“The homo jocks?” I asked him in between downing the tequila.
He nodded toward the back patio.
“Darren?”
“Yeah.”
“Tell me, baby doll,” I said, leaning forward on the bar. “Do you know this twink that’s with them?”
He shrugged uncomfortably. “Seen him in here a few times.”
“Caleb was his name?”
“Think so.”
“So you don’t know him well, then. At least not well enough to know his greatest fears so I can extort them.”
Izaac huffed a laugh. “No, ma’am. If I did, you’d be the first to know.”
“Did they arrive together?”
“Not that I saw.”
“This is why you’re my favorite,” I said. “Your nipples look lovely today.”
He preened. God, did I love straight boys at gay bars. Such wonderful creatures.
Paul and Vince caught up to me by the time I stepped away from the bar.
“Maybe keep the bloodshed down to a minimum,” Paul said, panting lightly. Stairs and Paul Auster didn’t really mix.
“Bloodshed?” I said, sounding as innocent as possible. “Darling, I have a show coming up. I can’t afford to get blood on my costume. Why, that would ruin my entire Stevie Rihannanicks performance, and where would we all be then? The thought alone is chilling.”
“I don’t know what a Stevie Rihannanicks is,” Vince said.
“No one does,” I replied, pushing my way through the throngs of men. “It’s part of the mystique.”
“It’s a drag queen thing,” I heard Paul tell Vince behind me. “They can pretty much make anything up and say it’s part of their mystique. Everyone else just has to go with it.”
“Can you have mystique without being a drag queen?” Vince asked.
“No,” Paul said.
“I never get to have anything.” Vince pouted.
“That’s a flat-out lie,” I said over my shoulder. “You get to have that ass.”
“It is a pretty good ass,” Paul agreed. “Also, stop staring at my fiancé’s ass.”
“Fiancé,” Vince sighed dreamily.
“Gross,” I muttered as we made it to the patio relatively unmolested.
There had to be close to a hundred people in front of us, but it was easy to spot the homo jocks standing at the top of the raised patio near the back, like royalty above their subjects. Darren stood there with Biff and Chet and Xerxes (I still hadn’t learned their names, what an awful fake boyfriend I was) flanking him. Brian was there too, standing slightly off to the side, drinking a beer, eyeing the crowd below them. I knew the exact moment he spotted me, his eyes brightening and a wide grin forming on his handsome face. He nudged Darren and pointed over at me.
And yes, there was Darren. Standing there like he didn’t have a care in the world.
And next to him, was a twink.