassment.
Once everyone had gathered once again in the suite, and Madeline, Art and Sasha had taken their leave, Amy vanished to a back room to prepare. Feeling like she was being strapped in for an execution, Natalie allowed her friends to guide her into one of the low armchair type seats that faced the large television, which someone had repositioned into the centre of the suite.
"You're going to break that chair holding on so tight." LHJ murmured. Natalie looked down at where she clung on to the arms in a death grip, her knuckles white.
"Man up Nat, it's no wonder you haven't got a girlfriend if this has you quaking." Tom laughed, "I reckon she fancies you – you should make a move."
"Definitely." Éléonore echoed soberly.
"Please shut up – not helping." As if she even knew how to make a move, and on someone paid to pretend she was interested no less.
Her friends sport was brought to a premature end as the speakers in the suite lurched into life, echoing the main floor of the club, although at less ear splitting volumes. Despite herself, Natalie's eyes were drawn to the doorway through which Amy had retreated minutes ago.
She had changed clothes. A white button up shirt had replaced the blue, and a dark green tie gave a school uniform like appearance. Long socks reached up beyond her knees, leaving a small band of pale thigh bare below the hemline of her dark skirt. Natalie did not have a schoolgirl fetish, she assured herself furtively, but her heart hammered in her chest at the appearance and a heat danced in her stomach.
Somehow, she dragged her eyes from Amy's smooth legs, the shirt straining across her chest, to that lovely face. Amy's eyes locked on to hers immediately, apparently already fixed upon her, and she began to saunter across the room, her hips swaying smoothly as she did so. Right up to her. Natalie had to remind herself to breathe.
Her friends called out appreciatively as Amy stopped directly in front of Natalie and slowly leant forward, bringing her head alongside Natalie's. Her eyes were left directly level with the stripper's impressive chest straining the white fabric of her shirt, with the tie hanging down the middle. Her brain function reduced to an alarmed bureaucrat shouting in one dark corner of her mind while lust took over the desk space.
"Happy birthday." Amy whispered softly into her ear, and Natalie let out a small whimper as the young woman took a step back, twirling as she did so.
Natalie's only previous experience with strippers had been on television; the faceless backdrop to a group of male protagonists discussing important man business that required seedy environs, or the poor single mother with a heart of gold trying to provide for her daughter. There never seemed to be any other kind.
Amy was not at all like that. As she danced and spun inches from the rigid Natalie she was certain that it would be impossible for her to be a faceless backdrop, no chance that she would slope home to a squalid trailer and put on a cheery front for some whinging brat.
It was easy to be dismissive of things when they weren't half straddling you and smiling in a way that made your brain shut down.
After a few minutes of full clothed – such as it was – dancing, which alone delivered Natalie more touches from a girl than she had received in her entire life, Amy suddenly dropped to her knees between her legs, placing her own arms on Natalie's. As if on cue – and it probably was – the music volume dropped noticeably.
"So, are you ready for the real show?" The beautiful woman stared up into Natalie's eyes as she spoke, soft and suggestive. If this hadn't been the real show, she definitely wasn't ready for that. She'd die of…something.
Somewhere in another world, someone called out encouragement, but Amy's eyes never wavered from Natalie. Slowly, she began to rise, her face coming within inches of Natalie's, and a crazy voice in the back of her head demanded that she kiss her. Fortunately, the rest of her mind thought that was an insane idea.
Standing fully, Amy's hands went to her neck, and in a few practiced tugs she had pulled her tie loose. Smiling seductively, her eyes still locked firmly on Natalie's, she began to undo the top few buttons of her shirt.
The shirt was obviously too small, and was forced open as the buttons gave way, exposing the swell of Amy's incredible chest. Natalie had always appreciated that particular aspect of the female anatomy, and Amy's was well worth appreciating.
So enraptured was she that she did not notice Amy looping her ties around her neck until she was pulled firmly forward, her face plunging directly into the stripper's exposed cleavage.
Natalie knew what breasts felt like. She did. She had her own which were perfectly adequate thank you very much. So she knew.
Apparently she had no idea, though admittedly it was her first experience using her face.
