i didn't waste any time. "allison anne mccormick, what the hell was that?" i said, laughing.

"oh, you know, no big deal. i got pretty drunk last night running interception for you and maybe kissed her? okay, yeah, i kissed her. and apparently laid it on her good," she chuckled, winking at me.

"all right!" brandon shouted beside allie, throwing his hand up to give her a high-five. "that's what i'm talking about, baby! shee-it!"

allie just grinned, slapped fives with brandon, and shrugged. "i'm an equal opportunity kisser, i guess."

see? free spirit. very free. but i love her anyway.

chapter 7

the four of us, me, allie, luke, and brandon, all sat at griff's enjoying our food and drinks, and i guess time just flew. when i glanced at my watch, i gasped and shouted to allie, "we gotta go! we're gonna miss the show!"

allie wasted no time in downing her drink, and then started trying to push brandon out of the booth.

i looked at luke and opened my mouth to ask him to excuse us so we could go, not in a million years imagining that he would want to go with us but he cut me off.

"where you going?" he asked.

"we're going down to shimbots on broad to watch the drag show. why? wanna come?" i asked.

luke looked over at brandon who just shrugged before he answered, "sure. we'll go."

allie and i looked at each other, not needing to say a word because we both knew what the other was thinking. oh boy.

after having a minor squabble over who was paying the bill (allie and i lost), we all headed out and walked the two blocks to shimbots. the show was set to start at ten, but i knew that it wouldn't. queens always run late. i knew this with certainty because i, at one time, spent most of my nights hanging out at shimbots with my best boy friend, jace, who, i swear, was the straightest gay man you'd ever meet in your life. he had a penchant for drag queens, so i became a 'fag hag' and ended up as an assistant to needa mann. i spent my evenings soothing tempers, dressing, pinning, poking, fluffing, and generally running around like a crazy person, but it was fun. seriously, though? you hafta give them queens props, cause those gowns they prance around in? they weigh a ton!

we walked in the door at ten after ten and before we could even pull out our wallets to pay the cover, i heard the unmistakable voice of needa.

"aiiyeeeee! emma, you sweet ass little thing, get in here! girl, you know you don't have to pay no cover charge! just grab your groupies and come sit at my table. okay, sugar bear? kiss kiss!"

i nodded my head at her, grinned, and waved at the boy manning the ticket counter as i passed, looking over my shoulder to make sure that my little group was following. we walked into the main room, which was a huge open space, dotted liberally with tables and chairs and interspersed with sitting areas consisting of sleek, modern leather couches, love seats, and end tables. there was a black lacquered dance floor that actually rose up to become the stage, and a large horseshoe shaped bar smack dab in the middle.

i grabbed a table close to where the stage comes up, the one that needa always had reserved for her guests and me and jace. i hadn't seen jace in about a year. he hooked up with a little hottie and moved to wyoming. not sure why they went there, but it had something to do with cowboys and hunting. strange, i know.

i pulled out a chair and sat, noting that allie sat across from me, luke beside me, and brandon beside him, sitting closer to allie, though. as soon as we got settled, a waiter came and took our drink order, and the lights dimmed, getting ready for the show to start.

in the darkness, i felt a hand skim down my arm before coming to rest high on my thigh, making me gasp when it squeezed gently. i didn't move, and neither did luke's hand, even when the lights came up. the stage had been raised and in the center stood the queen emcee, showmia buffet, stuffed into an outfit done up like the chiquita banana girl with fake fruit on her head and more glued strategically to other interesting places. showmia buffet (glenn when not in drag) is middle aged, paunchy, and prone to channeling weird al yankovic. tonight proved no different.

the speakers started blaring weird al's michael jackson parody, eat it, and showmia began prancing around , lip syncing the lyrics and ripping fruit off her clothes while gyrating her hips and circling the stage so she could collect the tips being offered by audience members standing at the edge.

i looked over to luke and he met my eyes, smiling at me. i saw brandon grinning and shaking his head, and allie was hooting and hollering and dancing in her seat. i dropped my hand from the top of the table down over luke's, and entwined our fingers. he gave me an even warmer look that made my cheeks flush before we both turned back to watch the end of showmia's performance. and boy, was it a doozy!

just before the last 'just eat it', showmia reached down and ripped off the last piece of fruit left on the outfit, which incidentally turned out to be a real banana glued precisely onto the skirt where glenn's own banana would be located, peeled it, and took a big bite just as the final lyrics rang out.

the crowd went wild, clapping and cheering, and i jumped up to join in. after showmia, there were two more performances, and even though they were good, they didn't have quite the stage presence as showmia buffet. needa had come by the table a couple times to chat briefly, not staying long before flitting off in a whirl of teased hair and obsession perfume. after the third performer took her bow, allie asked if i was ready to go. luke caught my eye and nodded yes. yup. i was ready.

the four of us walked back towards griff's where allie and i had left our cars. i stood beside my little bug, waiting to say goodbye to allie and brandon. i wasn't going to say goodbye to luke; from the expression on his face, i was about to say hello to him...a lot of him. allie gave me a hug and told me that she and brandon decided to go have another drink at griff's. i told her to have fun, which made her cross her eyes at me and stick out her tongue. she's so mature.

as they walked away, i turned to luke and asked brazenly, "so is the night over or are you following me home?"

"i have to stop by the shop real quick, make sure everything got locked up right, then i'll be there." he leaned in and brushed his lips against my ear, making me shiver as he said, "be naked. and wet."

pshaw. like i have a choice? the naked part, yeah, i could choose to obey. the wet part? let's just say my cha-chi and i need to have a talk.

an hour and a half passed and i found myself sitting on my couch, wrapped in my bathrobe, flipping through the channels on the tv. and if you've ever tried to watch tv late on a saturday night, then you know there's nothing on but infomercials and skin flicks. where the fuck was luke?

i finally gave up at about three-thirty and shut off the tv. i got up to lock the door and as i approached it, i heard a soft knock. i peeked out the peephole and saw luke standing on my porch, looking exhausted. wrapping my robe tight around me, i opened the door, standing aside for him to enter.

he brushed by me, leaning in to kiss my lips softly as he did.

"hey," he murmured.

"hey, back. you okay?" i asked him.

"yeah, i'm good. just tired. look, i'm sorry, emma. i probably shouldn't have even stopped by so late, but i didn't want you to think i'd ditched you or something."