You Got Me Hypnotized (Tak)

[Tanner Larson]

Well, this was new.

Tanner had never been directed to perform with someone else before; the idea of a duet didn't totally turn him off, but it wasn't something he was familiar with, so there would be a bit of a learning curve. He also didn't really know the person he was going to be performing with. They had both been in the room when they received this 'assignment,' Cynthia having been going over the following weeks' performance list with all of the singers and dancers gathered around. Tanner had searched the small crowd to see if he could find who this "Takchawee" was.

The girl had winked at him. He was a little uncomfortable.

It was a cold Monday morning that Tanner walked into the House; the cold didn't affect him and he was dressed rather casually. The pair had the next three days to prepare their performance before showing it to Cynthia on Thursday morning; they would then be performing it Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. This was also new to Tanner, as he usually just performed on Thursdays. But with both a boy and a girl in the performance, it was the sort of thing that could appeal to all crowds.

Having arrived first, he headed into the main room, checking to make sure the stereo was hooked up so that they could practice with the music. After doing so, he took a seat on the edge of the stage, waiting for this girl to show up. Truth be told, he had absolutely no ideas and was hoping Tak was the type of girl who could take charge. Otherwise, it was going to be a long three days.

[Takchawee Ominotago]

Tak hadn't been working at La Maison for a long period of time, but she had been there long enough to know that a duet like this was sort of uncommon. Nevertheless, she simply smiled and nodded as Cynthia told them of their assignments, internally brimming with amusement at the thought of performing with Tanner. She had watched him perform before - he always looked just a tad shy onstage, but seemed to put on a good show anyways. She was looking forward to getting to know him, probably (hopefully) on more than one level. He was, in her opinion, quite attractive, if a little quieter than her usual type.

She had been allowed to pick her own outfit for this performance and, after some scoping around, had found the absolute perfect fit. A song like this required something special, and she was really looking forward to putting the costume to good use. She was fortunate this day as well - though she had woken up with morning sickness, it had died down after only a little while, and she didn't feel too bloated, which was good, considering she was wearing what she was going to be performing in.

She wore a long coat over it, of course, because it was pretty cold outside, and she gave a relieved shiver as she stepped into the building away from the freezing temperatures. Assuming they were using the main room, Tak headed there immediately, stepping inside and looking around to see if the blonde was already there. Ah, there he was! Putting on her most winning smile, she strode over to where he sat on the stage, her long, full hair trailing behind her.

"Hey! Tanner, right?" she asked, even though she already knew he was. "This is something a bit new, huh? I've never really done a duet before." She smirked and leaned against the stage, looking up at him through her lashes. "And 'Hips Don't Lie' is quite a task to take on. But, I think we can do it."

She was beginning to get warmed up from her walk outside, and went to take off her jacket, giving Tanner a second look as she realized he was dressed casually. "Do you have an outfit picked out yet?" she asked curiously. She was fine working with him not being in costume, but she hoped he had at least something in mind. With that said, she pulled her jacket off completely and placed it aside with a flourish. "If you do, I hope it will go with this," Tak grinned.

[Tanner Larson]

Tanner looked up as he heard the sound of soft footsteps plodding towards the main room. His lips curved into a smile as she entered, and he gave a friendly nod of recognition. "Yeah, Tanner Larson," he replied, extending a hand towards her. She was certainly a beauty, that was for sure. Then again, all of the girls who worked at the House were; that was sort of the point. Suffice it to say he really, really enjoyed attending their rehearsals, which he often did because he needed all the help he could get with his dance technique.

The boy laughed politely. "Yeah, could be interesting," he agreed with a second nod of his head. "I mean... the male part is kinda... rappy... but I might try to make it more melodic." He had thought about it a bit, and since he knew the song quite well and was acquainted with his own limits as a singer, he had made that decision soon after he'd found out what song they would be doing.

That was essentially all of the thinking he had done regarding their performance, though, so when Tak asked if he had chosen an outfit yet, he had to shake his head. "Uh, no, not yet," he replied, gulping under his breath. He usually just wore jeans and a plain shirt; was he going to have to dress up for this now?

