Rock Chick 04 Renegade (15 page)

They meant al this shit.

I opened my mouth to tel them it was none of their business, to guard my heart like an emotional Rottweiler when, just like I did with Zip blurting out my plan to save al the runaways from drug dealers, I told them everything.

Everything
.

From the minute Vance cornered me in the al ey to when he was holding my hand. I held nothing back. I even told them I was a virgin.

When I was done, they were al staring at me with wide eyes and open mouths.

“Shit,” Daisy breathed then swung her head to Roxie, “he moves even faster than Hank.”

“You can say that again,” Roxie replied.

“You’re a virgin?” Al y asked, eyes stil huge.

“I can’t think about that right now,” I said to Al y. “It’s one thing at a time. He told me I should wear something nice. I don’t have anything nice. The only nice thing I have is a dress I wore to a col eague’s wedding two years ago and it’s a summer dress and now it’s November. I can’t wear a summer dress in November. And anyway, I don’t even know what ‘nice’ means.”

“Wel , I can help with that,” Indy announced and looked at Al y. “We’l cal Tod and Stevie.”

“I’l help with the outfit,” Roxie put in and Indy nodded.

“I’l do your makeup,” Jet said on a smile.

“I’l do your hair,” Daisy offered.

“
No!
” Indy, Al y and Jet al said in unison, making everyone else jump.

“
I’ll
do your hair,” Indy declared firmly.

“She gives good hair,” Al y informed me.

“She gives good hair,” Al y informed me.

“You got her outfit,” Daisy complained, “you can’t have her hair too. What am I gonna do?”

“You can take the virgin part,” Indy said.

Daisy’s blue eyes swung to me and they were bright. “Oh yeah. I can do that.”

“Where do you live?” Al y asked.

I wasn’t keeping up and before I could think better of it, I gave them my address. They al got up.

“She’s in the ‘hood,” Indy noted to the group and then looked at me. “I live two blocks away from you.” I nodded, stil not keeping up.

Then Indy turned to the group again. “Five fifteen, we al meet at Jules’s. Bring what you can,” Indy ordered.

“I’m comin’ too,” May threw in and looked at me, “moral support.”

“Works for me,” Al y replied.

“Me too. See you there,” Roxie said to me.

Then they were gone. May and I stared at the door.

“What just happened?” I asked the door and felt rather than saw May’s eyes on me.

“What just happened was, just like I said, Crowe’s offerin’ you a life. If you’re smart, which I know you are, you’re gonna reach out and grab it.”

Then she was gone too.

“She needs more sparkle,” Daisy announced and I could see her out of the corners of my eyes to which Jet was applying shadow. Daisy had her hands on her hips and she was staring at me assessingly and I could tel she did not like what she saw.

“She doesn’t need
any
sparkle. She’s going on a date with Vance, not bal room dancing at The Ritz,” Indy returned, standing beside me and holding a curling iron in my hair.

“Tod, she needs sparkle. Every girl needs sparkle. Find some goddamned sparkle, comprende?” Daisy ordered, ignoring Indy.

The gang had descended on my house about five minutes after I arrived home from the Shelter. They came in carrying hangers ful of clothes, curling irons, hairdryers, cosmetics bags stuffed with makeup, accessories and boxes of shoes.

They had two gay men in tow. One, Tod, was a tal , lean, effeminate white man with a brown crew cut. The other, Stevie, was shorter, more butch, handsome and Hispanic.

Tod, they told me, was Denver’s top drag queen, his alter ego known as Burgundy Rose. Stevie, they also told me, was his long-suffering but, nevertheless, obviously loving partner.

“Sparkle,” Tod muttered, digging through piles of clothes, belts, scarves and shoes, “gotcha.”

“I’m not sure about sparkle,” I whispered to Jet.

“Don’t worry,” Jet replied with a smal smile to me then she glanced worriedly at Indy.

I figured this worried glance was not good. Real y not good. The butterflies in my stomach started fluttering and not in a good Vance-said-or-did-something-sexy way but in an oh-my-God-get-me-out-of-here way.

Roxie was sitting on my couch drinking a margarita Boo in her lap. His yel ow eyes were closed and she was stroking him ful body.

