Show Off, page 16
“Seraph’s would be nothing without our wonderful Beth. She’s the boss around here and is the best type of boss. She treats everyone at Seraph’s like we are her family. Everyone, Beth.”
Beth walked out on stage wearing an incredible tight fitting electric blue knee length gown in a latex wet-look fabric that shone under the lights. The top of her prosthetic leg was visible over her boots. She bowed to the crowd; once a dancer, always a dancer, then took the microphone from Charlie.
“Thank you. The nights at Seraph’s would be boring without our incredible MC, The Gloved Gatsby. The loudest cheers should be reserved for her!” The audience went a little wild and Charlie felt herself blushing. It took several minutes before there was enough quiet for her to speak. She’d practiced this with Beth but hadn’t expected this level of applause.
“Sorry, boss. I think you are wrong. I’m not the one who deserves the loudest cheer. There is someone much more deserving.”
“Me? Why thank you.” Beth bowed in an exaggerated fashion and the audience loved it.
“Everyone is here tonight to celebrate the grand reopening of Seraph’s Burlesque Club.” Charlie didn’t have to look out at the audience to know that Reiko should be guiding Elle to the side of the stage. “Yes, I know we didn’t technically close our doors during the refurbishment, so opening is a little bit of an overstatement. To all those who came here to be entertained while we had no tables, thank you.”
“If you are planning to celebrate the people who stood around without tables, then—” Beth paused, as they’d planned. “—then you’d be right. Our guests are our most important people. Thank you everyone for supporting Seraph’s.”
Charlie waited for the audience to quiet down again. “Who loves the new décor? I’m quite the fan of the new tables myself.”
“Obviously. You keep mentioning them!” The audience roared at Beth’s comment.
“Because they are freaking amazing. Our thanks go to Sam who corralled a collection of artists together as they created the incredible artworks you’ll see on each table. Can you believe these are the same old tables that we’ve always had at Seraph’s? Sam’s class refurbished each table, then created art for you all to enjoy.”
Beth nudged her. “You really love those tables.”
“Well, I have it on good authority that they are sturdy enough now for...” Charlie bent over and shook her tits, then cleared her throat dramatically. The audience catcalled her. Perfect!
“The tables are great, but my favourite part of the refit are the new lights above the bar. Aren’t they super funky?” Beth’s comment had the audience turning around and cooing at the new fittings.
“And that brings us to the most important part of the evening. I’d like to introduce two very important people. Our builder, Siddarth Jain, and our interior designer, Elle Denbigh-Yadav.”
When Elle walked onto the stage beside Siddarth, Charlie’s chest swelled with pride. This was her girlfriend. Look at her.
“These are the people who deserve the biggest applause.” Charlie spread her arms wide in their direction and Beth clapped. The audience cheered, loud and energetic, and Charlie couldn’t help herself. She walked the few strides over to Elle and kissed her. Not a polite kiss on the cheek, but the kiss she’d wanted to give Elle for months. A tender adoring kiss filled with all the love she felt for Elle. She brushed her hair gently off her face as she kissed Elle with all her heart. Elle tensed for a short while, then seemed to forget they were on stage at Seraph’s and melted into the kiss. Her cast was hard between them, an ugly reminder of her accident, and Charlie took more care than normal. Eventually the incredible volume from the crowd seeped through the buzz in her ears and she straightened up.
“Elle. Thank you for creating a gorgeous space at Seraph’s.”
Siddarth took Beth’s microphone with a grin. “Do I get a kiss like that too?”
The crowd laughed. Someone started chanting, ‘kiss, kiss’ and soon everyone joined in.
Charlie couldn’t help it. “What do you think, darling? Should we invite Siddarth to join us for a threesome?” The crowd roared, loud enough to lift the roof, and Charlie almost missed Elle’s whisper.
“He’s cute, but I don’t want to share you with anyone.”
Siddarth laughed. “Fair call. If I was lucky enough to be sleeping with either of you, I wouldn’t want to share either.”
“Thank you everyone for a wonderful night. You’ve been a fantastic audience. Seraph’s only exists because you guys are here. I hope we’ve been entertaining.” Charlie nodded to Ben and he closed the curtain, hiding them from the audience.
“Why do I put up with you?” Elle’s dark brown eyes were dancing. “I can’t believe you kissed me in front of everyone.”
“Can’t you?”
“You are lucky that I love you, Charlie.”
Charlie grinned so much that her cheeks hurt. “Come home with me. I want to look after you and help you heal.”
Siddarth laughed. “Is that what you call it?”
“Come on, Siddarth. Let’s grab a drink.” Beth tucked her arm onto Siddarth’s elbow and they walked off the stage, leaving Charlie and Elle alone. Well... As alone as anyone could be with only a curtain between them and a crowd.
“What do you say, Elle, my love? Shall we stay for a drink and perhaps a fuck in the hallway for old times sake...” Charlie winked.
Elle smiled. “Yes please.”
“Excuse me? I was joking. What about your arm?”
“My arm will be fine if we are careful. Let’s celebrate.” Elle’s smile lit up her whole face and Charlie felt herself grinning like wild too.
“Have I told you how much I fucking love you?”
***
If you enjoyed this book, you’ll love the next book in the Seraph’s Burlesque Club series, SHOW QUEEN.
They’re real life enemies, but online they’re besties...
Seraph's Burlesque Club owner Beth Zendeli is too old to take any nonsense. She hustled to keep her club afloat through lean years and a pandemic, and she doesn’t let her disability define her. But her perfect location has been sold, and the club is being evicted. The new owner is unreasonable, immovable and irritating. In desperation, she turns to the online friends she talks about plants with...
