Center Stage

Gemini was taken completely by surprise. “Uh… Hi…”

She approached the sofa cautiously, taking each step slower than the last. His initial greeting was nothing like what she had expected. Any guest of hers would stand upon her arrival, outwardly friendly and eager to begin the ‘activities’ they had paid for, but not the stallion before her.

Emerald, as he called himself, looked uncertain, maybe even nervous. His whole body looked tense, and his legs were pressed together with his hands squarely in his lap, fidgeting with his fingers. Below his blue eyes, the stallion’s cheeks were turning as red as the sofa he was sitting on with embarrassment, something Gemini found to be quite cute and refreshing. Once she had overcome her initial shock, the entertainer shook her head and resumed her scowl.

Cute or not, he was still an ass that paid for her to have sex with him, and that was something Gemini didn’t want anything to do with. “Alright, Emerald, let's get something straight right now…” Standing in front of him, looking down her nose, she pressed her hands against her hips. He seemed to visibly sink into the couch cushions at the sound of her voice. “You might know Onyx, but I have his favor too, and he won’t risk losing me, so if you think I’m going to march in here just to have sex with you because you paid for it, then you’re in for a rude awakening, stud…”

Emerald’s expression changed drastically. His shoulders fell, his eyes lit up, and a quiet sigh escaped his lips. “That’s a relief…”

For the second time in the span of three minutes, Gemini had been stopped in her tracks. She had an entire rant prepared to unload onto the perverted stud, but in an instant, her speech had been ripped away from her and torn in two.

When he saw her baffled look, quickly tried to find the words to correct what he had said. “I mean… I didn’t mean any offense to… What I’m trying to say is…” Every time, he tripped over his own mouth. He took in a deep breath and tried again. “I’m sure you’re great at what you do, but I don’t want to have sex with you.”

She had the desire to be angry, but she lacked the ammunition. Gemini felt powerless. Her arms fell by her side, and she clumsily sat down in a chair opposite to the sofa. “Then… Why are you even here? Why did you pay for my services?”

Emerald shook his head. “I didn’t… My friends did.” He raised his hands to his face, resting his chin in his palms. “They know I hate places like this, strip clubs, so they did this as a joke. They’re probably waiting outside for me with cameras.”

Gemini frowned, sitting forward in her chair. “That’s no way for friends to treat somepony on their birthday.”

The stallion looked up, meeting her gaze. “How’d you know that?”

She turned her head and gestured towards the door. “Onyx told me.” When she turned back to face him, her gaze softened. “I wasn’t aware this was a prank… I’m sorry for the way I acted when I came in.”

Emerald managed a weak grin as he brushed his grey hair out of his eyes. “It’s cool, really. I’m sure you meet a lot of jerks in your line of work.”

That was a gross understatement. The dancer let out a sly whistle as she fell back in her chair. She was beginning to relax a little herself. “Yeah, no kidding. To them, I’m just an object, a commodity. I can be bought and sold like anything else.”

Emerald’s gaze fell to the floor. “I… I’m sorry to hear that, miss-“

The dancer leaned forward, extending her hand towards him. “Gemini… My name is Gemini. Onyx likes to call me Gem, but I like Gemini…”

He looked unsure at first, but he raised his hand to meet hers. “I guess I’ll call you Gemini, then… If you don’t like it, why do you work like this?”

Their hands retreated back to their respective owners. Gemini pursed her lips as she thought of how to respond. For her, a changeling, there wasn’t a lot of other options for work. She was also good at what she did. Some days were worse than others, and there were always the bad shifts with the bad patrons, but Gemini always felt at home when she was on the stage.

It was her realm, and she was the queen.

She didn’t expect somepony she had just met to understand, and he certainly didn’t need to know who she really was. “That’s my own business, Emerald.”

Her cold response turned him off, and he retreated back into silence. After a while of sitting without talking, Gemini looked at him, then at the door, then at the clock, then back at him. Hardly any time at all had passed since she walked in. It would be painful for them both to sit there for an hour.

Gemini’s mind got to work, and she quickly came up with a solution. She stood up and walked over towards the sofa, holding out her hand. “Come on, Emerald.”

He looked at her outstretched hand, then up at her eyes. “Wh-What?”

Gemini rolled her eyes and reached forward, grabbing his hand. “I’m not sitting on my ass for an hour. You paid for my attention, so you’re going to get it.”

He was being half lead, half dragged towards the door now. “B-B-But I thought you said you didn’t want to-“

“We’re going to the bar, stud. Do you drink?” Without waiting for a reply, she opened the door and pulled him into the corridor. The bouncer stood just a little ways down, exactly where Gemini had left him.

He looked at them as they came down the hall, Gemini holding tight onto Emerald’s hand as she pulled him along. “Is everything alright, miss?”

She grinned, showing her teeth as she passed him. “I’m just fine, big guy. We’re going to get some drinks.”

Puzzled, he scratched his head, but he said nothing else and followed them to the club floor. Across the floor, Aria was still going on stage six. She was entirely nude, showing off her naked body in all of its natural beauty. Her breasts bounced wildly as she spun in circles around the poll, occasionally lifting one of her legs to allow the onlookers a brief glimpse of her bare slit. Other dancers watched alongside the guests, making it easy for Gemini and Emerald to slip over to the bar unnoticed.

The bartender greeted them with a smile. “Well, hello there, Gemini! I don’t see ya’ over here all that often. That was a wild show you put on last night. What a routine!”

