Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 73940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Ryan had been training for hours and hours lately. He’d come back to the dorm exhausted as fuck, but not exhausted enough to not fuck. It was actually really hot. Sometimes he was still sweaty and clearly ready to rearrange my guts, which I gladly let him do.
He hadn’t invited me to see him practice, nor did he invite me to the big race. I knew it was because of him respecting my past but it did make me feel a little sad that I wasn’t going to be seeing him compete.
Maybe…
“You guys are still working on the protest, right?” Ryan asked. I had already texted him, which was why he came straight here after the gym instead of back to our dorm. He’d been extra supportive about it. He never tried to hold me back or stop this from happening, which made me even more certain he was a great guy. In this case, the apple fell far, far, farrr from the tree.
“We are,” I said, pointing at Colt. “I just finished handing out flyers with this one. Did you know he likes to dare people out of nowhere?”
“Oh yeah, been his thing since we were little. What’d he dare you to do?” Ryan asked.
“We were handing out flyers for the protest and were losing a little steam, so he dared me to make the next one dramatic and memorable.”
Colton started to laugh. “It was a good idea!”
“Actually it kinda was,” I said. “I went up to a group who were talking about roommate problems. So I channelled my early days with you and went off. Improving the entire thing. I think I even called you a stoner.”
Ryan dropped his head forward, smiling. “A stoner?”
I shrugged. “It was off the cuff. They for sure didn’t see me and Colt cracking up as they walked away, either. Anyways, I’m sure they’ll show up now just to see how my ‘roommate’ troubles turned out.”
“They’re going to be surprised.” Ryan answered with a sexy smirk. I leaned in for a prolonged kiss, my smile pressed against his.
“You guys are so gross,” Maddy said. “I fucking love it so much.”
We settled back in and gave Ryan a rundown on what we’d been talking about, coming up to the current roadblock: what could we do on the beach that would draw in the views?
Ryan sat back, the sun slashing a golden beam of light across his handsome face. Without missing a beat, he said, “What about a drag show? I thought about it after we saw the one at Passions, forgot to mention it.”
And just like that, our problems were solved. It was as if the few clouds floating above us all jerked to the side, dropping a beam of sunlight on our circular table.
Maddy put a hand to her chest. “Oh. My. Madonna. How did I not think of that? Drag queens are always getting views online. And they are the definition of activism.”
Ryan continued, smiling like he was proud as hell. “I think we can pull off a really solid drag show on the beach. We can have it all themed around protecting the environment and film it so the queens and kings are performing with their backs to the oil drill site. Or we can put up a backdrop showing the ocean drenched in oil behind them. Something powerful.”
“Oh shit, I have an aunt that has an events company with portable stages. Maybe she can set something up.”
Maddy cocked her head in surprise. “How many hookups do you have in the entertainment business? Next, you’re going to tell me you have a grandfather who owns a studio in Hollywood.”
Colton’s smirk turned sly. “Actually…”
“Oh, shut up,” Maddy said, giggling. “I also know a bunch of local drag queens. We can have them perform individual numbers, so there doesn’t need to be any big rehearsals or anything. Oh! And I’ve been chatting with Blaise. He’s super cool. His schedule’s pretty packed but he said he’d move things around for a good cause.”
“Can he do that in three weeks?” Colton asked.
“Yeah, as long as we keep it to four or five queens. Maybe they can do two numbers each?”
“I think that’ll work really well.” I squeezed Ryan’s hand and leaned over to kiss him. “A drag show. Genius. So fucking smart.”
"Ryan’s always had great ideas," Colton said, clearly proud of his best friend. Another check in the “Ryan’s a great guy” column.
Ryan turned to me, grabbing both my hands in his. His gaze radiated something that I could only describe as “home.” “And I don’t want you feeling any pressure to have to attend or any guilt for not attending, either. We can set up another one that’s a little more inland after we draw all eyes to us with the ocean show. How’s that sound?”