His jaw practically hit the floor as Tak threw her jacket into a chair. Oh sweet Jesus thank you. He shook his head quickly, trying to bring the whites of his eyes back down to normal size. "Ahhhh, n-n-no, not yet, heh..." He replied meekly, rubbing the back of his neck fervently with one of his hands. He felt obligated to look away respectfully, as though she wasn't fully dressed or something. "I... haven't really thought about it."

Suffice it to say he would be thinking about this later on.

[Takchawee Ominotago]

Tak took Tanner's hand as he offered it, giving an impish smile. "Takchawee Ominotago," she replied,"Tak for short." Hardly anyone ever called her by her full name; it was much easier to go one-syllable. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Tanner - I've watched you perform, you're very fun to watch." That wasn't a lie - obviously, he wouldn't have the job here if he didn't put on good shows.

"Mm, it's a great song," she told him, raising a curious eyebrow as he told her his plans. "Oooh, is that so? I bet that will be really nice." She was interested to see how he could change up the song - it was fantastic as it was, but she had faith that he knew what he was doing. "I just hope I can get the hip movements right," she added with a smirk. She had been watching Shakira since she had gotten the assignment, and thought she would be able to pull it off.

Ah, so he hadn't picked anything out yet. No biggie. Maybe Tak could even help him out. "I'm sure we'll come up with something," she told him, making an emphasis on the we. Because she really wanted them to look good together on stage, and she had already gone to the trouble of picking out the perfect outfit for herself.

She grinned as she saw his eyes widen, having expected that sort of reaction. So he wasn't the douchey, womanizer type, but she had assumed that already. It was actually a rather nice change. "No worries! We can work with what we have for now," she replied, tilting her head forward slightly as he looked away. "What do you say we go ahead and get started?" she asked, pulling off her shoes so she could pull on the belly dancing slippers she had purchased recently. They felt nice on her feet, and she gave an experimental twirl, laughing.

[Tanner Larson]

Tanner made a mental note to call her Tak: there was no way he was remembering her full name. "Uh, you have?" He asked, color coming to his cheeks in spite of his best efforts to the contrary. A hand raised to the back of his neck, rubbing at it nervously; he knew he did this a lot, and he was vaguely conscious of it even in the moment, but he simply couldn't help it. "Well, thanks." He wished he could say the same to her, but he had actually never attended one of the weekend performances. Weekend nights were for studying, weren't they?

"I'm uh, sure you'll be able to pull it off," he said with regards to her concerns about the dancing. After all, they looked great in that number, so he had a feeling she could probably move them just fine. And if he needed to watch her and observe, then he was willing to do so. "Wish I could help on that front, but, uhh, my dancing isn't exactly up to snuff," he added meekly.

He gulped as Tak mentioned that they could look for an outfit for him together. That held a number of problems, first among them the implication that he would have to wear something fancy and exotic like what she was wearing. He liked to wear clothing, thank you. The blonde also wasn't sure how he felt about the idea of Tak looking at him in different outfits and judging his appearance. He wasn't exactly a muscleman. "Well, I was thinking something kinda simple..." he offered, figuring he would try and get that matter settled as soon as possible.

The boy nodded, rising to a standing position on the stage. "Uh, did you have anything in particular in mind?" He asked, wondering if she had thought about blocking or anything of that sort. "I was kind of focused on the vocals over the past day and haven't really thought about anything else."

[Takchawee Ominotago]

"Yeah, I try to get in on the Ladies' Nights whenever I can," Tak admitted, still grinning. She placed a finger on his chest, pushing slightly as she added,"And you are one of my favorites." Now she was just being obvious, but she had never been one for subtlety. "So, I'm looking forward to this." Oh yes, she was definitely going to make this as fun as possible.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," she told him, giving a wink and a tiny shake of the hips. She may not have necessarily had lessons in belly dancing or anything of the sort, but so far she had learned a lot from Cynthia, and, well, she felt she was sort of a natural. That would definitely help. "Well, if you need any tips, I'll do my best to help you out," she told Tanner. "I have something in mind, I think, but it won't require you to do a lot." Most of the choreography was dependent on her, but she did, of course, want the blonde to be involved too. This was a duet, after all.

