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The question that he asked likely would have offended most women. Even Kenny, the all-accepting and understanding woman that she was, found herself a little taken back by it. She'd been raised in a world where sex sold. Music, dancing, jazz, it was all seductive and swanky. She hadn't been raised to be prudish, and she didn't believe that she was. Her holding her virginity was only because she didn't think anyone would want to take it from someone like her. She lacked sex appeal because of the way she questioned herself, not because she didn't know what sex appeal was.
"Who's to say it is? Just because I'm not flippant about who I spend my nights with doesn't make me some kind of prude," McKenna shrugged. She actively tried not to be judgmental of anyone's lifestyle. Be it what they chose to eat or how active their sex life was, it had nothing to do with her. "I don't see what it matters if I did hold my virginity close to me. It's none of anyone's business either way."
She wasn't upset by his question, nor was she overly offended, Kenny just didn't understand why he brought it up and why it mattered. It didn't make her any less herself.
McKenna immediately recognized the redhead. She may not have known her, but Kenny made sure to watch the other girls dance. She could use all of the help she could get in regards to playing the crowd and from what she'd observed, the redhead was extremely good at it. She had this flirty air about her and all Kenny felt was envy because there wasn't a flirty bone in her tiny little body. Still, she gave an easier grin as she introduced herself as Lena. With a single nod, she confirmed that she was who she was and gulped back the nerves as much as she could.
Before she got anything else out, the next dancer came in a beat later. Immediately she looked between the two of them and had to stifle a laugh. What were they; the Charlie's Angels of burlesque? Kenny had to wonder if the owner had set it up that way on purpose or if he genuinely believed they were the best he had.
McKenna shook her head, "Oh, no, I was way early. I think you both are just on time or maybe even early. Y'know, I haven't actually looked at the clock since I've been here." Her words started coming out at lightning speed and she took a deep breath in order to pause and regroup. "You're Callie, right?"
She snorted loudly at Carter's remark about not watching her dance and she covered her face with her hand, "I'm almost begging you not to pay any attention to my dances. There are plenty of better things for you to look at." She couldn't imagine having him watch her, it'd be almost as bad as Cameron watching. All she could ask of him was that he stick close by in case she might need something, but even then, she didn't honestly believe that she would.
It was just a precaution for her brother's sake.
McKenna rolled her eyes for good measure at her brother making her promise like she was twelve years old again, "Yes Cameron, I already told you I'll be on high alert. Cart wouldn't let anything bad happen to me anyway." Not to mention, she couldn't see the owner being the type to let something happen like that in his club. The guy was kind of scary and she didn't think anyone would actively try to be on his bad side. Her brother's offer for them to stay for dinner made her smile, but she frowned shortly after, "I would, but I have rehearsal and I still need to look over some music that the owner suggested. Rain check?"
Working at TGF was probably the most terrifying and exciting thing that McKenna had decided to do with her life. She enjoyed being a background dancer while she learned who she was as a character in the Burlesque world. The owner told her to work with other dancers to learn her style, to get further and hone in on skills that he said she had. She held a presence, she had no idea what kind of presence she held, but he'd told her that she seemed to draw people inward.
His most recent request was to work with the two best dancers he had as a trio routine. It terrified her to think about being up next to the top dancers in the club. She wasn't a professional, she'd only ever been on the dance squad at the academy and even then, it hadn't been quite the same dancing. He was pushing her to challenge herself and she supposed she could thank him for believing she could do it. Kenny also had to consider that he was testing her to see if she was capable of holding her own on the stage as a front girl.
The scheduled rehearsal had come quickly and abruptly. She wasn't sure that she was quite ready for it, but she showed up early to get a jump on stretching. McKenna had headphone covering her ears, playing soothing music that her ability held fast to. If she could manipulate her own emotions to keep calm, then she would likely be fine. Unfortunately for her, she felt her awkward wall flowering ways coming back at full force. It was easy to be intimidated in a place like this. When the door opened, her eyes immediately snapped towards it and she scrambled to stand up, pulling the headphones so that the hung around her neck. "Uh, h-hi!"
His reassurance that it was ultimately up to her reminded her of the conversation she'd had with Carter over the same thing. Her doubts and insecurities about the whole thing made her question it, but she was excited about the opportunity that it gave her to explore something different. She needed to explore and exit her comfort zone, but that was the terrifying part. She didn't want to be uncomfortable, nobody ever did.
