Hands In The Stars

19. Showgirl

Edwin snatched a big bite out of the pear in his hand and promptly threw his head back with a deep sigh, causing his long blonde hair to fall over his shoulders. His fierce eyes scanned the white ceiling of the big car, then down and out the window. He glared at the entrance door of the apartment building. His hands smacked impatiently over the leather covered steering wheel in front of him. The dark sunset in front of him caused a dirty yellow to overlay the otherwise dark gray sky. The entire scene looked dusty in the light.
"Come on already, how long can it take..?" He muttered to himself. Just then, the entrance door opened up and Ethan quickly came running out towards the modern car as quickly as he could in his white, fluffy heels. His long, pink coat flew in the wind behind him, peeking tight black jeans underneath. His pudgy face was fully painted with white, pink and red makeup. Ethan hurried eagerly into the passenger seat and quickly sat down before throwing his white shoulder bag into the back seat and closing the door behind him.

"I'm sorry, I forgot the time. Did I keep you waiting, sweetheart?" Ethan sheepishly asked in a honeyed voice. He put the seatbelt in place and turning to face his partner with a forced smile. Edwin gave him a big, warm smile back and gently shook his head slowly, straightening himself up on his seat again.
"Hah, no don't worry, I kept myself entertained." He reassured Ethan. Edwin turned the keys to start the car engine before he started making his way out of the apartment area. "Here you go, eat this so you won't faint or something." He continued, handing the half-eaten pear to his boyfriend as he started speeding up to the massive road ahead. Ethan simply did as told, and let a heavy silence fill up the car.
"Well, so..." Edwin mumbled after a minute. He turned to look at Ethan beside him, but Ethan only put his hand to Edwin's cheek and shifted Edwin's head back to look at the road. "Uh, Ethan? How are you? Are you excited to meet Cherry Pon?"
"Yeah." Ethan quickly answered before Edwin had even finished his sentence. "I suppose I should be, right..? It's likely going to be fine." He mumbled, almost incoherently, tilting his head against the window. Champagne blonde strands of Ethan's wig danced slightly in the breeze from the cars air conditioner. He brought his fingers through the long hair, trying to keep it still.
"Well, at least I know you're going to have a lot of fun, even if you're pretty skeptic right now. You won't regret it." Edwin reassured him. He tried to brighten his partners worries, but didn't get any response. The car soon fell silent once more. 

The uncomfortable ride was long and dark, but eventually, Edwin turned into a small side road and parked the car right in front of a big, black stone building. He grabbed the car keys and his small bag, getting out of the car and slamming the door shut behind himself. He took a few steps up to the sidewalk and turned back to the car, staring at Ethan through the window.
"Come on, hurry up babe!" He yelled out. He fiddled up his phone and checking the time, while Ethan slowly got out of the car and anxiously stared the building up and down.
"Hey, I know where this is." Ethan finally mumbled in a low voice. "Shouldn't this be a restaurant?"
"Uh, does this look like a restaurant to you, Ethan?" Edwin raised an eyebrow, glancing at his lover before looking down at his phone again. "I hope you brought protection." He joked with a sheepish grin, which caused Ethan's painted face to turn a deep red.
"Hey! I won't... Hm, whatever. You already know now, don't you?" He walked up to Edwin and gave him a light nudge with his elbow. His bag hung over his shoulders, a handful of square plastic wrapped condoms hastily thrown into it before Ethan left the apartment earlier. He knew that Edwin knew that he had it. Ethan looked up at the small, glowing sign on the metal door. "The Red Camellia." He read out loud, then ran his eyes over to the bulletproof windows covered by red curtains, but he could still see the tons of colors flashing from inside and detect the slight, thudding sound of peculiar music coming through.
"...Are we supposed to just go in?"
"Well, yeah? What else?" Edwin spoke in a slightly confused voice. "You can't just stand out here and expect people to come to you... Well, I suppose standing out here like you look right now would attract one or two junkies but that's not what we're looking for. Whatever, just go in already. I'm coming right behind you I'll just have to send away a few text messages." Edwin told Ethan. He pushed his lover towards the entrance door before taking a few steps away himself, leaving Ethan upfront.