Page 40 of Hale Yes (Highway to Hale #1)
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Purple suspenders and fishnet hose
Nicolette
On Friday night, I look over my menu at Helix. “I just realized you’re not wearing your glasses.”
“You’re not the only one that has contact lenses,” he remarks, not looking up from his perusal of the pizza selection on the page.
It gives me time to look him over. He did indeed wear suspenders tonight, these a vibrant purple color, and I wonder how many sets he has.
His shirt is white and must be custom tailored because it fits his form perfectly, showing off that broad chest and shoulders.
Black trousers and loafers complete the look.
I, on the other hand, chose the black blazer dress that Gianna and Auburn gave me for my birthday, along with black fishnet hose. My waist was cinched with a wide black belt, and the red leather heels with matching earrings completed the outfit. Like Helix, I also went with contacts tonight.
“What are you getting?”
He flashes his blue eyes up at me for a second. “Not sure. So many good choices.”
Daddio’s Pizzeria is like taking a step back in time, the decor reminiscent of a 1950s diner, complete with red vinyl booths and a black-and-white checkerboard floor. But the menu is modern and fun with chef-inspired toppings.
“I’m trying to decide between the Italian Orchard and the Atlas.”
He reads the descriptions aloud. “Hmm, prosciutto and thin sliced apple or chicken, gorgonzola, and fresh basil. Both sound good.” He lowers his menu. “What if we get one of each and share?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
After the waitress in an old-fashioned diner uniform takes our order and departs, Helix leans his forearms on the formica tabletop. “What’s the worst thing you could put on a pizza?”
I purse my lips and think about it before answering with, “Uranium.”
That cracks him up. “Good lord, woman, I never know what the hell you’re going to say.”
Patting my hair, I sigh dramatically. “It’s part of my enviable charm.”
Both pizzas turn out to be delicious. The Atlas has a slightly sweet glaze that I love drizzled on top, but I think the apples paired with salty prosciutto takes the top prize for me.
The conversation flows easily. We flirt a little but keep it relatively harmless, and I can feel something changing inside me with every minute I spend with Helix.
As much as I try to tell myself it’s only physical attraction, I’m afraid I might be falling for him.
“Holy crap, this is gorgeous,” I say, my eyes darting around the space. It’s a refurbished old theater that’s breathtakingly opulent.
The theater chairs have been removed and replaced with tables arranged on four descending levels. Helix and I are led to the lower level where our table is situated front and center, directly in front of the stage. Background music fills the air with an upbeat tune.
“Looks like we got the best seats in the house,” Helix remarks as we sit on magenta padded chairs behind an hourglass-shaped illuminated table.
All the tables are lit from the inside, the frosted plastic muting the rainbow of colors scattered throughout the seating area.
Ours is a pretty blue color that reflects Helix’s eyes.
I buff my nails on my shoulder. “I don’t like to brag, but I know people.”
“I’ll remember that if I ever need a favor.”
My very naughty mind thinks I’d like to do him a favor or three.
I avert my eyes before he can read the desire there and gasp when I catch sight of the ceiling.
Helix automatically wraps a protective arm around my shoulders and braces a palm on the table like he’s about to jump up and kick someone’s ass.
“What’s wrong?” he barks.
I giggle and pat his thigh. Beakers on a hot plate, that’s one firm quadricep. “Nothing’s wrong. Just noticed the ceiling.”
He visibly relaxes but doesn’t remove his arm. I’m not complaining. His eyes go to the ceiling. “Dang, that looks like something Michelangelo would have painted. And the chandeliers are like something out of The Phantom of the Opera .”
The lighting here is amazing. There are three enormous fixtures with lights that mimic actual long taper candles, complete with intermittent flickering, as well as subtle recessed lights around the perimeter.
I’m assuming the latter is a more recent addition, probably the result of the renovation efforts.
After the server brings our drinks, a Slutty Shirley Temple for each of us, Helix picks up the folded card on the table and reads it before summarizing.
