In Tears [h.s]

9. Burlesque

"Just like this?” I asked. I leaned in to kiss him, stopping myself just before our lips met. He wanted to kiss me, I know he did, but that’s part of the fun. I pushed him away and ran back into the bedroom. “We were having a moment there,” he complained.  I sighed.
 
“a moment is a moment,” I explained, “and it’s passed now,”. He sighed and sat on the bed.
 
“But a moment is so much more than that,” he said, “a moment means everything,”.
 
“we’re going on a date, for god’s sake,” I rolled my eyes, “we’ll have plenty more,”.
 
“But the first one has been ruined,” he said. I sat beside him, messing with my hands anxiously.
 
“Harry Hun, it’s in the past now, and you can’t change it,” I said, “like Timon says, you’ve got to put the past behind you, and move on, there’ll be plenty more, I'm sorry,”.
 
He smiled and took my hand. “It’s okay,” he said.
 
“Now I'd like to get changed,” I said, “my clothes stink of weed,”.
 
“Oh sure,” he got up and left the room.
 
I put on my playlist and changed into clean clothes. I put the others into a plastic carrier bag and started dancing along to the music. To be honest; I've never had a connection with music, it’s just been a lot of noise, but when this one song plays, I need to dance to it. It’s a must. I connected my phone to the speaker and played the song on the loudest setting.
 
The sweet sound of Little Mix’s voices played loud through the house, an uplifting vibe just taking over me. I pulled out the worst dance moves in the world, but I really didn’t care. I started singing along to the parts that I knew, although I wasn't really paying attention to the lyrics.
 
“What is that noise?” Louis asked, coming out of his room. He followed the music to my room and stood in the door frame. I turned around in my prancing and saw him watching me. He laughed, “what are you listening to?”.
 
“It’s Heartbreak Anthem by Little Mix,” I smiled, “how much of that did you see?”. I now felt super embarrassed.
 
“Not much,” he said, “me and the lads are going to South Beach happy hour later if you want to come,”.
 
“There’s a rave on later isn’t there?” I asked.
 
“that’s why I hang out with you,” he said, “i didn’t even know there was a rave,”.
 
“Yeah, I've got a couple of friends who live here,” I said. I didn’t have friends out here – well I did, but I hardly spoke to them anymore. It was Sheldon who told me about the rave, I don’t know why, or how he knew, but he did.
 
“All of this trip has been parties, bars, drinks,” he said.
 
“The rock star life?” I asked, “parties, bars, drinks, girls,”.
 
“Yeah, I guess,” he realised, “don’t have a girl though,”.
 
“You never know,” I winked at him.
 
“But you're going on a date with Harry!?” he said.
 
“Oh, I know,” I said, “but you never know what the future holds,”.
 
“you’re probably right,” he said, “so are you going or what?”.
 
“of course!” I said, “what do you think I'm dressed like this for?”.
 
He looked me up and down. I was wearing a pair of tight skinny jeans and a bikini top. “You look you’re going to some saloon party,” he said, “not a beach rave,”.
 
“it's called fashion,” I said, “and I'll wear what I want thank you very much,”.
 
“Just put a jacket on,” he said.
 
“Who says I'm going to this beach rave with you anyway?” I asked. I grabbed my phone, wallet and jacket and left the room.
 
“Whoa whoa, where are you going?” Harry asked me.
 
“Somewhere,” I said. I glanced at my reflection in the mirror before going into the kitchen.
 
“I thought you were coming with us,” he said.
 
“Harry,” I sighed, “I have things to do, places to be, my life isn’t all sex, drugs and alcohol like yours is, I have a job to do,”.
 
“i forgot you were working,” he said.
 
I grabbed my purse from the side and left the house. I walked down the street and started to wait for a bus. I looked at the bus times and looked for the next bus into Miami. ‘No busses here on saturday’. That's when I decided to call a cab.
 
“Where to?” the driver asked.
 
“South beach,” I said. The driver locked eyes with me in the mirror. She had sparkling green eyes and her lips were painted a classic red. She had curled brown hair that was styled so it was out of her face. She wore a black hat over one side of her head and her eyeliner was shaped into a wing. She was wearing jeans and a tight corset like top.
 
“is this your last ride?” I asked.
 
“Yeah,” she said, “by day I’m a cab driver, by night I’m a burlesque dancer,”.
 
“Wow,” I said, “that’s so cool,”.
 
“I initially wanted to do cabaret, but I found it boring,” she said, “this is so much fun, I love it,”.
 
“You must have a fantastic body,” I said.
 
“Oh, thank you,” she blushed.
 
“Do you sing?” I asked.
 
“Not me,” she said, “Although I’d like to,”.
 
“oh cool,” I said.
 
“Where are you going to?” she asked.
 
“I don’t know,” I admitted, “just needed to get away from the group of boys I’m staying with,”.
 
“I get it,” she said, “why don’t you come to the club? I can get you in for cheap,”.
 
“I’d love to,” I said. I couldn’t tell whether this was flirting or not, but I liked it.
 
“can I get your name?” she smiled.
 
“Tallulah,” I smiled back.
 
