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***
The door swings open and a man rushes in, dark hair, about Dean’s own height and wearing clothes that don’t seem warm enough for the current outside climate.
“Hey, stop there, buddy. I need to see some ID!” Dean calls out, but the man doesn’t stop. He sighs, rolling his eyes towards his fellow security guard, Benny, and jogs after him. He seems to be heading to the door behind the bar where the main office and changing rooms are located. Which means the safety of the other dancers could be at risk. which is concerning.
He catches up to him before he reaches the bar and grabs his arm.
“I said stop.” Dean grumbles and turns the man towards him.
And oh shit, he’s handsome. Not that it makes a difference to the fact he just came in here like a whirlwind.
“I’m sorry, I’m late. They wanted me to come do a first practice session before I go on stage, I can’t be late. I need this job.” The man’s eyes are wide and pleading, but Dean remains firm.
“I still need to see your ID, buddy. Who are you meeting?”
The guy fishes around in his satchel and pulls out a scruffy wallet. His driving license has a picture from a long while ago, in it he’s slightly more chubby faced and his hair is longer. Now though, his cheekbones are slightly more prominent, his hair is patted down as if it’s usually unruly, and oh his eyes are so blue in a way that the black and white photograph just didn’t show.
“So, Castiel Novak, who are you here to meet?”
“Balthazar… Grace?”
“Yeah, he’s right in the back, follow me. I’m Dean, by the way, security, bouncer, whatever you wanna call it.”
“Hello, Dean”
Dean leads him into the back and knocks for Castiel. When he hears Balthazar’s holler he nods to him and lets him through the door.
Once Castiel is safely inside he returns to the door with Benny.
“New employee of Balth,” Dean shrugs.
“He seemed... cute,” Benny says and Dean rolls his eyes.
“He’s an employee... of course he’s cute. You don’t get anywhere as a stripper without blue eyes and cheekbones,”
Benny raises a brow. “I have blue eyes, and cheekbones,” he says and then wiggles his hips a little. “Think I could do it?”
Dean dissolves into laughter, folding over until tears run down his face. “I’d pay to see you on stage.”
“Not all of us are as lucky as you in the looks department, Dean.” Benny grins.
Some music starts up on the stage, quiet, as there’s no need to blast it when no one’s here. Dean taps his foot along with the beat, crossing his arms and keeping one eye on the door while simultaneously watching whoever comes on stage.
He really hopes its Castiel. Not that Max or Michael or Victor aren’t a sight, it’s just, the new guy is... Dean sighs.
“Oh boy,”
“What?” Dean turns to Benny, who’s got a smirk on his face.
“You are so into that new kid,”
“I am not!” He protests though, realistically, Benny may be a little bit right. “Besides, he’s twenty-four, hardly a kid.”
“Whatever you say, brother.”
Dean doesn’t retaliate, mostly because a figure comes on the stage, wearing a loose-fitting grey t-shirt and black sweatpants. He keeps one eye on the door of course but he knows Benny’s got it.
There’s a good beat to the music which Dean remembers loving so much. Castiel is clearly nervous to be on stage even though there’s only a handful of people there, all of which are employees.
He shakes his hips a little, drawing his hands down his body, and oh how he knows he shouldn’t but he wants his own hands running down that body. The routine is a simple one, choreographed by Balthazar no less, and Castiel is soon turning around and then his shirt rides up, slowly… slowly.
Dean’s breath hitches in his throat and he can’t help but stare.
“Look away, Dean, you’ll only get attached.” Benny teases. Dean nods but doesn’t look away, he can’t.
Castiel pulls off the shirt over his head and clearly Balthazar has been training him well, his back is a work of art. Two black inked angel wings droop down Castiel’s back, and even from where he’s standing he can see how intricate they are.
Castiel dances a little more, sweat beginning to bead on his forehead from the lights and it darkens his hair more, sets it wild and untamed and he watches as Castiel sultrily cards a hand through it and rolls his body.
