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He handed me one of the blankets, then draped the other over his legs as he said, “Maybe we can sketch together after we eat. I’ve been thinking about costumes ever since you mentioned wanting some to go with your fantasy makeup, and I’d love to see what you have in mind so I can plan my designs around it.”
“That sounds great.”
Our meal consisted of coffee, muffins, and breakfast burritos that came wrapped in foil with sides of fresh salsa. When I asked if they were from a restaurant, Gabriel explained that two of the guys made a huge batch of burritos every Friday morning. Then he said, “Maybe I shouldn’t have assumed you wanted to eat in my room. I know you’re here with friends, and I’ve been monopolizing your time.”
“Phoenix came here with a stack of work, and since Will and Lorenzo just got engaged, I’m guessing they’re going to spend this weekend totally wrapped up in each other. But even if all of that wasn’t true, I’d still want to spend every single moment with you.” That earned me the sweetest smile.
After we ate, Gabriel went and found a large sketchpad and a Mason jar full of colored pencils, and we curled up together beneath the blankets in that round satellite chair. I drew the fantasy makeup looks I’d been working on, and he talked excitedly and sketched some costumes to go with them. His designs were pretty and delicate with great details. When I told him that, he turned to me and asked, “Are they really okay? If not, I can change them.”
I said, “They’re perfect,” and a smile lit up his face.
He rested his head on my shoulder as he colored his drawings. Once he’d designed costumes for each of the five makeups I was planning, we worked together to design a merman, because I knew I could do better than my last attempt. As Gabriel drew long, flowing hair onto our shared creation, I said, “I’m going to call one of my friends who does drag to see if he can lend us a couple of wigs. They’ll really round out these looks when we go to photograph them.”
“Good idea.” He added a streak of blue to the hair and said, “I’m so excited about these costumes. It’s been a long time since I’ve gotten to do anything this fun and creative. I mean, there’s my lingerie, but it’s different working alone versus collaborating with someone.”
“Speaking of your lingerie, I’d love to see more of what you’ve made.”
“Sure. I actually just finished a piece a couple of days ago, and I’d love to get your opinion on it.” We went inside, and I sat cross-legged on the bed while he pulled a delicate creation of red silk and lace from his closet. “I usually make stuff to be comfortable and wearable, but with this one, I just let my imagination run free. It’s totally impractical, but I wanted to see if I had enough skill to pull it off.”
The strapless, corseted bodysuit had a delicate red framework that jutted out from both hips. “It’s stunning,” I said. “I can imagine it with a Marie Antoinette-style white wig, pale, powdery makeup, and red lipstick.”
“That’s exactly what inspired me,” he said. “It’s meant to mimic the undergarment women used to wear to give their skirts volume in the eighteenth century. I’m thinking of making a long, sheer robe to go with it, like Marie Antoinette might wear in her boudoir.”
“That would be perfect.”
As I ran my fingers down the decorative clasps along the front of the corset, he said, “It would have been fun back when I was doing burlesque, but aside from that, there’s really no place to wear something like this.”
“I didn’t know you did burlesque.”
“It was just for a few months, back when I was living in San Francisco.”
I asked, “Did you like it?”
“There were some things I loved about it, like the costumes. The tips were nice too, but I was always nervous performing in front of an audience.”
“Even so, I bet you were great at it.”
He tried to shrug it off, but then he grinned and admitted, “I was pretty good.”
“I would have loved to see you perform.”
His grin turned teasing. “I’ll give you a private show sometime.” He turned back to the closet and traded the red garment for a black, strappy one. “This doesn’t look like much on the hanger, but it’s meant to mimic a bondage harness. I wanted to play with the idea of hard and soft, so it’s made of silk ribbon instead of leather. There’s a black silk jockstrap that goes with it.”
“That sounds unbelievably sexy.”
He hung it back in the closet. “It’s not very practical, though. With all those straps, it takes forever to put it on. I’ll simplify the design if I make another one.” Gabriel moved to his dresser and opened the top drawer. “Here’s some stuff that’s actually wearable.”
