They parted warmly and Sashi headed to the Lords and Ladies for his evening shift as China. He tried to focus on his warm-ups and practice runs with the girls, but he found his eyes continually drifting to the seat where Charlie had been sitting the previous night. So much had changed in just a few hours.
"Someone's got her head in the clouds," giggled Vivian when Sashi missed a turn and collided with Jenny.
"Thinking about Mystery Man, I'll bet," Veronica agreed.
Sashi stuck his tongue out at them and did a precise back-bend on the pole. "Hard to stop thinking about perfection."
"WHAT!?" The practice fell apart immediately as the others rushed to surround him as he hung there, upside-down from the pole. "What happened?!"
Marissa, one of the other pole dancers practically shook Sashi by the shoulders, a complicated move considering her feet were on the ground and Sashi's were wound around the pole. "Stories, girl, we need stories! This that dangerous dude in the leather who couldn't stop staring at you?"
"His name is Charlie," Sashi sighed, playing the overdramatic line because it made them squeal. He smiled and flipped carefully down from the pole. "I ran into him on the way home. He helped me find Dahini—she'd gotten out—and then helped me clean up my apartment because Rochelle trashed it." Indignant huffs all around were followed by Vivian's arms around his shoulders.
"Oh, my GOD," cried Marissa. "You're telling me he tried to save you from Mega-Bitch Rochelle, helped you find your missing cat, cleaned your damn apartment, AND stayed the night?"
"Made breakfast, too," he added with a smirk.
Jenny made a dramatic whine and pretended a faint. "Wow. He a real looker, too."
"Our dear darling China finally took a MAN home," crowed Vivian.
"Shut up," Sashi snorted and pushed her face to the side with the palm of his hand. "I'm bisexual, not a lesbian. He's not the first."
"Just the first we've seen evidence of," giggled Veronica.
"Omigod, tell me you're gonna see him again," Vivian gasped. "PLEASE tell me we'll get to see him again."
Sashi smiled sheepishly. "He's just in town for a job. But he gave me his number."
"AND!?" Several voices chorused.
"And I gave him mine."
Marissa screamed and threw her arms around Sashi. "Finally, girl. It is about damn time you started getting out more."
Sashi let them fuss over him, but frowned quietly to himself. It was hard to let them misgender him like this. All the time, constantly. But there was always a risk that if the management found out that he was trans, he could lose his job. So he had to hide it. The struggle to correct the differences between lesbian and bisexual were hard enough.
"Maybe he come back tonight!" Jenny purred and kissed Sashi's cheek. "We never seen you REALLY flirt from stage. I hope he come back."
"Me, too," Sashi whispered with a smile.
After the evening of duets, which was the usual for the Lords and Ladies' Saturday night performance, Sashi felt about ready to drop. He and Marissa had just finished their pole duel which was always popular but involved a lot more arm work than he was used to. He scraped off his make-up and traded the evening's performance wig for a short, bobbed street wig. "I'm headed out, girls," he called.
"If dream boat comes back, bring him by the bar!" Marissa called.
"If you promise to be nice, I'll think about it," Sashi replied and stuck out his tongue.
Two steps out of the dressing room, Sashi felt the sense of someone watching him and spun warily, his good mood melting instantly. "Hey, hey, it's just me," Charlie whispered, raising his hands defensively.
"Oh." Sashi straightened up, blushing. "Sorry. It's... usually not a good thing when someone's hanging around the dressing room doors."
"I hadn't thought of that," Charlie admitted. He offered his hands to Sashi, who took them and let the taller man pull him into a hug. "I caught the edge of your set. You looked awesome."
"Thanks," Sashi whispered into his chest. He didn't look up, struggling with something deep inside.
"You okay?" Charlie asked.
"I... I'm not sure." Charlie waited in silence, gently rubbing Sashi's lower back under the baseball jacket. "I'm not used to someone who knows me both on stage and back home. Rochelle's the last one and you saw how that ended. And it's really dangerous to me. If Charity finds out I'm trans, I could lose my job. And I don't really want you looking at me when I'm China. That's not me."
Charlie pressed his lips to the top of Sashi's head. "I hear you. I'm listening. You're saying that all this sneaking around is going to get us in trouble."
