Pretenders (Firsts and Forever 3)

Wes grinned and said, “I’ll admit that would be pretty satisfying. The sky’s clear though, so no such luck.”

I finished my drink and set aside the glass, then took his hand. “I just spotted Millie. Let’s go tell her she looks pretty in her sparkly pink dress.”

The little girl was delighted to see us. She did a twirl when we complimented her outfit, then showed us her tiny handbag and matching sequined headband. After that, her eyes grew wide and she asked, “Will you dance with me, Ash? I asked Daddy but he said he had to go say hi to some grownups.”

“I’d be honored,” I said. “Lead the way to the dance floor, and like a true queen, do it purse first.”

She had no idea what I was talking about, so I grabbed her hand with her little pink bag, stuck it out in front of us, and then strutted to the dance floor with my chin up, in the style of some of my favorite drag queens. That earned me plenty of stares, but Millie giggled happily, and that was all I cared about.

The musical group had a retro big band style and were actually pretty famous, usually among an older crowd. I went up to the lead singer between songs and complimented her on the band’s big hit from about ten years ago. Then I asked her to play something up-tempo for us. Everything they’d played to that point had been totally sedate, and she and the band seemed excited to change things up a bit.

As the opening to the Andrews Sisters’ “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” began to play, I flashed the band a smile and a thumbs-up, then turned to Millie and asked, “You ready to do this, girl?”

She nodded excitedly, which made her shiny, brown curls bounce, and I grabbed her hands and began to move to the music while she wiggled her entire body. I’d actually gone through a swing dancing phase in my mid-twenties when a gay swing club opened up in the city, so I was pretty good at it. Having a tiny partner who weighed next to nothing helped, and Millie shrieked with delight as I swung her around, spun with her, and twirled us around the empty dance floor.

We ended up drawing a few onlookers, and they applauded when we finished. Millie and I took a bow, and then I gestured at the band and clapped for them, too.

Wes came up to us and asked, “Millie, may I borrow Ash for this next dance?” She smiled ear-to-ear and nodded, so he picked her up and carried her to the stage, then said something to the lead singer. The woman beamed at him, then helped lift Millie onto the stage and handed her a tambourine, so the little girl wouldn’t feel left out.

Wes returned to my side with a sly grin and said, “Follow my lead.”

The band began to play Cab Calloway’s “Jumpin’ Jive” as Wes grabbed my hand. Then he shocked the hell out of me by absolutely slaying it on the dance floor. Fortunately, I was able to keep up with him every step of the way. He spun and swung me, just like I’d done with Millie, and I beamed at him as I watched him shine.

When the song ended and he realized we’d gathered a crowd, Wes’s cheeks turned pink. We took a quick bow, then hurried to the stage. We both thanked the band, and he picked up Millie and carried her on his hip as we left the dance floor.

“That was fun,” the little girl told us. “I felt like I was flying.”

I grinned at her and said, “Me, too.” Then I asked Wes, “Where’d you learn to do that?”

“My mother insisted I take dance classes when I was a teen. She hoped it’d bring me out of my shell. It was primarily ballroom dancing, plus swing, jazz, and tap. Much to my surprise, I really liked it. What about you, where’d you pick it up?”

“Every few years, swing dance clubs make a resurgence in San Francisco. I really got into it last time they became popular. Basically, any time there’s a trend that involves music, I’m in.”

Millie said she was thirsty, so we got her some juice, then sat down with her on a bench at the outskirts of the party. While she sipped her drink, I gestured at a familiar face in the crowd and asked, “Isn’t that—”

“Yup.”

“And is that—”

“It is.”

“Do you feel your parents have brought in enough celebrities to win the social event of the season contest?”

“They’ve certainly given it a good shot,” Wes said, as he stretched his long legs out in front of him and crossed them at the ankle. “It’ll also be a major coup when they announce the famous chef they got to prepare tonight’s meal.”