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“Mmm... maybe Josh. Or possibly still Dahlia. Depends on how I’m feeling.” She gave a shrug, sighing then nodding. “Yeah, but... I’m actually just really weird and shy and boring and closed off when I haven’t been drinking. So, it helps.”

“Oh yeah? And tomorrow?” He didn’t know much about drag queens. He wasn’t much into the whole ‘gay’ scene. “I feel like a lot of people think that way. Maybe you’re just shy. Or guarded.”

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Evelyn smiled nicely at her friend, laughing as the other woman as she insisted that they both be princesses. She nodded, “Sure. Or I could be Bond? I can rock a suit, you know.” She suggested, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. “And I’ll 007 the hell out of any frogs that come into our lives.”

Evie tossed her head back, getting her hair out of her face. “You’re the best date that I could ever ask for, Rowan... such an angel.” She leaned in and kissed her friend’s cheek. “But you have to be absolutely scandalous. My only condition.”

“I was actually thinking we should do a James Bond-y theme.” She said, though her voice sounded a little deflated. The princess and the frog sounded good too but Bond girl Evie would have the eyes of everyone in the ball glued to her. “We can still do the princess and the frog but we’re both the princesses. No frogs in our life.” 

Rowan, feeling a little odd that Evie would refer to herself as the frog, reached forward and took her hands to give them a gentle squeeze. “Because you’re not a frog. And I’m not a frog. Let’s both be the princesses that we are, ‘kay? That’s my only condition.”

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He smiled at her a little sheepishly. He understood that she was upset about something and that someone had to be on the receiving end of it. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. Got something going on in your life?” He asked, arching an eyebrow as he hugged her back, rubbing her back. “Love you, too.” She seemed distracted and he was worried.

Okay. Maybe that hadn’t been the best approach. It didn’t take long for the redhead to feel bad about snapping at him for doing what she usually did: making light of a situation. The fact he fixed her laptop almost immediately made her regret it even more. And so she threw one arm around him and pressed a quick, gentle kiss to his cheek. “Thank you,” she said. “And I’m sorry for snapping at you. I’ve just been cranky lately. Love you, dweeb.”

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Fox chuckled again. He kind of liked seeing a side of her that was different than what he was used to, even if he was on the receiving end of her frustration. He pulled her to him, giving her a little bit of a hug but his hands rested on her hips. “Listen, sweetheart, you can vent to me if you wanna... but you can’t find your pen, that’s no need to get mad.” He paused, looking her over. “Wanna talk about it?”

His sudden movement: reaching forward to brush her hair almost earned him a slap but when he pulled out her red pen, the anger was gone. It was almost as if she’d seen the light. But of course, was completely embarrassed over how irrationally angry she’d been. In her defense, though, she’d been spending an awful lot of time with Fox. His mannerisms were passing on to her. “Thank you.” She took the pen back and after careful inspection, only sighed. “I’m just distracted. Work’s being an ass.”

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Me with the babe last night at Roscoe’s Tavern in Chicago, IL.

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The competition isn't fair though. Derrick has been given enough chances. Pearl, it can be argued, did not deserve her place. You asked, so I answered.

I’ll get a lot of eyeroll for this but I don’t get why yall like Laila McQueen.

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Laila wasn't given much of a chance to shine through. As someone who has personally seen her perform live, she is definitely likable and GREAT at her art.

I’ll get a lot of eyeroll for this but I don’t get why yall like Laila McQueen.

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“I’m not so sure about that.” Dina said, sitting back on the bar stool. She crossed one long leg over the other and stared at Zeke for a long time, sipping her drink. “Besides, I hear I’m not the only queen you have eyes for. What’s this shit about that mini-Sharon Needles I’ve heard?”

“It’s only amusing for you. I keep getting shot down, and I don’t know why.” Zeke leaned against the bar as he noticed no one was ordering drinks at the moment. He bit his lip when Dina got real close to him his face pressing her nose to his. He actually thought about kissing her but didn’t wanna get slapped or something in front of his co-workers. “I don’t know how I would  treat you different. I would treat you with respect.”

