Running Mate

by Katie Ashley

  After clasping Addison’s hand with her own, Estrella began, “They say we’re young, and we don’t know. We won’t find out until we grow.”

  With a slightly lower voice than from before, Addison chimed in with, “Well, I don’t know if all that’s true…”

  Once again, I was mesmerized by Addison. She possessed a hell of a lot of talent to be able to belt out Evita sick as a dog and also do a great Sonny Bono impression—not to mention the fact that she could start singing in Spanish if the mood hit her. She was unlike any other woman I’d ever known.

  In that moment, with her in drag, I began to fall a little more for Addison Monroe.

  When Addison and Estrella finished the song, the room broke out in roaring applause and cheering. I myself whistled and catcalled a few times, which earned me a look from Ty. After taking a bow, Addison headed off stage while Estrella began announcing the next act. I craned my neck to watch as Addison slipped behind the curtain once again. Once a Gloria Estefan lookalike came out to do “Conga”, I smacked Ty’s arm before rising out of my chair. “Come on.”

  We worked our way through the maze of tables. After making it across the room, I saw a doorway leading to a long hallway. Before we could enter, a tall, buff drag queen who looked a lot like RuPaul stepped in front of Ty and me, blocking us from going any farther. She wagged her finger at us. “I’m sorry, sugah, but no one but the divas are authorized in the hallway.”

  “Yeah, well, I really need to see Addison—I mean, Adrianna.”

  “You’ll see her one last time in the finale.”

  “I need to see her privately, and I need to see her now.”

  Ru narrowed her eyes at us. “This isn’t a strip club, sweetie. No one gets a private dance with any of the divas.”

  “Uh, yeah, that is so not what I was insinuating.”

  Pursing her red lips, Ru said, “Mmmhmm. It’s always pretty boys like you playing at being straight who want to get freaky.”

  With a grunt of frustration, I glanced back at Ty. He nodded and dug his badge out of his suit pocket. He flashed it at Ru. “I’m going to need you to step aside.”

  “Oh hell no, not until I thoroughly examine this.” She snatched the badge out of Ty’s hand. “You wouldn’t believe the shit some psychos pull,” she said as she read over the details of Ty’s bodyguard badge. Once she was satisfied, she handed it back to him. “Fine, but I’ll be watching you.”

  “Thank you,” I muttered as we brushed past. At the end of the narrow hallway was an exit sign, and there were three doors on both the right and left sides. “Fuck. How do we know which one?” I asked.

  “We don’t,” Ty replied. He tried the first door on the right then rushed inside with me following close on his heels. Instead of Addison, I got an eyeful of a dude bent over taping his dick back.

  “Yeah?” he asked, his head between his legs.

  “Sorry. Wrong room,” I replied as I stumbled back out into the hallway. After Ty slammed the door, I said, “Hey ace, maybe we should knock first?”

  Ty’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. “That sounds like a good idea.”

  At the next door, I rapped my knuckle against the wood. “I’ll be ready in five,” a falsetto voice replied.

  “Not her.”

  “Nope.”

  “Who are you looking for?” the voice called.

  “Um, Adrianna.”

  “Last door on the left.”

  “Thank you.”

  We bypassed the other rooms and headed to the end of the hallway. After knocking on the door, I was stoked to hear Addison’s voice call, “Come in.”

  I threw open the door and stalked inside with Ty close on my heels. Addison stood in the middle of the room. She had managed to shed not only her wig, but her pants as well. She stood in a thong with her blouse unbuttoned, and instead of a bra, a spandex-looking fabric wrapped around her chest, binding her breasts. She would have looked sexy as hell if she still hadn’t been sporting the handlebar mustache.

  At the sight of me, her eyes widened. “B-Barrett, wh-what are y-you d-doing here?”

  “I believe I could ask you the same the question.”

  Once she had a moment to recover from the shock of seeing me before her, she grabbed the lapels of her shirt and pulled them tightly closed. “Did you follow me here after you let me out at my apartment?”