"Get me in trouble. It's not like they can do anything to you."
"US." Charlie nosed at Sashi's face until he looked up. "We're in this together. And I feel like the risks are worth it if I get to keep you."
Sashi felt the blood rush to his face and he ducked his chin, overwhelmed. "Damn, Charlie."
"But they're your risks, like you said," Charlie continued softly. "If you want me to stay away, I'll stay away. Just tell me what you need me to do."
"Kiss me?" Sashi breathed, looking up into Charlie's freckled face with wide eyes.
Charlie smiled and did.
Charlie drove Sashi back to his apartment and waited patiently in the car. After a few minutes, Sashi returned. His face was scrubbed completely of makeup, which made his eyes seem much smaller than they had at the club and gave him a stronger jawline. He had shed the bobbed street wig and the feminine styling of his clothing in favor of his own boy-cut hair, a pair of worn jeans, and a black tank-styled shirt under an open chamois shirt in an awesome shade of dark blue. As Sashi slid into the passenger seat of the Mustang, Charlie looked him over with a slowly growing smile, recognizing the lines of the binder under the seams of the black tank. "You look awesome."
"Thank you," Sashi smiled back. Dressed in more comfortable clothing, presenting his own face and unstyled hair seemed to automatically drop his voice half a register and Charlie savored the effect. No one looking at Sashi would question his gender. There was no trace of the sultry dancer in his face. While his movements were still fluid and powerful, they had a different tone of athleticism, more that of a wrestler than a dancer. He cocked an eyebrow at Charlie and grinned. "You're staring."
"Sorry." Charlie turned back to face the steering wheel and started the car. "You're distracting."
"Are we going somewhere or going to just sit in the car and grin at each other?"
Charlie shrugged. "I'm game. Do you have any suggestions?"
"Well, there's a gay-friendly club on the East end of town," Sashi offered and propped one foot on the dash of the car. Charlie glanced and grinned to see sturdy, practical work boots. "If you're one for dancing, anyway. The other bars around town have different atmospheres, more drinking and less dancing, but they're more hit-and-miss when it comes to LGBT rights."
"Is it more common to see two dudes out for a drink without assuming their a couple?" Charlie started the Mustang and pulled out onto the road.
"Not if they can't keep their hands off each other," Sashi said.
"Paint me in rainbows. Gay club it is."
The gay club seemed to pop into existence when studied correctly: it's façade looked like the front of a pawn shop or an antique store, a big plate-glass window full of knick-knacks, guitars, and cases of displayed jewelry and pocket watches. When approached, Charlie and Sashi could see that the back of the display was mirrored and lights were flashing and music was thumping on the far side. They slipped inside the door and into the muggy, pounding atmosphere of the club. A patronage of mostly men danced wildly to the music and they edged around the side of the dance floor to the bar.
"Two beers," Charlie called to the bartender, who nodded and started pouring. She was one of the few women in the club, a dark-eyed girl with what looked like a permanent frown on her face. Her eyes flicked over the two of them and one eyebrow arched slightly as she studied Sashi, then a small smile curled one side of her lips.
Sashi smiled back, "Been a good evening, Isa?"
"Good enough." A slight accent lilted in her voice. "Rochelle has been asking."
Charlie glanced at Sashi's profile and watched the man's jaw tighten. "In the last few hours? Or just in general?"
"She was in about half an hour ago. Fishing. She left when Buzzy asked her to, but..."
"She's been and gone at my place," Sashi said. "She kicked my cat and destroyed my couch."
"Don't forget the mugs," Charlie added.
"And all my mugs," Sashi agreed with a sigh.
"Ese pendeja," breathed Isa and Charlie was surprised to see real fire in the girl's eyes. "When will she learn that no is no is no?"
Sashi shrugged and sipped at his beer. "It's okay. I've had help cleaning up, at least." He smiled at Charlie and tipped his chin. "Charlie, this is Isabella Fuentes. Isa, this is Charlie Lockard. He's my knight in shining armor."
"Charmed," Isa said. "Anyone who looks out for Sashi is a friend of mine."
Charlie smiled, "Likewise."
"Enjoy your evening, boys," she said as she slipped away to the waving hands of a few other patrons.
