Page 59 of Cleats and Pumps

Amos was grinning from ear to ear but didn’t miss a beat when it came time for his character to speak behind my singing.

When the song ended, the audience was on its feet. Amos kissed me on the lips and patted my ass, then waved as he left the stage. I didn’t begin shaking until after we were done, and I was sitting down again.

“Wow, you’re good,” the woman next to me said, and I just laughed.

“No. Amos is just good at making people around him appear to be good.”

She smiled, and considering she’d been nominated for a Tony last year, I guess maybe I should’ve taken her word for it.

My shaking finally subsided as more performers took the stage. When the event wound down, the older man came back on stage to cheers. “Okay, and this is what you’ve all been waiting for. Our one season show for this year will be…Alec in Wanderlust!”

A screen lifted behind him as he exited the stage and several people walked out onto stage singing.

“Of course, he’s in drag,” I said and again heard several people around me snicker. Then there he stood, decked out in a short red dress and impossible high heels. They performed a song I’d never heard of before, but oh my fucking God, Amos nailed it.

I sat mesmerized as he performed the song and damn… Damn, he was so fucking good. Had he always been this good? It wasalmost like he’d stepped into a world he’d been supposed to be in all along.

When he finished the song, he and the other performers stood next to him on stage and the audience, me included, were on our feet. Fucking Amos had done it. Football player to fucking Broadway Diva. He was going to be a sensation.

After the performance, the lights came up and the guy who’d handed me the microphone came over to me and said, “Amos asked that you wait for him. He’s got to get out of costume, and then you can come backstage.”

I almost said he didn’t have anything I hadn’t already seen, but luckily, I caught myself before I disclosed that. I was still overwhelmed enough that my brain was scrambled. Fucking Amos…

44

Amos

Tommymetmeinthe dressing room and I couldn’t help but laugh at how quickly the rest of the performers disappeared. Although… I figured they were all standing just around the corner.

The moment we were alone, Tommy launched himself into my arms. “Amos, that…that was amazing!” he said, causing me to laugh before I swooped him up and kissed him, my makeup still on, and not worrying that I was going to leave a big red lipstick kiss on his face.

“Youare amazing,” I said barely above a whisper. He leaned back, as if embarrassed, but I didn’t let him go. “Tommy, I owe you for this, for standing by me, for standing up for me. I just want you to know that, okay?”

He stared at me, his eyes glistening, and then he began to nod slowly. Finally, he leaned back into me and kissed me again.

“So, you’re going to be all of this, huh?” he asked, gesturing around him, and I laughed out loud.

“Baby, I’ve always been all of this.” I replied with a sweeping gesture from my head to my toes.

He hung out with me as I removed the last of the makeup, even wiping the lipstick off his own lips from where I’d kissed him.

A few moments later, I drew him out of the dressing room and waved at the rest of the performers to let them know the coast was clear and that they could go on back and finish up. “Were they waiting out here?” Tommy asked, seeming perplexed.

“Yeah, I’ve talked about you nonstop. I think they just wanted to give you and me space.”

“Opposite of your football team, huh?”

I snorted. “Um, that’s an understatement. Hey, there’s a little bar not far from here where all the cast meet to party. Mind coming with me there?”

Tommy shrugged, then smiled. I could tell he was having a hard time keeping his excitement contained.

“Okay, well, I’ll grab us a taxi,” he said.

When we arrived at the club and he had still not said anything, I pulled him into the small café across from the bar. “Hey, let’s talk. You’re being… well, too quiet!”

Tommy chuckled. “I… I don’t really know what to say.”

I frowned. “About the career change? You think it’s too much? I… I gave up my career, and you think I did the wrong thing?” I asked, concern that Tommy was disappointed in me causing me to talk too fast.

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