Her cheeks turned red, and she glanced towards Emerald out of the corner of her eye. “Yeah… Thanks, Andesite… Anyway, I want something with a buzz, anything. Surprise me.” She nodded towards the stallion by her side. “Get him whatever he wants, and put it under my name.”

Emerald tapped her shoulder to get her attention as the bartender waited for his request. “Actually, Gemini, I was trying to tell you on the way over here that I don’t really drink.”

She shot him a frown and turned to face the bartender. “Get him some water then, Andy, and make mine a double.”

He nodded his head and turned around to prepare their order. Then, Gemini turned on Emerald, sitting on the stool next to his. They stared each other down for several seconds before the entertainer broke the ice, pointing towards Aria on the stage. “You don’t want to watch naked mares dance for you, and you don’t drink. Is there anything you do like?”

Emerald shrugged, keeping his eyes on the counter. “No, not really. I’m a full time student at the palace, so I spend a lot of my time hitting the books so I can keep my scholarships.”

The bartender returned, placing two glances in front of Gemini and one next to Emerald. The stallion thanked him before taking a sip of water. When he set the glass back down, he cleared his throat. “I like to watch airshows when the Wonderbolts visit. My dad would take me to see them all the time when I was little.”

Gemini couldn’t help smiling at such a happy thought. It must have been nice, having a close relationship with someone. She never got that in the hive she came from. Even as a larva, she was jealous of the connections ponies had with each other. Gemini took a long sip from her own drink, one of them, anyway.

She cringed as the burning liquid traveled down her throat and landed in her stomach. “The Wonderbolts?” A small burp escaped her chest before she took another sip. “They’re regular visitors around here. I’ve even seen Spitfire herself on several occasions.”

Emerald nearly choked on his water, spewing a mouthful across the counter. “Spitfire comes here? You’re joking.”

Gemini turned his gaze across the club floor, towards a pair of tall, strapping stallions watching Aria dance alongside everypony else. “She’s a big fan of our male performers.” Usually, Gemini didn’t talk about the guests she knew showed up at least once a week, but the alcohol was affecting her, even after just a few sips. “She likes that one the most… He’s the biggest, if you catch my meaning… I’ve seen him pull a trick where he takes his-“

“Gem?” They both turned around to find the manager storming towards them. “Gem, what do you think you’re doing? Bulk told me you just left the private room.” He sounded more frustrated than anything, like a parent trying to discipline a rebellious daughter. “You had a job to do, and here you are, drinking.”

“Hey! I am- *Hic*” Gemini set her drink down to speak. “I am doing my- *Hic* job!” She threw an arm around Emerald, pulling the stallion in close and planting a sloppy kiss on his cheek. Emerald looked beyond uncomfortable, but he kept his mouth closed. “This stud… is awesome. I- *Hic* like him, Onyx. He even knows Spitfire!”

The manager raised an eyebrow towards Emerald, who promptly shook his head.

“I don’t, sir, but she is keeping me company. This is what we agreed on.”

Gemini was kissing him repeatedly, planting her lips against his cheek again and again. Onyx didn’t like his dancers getting drunk on the job, especially in front of guests, but Emerald was a paying customer.

“Alright, but I’m cutting you off, Gem.” He gave the bartender a nod that was silently understood. “You need to be able to perform tonight, and I don’t want you stumbling off of the stage.”

Gemini nodded her head before kissing Emerald one last time, pressing her lips against neck. Onyx was gone now, walking back across the club floor towards stage three to get the next dancer ready.

Emerald let out a long sigh. “I’m sorry, Gemini. I didn’t mean to get you in trouble with your boss.”

The tipsy mare shook her head as she retracted her arm. “No… No, it was my idea, cutie. I reeeally- *Hic* like you.”

He put on a smile and chuckled. “Thanks, but I think that’s the alcohol talking.” Her hands felt around the top of the counter in search of her drinks, but Andesite had taken them both. Disappointed, she looked back at Emerald and took his hand in hers, wrapping her fingers around his.

“Well, we still have some time to spend together. You bought me for an hour, right? I could show you my stage, the big one over there, and we could- *Hic* dance a little.”

Emerald shook his head and freed his hand from her grasp. “Thanks again, but I think I need to go.” That wasn’t the response she had wanted, but she knew she couldn’t stop him.

Emerald was already walking towards the door. “It was… nice meeting you, Gemini.”

The dancer sat at the bar for several seconds before taking a sobering sip of the stallion’s water that he’d left behind.

She still felt buzzed, but the hiccups had stopped at least. Gemini rose to her feet and following after him. “Wait!” She caught him by the door, grabbing onto his arm. “You’ll come back, won’t you? I mean… I could introduce you to Spitfire. I’m certain she’d like to meet one of her fans…”

Emerald’s eyes widened. “Really? You’d do that for me?”

Gemini nodded her head. “Yeah, but you gotta do something for me.” Before he could ask what it was, Gemini opened the door and peeked outside. Two stallions stood on the sidewalk a little ways down the street, talking and laughing. “Are they your friends? The ones who tried to prank you?”

Emerald looked out at them and nodded. “Yeah, but-“

Before he could say a word, Gemini wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him outside. Below the great, big lights flashing ‘Colt’s Club’, she pulled him into a hot kiss, making sure Emerald’s friends could see. Her tongue slipped into his mouth, and they shared saliva, swapping spit as it tracked back and forth between their mouths.

Moments later, she pulled away with a thick strand of saliva connecting their lips. “Thanks, cutie… Come back and see me again.” Then, she strolled back inside and shut the door as Emerald collected his jaw off of the ground.

***Up Next: The Full Moon***