Hello there. First, I would like to say that the plot for this story came in my mind after listening to the song the story's named after and the movie 'Burlesque'. Second, I apologize to my readers who have been waiting, some even for months, for me to update the other stories, but right now, I have a writer's block. Anyway, I really hope you will enjoy reading this story because I know I will enjoy writing it ^^.

Disclaimer- I don't own anything, only the plot.

Mermaid Motel

~Chapter 1~

She couldn't believe it. She was going to be late on her first day of work. God, her boss was going to be so mad. She could imagine her fuming and ripping her contract into tiny pieces, saying she will make sure her ex-employee isn't going to get hired in any other club. But it wasn't her fault she was going to be late. The traffic was moving unbelievably slow. She decided to hunk one more time, hoping for some kind of miracle. But it wasn't getting her anywhere. It was only driving her mad. Finally, she found the perfect job, dancing in the most exquisite and exclusive lounge club in the city, but for what? She was going to be late and probably fired on her first day. The watch on her wrist told her that she still had 20 minutes before the red curtain was up. However, with traffic like this, she will reach her destination the next day. And above that, she still needed to do her make-up and hair, which in her particular case, were done in 40 minutes due to the fact that her hair was reaching her waist and was really difficult to work with. You tried curling it, it turned straight after only half an hour.

"Shit." she cursed as her grip on the steering wheel tightened. She looked out the side window, droplets sliding down on the cold glass as they were racing to reach the bottom. The woman sighed. If it wasn't raining, she would have walked to work. She even forgot her umbrella back in her small apartment. Damn that day! But she wouldn't give up. Rain was just…rain. It won't harm her, will it?

After she found a parking spot, she grabbed her purse and ran as fast as she could on her platforms, hoping she wouldn't slip and fall. That was all she needed to make her day 'perfect'. After only 10 seconds running in the rain, both her hair and her clothes were soaking wet. Why on earth did she choose today of all days to wear her favorite white almost see-through t-shirt and a hot pink bra? Men walking pass her stared at her chest while wearing a wide grin on their faces; some of them even started whistling and meowing, which the woman found extremely annoying. However, in spite of the day she had and the bad luck chasing her as if they were playing a game of cat and mouse, she arrived at the club 5 minutes before the curtain went up. Entering the back door, she heard her boss yelling at the poor employees, demanding answers on where her newest dancer was at that moment. As soon as she heard the door closing, the woman with long blonde hair and honey like eyes stopped what she was doing and turned her attention to the oh so late dancer.

"Where have you been?" she shouted as she walked furiously to her, trying hard to control herself so she wouldn't slap the pinkette standing before her. The young woman bowed and apologized also trying to breathe normally.

"I'm sorry Tsunade-sama, but I was stuck in traffic and-" but she was not given the chance to finish telling her story as Tsunade grabbed her hand and led her to her room to get changed. She gave the pinkette her two outfits, explaining her which she had to wear first. She closed the door behind them and immediately started helping the dancer get undressed.

"Look Sakura, if it wasn't for the fact that I really like you, you would have been banned to step in my club ever again. Being late on your first day of work isn't the best way to impress your boss, you know?" Tsunade explained to her as she passed Sakura her first outfit which contented in a pair of electric blue lace thong and a really beautiful yet provocative corsage. The underwear had small turquoise ribbons on each side whereas the corsage –which was a little too tight on Sakura- was the same color as the ribbons, with dark and uneven lacelike material hanging almost on every corner of it. As she was getting dressed, her boss wrapped around her right leg a black silky like material, stretching from her ankle all the way to her tight before giving her the silver stilettos she was going to wear.

The blonde woman wrinkled her nose as she saw that the mascara Sakura was wearing was leaking under her eyes all the way to her cheeks and her wet hair which looked as if was glued to her head and neck. She took an elegant hairpin and pulled Sakura's bubblegum hair into a very high bun. She then took a couple of eye pads and decided to help her with her make-up too. But, it was too late. They heard the loud music in the background and figured out it already started.

"Fuck." she muttered under her breath as she dragged Sakura to the backstage. But as soon as they arrived there, Tsunade sighed in relief. "Luckily for you, young lady, Ino hasn't started singing yet. Now go, go!" she pushed the pinkette on the stage to the other girls. She stumbled a little, but managed to regain her balance on her 15 cm heels. She looked in front of her and saw that the club was almost full, around 150 people. The loud music coming from the speakers made even her soul vibrate as she began dancing, synchronizing herself with the other girls. Apart from Ino, who was the lead singer and wore a golden summer dress, the girls all wore the same outfit.

