set to make sure the crowd
is hot for the night."
"I gotcha. Well, I'll see what I can do."
The director came over, checking if they were ready, and their
conversation stopped. The shoot went quickly, and by the time the
clock reached four in the afternoon, the entire shot was wrapped up.
Renee was impressed, she had expected it to go until dark like a lot
of shoots she'd been on. Grady's decision to fire the director had
paid off. As everyone was wrapping up, she pulled off her wig. Grady,
who was approaching, paused as he saw the red streak in her hair.
"Whoa. So is red your thing?'
Renee laughed and ran her fingers through the long extension. "Well,
it is this week. Bang Bang is going with a red motif, and they're my
highest paying gig. Besides, it coordinates with my outfit."
"Really? I'd enjoy seeing that."
"Come on by Thursday and you'll get a chance." She was
about to say something else when Grady's cell phone rang, and he
pulled it out of his suit coat pocket. He talked to the caller for a
minute, then hung up, shrugging his shoulders. "Business?"
"Always. Anyway, it was a pleasure meeting you, Renee. And I
promise, I'll do my best to come by Bang Bang on Thursday."
Renee watched him walk out of the bank, shaking hands and thanking
most of the crew, disappearing into the warm San Diego afternoon to
climb into a Lotus sports car. Kristy, who had changed out of her
commercial shoot clothes and into a jeans and a t-shirt that said
"USNA" on it, jogged her elbow. "He's cute. And he
looked into you."
Renee shook her head and lightly guffawed. "You must be crazy.
That man has enough money and looks to get anyone he wanted. There's
no way he's interested in a girl from the Heights like me. I just
wonder if he'll actually come by my set, or if he was just being
nice. I'll count it as a win if he comes by."
"You never know," Kristy replied. "You never can
tell."
Chapter 2
Renee took a deep breath and blew it out, emptying her stomach as
much as she could. "All right Lin, ratchet it."
"You sure?" Lin, one of the staff at Bang Bang asked. "You
going to be able to do three sets with it cinched like this?"
"I'm sure. Besides, it looks tighter than it is, the fabric's
got some give to it."
"Okay, if you say so." The pretty brunette pulled, and the
laces on the back of Renee's corset pulled more. There was a moment
when the pressure was almost too much, but Renee held out, knowing
that the knot Lin used would slip a bit as she tied it down. When the
slip came, and then Lin finished the bow knot, she took a shallow
breath, fighting the urge to gulp down air. "Okay, that's all
set."
The key to breathing in her DJ gear, Renee had learned, was slow,
calm breaths. The tight black satin and vinyl bustier and corset over
her stomach served two purposes. First, the leatherish dominatrix
look played well with her forte, and gave her a unique appearance
that blended steampunk with dystopian science fiction well. Secondly,
and in her opinion more importantly, she looked great in it, her body
having an hourglass look, she rarely had a chance to feel like it had
in real life. When the black corset was matched with the blood red
tight pants she was wearing tonight, a waist length wide lapeled
jacket and her trademark goggles (tonight rocking ruby red lenses to
reflect the motif), she felt transformed, from normal everyday Renee
Williams into Litezout, her stage name. Feeling her heart slow down
from the effort of holding her breath, she turned to Lin, who was
shaking her head and grinning. "Thanks Lin. I know you think I'm
nuts."
"Renee, the patrons come in and pay to listen to your mixes and
dance their asses off, not to ogle you. You're behind the table for
all except thirty seconds each time. Why the hell do you put yourself
through this each time?"
Renee thought about it for a moment, then answered honestly. "Up
there Lin, it's really weird. I'm both the center of attention and
totally anonymous. But because of that, I can be