“So, what happened this morning?”

RB had River cornered while he was applying eyeshadow, so he couldn’t wiggle away and change the subject like he had all day.

River hesitated, dabbing his finger in the highlight color and examining his face in the mirror. It gave him something to watch other than RB’s face, which was distinctly worried.

“Don’t give me that nothing bullshit, either.” RB kept his voice down as he leaned against the chair. He squeezed River’s shoulder just firmly enough to make it clear he wasn’t letting him get away from this one. “Did Zeph give you those mysterious flowers you gave that chick?”

River let out a quiet sigh. If he had a best friend other than Kyle, it was RB. “Fine, I’ll spill. But don’t tell the others.”

“Uh oh.” RB folded his arms, refusing to promise that.

River rolled his eyes. “Fine. I just got them delivered to our door… from some anonymous big fan. The card was basically like, thanks for getting me hard, help me get off, but in… you know, creepier, prettier words. So, keep an eye out for anything weird tonight, yeah?”

“Of course. But I like that prettier words means creepier to you,” RB half-smiled, kicking his foot.

River snorted with amusement. “Well, if he wants my ass, he could come out and say it. Jesus. Saves us motel changes, and flowers are expensive to deliver, you know. Did you know a dozen roses on Valentine’s—”

But RB wouldn’t let him change the subject. “Are expensive, yeah. You’re downplaying it.”

River opened his mouth, then closed it again as he snapped his palette shut and wiped his fingers off. He half-shrugged, glancing over at the others and back to RB. “Yeah. Fine. I just don’t want to alarm the others.”

“Seriously, you have to tell them,” RB murmured. He wasn’t raising his voice and taking the choice away from him, which River appreciated, but his gaze was deadly serious.

A chill went down River’s spine. Yeah, the asshole could be watching everyone. What if someone else got another bouquet and didn’t say anything? What if one of the full-time girls—Glam, say—got attention next?

Not that she couldn’t look after herself, but he knew the outlook was worse for trans women who lost muscle mass after hormones than guys like him in a fair fight, and this guy may not even fight fair.

That made up his mind.

“Fine,” he breathed out, kicking his chair to spin toward the room. “Guys and dolls?”

Everyone knew his serious voice; the chatter died down instantly, like they’d been waiting for him to say something.

“Uh. I got this creepy admirer note and bouquet to our room this morning. That’s why we changed motels.”

Anna hissed through clenched teeth while Tina winced. A few of them traded looks, and then RB spoke up.

“So we gotta keep an eye out for people perving on him.”

Glam tapped a five-inch stiletto heel on the floor. “If anyone tries anything…”

River bit back a smile and nodded at her. “Permission to puncture his balls. I don’t know, it’s probably a one-time thing, but…”

“We’ll look out.”

That was all they had to say about it. The mood lightened up when Tina cracked a few jokes, but there was a slight tinge of caution on the air even as they took the stage twenty minutes later.

With everyone’s eyes on the crowd, plus Zeph waiting in the wings, River had never felt safer.

* * *

“I don’t know if I’m glad or disappointed nobody was obviously creepy,” Tina commented as she peeled off her wig and ran a hand over her hair.

“I was looking forward to a well-placed foot to break my fall during a routine,” Glam agreed.

River had to laugh. “You? Fall?” He didn’t think she’d even slipped during a performance before.

“Oh, I can fall on cue. Normally I keep going down…” Glam shimmied, winking at him as he groaned.

“But this isn’t the all-clear,” Jizzie spoke up. She’d been quiet between numbers all night, but now she was watching him closely. “People can be shady as fuck and not look like it.”

River was glad the show had gone well. At least it took the sting out of the weirdness that morning, and distracted them all from his announcement. Everything seemed less important on the other side of a good performance.

“True,” River agreed. “Okay, ladies. Tip time.”

They pooled and split tips—which normally made the more popular and experienced queens shy away, but Tina and Glam had good business heads. They’d long since realized that pooling tips meant they could send someone around with a tip bucket to collect money from those who’d never be bold enough to tuck bills into their outfits during a well-choreographed number.

Everyone made more money this way, and tonight had been a particularly great night. There were twenties in the bucket, not just ones, and almost no loose change.

With only six of them on the road, it worked out to about two hundred bucks each, which was over double what River had hoped for.

He usually made anywhere from twenty bucks on a bad night to three hundred on a great one, but the latter nights were rare. It averaged out to about seventy, which covered his bills if he performed weekly, and the new day job he was about to get would cover rent. Food generally wasn’t a problem unless he hit a run of bad nights, and he could flirt all night to get free drinks, so his lifestyle worked out.

His brain was still going over his budget for the month when he caught sight of Zeph patrolling the room, looking like he was checking the corners.

“See any suspicious packages?” River teased on the way by.

Zeph paused and eyed him, then let his gaze slip down River’s body in a way that made River’s knees weak. “One.”

River blushed and turned his gaze to the mirror as he patted his hair back into place now that the weight of the wig was off. “Are you going to open it for me?”

Zeph’s finger dragged along the top vertebra at the back of his neck, circling once before he lifted the chain of the thin gold necklace he’d worn as a prop in the last song, adjusting it so the clasp was at the back.

He raised his brows, and River nodded, heart pounding.

Those big, strong fingers moved with the same surprising delicacy River had felt against his skin and inside his body to unclasp the necklace, then dragged it down along his chest before handing it to him.

“When we get back to the motel, I’ll open it nice and slowly. Just to be sure.”

River barely remembered what question that answer was for, but his body didn’t need the context. He couldn’t get into his jeans fast enough.

Fuck, that incident was going to be a blip on the radar now. There were too many awesome things happening to stay down. In more than one sense.

River double-checked himself and tugged his sweater down over his crotch, glad he’d worn a roomy one to the venue. Some of the guys and ladies were talking about going out tonight, but all he could think about was staying in.

His eyes flickered to Zeph, who was making his way out of the room again to stand outside the door like the hot enforcer he was.

All the nightlife I need is right there.