Club looking for the blonde woman to come in and work. Crystal swore profusely and yelled at the person on the other end of the phone but in the end told them she'd be there as soon as she could. She hung the phone up and returned to the balcony.

"I have to go to work. Charice twisted her ankle. Where do you keep the phone book?"

Laura rose to her feet. "I'll give you a ride if you'd like."

"Naw, you don't have to do that. I'll just call a cab."

'Really, it's not a problem. I need to get some milk in here for coffee tomorrow anyway. I'll just stop at the Money Slasher over on Fourteenth." "You sure?"

"Yeah. Let me go put some long pants on and I'll be right with you."

After unlocking the passenger door, Laura crossed over to her side and stepped into her late model Jeep. She fastened her seat belt and looked pointedly at her passenger, who rolled her eyes and reached for her seat belt.

"Do you need a ride home when you're done?" she inquired while starting the engine.

"Naw, I'll get Rick or one of the girls to drive me home. No biggie."

"All right." She backed the vehicle up and pulled out onto the main road.

"Nice car," Crystal commented, looking at the brightly lit dials and buttons of the dashboard. "You have a CD player?"

"Yes." Without looking, Laura reached behind the passenger seat and retrieved a case full of discs. "I doubt there's anything in there that you like."

Crystal took the case and looked at the titles, the smirk on her face growing. "Paul McCartney's greatest hits? Little River Band? Captain and Tennille? What, are you stuck in the seventies?"

"Seventies and eighties, actually. I like that music."

Crystal closed the case and put it in the back. "You don't have to worry about me borrowing any of your CD's, that's for sure." "Let me guess. You're into heavy metal."

"When the mood strikes me. Most of the time I listen to rock."

"I prefer songs that I can understand the lyrics to, not super loud drums and guitars." Laura guided the Jeep onto the highway and picked up speed. "What time do you finish?"

"Last show is midnight. I usually get out of there around two or so but like I said, don't worry about it. I'll get a ride from someone." She pulled a cigarette out of her pack and rolled the window down.

"I don't allow smoking in my car."

"Even with the window down? It'll draw out all the smoke."

"It doesn't draw all of it out."

"Fine," Crystal huffed, jamming the cigarette back into the pack. "I suppose finding a decent station on the radio is also out of the question?"

Smiling in the dark, Laura turned on the directional signal and pulled into the passing lane. "As long as you can find one that doesn't threaten to blow my speakers."

The radio stayed off.

"I can't believe the crowd out there tonight. You'd think it was a Saturday or somethin'."

"Can't really complain, Monica. More customers means more tips." Crystal watched her reflection in the mirror as she adjusted the bust of her outfit. "Damn, either I'm gaining weight or these costumes are getting smaller."

"There isn't that much material to start with," the other woman replied. "Why don't you wear the leopard outfit?"

"Ugh, I hate that outfit. You ever wear it?"

"Well it's better than that thing." The redheaded stripper pointed at a black leather outfit hanging on the rack.

"I'd rather wear that than the leopard outfit." Turning away from the mirror, Crystal picked up her elbow length gloves and began slipping them on. "I hope they're not letting Charlie do the music tonight."

"Oh, tell me about it, girlfriend. He did it last night and couldn't get two songs in a row right. Angel and I were ready to kill him." "Why do they let a loser like that run the booth when Mike's not working?"

"Because he's cheap, Crys. And as long as Rick runs the place, we're going to continue getting jerks like that."

"Tell me about it," Crystal agreed. "He told me to take my car to that pervert buddy of his and the damn thing died on me." She lit a cigarette and leaned against the makeup table. "I swear if I didn't need this job

"

"Well I'm not here for the fun of it either, Crys. Got an extra one of those?" Monica asked, pointing at the cigarette. "Thanks. I meant to stop on the way over here but I ended up running late."

"No prob."

"Anyway," the redhead paused long enough to exhale a lungful of smoke. "I'm looking around. I can't keep doing this night after night. Don't say anything to Rick, though. I don't want anyone to know until I'm sure I have this other job lined up."

"Another job doing what?"

"There's an entry level job at the office where my cousin works. It's not much, filing and answering the phone but it's better than this." Monica took another puff. "Let's face it, I'm not getting any younger and Mister Right hasn't come through that door yet."

