I Like Him #2
His grin grew until he looked like a cat who had caught the canary. Had I just made a deal with the devil? I’d add it to the list of new experiences. I’d have to spend some time thinking about what I wanted permanently etched on my body.
“No tramp stamps,” he added.
“Rude.”
Our banter tapered off, and we were left looking at a flatbed truck with poorly placed streamers.
I could hand-sew sequins on a dress and fix a broken heel with gum, but ask me to decorate and I wandered hapless.
I hoped the others arrived soon. We’d endure their mocking, and hopefully they had better plans.
A large bang came from down the street. Charlie shook his head before burying it in his palms. The garage doors were wide enough for three trucks, but we had only opened one side. The bang came again, this time closer.
“Get ready,” he said.
“For?”
“Chaos.”
A car pulled into the garage. I knew the owner before the door opened.
Lacie Tremblay had taken Firefly by storm.
She might be the only person capable of wrestling the spotlight from Mabel.
Worse, she did it without effort. Her zeal for everything Firefly had made her an instant favorite. The town ate up her brand of chaos.
“I hate to admit it,” Charlie said. “We need her.”
The passenger door opened, and Amanda stepped out. The two had a playful banter that left everybody wondering if they were mortal enemies or secret lovers. Three months ago, I thought the town took bets at bingo. We were still waiting for the verdict.
“This can’t be good,” Charlie said.
“We’re dead.”
They came complete with iced coffees and an attitude. Neither woman spoke as they walked across the garage. Amanda lifted her sunglasses, set them down, then lifted them again. No words were necessary; the long slurp from Lacie as she sucked down the last of her coffee said everything.
“Is that a disco ball?”
I didn’t confess to the time it took us to wrap the beach ball in silver duct tape. Now that I looked, it seemed to be deflating already. I could do cartwheels in stilettos, but had been defeated by a Pride float.
“Do you hate being gay?” asked Amanda.
I went to answer, and Charlie’s hand slapped me on the chest. “It’s a trap.”
“No,” Lacie answered. “They just hate Pride.”
“You know what this means?” Amanda turned her back on us. With a drawn-out slurp, she finished her coffee.
Lacie nodded. “It’s up to us to save Pride.”
Without looking, they high-fived. Amanda on her own could overwhelm anybody with her brand of chaos.
It had taken years for me to navigate her abundance of zeal and ability to take over every situation.
With Lacie? I half-expected the skies to darken and lightning to strike.
After, there’d be rainbows everywhere and quite possibly a moose with a unicorn horn.
Lacie walked toward the truck, her head bobbing up and down as she conspired. “What do we think about a disco farmer theme?”
Amanda shot us a glance before joining her co-conspirator. “What about lumberjack disco?”
Charlie shook his head. As Nick’s boyfriend, I’m sure he had learned to navigate Lacie’s wild nature. He might act as if he hated it, but I bet he got erect at the thought of having an axe on the back of the truck.
“We know they all have flannel,” Amanda said.
“Oh, my God. I can wear my rainbow flannel skirt and matching shoes.”
We no longer existed as they discussed hay bales and if they could bedazzle the axes. Charlie and I had lost control, and there was no way we’d wrestle it back.
Instead, we let them continue. If we ignored them long enough, they’d run out of energy and need to go on another coffee run.
Charlie hoisted himself onto the workbench. “Naked boy your doing?”
My face turned red. Bobby’s news had spread, and there was no going back.
I didn’t know how to talk about it without potentially outing Sammy.
Just the fact that I was hanging out with a sexy bear of a man already made him a target.
I’m sure they were debating who would be the best man at the wedding.
I nodded.
“Complicated,” he said. “I get it.”
He said he did, but I wasn’t sure. If I didn’t say something, the rumors would fly faster than I could correct. I needed something to throw them off the trail.
“He’s in town for a corporate retreat. Did you know—”
Charlie put a hand on my shoulder. “Trust me. I get it. No comments from me.”
It should have eased the knot in my stomach. Maybe I didn’t have to answer to him, but not everybody in town would be so forgiving. Even the bears would begin their gentle teasing. They’d wish me the best, but they’d assume something was going on between Sammy and me.
I fought it as if it weren’t the reality. From the first moment at the bistro, the town insisted we be thrust together. Who knew how long they had conspired? What they didn’t understand was that I didn’t need their meddling to be in Sammy’s orbit. There was something going on between us.
“I like him.” Oh, shit, I didn’t mean to say that out loud.
“I know. That’s what makes it complicated.”
I thought he’d linger or want to talk about my revelations. It was me who hung on the words. I liked him. Even after having said it, I had no idea what it meant in the bigger picture. With a slap on the back, Charlie slid off the workbench.
“We should intervene, or we’ll be in tiaras and tutus.”
“And that’s bad, right?”
“Unless you’re coming out of retirement.”
Point made.
For a moment, I had to wonder what Sammy might think if he discovered I was the one who flirted with him at Spectrum.
Barely at the threshold of his sexuality, I couldn’t imagine he’d embrace a loud and proud queen without inhibition.
No, Mabel would remain packed away. Whatever this was between us, I’d travel the safe road and keep it between him and me.
Safe.
Charlie: Just remember y’all made this happen.
Jon: What happened?
Mike: Lacie and Amanda.
Nick: She’s insisting on the rainbow flannel, isn’t she?
Charlie: Your outfit will match hers.