Chapter 18 #2
The lights returned, and a projection on the screen showed a messy bedroom.
A dressing table and a bed had been silently wheeled onstage.
A woman sat at the dressing table in her bathrobe.
A song played over the speakers, something about a breakup and the certainty that the relationship was over forever.
Evelyn didn’t recognize it and realized it must have been a cover.
The vibe of the arrangement was spot on.
As the song progressed, the woman did a spectacular reverse striptease.
Going from robe and underwear to fully dressed in her band practice best, the clothing her armor against the temptation of a man who was bad for her.
The audience hooted and applauded with appreciation with every gyration, every slip of cloth over her body.
Evelyn didn’t think she’d ever been turned on by watching someone put their clothing on before.
The song faded and the applause roared from the crowd. An old fashioned ringtone played over the speakers, and she answered a flip phone. She promised to get to practice as soon as she could. The lights blacked out as the stage was reset.
The lights returned, and the screen at the back of the stage displayed a deserted highway. Two dancers performed a dazzling push and pull to a song lamenting the difficulties of a long-distance relationship. Evelyn mouthed the words, noticing the flash of Aiden’s grin from the corner of her eye.
The dancers managed to convey the insecurity of their situation, the lingering doubts and the pain of the possibility of unrequited love.
They spun and swayed with precision, hitting all their marks with ease.
The song faded out, and an old fashioned ringtone played over the speakers.
They answered an old flip phone and promised to get to practice as soon as they could.
Aiden shifted his chair to bring it directly in line with hers, and her stomach flip-flopped when he draped his arm over her shoulders. Moving her hair over her shoulder with a gentle touch that made her already hot flesh burn, he leaned in to whisper in her ear, “Enjoying the show, dollface?”
His warm breath against her skin made her squirm with desire. Not trusting in her ability to use actual sentences, she nodded.
I’m going to die of sexual frustration by the end of the evening.
The next scene change was a foggy expanse.
Balance bars emerged from the stage floor, and a man in a tank and tight spandex pants started doing acrobatics to a song about the emotional distance that emerges after a breakup.
As the song’s tempo increased, an aerial hoop descended from the ceiling, and he finished his routine soaring through the air, the crowd gasping and cheering with every dangerous grip change.
Evelyn found herself leaning forward in her chair.
A particularly dramatic swoop had her clutching at Aiden’s hand in fear for the performer, and he didn’t let go of it when the song ended.
The ringtone played again, and at the end of the stage change, the MC herself appeared.
She did a brief skit with a man Evelyn assumed was supposed to be her husband before transitioning into a burlesque number to another song Evelyn recognized.
The band’s female performer was singing to her long-term lover, in awe that their attraction was still going strong years later.
It was upbeat and bawdy, a tonal shift from the previous song, and the change kept the crowd from getting morose.
As the crowd cheered for their MC, Evelyn noticed a small screen in their table giving off a faint glow. A message popped up asking if they required drink refills. Aiden gauged the liquid levels in their drinks and pressed the button to get a second round sent to the table.
Their drinks appeared as a shaggy-haired man did a contortionist act to a song about what Evelyn had always thought was a toxic, if lasting relationship.
There was another tone shift with the next act, where an upbeat dance number spun across the stage to a song about the excitement of a first date.
Aiden’s grip on her hand never faltered, his thumb tracing lazy patterns on her skin.
The next act was another burlesque, a man dancing to a frequently covered Britney Spears song. The woman from the first number appeared as an image on the screen, while a man, presumably her ex, danced to a song about doing anything to get back together with her. She remained unmoved.
Evelyn muttered, “Good for you,” under her breath.
The MC continued to pop up between acts, lamenting her band’s scatterbrained behavior and herding them to practice like cats. Eventually, all the band members assembled on stage, and the cast took a bow to the audience’s loud cheers.
As the house lights rose and the audience gathered their things, Evelyn found that she was loath to leave.
She stirred the straw in her drink and wished in vain that the performers would come out for an encore, that the evening wasn’t coming to an end.
One more song to silence the nagging voice in the back of her head chanting that once the night was over she’d never see Aiden again.
“Did I pick okay?”
“You picked exceedingly well,” she said.
“Excellent. Ready to go?”
Evelyn nodded and with what looked like great reluctance on his part, Aiden relinquished her hand so they could get up. He grabbed it again as soon as they were in the hallway, giving it a proprietary squeeze that stirred the butterflies in her stomach into a tornado.
They walked to the car, and he opened the door for her before walking to the driver’s side.
He programmed the car to automatically drive them back to Evelyn’s house, keeping his focus on her the whole trip back.
They discussed the performance, rated their favorites and least favorites, lobbying for higher rankings when they disagreed.
Too soon they found themselves in the driveway of her house.