Chapter Text
When Amy’s best friend asks her to be the maid of honour, Amy is both excited and humbled—at first. She can put her organisational skills to good use and be an essential part in making Kylie’s special day perfect.
A month later, Kylie tells her that the venue she and her fiancé Chris chose has an available spot for them in two months, and Amy thinks her head is going to explode.
It isn’t impossible, but she and Kylie does live and breathe wedding planning for the next two months. They make and send out invitations in between case work and court and visits caterers during their lunch break. During the weekends they go bride and bridesmaid dress shopping throughout Manhattan and at night they rope Chris into helping them make centre pieces and place cards.
~&~
It’s a week before the wedding and five days before the bachelor and bachelorette parties. While Kylie and Chris are out getting their marriage license on her lunch break, Amy is back in her office.
She’s supposed to hire the… entertainment. The bride-to-be wants a stripper, but Amy doesn’t know a legitimate and quality(?) company from which to hire. She’s too embarrassed and afraid to Google search it on the company computer, so Kylie’s sister Nora gave her a number she’d used for her friend’s bachelorette years ago.
Amy really wishes that Nora didn’t hand write it; she has terrible penmanship.—Is that a four or a nine?
She guesses that it’s more of a four and hopes she’s right as she brings her phone up to her ear.
“Stardust Entertainment, this is Gina,” a voice drolls. “How can I help you?”
“Hi,” Amy stammers, “um, I’d like to hire someone.”
“Yeah, sure. We have a wide range of performers. What type would you like?”
Type? She winces, kind of regretting not having done some research before calling. She must sound nervous and uncomfortable and unprepared. It’s all true, but Amy doesn’t like to project anything less than confidence or organised, even if she may not feel it. “What do you have?”
“We sort our performers based on the theme of your event. We have jungle, magic, clown, cosplay…”
As Gina rattles on the different themes, Amy’s eyes get wider. Some of these are… strange stripper themes, and she never knew that there were more than the traditional blue collar worker like police officer or mechanic.
A little overwhelmed when Gina mentions fire, Amy interjects with the first word that comes to mind, “Magic!”
“Great,” Gina sighs. “Do you have a preference for gender?”
“Male.”
“Okay. I need the number of guests, the date and where the event’s going to be held.”
~&~
Five days later and Amy’s laughing into her hands at the g-string Vivian, one of the bridesmaids, puts over Kylie’s head.
“Okay,” Nora smirks, clapping her hands together. “I think it’s Amy’s turn.”
“Give it to me,” Amy winks, reaching for her (fifth) glass of champagne on the coffee table.
“Truth or dare?”
Amy downs the champagne. Scoffing, she answers easily, “Dare.”
Just as Hannah, the other bridesmaid, begins to speak, a knock at the front door interrupts.
“It’s stripper time!” Amy exclaims.
Kylie laughs, clapping happily. “Amy, I dare you to make out with the stripper.”
She smirks confidently and stands up abruptly. “Be right back,” she purrs and the girls squeal excitedly. She navigates through torn paper wrappers and phallic-shaped gummy candy that litters the living room floor on her way to the door.
She smoothes down her red dress before opening the door to reveal a man in a suit that’s a size too big and a crooked bow tie.
“Hi,” he smiles. “Is this Kylie’s party? I’m the magician.”
“Magician?”
“Yep. You know, abracadabra?” He hunches his shoulders and wiggles his fingers in front of his face, and then winks.
Oh. She gets it, he’s in character. “Yes, yes.” She takes a step back and gestures inside. “Come on in.”
(Magicians aren’t sexy. But she can make it work.)
He bends over and picks up a black box before entering. “I accidentally dropped donut filling on my top hat on the way here so I have to cut a part of my routine out,” he explains.
“That’s fine,” she answers distractedly. She can’t just attack him against the front door, can she?
“Is there somewhere I can wash my hands? It’s a little sticky.”
Amy grins and pounces on the opportunity. “Uh-huh, right this way.” She leads him to the bathroom.
As he puts down his box against the wall, she unabashedly checks out his butt.
Nice.
He enters the bathroom and is about to close the door when she intercepts with a hand. He looks at her, face crumpled into confusion, as she steps in. “Uh, lady…?”
“I like your magic trunk,” she flirts, closing the door behind her.
“Thanks? It’s just a regular trunk. I got it at—Ah!” he yelps when she yanks him around and shoves him back against the door.
Boxing him in with her arms, she grins dirtily, “Could I see your a magic wand later, Mr. Stripper?”
He frowns, head jutting back and begins to exclaim something, but his response is cut off when she smashes her mouth against his.
It feels like she’s kissing two marshmallows and it’s weird because he’s not responding. She slithers out a tongue to lick at his cupid’s bow and he groans, finally kissing her back, and they’re going at it against her best friend’s bathroom door.
His arms wrap around her waist and squeezes her to his body, their pelvises pressed intimately together. He mumbles something against her mouth and when she tries to pull back to ask him to repeat what he said, he makes a disapproving noise as his lips follow her.
She gently bites his lip and he gasps, drawing a smile from her. Her arms fall from the door to snake around his neck, leaning her weight against him.
~&~
Amy manages a hand under his shirt and he’s starting to giggle into her mouth when someone knocks on the door.
“Hello?” Hannah. “Sorry, but I really have to go.”
Their swollen lips unlock with a thick click as they pull apart. He grins at her with a pink lipstick-stained mouth and dazed brown eyes.
Amy and the stripper shuffle out of the bathroom (after he quickly washes his hands) and into the living room. He catches her arm before they round the corner. “Hey. Do me a favour?” he asks, head tilted to the side as his full lips blossom into a nice smile.
