CHAPTER 6

Starsky and Hutch pulled up to the club and slowly stepped out of the car…as Starsky turned off the engine.  They were both feeling nervous now. The prospect of what they were about to do… weighing heavy on their minds. Since Starsky had put up such a strong front it was up to him to make the first move towards the door.  It wasn’t a game anymore…and Starsky was having second thoughts.

Hutch glanced up at the sign over the door…and felt his heart sink.  The name…”Roosters” shown in large neon letters.  It made him think of a farm and how the roosters strut around to get the attention of the hens…the very thought was repulsive to him.  He wondered if Starsky was thinking the same thing.

“C’mon Hutch let’s go.” Starsky called over to him as he stood there staring up at it.  At least, Starsky thought to himself…I wont have to go through this alone.

“Starsk…are you sure about this?” Hutch asked with a hint of fear in his voice.

“Let’s just get it over with…maybe it won’t be so bad.” He told him.  He knew exactly how Hutch felt now…as reality started to sink into his mind. This really was a bad idea…but he knew it was too late to back out now.

Hutch took a deep breath and exhaled slowly…then he glanced over at Starsky and took a few steps towards him.  After a brief moment to look into his partners eyes… they both walked in together.

The lights were dim and it took just a second for their eyes to adjust.  The stage looked barren and there didn’t seem to be anyone around.  They took a few more steps inside inspecting the place in their usual manner…as police officers.  Observing their surroundings…taking in the atmosphere. Suddenly a voice came from behind them.

“You must be the new guys…we’ve been expecting you.” The young man said to them.

They turned around quickly to face him…and realized right away that he had to be one of the dancers.  Judging by his well-built physic and the way that he was dressed…which left very little to the imagination.  They looked at each other and then back at him.  Maybe they wouldn’t even pass the audition…they thought.

“I’m David and He’s Ken.” Starsky told him in a timid voice and reached out to shake his hand.

“I’m Peter…well, actually my name is Steven…but Peter sounds better.” He said to them.

“If you say so…” Hutch said with a smile…he tried not to laugh at him…but, Peter …better than Steven….Please.

“So….where do we go?” Starsky asked him…he knew what Hutch was thinking…he wanted to laugh too.

“Follow me..” The young man said as he walked backstage.  “Everyone’s getting ready..”

“They walk around like that as if it’s normal.” Starsky whispered to Hutch as they made their way backstage.

“I guess when you do this for a living…it is.” Hutch told him.

As they stepped backstage they where escorted down a small hallway and up to a door.

“This is our dressing room…it’s where we spend most of our time.” Peter told them.

He opened the door and said hello to the other men who where inside…a couple of them where undressing and one was rubbing himself down with some type of oil.  Still another was sitting in a chair lifting a small dumbell in his arm…curling it up and switching arms methodically.

“Hey everyone…I’d like to introduce you to David and Ken…they’re supposed to replace Mike and Tony.” Peter said with a smile.

The man with the bottle of oil walked over and reached out his hand. “Hi I’m Johnny…you fellows got any experience?” He asked.

“Not really..” Hutch said as he stepped behind Starsky. Unwilling to shake the outstretched hand in front of him.

Starsky put out his hand and felt the oily grip as it was wrapped around his palm.  Then he reached back and wiped his hand on Hutch’s shirt as he spoke.

“We’ll need a few lessons…but we learn fast.” He told him.

“The boss’l be here in an hour…I can show you a few moves till then.” Johnny offered. “But you’ll have to change first.”

“Change…into what?” Hutch asked.

“Your outfits…you only have a few to choose from…a cowboy…that was Mike’s…a construction worker…a soldier…nobody likes that one…and a monkey…the rest are taken.”

“A monkey…you gotta be kidding.” Starsky said with a look of surprise.

‘We only use him for private parties but if you want….” Johnny teased them.

“No that’s ok…we’ll take the other’s.” Hutch told him.

“You look like a cowboy to me…” Johnny said to Hutch. “And you can’t be a soldier unless you wanna cut your hair so I guess you’re stuck with the construction worker.”

“Fine…where do we change?” Starsky asked.

A roar of laughter echoed through the room…as Starsky turned a pale shade of pink.
“This is the dressing room…unless you wanna do it in the bathroom.” Peter told them. “The costumes are hanging over there on the rack.”

Johnny had disappeared from view for a few moments and came back into the room carrying two small items in his hands.  “Here…your gonna need these.” He told them.

“What…” Hutch asked as he pulled the cowboy costume down from the rack.

“Only the most important part of your act…unless you’d rather go on without them.” He kidded.

They both watched as he held out his hands to give them each a brand-new pair of bikini briefs, still in thier packages.  A black pair for Hutch and a red pair for Starsky.

“Terrific.” Starsky said as he took them from Johnny.

“Thanks…” Hutch said calmly as he did the same.

They disappeared into the bathroom to change as the others gathered together to talk quietly among themselves.

“They seem so out of place here…like fish out of water.” Mark said as he put down the dumbell he had been holding.

“The blonde one looks so nervous…I bet he won’t do it.” Johnny told them.

“Well I don’t care why they’re here…we all have our reasons.” Peter said. “But lay off the curly haired one…he’s mine.”

They emerged from the bathroom after a few minutes…wearing the costumes they had chosen…Hutch as the cowboy and Starsky as the construction worker…both felt uncomfortable in the strange clothing but Hutch even more so.  Bikini briefs were so binding…boxers were more his style.

“Ok you guys ready to get in some practice?” Peter asked them.

“Yeah…” Starsky said a little uneasy.

They watched as they were instructed on the many different aspects of such things as removing a shirt…either with both arms down letting it fall off the shoulders, or one shoulder at a time accompanied by different dance moves.  The costumes had snaps all the way down and around and the pants would come off with very little effort…but it took some practice to do it in one clean motion.  A feat that they watched but weren’t willing to attempt as of yet.

Starsky was a little more relaxed with it after a few minutes than his Partner.  Hutch found it difficult to keep his movements fluid. Thinking about the crowd of women was making him nervous and the fact that his mother would kill him if she knew what he was about to do.

The door to the dressing room opened suddenly.  Both Starsky and Hutch threw their eyes in that direction as they heard the squeak of the hinges.

“The Boss is here.” Johnny whispered to Hutch and Starsky’s eyes grew wide as he watched the tall figure enter the room.

Long sexy legs and a short mini skirt walked over to him and with a velvet touch her finger lifted his chin up to stare into a set of pale blue eyes.

“You must be the new meat…” She said as she smiled at him.
 

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  Chapter 7
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