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8
Brady
IwalkedintotheVoice Out building early Sunday morning and grinned as I looked around the place. The decorations were almost done for the party tonight, and it looked as if a glitter unicorn had puked all over the place. I loved it! Rainbow tassels hung from the walls, there was glittery confetti strewn all over the place, and balloons of all imaginable colors floated in bunches around the room. If the lobby looked like this, I couldn’t wait to see what the party room looked like.
When I’d walked in, I’d still felt a tiny bit tired from the fever I’d just recovered from, but looking at all this brightness, I couldn’t help but feel energized. I’d invited Charlie to come with me to the party later as a thank you for taking care of me over the past few days and also because I wanted them to see how loving and accepting the queer community was. I also wanted to introduce them to Jo because even though I was helping them as much as I could, I believed that talking to someone with the same gender identity would help them too. They needed to know they weren’t alone.
I walked deeper into the building, heading toward the ballroom that we used for hosting parties and charity events. I could hear music playing all the way from here, which told me the kids were doing much more than just decorating. Grinning, I quickened my steps and pushed open the doors, laughing as my eyes fell on Rohan, one of the regular volunteers. He also performed at a bar across town as drag queen Rowena Sequins. He was dancing around the room, a rainbow-colored feather boa around his neck as he sang along with Lady Gaga. He grinned when he saw me and strung the boa around another kid’s neck before walking over to me.
“Brady, my darling! It seems like it’s been years since I saw you last. You almost look like a grownup now,” he teased, and I could see a bit of Rowena shining through him. Usually, Rohan was a sweet, soft-spoken man, but when he let Rowena take over, you better be on your best behavior because that lady could kick your ass. He was in his forties, with dark brown hair and equally dark eyes that always had a twinkle to them, as if they held a world of secrets. He’d volunteered at Voice Out for years before I came along and was the one who’d taught me everything I knew about working here. He was also a really good friend of mine and sometimes acted like the favorite uncle/aunt I’d never had.
“Haha, very funny.” I rolled my eyes at him as I took a moment to look around the room. Most of the kids lived in dorms or share-houses and only dropped by to attend support-group meetings or if they had any problems. But right now, I could see around twenty of the kids roaming around the room, helping out in whatever way they could. Since our nonprofit supported kids aged anywhere from fifteen to twenty-five years old, there would be no alcohol at the party, but then again, most of these people weren’t a fan of drinking anyway, so it was just as good. But that didn’t mean the party wouldn’t be a blast. I could already see Angie working across the room setting up the mocktail bar. That girl was a whiz at making the weirdest combinations that always managed to taste amazing.
“So, are you just going to practice your moves, or are we helping these kids out?” I asked Rohan as I headed toward a table full of rainbow tassels, flags, and other paraphernalia that needed to be put up. This was going to be one hell of a party.
By the time everything was ready, it was almost five p.m. The party was supposed to start at six, so with a wave and asee you later, I headed home to get dressed. After grabbing a quick shower, I debated over what to wear. I wanted something especially bright and glittery today, so I went with a black crop top that had sequined stripes on the front in Pride colors and paired it with shimmery, dark-red pants that stuck to my legs like a second skin. I bit my lip as I examined myself in the mirror before picking my eyeshadow palette and painting my eyelids with a nice rainbow hue. I added some glitter because you could never have enough before picking up my lip gloss and coating my lips evenly. It had glitter too, of course.
Once I was satisfied with how I looked, I grabbed my phone and stuffed it into my back pocket before waving Cherry a quick goodbye and heading out. I quickly checked in at the café to make sure everything was okay before heading toward Charlie’s house to pick them up. I wondered if they’d dressed up for the occasion too, but it wasn’t likely since we’d never managed to go shopping, and Charlie didn’t really own anything except the masculine clothes they wore. Except for that wrap they’d worn the other day. Maybe I could convince them to wear that? I mean, they could take one look at me and know that the place we were going to would be totally okay with them wearing a wrap, right?