She stares at him openly, and she thinks maybe she’s a little tipsier than she thought because she senses this strange connection between them. She's transfixed on his mouth as his smile turns crooked, revelling in the way his hand slides down her arm. When he gives her hand a quick squeeze, she jerks her eyes back to his.
Oh right, he asked a question.
“Sure, um...?”
“I normally have my audience call me ‘Jake the Great,’ but I think you’ve earned the right to be candid.” She’s morose when he lets go of her hand to tousle the front of his strategically chaotic hair.
“Amy,” she replies. “What would you like me to do?”
~&~
Hannah returns to her seat while Amy’s closing the living room curtains and shutting off all the lights as Jake requested. Then she carefully makes her way back to her seat using the light from the kitchen to guide her and waits in anticipation with the rest of the ladies.
A steady rise of foreboding music begins, heightening the excitement in the dimly-lit room. Amy feels Kylie vibrate beside her. When the music reaches the height of the crescendo, cymbals clashing and the string section screeching, a flash of light explodes in front of them, eliciting screams of surprise, before darkness consumes the room.
Three beams of golden light from below flickers on and standing in the middle of it is Jake, the shadows on his face making his presence dark... sexy. His smirk is crooked, promising wicked things to come. “Hello ladies,” he greets in a deep rumble, his voice loud and echo-y. “I’m Jake the Great.” He thrusts his arms out and the living room lights suddenly turn on.
Amy catcalls as the others cheer and giggle.
His confident expression turns into one of confusion as his eyes take in the living room.
“Take it off!” Vivian laughs and a dollar note folded into an airplane flies over the coffee table and hits Jake in the neck.
He blinks down at the note, looks up at them with a crinkled brow. Then his face bursts into a huge smile that over takes his face; cheeks caving under the pressure of curled lips and mouth hung open that showcases a chin dimple and deep laugh lines. And the most obnoxious laugh bubbles out of his throat. “You think I’m a stripper!?”
They’re all stunned into silence as they process what his words mean.
Amy croaks, “You-You’re not?”
“No!” he chokes between his laughter.
Maybe he’s from another company and someone else hired him in the building? “You’re not from Stardust Entertainment?”
“Wait,” Nora interjects, “Stardust Entertainment?”
Amy whips around to glare accusingly at her. “It was a four!”
They’re all looking at her like she’s crazy, except Jake the not-a-stripper-but-actual-magician. He’s doubled over, wheezing and clutching his stomach.
Why aren’t they looking at him like that?
Nora puts a hand to her forehead. “The stripper company is named Manhattan Men.”
~&~
Humiliated beyond belief, Amy waits for Jake to gather his things while the other three begin cleaning up the living room. It’s safe to say that the party’s over. Unfortunately, so is her buzz.
Kylie’s bent over the coffee table and collecting the champagne glasses when Amy steps up to her and wraps her fingers around her arm. “Kylie, I’m so, so sorry.”
Her best friend grins. “Are you kidding? This would be a great story to tell for the rest of my life.”
Amy forces a smile she doesn’t feel. “Yeah.”
“Come here.” Kylie grabs her into a one-armed hug. “After we’ve cleaned this up, let’s go out. Nora will be in charge of finding us a strip club,” she teases.
Amy squeezes her waist. “Okay.”
“He’s watching you,” Kylie murmurs into her ear just before letting her go.
Heaving a breath, she spins around and nods at him in acknowledgement. He probably wants to get his money and leave as soon as possible. To tell his magician friends and laugh some more. Grabbing her purse from the loveseat, she leads Jake to the front door.
“I’m so sorry about the confusion.”
He shrugs as he passes by her and through the door, a smatter of chuckles still escaping him. He bends to place his trunk by his feet and rubs at his cheeks. “Gah, my cheeks hurt from smiling so much.”
She digs into her purse for the cheque.
“Would this be a bad time to ask for your number?”
Her head jerks up in surprise as she feels her eyes widen. “Uh... what?”
He bites his bottom lip, bringing her attention to the gap between his two front teeth. It’s endearing. “I wanna ask you out.”
“You mean like on a date?”
“I'll even wear this if you’re into it,” he jokes, pinching the lapel of his jacket. Or at least, she thinks he’s joking.
She can’t say she’s even been on a date with a magician before. But then again, before today, she’s never kissed one either. “Okay. But no magician costume.”
“Cool-cool-cool.” He blinks. “How do you feel about Batman?”
Amy laughs, shaking her head. “Just be you.”
His face splits into a grin. “I can do that.”
She hands him the cheque before retrieving her phone and handing it to him to input his number. A moment later, music that sounds distinctively like the score from Die Hard blasts from his pant pocket.
She’s distracted with the phone he holds out when he lands a surprise attack kiss to her cheek. The smile that stretches across her face at the affectionate action cannot be helped.
“Text ya later with the deets on our date.” Jake heaves the trunk up again, winks and then turns to head down the well-lit hallway.
She leans out of the doorway to watch him go and frowns when he pauses mid stride and pulls out his phone.
Her phone beeps and she looks down to see it’s a text from ‘Best Kisser in a Bow Tie’.
Checkin out my magic trunk?
She laughs and spares him a glance before madly typing out her reply.
Is that a bunny in your pants or are you just happy to see me?
Someone inside calls her name and his boisterous laughter echoes its way to her just before she steps back and closes the door.
Nora calls them a cab that takes them to a club that’s hosting ladies’ night. Amy spends the whole time texting Jake and grinning like an idiot down at her phone.