Dance Till I Die (gxg) ✓

"Blue Bouncy Explosion"

MAVIS

                        The man's dark eyes shone under the shadow of the bar. "How about I take you out for drinks tonight?" 

                         "Sorry, sir," Mavis said. "You're a handsome man, and any girl would be lucky to have you, but it's not professional. Here's the shrimp and caviar you ordered."

                        She set the tray down, and his eyes narrowed.

                       "What if I could pay you more than they could?"

                       They―as in the country club. Her daytime job. This waitressing shift might give her nothing but minimum wage, and yet―

                       "No, thank you, sir," Mavis said. 

                       He leaned in closer to her, and even sitting down, he towered over her. He cut a striking figure against the expensive granite bar, with the dimmed chandeliers, but Mavis knew him for what he was: a pompous, entitled, arrogant prick.

                      There was no shortage of them here.

                      The problem was that they never failed to make her hands shake. Reminding her of him. His name had been Evan, and she had had a crush on him for her entire childhood.

                      "Oh, honey, come on," he chuckled. "I heard from my boys that you're a . . . how should I put it? A dancer. Just let me take you out for drinks, and I won't report you for inappropriate conduct."

                      "What I do outside of work is nobody's business."

                      "It will be," he whispered, leaning in. His breath reeked of the martini in front of him. "Oh, it will be. I heard you're a lesbian too."

                      Mavis froze. How could he know that?

                      The only people she had told were her friends―Desire and Ruby―and Robin.

                      "That is also none of your concern," Mavis said, but her voice faltered.

                      Like a viper, he latched onto that weakness. 

                      "One drink, honey," he slurred. "Just one. I'll change your mind."

                      "I said no,"  Mavis said. Right now, she didn't feel powerful. She didn't feel capable of conquering the world with nothing but a lilt of her hips.

                      How was it that men always had the ability to make her feel this way?

                      Small. Worthless. Inconsequential.

                      It was easy to promise herself―to say, I don't have to feel this way. But here, now, in the presence of someone rich and powerful, who had told her he could change her mind, how could she feel like anything more than a piece of ass?

                      "Is someone giving you a hard time, darling?"

                      Mavis stumbled back.

                      There was Robin, with her short, chin-length red hair. She lifted her chin, pointing a crooked finger at the man.

                      "Mr. Rotundo," she said, raising a brow. "I hope you're not giving our dear Mavis a hard time. She's very precious to me, you see."