Though when I reached Charlie’s front door and they opened it, I realized all my worrying had been for nothing becausewow. Charlie had trimmed their beard so it was a barely there shadow against their tan cheeks; their curls shone as if they’d used product. But the best part was I could see a thin layer of mascara framing their baby blues, just enough to make their eyes pop. And there was definitely some lip gloss on their lips.
And if that hadn’t already blown me away, their clothes would have. They were dressed in a long, cloak-like top—much like the one I’d drawn for them all those days ago. It was dark purple, and it shimmered slightly where the light from their room fell on it. The sleeves reached their elbows, leaving enough space for them to showcase their purple bracelet. White leggings and black boots completed their ensemble, and though I probably wouldn’t have picked white, I absolutely loved the way they looked. For probably the first time ever, Charlie was dressed exactly the way they wanted, and I was so happy to see them accepting their true self.
They bit their lip and looked down, and I realized I’d been staring at them. I mentally facepalmed at my own stupidity before giving them a bright smile. “You struck me dumb, Charlie. You look absolutely phenomenal!”
A faint blush colored their cheeks as they looked back up at me. “It’s not too much?” Their voice was hesitant, and I could see the vulnerability in their eyes, the fear at taking this new step. So I closed the distance between us and leaned up on my toes and kissed their chin before meeting their eyes, “You look just right, Ceebee. Now, let’s go party.”
I extended my hand, palm up, toward them and grinned when they took it with a smile. I waited for them to lock up and stuff the keys into a pocket in their top before leading the way to the elevators, excited at the idea of spending a whole evening with Charlie in a space they could comfortably be themself. We rode the elevator to the parking lot where a sleek, black Mercedes-Benz turned out to be Charlie’s car. We hadn’t really had a reason to drive somewhere before, and honestly, I wasn’t too surprised considering how lofty their home was. But I still whistled as I took in the dark leather interior.
“Nice car,” I admired as they started driving. There was still that new-car scent in here, so I assumed it was new-ish.
“Thanks, my brother gifted it to me on my birthday a few months ago,” Charlie told me, and I detected a note of sadness in their tone.
“Your brother is handling your family business now, right? In New York?”
Charlie nodded without saying anything, and I got the feeling they didn’t really want to talk about their brother. I knew their dad had been a homophobe, which was why they’d spent so long in denial, but was their brother like their dad too? Was that why?
I gave them the directions to the venue and then steered the conversation toward the party. I told them about who all would be there, I told them about my friends he’d be meeting, and I also told them about Jo.
“You said Jo’s like me, right?” Charlie asked hesitantly, and I smiled at them.
“Yep, they’re fluid too. They’re actually the one who made your bracelets.”
Charlie glanced at the purple bracelet on their wrist before giving me a smile. “That’s great. I’ll get to thank them for it tonight, then.”
“Definitely.”
By the time we arrived at the Voice Out building, I could see Charlie was getting nervous again. They were scratching their beard and biting their lower lip, and they didn’t seem to be planning to get out of the car anytime soon.
“You know that’s the most accepting bunch of people you’ll ever find, right?” I reminded them. Over the years of working at Voice Out, I’d met people from all parts of the spectrum, and I knew each and every one of them was completely accepting of everyone else. That was the way we were. We welcomed everybody.
Charlie nodded as they adjusted their body slightly so they were facing me. They ran a hand through their hair as they stared at me, and I let them process their thoughts and waited for them to speak. “Yeah, I know. Just—give me a moment.”
I nodded and couldn’t stop myself from giving their hand a reassuring squeeze. They smiled at me as they squeezed back. After a minute, they took a deep breath and gave me a nod. With a smile, I opened my door and got out. Once they’d left the car and walked over to me, I nodded toward the building and said, “Ready?”
“Yeah. Just, Brady…” They started, and I turned to look at them again. Their cheeks were slightly flushed as they met my eyes and said, “I wanted to say that you look really amazing tonight. And…” My grin could probably be seen from miles away, but I didn’t care because Charlie looked so fucking adorable giving me a compliment, and I couldn’t dim my smile for all the world.
“And?” I prompted, sure they’d been about to say something.
