Jon took the necklace and stuffed it in their bag.
A thin man hurried into the prep area clapping his hands. He started saying something in French. Jon assumed he must be the director or some sort of stage manager because all the women quickly finished whatever they were doing and lined up on Stage Right.
Karyn smiled nervously, "I guess its showtime. Wish me luck!"
"Break a leg" said Jon as she got in position in line.
The thin man continued talking in French, presumably giving the girls a pep talk.
Karyn's hairdresser tapped Jon on the shoulder. "Come, let us go out front." She led Jon out a side door and down a hallway that exited out behind the audience.
She led Jon to a roped off booth with a sign that said "Réservé".
Jon felt weird sitting next to this strange woman. He kept glancing over at her. She was pretty cute. An older girl. Probably in college. Maybe 20 or 21? Jon wondered what she did when she wasn't helping backstage. Whenever she glanced at him, Jon would look away, pretending to be heavily invested in the empty stage. Finally, Jon turned to the young woman and awkwardly said, "I'm sorry, I don't think I know your name."
The woman blushed slightly, playing with her hair. "I am Nina."
"I'm Jon" replied Jon
"I know" said Nina looking away.
"Oh." Jon felt the blood rush to his face and he turned to face the stage again. He wished he hadn't said anything.
Nina stood up and flagged down one of the topless waitresses. "Deux, s'il vous plaît". As the woman put down two glasses of a dark drink, Jon found his eyes glued to the woman's tasseled nipples. He fidgeted uneasily at the panty wedgie his erection was giving him under the dress. The waitress bounced, giving her tassels a twirl and giggled as Jon looked away, embarrassed.
"Il est mignon" She said to Nina, before turning away. She gave butt a little extra wiggle as she went.
"Je sais" replied Nina as she handed Jon a drink, "Here. Drink!"
Jon took the glass and Nina clinked glasses with his, "To the first of many!" She said as she gulped it down.
Jon mimicked her and coughed violently. Nina burst out laughing. "Oh, American Jon, never had a drink before?"
Jon let out one last cough, "No, not really." He admitted, then corrected himself "I mean, I drink. Not as much since I had the kids, but I'll have a bottle of wine on occasion and I used to drink in college, but even then, I was more of a cocktail kind of girl." Jon cleared his throat, "Have they always been this strong?"
"Sometimes they are even stronger" Nina smiled. Either she had not understood what Jon said, or chose to ignore it. Either way, it was quite obvious to her that Jon was new to alcohol. "Do not worry Jon, you get used to it."
At that point, the lights dimmed and the music quieted. The crowd began to cheer rowdily as an French voice began to make an announcement over the loudspeaker.
