Take My Dress Off (5 page)

“You don’t need them anyway,” grinned Donny as he looked down to Danielle. “I like you better without panties.” He rolled on top of her and she squealed.

“Paige, help!” she giggled as he settled between her legs and began to tickle her mercilessly. Chaz stood frozen watching their antics with a look of concern but I knew better. They always carried on like this. Danielle had a mad crush on Donny. (Didn’t everyone?) He rose up onto his hands and kissed down her neck, simulating thrusts all the while.

“Oh yes, baby, that’s it!”

She pushed him onto the floor. “You wish!”

“C’mon, jailbait. Surfs up,” Donny ordered and rose to his feet. Danielle grabbed his hand and he pulled her up from the bed. “Get your magnificent tits in that suit and let’s get outta here.” He slapped her on the butt and she ran to the bathroom.

Chaz sat down next to Donny and they talked in hushed voices as I joined Danielle in the bathroom. I helped her tighten the straps on her red polka-dot bikini. Donny was right, her tits were magnificent. Danielle was sexy. Danielle was curvy. I wasn’t. My ex-boyfriend, Brit, had once commented that I was a member of the Itty Bitty Titty Committee. Little did he know that I would renounce my membership when I “blossomed” the summer after my sixteenth birthday.

We walked down to the pool. It was a crazy scene! Music was blasting and the pool was wall to wall people. Some were leaning against the edge drinking, some splashing around. “Wow, these hair stylists know how to party!” Chaz laughed.

We claimed our lounge chairs. Danielle and I set down our magazines and towels and the guys took off for the pool. I sat on the side of the lounge chair and slathered on lotion.

“Damn, that Chaz is fine. He must work out, look at his abs.”

I looked. I noticed. I agreed.

“You are one lucky girl, Paige.”

“I’m not lucky yet. We’ve only had one sort-of date.”

“Well at least he kissed you. That’s a good sign.”

I thought about how it had been since we went to the drive-in. No phone calls, no dropping by. I hope he didn’t think of us as just friends. That would crush me. I thought about when he pressed me up against his car to kiss me. I had to get out of the sun and cool off!

Danielle and I made our way to the pool and inched into the cool water. Donny saw us and swam over, Chaz tagging behind. Dipping down under Danielle, Donny raised her up out of the water. He secured her on his shoulders as she screamed, her thighs and hands clinging to his head.

“Chicken fight!” Donny yelled. “Serna, I challenge thee to a chicken fight duel.”

Chaz lowered down in front of me and I slid onto his shoulders. He wrapped his arms around my knees as I tucked my legs behind his back. My breath quickened as I stared down at his head between my thighs. I joined hands with Danielle and we started a mercy fight. I was doomed, she always beat me. I screamed as I toppled off my mount and crashed into the water. Chaz quickly helped me back onto his shoulders and Danielle knocked me off again.

“Switch!” Donny ordered.

I slipped from Chaz’s shoulders and Donny dove between my legs, raising me up out of the water. He gripped my calves despite his wet hands and I giggled when he asked if I wanted a hickey and bit my thigh. Chaz looked awkward as he tried to balance Danielle on his back. They didn’t fit well together and it made me think of when they had danced together in the summer show. I got a good grip on Danielle and tried to throw her off balance. Chaz loosened his arms around her knees and gave me a wink. She slipped off into the water with a big splash. I squealed and clapped my hands like a little girl.

“I think we’re seeing a common problem here. Chaz, you suck at chicken fights,” said Donny.

“I agree.” Danielle ran her hands through her thick, wet curls and squeezed out the water. “That doesn’t count, Paige, you two schemed against me.”

“Aw, poor baby,” pouted Donny and scooped her up.

“Put me down, Donny! I mean it!”

“Okay,” he grinned and tossed her back in the water.

Chaz shook his head, “Those two. They’re too much, huh?”

“They should just do it and get it over with,” I grinned and tightened the strap on my bikini top.

“Come again?”

“Seriously, their foreplay is exhausting,” I said and swam over to the steps. Chaz followed behind as I climbed out of the pool and dropped onto the lounge chair. He scooted Danielle’s things to the bottom of the adjoining seat and sat next to me. I grabbed a towel and draped it over me, feeling chilled.

