I knew it and I was sure he did too, but I still said the one word that would change my life, good or bad.
“Yes.” Quincey was up, snatching me up, lifting and twirling me around in a hug.
“Ooh, Josie, this is going to be fun. Us, a power couple taking over the city. I’ma call my people and tell them you said yes! Mama is going to be so excited. Thank you, Josie.”
He released me, going to get his phone while I put my attention back on the contract and sighed before I picked up the pen to seal my fate with Quincey.
“I’m getting married.”
ONE
Johnni Lourdè
“Okay, Johnni, let’s run through the routine one more time. Then we can break for the day.” I groaned while my eyes rolled hard as hell at my private trainer, Kimmie. I had just run through the same routine for the last hour and my body was tired. I huffed and puffed as I grabbed my towel to wipe my sweat from my face before going for my water bottle. It was down to the last drop, so I was thankful this was our last round.
Pageant season was in full effect and my rehearsals had been taking over my life for the last two months. With my competitions being back-to-back this year, I felt as if I had no time to even breathe most days. I was currently preparing for the title of Mrs. Crescent Falls. It was our local level, which meant the first round. I needed this title to advance to regionals, then at least top ten to make it to nationals.
This year I was coming for the top spot. I had to take a break from this competition for a year since I was the reigning Mrs. Crescent Falls. But this year, I was coming back for my spot. I fucked up at regionals and didn’t walk away as Mrs. Crescent Supreme that year, which knocked me out of the chance at nationals.
I was determined to finally walk away from nationals as Mrs. Queen Royal this year. Out of all of my years competing, I always came close but never won. I was hoping adding more to my talent would increase my skill set in that category. The time I spent doing community service alongside Quincey would pick up my attributes in the category that said I could be a leader and cared about my commitment toward building a better community.
First on my agenda was getting my routine down.
I was currently at Roulette, practicing my routine I had decided to modify at the beginning of the year and was now regretting due to the longer hours and the stress on my body.
“You said the last round was it, Kimmie,” I whined as she passed me the powder for my hands. After I applied it and waited for it to dry, I got back in the starting position that had been giving me hell all morning.
She laughed lightly, but I was serious. Three hours total was how long I had been here. I needed food and a tub to soak my body in.
“Girl, you told me to make you perfect. I’m just doing my job. Give me one more round and make it good. It’s something happening on the first flare out that’s messing up your count,” she said. I learned quickly that Kimmie used names for the moves that she taught me, which helped a lot when I pictured them to the words of the music. Flares were a basic push out of my legs while other complicated moves lived up to their unique names, like upside down butterfly and corkscrew.
“Ooh, wait, this run through, put your heels on again. I want to see it fully and I think it might help.” I nodded, letting that be my only response because I knew if my mouth opened, the words that came out wouldn’t be so ladylike. My official pageant coach, Mama Stephanie, who also happened to be my mother-in-law would add her two cents to the conversation. Mama Steph hadpractically raised me. I lost my mom, Frankie, while in middle school, and with my dad being an inconsistent factor who loved drugs more, Mama Steph quickly stepped in, becoming my mother figure, helping to guide me into womanhood.
When my dad, Bruce, died my senior year, the Wilsons became my only family.
It was Mama Steph who introduced me to the world of pageants. They became a sense of therapy for me and also, our first true bonding experience. The next came with stressing out the Wilson men in our lives.
Mama Steph was the original pageant girl. She not only competed, but she won Miss Queen Royal. I wanted to be just like her. The only problem was, I had yet to receive the grand title.
But this year, Mama Steph was determined to change that, as was I.
I looked over at her sitting at one of the tables with a damn near empty glass of wine in front of her. Her bob curled tightly with her pearl earrings on display to match the set around her neck. She was completely out of her element in the strip club, but like a true lady who could handle any situation with class, a good drink made everything better for her.
Between her and Kimmie, the stripper she hired, I was sick and tired of them both. But I’d learned over the years that pure diamonds were born under pressure and I desired perfection.
So even with my feet crying from the pain, I put on the six-inch practice heels and got back in my first mark, hooking the silk fabric around my upper torso right in the middle of my back, and waited for the music to start.
I grabbed the pole, letting the music take me as I began to dance, hitting the flare out that had been messing me up. Now I was hustling, pushing through my movements to play catch up, completely throwing off my eight count to the beat. I spun mybody around the pole, free falling against the silks, doing a body snake before I shifted myself back up, and spinning until I tossed my body upside down, now doing a move she called an inverted ballerina. I hooked my leg around the pole, locking my calf to it, and completely twirling around, stretching my legs out while shifting my arms so I could hold onto the silk while I pulled myself up, this time sitting on the silk, still going around.
“Hit this mark, Johnni!” Kimmie yelling out snapped me back to reality. This was my problem on the silks, I always got lost in the zone, free falling, pretending I was a bird flying above the clouds.
“Shit.” I was close to fucking up yet again, but quickly let go of the pole, flipping down until I was on my side, going for the pole with my feet, allowing my silks to carry me around the pole before I kicked off and spun wildly.
“There you go, Johnni! Pick up your speed or you’re going to miss your cue.” As soon as I heard the singer Siren say the line “falling from the bottom”, that was my cue to go fully upside down, but this time, I positioned my legs into a half diamond while my hands held to swirl me around before I spread eagled in the air.
The claps let me know that I hit it.
I finished the routine, standing on my feet, breathing hard, but happy that both Kimmie and Mama Steph were clapping.
