Chapter Twenty-Four Kenny
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
KENNY
I looked like an eldritch monstrosity.
And I was absolutely thrilled about it. I couldn’t help the laugh that burst from my lips from one look at my face. I threw my upper body onto Han’s lap as I laughed to my heart’s content.
“Don’t put your face on me. You’ll fuck it up!”
I wheezed. “Han, I love you, but I’m sorry. It’s already so fucked up.”
Han ran a hand through his hair. “That bad?”
I laugh-sighed, then looked up at Han and cupped his face in my palms. “Seriously, thank you for this.” He had no idea how much his horrible makeup job had lifted my mood.
Han’s mouth finally twitched up into a small smile, and I had to resist the urge to kiss him right then and there. He was just so goddam cute. I cleared my throat and let go of his overly kissable face.
“All right, showtime,” I said, helping Han up from his chair as he grabbed the crutches from the door.
I waited in the hallway for him to take his seat on the couch.
Han played the music, and I came out as high energy as if I were doing this for real.
I was still figuring out the whole drag thing, but the idea of being a dancing queen was growing more and more appealing to me. Leti had taught me the basics of vogue, and I was using the hell out of them in this performance. Han sat on the couch, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and a proud smile on his face.
I was so excited to show off one particular move I’d practiced to hell and back all week. The finale. I hadn’t done Taekwondo in years, but a couple of weeks ago I started getting back into it to see if I could incorporate it into drag of all things. I guess I had never really been that into martial arts, but using it to express myself through drag? That was a whole other story. The move I’d practiced was a bolley kick into a shablam. As I spun in the air with my leg kicking high, I caught a glimpse of Han’s face.
Eyes wide, mouth open. Impressed, as he should have been.
But that wasn’t even the best part. I landed in a dip instead of standing on my kicking foot, and even though I was on the ground, I could see Han standing up on one foot, whistling and clapping loudly.
I hopped up to my feet as the music ended, rushing into a celebratory hug with Han.
“You’re amazing,” Han said as he held me tight, and it felt like such a gift. To be standing here with Han, having done my performance for his eyes only, and to get that kind of praise? From Han, of all people, without a single “bro” to cushion it? I was flying high.
I didn’t want to let him go, but I knew if I didn’t he might be onto me, so I pulled away, careful not to look up at him as I did, or I might not have been able to resist the urge to kiss him.
“So, you’re like, officially a drag queen now, huh?” Han said with a grin.
And for some reason those words brought a huge smile to my face. Hell yes, I was a drag queen. I’d only done it twice so far, but it just felt right . When I was with Jackie, I couldn’t be the least bit feminine, even though that had always been a part of me. But now, being able to do this freely? It was something I never would have even dreamed possible. And I could do it, as much as I wanted to. No one would try to stop me again.
Before I realized what was happening, Han’s phone was pointed at my face.
“This one’s for the ’gram,” he said as he snapped a photo.
“You are so cringey.” I shook my head, then realized what he was saying. “Wait, you want to post this on Instagram?” I said, gesturing wildly to my eldritch horror of a face.
“Hey! It’s not that bad.”
“Oh, it’s bad.” I laughed. “But you can post it. As long as you take proper credit for your makeup job.”
“I will!” Han said, chest puffed out in pride as he typed away on his phone. “There. They’ll be lining up at our door wanting their makeup done by the one and only Alejandro Torres.”
“Sure, they will,” I said, unable to wipe the smile from my face. I don’t think I stopped smiling since I’d finished my routine. As I turned around to go change, I caught sight of Thornelius sitting at his usual table, and I sighed. “So… what should we do about Thornelius?”
“What do you mean?” Han asked.
“Well, he’s not exactly what we expected. We can’t really take care of him like we were before, like watering him and all that.”
Han nodded and looked at Thornelius with a surprisingly soft expression. “Well, sure. He’s not what we expected, but… no kid is, right? Besides, adopting him was my brain child and your name child. Just look at that face! He’s ours .”
“You’re right.” I looked Thornelius over, imagining big puppy eyes under his monocle, begging us not to abandon him for being plastic. I went over and patted him on the top hat. “Thornelius, you know it’s not important to us what you’ve got on the inside; it’s how you look on the outside that really matters.”
“Exactly.” Han laughed.
I grinned and turned back to the bathroom to change out of my short pink dress and wash my face. By the time I finished and came back out, the mood had somehow completely shifted.
Han was just staring at his phone solemnly.
“What?” I asked, my stomach dropping.
“I’m guessing you haven’t seen Instagram since you got home?”
“Do I even have an Instagram?” I scratched my head. I vaguely remembered using it when I was in high school, but I wasn’t really on social media these days.
“You do. You should really see this…”
I sat next to Han on the couch as he showed me what was on his phone screen.
It was a post from Jackie. An ultrasound.
Something fluttered in my gut, and for a moment I forgot about all the complications. That little thing on the screen was my baby. It almost brought tears to my eyes. But then the light feeling came crashing down.
“Holy shit.” My handle was tagged in the post. It had hundreds of likes, which meant everyone close to me probably knew now that I’d gotten Jackie pregnant.
“Yeah…” Han said, rubbing his temples.
“Can I untag myself?” I asked, pulling my phone out even though I knew it was basically too late.
“Yeah. Here, I’ll log out so you can get in yours.” Han tapped his phone a few times with his thumb before handing it over. But I wasn’t sure if I even knew how to log in. I hadn’t used Instagram since high school. Still, there was one password I used for everything back then.
Jackie518
The date we first got together. Even if I wished that date meant nothing to me anymore, I could never forget it. I handed my phone to Han, who worked his magic. Moments later, I wasn’t tagged anymore.
“God,” Han said, “I hope Jackie chokes on a grape.”
I shook my head, holding back my laugh. “She’s pregnant .”
“Fine. I hope she sits on a tack.”
I couldn’t help the grin on my face. “That, we might be able to arrange.”