Her Superhero Lover

She was so wrapped up in wondering about Grady Voelker that she lost track of time. Usually, she used the last ten minutes of her second set to bring the s*xual tones out and take it back into a lighter, more casual mix for a general party. However, she was surprised when her clock said she had only three minutes left on her second set. Figuring to just go with it, she took the sensuality to a whole other level, one she usually reserved for the few private parties she had played where clothes normally ended up on the floor before the last song was completed. When the last note played and the lights came up, more than a few bodies were crushed together in foreplay on the floor. “Well, I hope that was as good for you as it was for me,” she joked as the crowd gathered itself. There wasn’t as much applause this time, but instead a hunger, an appreciative look in their eyes that told her most of the group was too distracted to worry about polite applause. She wondered how much the club would clear out for her third set, and how many couples would wake up the next morning in unfamiliar beds. “Give me ten minutes, and we’ll have the last session of Litezout.”

In the back, the manager was waiting for her again with another drink. “Holy hell woman, you trying to get people naked on my floor or something?” he asked, half upset and half aroused. “Horny customers don’t stay and drink.”

“Sorry, I just ran with it and lost track of time,” Renee admitted. “Look at it this way though, if a few lucky people hit it off, they’ll be back next time they want some luck.”

“I’m just glad Marines are working tomorrow, and Miramar is flying,” the manager replied. “If we’d had fifty Top Gun guys up in here, there’d have been more s*x than I could cover and keep our business license. You bottle that up and sell it in a drink form, and those beats would put Viagra out of business.”

“Like I said, sorry. At least the third set should be easier. More pure party, less freaky deaky.”

“Oh, I don’t know, I liked the freaky deaky,” Grady said from the doorway. The manager looked up, thought about saying something, and decided against it. “By the way, I just bought your entire club a round of whatever they want, on me. Think your bartender can get me the bill?”

“Of course, Mr. Voelker,” the manager said, his mood brightening. “Ah, no offense, but can we settle it at the end of the night?”

“Settle it now,” Grady replied, fishing out his wallet and handing the manager an American Express Black card. “I’m sure you can run this for whatever it needs.”

The manager and Renee’s eyes grew wide as the black titanium card glimmered in the light. Renee had heard about the card, anyone who had listened to enough hip hop had heard everyone from Kanye West to Nikki Minaj mention it. But she’d never seen one before. The manager handled it like it was a holy relic, and nodded. “Okay, sir. I’ll have this back to you within five minutes.”

“No rush,” Grady said with a smile. “I’m sticking around for the third set. Just bring the slip back here after the third Litezout set, and I’ll be happy to sign it along with a healthy tip for your staff.”

The manager nodded and almost stumbled away, still carrying the card in two hands like it was made of precious metal. Grady watched him go, then shook his head and turned back to Renee. “I know this sounds a bit strange, but I don’t really understand it. It’s a credit card. You swipe it the same way you swipe any other card in the world.”

“True, but any other card in the world can’t exactly run up a ten thousand dollar bill or more without the company even batting an eye,” Renee replied. “Hell, my credit card company freaks out if I put more than a hundred bucks on it at one time.”

Grady nodded, and looked a bit chagrined. “Sorry, guess I didn’t think about that part. But it’s just easier and safer than carrying around that much cash. And in my opinion, looks a lot less pretentious. Only pimps, gangsters and wanna be moguls carry around thick wads of cash that big any more. Oh, and drug dealers. I’m not any of those.”

Renee laughed in spite of herself. “Well, at least you said you’d stick around through the third set. Thanks for that.”

“After that dynamite second set? How could I not? That was just pure awesomeness, and I couldn’t believe how great you looked up there behind the table. You really looked at home, and more comfortable than you did all day on Monday.”

“Well, despite the outward appearance, corsets and steampunk are a lot more comfortable than wool suits. In fact, I think all bank executives should be rocking a top hat and goggles nowadays. Adds that sort of blend between professional and kickass.” Renee tapped her own pair, which were currently resting on her forehead. “You’d probably look good in a pair.”

“I might, but goggles aren’t really my thing,” he replied, coming closer and tapping at the lenses. “Tell me, in that dark room, how do you see anything with those ruby red lenses?”

She could feel his presence within arms length, and fought to control her breathing. “Well,” she said, resisting the urge to run her hand over his torso, which she could see from the slightly sweat dampened fabric of his shirt was impressively muscular, the way it clung to his skin, “the biggest thing is that my equipment is really bright. I mean, my laptop that runs a lot of it is kept at full brightness, and most of my controls and stuff are also lit up. I do admit it’s sometimes hard to see out in the crowd, although Bang Bang does a pretty good job of keeping the lighting where I can read the crowd well. You’ve been pretty visible out there, by the way. You turn away any more hot women, and the society pages are going to be buzzing with rumors about you tomorrow.”

“Oh, you’ve been keeping an eye on me then?” he teased, smiling down at her. She felt heat flush her face again and looked down, only to feel his fingers on her chin. She lifted her eyes, to see him smiling at her, pleased. “Well then, I guess we have more to talk about. But I think your break time is almost up. Can I catch you back here after the last set?”