Chapter 146 - One Dance, A Dozen Deaths (2/2)

”Well, remember when I said that I was impressed with Lessa's use of makeup and such and the thing about bones structure?”

”Yes.” Leo replied. At this point, even Lessa was looking down at the crowd, not sure what Laz was getting at.

”Well, that's because I have seen quite a few lesbian and gay couples going around tonight, including several trans... people? If that's the right wording?” Laz asked, looking over at Lessa. Lessa shook her head to give affirmation that it was ok.

”Really?” Leo asked, looking over at Laz.

”Yes. I would say that around one fifth of your current crowd fits into that category, give or take. And that's just those who are noticeable,” Laz added.

”Hmm... If that's the case...”

”I don't think there would be any problem with doing what your brother wants. It's another draw and another potentially busy night. Money is money.”

”You have a point,” Leo said, finally seeing the truth. In fact, he was beginning to think that maybe he had been closed minded, probably something he had gotten from learning business from his father. In the end, you needed to target where the money was. At the same time, this would also be a fun thing for Lessa to arrange, giving Leo a good income with minimal work. Lessa, who realized that her hard headed brother had finally been convinced by this young man, couldn't help but smile brightly at him.

Laz took off soon after and returned to the floor, leaving Lessa and Leo to hash out the details. As he was walking around, the athletic girl from before slide over to him from where she was dancing with a couple guys and girls, waving by to them as she left.

”You're back,” she simply said, smiling.

”Yeah. Weren't you in the cage?” Laz asked, wondering why she was down and around.

”My time was up. We start in the cage before coming onto the dance floor. This lets the people who were admiring us to have a chance to ask us to dance and such. It helps keep the party going and gets us some tips from guys and girls who want to get to know us better,” The athletic girl said while still smiling. She pulled a wad of bills out from the top of her dress to show him how much she had already made.

”They pay you to dance with them?” Laz asked, somewhat amazed by this situation.

”Of course. It makes them feel special. Otherwise, we would just be hounded by horny guys all night if we tried to dance normally. Plus, it gives them some pleasant memories they can then brag about later,” she responded.

”Uh, ok.” Laz didn't really get it, but it seemed to make sense. If anything, it seemed more like paying a stripper for a lap dance, except with slightly more clothing.

”Anyway, Laz seems like a pretty unique name,” the girl commented while still dancing. It was actually somewhat weird to watch since she was dancing but Laz was not. There were other guys who were clearing eyeing her, but seeing her close to Laz made them too scared to approach. It seemed like his fight outside had circulated rather quickly once the ones outside got in and everyone knew not to mess with the seemly weak looking young man.

”It is. Actually, I don't even know your name yet,” Laz commented, thinking about all the times he had interacted with this athletic brunette. It actually seemed like she had gone out of her way to get his attention although he had no idea why.

”It's Ruby. I was wondering when you would ask,” she said, getting a bit closer to him as though she was actually dancing with him.

”Ruby? That's a nice name.”

”Oh, come on and come dance with me. You're allowed to do that right?” She finally said, grabbing his hand and trying to drag him. It's worth noting that the girl was actually a bit shorter than Laz, but not by much. Despite that, she couldn't move him an inch, which caused her a bit of surprise.

”I, uh... I don't know how to dance,” Laz finally got out. There was no rule saying he couldn't and in fact, he probably should be dancing on the floor on occasion. It was hard to see through the mass of people otherwise and it didn't feel right to just walk through the dance floor without doing so.

”Ha, so that's the problem. Come on and just follow me.” Ruby said while taking his hand. As they moved the crowd of people seemed to open up in front of them leaving them room to move. This was actually something Laz was doing. He was basically using his spiritual sense to give the people around him a little nudge, making them move in the way he wanted. It wasn't mind control, more like a hypnotic suggestion.

When they finally arrived in a spot, Ruby stopped and turned around, placing her arms around Laz's neck while shaking her hips in tune with the music. The DJ had just started up some slower yet intense trap music which was a perfect cool down from the last set.

”Just move with how you feel. You know how to fight right? It's all about matching your movement with your partners. Sometimes you move with them, sometimes you move against them,” Ruby instructed as she continued on. Laz felt something was a bit off with her suggestion.

'How did she know i knew how to fight?'

Laz didn't display a thing when fighting with Jimmy except some strength. Realizing this point, Laz started paying more attention to Ruby. As she moved, he started using his sense to follow her movements. At times it was sensual and slow while at other times it was quick and piercing based on the rhythm. After the song was over, Laz was now fully on alert. The entire dance while seeming to be innocent, was more like an intense fight. And her footwork was astounding. She could move so fast she could escape his visual perception while at other times her moves with parts of her body naturally distracted him from what she was doing with other parts. If he was a normal person, she could have killed him dozens of times over, just during one dance.

As the music came to a close and another one began, neither of them moved. They just stood there looking each other in the eyes. Had either Laz or Ruby moved half a step forward, they would be touching each other. But for this moment, the half step was the only thing keeping Laz from attacking her.

Looking at this girl's eyes that were almost at the same level as his, Laz took a breath and calmed down. Since she hadn't attacked, there must be a reason for it. But he didn't like the feeling of being played. So he took that half step forward and came in real close, as though he was going to kiss her, but froze right as his lips were about to touch hers. At the same time, she didn't move once.

Laz's eyes started glowing, changing from their deep blue color to a dark blood red. Due to the various lights and movement around them, the only person who noticed this change was Ruby, but she still didn't move, even when Laz brought his hand up to her neck and wrapped it around it. Although Ruby hadn't made a single move back, Laz could sense her increased heart rate combined with a slight shaking from her legs. He knew she was feeling fearful, even if she was hiding it.

”Who are you?” Laz asked, all of the gentleness of a 16 year old's voice was gone, replaced by something that could only be described as a low growl.

”Mistress Jade sends her regards.”