  “Actually, Ty tracked you with the GPS in your phone.”

  A gasp of horror escaped Addison’s lips. “He did what?”

  “Thanks for throwing me under the bus, buddy,” Ty growled behind me.

  Addison stomped over to him. She jabbed a finger into his chest. “How dare you violate my privacy by tracking me like some dog!”

  “Told you she’d be pissed,” I muttered.

  “I’m sorry, but your security is my utmost concern at all times. The tracking is a necessary evil to ensure your safety during the times I cannot be physically in your presence.”

  The anger in Addison’s eyes dissipated a little as she appeared to be processing Ty’s words. After exhaling a long breath, she replied, “Okay. I get it.” She shook her head. “I don’t like it, but I do get it.”

  I crossed my arms over my chest. “Now here’s something I would like to get: just what in the hell is my fiancée doing performing at a drag club?”

  “You know, a simple call to question my whereabouts would have sufficed. You didn’t have to come snooping around.”

  “Considering you’d already lied about staying in for the night, what possible reason would I have for believing you?”

  As I stared into Addison’s mustached face, the absurdity of the moment hit me. Reaching over, I grabbed the right side of the mustache and ripped it off. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize how well it was glued on.

  Addison shrieked in pain as her hands flew to her face. “What did you do that for?”

  “I couldn’t have a serious conversation with you with that thing flapping at me.”

  She glared at me through her watering eyes. “Could you not have simply asked me to take it off?”

  Remorse filled me at the sight of her reddening skin. “I’m sorry. I’m just a little wigged out right now.” At the sight of the mustache still in my hand, I quickly tried to toss it to the floor, but it wasn’t going anywhere. I spent the next few seconds flapping and flailing my hand to try to get it off.

  “What the hell is going on in here?” a voice boomed behind us.

  I spun around just as Estrella marched into the room. She’d exchanged her Cher costume for a Dolly Parton one, and for a moment, I was completely transfixed by her enormous tits in the revealing dress. She shoved Ty and me out of the way with the strength of a linebacker. Placing her hands on Addison’s shoulders, she questioned, “Are you okay, Addie?”

  “I’m fine, E.”

  Estrella threw a suspicious glance at us over her shoulder. “And just who are they?”

  “That would Barrett, who I’ve been telling you about, and his bodyguard, Ty.”

  Recognition flickered on Estrella’s face before she whirled around and came over to me. “Oh my God! I can’t believe I didn’t recognize you.”

  “I guess you’ve been following us on the campaign trail, huh?”

  “Of course, but it’s also more about the fact that Ginger—the redhead in the opening act—has a poster-size picture of you and your junk on the wall in one of the dressing rooms.”

  While I laughed, Addison shrieked with mortification. “Did you have to tell him that, E?”

  “I was just stating a fact.” Estrella thrust out her hand. “I’m Estrella here at the club, and I’m Evan in real life.” She—he jerked his chin back at Addison. “I’m her older brother.”

  I glanced between the two of them. “Ah, now it makes sense.”

  “What makes sense?” Estrella questioned.

  “Why Ty thought Addison might be a man.”

  Addison’s eyes widened at Ty. “Excuse me?�
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  I laughed as a flush filled Ty’s face. “It’s just we didn’t know why you would have snuck off to somewhere like this. Then you and Estrella looked a lot alike…” Ty smacked my arm. “He thought it, too,” he tattled.

  “Seriously, Barrett? After all these months together, you still thought I could be a man?”

  “Come on, you two do look alike.”

  Estrella laughed. “While I’m honored you thought I could really pass for a woman, Addison should be insulted because you thought she was a man in drag.”

  I held my hands up. “For the record, it was a paranoia-induced thought on both of our parts.”

  “You’re both idiots,” Addison huffed.

  “Trust me, after your Cher performance, I know without a shadow of a doubt, you’re a woman.”