Her eyes lifted to his and she narrowed them when he asked if he could ask her a question. It always made her shift uncomfortably when someone wanted to ask her a question and asked for permission. It gave her some kind of anxiety attack because she couldn't quite figure out what it was about. They'd gone from joking around to a serious matter to him smirking at her like it was some conspiracy what he had to ask.
Kenny bit her lip, "I'm not sure. Your face is making me wonder if I want you to ask me this question."
McKenna was relieved by the sudden change of mood. While she kept the information tucked away in her mind, she didn't want to keep going if it upset him. She hoped that with time she would get to learn more about the deep parts of his mind and his life, but she was content with their silly bantering for the time being.
Her lips pressed together tightly and she tried not to laugh anymore. As he wiped at his face with his shirt, she giggled again and cleared her throat before giving a nod, "Yeeeeup, you got it, hun. All good to go." She couldn't help the wide smile on her face, as it was beginning to be a permanent fixture in his presence. He had a way of making her laugh even when he wasn't trying, and it wasn't even at him, it was just because of the way he was. Like he didn't give a care what people looked at him like.
"Yeah, yeah, sure," She scrunched her nose up and laughed. It made her laugh that he was so defensive about his skills. She assumed that came from having a sibling because she could relate. Cameron always gave her a hard time, but she guessed that was part of having an older sibling. Or maybe just a sibling in general.
McKenna's hand shot up to cover her mouth before she could laugh at the ring around his face. She was struggling to keep from bursting out and eventually her attempt failed. She giggled and bit down on her lower lip, "Uh, Sam, ya...ya got a little," She motioned in a circle around her face and hoped that he would understand between her burst of giggles.
Kenny couldn't place a time when she'd ever felt quite as content with a boy that she hadn't immediately saw as one of her best friends. She was comfortable with her two blonde protectors, sure, but she'd never seen them in the way that everyone else did. However, as she looked at Sam with his big brown eyes and that silly grin of his, she could feel herself melting. And she wasn't scared.
Her eyes lifted when he teased her and she made a face, "Although I enjoyed the outcome of the fight, I think I may need a crash course on snowball making before entering another fight." Plus, she had high hopes of the snow melting soon so that she could enjoy the weather again. She missed spring and summer because that was when she felt she thrived the most. It was more of her element than winter was.
"I almost had you though! For it being my first time and all, what does that say about your abilities," She grinned and brought the mug up to her lips as she shrugged.
McKenna considered his words and took in what he was saying. He couldn't lie. Was that really such a bad thing? She often thought that she was a very straightforward person who didn't avoid the truth. She wasn't brash, but she didn't believe in lying, it never got her anywhere when she tried. But he was worried about himself not being able to lie.
Lacing her fingers through his, she gave his hand a squeeze before looking up at him. He genuinely looked scared that she would leave. But he hadn't given her any reason to. She liked him, he was sweet if not a little awkward. He reminded her of herself and she was not a malicious person. If he couldn't lie to her, she would take it as it came happily. There was a difference between being honest and being hurtful and she didn't see him doing it to hurt her.
"You don't know me very well, but you'll come to find out that I'm not the ditching type. There's nothing you can do about your ability, Sam. It's what we're given and we do the best we can with what we have." She gave him a reassuring smile and bit her lip as she cast her eyes down. "I really like this, though. Hanging out with you, I mean."
When he decided that he would let her keep it if she wanted to, her heart squeezed uncomfortably and she grinned wider. She couldn't believe that he was willing to just let her keep it. She'd only been joking, but she wasn't complaining by any means. Kenny pulled the jacket around her tighter unconsciously and breathed it in.
His reluctance was clear in his expression and she wished she could suck her question back in and take it all back. She made the decision that she didn't like seeing him like that and she would make a point to make sure it didn't happen again. Not because of her.
She couldn't help the frown that with his struggle, but as he tried again, her eyes widened. Lie detection, she'd heard of it a time or two, but had yet to come into contact with it. McKenna reached out to touch his hand in what she hoped was a comforting gesture, "There's nothing wrong with that. People should be held accountable for their lies. At least no one can hurt you by making you believe what isn't true." She didn't understand what was wrong with his ability that it made him reluctant to talk about it.
McKenna had her attention focused on him, she didn't care if she came off a little crazy with the way she was looking at him. She was just taking it all in. It did help that the school was free, although, her parents had told her it was nothing she needed to worry about when the time to make the decision came. She could have gone anywhere. The mentioning of a sister caught her by surprise and she smiled. If there was anything she could relate to, it was staying put because of family. Kenny had been apart from her brother for a long time, she had no intentions of letting it happen again.
