Forever Again, Short Story, Chapter 3

      Chapter 3
         During intermission, the waiter came to the table and flirted. He had made eye contact with each of them as he asked if they wanted refills or one of the appetizers which were offered. Lili, deciding to have some fun, flirted right back. She made sure to touch his hand as he removed her glass. She threw money into the basket in the center of the table, which was for tips. Receiving several winks, she shamelessly winked right back. She couldn't help but watch his ass as he walked away to get their order. The need to fan her face was getting stronger.
         Their order was delivered and she through more money into the basket, paying no attention to the chuckles of her nieces. Picking up the program she wondered if the dancer, the program said was named Martin, would be the man who looked like Michael. Yes the young man looked a lot like Michael. She had once heard everyone had a twin in the world. She would just have to finish convincing herself he was different and her thoughts were wishful thinking, when he came back out on stage. Even after thirty years, she still missed the love of her life. He had told her on his death bed he would wait for her in wherever the afterlife took him. He promised they would be together forever again. She just needed to be patient until it was her time to join him. She mentally shook off the thoughts and smiled at her nieces. Picking up some of the money they had stacked in front of her, she decided she was ready to have some fun. Michael would have wanted her to enjoy herself and not wallow in past sadness.
         Martin strode out from the side of the stage. He was dressed in the urban bad boy style of Baseball cap turned around backwards, baggy shirt and baggy pants hanging way to low. His music was a hip hop song Lily did not recognize. She was not disappointed when he broke into a break dance routine shedding clothes as the turned and oscillated on the stage.
         Lily allowed herself to get caught up in the atmosphere. She yelled a couple of times because it appeared to be the thing to do. She waved some money in the air. The sexy man strutted toward her never loosing the beat of the music.. His butt was magnificent as it swayed in front of her. Lily stuck the money in his waist band, purposely skimming her fingers over the smooth skin just below the edge of the shorts he wore. Martin made a couple slow turns his hips swaying to the music. "Thank you  beautiful," As he danced away, to another table,  Lily felt the heat rising from her chest, and consuming her face. She was probably as red as the flowers on the Oleander bushes in front of her house. Both the girls were laughing, congratulating her on her moves.
         The corners of Lili's lips rose as her body moved to the music. This was actually more fun then she thought it would be. She let out a couple more screams as the man finished his routine on stage, walking off only wearing a man's g-string, which left nothing to the imagination.
         The audience lights came back up and again the waiter was there to flirt and take any orders. They had finished the one bottle of Pink Zinfandel and Magie ordered another Craft. Lily was going to have to be careful. She was a real light weight as far as alcohol was concerned. The waiter spent extra time at their table. By the time he left, they were all giggling. Lily felt thirty years younger.
         Slowly the lights started to dim. The program said the next dancer's name was Bret. Lily picked up some money and waited. She heard Revelry being played over the speakers, as back lights came on behind the curtain. The outline showed a man at attention and saluting. The curtain went up and there he stood. Lil's breath hitched and she dropped her hands to the table. Her mind flashed back to the time Michael had come home from the Navel recruiting office he ran. Only this man was shirtless and his pants floated at the notches in his hips. At least now she knew his name.
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         It did not take Bret long to get dressed. He already had all the costume pieces together in the locker. Normally the Naval Officer routine was not something he did because to get the costume cleaned was expensive, but his guts told him this woman, Lily, was going to be worth it. Taking one last look in the full length mirror on the front of his locker door, he headed backstage to check the lounge out. As he walked to the small windows, he told himself he was just doing a general atmosphere check of the main lounge before he performed, but by the time he reached the one-way mirrors he had to admitted it was to watch Lily's table.
         Martin was just about finished his routine. He had jumped down off the front of the stage and was shaking his thong exposed bottom within a foot of Lily's face. Bret's blood started to heat, because he didn't want the man that close to her. He wanted to hit the wall. Or maybe he should just go out there and tell Martin to move to another table. That table was his. He took a couple calming breaths and kept his eyes pinned to the eyes of the woman in his dreams. Slowly the frown turned to a smile, as he realized he was jealous which, of course was ridiculous. He hadn't even spoken to the woman. Wasn't she too old for him? When she stuck some money into Martin's waist band, Bret watched her eyes. They were filled with laughter.
         Martin finished his dance and walked behind the partition. He smiled at Bret adding a wink. "She's really a nice lady Bret. The girls are good also. Wouldn't mind seeing one of them after hours."
         Bret nodded. As he double checked his costume he said, "I'll see what I can do about that." Looking through the mirror, he wondered why he was only concentrating on Lily. Shouldn't he be thinking about the younger girls, not a woman old enough to be his mother. Bret continued to look through the glass until it was time to go on stage. Jamie had spent extra time at the table also. Everyone was at the table except him. He was about to correct the fact. He stepped behind the curtain. When he was in position he looked to the left and nodded to Darik, then went to parade attention, throwing his hand up in a full salute. He held the position as the spot lights came up behind him and Revelry played over the sound system. The curtain slowly rose as the house lights went down. Only the stage was lit. Bret could see the disc jockey getting ready with the spotlight that would be used on Lily. Jamie had put down his tray and was only a few feet from the back of Lily's chair. He would be helping her up if needed. This whole routine was timed out. Each move was choreographed to draw her in and make her want more.