“It looks like the Sky Theater opened in 1890, and when the original owner died in 1911, it was purchased by a church to house their large congregation. They had it for about ten years, and after that, there were rumors that it was a speakeasy during prohibition.”
I glance around the room, imagining women in flapper dresses and cloche hats dancing with men in dapper suits and fedoras.
“I can totally see that.” A wide grin pushes my cheeks upward.
“Why do I love the thought of a secret speakeasy where a church used to be? There’s something so deliciously sneaky about that. ”
“Because you’re a troublemaker, queenie.”
“Not denying it,” I say smartly. “I totally would have been a bootlegger in the twenties.”
“I could see that.” Helix glances back down at the card.
“The Sky Theater fell into disrepair due to lack of funds and was abandoned. Then a former actor purchased it in the sixties and sank six million of his own money into it to bring it back to life. When he died, he left it to his partner who turned it into a drag club and renamed it The Rainbow Sky Theater. It underwent additional renovations this year, including a restoration of the fresco on the ceiling, which was done by the great-great-great grandson of the original artist.”
“Oh, I love that. Brought it back full-circle.”
As we chat, the perimeter lighting slowly dims, and we turn our attention back to the stage. Helix bends to whisper in my ear, and the feel of his breath against my neck, makes me shiver involuntarily,
“Who are Lukas and Stefan in this show?”
I turn slightly so he can hear me, and his nose brushes my cheek. I feel air sliding over my flesh as he sucks in a deep inhale.
“They wouldn’t tell me. They said I had to come to find out.”
His question is partly answered when one of the queens emerges from stage left. She’s got huge jet-black hair and is dressed in a full-body, shiny leather jumpsuit that resembles a Catwoman outfit.
It takes me a second, but I recognize the face behind all the makeup and lashes. “Oh my god, Helix, that’s Lukas.”
He rears his head back, his eyes popping open wide. “Wow, okay, you’re right.” Tilting his head to the side, he remarks, “He—or wait, is it she?”
“Lukas usually uses he, but I believe the custom is that when they’re in drag, they embody that character, so you use the pronoun of their character. Unless the performer has a different preference.”
“Gotcha. Okay then, she looks very… svelte.”
I can’t help my snicker. Lukas is a doll but a little on the pudgy side, but not in this getup. “I wonder what kind of Spanx she’s wearing.”
The crowd is cheering, but only Helix’s voice stands out in my ear. “Did you say you want to be spanked, Nicolette?”
Oh Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
I pinch the inside of his thigh and hiss, “Stop it, you reprobate. Spanx is a brand of undergarments made to smooth out problem spots on a person’s body.
” I glance back up at Lukas, who’s strutting slowly toward the microphone at center stage, much to the delight of the crowd.
Lukas is an outstanding strutter in five-inch patent leather heels.
“That didn’t answer my question,” Helix says. I turn to face him, and the heat in his gaze could set this entire building ablaze. “Do you want to be spanked?”
“Yes.” It’s merely a whisper but he must have read my lips because he smirks and nods.
“Noted.”
Then he turns his attention back to the stage where Cat Lukas has finally reached the center. I shakily exhale a breath and watch as my friend cracks a whip until the crowd quiets.
“Greetings, fair patrons of Rainbow Sky. I’m your mistress of ceremonies, Madame Simone.” We all cheer, and she preens at the attention. Her eyes meet mine for a brief second, and she winks. “I’m so happy to see all my precious kittens here tonight.”
After an introductory speech thanking everyone for attending and acknowledging the benefactors who made the transformation of the theater possible, the show begins.
We watch act after act, most of them musical, but there was one Joan Rivers standup routine that was so funny it had us almost peeing our pants.
She even picked on Helix a bit for his suspenders, but he just grinned and took her barbs like a champ, blowing her a sarcastic kiss.
The choreography is fabulous, the staging is glamorous, and we even get to see a drag king in the form of Elvis Presley.
I know the end is drawing near, and I lean closer to Helix.
