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Mia made her way into the small club at the bottom of the Glassworks building. She made her way to the backstage area of the club and sat her things on the dressing table with a thud. One of the other singers was getting her things set up next to her, her best friend Carrie.

Carrie, aka Lola Noir, was a vintage-looking fiery redheaded beauty with an amazing talent to perform. She was a burlesque dancer and had taught Mia some new routines just for her performance. Mia’s friend since beauty school was about as over the top as someone could get. She ate, slept, and breathed her stage persona, going as far as having her home decorated in a retro-glam old Hollywood style, and drove a vintage pink Cadillac to keep in character.

“Mia, darling, do you want to tell me about this big strong man that came in earlier asking about you?” Carrie taunted in her vintage stage voice as she started her makeup.

“Crap on a cracker. He found me. That man is like a private investigator or something. Carrie, do you know who that man is?” Mia asked while getting her things placed on the dressing tables.

“Yes darling, my brother is a huge fan of his. Not to mention the fact you have gushed over the infamous, Cyrus Evans, for years. So, I guess the mystery man pretending to be him online was the real deal?” Carrie scooted next to her friend, never breaking her burlesque character.

“Yes, it was. Cyrus did what I told him in the messages. He showed up at the salon with flowers and took me out to dinner last night. It was so romantic. It’s like a dream come true, Carrie. I guess he’s showing up here tonight with some friends.” She puffed a breath of air with nervous tension, moving a strand of hair from her face.

“Then why on earth do you look so down, doll? This hot, rich celebrity obviously has something for you. I’ve heard you rave over him enough to know you like him. It’s like a real Cinderella story. So dreamy.” Carrie teased, waving her face with her hand dramatically.

“Carrie, it’s just… what if he doesn’t like my performance? What if he doesn’t like me? I’m not skinny like those girls he works with. What if he sees me live and thinks it’s awful? Then he might think I’m a fraud or something. Or worse, he doesn’t like me at all, and now is just being nice. What if it’s some prank?”

Dropping her persona, Carrie turned to her friend with serious concern. “I don’t think anyone would go to these lengths for a prank. He seems like a kind man.”

“It gets worse. He knows I’m a virgin now because my big mouth blurted it out. What if he doesn’t want me now, because of that?” Mia sat looking at her reflection in the mirror with sad eyes. “I’m so scared. I’ve never liked anyone this much and I don’t want to mess this up.”

“Doll face, do you think this man would have talked to you all this time and didn’t feel something too? Besides, when I talked to him, he said you sent him on a wild goose chase to figure out where you were tonight. He was so excited about his little treasure hunt, as he called it. You’re playing games with the poor man, and he is going along with it. That seems like a man who you’ve got into his heart. The way he talked about you was like a high school boy gushing over his first love. It was so sweet I thought I was going to get a cavity.”

Carrie turned back to the mirror to continue her makeup.

“Listen, the best burlesque dancer in the area taught you her moves. Me. You’re going to knock his socks off when he sees you in that red outfit, you little sex kitten.” She laughed, throwing a feather boa at Mia.

Mia looked at her reflection, thinking about the past few weeks. Carrie was right. Cyrus wouldn’t have come all this way if he didn’t feel something for her. He had continued talking to her online for no reason at all, other than just to have a friendship.

It wasn’t about sex either. They only talked about sex a few times online. One was a night they were talking about Cyrus being sexy and what she would do to him. She had a little too much wine and gave a little more information than she should have. It was a short conversation, and he quickly made sure he wasn’t being too forward with her. Even though it was clear, he got a little heated over the sexy talk.

His flirting had heightened after that night. He was such a romantic gentleman and crossed no lines. Even with his fake profile, he had been nice to her and made Mia feel special. Her Fake Cyrus was the real deal. He was the real Cyrus Evans, and she was the girl he was pursuing.

Mia was a strong, confident woman, and it was time she realized that she deserved his affection. He wanted her, and she wanted him. She was going to make sure it stayed that way too. Tonight, she was going to show him a whole new side to Mia Wilson. A sexy, confident woman.

Mia went to get her makeup ready and hair perfect. She helped Carrie with her hair and fixed a rip in her costume and worked to get their outfits on point. It was showtime.

***

Carrie was on first, and then a local jazz band with a short set before Mia. Mia was one of the headlining performers tonight for the first time in her performing career. Carrie had worked with her for weeks to get everything perfect and let Mia use one of the more elaborate burlesque outfits for her big performance.

Mia sat finishing her makeup and went to get in her first look, while Carrie was on stage. She could hear the music as her friend finished her dance number, signaling it wouldn’t be long before it would be her time to hit the stage.

Mia exited the dressing room and tried to go look at the crowd from the side of the stage curtains, but it was too dark in the club to see any patron’s faces.

Carrie wasn’t a singer but an amazing dancer, so the crowd was on fire as she finished her semi-strip tease performance. It was a small club, but tonight was a full house which made Mia even more nervous. She didn’t know how she could follow her talented friend, but she’d try.

Mia went back to the dressing room to put on her short blonde finger-wave wig over her long hair with a slinky black floor-length strapless dress. She had red ruby lips and black cat-eye liner and finished it by patting powder over her face to set it all in place.

Mia expected the butterflies to start at any minute. Stage fright wasn’t even an issue; she was too excited. There was nothing average about her tonight.

Still distracted at the thought Cyrus might be out there watching, Mia shivered with nervous tension. She pushed through the nerves and focused on what she needed to do. That man of her dreams was out there watching, and she was going to do everything in her power to impress him.

A man came in to talk about her music, bringing her out of her thoughts.

“Calvin, change my second song to the one we practiced. The one I wrote.” Mia sat looking at her reflection. “The other two keep the same.”

“Mia, are you sure? That’s one only you and I practiced. The guys know the song, but you’ve never done that song live.” Calvin, the bandleader, asked.

“I’m sure. I need to do that one tonight. It's special.”

As the man left, Carrie ran backstage watching Mia pull on her long black satin gloves. “Mia, are you ready? WOW! Girl, you look like a Hollywood starlet.”

“Thanks, can you zip my dress?”

“Mia, I saw him. He’s with two other guys. I couldn’t see who they were. It’s dark out there. I just noticed him because he got up to go to the bar and the stage lights hit his face. He’s sitting at the VIP corner table across from the bar.” Carrie took her hand to calm her, looking Mia in the eyes for a little pep talk. “Okay, doll face. You can do this. I heard you tell Cal to switch songs. I think it’s perfect. Go out there and show him you’re a star.”