“Wait, I met Albert a couple of months ago, right?”
Miguel nodded. “He came to the Christmas Eve party at Moonlight.”
I was trying to imagine the tall Black man I’d met dressed in drag. I shook my head. “I’ll admit, I can’t picture it.”
“Well, then you’ll just have to come to his show at Paradise to see for yourself.” When his eyes met mine, there was a challenge in them. I wondered if he thought I wouldn’t do it.
I shrugged. “Okay. You tell me when you’re going next, and I’ll come with you.”
His mouth dropped open. “Really?”
“Sure, why not?”
“Have you ever been to a gay nightclub?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Not to a nightclub. But I’ve been to Georgie’s a couple of times with my sister and her friends.”
“You’ve been to a gay bar?”
“Sure,” I replied.
“What did you think,” he asked.
“It was okay. I got hit on a lot.”
Miguel laughed. “I’ll just bet you did. You probably looked like a tasty meal to those hungry boys.”
I felt myself blush and ducked my head to hide it. “I guess. I’m nothing special, really.”
Miguel made a choked sound. When I looked up, he was staring at me wide-eyed. “Zach, I don’t know who told you that, but they need their head examined. You are the complete package. You’re good-looking—that black hair contrasting those blue eyes is striking, let me tell you. You’re kind, like genuinely kind. And let’s not forget strong and protective. It’s a lethal combination.”
I honestly didn’t know what to say to that. “Thanks,” I said quietly.
“You’re welcome,” he replied.
I wasn’t very good at talking about myself, so I asked him, “Did you go to school for hospitality management? You seem to know a lot about running a hotel.”
Miguel raised an eyebrow at my abrupt subject change, but he didn’t call me on it. “I got my bachelor’s at Rutgers. I’d like to get my master’s someday, but it’s really expensive, and I don’t want to be in debt for the rest of my life.”
“You don’t have any debt from Rutgers?”
He shook his head. “I did really well in high school and got into the NJ STARS program. It paid for most of my college as long as I went to school in New Jersey. I paid off the rest a few years ago.”
“Wow. So, on top of everything else, you’re really smart.”
Miguel gave me a shy smile, something I rarely saw on him. “Thanks. My family seems to forget that.”
I wanted to rage about his family, but I figured he’d had enough of that for one day, so I asked him to elaborate on the events he was considering bringing to Moonlight Inn. He got so animated when he was talking about his ideas. It was fun to watch. I had one more beer and then switched to water since I was driving. Miguel had a couple more drinks and then asked for a Coke. When he started to look like he was fading, I waved the server over to get the check.
“I should pay for mine,” Miguel objected when I gave Herbie my card. “I drank more than you did.”
I shook my head. “I invited you out. You can get it next time.”
“Okay,” he replied. “I’ll pay for you when we go to the drag show next Friday.”
I smiled. “Works for me.”
I’d managed to get a parking spot in front of Watermark, so it didn’t take us long to get to my car. He gave me his address, and I plugged it into my GPS despite him telling me he could give me directions. It was a good thing I did because he was asleep by the time I got halfway through Asbury Park. When we got to his place, I shook his shoulder gently. “Hey, we’re here.”