He was in heaven. I was in hel .

“We already decided. She’s wearing the black,” Roxie put in.

“
You
decided,” Daisy returned. “Black is boring. I think we should do the sequins.”

My eyes swung to May who was lounging in my chaise.

She lifted her margarita glass at me and winked.

“Daisy, give it up. No sequins for God’s sake. This is Denver not the fucking Oscars. Talk to Jules about Vance popping her cherry,” Al y ordered. She and Stevie were re-hanging clothes that Tod was tearing off hangers.

At Al y’s comment I sucked in breath and I think I experienced a heart palpitation.

“Al y Nightingale. Don’t be crass. You’ve scared the poor girlie to death,” Tod admonished and Al y threw him a look.

“I think you should just tel him you’re a virgin,” Jet suggested. “He’l understand and be gentle.”

“Oh. My. God. Do
not
, whatever you do, tel him you’re a virgin,” Daisy sat down next to Roxie on the side of the couch which was closest to the armchair I was sitting in and she leaned into me, ful -on cleavage hanging over the arm of the couch. “Go with the flow,” she advised. “He does something you like; you do it back to him. You want to touch him or use your mouth on him, just do it. Whatever you do, he’l like it. Men aren’t very discerning. Al that touching stuff just gets in the way of the real thing. He won’t care, long as he gets some.”

“Daisy, that’s just not true,” Roxie put in. “Men like foreplay just as much as women.” Stevie made a noise and Roxie turned to him. “Don’t they?” she asked.

“Don’t look at me. I’m not getting into it,” Stevie said.

“Stevie –” Roxie started but he shook his head.

“You two’ve been foolin’ around. He seem to notice you don’t know what you’re doin’?” Daisy asked me.

“Um,” I mumbled, my eyes sliding again to May.

May just sucked back more of her margarita.

“Don’t do that,” Jet said to my eye slide. “I’ve got to do your mascara. Wide eyes, open mouth, look up,” Jet demanded and I did as I was told.

“Wel ?” Daisy pushed and I blinked, repeatedly, as Jet applied mascara.

“I don’t think so,” I answered, trying to talk and keep my mouth open at the same time. “Though the only thing I ever did was um…” I stopped, wondering how I’d gotten into this mess with this gaggle of women I didn’t even know, sharing stuff so private I wouldn’t have even told Auntie Reba about it. “Touch my tongue to his neck and ran my hands up his back.”

“What’d he do when you did that?” Indy asked, twisting the curling iron around another lock of hair.

“Wel , he kind of… groaned and then things kind of…

escalated,” I fought for the words.

“He liked it,” Roxie declared and I could hear a smile in her voice.

“Just pay attention, listen and learn. He’l have hot spots and you’l find them. Just explore,” Daisy advised.

“Hon,” May butted in, speaking for the first time since everyone got there (other than to say, “I’l take one of them margaritas.”), “folks have been doin’ this since folks have existed. It’s instinctive. Just relax. What I saw today, that boy’s so into you, you got nothin’ to worry about. He’l lead the way.”

I took a deep breath and nodded (slightly, Jet was stil doing my mascara).

“What does she do when he um…” Jet started but didn’t finish.

“It’l hurt,” Roxie said.

“Mine didn’t hurt,” Al y said and went on, “just a twinge.

Hardly any blood at al .”

My wide eyes widened further and I looked at Jet who was so close to my face she was al I could see. She pul ed back, her hand went to my knee and she squeezed.

“Mine hurt like a mother,” Roxie muttered.

“Jules is old enough maybe she doesn’t have a cherry anymore. You go horseback ridin’, Sugar?” Daisy asked me.

“That’s an urban myth,” Indy cut in before I could answer.

“I didn’t feel mine at al ,” she finished then she unraveled a new curl.

“You were drunk off your ass,” Al y put in.

“Was not,” Indy retorted.

“You were too,” Al y returned.

“Gettin’ drunk may be a good thing. Loosen you up a bit,” Daisy suggested.

“Can we stop talking about this?” I asked suddenly. “I’m sorry but it’s freaking me out.”

“I’m with Jules. Let’s stop talking about this. Blood and pain. Ick. It’s making me squeamish,” Tod said. I glanced his way and he did, indeed, look pale.