She tapped a lip and gave him a good once-over, trying to determine his body type and what might look best on him. She, of course, would love for him to go topless, but she had a feeling he might resist something like that. "Something simple?" she repeated, nodding slowly. "I'm sure we'll come up with something. But we should probably focus more on the actual performance now, I suppose." She gave him a quick smile, making a mental note to bring it up again later.

"Hmmm," she hummed, walking over to the stairs that led up to the stage until she stood beside him. "Maybe we should just try out our vocals together first, and go from there?" she suggested. If they tried to do everything at once, it would probably get a little overwhelming.

[Tanner Larson]

Tanner's eyes widened a bit, and he gulped as Tak placed a finger on his chest. Many guys would probably realize she was being overtly flirtatious - and might even find it a bit off-putting - but he was so unaccustomed to such attention that he could only appreciate it, even if he found it to be undeserved. "Well, thanks," he said, the second time he had thanked her in as many minutes; he really didn't know how else to respond to her compliments.

From what little he'd heard of her ideas, it sounded good to him; he certainly didn't want to have to dance around like she would clearly be doing. The song was really more about the girl's dancing than the guy's at any rate. He couldn't imagine Wyclef Jean doing all that much dancing, anyway. The thought of that made him chuckle. Frankly, if he could just stand there and sing while she frolicked around the stage, he would be in heaven.

The blonde was quite aware of the girl's eyes roaming his body, and he self-consciously crossed his arms tightly in front of his chest. What she was possibly looking for, he wasn't sure, but thankfully her little assessment didn't last long. "Yeah, vocals for now sounds like a good plan," he agreed, heading over to the stereo and turning it on. "You ready?" He asked as he played the first track, having already put in the cd Cynthia had given to them. "We can just sing. I'm not sure how much of his random... exclamations I'm gonna do," he added with a laugh as the music started. He was a bit self-conscious about singing in front of her now, but his part was coming up so he just had to suck it up and sing.

"I never really knew that she could dance like this,
She make a man want to speak Spanish;
Como se llama? Bonita, mi casa, su casa..."

He hated how much Spanish was in this song. Why the hell had Cynthia chosen it? Probably so Tak could dance around in this dress.

[Takchawee Ominotago]

Tak smirked knowingly as Tanner's arms crossed over himself, and then she gave him a small pout. She didn't say anything, though - if he was that shy, she didn't want to make him too uncomfortable. They had three days. She had plenty of time to get closer to him in that time.

"Alright!" she chirped in reply to his agreement, taking a place on one side of the stage as he went to turn on the music. She grabbed the microphone from the stand, turning to face him and give him a smile. "Ready whenever you are." She gave him another wink as the music started. "Whatever you want to do, baby," she told him. "I might throw in a few words myself." She didn't speak Spanish, but she had memorized the lyrics; still, she had an idea that she was going to try to use.

As he began, she began to shimmy already without really thinking, keeping her gaze on his face until it was her turn. She thought she had the perfect voice for this song - throaty and sensual. It felt only natural for her to go closer to him and continue dancing improve as she began,

"Oh baby when you talk like that,
You make a woman go mad.
So be wise, and keep on
Reading the signs of my body..."

She tried to channel Shakira into her movements, imagining a crowd of people before them as she continued on. But her eyes never left Tanner; this was about them, not the crowd. They had to act like they had some sort of chemistry. Right?

"And I'm on tonight,
You know my hips don't like
And I'm starting to feel it's right.
All the attraction, the tension,
Don't you see, tehila, this is perfection."

Hm, it was a little off, but she might be able to make it work. No one would notice if she threw a little Sioux into the song, right? By the end of her verse, she was quite close to Tanner, hoping he would be able to get into it more if he was a little... Motivated. Her hips twerked towards him as she let him take it away.

[Tanner Larson]

Tanner wasn't paying much attention to Tak while he was singing, instead concentrating on his own vocals and looking out at the house more. He often closed his eyes while he was singing; it was his way of not letting the crowd make him nervous, and it also made it appear like he was getting into the music more, which helped him emote.

