Settling back into their seats, the lights dimmed and the wedding march began to play. The curtain opened and the dancer walked out to the music, dressed in a low cut, short skirted white satin dress and veil, holding a bouquet of flowers. Shelby's mouth dropped open and Savannah and Maggie laughed themselves silly at the performance as two tuxedoed men fought over the bride. At the end of the number, the bride tossed her bouquet directly into Shelby's lap.
The final number of the show was a fan dance. The dancer was slim and graceful, always hiding her near-nudity with the two feathered fans. As she sank to the floor at the end of the number, the room exploded with applause. The curtain closed, and the cheering continued until the curtain opened again to show all the performers lined up to take a bow. After the applause finally ended and the curtain closed for good, the crowd scattered. Some left, some went to the bar area and the sidewalk outside where there were half a dozen small tables and chairs.
The performers came out to mingle with the remaining fans; some had changed clothes, and others were still in costume. Several of them came over to talk to Savannah and to congratulate Shelby. The three of them spent another hour there before Savannah finally texted Joey to come and pick them up. They talked and laughed and drank another bottle of wine as they rode back toward Boone.
Shelby said, "Savannah, that was wonderful! Everybody told me that you were going to get us into trouble. I think they were expecting you to take us to some male strip club or dancing in some bar. How did you ever come up with a burlesque show?"
Savannah smiled. "I never like to do what people expect me to. This is your night out; I wanted you to enjoy it. Besides, male strippers are old hat and we're not twenty years old anymore. Dancing in a crowd of sweaty bodies to bad music that's way too loud just doesn't do anything for me, so I was pretty sure it wouldn't do anything for you. The burlesque show is fun and different. So, how about you, Maggie?"
"It was so much fun. I had no idea those kinds of shows were going on these days. In fact, I guess I didn't know anything at all about them. I thought they were a thing of the forties too. And Carter warned me that you'd get me in trouble too. Ha! He doesn't get to spank me tonight! Oops!" Maggie looked shocked at the words she had let slip out of her mouth.
Savannah laughed. "So Carter still likes to spank the girls, huh?"
Maggie's mouth fell open. Her face was bright red, and she stared wordlessly at Savannah.
Shelby said, "How do you know that, Savannah?"
With a wicked smile, Savannah said, "I caught him doing it to Debbie Bricker one day when he was still in high school. He threatened to tell Mom and Dad that I let Fox Tucker put his hand down my shirt if I didn't keep it a secret. And he said that if I was lucky, one day I'd understand it. I know Debbie sure liked it."
Shelby was overcome with giggles. "Wait till Carter finds out we all know about it."
Savannah raised an eyebrow. "Now, we have to save that for the right moment. That's the kind of information that will come in real handy in the right situation."
Maggie asked delicately, "So. Was Carter right? Did you understand it eventually?"
"Mmm," Savannah purred. "Indeed, yes. I'm in favor of all forms of stimulation that feel that good."
Shelby pointed out, "You know, Joey is hearing all of this."
"Oh, I have very few secrets from Joey," Savannah said airily. "I'm hungry. I think we need tacos. Joey, can you find us a Taco Bell?"
"Of course, Miss Savannah."
Joey drove a few more miles and then took a well-lit exit. The four of them walked into the Taco Bell at three a.m., chattering and laughing. The boy working on the food assembly gaped at the three beautiful woman and the girl at the counter laughed at their banter. They ordered two dozen tacos and stuffed themselves, washing them down with Cokes. Savannah left the two kids working each a fifty-dollar bill and waved goodbye as they left.
They were all getting sleepy by the time they drove into Boone. Joey went to Maggie and Carter's place first, where there was still a light on downstairs and flickering lights from the TV playing. Maggie hugged Shelby and Savannah and slipped up the front walk. She flashed the porch light, and Joey drove around the circular drive and back out, headed into town.
Shelby hugged her sister hard as they pulled up in her driveway and said, "Thank you for everything. I didn't think I wanted this night, but I had a great time. I'm so glad you're here."
Savannah kissed her cheek and said, "I am too, and no thanks are needed. I'll see you tomorrow. Or today, but much, much later."
Shelby laughed and said, "Agreed. I love you."
"Love you too, Shel. Good night."
Joey drove Savannah to her grandmother's house and she gave him a hug too.
"Thanks, Joey, we had a great time. Take the day off; if I need to go anywhere, I'll take Gran's car or ride with someone."
Joey stifled a yawn and said, "Okay, that sounds good, Miss Savannah. Sleep well."
Carter woke when his wife flopped down on the couch beside him. She was bubbling over, telling him about their night out when she began to droop. Carter looked down at her, her head resting on his shoulder and her eyes drifting closed. Kissing her on top of the head, he said, "Come on; let's get you to bed. You can tell me everything after you sleep for a while."
Pulling her shoes off first, he hauled her up and helped her down the hallway to the bedroom. He unzipped her dress, slipping it down over her shoulders and letting it drop to the floor, then he stripped her down to her panties and tucked her into bed. Carter turned off the lights and climbed into bed beside her, heaving just a little sigh of relief that her night had gone safely and it seemed that Savannah had uncharacteristically planned a less-than-wild girls' night out. He sent her a mental thank you and fell asleep.
Sam had waited up for Shelby too. She chattered to him on their way to bed and fell asleep in the middle of a sentence. Sam wondered what Carter had been so nervous about when his sister had planned the ladies' outing. Whatever the reason, he had clearly been wrong. With a mental word of thanks, he fell asleep beside Shelby.
Savannah reviewed the evening in her mind while she meticulously cleansed and moisturized her face, carefully dabbing on eye cream. She smiled at the thought of how surprised her brother was going to be at the fact that she hadn't behaved the way he expected her to. He would be really surprised if he knew how different her whole life was than her family believed. She wondered once again why she kept it such a secret; she had kept her real self so protected, behind carefully constructed walls for so long, that she had become accustomed to it. Revealing herself to anyone made her too vulnerable. Sometimes she just found herself wondering what it was that she felt vulnerable to.
"Just stop it, Savannah," she scolded out loud. "Your life is exactly what you want it to be."
She pushed her introspective thoughts away and climbed into bed to dream once again about the mysterious cowboy.
Chapter 4
Savannah tried to curb her impatience over the next week, keeping busy helping with wedding preparations and tormenting her brother. She was feeling the strain of being in Boone for what seemed like forever, and at the same time, she was enjoying being with her family. She knew that she would be ready to run as soon as the wedding was over. For a moment, she speculated about staying then pushed the thought away, shaking her head at herself.