Benson shrugged. “Back from New Orleans and staying with her mom before going back to Brown tomorrow.”
She finally put her phone down. “Do you know any local drag queens?”
There it was. A slight flash in the eyes. “Uh…”
“How about somebody called Ursula Slay Nguyen?”
Benson leaned back against his booth and crossed his arms. “What did Liam tell you?”
Eden could hardly hold back from laughing. “That you might be a fan.”
“He’s convinced I’m her number one fan because of that one time she…”
Eden’s brows arched.
“Nothing.”
“Beeeeen. Tell me. Please.”
“No.”
“Because of that one timesheee?”
Finally, he relented. “We went to a drag show way back when. We did that about once a month because we had some friends we liked to drink with who were big into the local drag scene, and Lemmy’s Dive has the best cocktails in that part of town…”
“You’re digressing, Ben.”
“Anyway, Ursula has a type. The number of times I was hauled onto the stage for her silly lap dances and—”
Eden’s mouth dropped. “No way. You, getting lap dances from drag queens…”“You’re just as bad as Liam.”
“Why? Because we know what you like?”
“Because you relentlessly tease me about any old thing.”
“You like it. You like having people who know you so well that we can love you for…”
They both looked away from one another, Eden blushing and Benson clearing his throat.Play it cool, Eden.She hadn’t said,I love you.She had referred to a type of person who… loved him…
“You bring up an interesting point,” Benson said, confusing Eden about her feelings even more. “I do tend to surround myself with people who know me a little too well.”
That wasn’t where Eden thought he was going, but she let out a breath of relief, anyway. “You’re an easy guy to like, Ben. I can see why Ursula can’t stop gyrating in your lap. Maybe I should take a spin tonight.”
“I much prefer lap dances from women, anyway.” He scrunched his nose. “I mean, non-drag women. I mean…”
Eden rolled her eyes.
“Why are you bringing her up, anyway?”
“Because I’ve been thinking about checking out a drag brunch tomorrow. Mimosas and Donna Summer cover songs.”
“And you want me to take you?”
“Eh, only if you’re into it, too. Maybe it can be something we do together.”
“You like drag?”
He sounded so puzzled by that, as if Eden hadn’t been raised on a healthy diet of social media accounts run by lifelong and later-in-life drag queens discovering themselves and sharing their joy with the world.Oh, and we have like… the same tastes in divas.They loved Janet Jackson… Eden loved Janet Jackson! They knew every lyric to Olivia Rodrigo’s first album… so did Eden!Ooh, I wonder if there’s a Sabrina Carpenter drag queen!
