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Micah laughed. “You just love me for my amenities.” As soon as he said the words, he froze, his stomach bottoming out. He looked away from Jake but hadn’t missed the frown that crossed his expression. “Not that you…or I…” Shut up, Micah. Shut up, shut up, shut up!
“It’s probably true,” Jake said.
Micah whipped his head around so he could see Jake’s face, but Jake was staring at the ceiling. Was he saying what Micah thought he was saying? That he… Alex’s words of warning rumbled through his head: “Jake’s not a relationship guy.” That could change, though? If you met the right person? He remembered the way Jake had put a protective arm around him outside Stonewall and called him “my guy” to the muscle bear, how Jake kept contact with him all night long. With the exception of the go-go boys, Jake’s arm had been around him, or their hands entwined, or one of Jake’s hands simply resting on Micah’s back as a reminder that Jake was right there. And the expression on Jake’s face while Micah was dancing on the platform…
“Jake’s not a relationship guy.”
But maybe he was becoming one?
Micah cleared his throat and changed the subject. “What do you want to do today?”
Jake was silent for a moment, then snorted. “Shopping.”
* * * * *
How Jake knew where to find everything Micah would need, including high heels that fit his size ten feet, he didn’t know, but somehow Jake found the drag queen equivalent of Toys R Us in Chelsea. A very attentive store clerk named Tonee helped Micah figure out who his stage persona was going to be and what he’d need to perform Liza Minnelli’s “Cabaret.”
Although Micah was familiar with stage makeup and costumes, he’d never had to buy them himself or learn how to take care of them. Tonee helped him select the right wig and showed him how to maintain it. He also helped Micah select the right shades of foundation, eye shadow, and blush to create the look he wanted, and taught him how to put on false eyelashes, something Micah had never had to do before. Above all, he helped keep the cost reasonable since Micah was only trying this out.
It wasn’t until they got back to Micah’s house that Jake said he’d talked to Tonee and found an amateur drag show scheduled for the following Thursday, three days before Jake was supposed to leave.
“You’ll have over a week to practice, and I’ll get to see you perform before I go,” Jake said as they walked through the front door.
Micah dropped his packages, launched himself into Jake’s arms, and nuzzled his neck. “Thank you.” Laughing, Jake wrapped his arms around Micah and lifted him off his feet, spinning him like in some rom-com. When Jake put him back on the ground, Micah didn’t let go. “I don’t know how you knew this was something I wanted to try, but thank you.”
“No worries, Mi.” Jake stepped back from him and picked up the packages. “Let’s get this stuff up to your room.”
Once they were behind the closed bedroom door, Jake pulled out the pair of heels they’d selected to go with the purple flapper dress and held them out to Micah. “Put these on.”
“You got a thing for drag?” Micah asked, taking them.
“Nope. I’ve got a thing for seeing you smile.”
Micah’s heart did a quick flip before Alex’s warning echoed in his head again: “Jake’s not a relationship guy”… But if this wasn’t a relationship, what was it?
“Besides, Mi, you need to practice walking in these, or you’ll fall flat on your face when you get onstage.”
And wasn’t that the truth. Even though they’d opted for less height with a sturdy heel—honestly, how did anyone walk in six-inch spiked heels?—the first step Micah took would have dumped him on his ass if Jake hadn’t held out his arm so Micah could balance. He took a tentative step forward, then another, still holding on to Jake.
“How do models do this shit?” Micah asked.
“Practice. Just like you’re doing.”
After a very slow turn around his bedroom, Micah tried it solo, figuring out how to put his weight on the ball of his foot instead of coming down heel first, and aligning his posture with his new center of gravity so he didn’t lose his balance.
Jake sat on the edge of his bed, watching every move. “How’s it feel?”
“Really…different.” Micah finished a second circuit of his bedroom. He stopped in front of Jake, who immediately opened his stance so Micah could stand between his legs.
“Good different?”
Letting out a slow breath, Micah nodded. “Sexy different.”
Jake’s eyes lit up, and he put his hands on Micah’s thighs, ran them up the muscles that were flexed and taut because of the heels. “Yeah?”
Micah shivered as Jake’s thumbs pressed along the definition of his quads, tracing from his knees to under the edge of his shorts. Jake teased at the hollows at the top of his inner thighs, fingers running lightly along the soft skin covering the rigid tendons.
Micah slid his hands on either side of Jake’s neck, fingers threading through his dark hair, pulling ever so slightly to get Jake to look up. When he did, his amber eyes were full of heat, pupils blown wide. They locked onto Micah’s, and Jake’s breath hitched. No one had ever looked at him this way, and Micah liked it. A lot.
