The Librarian and the Assassin, a Sapphic Romance at the End of the World - 28. Chapter 28 - Clowns

“Give it up,” the emcee demanded of the crowd, “one more time for Harry Manback and Alotta Cox!”

Tawni and Bix added their cheers with the gathered audience.

“Weren’t they delicious?!” the woman on the stage continued. She smacked her purple lips. “Up next, please welcome a beast who needs no introduction, Mister Mystery!”

Behind Tawni, Bix, Miles, and Cristyl, two more clown-costumed people appeared and distracted them from what was happening onstage.

“Hey there, dudes!” one of them declared in a squeaky voice, and the group of four turned around to face the pair.

“Mister Mystery is lookin’ andro tonight,” added the other.

Tawni glanced at the stage, and the individual on it looked completely genderless.

Miles flourished an arm in the direction of the club’s first-timers. “Tawni and Bix, may I present my partners, the magical Cobalt Steel and Woody Ramrod!” He bowed to the pair who had just arrived.

Similar to Miles, the two other clowns were also in sexy outfits, and Tawni’s brain told her she was seeing women, dressed as men, dressed as clowns. She was trying to take Miles’ advice about not presuming a person’s gender, but Tawni was struggling not to label the individuals in her mind.

She was also feeling confused about her feelings; she found the trio of clowns to be very alluring, but at the same time slightly unnerving. Tawni had thought something similar about Miles when the clowny king had first appeared, and seeing the trio clarified her thoughts. The clowns were hot, and Tawni liked them, but they were also a little creepy. They made her feel things she could not put into words.

“What are you three going to do up there?” she asked, her voice cracking with nervousness.

Miles reached up and stroked a fingertip along Tawni’s jawline to her chin. “You’re just gonna have to wait and see, aren’t you?”

“What a tease!” Bix replied playfully, and she pressed herself against Tawni.

To Tawni’s delight, Harry Manback came stomping over to the three clowns. “You guys wanna go to the strip club after this to see some titties?!” he asked, using the deepest voice he could muster.

They all burst out with raucous laughter.

“Harry, I love when you act like a manly meathead!” Miles stated. “And obviously we want to go with you to the strip club!”

Everyone laughed all the more.

Harry’s very large partner appeared from behind a curtain that hid the performers’ dressing room, and Tawni let out a gasp of excitement. Alotta Cox had not put anything else onto her curvaceous body, but she had removed her goat-head mask, and as the mostly naked individual joined the group, Tawni began to breathe hard.

“Honestly,” Miles added, “with Alotta’s titties out, I’m satisfied!”

“His boobs are great, aren’t they?” Harry replied.

“They really are.”

“So luscious!”

Tawni was blushing at the naughty discussion, but while Harry and Miles were talking, she slipped away from Bix, who smirked at watching her bashfully approach Alotta.

“Excuse me?” Tawni said to him.

Alotta smiled. “Yes, my pretty?”

“You’re a man?” Tawni questioned.

“I am indeed,” Alotta confirmed

Tawni nodded. “You’re one of the hottest men I’ve ever seen.”

Alotta exploded with laughter, and to Tawni’s alarmed surprise, Alotta pulled her into a tight embrace against his soft, sweaty body, and Alotta kissed Tawni’s lips with desperate passion. Tawni’s eyes were wide, but she lost herself in the moment, and she kissed Alotta back.

When their lips separated, Alotta kept his strong, thicc arms around Tawni, holding the scrawny woman against his glorious curves. Tawni’s cheek was pressing into one of Alotta’s very large breasts, and Tawni was trembling with desire.

“Who is this little dumpling?” Alotta asked. “I could just eat her right up!”

“These gorgeous gals are Bix and Tawni,” Miles declared.

Bix was smiling so wide that her eyes were almost squinted shut.

Tawni was feeling safe and happy. She knew she was surrounded by people who were potential new friends, and even though she was not used to making friends, with Bix it was proving to be the norm.

Miles then turned to Cobalt Steel and Woody Ramrod. “Clowns, we’re up after the next act. Let’s go get ready.”

The trio headed together to the dressing room behind the curtain.

Tawni expected to be released by Alotta at that point, but she was kept close, firmly pressed into Alotta’s almost-bare breast.

“Shall we get a cocktail?” Alotta recommended to Tawni, Bix, Cristyl, and Harry.

“Let’s!” Cristyl replied, hooking arms with Bix again.

The quintet approached the club’s bar, which was very crowded.

“Don’t worry,” Cristyl said to Bix and Tawni, “the bartender knows us.” She indicated Alotta. “We’re here, a lot.”

Alotta made a coy face that caused Bix to snicker.

Cristyl was right; the barwoman came directly to them, despite that quite a few other folks had been waiting for their turn for drinks and trying to get her attention.

“Hello, beautiful creatures, what can I getcha?” She was one of the palest people Tawni had ever seen. In the low lighting of the club, her skin tone appeared almost lavender.