“But –” Daisy protested.

“Daisy,” Stevie said quietly, “Jules asked us to stop talking about it.”

Daisy leaned back, crossed her arms on her massive chest (no mean feat) and started pouting, clearly denied the likely gory details of her own deflowering.

“Just a little cherry lip balm. Don’t want color just in case he kisses you,” Jet muttered to herself, swiping my mouth with balm. Then she announced, “Done with her makeup.” She leaned back and took in my face with a discerning eye.

Tod moved in behind her. “Girlie, you are the Mistress of Makeup. She looks like a goddamned movie star.” Everyone came around to look. They al nodded approvingly except Daisy.

“Needs more sparkle,” Daisy muttered.

“Shut up, Daisy,” Indy said, unwrapping another curl then she gouged some gunk from a jar, rubbed it in her hands, ran her fingers through my hair and mussed it. She stepped back, pul ing some tendrils here and there away from my face. Then she looked at the finished product and smiled.

“Hair’s done.”

“Um, hate to tel you this, hon,” May broke into the Check Out Jules Fest, “but you got fifteen minutes to get dressed and get this place cleaned up or he’l be here and see your posse givin’ you the works.”

“Holy crap!” Indy shouted. “Unplug the curling iron,” she ordered no one and everyone.

“Get me that cosmetic bag,” Jet snapped her fingers at Stevie. “Now!”

Roxie pul ed me out of my chair. “Let’s get you dressed.” Then she shoved a pile of clothes in my arms and pushed me toward the bathroom.

I walked into the bathroom with my pile. They’d even picked out my underwear and on top was a new bottle of perfume that Roxie stopped by the mal and bought me on the way over.

I bought some sexy underwear as a side obsession to my sexy nightwear since they sold the stuff in the same department. I didn’t have much but they’d found the sexiest, a pair of black, lacy, Brazilian-cut panties and matching demi-cupped bra. Over this I put on a pair of Roxie’s black slacks which looked normal until they were on. They rode way low, even lower than my cords and jeans, exposing the smal of my back in a serious way when I bent even slightly.

They had a straight front and wide leg. On top of this they gave me Indy’s plain black t-shirt. Again, it looked normal until I put it on. It was stretchy with a hint of spandex and fit like a glove. It came down over the waistband of the trousers but again if I sat the trousers went down, the shirt rode up and the smal of my back was exposed.

“Shit,” I whispered, the butterflies exploding and I sat on the toilet seat to put on the high-heeled shoes which had a half an inch platform sole, peek-a-boo toe and ankle strap.

I spritzed with the cologne and put on Roxie’s jewelry, a wide silver cuff bracelet and some wide silver hooped earrings.

Then I looked in the ful -length mirror on the back of my bathroom door.

“Oh my God,” I breathed.

I looked like a girl. My hair was in curls, not masses of them but subtle and pretty. My eyes were done up smoky and, even I had to admit, sexy. And the outfit was simple but kick-fucking-ass.

Especial y the shoes (which were Tod’s).

I took a deep breath, opened the door and walked down the hal . The place was cleaned up and tidy. Al paraphernalia had already been loaded in cars and there was not a margarita glass in sight.

Everyone looked at me when I walked in and they stared.

Then they smiled.

And I felt for the first time al day that maybe I could pul this off.

“Told you she didn’t need sparkle,” Indy said to Daisy.

“Sugar, you got
that
right,” Daisy replied.

“Hon,” May said, smiling at me, “don’t you worry about gettin’ laid. Trust me. You got
nothin’
to worry about.”

* * * * *

Before she left May hugged me tight and looked me deep in the eye and whispered, “Nothin’ to worry about.” Even with May’s encouragement I’d just sucked down a shot of tequila, winced as it hit my throat and decided, again, that there was no way I was going to pul this off.

I shoved the tequila bottle to the back of the counter behind the margarita glasses that someone had washed and were resting upside down on a kitchen towel. I put the shot glass in the sink and was wondering if they had any redeye flights from Denver International Airport to Nicaragua when my backdoor opened and Vance walked in.

I stared at him. He stared at me.

I was pretty certain I was looking at him like a deer caught in headlights.