"The only thing that comes through that door is horny old men and obnoxious punks thinking they're God's gift to women," Crystal replied before turning back to the mirror and picking up the brush to reign in an errant lock of hair. "If it wasn't for the money none of us would be here. This job sucks." A hard pounding at the door ended their conversation.

"Let's go ladies." Rick's authoritative voice boomed through the closed door. "Two minutes."

Running the brush through her hair one last time, Crystal made a final check in the mirror before turning to face Monica. "You ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," she replied, surprised by the tired reflection staring back at her. How much longer can I keep doing this? she asked herself. As long as men are willing to pay to see it, the reflection silently answered. "Maybe not," she mumbled.

"What?" Monica asked.

"Nothing. Let's go give the boys their thrills." She opened the door to face a fuming Rick, who ushered them quickly to the stage.

Crystal was walking around her room, picking up her dirty clothes and stuffing them into the laundry bag. With most of her belongings destroyed in the fire, the need to do laundry came often. She went downstairs to find a basket of Laura's clothes sitting on top of the washer. Hmm, must have done it last night. Moving the basket to the top of the dryer, she opened the lid and began stuffing her wadded up clothes into the washer. A healthy splash of detergent and a twist of the dial and the washer hummed to life. After getting the newspaper from the front step she made herself a cup of coffee and went to the deck to wait for the laundry to be ready to be transferred to the dryer.

A few minutes later Laura came downstairs. "Crystal, didn't you see my clothes on top of the washer?"

"The clean ones?" She set the paper down. "Of course. I set them on top of the dryer."

"They aren't clean," the writer corrected. "I was going to take a shower before starting the laundry."

"What do you mean?" Confused, Crystal rose and walked over to the laundry area. "They're all folded."

"I always fold my clothes."

"You fold your dirty laundry?" She shook her head with disbelief. "I should have known. If anyone would fold their dirty laundry, you would. I'm surprised you don't iron it too."

"Only when I'm in the mood," Laura teased, reaching for a coffee cup. "If you see a basket of laundry on top of the washer, it's dirty. Just for future reference."

"Fine. Even if it looks clean, it's dirty." She turned and noticed Laura's outfit, a light blue baseball jersey and white pants with a matching blue stripe. Looking down, she saw the matching blue and white stirrup style socks. "What are you dressed like that for?"

"I'm on a softball team. Jenny's going to be stopping by in a few minutes to pick me up."

"You play softball? Somehow I can't picture you getting all dirty and sliding around the bases."

"I usually don't slide and yes, I play softball. Our team is called Ameilia's Airhearts. We're sponsored by Ameilia's Pub and she thought this was a good play on words. It's fun and it's a great way to get together with my friends." Laura poured herself a cup of coffee. "Do you play any sports?"

Crystal laughed. "I haven't played ball since I was a little kid and I knew then that I sucked." "Ah, you just need practice. If you aren't doing anything today, you're welcome to come along." "Thanks but no thanks. Getting hot and sweaty knocking a ball around isn't myi.e.of a good time." Laura shrugged. "Suit yourself. Did you get the paper this morning?"

"Yeah, it's out on the deck."

"In how many pieces?"

"Hardy har har," Crystal said. "Go drink your coffee. I'm gonna go take a shower." "If the wash finishes, I'll put it in the dryer for you."

Crystal came downstairs after taking her shower to find that Jenny had arrived, dressed in the same uniform as Laura. "Oh, hi Crystal," the therapist said with a smile. "How are you?"

"Fine."

"Hey Jen, we'd better get going," Laura said, picking up her cleats and glove.

"You want to come along?" Jenny offered to Crystal. "We're playing against the team from The Falcon."

"Naw."

"Come on, it'll be fun," she offered again. "You can watch Babe Ruth over here knock the ball over the fence a dozen times." She jerked her thumb in the direction of the now embarrassed Laura.

"No, really, I

"

"What are you doing today that's more fun than hanging out with a bunch of fun loving people and getting some fresh air?" Crystal fidgeted and looked in the direction of the washer. Jenny followed her gaze and shook her head. "Nope. Doing laundry isn't good enough." She reached over and tugged on the blonde woman's elbow. "Let's go."