“Are you cold?” he asked.

“A little. That water was freezing.”

He took my hand and rubbed it. “You’re shivering.” I pulled the towel up to my neck.

“This is fun,” sighed Chaz as he leaned back against the lounger. He pressed my hand to his chest and closed his eyes.

“Yeah, like a mini-vacation.” I closed my eyes too and concentrated on the delightful warmth of his hand.

“Except we’re getting paid which is totally awesome,” he added.

“It is work though.” I rolled to face him. “The hair show is really boring. We have to wait around for hours. Before and after we’re up on the stage.”

He turned to me. “Let’s not worry about that until tomorrow.”

We went to
dinner in the hotel ballroom with the other models and stylists. Tables were draped in white linens and decorated with black and gold floral arrangements. As dinner was served, representatives from the product sponsors took their place at the podium to give speeches or door prizes. We were seated at a table in the back with the rest of the models. Alcohol was flowing and the stylists were getting really fired up. After dinner a DJ started playing disco music and people made their way to the dance floor.

“That’s our cue, ladies and gentleman.” Donny rose from his chair and placed his napkin on his plate.

“C’mon, Don. Don’t you want to dance?” asked Danielle.

“Disco, Dan? Seriously? I’m not that tacky.” Reluctantly, Chaz and I rose from the table and we all followed Donny into the lobby.

“That was a tragic scene. What time does the pool close?” asked Donny as we waited at the elevator banks.

Danielle looked at her watch, “Any minute now.”

“That’s bogus,” called Donny.

The doors opened and we piled in with three guys. They were all holding bottles of beer and the plump bald one in front of me pretended to puke. His friends weren’t impressed. I scooted away from him and pressed up against Chaz. He wrapped his arms around my waist, drawing me closer to him as the bald guy yelled, “I can’t believe you guys planned my bachelor party the same weekend as a queer convention.” He threw back his beer and his friends looked at us apologetically.

“Greg, keep it down,” said the taller one.

“It’s okay. I’m down with this shit!” He waved his beer in the air, spilling it down Danielle’s leg.

“Watch it, buddy!” she called out.

“Sorry, doll,” he snorted.

Danielle turned into Donny and he studied the guy over his shades. Thankfully, we were on the fourth floor so the ride was fast. We exited quickly when the doors opened.

“What a douchebag,” called Donny as the doors closed. Suddenly, the doors sprung back open! The bald guy flew out and came at Donny!

“What did you call me, you little faggot?” He shoved Donny and he flew into the wall.

“Hey, back off!” Donny steadied himself and put up his hands, his jaw tightened in restraint.

“You back off!” said Mr. Douchebag and shoved Donny harder against the wall.

“C’mon, Greg,” called his friend from the elevator as he held the door open. His other friend shook his head and took a swig of his beer. This obviously wasn’t the first time Mr. Douchebag had started a fight. He pinched Donny’s shirt between his fat fingers. Danielle screamed and Chaz stepped in, pulling the guy off of Donny.

“Back the fuck off!”

“Aw, that’s so cute. You standing up for your boyfriend, Queer?”

Greg’s friends jumped in and grabbed him. They dragged him back to the elevator as he struggled against them. “Sorry guys,” the taller one called. “He gets hot when he’s had too much.”

I let out my breath and started shaking as the elevator doors closed. Donny straightened his shirt. Chaz pulled me to him, his eyes flashing with anger as his chest heaved.

“Are you okay?” Chaz asked as he glanced back to the elevator. The lights revealed it had stopped on the sixth floor.

Danielle grabbed Donny’s hand. “Let’s go back to the room,” she coaxed. Donny glanced back at the numbers above the elevator then threw his eyes over to Chaz. Chaz shook his head “no”.

“Sure,” said Donny. He nodded to Chaz. He put his arm around Danielle’s shoulder and they started down the hall.

We sat in silence, watching MTV. Donny curled up with Danielle on her bed and Chaz lounged next to me on mine. The Human League’s
Don’t You Want Me Baby
video had just started when there was a knock on the door. I sat up stiffly and Chaz walked over to the door and looked out the peephole.

