Eric and I rode the three blocks to the club in uncomfortable silence. I was so grateful to see Sasha and Becca as we pulled up, I practically jumped out of the taxi before it came to a full stop.

I hugged Sasha and quickly whispered in her ear that we ran into Ryan. Her eyes widened as she pulled back to look at me before returning to whisper something in my ear. "Don't mention this to Becca. She'll have a cow."

Sasha's choice of words made me burst out laughing, which instantly made me feel relaxed again and ready to party. Eric greeted Becca and Sasha, then reconnected with me. He wrapped an arm around my waist as we made our way to the end of the line that was waiting to get into the club.

He kissed the side of my temple and softly said, "Sorry about that back there."

"What's there to be sorry about?" I tried to sound calm and collected.

"See, this is how I know you'll be an amazing wife. You're so great at just rolling with the moments and not letting the little things get to you." He kissed my temple again. "Power couple all the way, Baby."

I grinned, though it was more for show than actually feeling happy about that comment. "Definitely."

We were finally allowed in. Our ears were greeted with blaring techno club music with a beat that I couldn't help but sway my body to, as we made our way to the coatroom. We handed our outerwear and all complimented each other on how fashionable we all looked. 

Sasha and I had similar tastes, in that her dress was almost like mine. Except her dress had all-black sequins, and the neck didn't plunge as low as mine. Instead, hers had no back. Which Becca was having difficulty keeping her hands off of.

The beat of the music dropped, which made us dance this way and that, as we made our way through the crowd of half-naked men and women. Several men tried dancing with Eric and hitting on him as soon as they saw him. He'd dance a little, but then he'd point at me, which they knew meant he was with me. They'd pout, but then smile and move on to continue dancing with whoever was nearby.

I always forgot how much my thoughts, cares, and concerns just melted away as I let the vibes, drops, and bass engulf me. I didn't leave the dance floor, even though the others kept walking through, trying to find an available seating space near the bar area. 

I just kept dancing, while keeping my eye on them until they selected a location to park at. Then I finally relaxed completely and got lost in the music. I closed my eyes while my head swayed from side to side. My arms, as if on their own, raised to reach for the sky and dance with each other.

When I finally opened my eyes again, Sasha was dancing her way up to me. We moved, then dipped, then turned each other around. We were having a great time. I glanced past her and saw Becca and Eric at the table they selected, drinking shots and talking in each other's ears, while also looking in our direction. They were smiling, so I knew they were probably enjoying watching their partners dance. Though it wasn't long before they too, shuffled their way over to us.

Eric naturally took me in his arms, while Becca claimed Sasha. We all danced and had such a great time, that we, along with everyone else, booed when the DJ cut the music off. But the boos were instantly replaced with cheers when the Host Drag Queen of the night appeared on stage.

Her look was over-the-top and wonderful! She looked like a real-life version of Jessica Rabbit, with an extra-long red strapless red dress that showed off a sizeable fake chest, and long-stemmed legs, that seemed more defined than mine. Her red wig was only a shade redder than the dress she wore, and her purple long-sleeved satin gloves matched her heavy purple eye-shadow.

She greeted the crowd by instantly starting to lip-sync Jessica Rabbit's song, "Why Don't You Do Right." She sauntered down the side of the stairs as she continued singing, skimming her fingers across the men's chests and even women she passed. She ended her song by climbing up on the bar stools, with the help of several men, then to the bar top. Everyone roared in whistles and applause.

"Welcome to the brand new Bro-Mance Club!!" The drag queen shouted into her microphone that the bartender had handed her.

Everyone cheered in response.

"We'd love to start off by thanking you for showing all your love and support for us just by being here!" Again more cheers. "Tonight we have a few special Queens appearing throughout the night. And they can't wait to put on an amazing show for you! But for now, let's give it up for DJ Tarzan!" She gestured her gloved hand out across the crowd to the other side of the club.

I didn't notice before, but the DJ really looked like Tarzan. He had long, dreaded hair and was wearing nothing but a leopard printed loincloth. Everyone cheered at him as he waved and greeted us by switching the club music back on, which caused everyone to return to dancing as they were before the drag show started.

I looked back at the bar as Jessica Rabbit stepped down. I tried to tell her I loved her performance as she walked past us, but there were too many people trying to talk to her at the same time that she didn't even notice me. I shrugged, turned back to dance, and had a good time with Eric, Sasha, and even Becca.

*******

After an hour of dancing, drinking, and watching drag shows, my feet were killing me. I excused myself to go to the bathroom to freshen up. Becca and Sasha still wanted to dance, and Eric wanted to grab more drinks for us and disappeared to the bar.

I stood at the end of the line of girls waiting to get into the bathroom. I still bobbed my head lightly to the music that reverberated through the corridor.

"We gotta stop running into each other like this. Your keeper may think we're still sneaking around." An all-too-familiar voice said close to my ear, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention.

My instinctive reaction was to glare at him, losing my carefree vibe almost immediately. "Seriously! What are you doing here?"

He pointed towards the other end of the corridor to the door with the men's logo. "I was just heading to the bathroom."

"I mean here at this club?"

He chuckled lightly. "I should be asking you the same thing. If I had to guess, I'd say you were stalking me."