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Dahlia was quiet immediately as Zeke put his fingers to her lips. Quickly, she broke out into a giant grin and jumped up, hugging him. “You’re the best! Ten? That’s the best slot!” She exclaimed and bounced a few more times, standing on tippy-toes to kiss his mouth. “I fucking love you, Zeke Hardy!”

“I wasn’t finished.” Zeke smiled and put his finger over Dahlia’s lips hoping it wouldn’t mess up her perfect lipstick. “I talked him into paying it because that is not right So, this Saturday at 10 p.m I am going to be watching your sexy body sliding all over that stage.”

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“So, what you’re saying is... your boss wants me to bring in people with my appeal but not get paid for it? Your boss wants me to perform for free while people come to watch me perform and buy drinks from his bar so he makes money but I won’t?”

“My boss said that you can perform here on Saturday night but he doesn’t wanna pay a booking fee.”

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“I like this little thing we have going on right now, Zeke-a-moes.” She said with a grin, her nose crinkling up a little as she leaned over the bar, pulling the bottle of beer close to her as she got close to him. Finally, Dina’s nose bumped up against his and she winked and pulled back to take a swig from her bottle. “Besides, if I give in, you’ll treat me different. I don’t want that.”

“Nothing. I just said that because I’m missing out on having the most beautiful human being I have ever laid eyes on. But seriously…when are you going to give me a chance?” Zeke smiled and shook his head as he watched her pull her card out. “You do…just today it’s going to look like you aren’t. My boss leaves soon.”

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“Dahlia, today.” She answered with a sweet smile as she looked at him, brushing her hair out of her face. She nodded, listening. “Fair enough.” She continued with a shrug. “I drink for courage. I’m not very outgoing or interesting unless I have been drinking.”

“Danny. Yours?” He shrugged. “Depends on the dish. Most of the time you don’t even taste it.” Danny leaned back and crossed his arms. “I know. I prefer to be boring, I guess. I don’t need to drink to not be boring. I can be just as boring drunk.”

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Laila McQueen in Indianapolis, April 8, 2016.

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“What’s your name?” Dahlia asked, watching him. He seemed... really innocent. “How much alcohol could your food really have?” She asked, tilting her head with the question. “You don’t have to be boring, you know.”

“I’m a pretty boring person. But I cook. And everyone loves food. Food’s my alcohol. Sometimes literally.”

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Evie was sucked right back into her bliss. Oh, she was an evil one and she knew Rowan would be up for her shenanigans. The redheaded teacher was a bird of a feather with Evelyn. She grinned, crinkling her nose as she leaned into Rowan. “Yeah, of course. A theme. The princess and the frog.” She snorted, leaning back and palming her own chest. “I’ll be the frog, of course.”

After a brief pause, Evelyn sat on the edge of the desk and looked at Rowan for a moment. “I’m not good at this. I think we should go with your ideas. Have any?”

A date? That didn’t sound that bad. In fact it sounded kind of cute. Cute as in she would get to witness Evie make a fool out of herself in the cutest of ways. Now that she was more than looking forward to seeing. Ah. It would be the epitome of pureness. “Yeah,” she then said. The teacher swayed a little in her desk and motioned the other to come closer. “I’ll go with you. You know I’m a sucker for princess-y type balls even if they are so incredibly inaccurate.” 

Once the other was near, she leaned back against her chair and crossed her legs. “We’re going to have to buy dresses. Something cute. You want to have a theme going on?”

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Fox smiled as he watched her, her frustration only causing the grin to widen on his face. He knew she was about to sock him in the face so he walked over to her. “Calm down, Red.” He said quietly then pulled the pen from her hair. “This what you’re looking for?”

“Sometimes.” A quiet of frustration escaped her lips as she glanced down at her desk, where she’d been looking for her damn red pen. It seemed to have disappeared out of thin air. “I can’t believe I lost my fucking pen,” she murmured. “My freaking red pen. Ugh. This whole room is the freaking Bermuda triangle.”