I went everywhere for you

I even did my hair for you

I bought new underwear, they're blue!

And I wore them just the other day.

Sakura watched Ino as she pointed out to her blonde curly hair and then showed her electric blue underwear, wearing a big smile on her face, always looking in the eyes of a certain man sitting at the nearest table to the stage. The song the blonde sang was actually a cover of Lena's 'Satellite', a very big hit in Europe in 2010. It was the club's policy that on each Friday and Saturday night, Ino or the other star, Karin, would perform a well known song just to attract more people. On the other weeknights, the stars would be at home, resting, whereas the dancers would perform on playbacks. But they were not as successful as Ino and Karin. Apart from having a great voice, they were also beautiful. The only thing which was a shame was that neither of them had dancing skills. That way, they would have attracted even more people and would have probably performed every night, singing live or doing playback.

Love, oh love

I gotta tell you how I feel about you

Cause I, oh, I

Can't go a minute without your love

All the girls dancing in the back placed their palms together in the shape of a heart before moving their hips from side to side then falling down on their knees, their palms now pressed hard against the glittery floor.

Love my aim is straight and true,

Cupid's arrow is just for you

I even painted my toenails for you

I did it just the other day…

The rest of the night was really great. Quite relaxing, actually. After finishing her two performances, Sakura decided to get a drink and celebrate her first day at her new job. Sitting down on the high metallic chair in front of the bar, Sakura made sign for the bartender to take her order. Of course, as soon as he noticed her, he smiled and immediately turned his attention to the gorgeous woman sitting on the other side of the bar.

"Hey Naruto." she greeted him with a big grin, eyes sparkling with euphoria. The tall blonde man rested his elbows on the counter and leaned forward.

"Hey there, pinkie. Quite a performance you did there, huh?" he pointed out to the now empty stage.

"Yeah." she replied as she put her purse on her lap. "I was so nervous!" she took her hands to her face, trying to cover her flushed cheeks."When I saw how many people were looking straight at me, I started to freak out. I hope it didn't show…much."

"Nah, you looked just like a pro." He smirked as he firmly took a glass in his hands. "The usual?"

"Yep. And make that double, tonight I'm celebrating!"

She was closely examining her 'Can't resist coral' colored nails when she felt someone took a seat next to her. At first, she was uninterested to see who it was, but when he cleared his throat, she looked at him with the corner of her eyes.

"A shot of tequila" he ordered as he took of his jacket and placed it in his lap. She turned her head and looked at him. She then started eyeing him. Hm, he looked pretty familiar to her, however, she failed in her attempt to try and recognize the man. Well, he had black shiny hair which was pulled in a low ponytail, his cheek length bangs covering his eyes.

"A wonderful evening, wasn't it?" she heard him say as he turned his head to take a glance of her angelic face. The woman could recognize those mysterious dark eyes anywhere.

"Uchiha-san! I didn't notice you." A smile made its way to her lips. Itachi Uchiha, a successful businessman, was a devoted client of the club. She met him when she was working as a waitress here, long before she was hired as a dancer.

"Well" Itachi sighed as he closed his eyes and pretended to be hurt "that's a shame. I noticed you the very second you stepped on the stage. I really was wondering where my favorite waitress was, so imagine my disappointment when I realized she was not taking my order anymore, but dancing hardly dressed along with the other girls. I just hope it was just this time."

Sakura giggled. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, Uchiha-san-"

"Itachi." he corrected the pinkette.

"Itachi-san" she bit her lip "but I will no longer be your waitress. I am a fulltime dancer from now on."

As Naruto brought the two their drinks, Itachi immediately took a sip. "I'm glad to hear it."

"Yeah." She mumbled. "It was Naruto who convinced me to try and audition." She pointed out the bartender who winked in response. The Uchiha looked at her as she also took a sip of her alcoholic drink, wrinkling her nose at the sour taste. He leaned forward until his lips almost touched her ears.

"How about we go somewhere else?"

Sakura shivered as his low voice registered in her mind. "Where exactly?"

"A party. Well, it's my brother's birthday party and I don't want to show up without a lady by my side."

Sakura eyed him suspiciously. "Hm, and why choose me? I'm certain you have tons of women standing in a line just to go on a date with you."

"Well" he took another sip of his drink before he continued "I trust you."

"How can you trust me? I'm a stranger to you."

"I know your name."

"That's not enough."

"Let's just say that I am sure you're not going to rape me if I get wasted."

Silence.

"Fair enough."

So, what do you think so far? I hope you all enjoyed reading it!

Please review and let me know what you think about it!

Thank you