“Sarah,” she said.
 
“you’re gorgeous,” I said.
 
“So are you,” she winked in the mirror.
 
“so you can sing?” I asked.
 
“Yeah,” she said, “Although I don’t get to do it much, I don’t think my boss even knows I can sing,”.
 
“what kind of music do you sing?” I asked.
 
“any to be honest,” she said, “I really like the musical stuff like hairspray and grease, but then I listen to pop rock,”.
 
“Oh yeah,” I said, “you ever heard of Digitus?”.
 
“who hasn’t,” she said.
 
“what’s your favourite song of theirs?” I asked.
 
“I like that one, um, she’s so lovely,” she said.
 
“oh yeah, I’ve heard that one,” I said.
 
“I’ll tell you one band I love,” she said, “Little Mix,”.
 
 “oh yeah,” I tried to hide my smile, “what’s your favourite?”.
 
“jade,” she said, “I love jade, she’s so hot,”.
 
“I meant song or album,” I laughed, “but I guess that works,”.
 
“oh my favourite song is wasabi, no doubt,” she said, “or confetti,”.
 
“I love confetti,” I said, “the saweetie feature just fits the song,”.
 
She pulled up at South beach.
 
“how much do I owe you?” I asked.
 
“for you, it’s free,” she said.
 
“no, I need to pay you,” I insisted.
 
“fine,” she sighed, “I’ll take 20 for the gas,”.
 
I gave her a 20 dollar note and got out of the car. “wait at that bar over there and I’ll meet you, I just have to take the car back,”.
 
“sure,” I shrugged. I walked over to the bar.
 
“can I help?” a waiter asked.
 
“I’ll have a margarita,” I said, sitting at a table.
 
Around 7 minutes later, she was back. She’d changed. She’d changed her outfit and her hair. She was now wearing a tight black dress and her hair was in two Dutch braids.
 
“you changed?” I asked.
 
“I'm not working tonight,” she said.
 
“oh,” I said.
 
“come on," she said, "before the dancers start sleeping with the bartenders,”. I got up and followed her into the club, we walked straight passed the ticket office and sat at a table at the back.
 
“so you have?” I asked.
 
“no!” she denied.
 
“Would you though?” I asked.
 
“if there was a female bartender, sure,” she said. She ushered one over.
 
“oh?” I said.
 
“don’t act so surprised,” she said.
 
“No, no,” I said, “it’s cool,”.
 
“what about you?” she asked.
 
“I’ve honestly never thought about it,” I said, “love has never been a free concept in my life, until now,”. I stayed quiet while she ordered her drink, listening to her smooth exotic accent talking over the music.
 
“you’ve never been attracted to anyone?” she asked.
 
“nope,” I lied, “well apart from you,”.
 
“oh?” she said.
 
“Now you’re the surprised one,” I laughed. She smiled. “I’m not surprised, more flattered,”. I smiled at her, supping my drink. “Ooh, what have you got?” she asked.
 
“Margarita,” I said.
 
“Lightweight,” she joked.
 
“this is just for starters,” I laughed, “there’s more,”.
 
“Now you’re talking,” she smiled. I liked her. She was funny, kind, and we clicked so well. She laid her hand on the table and I slowly grabbed it, not wanting to seem desperate. A feeling of panic and nervousness rushed through me, and she didn’t let go and entwined her fingers with mine.

"I love your accent, where are you from?" I asked.

"Italy," she said, "not many people like it,".

"well I do," I smiled.
 
“so what do you do?” she asked.
 
I was reluctant to tell her, as I didn’t want to blow my cover but I had to think quick before things got suspicious.
 
“I work for an agency,” I said.
 
“like an assassinating agency?” she asked.
 
“yeah,” I said, “we monitor the time space continuum and I’m one of the most trusted assassins,”.
 
“oh wow,” she said, “so you like eliminate threats to the timeline?”.
 
“yes, but you can’t tell anyone,” I said, “this is super top secret stuff,”.
 
“oh yeah, I won’t tell anyone,” she said, squeezing my hand. She moved closer to my ear and whispered, “it’s safe with me,”.
 
"wait, how did you know what the commission does?" I asked.

"I used to work there," she said, "I escaped, but I know all the tricks,".

"you actually escaped?" I asked.

"yep," she replied, "so, who are you after?"

"Digitus," I said.

"oh," she said, "that's a hard one,".

"could make or break my career," I said.

"You're licenced to kill, right?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah, 005," I said.

"oh," she realised, "you're that Tallulah,".

"Tallulah West," I said, "double 05,".

"oh so you've got a good reputation," she said.

"you could say that," I said, "how far did you get?".

"010," she said, "I wanted your position so bad. although I don't know if I wanted your position, or you,".

"you can want both, I don't mind," I winked at her.

"oh come here," she pulled me in for a kiss. I was nervous, this was the first time anybody had kissed me in years. Her lips met mine, the sweet taste of her lingering in my mouth. I felt a wave of happiness wash over me as she rest her hand on my face. she pulled back to look at me, her hand still on my face.

"Tallulah!" a voice called.....