April headed back out. Looking around the corner she saw a small, dead end cobblestone alley and a set of steps about half way down. At the far end of the alley stood a small fountain, flowers planted along the fence at the U-shaped end of the alley. Well that's not so bad, she thought. God knows I've been in worse places. Just then she heard the swoosh of the saloon doors and turned to see the owner bustling towards her, the woman's large frame barely clearing the doorway.
"I'm Mama Dubois. Don't worry, I run a clean joint. Folks get a little rowdy from time to time, but this isn't some wild bar like what people hear stories about. You'll sleep just find up there and no one will bother you. Follow me, hon., and I'll show you the place. If you like it, I'll let you have it for $100 a week, since you're a friend of the Dupree's and all."
April felt the grin spread across her face. This older woman with the booming voice seemed like good people and $100 a week was one hell of a deal. She followed the woman down the alley, hoping the apartment wasn't a hole in the wall. Looking up, she spotted a little balcony with a wrought iron railing and a few flower boxes filled with geraniums hanging over the sides. So far so good.
Mama hauled herself up the short flight of steps and opened the apartment door. She stepped inside and held the door open, waiting for April to follow her inside. Stepping in, April was shocked to find a darling little apartment. There was a small kitchen area off to the right, with a wooden breakfast nook in the far corner beside a small window. The hallway they stood in went straight back and she could see the bathroom through the open door. Off to her right was one large room, already furnished. A four-post canopy bed stood, the headboard pushed against the far wall so the bed faced towards the alley. A matching dresser stood beside it in matching cherry wood. In front of the bed, closer to the balcony, was a comfy looking couch with a small coffee table in front of it. The couch faced the glass French doors, which opened out onto the small balcony she had seen from the street. April walked over to the French doors, pushing them open and walking out onto the balcony. There she found two lounge chairs and a little end table. The apartment had hard wood floors with a couple of throw rugs strategically placed.
Staring around in amazement, April turned towards Mama. "Are you sure you only want $100 a week, or is there a catch," she asked, suspicious, eyes narrowed.
Mama let out a booming laugh. "No catch, cher. John told me you're down her to help out the family and protect his girls. I've known the Dupree's my whole life and those two girls are near and dear to me. If you're going to look out for them, then I've a mind to help you out. $100 a week, no strings. Unless something happens to those two sweet girls, then you and I will be having words."
"Sweet? Jade, maybe, but sweet doesn't come to mind when describing Jasmine Dupree," April commented, her mind going back to the battle she had with Jasmine just a few hours ago. April had strongly suggested to Mr. Dupree that he hire bodyguards for Jade and Jasmine. Jade had just made a face like biting into something sour. Jasmine, however, had gone ballistic, flat out refusing to let some over grown thug follow her around all day. April had then remarked that Jasmine wouldn't be able to do much for Dupree Enterprises from the grave. At that, Jasmine had announced the meeting was over and had stormed out of her uncle's office, Jade following on her heels trying to calm her sister down.
Chuckling, Mama said, "Yeah, John mentioned that you two got off on the wrong foot. She's a real hell fire, that one, but mostly she's just gotten a bit of a chip on her shoulder as of late. Some folks at Dupree weren't happy when John handed over the financial reins to a 25 year old. They're both sweet girls, but Jasmine's got a lot to prove and it's made her a little prickly."
"Just a little," April said with a snort. Mama just gave her a knowing grin. "Ok, I'll take it. Here's the first $100 to cover this week. If it's ok, I'd like to just pay week to week, since I'm not sure how long I'll be around."
Mama accepted the $100 bill April handed her, giving her a set of keys in return. "The bathroom's already stocked with towels and hand soap. If you need anything, just come on down to the bar." With that, Mama headed out the door, leaving April to marvel at her good luck.
Throwing her suitcase on the bed, April searched for a phone outlet. Finding an empty one near the couch, she plopped her laptop on the coffee table and settled down to search the net. It was quickly approaching seven o'clock and, feeling wired from all the traveling she'd done today, she searched for a gay club in the quarter she could check out. Not knowing how Mama felt about lesbians, she didn't want to push her luck by asking her about it, possibly putting the brakes to the nice deal Mama was giving her on the apartment.
