Marlon thought back to the conversation he’d had with Andrew the other day. “I know. But it’s not only here. Better here than some neighborhoods right now, trust me. With all the political shit going on, the bigots are riled up.”
“Yeah, well, it’s getting old.” Vahin sighed, then grimaced. “I’m sorry, I know you probably don’t wanna hang out at Mary’s again, but do you mind if we stay for Ariel’s show and make sure she gets out of here afterward before we keep our plans? ManDonna’s not here. Her son has an engagement party tonight, and this is Ariel’s first show alone.”
As much as it surprised him, Marlon didn’t especially feel up to getting Vahin naked at the moment. He felt a little dirty from the blowup with Andrew. Distraction sounded perfect, even if it came in the form of another drag show. “That sounds kinda fun, actually. And I’m starving.”
Vahin waggled his brows playfully. “Really? Are you starting to like drag now, or are you hoping to get pulled up on stage again? Maybe you got a taste of stardom the other night with everyone yelling when your shirt came off.”
“God, no!” Marlon couldn’t avoid a shudder. “Please don’t get me on stage again. But the drag isn’t half-bad. Not my art form of choice, but it’s growing on me. At least when it means I get to be with you.”
“Wow. That was cheesy.”
Marlon bit his lip and felt his cheeks heat.
“Sadly, I liked it. Didn’t know I had a weakness for such cheese.” Vahin kissed him again, then smacked his ass. “And I feel the same.”
“Good.” Marlon stared at Vahin a moment, caught in the wonder of how he never would’ve guessed this was coming a couple of weeks ago.
“What?”
He couldn’t keep the probably ridiculously stupid grin off his face. “I’m simply enjoying how hot you are.”
Vahin puffed out his chest. “Really? Tell me more.”
Marlon laughed. “Well, you are. That and you’re ridiculously great in the—wait a minute. I just realized what you said a while ago.”
“What?”
“Did you say ManDonna’ssongot engaged? As in, she has a kid?”
Vahin shook his head. “Well, not her biological son, but adopted. Kinda. Long story.” He leveled his gaze at Marlon. “However, she could have kids. You do know that drag queens are men underneath all that makeup, right?”
“I was kinda picturing her pregnant. Which is disturbing.”
Vahin laughed. “Oh, well, you will see that sometime. She does the pregnant nun routine pretty frequently. Cliché, maybe, but timeless.”
The food was as good as it had been the first time, and Marlon was hungry enough he’d ordered cheesecake as well. The same couldn’t be said for Ariel’s performance. Halfway through and Marlon had grimaced probably a dozen times. So many that Vahin noticed and shot him a dirty look.
Ariel was obviously a nervous wreck, though how much of it was due to being solo for the first time or residual from the incident out front, Marlon wasn’t sure. Though either one would be enough to shake anyone up, but especially Ariel. There was something fragile about her.
Marlon nearly jumped for joy when he felt his cell vibrate in his pocket. He knew it was rude, but desperate times called for desperate measures, and he pulled it out, hoping it was someone who could provide a good enough excuse to leave.
He regretted the wish as he looked at the screen. He leaned across the small table, got Vahin’s attention, and held out the phone. “It’s the chief. Sorry.”
Vahin’s eyes widened, and he mouthed, “About me?”
Marlon shrugged, though he doubted it would be about Vahin. He knew all too well what it would be about. He motioned toward the door, then stood, hunched over, and left the dining room.
By the time he’d stepped outside, the call had gone to voice mail. Not waiting, he tapped the chief’s name and called him back.
Chief Schmidt answered on the first ring. “What the fuck did you do?”
Marlon had already started to pace, but halted, debating the best approach. “Um. What do you mean? Why? What happened?”
“Don’t play that shit with me, Barton. You did something.” Though the chief sounded angry, there was something else in his tone, but Marlon couldn’t identify it.
Confession seemed the best path. There wasn’t really another option. “I, um, confronted Andrew after our shift today.”
“About setting up Vahin? Damn it, Marlon, I told you to leave it alone.”