Once his segment was over though, he turned towards Tak, curious as to how she would do. She definitely had the right voice for the song; sultry was the perfect word to describe it, and Shakira basically defined the word. As she continued singing, his eyes couldn't help but trail down from her face to her... other assets. She was clearly putting a lot of effort into her moves, and it showed.

Her hips sure as hell didn't lie. They were practically speaking to him.

His head snapped back up when he noticed how close she had gotten to him; he definitely didn't need her knowing where his eyes had drifted off to. He really wasn't one of those pigs who only saw women as sex objects, but when she had started moving so expertly, especialy given what she was wearing, well, he was unable to resist.

He became aware that it was about his cue, but given recent events, he was finding it hard to 'find his voice,' as it were. Nevertheless, he sang, voice cracking only slightly as he began.

"Hey girl, I can see your body moving
And it's driving me crazy;
And I didn't have the slightest idea
Until I saw you dancing."

Damn, these lyrics were practically made for him right now.

"And when you walk up on the dance floor
Nobody cannot ignore the way you move your body, girl;
And everything's so unexpected, the way you right and left it
So you can keep on taking it."

Taking it... oh sweet Jesus he couldn't handle this right now. He had been facing the girl as he sang, very much aware of the fact that she was still dancing very closely to him; he turned away from her now, figuring it was better for both of them that he focus on his own singing for now.

"I never really knew that she could dance like this;
She make a man want to speak Spanish;
Como se llama? Bonita, mi casa, su casa..."

Yeah, he really didn't like how many foreign words were in this song. He would have to think about how he could change it to make it less awkward for him to be standing up there using those words.

[Takchawee Ominotago]

When Tanner's eyes drifted over to Tak as she started singing, she gave him a flirtatious smile, unsurprised when his gaze dropped down. It was only more motivation for her to keep up the movement, taking smooth, graceful steps to go along with the lyrics. She absolutely loved how the costume felt as she danced; the shoes helped, too.

She couldn't blame him for looking - it was only natural, right? And it wasn't like she was trying to be subtle about her movements. He could look all he wanted. Although by performance night, she would hopefully get him to the point where he didn't look quite so... Distracted.

Another supportive wink was thrown his way when he looked up again, and she let a hand drift up lazily and point towards him as he began his next part of the song. She couldn't help but let a grin flash across her face as she heard his voice crack; oh, Tanner, this was going to be fun.

She did like the more melodic twist he put on the words; it added his own sort of personal flair to the song. She adjusted her movements to fit more smoothly with the way he sang, at one point ending up behind him when he turned away and running her hands down his arms before spinning away again.

Soon enough, it was her turn again. This was a longer section for her, and she wanted to make it as perfect as she could.

"Oh baby when you talk like that,
You make a woman go mad.
So be wise, and keep on,
Reading the signs of my body."

Deciding to be a little risky, she passed by Tanner again and wrapped an arm around his hip briefly, shifting her hips back and forth before releasing him again. Smirking devilishly, she figured that would be enough for him to handle for a while and walked past him, singing to an imaginary crowd. At least he had a nice view of her backside now.

"I'm on tonight,
You know my hips don't lie
And I'm starting to feel you boy.
Come on let's go, real slow,
Don't you see baby, asi es perfecto.

"I know I'm on tonight, my hips don't lie
And I'm starting to feel it's right.
All the attraction, the tension,
Don't you see baby, this is perfection."

She turned to give him a look over her shoulder, making sure he wasn't standing there looking completely dumbstruck before finishing her part. Actually, this is probably where she would have to teach Tanner some sort of moves. Because...

"Oh boy, I can see your body moving,
Half animal, half man.
I don't, don't really know what I'm doing,
But you seem to have a plan."

She approached him again, looking at him through heavy-lidded eyes as she reached a hand out to him, willing him to take hold of it so she could spin under his arm.

"My will and self-restraint,
Have come to fail now, fail now.
See, I'm doing what I can, but I can't so you know,
That's a bit too hard to explain."

She ended the twirl by pressing herself against his chest, pressing a quick peck on his cheek before pulling away once more.

