9 years ago
(Continued)
Snake Bite was a typical gay bar conveniently located next to a student's dorm. Jam-packed on the weekends, it was usually pretty vacant during the week. There was nothing special about it—the stench of fresh sweat and cigarettes always gave me a headache, and its nasty drinks, which were usually diluted with water to cut the cost, were only drinkable because drag queens got them for free. However, each week for three days it would become our safe haven.
Mia was glued to the mirror, measuring the distance between her soon to be bushy eyebrows. Mia never explained why she enjoyed stripping off her feminine identity once in a while, but I was sure she couldn't live without it. Her drag name instantly became our inside joke; sometimes when Mia was too stressed about her studies, I'd jump around the room yelling "Max Tension, Max Tension!". It always made her giggle.
"I'm not sure if I like your new wig," commented Mia while putting on her drag makeup, "fuck! These brows just won't behave."222Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCfKauaGbTJ
222Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1LPYWZ3UHE
"I kind of like it." I answered, pacing around the dressing room just to get used to walking in heels.
"It's decent but that red one was more like Nin." uttered Mia while putting the final touches on her face, then added "But... now you're more doll-like, I guess."
I had been struggling to come up with a drag name for weeks. Mia was the one who suggested the name Nin. When asked why, she chuckled "It's just so you. You always say, 'Nothing, it's nothing.' Just put the first letters together and you have Nin". Later I've added Summers to the name just because it was June. I've never been a creative man.
For today's performance we had prepared a wacky duet that tells a story of a middle aged man who's just discovered he's into drag. That's why I had to get a new wig that matched Max Tension's man bun. Contrary to others' belief, I didn't know what I was doing; unlike Mia, I barely knew anything about the drag culture. Actually, when I think about it, I'm not good at anything; mediocre at best.
The dance room was busier than usual, which meant my head was about to explode from all the foul smells. Despite that, the air was oozing with excitement and I couldn't deny that I was addicted to it. We still had an hour till our performance so I left Mia without her even noticing me, and went to get a drink.
Stage lights bounced around the audience, exposing the sea of young queer faces. Some were dancing, some kissing; others were chugging pints of watered down booze, probably thinking they've made a good bargain. I floundered to the half empty bar and sat down on the one of the wooden bar stools, then fixe my dress making sure it wouldn't crumple up.
"Same as always." I shouted, trying to overpower the loud music.
"Sure." nodded the bartender.
I took a sip through the pink straw - carefully, trying not to ruin my lips - then another and another. I could barely taste any alcohol. Some things never change. The lights kept on dancing in the ocean of constantly shifting bodies and the music seemed much louder than before. I wiped my sweaty palm into the napkin.
I began scanning the crowd; I was there with hundreds of other people but for some weird reason I didn't feel like I was a part of it—there they were; all of them together; and there was me, isolated and so distant. I kept examining the room as if I was looking for something; a familiar face, perhaps?
Then I felt it; like a magnet pulling me through the crowd, there was an intense gaze inspecting me from one of the tables at the corner of the bar. When our eyes met, I saw an elegant man in a pitch black suit, that dramatically contrasted with the rainbow of colorful shirts and excessive drag garments. I couldn't see his face clearly but I was convinced he'd been observing me for quite a while.
The mysterious man gestured something but I couldn't make it out, so I just waved at him to make things less awkward. Only when he stood up and began marching towards me, I realized how tall and well build he was. I felt my face turning red by the sheer thought of what is concealed behind that suit. With the blink of an eye the man was sitting on a bar stool next to me; he seemed even taller than I previously thought. He muttered something but his words were devoured by the loud beats.
"Could you repeat that?" I yelled.
He smiled and moved closer, accidentally bumping his leg into mine. Now he was so close I could smell his cologne.
"I said what's your name?" repeated the man with a slight accent, looking directly at me for way much longer than I was comfortable with.
"It's Nin"
"No, I meant your real name" he smirked and leaned a bit closer.
"I'm Bee"
"I've never heard a name like that"
"Well, it's Batu but people call me Bee"
"Nice to meet you Bee, I'm Vikor. With a 'K' " he said, then added "l love your wig."
"Thanks" I murmured way too quietly for him to hear.
Viktor raised his hand to catch the bartender's attention, exposing his lavish watch. I couldn't catch what he ordered so I fixed my eyes on the bartender who was struggling to open a brand new bottle of gin. Gin and tonic? How predictable.
"I saw your performance last week. Stunning" gushed Viktor, playing with the drink in his hands.
I hope all of the makeup layers concealed at least the tiniest bit of redness that has suddenly came back and flashed my whole face. I swiftly redirected my gaze to my now half-empty glass and pretended I was mixing my drink with a straw.
"You're a regular here? I'm not sure I've seen you before" I said without thinking, trying to distract him from my awkward demeanor.
"At least twice a moth.' Viktor took a sip of drink, then added, "I'm probably not that attractive for someone like you to notice."
I couldn't bear looking at him, yet I felt his pure hazel eyes observing each breath that I took. I promptly glanced at his shoes, pitch black just like his suit, then gathered all of my courage and fixated on Viktor's face. There wasn't a single imperfection—his beard was neatly groomed, and his dark hair seemed freshly brushed. He looked older than me, I was judging by the two lines imprinted in his forehead. I tried looking directly into Viktor's eyes but it couldn't; his gaze was drawing me in and pushing me back at the same time.
Out of the blue, I felt an obnoxious tap on my shoulder. It was Mia, now fully Max Tension both literally and figuratively.
"Nin, what the hell? We're next, hurry!"
Disoriented, I glanced at Viktor and shrug my shoulders. He smiled back at me and took something out of his pocket.
"Just in case you'll need company," Viktor handed me a tiny card with golden print on it, "It's the hotel I'm staying at. Marvelous restaurant. I'll be there tomorrow at seven."
"Nin, c'mon..." Mia hissed impatiently.
We were about to give our best performance of the whole month; I should have been happy about it wasn't. My mind was consumed by only one thought—tomorrow I'm going on a date.
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