“It’s your stylist, Paige,” he called.

Trent entered pushing a room service cart draped in a white cloth. “Special delivery,” he sang and yanked the tablecloth from the cart revealing bottles of beer, wine coolers, sodas, and two bottles of vodka.

“Jesus!” beamed Donny.

“I grabbed what I could from the bar, they were shutting it down.”

“Thanks, Trent,” I said and rose to give him a hug.

“Thanks, man,” said Chaz.

“Sure. I told you I take care of my models,” he winked. “If you need anything else I’m three doors down in room four-fifteen.” He tucked the tablecloth under his arm and left.

Donny stood and announced, “I believe we have a party here boys and girls.” He turned to me and squeezed one eye shut. “What’s your poison, m’ lady?”

“Wine cooler, please,” I giggled.

“Such a chick.” He shook his head, twisted the top from the wine cooler, and handed it to me.

“Ditto,” called Danielle.

“Bor-ing,” Donny sang.

We sat on the end of the bed and sipped our wine coolers. Chaz and Donny started on the bottle of vodka, passing it back and forth.

“Jesus!” called Danielle. “Slow down, put it in some soda.”

“Argh!” grimaced Donny, shaking his head. “It’s not cold.” He walked over to the dresser and picked up the ice bucket, tucking the bottle of vodka under his arm.

“Hey, you better come back with that,” called Chaz. He reached onto the cart, grabbed the other bottle of vodka and twisted off the top.

“Take it easy there, cowboy,” I cautioned. “You’ll be blasted with bright lights and loud music tomorrow. It’s brutal if you’re hung over.”

“Fuckin’ A,” Danielle snorted in agreement.

Without warning the door flew open and a conga line of stylists and models paraded into our room. They danced and sang around the room and turned in a tight circle near the vanity. They were still coming into the room as the front of the line exited.

“Conga?” said Danielle. “What is this, the seventies?”

Donny was at the end of the line behind Trent. “C’mon, beautiful.” He tossed his hair from his eyes and extended his black fingernails to Danielle.

“What the hell,” she shrugged. Sliding her fingers into the belt loops of his black jeans she joined in behind Donny. Finally, the party-goers exited the room. I locked the door behind them.

“That was crazy,” said Chaz as he poured vodka and soda into the glasses on the dresser. “Are these shows always like this?”

“Yes. Which is why it’s a good thing they only come once a year.”

He nodded and handed the glass to me.

“Cheers,” I said and we clinked our glasses. He climbed on top of the bed and I stood in the middle of the room, glaringly aware of the emptiness from the loss of energy from the conga line. Chaz patted the space next to him and I sat, obviously aware that we were alone.

I was nervous.

And excited.

But mostly nervous.

I sat next to him, my arm grazing his as I propped the pillows up against the headboard and settled in. Chaz flipped through the channels as we sipped our drinks and watched TV.

“Knight Rider?” he asked, pausing on the channel.

“Sure,” I replied with a shrug. I don’t know if it was because I had been up early this morning, the sun, the alcohol, or a combination of everything but all of a sudden I was really tired. I felt heavy, my weary body sinking into the mattress. When my eyes started to close Chaz took my glass and switched off the lamp next to the bed, the TV the only source of light flickering across the room.

“I’m sorry,” I turned on my side to face him. “I’m not much fun. I’m really tired.”

He threw back the rest of his drink and set the glass on the nightstand. “I’m tired too. I should go back to my room.”

“There might be a…party going on in there,” I grinned, knowing how crazy Donny and Danielle got when they were drunk. “A private party.”

“You’re probably right.” His lips parted as he scanned my body sprawled next to him.

“You could stay here,” I offered and turned onto my stomach.

“I could…” he said softly. He slowly gathered my hair and swept it to the side. He pressed his thumbs into my back and rubbed in small circles.

“Mmm, that’s nice,” I said into the pillow. He worked down my back, then his hands stilled and they were gone.