  As her cheeks reddened, Addison ducked her head. “Whatever.”

  “You looked good out there.” When Addison looked up at me, I winked. “Real good.”

  “Thank you.”

  A guy with a headset on appeared in the doorway. “Estrella, you’re on in three minutes.”

  “Coming, Monte.” Evan reached out and cupped Addison’s chin. “I just needed to check on my baby sister for a minute after I heard two strange men were after her.”

  “I’m fine. You can put your terminator side away for now, big brother.”

  “I’m glad to hear it.” He jerked his chin at the door. “Go on and get out of here.”

  “You don’t need me to help close up?”

  Estrella snorted. “Honey, the last thing you two need is to get caught in this club.”

  Addison gasped as she turned to me. “He’s right. We’ve got to get you out of here before the crowd leaves.”

  “Why just me?”

  “I came to the club disguised, so I can easily sneak out. You, on the other hand, are an entirely different story.”

  “We can always disguise him, too,” Evan suggested with a wicked grin.

  I shook my head quickly back and forth. “Oh hell no! Don’t you even think of sending me out in drag like they did to Gene Hackman in The Birdcage!”

  “I think you would look good in a dress,” Estrella remarked as she eyed me up and down.

  Addison nodded. “He already has his chest waxed, so a plunging neckline won’t be a problem.”

  “For your information, I had laser hair removal on my chest,” I protested.

  Addison and Estrella laughed heartily while Ty said, “Seriously dude?”

  “Shut up,” I grumbled. Thanks to my comment, Ty would be giving me shit for days about being such a metrosexual. “Look, as long as I’m seen here with Addison, what does it matter if I’m in a drag club? If any pictures surface, we can simply say we were enjoying a night out by supporting the arts.”

  “Nice spin,” Addison replied with a smile.

  “I learned from the best.”

  After giving Addison a knowing look, Evan said, “While that would certainly work, I don’t want any extra scrutiny on the club.”

  “I agree.”

  “Are you sure about that? Think about all the publicity,” I argued.

  “We’re doing just fine without a media circus.”

  “If you say so.”

  Monte poked his head in the door. “You’re supposed to be on stage now!”

  “Calm your tits. I’m coming.” He turned to Addison. “Go out the back, and then go two doors down to La Trattoria. Knock on the back door and tell them Evan sent you. You can leave through there just in case anyone was following Barrett.”

  Addison grinned. “You always come up with the best plans on the shortest notice.”

  Evan winked before hurrying out the door. “Love ya,” he called.

  “Love you, too,” Addison replied.

  Ty cleared his throat. “Barrett, why don’t you and I wait outside so Addison can get dressed.”

  “I’d like to talk to her for a minute first.”

  “Okay. I’ll be just outside.”

  “Thanks man,” I replied.

  After the door closed behind Ty, Addison gave me a sheepish look. “I’m pretty sure I know what you want to talk to me about.”

  “The campaign’s foreign policy stance?”

  She laughed. “No. About Evan.”

  “Bingo.”

  With a sigh, she said, “I was afraid this was going to happen.”

  Crossing my arms over my chest, I asked, “That I might find you singing in a drag club?”

  The corners of Addison’s lips twitched. “No, that you would find out the truth about Evan.”

  “He was in your FBI file, but there sure as hell wasn’t anything about him that drew a red flag.”

  “That’s because when Evan was twenty-five, he had his name legally changed.”

  “Why?”

  “Even though my parents completely accept him being gay, Evan felt it would be a lot easier on my dad if he kept this aspect of his lifestyle hidden. People at his church accept that he has a gay son, but I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t be so forgiving about having a gay son who owned and performed in a drag show.”

  “Yeah, probably not.”

  “In the end, Evan didn’t want Dad to lose his job because of him.”

  “That was noble of him.”

  “That’s Evan for you.” Pure love radiated in Addison’s eyes. “He has the biggest heart in the whole world,” she said with reverence.

