The parking lot and the entrance of Jacks were quickly filling up. The citizens of Port Charles were anxious and excited to see for themselves what the brothers Jacks had to offer them in the form of nighttime entertainment. The former number one hotspot, Luke’s, had had one shoot-out too many for anyone needing an outlet for the week’s grind, and maybe Jacks could be the new happening place that would provide it.
The hubbub outside paled in comparison to what was happening backstage. The air was thick with tension as the five finalists for headliner position sized each other up. No actual words were spoken, but none were needed. The glares, which were traded back and forth between the band members, spoke volumes.
Nikolas ignored the crowd of people and the backstage rivalry as he went in search of DJLS. Actually, he was in search of two people in particular. Lucky and Dawn.
Throughout the day, his mind kept drifting back to his earlier conversation with Dawn. Her nervousness had reduced her to illness. Again. Even though she said that Lucky hadn’t said anything to make her feel worse, Nikolas still had his doubts. Lucky could have a vicious tongue which didn’t bother Nikolas because Nikolas was always willing to give as good as got. What bothered Nikolas was if Lucky unleashed his viciousness on Dawn. She wore a tough shield of armor around her, but deep down inside Nikolas knew the scars her father’s tirades had left on her. He didn’t want Lucky and his thoughtless comments to add to those scars.
Nikolas flashed his backstage pass at the security guards and made his way down the corridor to the dressing rooms. He was oblivious to the stares and the ogling that was directed at him. Dressed in baggy black Tommy Boy jeans, a gray mesh tee shirt, and a black calf-length leather jacket, he was a sight to behold, and the backstage groupies couldn’t keep their eyes off of him.
His hand was on the door to DJLS’ dressing room when he saw Lucky coming toward him. Deciding that it would be better to have their discussion away from Dawn and the other band members, Nikolas stopped him.
“Lucky.”
“That’s my name,” Lucky said, wondering what was wrong with Nikolas now. He sensed some hostility from Nikolas before during the painting session and he had forgotten about it. Until now.
“We need to talk,” Nikolas said, quietly.
“What now?” Lucky asked, folding his arms across his chest.
Nikolas paused. Now that Lucky was before him, he wasn’t sure if confronting him was the appropriate thing to do. His male instinct warranted that he should protect the woman he loved, but common sense told him that maybe he should leave it alone. Dawn wouldn’t be too happy with him if she knew he confronted Lucky behind her back. She valued her independence and her ability to stand up for herself. Nikolas didn’t want her to think he didn’t value those things in her as well.
Lucky waited as patiently as he could for Nikolas to gather his thoughts, but after the prolonged silence he became annoyed.
“Nikolas, don’t waste my time. As you can see, I haven’t gotten dressed, yet.” Lucky placed his hand on the door knob and said, “I’ll be inside, waiting anxiously for your lecture.”
Nikolas sighed. He let the moment pass by and maybe it was a good thing. Dawn and Lucky had a decent relationship. Lucky was the driving force behind Dawn being a member of the band. If he said anything to Lucky now, he might unwittingly cause a riff in the band, and that would be the last thing he would want to do. The band meant too much to Dawn for Nikolas to do anything to jeopardize it.
“Is Dawn here?” Nikolas asked.
“Her mom dropped her off a little while ago. She’s getting dressed as we speak. You know, Nikolas, you’re a real piece of work. Why didn’t you just ask that in the first place or maybe just try knocking on the door?” Lucky said, his irritation with Nikolas obvious in his tone of voice.
“I don’t know, Lucky. Maybe I enjoy these moments between us too much,” Nikolas said, sarcastically.
“Whatever. Hey,” Lucky said, changing the subject. “Did you happen to see Elizabeth out there?”
“She’s coming with Gina and Tommy, right?” Nikolas asked.
“Yeah.”
“I don’t think she’s here, yet. I didn’t see Gina’s car,” Nikolas said.
Lucky released the door knob and turned to face Nikolas.
Nikolas was surprised by his action and said, “I thought you were going in. If you’re not, I am. Excuse me.”
Nikolas moved to enter the dressing room, but was prevented by Lucky. Lucky blocked his entrance and said, “Not so fast, Cassadine. You had a bug up your butt at the studio today and you had another when you saw me a minute ago. What gives? I decided that I couldn’t wait for my lecture. I want it now.”
Nikolas backed away from Lucky and nodded his head. Against his better judgement, he would give Lucky what he asked for. He only hoped that it wouldn’t affect Dawn for the worse in the long run.
“Okay, no more hiding, baby girl. Come out and show us what you got,” Jordan said, laughing as he tapped his drumsticks on his legs.
“I’m not too sure about this. I don’t think it fits right,” Dawn said from behind the curtain.
“What’s wrong with it? Your mom just did the final fitting a few days ago. It was fine then,” Sly said, looking at himself in the full length mirror.
“It feels kinda tight. It looks tight, too,” Dawn replied.
Tight. Jordan and Sly mouthed the word to each other. They moved to the curtain and together said, “Let’s see.”
“Okay,” Dawn said, as she opened the curtain. She was surprised to see them so close and jumped back. “Do you mind?”
“Sorry,” Jordan said, backing away from Dawn. Sly followed suit.
Dawn, dressed in black hip-hugging pants and a white long-sleeved blouse, walked further into the room. The white blouse was sheer and underneath she wore a white, bustier. On her feet, were black Timberland boots. Her braid hair had been curled and hung loose down her back. Her make-up was minimal and she looked breathtaking.