"Nice girl," Charlie commented.
"She's a wonder," Sashi agreed. "Best mixed drinks, knows tricks to get stains out of everything, and can bench press your mother."
Charlie swallowed his beer harder than he had intended, but smiled it off without making eye contact. "So how did you meet Rochelle anyway? Seems like she wouldn't exactly have been your type."
Sashi glanced up and then away, studying the dance floor. "Sort of the same way I met you, actually. She was in the club, watching us dance. She followed me out, followed me home. I decided to keep her for a while."
"Like a stray."
"Exactly."
Charlie smiled and swished his beer in the mug. "But the stray bites."
"Exactly," Sashi sighed.
"I'm sorry," Charlie said quietly and leaned closer to Sashi, elbow-to-elbow. Sashi smiled and leaned his head onto Charlie's shoulder, closing his eyes. "I wish there was something I could do."
"You're doing it," Sashi whispered. Charlie curled one arm around him and kissed the top of his head.
"Well, well, well." Sashi froze and Charlie tensed up at the voice. Both of them slowly looked over their shoulders to see Rochelle standing there, her hands on her hips and her silver hair tied into a complicated braid. "I knew if I waited here long enough, you faggots would show up."
There was a crystalline moment, fragile and clear, as every single man within earshot stopped what they were doing to stare at her. Rochelle seemed to realize she had finally crossed a line and shrank inside herself a little, eyes wide. "This bitch bothering you?" A tall man in tight jeans and a leather jacket over his bare chest loomed over the gathering, his black eyes flickering.
"Since when?" Charlie snapped and the guy huffed out a laugh.
The woman took a few more steps away and fisted her hands beside her hips, face anguished. "I just want my best friend back!"
Sashi stood up, put a hand on Charlie's arm, then touched the other man lightly. He walked closer to Rochelle and stared her in the face. "You have not been my friend for a long, long time, Rochelle. You have been manipulative, horrible, and down-right abusive to me. You destroyed my apartment. You hurt my cat. You invaded my home, threatened my livelihood and the art that I love." He pushed his face close to hers. "I want you to leave me alone. Never come near me again."
Charlie stood just behind Sashi and watched Rochelle's face closely as she stared back. She looked from Charlie to Sashi to the visibly hostile crowd around her. Finally, she looked back into Sashi's face, tears starting in her eyes. When his face didn't betray any sympathy or affection, she finally looked away and whispered, "Fine. If that's what you really want."
"It is."
She turned and slunk away.
When the door swung close after her, a whoop went up in the room and several men rushed to hug Sashi and Charlie. Charlie blinked and flailed, suddenly drowning in happy, sweaty men and Sashi laughed helplessly as the man in leather and denim who had stood up for them lifted him completely off the ground. "A round for the house!" The man shouted and Isa gave them all a look that dreaded the coming last call.
As the cheering calmed down, Charlie and Sashi crept away from the press of bodies to laugh together in a clear space of floor. Sashi caught Charlie's hands and they leaned together, foreheads pressed against each other. "That felt really good," Sashi laughed breathlessly.
"I'll bet," Charlie grinned. He wrapped his arms around Sashi and held him. "You are awesome."
"Thanks," Sashi murmured into his shirt, snuggled close.
They stayed that way for a few minutes, until Charlie's phone vibrated sharply and he blinked down at the inside pocket which was lighting up. He sighed and leaned his cheek against Sashi's hair while he checked the phone. "Fuck me. I need to go."
Sashi kissed his chest. "It's okay. Just don't vanish for good, okay? I kind of... like having a knight in shining armor."
Charlie smiled. "Or flannel and a '67 Mustang."
"Even better."
Charlie leaned down to press his lips against Sashi's and the dancer wound his arms around Charlie's neck, kissing him back. "Call me," Charlie whispered. "Any time. If you need me or miss me or just want to talk. Just call. Okay?"
"I will." Sashi smiled and they stepped apart, watching each other warmly until Charlie finally had to turn and walk out of the club.
"You okay?" Isa was standing at Sashi's elbow.
"Yeah." Sashi breathed out and closed his eyes for a second, then looked back at his friend. "For the first time in a long time, I think I really am."