[Tanner Larson]

Tanner listened as Tak sang her section. Yes, she definitely had the right voice for this song: Cynthia had done a really good job of choosing the right song for them - or, just as likely, choosing the right people for the song she wanted. However, the blonde did find himself wishing he had a little something to do other than just standing there watching her perform, since this was a pretty long section.

Apparently Tak felt the same way, for suddenly she was upon him, linking her arm around his waist and wiggling her hips before heading off again. His eyes hit the floor self-consciously. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he thought he had an idea. This girl likes me. He didn't understand why, but wasn't that the only logical explanation? Why else would someone look at him like that, and touch him in that way? Yes, that had to be it.

He noticed she had moved to the front of the stage now, leaving him standing behind her and watching her-

Don't get horny don't get horny don't get horny

Okay, this was going to be very, very difficult. How could they perform together if the very sight of this girl had him slobbering like a dog? And couldn't she wear some actual clothes??

He watched her with wide, confused eyes as she took his hands and twirled under his arm, lifting his elbow up to follow her example. That was actually a pretty good idea, so at least they were interacting and he wasn't just standing there. The kiss on the cheek though - heh, well that was just the cherry on top.

His cue came. His cue went.

"Uh, sorry," he mumbled, quickly trying to remember his lines. It's the chorus, stupid.

"...She make a man want to speak Spanish;
Como se llama? Bonita, mi casa, su casa..."

Ugh.

He looked at her abashedly. Could they stop now? He wouldn't ask, but he didn't particularly like the section that was coming up and was sort of hoping they could cut it out of the song. The idea of a little white boy from New Jersey saying he was 'with the 'fugees from a third world country' wasn't exactly appealing to anyone.

[Takchawee Ominotago]

To be completely truthful, yes, Tak did like Tanner. He was cute, he wasn't a douche, and he seemed at least somewhat interested back. However, Tak was also doing what she was doing for the sake of the performance. They had to give the audience a show, right? But hey, it wouldn't hurt to have a little fun on the side too. And the way he was acting made her continue to want to tease him; he was being so shy! She wanted to bring a little confidence out, otherwise their performance might not turn out very well.

When she reached for his arm and spun under it, she felt like it was right in the moment, and kept a mental note to keep that in the actual show. Maybe not the kiss; that was just her own personal touch, although she hadn't necessarily wanted to just peck his cheek. But she hadn't wanted to mess him up now that it was his turn by hitting him on the lips.

Oops, well, he messed up anyway.

She gave him a grin as he stumbled to get back to where he was supposed to be, not breaking stride in her dance. His part was pretty short this time, but she saw the look he was giving her, practically begging for them to take a break. As she began her part, she slowly made her way to the stereo, continuing her dance as she sang,

"Oh baby when you talk like that,
You know you got me hypnotized.
So be wise, and keep on,
Reading the signs of my body."

At the end of her part, she paused the song, letting her body relax as she looked back over at Tanner. "Want to take a break?" she asked, striding to him with soft, graceful steps. "I think our voices really compliment each other. I like how you've changed your part, too." She stopped as she reached him, placing her hands on her hips and grinning up at him. "We just need to figure out what to do with you when you're not singing."

She was breathing a little heavier than usual, and her stomach was beginning to feel a little nauseous. Dammit. Not now, she thought, wincing slightly as pain bloomed in her abdomen. Maybe, if she was lucky, it would go away pretty quickly. She was far from being done with Tanner. "I hope my dancing was good enough," she said to him, giving a small shake as she inched just a little closer.

[Tanner Larson]

From a completely objective standpoint, everything Tak was doing was absolutely fantastic. Not simply because it was driving Tanner wild, but because she was clearly a good dancer, could improvise, and was even bringing him into the act a bit (which, admittedly, was something he had been concerned about). So he really had no complaints in that department; as long as he could pull his own weight a bit more, theirs was sure to be a stellar performance. He just wasn't sure how he would be able to concentrate with, well, everything else that was going on.

