Delta Bayou and the Miss Dixieland Pageant (Delta Bayou Adult Mystery #1)

Chapter Five: The Car Wash

Even though Delta had carefully followed the brightly colored cardboard signs, it still took her a few extra minutes to find her way down the one-way streets of downtown Norridgeton to the address listed on her paper. A few blocks away from the pageant headquarters, just west of Main Street, she found the place, the huge parking lot of an abandoned grocery store, and pulled into the lot, passing the large banner that hung out front. Easily spanning the width of five cars, the banner had "Miss Dixieland Car Wash!" painted on in it in red, white and blue glittery letters.

Although it was only 11:05 in the morning, the line for the car wash already went around the parking lot and down the block. Apparently, it was one of the most highly anticipated fundraisers of the year.

Delta passed the line and pulled her car into the back of the lot, where she had been instructed to park by her Miss Dixieland itinerary. From her car window, she could see that Sasha and a few of the other girls had already arrived but had not yet begun to wash the cars. They were hovering together, all dressed in fluffy pink robes like the one Delta wore now. It had been mailed to her a few days before.

Even though she felt stupid in the robe, she exited her car and stalked over to the other girls. Phil saw her walking up and rushed over. Cassandra was by his side, holding a wheel of red raffle tickets in her hand. Delta noted the table nearby, covered in a sparkly white tablecloth that announced the ten dollar raffle ticket price as well as the five dollar car wash fee.

"Delta's here!" Phil called over to the other girls. "Now we can start." He pushed back his rolled up shirt sleeves and waved them all over.

Cassandra set down her bundle of tickets on the table and clapped her hands. "Line up!" she yelled. Delta watched her painted mouth flapping open, and thought she resembled a fish gasping for air.

She should have been paying attention because all at once, the girls scurried into a line and stood in a row facing the men who were rolling down their car windows. Delta awkwardly joined the line at the end, watching the other girls with a sidelong glance. The other women each shimmied a little in their ridiculous robes before flinging them down to reveal their bikini-clad bodies. Delta followed suit.

The men waiting in their cars hooted and hollered and honked their horns in appreciation. Phil and Cassandra quickly sorted the girls into a couple of groups of three and four. Delta lingered near Sasha. They had been texting frequently since their meeting at Maison Pierre and Delta was growing quite fond of her. Sasha had proven herself to be funny, smart, and bold. There was something so sexy about Sasha. She had a natural confidence and a sense of authority that Delta found herself drawn to. She also found that she kept thinking about the handful of kisses that they had shared the night they had met. She kept imagining that they had shared more than kisses.

As she had hoped, Delta was assigned to work with Sasha along with the beautiful Tabitha, whose dark complexion was wonderfully set off in a red bikini. Sasha was again in white, lips highlighted in cherry red lipstick, the same color that she had been wearing the night they'd met.

The line of cars advanced by Cassandra, who sold some raffle tickets and directed the first few cars to a station. Delta grabbed a bucket, sponges, and a hose from Phil and returned after a few friendly words with him to her team's location at the end of the line, right by the wall of the old grocery store.

Tabitha and Sasha gave her friendly smiles as she approached them. She handed them sponges and got the hose hooked up while they waited on their first customer. Sasha sloshed her sponge around in the water bucket and Delta took the chance to admire her arching back and the view of her ass, round cheeks peeking out slightly from underneath her small white bikini bottoms. Sasha noticed her looking. "Did you get more of the Cherry?" she asked.