Gin and Juice

After a grueling hour of hair, makeup, and costume, I was finally set free. Instead of wearing my usual baby tee and flowing knee-length skirt, I was wearing a black leotard, a black tie-skirt that barely covered my ass, and a red and black corset top. My hair was piled on top of my head in “messy curls,” with a few strands hanging down haphazardly to show off my face.

I was only a few feet out the door when I was pulled into a small alcove. A hand covered my mouth. For the longest second, all I could hear was the beating of our hearts

“Don’t scream. I’m not going to hurt you, okay?”

I nodded my head. My captor released me and carefully turned me to face him.

He brought his finger in front of my lips. “Shh, Danni.”

“Brian! I’m due on set now!”

“I know, but two seconds won’t kill you. I want to talk about us.”

“There is no us anymore. You said so yourself.”

“Can you blame me? You fucked my best friend.”

“I was completely wasted and you know it.” I seethed, turning to leave.

He grabbed my wrist and pulled me into him. “Why?”

“No, the real question is why didn’t you answer your phone? When I was at my worst and wanting to die, I poured my heart out to you, and you sent him in your place.” I snatched my wrist out of his hold and walked toward the set.

“There you are, Danni! We thought you got lost.”

“Nah, it just took them longer than expected.”

“Good. This is Zacky. Zacky, this is Danielle- she’s the female lead. Now, Danni, I want you to stand right here.”

I stood.

“When I say action I want you to gabble to the girls for a second, look up at Zacky and give him flirtatious wink. Then, I want you to walk up to him like this,” Mark said, throwing his hips side to side. “Slip the pill, and walk away. Remember, just like in the dance sequence, I want to feel the sexual tension. You got it?”

Both of us nodded.

“Good to your places!”

The four girls I haven’t seen in years came over to me. They were wearing pretty much the same thing as me, just more cloth to it. “Hey, Danni, we’re the extras. You remember Leanna, Gena, and Michelle.” Val said with her ever-present smile.

“Hey, guys. It’s been awhile.” Honestly, I was expecting them to attack me, but they hugged me. I was shocked.

“Alright, girls! This isn’t the lesbian convention! I want this scene shot quickly so that I can go to bed!” Mark yelled.

Laughing, we broke apart and quickly got into character.

“Aaaannnnnnddddd, ACTION!”

The girls started talking about shoes, making sure that their moves were more subtle and sly to fit their characters. I stared straight ahead with a smug look. When I caught Zacky’s eye, I sent a coy smile his way and broke through the girls. I made sure to sway my hips with extra ummph. When I got to where he was standing, I let my fingers dance over his shoulders, making sure to hold his gaze while I “slipped” the sugar pill into his drink. With a final smirk, I left him, swaying my hips extra hard.

“Cut!” Mark yelled. I walked back to the girls. “That was okay. Girls, stop talking about shoes. I want the conversation to look like ‘Did you see that guy over there? I bet I can make him hard by just looking at him.’ Got it? You’re deadly sirens, so act like them! Danni, as for you, I want more sexual energy out of you. Throw yourself on him, if you have to. Gena won’t mind.” Zacky was given another glass of gin and I was given another pill. “Get ready, and action”

The girls started looking around the room, whispering to each other. I flashed my eyes dangerously at Zacky, making him visibly jump. Smirking, I motioned for the girls to look at him. They wore smug smiles as I sauntered over. I pushed myself up to him. “We need to talk,” I whispered in his ear. His fingers started to dance up my arm in agreement. I smirked at him, making sure that I had his full attention before slipped him the pill and walked away again.

“Cut! I was almost at full stock! Do it again. C’mon guys, I want you to practically fuck out there! Danni, love the whole eye-flashing thing. Zacky, c’mon, react more. You have this hot, mysterious chick feeling you up. Step up and be a man!”

The girls and I laughed hysterically at him.

“Oh, don’t worry, Mark. He’s a man where it counts,” Gena said through her laughter.

“Well, he’s not showing it. Get ready. 5-4-3-2-now.”

The only thing that was changed was the fact that it was Zacky who spoke this time. “I’ll meet you on the back patio at two.”

I breathed in his ear in acknowledgment before slipping away. I could feel him smirking at me as he took a sip and “died.”

“Great! That’s a wrap for tonight! Danni, I’ll see you at 8 sharp. Make sure your dancers are ready. Brian, you’re the next to die.” I hadn’t noticed that he was there. “Then it’s Johnny and Jimmy. Matt, you’re last. And then we just have to film the performance and you can all go back to touring.”

Nodding, I made my way through the hallways, trying to locate the kitchen. I was starving, having not eaten anything for the past five or so hours, three of which were spent in non-stop dancing. After twisting through the maze of doors and walls, I finally found the kitchen. I went straight for the fridge and grabbed whatever I could. Making random and haphazard sandwiches had always been a trademark of mine. My parents used to call me a human garbage disposal since I would eat any and everything they put in front of me. After devouring my sandwich, I went immediately into the cupboard and got a bottle of water out of it.

I only noticed Brian’s presence when he pressed me against the counter top. I knew it was Brian from his scent and touch. No one else could set my skin on fire like him. His hands ran from my waist to my thigh and back up to cup my ass. His hot breath rolled over the shell of my left ear and my neck. His other hand gripped my hip as he pressed himself further into me.

“Do you know how hard it was for me to keep myself from taking you right then and there?” He breathed, running his hand to my front and fondling my breast.

“Brian, you have a girlfriend. She’s one of my oldest friends and I doubt that she would like to see you doing this to me.”

He left a trail of hard kisses down my neck and to my shoulder. “I don’t care. I want you.” He said gruffly, sucking on the tender spot in the crook of my neck.

I found my strength and roughly pushed him off. “No, Brian. You gave up those rights when we broke up seven fucking years ago.”

“You fucked Zacky.”

“We’ve been through this already.”

“I didn’t get a good enough answer.”

“Because you don’t like the answer I gave you!” I yelled. I quickly marched toward the door.
“No, you’re not getting away that easily. Not again.” He said, lounging at me and pinning me to the floor.

“You let me go then and you’ll let me go now.”

“Tell me why you did it.”

“Because I thought he was you!”

There was a deafening silence before he scrambled off of me. “What?”

I rolled over and looked up at him. “You heard me.”

“How? We look nothing alike.”

I stood up and brushed myself off. “Well, do you want to hear about him always coming into my work, or do you want to hear about my major breakdown…again? Which one is easier to handle: the situation I told you about repeatedly while it was happening and you just blew it off, or the time when I needed you most and you sent one of your best friends to handle the situation? Did I scare you off, Brian? Is that it… because I told you how much I loved you?”

“For the millionth time, Danni, I didn’t get the stupid phone call! I wasn’t anywhere near my cell phone that night because, knowing the guys, I would have ended up in the pool with it. And I was right in assuming that because all five of us ended up there! It’s not my fault you were such a whore. You know what they say about strippers- once a whore, always a whore.”

I slapped him hard, leaving a nice red handprint. “I was a go-go dancer, not a stripper, ass hole. And if I’m not mistaken, it was you who liked the fact that we met in my bar. Tell me, who was it that said dating a dancer was the best thing to ever do? Oh right, it was you. Goodbye, Haner, I’ll dance with you, but that’s it.”