The private tit-party was over, apparently, and she had gone on to bigger and better things. Well, bigger anyway, considering the size of her buttocks. Too big, as it turned out, too big to maneuver the crotch-soaked strip of green off without making a mess of it. The silver spangles didn't help, naturally, and neither did the long fringe as the ends hit the floor limply and became a most unsightly jumble. She had to work at it, doing more stripping than teasing, and her awkwardness became almost embarrassing. By the time she finished with the stubborn little garment and its trail of tangled cord, all the enchantment had fled and we were left only with the fat peasant girl trying to make a living. The hard way! Luckily she must have been aware of it herself and did only a minimum of final prancing and posturing in her G-string before edging into the hidden safety of the wings. Even so, the last impression was bad enough to erase most of the good earlier one and she ended up looking pretty ludicrous. Like a shaky heap of coffee-colored gelatin, poor.thing, the second helping of a dessert that no one had wanted in the first place.

Jerome snorted. "Pretty heavy for a stripper."

"Downright fat. But sexy though, or at least she was until that pathetic ending."

"The next one ought to be better. Meanwhile; uh, time to get another drink… " He was already flagging the waiter. "Dana? Same thing for you?"

"The same, dear. Tall and icy. Tequila is okay, but I have no intention of licking salt or biting a lemon. Even if it does label me a tourist."

"Don't worry, we're all tourists. Just look around, the place is full of them. Hmm, quite a crowd. I guess other folks know about these out-of-the-way dives."

Looking around eased my mind immeasurably.