I rolled over to face him. He was propped up on one elbow, his emerald eyes dropped down my body as his heated gaze washed over me. I reached up to him, needing contact. I raised my hand to his cheek and he turned into my palm. With quickened breath his face was within inches of mine. My hands stole around his neck and tangled into his thick hair. Soft lips covered mine as adrenaline rushed down to my toes. He rolled on top of me and I was flooded with relief to finally have his weight crushing me into the bed. His tongue slowly pushed between my teeth and I was thankful for the darkness so he couldn’t see me coming undone. I had waited so long for this. His kisses became more demanding, urgent, and I moaned as his tongue tangled with mine.

And then he raised up and was lifting away from me as my hands slipped from his neck.

“What’s wrong?” I whispered.

“Nothing.”

I sat up and studied him. The TV flickered across his face. His eyes focused on the screen as he ran his hands through his hair.

“Did I do something?”

“No, we’ve been drinking…a lot. I don’t want you to do anything you’ll regret.”

“Are you drunk?” I whispered.

“A little,” he whispered back.

“Me too, I guess.” I straddled him and set my arms on his shoulders to steady myself. “I appreciate this gentleman stuff but it’s really not necessary.”

He relented and drew me to him for another kiss, his hands sliding under my tank top and caressing my back.

Then there was banging on the door.

“Paige? Open up! I forgot my key!” called Danielle.

I slid from Chaz’s lap and crossed the room as he turned on the lamp.

“Geez, did you guys fall asleep?” she asked, stomping into the room.

“Something like that,” I said and shot her a glare.

“I better go.” Chaz rose from the bed and slipped on his shoes.

“Oh shit…” Danielle covered her mouth. “Did I interrupt something?”

“See you bright and early,” Chaz called. “We’ll come get you for breakfast,” he said and gave me a peck on the cheek.

A peck? What the hell?
I locked the door and leaned back against it.

“What was going on in here?” Danielle’s eyes twinkled mischievously.

“Whatever was going on is over now, thank you very much.” I scolded. I stripped down to my underwear and slipped under the covers.

“I’m sorry. We need a signal or something.”

“Like a Do Not Disturb sign?”

“Yes. Why didn’t you put it on the door?”

“There was no time. It kind of just happened.”

“So, are you guys like a couple now?”

“Who knows?” I rolled onto my side and drifted off to sleep with Chaz’s kiss on my lips.

***

The next morning we rolled out of bed, put on some sweats, and waited. Thankfully, we didn’t need to worry about our hair, make-up or clothes. All of that would be done for us at the convention.

“It’s getting late. We better go,” said Danielle.

“Where are the boys?” I asked.

“They must have overslept.” Danielle banged on the wall and listened. Nothing.

We went next door and knocked. After a long minute Chaz opened the door. His hair was disheveled, he was shirtless, and his jeans had the top two buttons undone. My knees weakened and I tried not to stare.

“What time is it?” he asked with squinted eyes as we brushed past him.

“Time for us to go,” barked Danielle. “C’mon, Sleeping Beauty,” she called over to Donny. He was face down diagonally on the bed, the sheet draped loosely over his naked backside. She sat next to him and shook his shoulder.

“Hmm…”

“Wake up, asshole. We gotta go.”

My eyes trailed after Chaz as he disappeared into the bathroom.

“Already?” he rolled over. “I’ve barely slept.”

“Who’s fault is that?” hissed Danielle.

Chaz returned, drying his face with a towel. I watched him out of the corner of my eye as he ran a comb through his hair and slipped on a striped blue polo shirt. His eyes caught mine in the mirror. I blushed and looked away.

Danielle picked up a glass of something from the nightstand and held it over Donny’s head. “Get up or you get doused.”

“Okay, okay, take it easy.” Donny rolled out of bed, but not before pushing Danielle back onto it. He staggered in all of his naked glory into the vanity area and shoved a toothbrush into his mouth. Then he walked into the bathroom and peed without closing the door.

“Ugh!” snorted Danielle in disgust. “Honestly, he’s so gross.” When he returned he picked up his clothes from the floor and threw them on.

“I’m ready,” he smiled, spreading his arms. Chaz opened the door and Donny stepped back, his hands blocking the sun as it streamed in.