Firm yet yielding flesh, perfectly smooth and warm, pressed against her, overloading her with sensations, many of which focussed sharply in the pit of her stomach. She stopped breathing, too overwhelmed to continue with her most basic functions. The blood rushed to her face in what would surely been the worlds brightest blush once she was released from her glorious prison.
Still holding her tight against her, Amy swayed a little, and Natalie swayed with her, before the tie around her neck slackened. Like dead weight, Natalie fell back, her small pinkish white wonderland expanding once more into a woman. Blearily, she lifted her eyes to Amy once more.
In an instant, the young woman's bright face fell, and her eyes widened in concern. Vaguely, Natalie noticed that Amy's white shirt was no longer so pristine.
In what seemed like only a moment, Natalie found a beige towel being thrust into her face as Amy took a step back, all dancing now having ceased. Tearing her eyes away, she turned questioningly to the person accosting her as her brain functions slowly began coming back online.
"Shit, trust you Nat." Kate said, shaking her head and chuckling, "Should have told her to go a bit easier on you, eh?"
"Wha?" Natalie mumbled vaguely.
"You've got a monster nosebleed going on there girl." Dion said from over her shoulder in his typically loud voice.
"And no wonder!" Kate exclaimed, before addressing Amy, "You've got amazing boobs. They've broken her."
Absurdly, Amy blushed a little herself at that, looking abashed. Other voices piped up echoing Kate's words.
As Natalie began coming back to herself she took the hand towel from Kate, holding it tight to her face. LHJ tapped her on the shoulder.
"You're looking a little hot and bothered – want to get some air?"
Natalie could have hugged her friend for the simple offer, were she not preoccupied with trying to stem the blood gushing from her face. Nodding furtively, she stood with jelly legs, Kate offering her a hand, before half staggering after LHJ towards the back of the VIP room.
A set of double doors opened out into a narrow corridor with bathrooms on either side. Laura strode past, pushing open the rear fire-doors.
A wave of fresh air his Natalie and she realised all at once just how stuffy the club had become, even in their little hiding hole away from most of the other clientele.
She followed LHJ out into a small open patio bordered by a high chain link fence, a tarpaulin overhang extending out from the club offering shelter in the event of rain. Beyond there was a little drop where the hill sloped away, affording a view of sorts out across the city.
"Come on, sit down." LHJ put a hand on her shoulder, guiding Natalie to a narrow bench. Beside it sat an ashtray on a narrow pedestal, almost overflowing with cigarette butts.
Natalie sat down heavily and tilted her head back, pinching at her nose through the towel.
"How are you feeling?"
"Like an idiot." Natalie said glumly, "Just how stupid do I need to look tonight before the picture is complete?"
"Ah, don't whine. We wouldn't take the piss so much if you didn't worry about it so much."
"If I didn't worry about it so much I might not be an eighteen year old virgin sitting outside a club on the smokers bench with a towel wedged up my nose." Natalie replied.
LHJ seemed to consider this for a moment.
"Fair point." She said eventually with a nod, "Still, you must have enjoyed it a bit? The lads were pretty much drooling over her."
Natalie attempted to give her a withering look, but Laura just rolled her eyes in response. It was difficult to argue that she had received no gratification at all, what with her quite obvious reaction.
"Net enjoyment was negative." She muttered eventually.
"Haha, I knew you liked her." LHJ laughed, clapping her on the shoulder.
Laura sat out with her for a little while, gently ribbing her, before heading back inside to get her a drink. Natalie was enjoying the fresh air, albeit tinged with the odour of iron, and had a long way to go to get fully cooled off.
Somewhere in the distance she could hear an ambulance siren blaring into the darkness. The traditional sounds of the city centre on a Saturday night.
"Hey."
Still holding the towel to her nose, though she knew it was no longer bleeding, Natalie glanced up. LHJ had betrayed her.
Mercifully Amy had put her shirt and jacket back on, though it didn't really help to dampen her attraction. She held out a bottle of water and a beer, both of which Natalie had asked Laura to get for her.
"You finished fast." Natalie replied, taking the water with her free hand and placing it down beside her, before going back for the beer.
