Princess of St. Vincent

Chapter 48

"Nicky... back again?" Chachi said when she noticed the girl walking into the club, wearing a mask.

"Third time's the charm." Vada said with a smile. Matteo had thought of everything, including sending the mask along in the car so she would not be recognized.

"What are you doing here?" Chachi asked.

"Didn't Matteo speak to you?" Vada said, approaching the bar where Chachi was making notes on a clipboard.

"Yeah, but that still doesn't explain why you're back. I thought... I thought you and Davide..." Chachi said but Vada sighed.

"Yeah, that is over... or it has been over but..." Vada's voice trailed off.

"You're here to get him back, aren't you?" Chachi asked.

"I am." Vada said.

"He's never here anymore." Chachi said.

"Well, that's why we need him to know I'm here." Vada said.

"What if he still doesn't come?" Chachi asked.

"Then I'll know it's over and I can go home." Vada said simply.

"Good luck." Chachi said.

"Thanks...so, new uniforms?" Vada asked, looking at some of the girls trailing in.

"Yep. Come on, I'll get you one." Chachi said, walking around from behind the bar and leading her into the back.

A short while later, Vada walked out of the backroom, adjusting the mask and wiggling around in the fishnet tights... it had been a while. The new uniform was pink and black, the same basic corset and bloomers design but instead of the skirt, she had a small bustle in the back which acted like a cover.

She looked at herself in the mirror of the dressing room, slapping the red lipstick back on and thinking that the look was not as mortifying as she had thought all those years ago. Maybe she just wasn't so naive as she was then. Sure- she'd never be caught in this in public, but all in all- it was not so bad and now that she was older, she seemed to fill it out better. Or maybe it was her dancer's body, whatever the case, she was nervous, especially as the other girls began to come into the dressing room.

Some of the faces she had never seen before, others immediately stared at her in recognition.

"I know you." One girl said, approaching her.

"Who's the new girl?" Another one said.

"Oh my god!" The cry finally came from Mary. "It's Nicky."

"What?!" Gina said, moving forward from behind the other girls. She stared at Vada, eyeing her up and down before speaking.

"You're taller than Nicky." Gina said.

"Not true, I haven't grown an inch." Vada replied.

"Then you're thinner than she was." Gina said.

"That's true." Vada said, acknowledging the change in her physique.

"What have you been doing? Where the hell have you been?" Mary asked, impressed by the tone and muscle on her.

"I have been dancing." Vada answered simply and honestly.

"At another club? Davide won't like that. We're not supposed to do that!" Gina said, flustered.

"I had permission." Vada said as a matter of factually.

"Looks like she came back with a bit of an attitude." Gina replied hotly.