Scenes From Space

Chapter Five: A Lead

Author's Note: Hey readers who have made it this far! Thank you! This project started as my Nanowrimo 2020 piece, I did not make to 50,000 words in November... I've since surpassed that goal. Feedback is always welcome and encouraged (Seriously, please tell me if I should make edits).  I hope you've enjoyed reading this and continue to enjoy reading. Scenes From Space has been a blast to write. 

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"Heya, Handsome," I flirted with Graham.

"You killed it out there, Baby," he said back. I hated the nickname. I did not care that he didn't mean it. He put a third neon drink on a tray for me and leaned over the bar. "Table 18," he said with a soft kiss on my cheek. I lifted the tray up over my shoulder and set off towards the table. I was suddenly so thankful for the waitress experience I had from Earth.

Table 18 was on the middle level of the second floor. Level one was lower than that of the stage. Level two was at the same height as the stage but further away. Level three was higher still and held the bar. The first floor of the Dance House was for casual drinking and dining. And the third was housing units.

"You gentlemen order some drinks?" I asked with a smile. My thighs were immensely sore but I lowered my knees so I could slide the tray onto the table. I looked over the three alien men. They all seemed to be Waseatryn, with their blue skin and claws. One of them had purple fur running over his exposed skin. The other two had grey hair on their heads.

"Well, hello there," one with grey hair said. He flashed me a smile. He had two fangs in his mouth. The lights flashed red and I held back a shudder. Fangs, red lights, pain...

"Your routine was fantastic," the furred one said. I slid the drinks off the tray and onto the table.

"Thank you, Sir," I said.

"And so polite too," the last one complimented. I smiled shyly and moved the tray behind my back so I popped out my chest towards them. I used my tech eye to capture a picture of them.

"Do you need anything else?" I asked.

"Not just yet, but, we'll be sure to ask for you if we do," the furred one said. I gave a nod and turned back to the bar.

I made a few more drink runs before I managed to talk to Graham again. We had our breaks scheduled at the same time and we grabbed waters and sat down at a private table on the sand.

"I've never felt so proud of myself for doing a good job and been so disgusted at being objectified," I said. The dark waves rolled in and out over the black sand.

"I've had three customers grab my ass," Graham said. I took a long drink.

"You overhear anything?" I asked.

Graham shook his head and asked, "You?" I shook my head back. "Those three Waseatryns, that I sent you to first, are apparently big fish."

"Good to know. They didn't do anything besides compliment me. We can talk about bugging them if they come back tomorrow," I said. We sat in silence for the rest of our break. I looked up at the glowing port and the moon behind it. I looked at the reflection of both objects in the ocean. It was so close to home and it just wasn't.

I collapsed onto the bed a little later. My feet hurt. My thighs hurt. My face hurt from smiling so much. Graham had claimed first shower. So I laid on the bed and just felt the pain for a bit. After a few minutes of feeling sorry for myself, I sat up and unlatched the heels. I set the mask down on the bedside table before sliding off the bed. My arches protested but I needed pjs. I chewed one of the teeth pills and pulled a large t-shirt and a pair of shorts from my bag. I set them beside me and waited for Graham to be finished.

I took my time in the shower while Graham submitted a report. When I was clean and changed, I came back out into the room and climbed into bed. There had been zero discussion about the bed or sharing or taking the floor and that was fine. I arranged my two pillows so I could rest my head on one, and hug the other. I turned my back to Graham and laid down on my side, the light blanket pulled up to my waist.

"Night," I said quietly.

"Night," he said back.

The flashing of my com woke me. I pulled the wristlet over and tapped once. The holographic message materialized. It was a message from Ben and simply asked, 'Alive?' 

I pulled the keyboard and sent back an equally simple, 'Yes.' I slid from the bed, careful to not wake-up my bedmate. 

By the time I was dressed in a casual outfit and had cleaned my teeth, the latest message from Ben had popped up on my com. 'Good.' 

I softly snorted and left the room to explore some breakfast options. A couple girls were in the communal kitchen. They were all dressed in pajamas and looked like Victoria Secret models at an AirBnB before the swimsuit shoot.

"Morning," I greeted with a yawn.

"Hey, excellent first show," the blonde girl said. "I'm Alexi."

"Breanna," said the black-haired girl.

"Deana," The red head said.

"Gen," I said back to them. "Sorry I didn't get a chance to introduce myself yesterday."

"No worries," Deana said. "We've all been through it."

"That new bartender yours," Alexi asked.

I nodded, "We're from Baltuu. The price for Human partner certificates are astronomical so we're here to try to earn that."

"I hear that," Breanna said. "My gal and I have been trying to buy a house an island over for a year now. The Human price just keeps going up." Graham stumbled into the kitchen and threw his metal arm over my shoulders. He pressed his lips against my temple. I forced myself to lean into him.

"Morning," I said. "Greg, meet Deana, Breanna, and Alexi." There was an awkward moment where everyone waved at each other and looked each other over in silence.

"Food?" I eventually asked. The three girls showed us around the kitchen and we helped them to make pancakes and heat up some protein slabs that resembled ham.

After breakfast there was rehearsal, then another meal, and then Dance House opened. There was a group burlesque number. Then I performed a solo routine to the wonderfully cliché, Pour Some Sugar On Me. I wondered if the aliens knew how overdone it was. The three Waseatryns were back at the same table. I strolled back over with their drinks.

"Welcome back," I said, setting the tray down and slid a bug under the table. "What'd you think about the show tonight?"

"I think that you could wear a little less," the one with fangs said. I couldn't. I didn't want anyone to take notice of the tattoos.

I faked a giggle and lied, "I could be motivated to wear less."

"Take a look at the board, sweetheart," the furred one said. My tip slot lit up and the number went up quite a bit.

"You coming back tomorrow, to see what that tip bought you, Sir?" I asked, leaning in a little bit to flirt with the furred alien.

"Dameryn. I like the Sir but I think I paid you enough to call me by name," he said.

"Yes Sir, Dameryn, Sir," I responded with a smirk.

"Sense of humor, I like that," the last one said. I sent a wink his way.

"I'll be back in a while to check on you guys," I said and went back to the bar. I held back a shiver at the sensation of alien eyes on me as I walked away. 

When I picked up another round of drinks for a different table, Graham nodded at me to let me know the bug was recording as planned. I made a metal note to pick up some skin patches so I could cover up my tattoos tomorrow.