His arm has stayed around me the entire show, his thumb rubbing against the oxytocin tattoo on my shoulder.
In turn, I left my hand on his leg when I wasn’t clapping.
“Have you seen Stefan?” I whisper. I’d searched the faces of the main acts and the backup dancers, but I hadn’t found my other neighbor yet.
“No, maybe he wasn’t feeling well.” He glances at the Madonna performer on stage, bouncing around with her cone-shaped boobs. “Or he could have had a wardrobe malfunction or something. I’m sure all this takes a lot of… adhesive.”
I sit back and relax as Madonna wraps up her act and shakes her cones at the audience on the way offstage. Then Madame Simone is back on the microphone.
“We’re so glad you joined us for the grand reopening tonight.
And now I’d like to introduce you to our final act.
” The atmosphere in the place is already electric, but it seems like it amplifies tenfold with the loud cheering and clapping that ensues.
Simone cracks her whip. “Settle down, kittens. I know you’re excited, and since you’ve been such good little kitties tonight, I won’t make you wait a second longer. ”
She pauses dramatically for at least ten seconds, knowing she has the crowd in the palm of her hand. Finally, in a cooing voice, Simone announces, “The Rainbow Sky Theater is ecstatic to introduce the always fabulous… Dolly Parton.”
Dolly strides onto the stage in a hot-pink rhinestone pantsuit with an acoustic Martin guitar on a strap around her neck. It takes me a second because I’m dazzled by all the bling, but when I realize that’s Stefan up there, I let out a squeak of surprise.
Helix stiffens beside me, and I know he’s come to the same realization. We both cheer loudly right along with the rest of the audience.
“Hey, y’all!” Dolly says, and my jaw almost hits the table. Stefan has nailed the country singer’s voice and demeanor to perfection. “I’m so happy to be with you tonight.”
“I love you, Dolly!” someone yells from the back, and laughter floats up from around the room.
She points and says, “I love you too, honey, but did I say you could remove your ball gag?”
The place erupts, and she grins before breaking into a fantastic rendition of “Jolene,” strumming her guitar with precision, despite her long pink nails.
There are no backup dancers or fancy lighting, just a single spotlight on a tall stool in the center of the stage, but it’s the most compelling performance of the night.
The applause is deafening when she’s done.
“Thank you. I have one more song for you before I let you all get out of here to get into whatever naughty plans you have for tonight. But first, I’d like to say a special thank you to Hale Cosmetics for sending over swag bags full of fabulous cosmetics for every single performer you’ve seen tonight.
We love you and appreciate your support for our community. ”
My gaze cuts sharply to Helix, whose cheeks turn slightly pink in the dim light as the crowd claps. He finally gives me his eyes and explains, “I sent over a box earlier this morning. Thought it would be nice.”
Without realizing it, I lean into him and press a soft kiss to his lips.
His arm tightens around my shoulder, and he hauls me closer until I’m so close I’m practically in his lap.
I lean my cheek on his chest and turn my attention back to the stage.
It’s nice being held like this, and I can feel the release and flow of oxytocin into my system.
My affection and attraction for this man grows by leaps and bounds, and I realize, there’s nothing sexier to me than kindness.
Dolly’s next song surprises me. It’s slower than the first one but no less spellbinding. The iconic song “I Will Always Love You” floats through the room in her sweet, passionate voice, and I don’t think anyone in the room moves a muscle until the last note is done.
There’s silence for five long beats, as if the lyrics have mesmerized every soul into a stupor, and then the room explodes. Everyone is on their feet, cheering and whooping as Dolly drops her head and absorbs the well-deserved love she’s getting from the audience.
Someone tosses a bouquet of pink roses onto the stage, and she stands to pick them up, taking a long sniff before blowing kisses at the crowd on her way offstage.
When we make our way out of the theater, Helix keeps me tucked against his side, his big hand firm on my waist. I’m quietly attempting to rein in my emotions. I know he’s about to take me home, but the problem is…
I don’t want him to leave.