"Well, like I said, I'm here for you tonight. There's no point carrying on if you're out here, is there?" Amy said with a tentative smile.
Natalie looked at her incredulously for a moment, trying to gauge whether she was really serious.
"I guess you've had enough dancing for tonight?" Amy asked, and Natalie nodded wearily, "I'm sorry. It's been a bit of a mess, hasn't it?"
"It's not your fault," Natalie shook her head, "It's me, really. I can't just, you know, relax and enjoy things. I always end up getting nervous, or embarrassed or something and make an idiot of myself."
"No, you didn't make an idiot of yourself." Amy said, surprisingly firmly, "I don't think I'd be cool with someone dancing for me either. I mean, I dance myself, but that's just a job, you know?" She sighed, "I don't really know how to say it."
"It's just a job." Natalie nodded, "That's it really. It's pretend."
Amy nodded, then dropped down to sit next to Natalie on the cold bench.
"That's totally cool. Weird as it might be, coming from someone who does what I do, that's how I'd look at it too."
On reflection, Natalie didn't really think it was that weird. She always assumed most strippers held distain or contempt for their clients, so why would they want to be the person on the other side?
Not that the idea of Amy holding her in contempt cheered her up much.
Sighing softly, Natalie took a long swig of her beer, awkwardly poking the bottle beneath the towel covering the lower half of her face.
"If you're still bleeding now you might want to let me take a look at it." Amy said, cocking her head to one side, her expression amused.
"Don't you worry yourself, Doctor Munroe." Natalie lowered the bloody towel, wincing at the sight. "I'm not a haemophiliac."
"Are you feeling better now?" Amy eyed the towel doubtfully as she asked.
"I'm fine. Really." Natalie said, "It was just a nosebleed."
"Right, sorry. I'm just a bit shaky I guess; this is the first time I've had a reaction like that."
"You've not danced for many emotionally repressed lesbians then." Natalie grumbled.
"Hardly any." Amy agreed, "To be honest, I've never danced for anyone as interesting as you."
Natalie felt her jaw drop, and she hurriedly turned away to stare out through the chain link fence as her cheeks coloured for what seemed to be the thousandth time that night.
Interesting. She wasn't sure what a fluttering heart was meant to feel like, but something in her reacted to Amy's words. She would never forgive herself if she started acting like a lovesick idiot from a nauseating teen soap.
They ended up sitting out on the smokers patio for the best part of half an hour, idly chatting away the night. Despite Kate's best efforts, she still felt more comfortable sat out in the open air with thumping sound of the club barely audible than inside even the private VIP room. She was, however, a little suspicious about none of her friends coming out to check on her.
"I think Kate's hoping I'll hit on you. Or you'll hit on me. Or something." Amy said thoughtfully when Natalie commented.
"She knows me better than to think I could manage that." Natalie snorted.
"According to you." Amy grinned, "Let's say, hypothetically, if you weren't as useless as you say you are, would you try and hit on me?"
Natalie wondered vaguely if that were some sort of trick question. Had she not just been suffering from an arousal induced nosebleed?
"My social ineptitude prevents me from answering that question." She replied dully, "It's forbidden."
"Forbidden?"
"Right. Forbidden." Natalie held up her bottle of water and found it empty, "And on that note, I should probably head back inside before everyone forgets what this gathering was even about in the first place."
"I suppose you're right." Amy sounded almost disappointed, "I should probably head off too, let you actually enjoy your night."
"I've enjoyed this, out here." Natalie said quickly, "I mean, it's been nice just sitting out and talking. But I'm boring like that."
"Me too." Amy smiled again, "Hey, could I borrow your phone a sec?"
"Er...sure." Taking it from her pocket, she activated the screen and tapped in her passcode before handing it over. Amy took it with exaggerated care.
"Oh damn, I'm useless with the touch screen things." She said glumly, holding the phone in one hand and jabbing at it with one tentative finger after another.
"You got an old fashioned one?"
Amy nodded. "Couple of old Nokias. I can live without the carrying the internet around wherever I go." Finishing whatever she was doing, Amy passed Natalie's phone back. She quickly glanced at the screen to check what had happened – a number had been called, then hung up.
