Private Dancer (21 page)

        
"I guess. I'm not coming home 'til later, okay?" The dancer tried to hide her nervousness.

        
"Got a live one, Tiger?" Faith sat up with a giggle.

        
"You can say that. You gonna be alright?"

        
"Yeah, I'm okay. I want details when you get home, woman!"

        
"Oh, you'll get 'em alright. Later." Cori hung up the phone, feeling guilty that she was not telling Faith the whole deal. She didn't want Faith to think she was meddling again, she promised. But this was a whole new thing here. She had the boss opened up and she was going to get to the bottom of the Reece Corbett mystery. It's not going to be easy, she was sure of that. That woman was gonna need some coaxing. Cori was sure she was up for the task. She got this far surprisingly enough, now she wants to know about Frank. How did they meet? Why did he take her in? Were they really sleeping together like rumor had it?

        
Ick. Not Reece and Frankie. She shuddered and it wasn't from the night air.

        
Cori looked up to see Reece leaning on a very small sports car. "What's that?"

        
"My car."

        
"A Datsun 280z? You can't possibly fit in there!" She laughed.

        
"Watch me." And the boss folded herself right in, opening the passenger's side for the shocked dancer.

        
"Ohh, I see it's been tweaked a bit." The driver's side had been customized.

        
"Seat belt on, Freak. Yup, I got it for next to nothing. It wouldn't sell like this. Tall people don't give this car a second glance. So, you like it?"

        
"It smells funny," Cori muttered, crinkling her nose.

        
"That would be me." Reece grinned

        
"Ew. How do you open these windows anyway?"

        
"You don't, I do. The childproof thing is stuck. I can torture you, you know." She wiggled her eyebrows mischievously.

        
"You won't mind if I heave, will you?" Cori shot back.

        
"Okay, here." Reece gave in good-naturedly, opening Cori's window. "You big baby."

        
"Reece, you've been living on alcohol and take out. Do you have any idea what you smell like right now?"

        
"Onions? Curry? Hot and sour sauce?"

        
"Drive, please."

        
"Whiskey? Special sauce? Cat food?"

        
Cori looked revolted.

        
"Well you tell
me
, what is it exactly in a dumpling?"

        
Cori was very pleased with the easy bantering between them. Even if the subject matter was questionable. The car screeched around a corner.

        
"Reece, you drive like an animal."

        
The boss wiggled her eyebrows. "I do everything like an animal. But you know that already." She flashed an evil smirk.

        
You know?
thought Cori as her stomach fluttered.
If she can have that type of reaction on me, poor poor Faith.

        
*  

        
Faith was busy rooting nosily through Cori's room. She was bored and wide-awake, chastising herself for that last cup of coffee. She found all sorts of interesting things, but this wooden box with a lock on it really got her attention. This was bad. Never leave a curious person alone when she's bored. Especially Faith. She even left the room and went back to look at it again. Afraid to shake it, not knowing if it would damage the contents, she set her sights on finding the key, or at least something to substitute for one. "Okay, Cori, where would you hide a key?"

        
Soon after, the blonde woman safety pinned the box open. She found nothing too interesting except family photos, a few love letters from various admirers, and a small yellow clasp envelope. Thinking it was more family photos, she opened it and pulled out its contents. It was pictures all right, but not the family type. There were a few of Cori in sexy positions, clothed, half-clothed, unclothed. "Who took these?" she wondered. Pictures of her friend doing things to herself that you usually don't photograph. She blushed big time. "God, Cori, look at you. The photographer must have had a grand old time." The next picture showed some of the other party in the mirror, but was obscured by the flash. Faith's stomach twisted. "Oh no...."

        
She quickly shuffled through the stack until she found it. There she was sprawled out on the bed, en flagrante, a sheen of sweat covered her body, some of her hair stuck to her face, an arm reaching to cover her face, blue eyes like ice at having been photographed. "Hallelujah, she's magnificent." The next few pics were of the tall club owner sleeping, talking, walking; all looked as if they were surprise shots. "Oh Jesus..." Faith's pulse was pounding in her head when she saw Cori tied up on a huge unfamiliar bed, blindfolded.
I never knew she liked that. Is that Reece's bed?
She got tingles all over seeing that bed, knowing that's where
she
sleeps, and suddenly, she saw herself tied to it, Reece taking pictures of her naked body. She had to put them away before she left an incriminating wet spot on her friend's bed.