“Okay, what do you guys think?” she asked, placing her hands on her hips.
Sly and Jordan were speechless. Dawn was right. The outfit was tight, but it was tight in all the right places. The hip-huggers emphasized her small waist and ample hips. And the blouse. The sheer blouse brought attention to her full breasts which were barely contained by her bustier.
Dawn became irritated with their silence and asked, “Well? What do you think?”
Tapping his drumsticks against his leg, Jordan looked Dawn up and down and back up again. With a big lascivious grin on his face, he said, “I think you look incredible.”
Dawn gave a Jordan a hard look and turned her attention to Sly. “Okay, what do you think?” she asked.
Sly pursed his lips and walked around her. When he returned to face her, a lascivious gleam brightened his blue eyes, and he said, “No complaints here.”
Dawn’s eyes moved from one leering, hormonal teen to the other. She shook her head and moved to stand in front of the mirror. Facing the door, she looked at herself sideways in the mirror. Trying to see the back of herself, as well as, the front. Then, the door opened.
“Mamma Mia!” Lucky said as he entered the room. His jaw dropped and he couldn’t stop himself from staring at Dawn if he tried. She gave hot a new definition.
Nikolas, who was right behind Lucky, paused in the doorway. When Lucky moved to stand next to Sly and Jordan, he could see the reason for Lucky’s exclamation. Dawn, wore the most amazing outfit, and was unbelievably sexy. Nikolas felt his mouth go dry and his heart began to race just from looking at her.
“Are you performing in…that?” Nikolas croaked.
Dawn moved her gaze from the mirror to face Nikolas. His eyes were wild with desire. Her pulse began to race. She had seen him look at her with desire before on countless occasions, but never like that. She became excited and nervous as he continued to stare at her.
“Yes,” she said, quietly.
“What happened to it?” he asked, moving to walk around her. When he stood before her again, his eyes were even wilder with passion and longing.
“What do you mean? Nothing happened to it,” she said, moistening her lips.
“Guys, would you leave us alone, please?” Nikolas asked, never taking his eyes off of her.
Sly and Jordan elbowed each other and snickered as they left the room. Lucky mentally shook himself and went towards the curtain. Unlike the other band members, he still needed to dress for the night’s performance.
Nikolas noticed Lucky’s movement from the corner of his eye and said, “Lucky, please.”
“I told you before. I need to change clothes if you don’t mind,” Lucky replied.
“Five minutes. Give us five, okay?” Nikolas quietly requested.
Lucky sighed. Grudgingly, he could understand where Nikolas was coming from. If he ever saw Elizabeth dressed like that… He wouldn’t let himself complete the thought. Instead, he nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him.
“So…um…do you think it’s a bit much?” Dawn asked, biting her lip.
To answer her question, Nikolas pulled her into his arms and lowered his lips to her in a deep, imploring kiss.
Dawn’s hands moved underneath his jacket and began to roam his back, pulling him closer to her. Standing on tiptoe, she angled her head to deepen the kiss. They probed and tasted each other. When it was over, they were left breathless.
Dawn rested her forehead on his chest and sighed.
“You’re not really wearing that onstage, are you?” he asked, softly.
Dawn pulled away from Nikolas and rested her hands on his waist. Looking into his eyes she still saw desire, but she also saw something else. Could it be jealousy, she wondered.
“Yes,” she said, carefully watching his reaction. She smiled when a grimace came across his face. “What’s that look for?”
“I don’t want anyone else looking at you like this. Don’t you have anything else to wear?” he asked.
“No, this is it. Mama only made us one costume. Does it really look that bad?” she asked, moving away from him to look at herself in the mirror.
Nikolas moved behind her and placed his arms around her. She leaned back against him and studied their reflection in the mirror. Nikolas rubbed his cheek against hers and said, “It doesn’t look awful, but it is rather revealing. You’re about to burst out of your blouse, you know?”
“Yeah, I noticed that,” she said, looking down at her chest. “I don’t know what happened. It fit fine a few days ago. I have to wear it, though. I don’t have anything else here to wear. Besides, it’s too late to go home to get something else.”
“Oh, I didn’t think of that,” he said against her ear. “I guess it’s not so bad.”
“Nope. Don’t change it now. I saw the way you and the guys were looking at me, but I guess I have to just ignore it somehow.”
“How were they looking you?” Nikolas asked, his voice dead serious.
“Nickie, don’t. They didn’t mean anything by it. They’re guys,” she said, turning to face him.
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t want them or anyone else looking at you like that,” he said.
“Ooh, possessive,” she said, a teasing grin on her face.
“Yes, very much so,” he said, before he lightly kissed her nose. He raised his head and looked behind her at her reflection in the mirror. He took a deep breath. There was no way he could let her go onstage with her pants hugging her so tightly. “I have an idea.”
“Yeah?” she said, watching him as pulled away from her. He removed his leather jacket and held it up.
“You could wear this,” he said, holding the jacket open for her. “Try it on. Let’s see how it looks.”
She put her arms inside and pulled the jacket around her. She struck various poses in the mirror and liked what she saw. She turned back to thank Nikolas, but changed her mind when she took a good look at him.
“I can’t let you walk around like that. Your tee-shirt is too tight and your butt looks too good in those jeans. You have to take the jacket back,” she said, removing the jacket from her shoulder.
“Ah, so possessive,” he said with a smile.
“Damn straight,” she said.
“I like it, but I’m not wearing the jacket. You are,” he said, decisively before he silenced her reply with a kiss.