  “Not only that, but he has one hell of a singing voice.” With a wink, I added, “Just like his sister.”

  Redness once again tinged Addison’s cheeks. “Thank you.”

  There was something seriously endearing about her humility; it made her even more attractive. Of course, the fact that she was practically naked under her shirt was also very appealing. I cleared my throat to clear my mind of the highway to hell it was barreling down. “With Evan changing his name, he didn’t show up in any of the files.”

  “If anyone dug deep, they would find that Evan Nelson owned the club, rather than Evan Monroe.” Addison rolled her eyes but then smiled in spite of herself. “He chose his last name after Prince.”

  I laughed. “Good choice.”

  Addison’s expression grew serious. “Barrett, the reason I didn’t tell you about Evan is not because I am ashamed of him.”

  I held up a hand to silence her fears. “I know that just as much as I know the real reason why you didn’t tell me.”

  “You do?”

  “You were afraid of what it might mean for Dad’s campaign.”

  Her eyes widened. “You don’t think I lied because of the money?”

  “While I’m sure you didn’t want to do anything to screw up your chances, I know in your heart you worried what the news might do to Dad’s chances.”

  She nodded. “That day I met with your father, he and Bernie were so sure that there weren’t any skeletons in my past, I couldn’t bring myself to tell them about Evan.”

  “Although I’m pretty sure my dad wouldn’t give a shit, I’m sure some of his advisors would’ve been less than pleased by the news.”

  After nibbling on her bottom lip, Addison asked, “Should we tell him now?”

  “I think he has the right to know, especially if something comes out in the media after us being here. It would be better if he wasn’t blindsided.”

  A worried expression overtook her face. “You think he’s going to be mad at me for lying?”

  I smiled that she cared so much about what Dad thought, and that she was obviously so oblivious as to how much he absolutely adored her. “Don’t worry. He’ll understand.”

  “I hope so.”

  “He will.”

  Addison smiled. “Thanks for being so understanding about all this, Barrett.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “But I’m still pissed you thought I could be a man.”

  I laughed. “Like I said, it was a delusion brought on by extreme paranoia.” When she gave an exaspera
ted roll of her eyes, I countered, “Put yourself into my shoes for a minute. After you say you’re going to be home all night, we track you down to this club. What other conclusion could I possibly come to?”

  “Maybe I was here to watch the show.” Tilting her head, she continued, “Or any other scenario that doesn’t have me as a man?”

  I threw up my hands. “Look, I’m sorry. If it makes you feel any better, I first thought this was a male strip club.”

  Addison cocked her brows. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

  “No, I’m not.”

  “How could you possibly think that?”

  “All I could deduce when Ty and I got here was that it was some kind of club, and we were surrounded by a bunch of drunken bachelorettes. It just made sense that it would be a strip club.”

  “With your less than stellar deduction skills, it’s amazing you managed to get an MBA,” she teased.

  “Why is it so unfathomable that I thought you’d snuck out because you wanted to see some naked men?”

  “Well, for one, I signed a contract to be your fiancée, and in my experience, most engaged women do not frequent strip clubs unless it’s their bachelorette party. Second, you should know me well enough by now to know I’m not really the strip club type.”

  “I know that. I just wanted it to be a strip club because that meant you weren’t out looking for another man—well, one that wasn’t oiled up in g-string.”

  Addison’s eyes widened. “You thought I might be meeting up with another man?”

  “Although I’m not proud to admit it, yes, I did.”

  “Oh. My. God.”

  “What?”

  “Barrett Callahan, you were jealous!”

  “I just said I didn’t want you meeting up with another man, not that I was jealous of one.”

  Addison gave me a toothy grin. “You were totally jealous, and you know it.”

  “Okay, you know what? I’m done talking about this. Go get dressed so we can get out of here.”

  “Fine, fine. You can play it off all you want to, but we both know the truth.”