He was extremely grateful as he watched the girl dance over to the stereo and, sure enough, she turned it off right after the chorus. He nodded his head vigorously as she asked if they ought to take a breather. "Yeah, I was actually gonna ask about this next part," he said, taking out a sheet of paper that had been folded into quarters and stuffed into the back pocket of his jeans. "I'm just not so sure if I want to sing this," he began, unfolding the paper and scanning it briefly. "I mean, refugees from a third world country... eh, it just strikes me as odd," he admitted, shifting his weight onto one hip as he did so. "To be honest, I was kind of hoping we could end the song after what you just sang," he added with a bit of a bashful laugh. It was pretty long already, even without all that other stuff. "What do you think?"

He blushed as the girl complimented him. "Well, thanks," he said. "You've been doing a... great job." He didn't want to seem overly enthusiastic, but she really was blowing his mind and he figured the Friday and Saturday crowds would be hooting and hollering, too.

He quirked an eyebrow as the girl squeezed her eyelids shut for just a moment. Perhaps he had imagined it, or maybe he was misreading, but it almost seemed like she was in pain for just a split second. "You okay?" He asked, just to be sure. But then she was shimmying her way over to him, so yes, she was likely fine. "Uh-heh, yeah, uh, I don't think you have to worry about... that," he said, looking quickly back down at the sheet of paper in his hands. The dancing was definitely good enough.

Hell, this was practically the best day of his whole freaking life.

[Takchawee Ominotago]

Tak hadn't really studied the male's part of the song as much as she had her part, but when Tanner brought up the issue, she laughed lightly as she realized what he was getting at. "Ahhhh, that would probably be a good idea," she agreed, running a hand through her hair as she spoke. "Did Cynthia say anything about ending the song early? Or was she leaving it up to us?" She could obviously understand why he didn't want to sing that part of the song, so if it was up to them, she was fine with ending it where they had. "I think it's a plan as long as we get the okay from the boss," she nodded decisively, smiling up at him.

She dipped her head modestly as he complimented her, even though she was sort of expecting such a reaction. "I'm glad," she replied, adding with a smirk,"I just want to make sure I give the guys a good show, ya know?" If the crowd reacted to her dancing like he was, she would definitely be excited. Maybe it would lead to more performances by her in the future! Well, until.... She started showing, she supposed. But she didn't want to think about that now.

"Mm?" she asked distractedly when he asked if she was okay. She hadn't realized she had reacted to the stomachache so visually. "Um, yeah, fine," she replied. "I just need to work on my stomach muscles some more, I think," she lied, hiding her discomfort with a flirtatious flutter of her eyelashes. She grinned again, running her hands over her hips as he spoke. "That's good to hear. I watched Shakira for like, hours yesterday, trying to get those moves down." As he looked down at the paper, she calmly stepped forward and gently pulled it from his hands, letting herself drift into him as she added,"I think we have great chemistry, too. Don't you think?" Maybe it was sort of pushing it, considering he had mostly been standing there unmoving as he sang, but she definitely saw potential. And, really, she just wanted to see how he was going to react to her being so close when they weren't dancing. Testing him.

[Tanner Larson]

The blonde shrugged; he hadn't run it past her yet, but Cynthia generally gave him what he wanted since Ladies Nights had practically been his idea. He also got the feeling that she sort of liked him - not in a weird way, but like she favored him or something, probably for the same reason. "I'll ask her next time I see her," he stated with a nod. "If we can figure out a way to make it sound okay, then I think it would be better that way." He sure as hell wasn't singing those lyrics.

The boy smiled in a way that he hoped looked more charming than goofy. "I'm sure everyone will love it," he said reassuringly. Of course, the Thursday crowd might not care for it too much since it was mostly women anyway - but he supposed that was the point of him being up there, too. Most people who attended Thursday nights knew he was a singer and not a dancer, so this was all a bit of a stretch as it was. Suffice it to say the Friday and Saturday crowds would be eating this up - and if he was just standing there while she dance, than he was sure they wouldn't mind.

His corneas likely doubled in size as Tak danced her fingers down her sides, drawing attention to her stomach and then a bit lower. "Uh..." He watched virtually helplessly as the girl took the paper gently out of his hands and put herself in its place. He blinked; the girl had asked him what he thought about something, but it was occurring to him now that he hadn't been paying attention when she had said just what that was. "I have no idea what you just said." Hey, better to be honest, right?

Tactful, Tanner.