And he wanted to be a trainer. Her smile widened and she nodded, it seemed fitting.
Kenny's teeth sank into her lip and she could feel the heat rising in her body. He definitely aided in warming her up. "I'm still a little damp, but it's not so bad. Although, I can't quite promise that you'll be getting this jacket back soon. I'm considering hijacking it because it's really comfortable." And it smelled really good, just like him. She brought the mug up to her lips and took a sip before setting it back down.
"Sam, can I ask you what your ability is? I know it's kind of a personal question when it comes to us, I'm really just curious."
McKenna was appreciative of Carter being there, all of his jokes aside, he had a comforting presence because she knew he would take the brunt of whatever came. And he was good for diffusing tense situations. He knew enough about her to know that she was a nervous person, even when it came to her family sometimes.
Kenny was about to protest when he spoke of danger, but she pressed her lips together to let him continue. She was always quick to defend her decisions, even if they were wrong. He pulled her into a hug and she gave him a tight squeeze before he pulled away. "Cam, it's just a club. There's security and plenty of people around that would notice if something was off. It's not going to be dangerous and it's just a step in the right direction. But I'll be safe, I always am."
She was shocked that he'd asked Carter to look out for her, mostly because she'd expected her brother to point him out as part of the danger. Of course she knew that wasn't true, but Cameron didn't like her best friend in the tiniest bit. Kenny reached back to place a hand on her best friend's shoulder and she smiled. She knew he would come visit and she felt like he would protect her if it was needed.
Kenny let her hands drop with his and she frowned, that was where the problem was always going to lie. She'd gotten better, much better with her self-esteem, but it didn't translate to how she found her sex appeal. The only time she'd seen sex appeal that she might have been able to relate to was on stage. Jazz clubs in New Orleans radiated sex appeal when a woman with a full voice and some rasp sang a slinky song that everyone danced to. That was the whole reason she'd joined the burlesque club, she wanted to be that woman on stage that could make a room full of people hot and steamy with just the sound of her voice.
And yet, there she stood, wondering if she'd ever be able to feel hot and steamy from herself. Isaac wasn't wrong, but she didn't even know what could make her feel sexy other than music and that didn't help her until she was on the stage. Even then, she wasn't sure it would help.
McKenna turned around, "You think this was a bad idea, don't you? Was it a terrible idea? Maybe I should tell the owner I can't do it. This was just a huge mistake."
The way he talked about his previous homes made her a little sad. She couldn't imagine not having that little spark in her heart when she talked about home. Although, if he was from Montana, she supposed there wasn't much spark to gain from there. She hadn't really liked it that much. Kenny had a feeling it went deeper than that though, but she wasn't about to push him on it.
His question was one that played on repeat in her mind. Why hadn't she gone back to New Orleans? It was her favorite place in the world and it held one of the most amazing human beings she knew; her dad. But even still, she couldn't quite make the move. Moving would mean trying to drag her aunt and her brother along with her, which she had a feeling would be more difficult than she could handle. Besides, Oregon was starting to grow on her. She had all of her friends in the academy and there were proving to be a lot of cute boys.
"I stayed at the academy to get a better hold over my ability. It has a tendency of rubbing me the wrong way sometimes and with what I intend to do with my future, I need to get a better hold on it," She gave a firm nod and smiled at him. "Why'd you stick around the academy instead of picking a different college?"
The words that left his mouth made her nose scrunch, "You're one of my best friends, Isaac. You know why I wouldn't go there." It was the same reason she never went for Carter. She loved them both to her core because they were upfront with her in a way her brother wasn't and they looked out for her just the same. Kenny was a romantic at heart, the fling thing just wasn't meant for her. She didn't judge those who did it, she just couldn't find it in herself to take part in it. And she didn't quite see either of her favorite men being the settling down and romantic type.
She reluctantly let him lead her towards the mirror and she frowned at her own reflection. It wasn't that she thought she wasn't pretty, she had never thought that. She just didn't have the same amount of confidence that made a difference. Her hands covered his and she leaned her head against his. She looked at the mirror and tried to see something different. Something better.
"I see a beautiful blonde resting his chin on the shoulder of an awkward brunette who is the very definition of cutesy. And I don't really think of that as a compliment when it comes to this sort of get-up that I'm wearing. I shouldn't look cute in this kind of clothing, Isaac. Why do I look cute in everything?" She groaned.
