With This Heart(48)
“ Now! In true Fairy God Mother Fashion, I have a single pair of gemstone encrusted pumps. They’re size eight and they used to belong to Professor Luscious, but she moved to San Francisco and left them here.” I smiled at the drag name as she handed me the shoes. They were gorgeous and definitely a modern take on the glass slipper. Glittery gemstones, which looked like fake diamonds, coated the entire surface.
There was only one problem. “I’m a size seven, they’ll slip off,” I lamented.
Queen Bee arched her impeccable brow at me and shook her head. “Fake it till you make it, that’s how we work in this business.”
I thought she was referring to slipping some stuffing into my shoes so they would fit, but the next thing I knew she was slipping falsies down the front of my dress so that my size-A boobs now looked like a size-C at least.
“ You look like a mini-me! Now let’s go!” She tugged my hand and the room spun in a hazy mix of glitter and color. I had to hold her hand with both of mine so that I wouldn’t stumble in the stiletto heels.
The second we walked out of the VIP dressing room, cat calls sounded throughout the bar. Every single person stopped their conversations and held their drinks up in a wild salute to Queen Bee and me.
She kept tugging me behind her until we were on stage. A short guy dressed as an angel, complete with giant white feathered wings, handed a microphone to Queen Bee and then bowed in humble servitude. Any cheers that had followed us onto the stage completely died out as Queen Bee started to speak.
“ Good evening!” she whispered seductively into the mic. “As you all know, every Tuesday at the Trancing Pranny we hold a little contest…” The crowd erupted in response. Whatever contest I was about to judge was clearly loved by everyone. “We have very well-endowed contestants tonight, but before we begin, I’d like to introduce you all to my guest judge for the evening.” The spotlight swooped over to me in response. It was so bright that I had to hold my hand up to shield my eyes.
“ Her name is Ruby Red and she’s my little Cinderella, so let’s all give her a big welcome!” The crowd whooped and hollered. For one moment I wavered on a precipice. I could sober up and remember the tragedy of the day. I could leave immediately and go home to my empty apartment and cry for Caroline in peace. Or I could let the tequila, the bright lights, the make-up, and the crowd, take its effect and pull me away from the demons crouching in wait just outside of the club. Luckily for me, the decision wasn’t mine to make.
A second later, a wild club beat started bouncing from the speakers and right on cue, a stream of deliciously sexy men danced out from behind backstage.
[page]CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Each of the guys was better looking than the next. They were all different types. Tall, short, tan, and muscled. None of the men were dressed in drag; they had on normal, albeit very stylish, club attire. So what exactly was I going to be judging?
“ Ladies, Queens, Sisters…” Queen Bee began, “We have ten of the SEXIEST gay men Dallas has to offer here on stage for you.” She paused for a rowdy round of applause. “They’ll each have three minutes to dance their asses off and show us their best moves!” She stepped closer to me and wrapped her hand around my shoulders. “Our little Ruby Red will be picking the winner, so they’ll have to do everything in their power to impress her!” She waggled her eyebrows suggestively, and I peered back to see a few of the men shoot me silly winks or blow kisses in my direction. I blushed a dark shade of crimson that I prayed the spotlight didn’t amplify.
The same Angel that had given Queen Bee the microphone earlier scurried onto the stage to place a pink barstool behind me. I didn’t miss the shy smile he shot one of the men standing in line behind me. I turned to see a sexy blonde guy blow him a kiss.
Suddenly, Queen Bee pushed me back toward the barstool and I did my best to climb onto it without revealing my underwear to the entire crowd.
“ DJ! Hit it. It’s time for contestant number one to strut his stuff!” Queen Bee clapped her hands and moved toward the edge of the stage. The blonde guy who’d grinned at the Angel started clapping his hands above his head. He strolled forward with a confident prance, throwing his arms up to get the crowd going even more…and then the real fun started.
He reached for the hem of his shirt and started tugging it up. Screams erupted from the crowd and I cupped a hand over my mouth as he pulled the shirt completely off. The next thing to go was the button on his jeans. He demurely popped it open and then shimmied his hips around in a circle before locking his eyes onto me. Oh crap . His finger pointed directly at me and his tongue licked his lips slowly.
I pressed back against the barstool and reached down to grip the seat with both hands. Was he going to touch me? Were they allowed to touch me? He strolled toward me until he was a few inches away from my chair and then dipped all the way to the ground and back up again, worshiping me like I was some goddess. I couldn’t contain my giggles or my blushing cheeks. Tequila will do that to you.
Sober-me would have been crawling out of my skin.
The music hit a new crescendo and he dropped his hips and swayed them back and forth seductively, then turned away from me and backed his ass up until it was almost touching my knees. I let out a nervous laugh as the crowd went wild. I had no clue what they expected me to do. His legs were spread eagle and his ass was popping up and down faster than I’d ever seen someone move.