Yeah, okay, maybe Dean is very distracted by the new guy and he doesn’t think it’s going to stop any time soon.
Once the rehearsal finishes for the afternoon and Dean gets the majority of his brain cells back in order, much to the amusement of Benny, Dean does a quick loop around the premises in preparation for the evening. If he so happens to check in on the dancers to see how they’re going then that’s his business.
It usually takes the new guys a while to settle in and be comfortable but straight away he notices Castiel, topless, with his back to the room having a nap on the couch before their long night ahead. He doubts Castiel will be doing that much dancing, maybe just a group show but he’s probably had an exhausting day.
He doesn’t want to disturb him but he has a duty to lay down the rules for him. He’s sure Balthazar has already gone over the basics, but he wants to make sure he understands that this bar is a safe space for him and what he’s doing. Dean’s had his fair share of close calls and he wants them to be avoided for anyone else.
“Hey Novak?” Dean calls, not loud enough to startle him, and the man’s back ripples as he wakes up.
“Dean?” The grumbly voice goes straight down south and he realises it was probably a bad idea to talk to him while he doesn’t have a top on.
Castiel sits up, grabbing his shirt from the back of the couch and straightening out the creases.
Dean licks his lips absently but when Castiel chuckles he snaps his attention back to Castiel’s face and not his chest.
“You’re allowed to look, you know,” Castiel says, as a smile creeping onto his face.
“No, I... um—ground rules, that’s what I’m here for.” Dean tells him, keeping his eyes firmly on Castiel’s face.
“Balthazar went over them with me before I got started,” Castiel smiles, then pulls the t-shirt over his head. It's a little sweaty still and Dean will have to remember to let him know about the spare clothes they keep around.
“Yeah, I know, but... as the bouncer on the door in charge of your safety, I just wanna reiterate them,” he explains and it’s only a half lie. Not only did he want to have five minutes with him but he really did want to make sure he understood the rules, particularly the ones regarding how clients behaved towards dancers.
“Be my guest, there’s room on the couch if you want to sit, I don’t bite.” There’s a teasing tone to it and Dean sits down gingerly. He’s pretty sure he’s had enough of people teasing him. He’s not that bad at having his life together. Is he?
“So, clients aren’t allowed to touch. That’s your body, your clothing, anything. It’s more common during private dances or if you’re helping out with serving.
Two, you deserve respect. If you ain’t getting it, come and let me or Benny know and we can kick the fucker out.
Three, no phones. That’s clients and you. You need to leave it in your locker and the clients aren’t permitted to take pictures of you during stage or private dances.
Four, if you see something happening, flag me or Benny. Let us sort it. Don’t be a hero and jump into it, even if you can handle it.”
“There’s a story behind that one, Balthazar didn’t say the last rule,” Castiel comments with a raised brow, looking directly at Dean as if he’s expecting the story too.
“Ah... that would be me—I saw some guy groping other guys in the crowd and jumped off stage mid-performance. I may have broken his nose and collarbone... And also sprained my wrist. Balthazar had me off the books straight away.”
“It sounds like he deserved it though.”
“Yeah, Balthazar agreed as well, but police got involved and things had to be rectified. It’s why I’m still working here... just with a different job title. Damn, I miss dancing.”
“You certainly look the part,” Castiel says, and Dean’s sure he just winked at him.
“Thanks,” Dean feels his face heat a little, he should be used to that kind of attention from his dancing days but it’s hard to take a compliment.
“And hey, since you know the ropes and I’m not starting private dances until next weekend, you could... come and help me practice, if you want?”
“Help... help you?”
“You know, sit down and let me give you a lap dance, give me pointers. Balthazar did say I needed more practice.” Dean swallows. He would like nothing more and he’d also been praised (and well tipped) for his private dances, so he guesses he has some knowledge to pass along.
“That would... yeah, I like that idea.”