Page 37 of Meet Me at the Metro

“Atta girl!” Evie claps me on the back. “Now come on, Harvey should be performing any minute.”

As my friend leads us toward the stage, I don’t spare another look behind the bar. We find our spots close to the edge of the runway just as the band gives their final thanks to the audience. It doesn’t take them long to pack up and step off the stage, and my eyes adjust to the new lighting of the room as it dims.

A single spotlight falls at the center of the stage, and music instantly begins booming through the speakers. A pair of long legs in fishnet stockings and heels come strutting down the runway, and the crowd absolutely loses it. Screams and shouts rip through the air as the tall and feminine figure moves, commanding the audience’s full attention as she shimmies in her black, sparkling corset leotard. Her voluminous, curly, and blinding-white hair bounces on her head as she sways to the blaring song’s rhythm.

As I watch the woman perform a series of movements—I’m absolutely positive I could never manipulate my body to do—I admire the eccentric, neon makeup painted on her face. Her fluorescent-green lips match perfectly to the shade of her heels, while her high cheekbones are dusted with a bright pink blush. As the beat of the music begins to pick up, so does the beat in her step, and as she sweeps down the runway, I can swear that her eyes concentrate on Evie and me.

Sure enough, she reaches us and bends right before us so I can admire her closer. She smiles and mouths over the music,“This one’s for you, Ellie!”

I look back and forth between Evie and the dazzling queen, and suddenly, it all clicks.

Harvey. OH MY GOD! Harvey’s a drag queen!

I’m grinning so hard it hurts. “Holy shit!”

“See! The surprise was worth it, wasn’t it?!”

“So worth it!”

“Her name’s Charlamaine!”

The beat drops for the chorus, and right on cue with the resonating bass, Charlamaine drops down onto the stage, legs splitting wide open. The crowd and I lose it when she crawls on the floor, seductivelylip-singing the song’s words. I’m not sure whether it’s the four shots I took at the bar or the influence of the rambunctious energy all around me, but every one of my limbs tingles. Evie and I dance to the music, swaying our bodies alongside each other as the buzz of the alcohol settles over us.

Before I knew what was happening, Charlamaine was in front of us again and stretching her arm to me. “Come on, sweetie!”

I pull back against her hold, shaking my head in bashful refusal.

“If you don’t get your arse up there and dance, I will!” Evie yells, giving me a playful shove from behind.

I don’t know what the hell comes over me as I allow Charlamaine to pull me up onto the stage.

My eyes sweep over the crowd before me, my heart pounding relentlessly as I quickly become aware of the countless sets of eyes pinned on me. For a moment, those inspecting stares are enough to convince me to head right back off the stage, but Charlamaine yanks me back. Her long fingers weave into mine and provide me with the greatest sense of comfort.

Before I know it, the adrenaline of my performance takes over, and I’m losing myself to the music. My hands snake across my bust and smooth down the velvet material that clings to the curves of my upper legs. I throw my head back, enjoying the inebriated haze clouding my mind as I roll my hips and push my ass out for the crowd to see. They roar with elated shouts and hollers, stuffing me with more confidence.

This feels absolutely fucking incredible.

The thin straps of my dress slip past my shoulder as I dance. I smile as I pull them back up, and that’s the precise moment my eyes meethis.

Theo wears a light-hearted smile that I haven’t had the pleasure of seeing before, and for reasons I’m unsure of, another bolt of courage strikes me.

I step back to create bigger movements, apparently trying to impress who I initially attempted to avoid tonight, but my foot finds no traction against the floor. In my next breath, gravity is working against and pulling me off the edge of the stage. My body makes a sickening thud as it crashes into the hard tile floor and knocks the wind out of me.

The crowd gasps and quickly gathers around me. My ears are ringing with the loud music still booming through the bar, but I work on catching my breath again. A body breaks through the encircled mob of people, but it isn’t until I’m sat up and placed flush against that person’s chest that I realize who it is.

“Bloody hell, you alright?” Theo’s gentle fingers intertwine into the hair on the back of my head, supporting it. “You fell hard, Nora.Shit. Did you hit your head?”

“No,” I groan, a throbbing ache still coursing through my body. I grit my teeth against the pain and lie, “All good.”

“Is she okay?” Harvey hollers from the stage.

Evie breaks through the sea of bodies still gathered and crouches beside me, frowning as she brushes a few disheveled hair pieces out of my face. “Oh, you poor thing. Are you okay?”

“I’m mortified!”

“Don’t be mortified! You looked so cunty on that stage. So fucking cheeky! You made me a proud roommate tonight!”

I replay what just happened to me over again in my head, and my whole body starts shaking with boisterous laughter.

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