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“Well, damned if I know either. Gotta admit, you’re not my type, but whatever you’ve got, Daniel likes. You smile and his eyes light up. You frown and he wants to make it go away.”
“You saw all that from a few visits together, huh?”
“Now, objectively, this Jack kid is better looking than you—”
“Hey!”
“But he doesn’t make Daniel light up. So dump that Roman asshole and get with the program.”
I chuckled, wishing it were that easy.
We talked some more, mainly about his soap operas, and before I left, I made sure his remote control, portable phone, and evening meds were in easy reach, along with a big glass of water. “Is there anything else you need?”
Bobby gripped my arm tightly, his fingers digging into my muscle with surprising strength. “Take risks for me, kid. I’m all out of ’em for myself. You take ’em for me. Live a real life.”
I gave him a hug and let Milky Way out one last time.
Heading home, I thought about what Bobby said. He’d never met Adam. He didn’t know for sure what Daniel was feeling. He couldn’t make any promises.
Being with Adam this fall wasn’t a guarantee and was as big a risk as throwing the chance away. But I would always wonder what could have been if I didn’t give Adam another shot. That doubt, if nothing else, would eat away at any other relationship I hoped to start.
I had to see it through.
Chapter Thirteen
‡
“Looky there, babies,”Robert said, sweeping his hand toward the rather run-down set of buildings housing the infamous club known as the Slide. “I’ve only been trying to make my way here for five years.” He sounded verklempt. “Listen to me right now. This is proof. Never give up on your dreams.”
The whole gang stood between Barry’s Mazda and my Volvo. The two-and-a-half-hour drive to Nashville had taken four hours, thanks to Minty demanding we stop at every tacky tourist dump.
Barry put his arm around Robert’s shoulder and squeezed. Then he turned to us. “Everyone take a dress or a wig or something. I’m not carrying all this shit in by myself.”
I pocketed some money and my ID, leaving my wallet and camera in the trunk of my car. I grabbed the last box of makeup and headed toward the door to Nashville’s premier gay club.
Inside, the Slide was much bigger than Tilt-a-Whirl, a sprawling complex with different themed rooms. We were the first ones there, aside from the employees, and we were only allowed in as friends of Robert and Barry.
Almost as soon as we passed from the late summer heat into the dark, cool interior, we went our separate ways. Minty took off with Robert for the dressing room Renée had been assigned for the night. He was eager to get out of the horrible boy clothes he hated so much, and Robert needed to start the process of turning into a woman.
The rest of us followed, but as soon as we’d dropped off our loads of Renée’s costumery, we took off to explore the club. Windy and Antonio darted into a side room, the sound of their laughter echoing in the hollow space. Barry patted Daniel on the shoulder. “I’m going to stay in the back with her. She’ll be nervous tonight. Take care of Puker.”
“I can handle myself.” I lightly punched his shoulder and shook out my hand. “Ow. What do you do to make them so hard? Eat concrete?”
“Lift weights.”
I rolled my eyes.
Barry went on seriously to Daniel, “Make sure he doesn’t drink too much, get slipped a mickey, and end up having unprotected sex in the back room with five drag queens, or worse, a lesbian.”
“Will do,” Daniel said, saluting Barry.
“I’m trusting you with him. He’s too sweet for the crowd that’ll be here tonight.”
Daniel grinned. “Believe me, I get that.”
Barry nodded, his dark, bald head glinting in the low light as he headed back toward the dressing room.
“I don’t need to be taken care of,” I said again, my ego smarting.