“Five shots of glittergin,” Alotta requested, “and Harry and I will each have a firerita.” Alotta nodded to Tawni, who was still cheek to breast.

“Erm, can I have the same, please?”

“Three fireritas,” the fair-skinned bartender stated as she poured the glittergin shots into tiny glasses. She nodded to Bix. “You want one too?”

Bix leaned to Tawni and cooed, “You like it spicy!” but then she put up one hand toward the bartender. “No thanks, not for me, I’ll just take a glass of water, thank you.”

Cristyl glanced at Bix with curiosity. “Don’t you want something fancy?”

“Nah, I’m good, thanks though.”

Cristyl shrugged. “Make it four fireritas!”

“Four it is.” The barwoman set the five glittergins in front of Alotta to divvy out, and she placed a tall tumbler of water in front of Bix. “Lemon or anything?” she asked as she began to make the cocktails.

“Lemon would be great, thanks.” Bix squeezed a wedge into her plain beverage.

The emcee was on the stage again, and she let out a whoop of delight. Tawni realized she had missed Mister Mystery’s entire performance, but the woman standing above the crowd was already announcing the next act.

“Time to get naughty! We have a king who’s about to pop his performance cherry by stripping for all of us!”

The crowd screamed in delight at her words.

“May I present, Max Dickens!”

Someone completely covered from head to toe in far too much clothing came slinking out onto the catwalk, and a sultry, jazzy song began.

“That is an absurd amount of clothes,” Harry stated to the others.

“Can’t wait to see what he’s hiding underneath it all!” Bix replied.

“What should we toast to?” Alotta asked, raising her glittergin.

“New friends?” Bix recommended.

“I love it,” Alotta replied. “To new friends!” She knocked her shot back, and the others followed suit.

The glittergin tasted sparkly, and it burned a little going down.

The barwoman set fireritas onto the counter in front of Alotta, Harry, Cristyl, and Tawni, who took her first sip of the spicy cocktail.

“Oooh, I like that a lot!”

On stage, Max Dickens had already peeled off an outerwear overcoat that was now lying in a clump to one side of the catwalk, but every inch of the drag king’s skin remained hidden. He slid a second jacket from his body, but he was still wearing so much that none of him was exposed. Max spun around and wiggled his booty at the audience, and he yanked the hat from his head. A second hat was revealed. He twirled onstage again and pulled off his under-hat, but yet a third was beneath. It was fitted, and when Max tugged it off, magnificent green and orange locks came cascading to his shoulders. He cocked his head to one side and jerked his hair, which turned out to be a wig, and his short natural black hair was exposed.

Max began untwisting a scarf from around his neck, and his face was revealed. Tawni did a double-take; Max was beautiful! Tawni did not want to assume Max’s gender identity, and she tried not to automatically think of Max as a woman, but the face she was seeing looked like a woman’s to Tawni. She liked Max’s appearance very much.

Max sent a third jacket floating through the air onto the growing pile of his clothes. He then slid a pair of thick gloves off his hands, only to reveal thinner gloves beneath that stretched up his arms. Max removed one, and then the other, and he suddenly thrust his trousers to his knees. He was of course wearing more than one pair of pants, and he kicked the baggiest outer pair from his feet.

Tawni had sucked down almost her entire firerita, excitedly staring at Max’s performance.

“You want another one of those?” Alotta asked. He still had an arm around Tawni, but he was not holding her quite as tightly now.

Tawni glanced at her cocktail, and she nodded up to Alotta. “I liked it a lot. But could I get drinks for everyone?”

“Absolutely not, little dumpling,” Alotta replied with a chuckle. “This is our treat.” The two of them turned to the pale barwoman again, and Alotta made eye contact with her. He raised a hand and extended two fingers.

“Two more? You got it.”

Tawni checked the stage, and she was startled to see that Max’s pile of clothes had nearly doubled. He was wearing little more than a glittery catsuit, and he was almost finished with his performance. He removed an undershirt, and finally a pair of boxers, standing in only the skin-tight and sparkling bodysuit, and Tawni thought he was very attractive.

The crowd let out glorious applause as Max bowed, and he began collecting his many discarded clothes.

The emcee returned. “Wasn’t that just the sexiest? But who’s ready for some madness?!” She stuck out her tongue and crossed her eyes. The crowd laughed and cheered. “Mermaid’s Throne’s favorite clowns are about to astonish you with their inhuman feats and slapstick tomfoolery! May I humbly present Woody Ramrod, Cobalt Steel, and Miles Tone!”

The trio of sexy but creepy clowns came somersaulting out to screams of laughter. Miles leaped to his feet and cartwheeled from one side of the stage to the other, as Woody stepped onto Cobalt’s hands and was backflipped through the air. He landed on his feet, and Miles came twirling out from behind the curtain, carrying a tall, thin case in his arms. He set it down, pulled a sword from it, and extended the weapon into the air. Cobalt and Woody flanked Miles, and the pair dropped to the floor, staring up at him. Miles rotated the sword above his head and held the weapon by its blade. He tilted his head back, dropped his jaw, and brought the weapon’s point to his open mouth.

