Page 86 of ILY
“Thom! Dex! No need to wait in line, my friends.” Our heads turn, and we see a man in a suit and tie with a heavy accent waving at us. He’s handsome, I’ll give him that, and perfectly put together. He probably looks like this all the time.
My eyebrows rise as the man walks closer and waves us inside.
“Glad you could make it.” The man turns his head toward us, and I give him a hearty wave, slapping Thorne in the face a little as I go. Oops.
He just stares down at me in adoration.
What a gem.
“I’m surprised you guys showed up,” the guy says, and I immediately step up and interpret what is being said for Robbie. Or at least I try to. “Been inviting Thom and Sex to come down here for ages.”
“Sorry, did you just call him Sex?” I ask and giggle a little when Dex blushes.
“Sure did.”
He doesn’t explain, and I cock my head in curiosity. “Care to tell us why?” He shrugs, and I sigh, signing and speaking at the same time. “Listen, hearing man. You are in the Deaf world now. There are no secrets, only overexplanations.”
Robbie snorts, and the man, whose name I still don’t know, gestures to Dex. “You can tell him.”
“I’d prefer not to.” He attempts to sign that while speaking and ends up flipping everyone off.
It makes Robbie snort even louder.
“Whatever,” he murmurs. “I just like to fuck. Okay? It’s nothing more than that.”
“A Casanova,” the man says. “But these three inspired me to create an inclusive space. And voilà!”
We let the man lead us inside, and I lean over and ask Robbie who he is.
‘A customer at the gym. Owns the club and is rich as fuck.’
‘Name?’
‘Locke.’
‘Interesting.’
I make some movements with my lips to signal that I understand as we walk inside the large club.
As soon as we step inside, I can hear and feel the bass. It rumbles under my feet. The dance floor is awash in a kaleidoscope of color, people dancing to the music and some standing in the midst of the writhing bodies, chatting in ASL. The walls are metallic, reflecting the light, and chandeliers hang from the ceilings. My eyes swivel to the bar, and I see several Deaf people ordering and chatting with the bartenders.
Everything about this is inclusive. Locke is an interesting man, for sure. When I’m not high on gummies, I’ll ask around about him some more.
‘Drink first?’ I ask everyone, and Robbie arches an eyebrow.
‘You just drank like a whale.’
‘Fuck off.’
He grins, and I shove at him lightly.
‘Why not dance some of it off?’ Robbie says, and I sigh.
‘Fine. I guess I will dance. Want to join me?’ I point to Robbie, and he purses his lips.
‘No. Ask Thorne.’ He’s given him a simple name sign. ATtapped against his chest.
‘Fine. Will.’ And then I grab my boyfriend’s hand and pull him onto the dance floor. He goes reluctantly, but as soon as I press my leg between his and grind, his hands go to my hips, and we move to the beat.