I huffed and shook my head. "Goodbye, Ryan." 

I moved with the line and thankfully stopped inside the bathroom this time. I was glad to be away from him, though part of me was secretly happy to suddenly see him. However, a greater part of me was freaking out more. If Eric had spotted him and me together, it would be drama all over again. Which is what I vowed to myself to stay away from.

I stayed in the bathroom a little longer after I was done. I just wanted to make sure I didn't walk back out and run into Ryan again. Once I figured the coast was clear, I pushed the door open and stepped back into the corridor. Not only did I still run into Ryan, but he now had company. The girl that he was meeting at the restaurant had him pinned to the wall, and they were making out.

I should have just left and made my way without drawing attention to myself, but after having a few drinks in me, I was clearly not in the right state of mind. "Get a room."

Did I just say that? Out loud?

The girl instantly knew I was talking to her and snapped her head to me. "Excuse me? What did you just say, bitch!?"

I did not think someone that looked as ditzy as she did, would have had such a quick reaction.

Ordinarily, I would have apologized for my rudeness, but again, the alcohol was controlling my mouth. "I said you should get... a... room." I made sure that my words were clear and specific.

Ryan looked over his date's shoulder to me. I couldn't clearly see his expression since it was dark, and the club lights kept strobing different colors across his face. Still, I was pretty sure he was actually impressed with me. Not that I really cared.

Though before I knew it, the girl turned, and with her dainty fingers actually pushed me in my shoulder. "Get the fuck out of here and mind your own goddamned business."

Again, alcohol. "Don't touch me, bitch!" I regained my footing and pushed her back, which caused her to stumble into Ryan. He caught her with his mighty arms, which for a moment I wished were holding me instead of her.

"Vicky! That's enough now!" He demanded, turning serious.

"You know this nosy little slut?"

"Watch what you say about her, Mandy!" He warned getting defensive towards his date now, which seemed to surprise both her and me equally.

"Wow!" She said, backing out of his arms. "Well, fuck you, Ryan! And fuck you too, bitch. I need a drink!"

And with that, she pushed past me and strutted away through the crowd of sweaty bodies.

"Vicky! There you are!" Sasha shouted, appearing through the same crowd Ryan's date just exited through. Then she saw me and Ryan, who was still leaning against the wall. Her eyes instantly narrowed. "What's going on? Are you two fucking around again?"

I waved my hands and shook my head. "No! No! Not even close!"

"Well, this won't look good if Eric sees this." She pointed out, still unsure if I was telling the truth.

"I better go calm, Mandy down anyway." Ryan stood up straight. He walked up to us since we were still standing there, blocking the path towards the main club area. He turned to me and said in a low voice, so Sasha couldn't hear. "I still imagine you."

*********

Thankfully Sasha promised not to say anything to Eric or Becca about seeing Ryan. Especially when I explained to her what happened between his date and me. She wanted me to point her out, but I couldn't see them anywhere. I crossed my fingers and prayed that they left. I just wanted to get back to the fun part of dancing and drinking with my friends and didn't need any Ryan-related drama then, or ever again.

Of course, the universe seemed to have a different plan in mind. After about another hour, we were all exhausted and agreed it was time to leave. We grabbed our jackets and made our way out of the thumping building to the street. My ears started ringing as they adjusted to the decrease in volume.

While I was trying to regain my hearing and stay warm by the outdoor heater with Sasha and Becca, Eric went to hail a cab.

Suddenly, Ryan and his date came stumbling out of the club too. Arms linked and laughing with each other. "Look!" I nudged Sasha and felt panic start to well up in me, knowing Eric was going to see them.

Sasha followed my stare, as did Becca. "Who are they? And why does that guy look like Adam?" Becca had never met Ryan and was clearly confused as to why we were gawking at them.

"Vic, are you-" Eric opened the door to the taxi that pulled over and turned to me, just as he spotted Ryan and his date, Mandy. I could literally see flickers of red sparks streak across his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, heyyyyyyyy!" Mandy squealed as she saw me before Ryan could respond to Eric. "If it isn't that little bitch from earlier."

"What did you just call my fiance?" Eric demanded, as he moved away from the car to stand in front of me, as if he was my human shield.

"Eric, let's just go." I moved to push him towards the cab before anything more could be said. But he wasn't budging.

"I called your fiance a little bitch! She had to go and barge her little bitch nose where it didn't belong." Mandy was clearly drunk, and not a happy one in the slightest.

Ryan locked eyes with mine as if he was trying to apologize telepathically. "Don't worry, Eric." He stepped in. "Nothing happened. Vicky just bumped into us earlier, by accident, and Mandy thought she was trying to cause trouble."

Mandy went to say something, but instead ran to the edge of the sidewalk and threw up into the street. Ryan went over to her to rub her back, as Eric turned to look at me with concern.

"Let's go." Was the only thing he said before saying a quick goodnight to Becca and Sasha and headed to the waiting taxi.

I looked back hopelessly at Sasha and followed Eric. This time I was the one who didn't even think to glance back at Ryan. Okay, maybe I thought about glancing back, but I willed myself not to.

So much for not having any Ryan-related drama.