cheerleader outfits,
and yet another who wears elaborate ball gowns. Then we have our Mistress bartenders
and servers that always dress to the nines. And I can’t forget Sister
Immaculate, who usually wears some type of nun getup.”
“A nun? For real?”
“Oh yeah. Lots of guys find it hot. You know, corrupting an
innocent and all that.” Sunny tapped her foot against the edge of the table.
“Why don’t you show me what you have and we’ll go from there. If you need
anything extra, there are some girls that are your height and size you can
borrow from.”
The word “size” made her all the more self-conscious about
being a size 14 instead of what had to be a size 4 like Sunny. “Okay.”
Anya picked her bag up off the floor and set it on the
table. The first item she took out was a long, flowing robe of diaphanous gray
material that had a pearl-like shimmer. She’d seen a similar one Laurel had
made for a friend in gold, but the silver flattered her pale skin and hair
better than the warm color.
“Ohhhh, pretty,” Sunny said as she leaned forward and
fingered the material. “Soft too. Kinda like silk.”
Emboldened, Anya took out a baby-doll top made of the same
material but with sparkly silver beading along the bodice to hide her nipples.
The top was long enough to reach her upper thighs, so she hadn’t brought an
additional skirt. At the time she’d thought her outfit was extremely risqué,
but now, looking at Sunny in her barely there clothes, she worried maybe she
would be too covered.
“What do you think?”
“Honestly?”
“Yes, please.”
“Just like any other place in the world, the more skin you
show, the better the tips. I’d leave that lovely robe off and wear the
negligee.”
Discomfort twisted her stomach, mixing with her unease in a
sour ball. “But they’ll be able to see my underwear.”
“Honey, that’s nothing. Even though you’ll be in the public
portion of the bar tonight, there will be half-naked and sometimes fully naked
people everywhere.”
“Seriously?”
Sunny giggled. “Yes, seriously. You’ll be helping me at the
bar. Did you bring any shoes?”
Anya fished out a pair of high heels she’d only worn once.
“I have these and a pair of ballet flats.”
“Are you used to walking in heels? You’re going to be on
your feet for a good six hours tonight, taking drinks from the bar to the
members in the lounge area. I don’t want you to cripple yourself on your first
night. I mean, if you have experience walking around in high heels for your day
job, you might be okay. Otherwise I’d stick to the ballet flats.”
She sighed. “No. My daytime job is as a nanny. High heels
and spirited children don’t mix.”
“You know, I can totally picture it. You have this very
calm, peaceful aura about you. Bet you’re great with kids.” Sunny pursed her
lips. “The ballet flats will work, and I think Vivienne has some slave bells we
can put around your ankles. Then we’ll probably need a mask for you as well.”
“Why?”
“Almost all of the servers and bartenders wear masks, as
well as a bunch of the members. It helps protect our identity and gives the
members a sense of privacy. If they saw you out and about in the real world,
they would never know who you are, so there wouldn’t be any weirdness. Not that
it really matters anyways. Those privacy contracts we all have to sign pretty
much ensure no one ever talks about Wicked.”
“That makes sense. Should I pick a fake name as well? I
mean, Anya isn’t very common.”
“Yes. Do you have anything in mind?”
“No, not really. I never thought about it until now.”
Sunny leaned back and tilted her head, examining Anya with a
shrewd eye. “How about Dove?”
“Dove?”
“Yeah. You’re soft and sweet like a dove, and your eyes are
a blue-gray. That pale blonde hair of yours adds to your innocent look. Plus,
and most importantly, we don’t have anyone who goes by that name yet.”
“Dove. I