"My number." Amy filled in helpfully, "Of my actual phone, not the one on the website."
Natalie started blankly at her, her mind supplying and dismissing reasons why the other woman would do such a thing.
"It's been a weird night, but kinda fun. I just thought, if you want, we could meet up sometime." Amy smiled brightly at her, as though she didn't know how beautiful she was and the effect it had on her. As though Natalie hadn't already bled everywhere to show that.
"Meet up?"
Amy shrugged.
"I don't know, just go to a coffee house of something. Hang out." She spread her arms, "Just a thought. If the stripping stuff or whatever is too much there's no obligation."
"I hate coffee." Smooth, Natalie.
"I'll buy you a muffin." Amy looked a little embarrassed herself now, "Anyway, enough of that. We were going back inside, right."
"Inside. Right." Natalie said glumly.
Amy stood up and extended a hand, an open, warm expression on her face. Natalie tentatively took the hand, her skin tingling at the older girl's touch and her breath hitching slightly. Once she regained her feet Amy grinned at her but didn't release her hand, instead tugging her back towards the door to the club. The exit of this strange dream interlude to her life.
She felt an almost palpable loss when, upon returning to the VIP room, Amy released her hand and stepped away. Quickly, she drowned the emotion in irritation at herself for being so easily overwhelmed by the other woman's presence. If there was one thing Natalie was good at, it was drumming up some self-loathing at short notice.
Most of her friends were still loitering in the suite, and all eyes had turned their way. Matt was positively leering.
The rest of the night progressed in a state of constant embarrassment, but Natalie enjoyed herself nonetheless. She bore the insinuations about what she and Amy had been up to outside – pitched at various levels of subtlety – the jokes about her nosebleed and anything else they could come up with. It was how birthdays went. She was just as merciless when on the other side.
Amy stayed around for a while, seemingly surprised by how keen everyone was for her to remain, as if beautiful, charming women weren't welcome at any party they found themselves at. Natalie couldn't help but feel happy about it, however much it intensified her embarrassment. Éléonore and Art were particularly ruthless, the former even going so far as to give Amy advice on how she should go about seducing Natalie. As if 'existing' didn't pretty much cover the requirements for that task. Amy took it all in good spirits, her own answers mischievously evasive.
It had gone two when the student stripper left, pleading exhaustion, to warm farewells. She gave Natalie a quick hug before she went, playing merry havoc with her head once again.
"I hope you'll call," Amy whispered just before she pulled away.
The rest of the blessedly short time they spent in the club passed in almost a blur. Natalie's mind was elsewhere entirely, and the long day and slow but steady alcohol consumption formed an unholy alliance to dull her senses further.
The night concluded with an unsteady procession away from the club, briefly delayed by Dion, Matt and Cathy's insatiable desire for alleged meat product in pita bread, followed by a minicab out of town. Natalie quite contentedly fell asleep in the back, to be shaken awake by Kate when they arrived at her house.
"This is you, Nat," her friend flicked her forehead, and Natalie swatted at her hand.
"I'm awake, I'm awake," with a groan, she pushed herself up, blinking blearily.
"You look out of it." Kate grinned, "Enjoy yourself?"
"Oh, shut up you." Natalie climbed out of the cab, "How much is the fare?"
"Don't worry about it," Kate waved her off, "I'll speak to you in the morning, when you look less like a zombie."
"I'm most of the way drunk and tired."
"Yeah, I'm sure that's it." Kate gave her an infuriatingly knowing smile, and slid the door shut before Natalie could formulate a reply. She settled for sticking her middle finger up at her. Ha! She was on top form.
Once inside her dark and silent house Natalie could barely find the energy to change. She forced herself to brush her teeth, but the shower would have to wait for the morning.
She was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, the last thought that crossed her mind that which had dominated it for the latter part of evening. A beautiful, dark haired young woman with the brightest, most brilliant eyes. Smiling; smiling at her.
Author's Note:
Not fantasy (other than Amy, who totally is…). I'd say this is a two parter, but that might imply I'll finish it at some point, which would be silly.