Property investor Liz Whitten has plans for the old building she's just purchased, and she's used to getting her way. But when she meets the leaseholder in real life, a chance statement reveals Beth to be Liz's online friend QueenB. Can she really evict a friend? Especially a friend who is so unexpected and fascinating in real life.
Liz must decide if profits and ideals matter more than friendship, or if it’s worth taking a risk on love.
***
The next book in the Seraph’s Burlesque Club series is SHOW QUEEN.
They’re real life enemies, but online they’re besties. . .
Stubborn disabled dance club owner meets demisexual property tycoon in this ff enemies to lovers romance.
Seraph's Burlesque Club owner Beth Zendeli takes no nonsense. She hustled to keep her club afloat through lean years and a pandemic, and she doesn’t let her disability define her. But her perfect location has been sold, and the club is being evicted. The new owner is unreasonable, immovable, and irritating. In desperation, she turns to the online friends she talks about plants with. . .
Property investor Liz Whitten has plans for the old building she's just purchased, and she's used to getting her way. But when she meets the leaseholder in real life, a chance statement reveals Beth to be Liz's online friend QueenB. Can she really evict a friend? Especially a friend who is so unexpected and fascinating in real life.
Liz must decide if profits and ideals matter more than friendship, or if it’s worth taking a risk on love.
Enemies to lovers
Seasoned romance (older main characters)
Online friends to IRL lovers
Friends online and enemies IRL
***
In case you missed it, the first book in the Seraph’s Burlesque Club series is SHOW UP.
***
Want a bit more sexy romance and to see what happens at Reiko and Yolande’s wedding? The wedding is available as an exclusive bonus when you sign up for my newsletter.
Acknowledgements
I pay my respects to the Wangal people of the Eora Nation, who are the traditional owners of the land on which this book was written.
Thank you to Porcelain Alice and the team at Sky Sirens for all your help in my Burlesque research. “Burlesque dancers don’t need to be good at dancing. They need to be good at entertaining,” Porcelain Alice.
Thanks as always to MV Ellis, Lina, and the rest of my writing buddies, Charity, Dianne, the Lesbian Campfire group, and the Word Count Warriors at RWAus.
Ali, Marie, and Kait have been an excellent support crew for this series. It was a long, occasionally messy, road and they were there for me as we all navigated a difficult situation together.
Author Notes
While this book is set in London, I wrote it from Australia. Writing a post-pandemic world where everyone is vaccinated is a type of contemporary fantasy, especially given the timing of when I wrote it (early 2021). For the most part, I’ve tried to keep the pandemic out of the story, and only allude to the impacts on the characters.
NHS Charities Together (https://nhscharitiestogether.co.uk/) is a federation of 240 charities that all focus on supporting England’s National Health System. It came to prominence during the COVID19 pandemic when the 99 year-old Captain Tom Moore raised over £30 million for them by walking laps of his garden.
All Books by Renée Dahlia
Thanks for reading SHOW OFF. I hope you enjoyed it. Reviews can help readers find books, and I am grateful for all honest reviews. Thank you for taking the time to let others know what you’ve read, and what you thought. If you write a review for SHOW OFF and email me with the link, I will send you a free copy of the third book in the series, SHOW QUEEN. My email is renee at reneedahlia dot com.
If you’d like to know more about me, my books, or to connect with me online, you can visit my webpage www.reneedahlia.com and if you sign up to my newsletter, you can grab a free book.
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You’ve just read a book in my Seraph’s Burlesque Club Series.
Contemporary Series: Seraph’s Burlesque Club
Show Up (ff with bisexual heroine)
Show Off (ff with bisexual heroines)
Show Queen (ff)
TBA Duo of Novellas (mm)
Contemporary Series: Kapow!
Out of Her League (fm with bisexual characters)
His Buxom Beauty (fm)
Craving His Spotlight (mm)
Her Pregnant Rival (ff)
Contemporary Series: Farrellton Foster Family
Betrayed (fm)
Forbidden (fm with bisexual characters)
Liability (ff)
Contemporary Series: Margaret River TV Boxed Set
- Homage (fm with bisexual heroine)
- Uplift (ff with bisexual heroines)
Contemporary Series: Merindah Park
Merindah Park (fm)
Making Her Mark (fm with bisexual heroine)
Two Hearts Healing (fm)
Racetrack Royalty (fm)
Contemporary Series: Rainbow Cove
His Christmas Pearl (fm)
His Christmas Pride (mm)
Historical Series: Great War
Her Lady’s Melody (ff)
Her Lady’s Fortune (ff)
Her Lady’s Honor (ff)
His Lord’s Soldier (mm)
Historical Series: Bluestockings
Prequel: The Shipwrecked Earl’s Bride (fm with bisexual hero)
To Charm a Bluestocking (fm with bisexual hero)
In Pursuit of a Bluestocking (fm)
The Heart of a Bluestocking (fm)
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Also by Renee Dahlia
Great War
Her Lady's Melody
Her Lady's Fortune
His Lord's Soldier
Kapow
Out of Her League
Rekindled
His Buxom Beauty
Craving His Spotlight
Her Pregnant Rival
Seraph's Burlesque Club
Show Up
Show Off (Coming Soon)
Show Queen (Coming Soon)
Standalone
The Shipwrecked Earl's Bride
Watch for more at Renee Dahlia’s site.
Renee Dahlia, Show Off