        
*  

        
Reece was in boxers and a tank top, Cori in a South Park tee shirt that went down to her thighs. She got comfortable in the big chair and pushed the little button to make it recline. Reece glanced over and smirked

        
"If you're gonna do that, you should put underwear on. That is, unless...."

        
"Hey!" She crossed her knees. "Oh, real hot, Reece, a dead kid in a parka is sooo sexy. What are you looking there for anyway?"

        
"Habit. And that's Kenny." She nodded towards Cori's chest.

        
"Kenny?"

        
"Yeah, he gets killed every episode! It's hilarious!"

        
Cori didn't see the humor in that. "Oh yeah, hysterical."

        
"I guess you have to be there." Reece slouched back on the couch and turned on the TV, flipping the channels rapidly until the remote was snatched out of her hands. "What?"

        
"I was getting nauseous." The dancer stopped on MTV. "Here, it's the countdown special."

        
"Change it now." Reece looked aggravated.

        
"Why? I thought you liked the 90's."

        
"Not any more. Too many songs..."

        
"Remind you of her?" Cori hoped she was right.

        
"Something like that," the tall woman whispered.

        
"Hey, Reece?" Cori crossed her fingers.

        
"Hmm?"

        
"Tell me about Frank?"

        
"What about him?" Yep, now she was definitely aggravated.

        
"Anything."
Please.

        
"He's dead."

        
"He won't mind then." She looked at Reece apologetically. "You know, I liked him. I miss him too, but I didn't know him as well as you. There's rumors... I'd like to hear the truth from you."

        
"We weren't fucking if that's what you mean." She threw her long body across the couch.

        
"Hey, don't get angry, that's not what I mean. I mean, they say he saved your life."

        
She sat up and made a face. "Yeah, Cori, he did. He believed in me when I didn't."

        
"And...?"

        
"He's dead."

        
Cori moved to the couch, and held the boss' hands. "Tell me how you met."

        
Reece really wanted to talk about it, but wasn't sure how. She was as unfamiliar sharing her feelings as she was with this love stuff. "I want to Cori, I just..."

        
"Take your time, I'm not going anywhere. I bet you'll feel better if you talk about it. "

        
Reece took a deep breath. She had to look away for some reason. "I used to fight for money, you know, like Ultimate Fighting. Well we got busted a lot, and this one time, I was in the cell, waiting it out, and this woman, totally strung out, was on my shit like crazy. I honestly thought she was a hooker. She made typical conversation, what are you in for and shit. She almost came when I told her why I was there. She was pretty turned on by my cuts and bruises too. She even took care of a few. Hey, to each his own." The club owner shrugged and threw a glance at the dancer. Cori merely nodded, not wanting to breathe, fearing it would make Reece stop.

        
"So, this guy comes in and bails her out. She makes a stink that she wants him to get me out too. He comes over to the bars, stares into my eyes, and left. I was pissed off, started cursing about who he is to judge me and shit. The cop came fifteen minutes later and told me I've been let out. I really didn't put two and two together until I saw him at the next fight. He put 3G on me. I didn't think about it then, I was undefeated anyway."

        
"And? Did you win?" Cori asked anxiously.

        
"I need a drink." Reece got up and Cori feared the evening's revelations were over.

        
The dancer's eyes were closed and she was nearly asleep when she heard Reece's bare feet slapping on the wooden floors. Happy that the tall woman didn't run away from her questions, she flashed her a huge smile.

        
"What took you so long?"

        
"I made coffee. Here," she said, handing the dancer a huge mug which she accepted greedily.

        
They sat in awkward silence and drank their hot caffeine. Eventually Reece spoke first. "Yes."

        
"Boss?"

        
"I won. The fight." She leaned back into the sofa, her face tense.

        
"And..." Cori put a hand on the tight woman's back and rubbed it in circles reassuringly. It seemed to work.

        
Reece closed her eyes and sighed. This touching without sex was very nice, she thought. She peeked up at her friend and got a pang of guilt in her gut for the things she did to her in the past.

        
"Cor, before I go on, I want to um, well the way we...when we...when I...crap! Look..." She sat up straight and looked at the floor. "When we were a...thing, I don't think I treated you too well." She leaned forward and her black hair covered her face. Feeling safer under wraps she continued, "I used you."