Tawni let out a noise of alarm as Miles began to slide the sword down his throat, filling his gullet with the cold steel.

Bix squeezed Tawni’s fingers as Miles got the cross guard to his lips, and he extended his arms out to the sides.

Tawni was astonished.

Miles brought his hands back to the hilt, and as he withdrew the sword again, he drooled quite a lot of saliva. Then the sword was free, and he was holding it aloft above his head like a conquering warrior!

The people inside Mermaid’s Throne roared.

Miles shifted off to the side to wipe his mouth as Cobalt and Woody rose from the stage and stepped to its center. They bumped into each other and began vying for the better position. It quickly became clear just how talented a dancer each of them was. Woody hip-checked Cobalt, causing him to lean off-balance, but he hooked his arm in Woody’s elbow and fell around his body, ending up on the stage again, now between Woody’s legs. Cobalt flipped onto his back, reached up to Woody, and was yanked to his feet. He was facing backward, and Woody pretended to slap Cobalt in the face, causing him to go cartwheeling across the stage. Miles replaced him, leaping through the air toward Woody, who pulled him into a tango-like dance move that included dipping Miles and giving him a twirl. The pair spun apart, and Miles was suddenly arm in arm with Cobalt. The two strutted to Woody, grabbed him beneath his armpits, and dragged him backwards with the heels of his silly clown shoes trailing behind him and the toes poking upward. Cobalt released his grip, and Woody fell sideways, pulling Miles down onto him, but then hoisting Miles into the air with his legs and sending him sprawling. Cobalt got ahold of Woody’s ankles and spun him across the floor.

Tawni was bowled over by the acrobatic skill the trio displayed, and despite the inherent creepiness of their costumes, there was a lot of exposed skin showing, and each flash of it made Tawni tingle for more.

Then the performance came to an end, and the three clowns were standing together and bowing to the audience.

Tawni wished there had been more to it, but it was done, and it had been marvelous.

Bix squeezed Tawni’s hand, and she turned to her. “I love watching you experience new things, babe. You’re so curious, and you’re interested and accepting of everything. I adore you, Tawni.”

Tawni heard each of Bix’s words despite the cheering crowd. She also heard what Alotta suggested next, and it made her feel anxious.

“We goin’ skinny-dipping after this?”

Tawni was aghast, but Bix and Cristyl were both very excited about the prospect.

“Yes!” Cristyl declared in relish. “I’m dying for a swim!”

“And I think it sounds absolutely delightful,” Bix added. “Don’t you, Tawni?”

Tawni did not get the chance to reply; Miles, Cobalt, and Woody were back.

“You three were smashing!” Bix declared.

“Killed it,” Cristyl added.

“Sssslayed!” Alotta hissed.

“Absolutely loved the performance,” Harry said with a toothy grin.

“You three are really talented,” Tawni added a little sheepishly.

The others all turned to her.

Cobalt took Tawni’s hand, kissed her knuckles, and replied in a very squeaky voice, “You can flatter me anytime!”

Everyone laughed.

Tawni could not believe the next words that came out of her mouth. “We were just discussing skinny-dipping.”

“Can’t wait to get out of this makeup,” Miles replied casually. “A swim will be great. Did you have a beach in mind?”

“Gray’s Beach is nice.” Tawni was shocked at herself for pushing this plan forward. The whole idea of swimming naked made her uncomfortable, but all the others were acting like it was no big deal.

“I love Gray’s Beach,” Woody stated.

“That settles it,” Bix said, flashing Tawni an impressed smile. “But who’s up next on stage? We don’t want to miss any of the performers.”

Cristyl flourished at them. “I’m up shortly. I’ll be singing a song.”

“Can’t wait!” Bix declared.

Several minutes later, Cristyl was preparing to take the stage, and everyone was excited for what would come next.

She stepped up onto it, and she sang.

she’s a molotov cocktail

in the looks department

so I can understand

the infatuation

but if you don’t back the fuck off

we’re gonna need to have words again

…have words again

and it was not fun the last time

and I’d rather not go through it all twice

I’m bringing back the bits

of her little broken heart

so watch out punk ’cause I’m pretty sure…

you ain’t no bad mutherfucker

you’re just some damn fool

with some damn fool idea

how to win her back…

how to win her back…

how to win her back…

Alotta leaned toward Tawni and commented, “These are saucy lyrics!”

Tawni looked up at her and nodded with a giggle as Cristyl sang her second verse.

she’s a queen of the underground couture culture

but you’re just some peasant with the wrong

attitude for your station

and the whole stalker thing

…the whole stalker thing is certainly not becoming

And it really makes you come across as needy

I’m bringing back the bits

of her little broken heart

so watch out punk ’cause I’m pretty sure…

Cristyl repeated the refrain as Alotta amended her statement from a moment earlier. “Those were salty lyrics.”

Tawni laughed, and Cristyl’s song came to an end.