After a quick Google search, April found a place called The Kitty Club that was just a few blocks away. Not having time to find a rental car, April decided to stick to whatever was within walking distance. After a quick shower, she dressed in her favorite leather pants, boots and a black silk poet's shirt, which had a rose embroidered on the back. April played with the lock on the front door, making sure she understood how it worked before leaving. With that settled, she took off down the street towards Bourbon, hoping she might find someone to hook up with. Work had kept her pretty busy the last few weeks and she could feel the pressure building up. Then again, that could just be from sparring with a certain gorgeous red head all afternoon, April thought with a grin. Sexy, but hell on the nerves, was how she was beginning to think of Jasmine. Jade, on the other hand, would have been worth at least a dinner date, if not for her being a client.
Deep in thought, April was surprised to find herself in front of The Kitty Club so quickly. Pushing thoughts of the tempting sisters aside, she stood back and eyed the small line beginning to form at the door. She rushed over and jumped in line, just beating out a large group of girls who had just come around the corner from the parking lot. April quickly began flirting with the little blonde just ahead of her, but the line moved quickly, and April soon found herself inside the club, the blonde having disappeared. Oh well, she really wasn't my type anyway, April thought. Standing just inside the entrance, she took in the scene. On her right was a small group of tables with a second floor loft just above it with more tables. In front of that was a large fence, stretching from floor to ceiling, separating the tables from a recessed dance floor, which also had a small stage where the DJ was perched. Beside that, and directly across from her, was a raised floor, about two steps up, which housed several more tables. Then, to her right, was a circular bar with booths against the far wall.
April elbowed her way up to the bar and, catching the eye of one of the bartenders, ordered a tequila and orange juice. Raising an eyebrow, the bartender, a petite girl with black hair spoke, "Tequila fan, huh? You wouldn't be friends with our famous Tequila Club would you?"
"Tequila club? No, sorry. I'm too new in town to belong to any clubs just yet."
The bartender pointed to a group behind April who were sitting on the raised platform beside the dance floor. In front, near the brass railing, several tables had been pushed together. Counting chairs, April figured there were about six people sitting there, but only two were there at the moment. "That's the group we call the Tequila Club. I swear, those girls can do shots all night. They've only been here about an hour, but I'm sure they'll get started soon enough. You should go over and say hi. Maybe they'll invite you to join them," the bartender said with a wink.
"Thanks for the tip." April sat at the bar watching the table while she considered doing just that. About ten minutes later, she saw one of the women waving at the bar, trying to get the bartenders attention, while turning to look at a group of women coming towards the table from the dance floor.
The bartender tapped April's arm. "That's their signal to bring over the first round of shots. If you want to help me with these, I'll introduce you," the bartender suggested as she layed two trays on top of the bar and began setting up shot glasses. Free pouring tequila, she filled a scary number of shots, and then handed one of the trays to April. She came around from behind the bar with the other loaded tray.
Not wanting to waste a golden opportunity, April quickly fell in step behind the woman, threading her way through the crowd. As they neared the group, April swore under her breath. Pulling out chairs at the far end of the table where none other than Jade and Jasmine Dupree.
Too late to back out, April took the two small steps in one stride and approached the sisters, gently placing the tray of shots, lemon and salt shakers down, directly in front of them.
As the two woman looked up, April received to vastly different reactions. While she watched a grin spread across Jade's face, Jasmine looked like she could spit nails. Jade quickly greeted April, "Howdy cher. Where you at?"
Making a show of looking around, April replied, "Last I checked, The Kitty Club."
Jade laughed. Watching her blue eyes alight, April began to question her own rule about not getting involved with clients. "No silly, 'Where you at?' is Cajun for 'How are you doing?'" Jade explained.
"Oh. Pretty good, thanks. That is, I will be if your sister stops looking at me like I'm something unpleasant she just found on her shoe," April said, grinning at Jasmine, daring the little spitfire to start another sparring match like the ones from that afternoon.
