After taking in all that is Dirty Dog, I walk farther into the main room to find Shane talking to six of the bartenders I had hired. I give a nod to Travis and Garrett, the Hanks brothers who used to dance with Shane. Brent, Logan, and Matt are standing behind them, and I get the same greeting back from them.
Denton, the sixth to round out our main bartenders, is already on top of the bar with his shirt off, showing them what he wants them to do. He’s taken on the role of resident dance coordinator, a job both Shane and myself were happy to pass on to him.
We lucked out picking up Denton. Not only does he have the look that will guarantee him being a crowd favorite with his background in modeling, but he also recently tried out for the show So You Think You Can Dance. He didn’t make it to the very end, but he got far enough to be our own little celebrity here at Dirty.
“You plan on just standing there, Dent? Or are you going to show us how it’s done?” I deadpan, only to laugh when he flips me off.
“Have you decided how you want the first showcase to go?” Shane asks when I drop down onto one of the barstools he had pulled over from one of the tables scattered around the room. I look the few feet that separate us from where Denton is now standing with his hands on his hips.
“Fuck yeah, I did,” I say with a smile. Just thinking about the ingenious idea I had around not only the first spotlight, but also what will be the signature drink. “How do you feel about lollipops, gentlemen?” I ask.
“What the hell are you talking about, Nate?” Denton calls down before bending at the waist and sitting on the edge of the wooden bar top.
“Lollipops, how do you like them?” I ask, again.
Seven sets of eyes just blink at me, clearly not following my train of thought. Nothing new there.
“Fine.” I sigh with fake exasperation. “How about I show you what I’m talking about?”
“Might be a good idea since you lost us when you started talking about candy,” Shane jokes, earning a laugh from the others.
“Where is everyone else?” I ask, getting up and walking across the large open space toward the platform in the corner where the DJ booth and sound system are set up.
“All the girls are in the holding room finishing up their uniform fittings with Hilary. She was finishing up the last I went in there, though, so you should be good.”
I give Shane a nod while looking through the extensive list of songs we have on our playlist software—another program I created. Finding the song I need, I set the timer before turning up the volume, making sure to engage all the speakers and subwoofers before making my way behind the main bar.
“Do me a favor, Trav, and go get the girls. Get off my bar, Dent.”
I look up and see Shane’s mouth form a smile knowing where I’m going with this. None of these guys, besides him, have ever seen me dance. I don’t give a shit how big of a dancer Denton is, either. He’s about to learn just how to make a girl melt in seconds.
Making sure I have what I need: coconut rum, clear apple juice, and one of the thousands of cotton candy flavor lollipops I ordered in bulk, it takes me no time to get the drink measured out, sugar around the rim, and the lollipop wrapper off. I check my watch to see how much time I have left before the song will start then drop the candy into the glass so just the stick is popping out and push it forward.
The girls start walking in just as I rest my hands on the bar top. A few of them are new faces that I haven’t gotten to know as well as the others. I look over and let my gaze hit all twenty faces of our floor girls, stopping when I see the one that will work for what I need.
“Come here, Julie,” I demand. One blond brow goes up, but she doesn’t miss a beat, and just when she steps up to the bar, the first notes of Framing Henley’s “Lollipop” blasts through the room. Some of the girls jump but not Julie. She takes the glass sitting on the bar, then pulls out the lollipop and lifts it to her red stained lips.