Page 46 of They Were Roommates

Frankie took one look at the retreating form of his boyfriend and turned back to Maria. “Diego has a meeting tonight, but I’m so in.”

Not only was Frankie in, but he was sold as well – on every single performing drag queen and the singular drag king. The show was great, filled with strobing lights and fast paced music, but what Frankie loved most was the way the queens and king interacted with the audience. He could picture them sashaying through the cafe, twirling on stage, and then winding through the tables to interact with the crowd. The vibe and aesthetic would be different in the cafe, bright light filtering in through the side windows and the smell of coffee replacing the liquor and fried food smells of the bar.

As soon as the show ended, Frankie was out of his seat and racing to talk to Akil, Diego’s old boss. Frankie quickly introduced Maria and then launched into his idea for a drag brunch, peppering Akil with questions, which he did his best to answer.

“You know what? How about I connect you with the best and brightest we have. Her drag name is Sham Pain and she’s phenomenal. Follow me,” Akil said. He led Frankie and Maria down a long hallway, past the bathrooms and to a door marked employees only. He knocked and a chorus of “come ins” followed.

As Akil opened the door, Frankie was overwhelmed by the amount of sequins, spandex, and vibrant colors. Frankie waved shyly to a few of the queens who were touching up their makeup closest to the door, but Akil made a beeline for the back of the room where a drag queen was perched on the edge of a chair, staring intently down at her phone.

“Sham? I have some people who would love to meet you, and potentially proposition you.”

Sham Pain’s pink painted lips pursed, and she tilted her head in a “what can I do for you” sort of manner. She looked Frankie up and down, and then glanced sidelong at Maria and looked her up and down as well.

Maria waved and Frankie stumbled out an explanation. “Um, proposition sort of makes it sound dirty, but I promise it’s not! I run… I mean me and my partner – my business partner that is – run an inclusive cafe across town called The Rainbow Bean. He used to work here, but he quit in order to run the cafe.” Frankie glanced at Akil, worried he might have just totally stepped in it, but Akil just waved him off as he turned to talk to some of the other drag queens.

“What’s your name, sugar,” Sham Pain asked, and Frankie paled.

“Frankie! Sorry, my name’s Frankie, he/him pronouns and this is my friend Maria.” Frankie held out his hand and Maria introduced herself and gave her pronouns.

Sham Pain’s eyes crinkled, and her smile turned genuine. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both. While I’m in drag, you can call me Sham Pain or Sham, and I use she/her pronouns. If you ever meet me outside of drag, we can discuss that further.”

Frankie’s antenna quivered, but he tried not to get too excited. He wasn’t trying to match make Diego with more queer friends… but if one or more of their drag queens turned out to be gender queer, he definitely wouldn’t be upset about it.

“So, we do have a proposal for you, if you’re at all interested,” Frankie said. When Sham Pain nodded her head, clearly intrigued, he launched into his pitch.

About halfway into his explanation, Sham Pain pulled out her phone and began looking up the cafe. Frankie watched as she idly scrolled through the website and message board while Frankie finished his speech.

Sham Pain slowly stood up, careful to maintain her balance in her nine-inch heels. “Sugar, you had me at brunch, but your story about you and your…businesspartner, as well as your adorable little website have me convinced. I’d love to see your space and meet the staff. If everyone is as lovely as you, I’d love to introduce you to a few of my drag daughters. How does this weekend work?”

Frankie practically danced with joy. They checked their calendars and arranged for the meet up. Frankie hyped himself up to tell Diego the whole way home.

When he got to the apartment, he found Diego lounging on the couch, and he practically threw himself into his lap.

“Welcome home,querido! How was the drag show?” Diego asked, greeting him with a warm kiss, and a solid squeeze to his ass. Frankie squirmed around on his lap until he was comfortably straddling his hips.

“You first, cause I have a lot to tell you. How was the meeting?”

Diego made a skeptical face, but then it morphed into a soft expression, and he pulled Frankie tightly against his chest. “It’s just… so amazing having people to talk to. I know we only meet twice a month, but it truly feels like a second home to me now. I know you keep encouraging me to get some of their numbers and find time to connect outside of the meetings but I think I’m still working myself up to that. For now, it’s just a nice little escape.”

Frankie’s heart felt like it was hooked to a bike pump, expanding, and pressing up against his ribs. He loved listening to Diego talk about the conversations they had, anonymized for the safety of the group as well as some of the insights he gained about himself. Tonight was no different, and as Diego grew emotional, describing a conversation they’d had about supportive partners, Frankie couldn’t hold back anymore.

“D, I have a surprise for you.”

Diego gave Frankie his signature smirk and kissed him long and slow, drawing out the suspense, or perhaps just teasing Frankie a little.

“I know,querido. You’re not very good at being sneaky. I know you and Obie have been working on something.”

Frankie’s face fell and his shoulders slumped. “Oh… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for you to know we were keeping something from you. I just wanted to try and get all the details sorted out so you wouldn’t have to worry.”

Diego cupped his cheeks and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. “I’m not upset, my love. Honestly, I feel like I'm at capacity right now, so I’m rather glad you didn’t ask me to take on any additional work.”

Frankie grinned and, after taking a deep, fortifying breath, told Diego the plan.

Diego seemed eager, but not quite as excited as Frankie had hoped. He acknowledged the amazing work Frankie and Obie had done, and said he was looking forward to meeting the drag queens, but Frankie had sort of been hoping for a little more of a dramatic response even though he knew that wasn’t really Diego’s style.

To Frankie’s surprise, the dramatics came when Diego met Sham Pain. Or re-met Sham Pain, as it were.

“Sham?” Diego gasped as Frankie led him towards the stage for their meeting. Sham Pain was in full drag queen regalia, stilettos, and all. She scurried, somehow still graceful, towards Diego in her heels and enveloped him in a huge hug. Even in her heels she was barely taller than Diego.

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