Chapter 4 #2
“I mean, do as much as you’re willing to do and then run off the stage. He’ll see you up here, dancing, having fun, and every single guy will be watching you, and he’ll be so jealous.”
“I mean, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to make him see what he’s missing.” I stare at her with a smile.
“Exactly. Flaunt your stuff. You’re gorgeous. And if I do say so myself, you’ve got a nice rack.”
“Thank you. You too.”
“You don’t have to say that. I’m kind of flat-chested, but I work with what I got. It’s nice because I don’t have to wear a bra half the time.”
“Come on, girls. Over here!” John shouts, and we realize we’re still standing there while all the other girls have grabbed their T-shirts.
“Oops,” we say as we hurry over to the side of the stage.
“I guess we’re doing this then,” I look over at her.
“I guess we are.” She grimaces. “I’m Amelia. What’s your name?”
“Juniper.”
“Nice to meet you, Juniper.”
“You too.”
“So, we’ll just have fun.”
“And stay at the back of the stage.” I laugh as we grab our shirts and attempt to hide behind a sea of giggling girls who seem far more eager to show off their goods.
I look back out at Rafe, and he has a thunderous expression on his face. He can’t believe I’m going through with it. Neither can I.
“You go, girl!” Rosie shouts out to me, as Sage jumps up and down. They are calling far too much attention to all of us, but I’m not about to respond to them and somehow garner more attention.
I can see Rafe glaring at them, and all I can do is laugh. I guess I’m doing this. For real. I groan loudly, and Amelia wrinkles her nose as we stand there. Never in my life did I ever think I’d enter a wet T-shirt competition, but here we go.
“We meant to just change right here?” I ask her, feeling lightheaded.
“I think so,” Amelia says with a nod. “I mean, I don’t think they really care about our modesty when half of us are going to be bouncing our tits up and down.”
“You’re right. I have not had enough to drink to do this.”
“Okay, folks! Who’s ready for a fun night here at Cocktails & Chaos?” John grabs the microphone, and a bunch of guys holler excitedly, ready for the show to begin.
I watch as Rosie and Sage excitedly come running to the front of the crowd.
“You go! That’s my cousin!” Rosie screams.
I offer a small wave. I want to die.
I notice that Mia and Luke are staring at me with surprised expressions, and Rafe has now come up a little bit closer as well, shaking his head. He starts pointing at me and then pointing to the edge of the stage, like he’s demanding I get off.
“Does this dude think he’s my dad?” I say to Amelia.
“He looks absolutely furious.” She starts laughing.
“He really does. If I want to enter a wet T-shirt competition, I’m going to. He’s not my dad. He’s not my boyfriend. He’s not my husband.”
“Yeah, girl, you do you.”
We quickly pull off our tops and pull the T-shirts over our heads while men whistle in the crowd. I can feel my heart racing, and I’m grateful when Amelia grabs my hand and squeezes it.
“We can stand toward the back. Those two over there …” She points to two tall, skinny blondes. “I have a feeling they’re going to go all out and a lot of attention is going to be on them.”
“Better them than us.”
“Folks, let’s get this party started tonight! We’re going to start with some Dua Lipa,” John screams into the mic as the sound of music comes blasting through the speakers.
As Amelia predicted, the two blondes immediately go toward the front of the stage and start gyrating against each other. I feel second hand embarrassment for them as they start kissing and guys start chanting.
“Well, it didn’t take them long,” Amelia says, and we start laughing.
We stand toward the back of the stage, dancing quite stiffly, and I know no one is paying attention to us aside from my cousins and Rafe.
Which was likely to be how the night went because I had no intention in making out with anyone.
The thought made me blush and cringe. I was such a stubborn fool for getting on this stage.
“Come on, Juni!” Rosie screams. “You can do it!”
I stare at her and just shake my head.
John calls a waitress up on the stage with a tray full of Jell-O shots, and we each down one.
I can feel myself loosening up a little bit and continue to dance.
As the music changes to a fast dance number, we start moving in time to the beat, and Amelia and I are soon laughing as we dance on the stage and shake our hips.
This isn’t so bad, I think to myself.
We’re just dancing on a stage. None of the men are even paying attention to us, especially not now that two of the blondes are kissing.
“Who’s ready for some water?” John shouts.
My heart starts pounding as the men chant, “Boobies! Boobies!”
“I can’t believe we’re doing this.” I swallow hard as I look at Amelia.
“Me neither.” She looks like she’s about to faint and I wonder if she does if I can come to her rescue. Pretend I’m a nurse and carry her off the stage. Or something. I feel mean, but I kinda hope she will collapse and get us out of this. I also debate just asking her to fake a sickness.
“Stand in a line, girls. I want you to do a conga, and then you’re going to get wet,” John says loudly. “Are you all ready?”
The men in the crowd start cheering, and all I want to do is groan.
“This feels so cheap,” Amelia says, and I nod in agreement. “I really hope there are no cameras.”
“Shit. Me too.”
It’s at that point that I’m about to run off the stage, but I can see Rafe’s eyes are narrowed, and all I can think to myself is, Let me show you that I’m not just boring little Juniper.
The music changes yet again, and we start dancing around the stage in a circle. I’m swaying my hips and moving my waist back and forth.
I feel light drops of water spraying me, and then all of a sudden, I’m drenched. Absolutely drenched.
My jaw drops as I notice one of the blondes pulling off her T-shirt and then swinging it in the air. She’s still wearing her bra, but the men are going crazy for her.
“Nips, baby! Look at those nips!” a guy at the front says, guzzling beer out of a bottle.
So classy. Not!
I try to ignore him, as I can tell that he’s obviously drunk and having the time of his life.
I look down at the front of my top. My T-shirt is soaked through, and you can definitely see my nipples as well, as I’m wearing a pretty thin bra.
I want to cover my breasts with my hands, but I also don’t want to look like a Goody Two-shoes who doesn’t know how to have fun.
Amelia looks panicked, and she’s standing behind me.
“Who’s ready for phase two?” John shouts out. “Any volunteers from the audience?”
“What’s he talking about?” I whisper desperately to Amelia.
She shakes her head. “I have no idea what’s going on.”
“Some of the men are going to come up,” a girl to our left says, “and basically, they’re going to sit in chairs, and if we want to shake our tits in their faces, we can.” She grins. “That really helps you get votes at the end. I mean, if you’re in it for the thousand dollars.”
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.
I lick my lips nervously. I do not want to go any further, but I don’t know how to get out of this.