Page 51 of Level Up

“Like it?” Jay asked. “I’d come here a few times when I visited my mom. They used to have eighteen-and-up nights. I basically found myself here.”

“I’m sure you did,” I said, shaking my hips to the catchy song that blared through the speakers. Just as I was about to ask Jay to dance with me, the song cut out, and someone over a mic announced the show was about to begin.

“Show?” I asked Jay.

“The drag show,” he said, looking like a kid waking up on Christmas morning. He squeezed my hand and tugged me into the throng of people that gathered around the front of the stage. “You like drag, right?”

I nodded enthusiastically. “I haven’t been to many shows, but the ones I have been to were always a blast.” I spoke loudly so I could be heard over the music that started to play again.

“Here. You’ll need these.” He pulled out a wad of dollar bills from his pocket. “Always tip the queens.”

“You came prepared.”

He winked at me. God, he was so fucking cute. His hazel eyes glowed under the multicolored lights, his lips catching a sheen. He must have just put on ChapStick. “I always come prepared.”

“Maybe you can come prepared on me later?”

Jay laughed at that and playfully slapped my chest. “Your dad jokes are something else.” His eyes still had that glittery glow in them. “And I love them.”

“I think you meant Daddy jokes,” I say with a wink. “And good, because I have loads… so get ready to swallow.”

He rolled his head back and laughed again. “You know I’ll take every last drop. Of your joke, of course.”

“Of course,” I said, smiling as I pushed in to kiss him.

I was right.

His lips tasted like vanilla and strawberry.

Fucking hell, he’s perfect.

The way we could joke around about things so easily. That shit was hard to find. This complete sense of trust I felt for him. Hell, even taking out the ‘Daddy’ card in bed. I’d never done it before, but I had always fantasized about it. I didn’t want to be judged or anything if I ever hooked up with someone, said it, and they became instantly turned off.

But with Jay, I felt so damn comfortable with him that I wouldn’t have even cared if he was turned off. I knew we would have both laughed it off and continued on with our business of sucking each other’s dicks.

He didn’t get turned off though.

And that turned me on even more.

I pressed myself against him, holding the back of his neck and letting the kiss carry us up through the clouds. He gave a little moan that set my entire body on fire. We were out in public, surrounded by people, and we were kissing.

This shit was next level. I thought I must have grown wings on my ankles and started flying because the floor was no longer underneath me. We floated through the sky while an Ariana Grande song vibrated through the speakers and into the clouds.

I’d never felt this free. This invigorated. Even placing first in rowing didn’t give me this kind of rush. I wasn’t big on smoking weed, but I figured this had to be what being high felt like. Just all loose-limbed and floaty and happy.

The lights started to dim, but I didn’t want to stop kissing him. If it wasn’t insanely disrespectful to the performing drag queens, I would have continued kissing him for the entire show.

Kissing him was like seeing daylight after having your eyes closed for far too long.

Somehow, I managed to pry myself off him as the first queen took to the stage. I reached for Jay’s hand, and we watched the opening lip sync. The queen—named Maliboob Barbara—came out wearing a huge chest plate and a sparkly pink dress, her long blond hair falling down to her ass in silky waves. At one point in the song, she spun around and pulled her hair over her shoulders, revealing two large cutouts in the pink dress, her peachy ass sparkling the same as her face was.

She turned back around and dropped into a split right on beat to the song. The crowd went wild, cheers and clapping and dollar bills raining down onto the stage. She soaked it all up, effortlessly getting back onto her feet and giving a wave as her song came to an end. One of the barbacks came out from behind the bar with a large red bucket and started to collect all the tip money.

“She was so fucking good,” Jay said before the second queen came to the stage.

“For real. How did she do that split? It was so smooth.”

“Lots of stretching, probably. I think I can do the same thing.”

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