L ance tapped the beat of A Chorus Line ''s "What I Did for Love" on Allie''s bedroom door. "Hi, it''s me!" "Come in, you!" She opened the door in a jean skirt, adjusting her bra. Ambushed by her cleavage, Lance slapped a hand over his eyes. "Oh, come on!" she giggled, holding up a tie-dyed T-shirt. "Help me decide! Should I go with the-" He peeked through his fingers and cut her off: "No way!" She lifted a zebra-stripe blouse. "How about the-" "Ick!" "Okay"-she held up a pink Lycra top-"I''ll go with the-" "Good!" He checked the time on his cell, eager to go meet the boy he''d friended online that week. "You think he''ll like me?" "He''s going to go wild over you," she replied while pulling her blouse on. "Wild is good.
" He put his arm around her and she snuggled up beside him in front of the mirror. She''d always thought Lance was hot. At swim meets, when he strutted around the pool deck nearly naked, she''d often thought: If he were straight or if I were a gay guy, I''d be all over him. "Feel something?" She planted a playful kiss on his cheek. "Anything?" "Sorry." He began to hum a show tune, a nervous habit. "From My Fair Lady ," Allie said. "Right? What is it?" He blushed, realizing what it was.
"Why Can''t a Woman Be More Like a Man?" "Meanie!" She pulled away. "Shoes?" "Your rose-color pointy pumps," he said, dabbing his blond hair with some of her gel. "So, what did you say this guy''s name is?" Allie asked as they climbed into Lance''s car. "Sergio," Lance said, pronouncing the G with an H sound. "He''s Mexican. Hot and spicy!" Lance considered himself an equal opportunity dater, attracted to all types of guys-Latino, white, black, Asian. He''d been attracted to Sergio''s café latte-color skin, thick black hair gelled into spikes, eyes dark as night. And although his nose seemed kind of big, even that was cute.
"He''s a cousin of Penelope''s from Drama Club." The boys had gotten to know each other a little bit over the phone and Messenger. They were both seventeen. Sergio lived in a neighboring suburb and went to Liberty High. "Home of the roaches," he''d joked. "Ew, yuck, right?" Lance went to the Academy, a local private school. "But I''m not a big preppy or anything. I''m pretty down-to-earth.
" "Good," Sergio replied. "Me too." Sergio had an older sister in college; Lance was an only child. Sergio had a guinea pig named Elton; Lance had an Irish setter named Rufus. "Help me think up stuff to talk about," he asked Allie as they drove toward the mall. "Have you asked him what kind of movies he likes?" Allie suggested. "And what kind of music?" "That''s good," Lance said. "My main worry is the bi thing.
" Sergio''s "friend page" identified him as bisexual. "I guess that means he''s still coming out," Lance said to Allie. "Like in the saying: bi now, gay later? I just hope he''s not another closet case." He didn''t want a repeat of Darrell, his one and only ex, who had been afraid to admit to being gay. When Lance and Allie got to the mall, he hurried her toward the food court fountain and anxiously searched the crowd. "Are you sure I look all right?" "You look fab," Allie assured him, taking a seat on the fountain''s rim. "So, who is the friend he''s bringing?" When setting up the meeting, Sergio had suggested they make it a friend thing. "You know, to take the pressure off?" "She''s his best chick friend," Lance said, taking a seat beside Allie.
"Her name is . Kimiko or something like that." "Kimiko? Really? That''s Japanese!" Allie was totally into anything Japanese. It had been Kimiko who had given Sergio the initial kick in the butt to answer Lance''s online friend request. "Why wouldn''t you friend him?" she''d asked Sergio when he showed her Lance''s photos. "He looks gay-guy-adorable." "Prezactly," Sergio had replied. "I''m not ready to get dumped again.
" He was still brokenhearted over Zelda; the girl who''d ditched him only three months earlier. "You haven''t even met the guy yet," Kimiko said, "and you''re already worried about getting dumped?" "Yeah, he''s got that look: like someone who could be my future ex." "Here''s a thought." Kimiko bopped Sergio on the head. "Maybe he won''t dump you." "He won''t if I don''t meet him. He he he. " Nonetheless, Sergio had replied to Lance''s friend request.
And he''d enjoyed chatting with him. "But what if there''s no in-person chemistry?" Sergio now said as Kimiko prodded him through the food court toward the meeting. "Maybe he and I should just stick to communicating through electronic devices." But when he saw Lance, there was chemistry, all right-both with Lance and his chick friend. HE''s a babe, one part of Sergio thought while another part of him said, Yeah, but SHE''S hot too ! Luckily, he wasn''t into tall girls-nor were they usually into him-whereas tall skinny guys like Lance juiced him up: broad swimmer shoulders, sweet smile, teacup-handle ears, and he loved the freckles. "How do I look?" Sergio asked Kimiko. "No boogies hanging out my nose or anything?" "You look good, dude." She tucked his flipped-up shirt tag into his collar and gazed toward Allie.
" That''s his friend?" "Yeah, I guess so. She''s a fox, huh?" Sergio knew that girlie-girls were totally Kimiko''s type, even though she''d never actually been in a relationship. "So . is she gay?" Kimiko asked-not that it made any difference; she had both gay and nongay friends. But she was curious. "I don''t know." Sergio gave her a mischievous grin. "I guess you get to find out.
" "Well, do I look all right?" Kimiko asked, glancing down at her baggy boy''s jeans and black leather motorcycle jacket. "Major league handsome." Sergio spun her Harley baseball cap backward and took hold of her hand. "Come on!" "There he is!" Lance told Allie on spotting him. "Curtain up!" "Break a leg!" Allie whispered, standing beside him. "What up, man? I''m Sergio. And this is Kimiko, my handler." Everybody laughed and Lance asked, "Do you guys want to get smoothies?" As they walked to the counter, he stealthily checked out Sergio.
He was shorter than he had looked in his pictures-nice compact bod, hunky but not too buff, which was good. Excessive buffness intimidated Lance. He liked those pecs, though. At the smoothie stand, he got his usual Hearty Apple. Sergio ordered a Mango Madness, took a sip-"Mmm"-and extended his cup to Lance. "Want a taste?" "Um, okay." Lance stared at the straw that had touched Sergio''s lips. "I''ve never tried mango before.
I''m pretty plain-Jane. You want to try mine?" "Sure." Sergio exchanged cups, watched Lance take a sip, and thought: Damn, his freckles are hot! "Wow, that''s really good." Lance handed the cup back, still tasting the sweet mango slush. The girls led the way to a table while talking about mangas and other Japanese stuff. Allie sat beside Kimiko and Lance sat next to Sergio. "So, um ." Lance began to ask the questions he''d rehearsed with Allie.
"What kind of movies do you like?" "Action!" Sergio replied, his hands slicing the air in a ninja move. " Hooah! . And fantasy-type stuff. How about you?" "Disney ''toons . and chick flicks-nah, just kidding. Well, okay, sometimes. I admit it." "Ditto!" Sergio high-fived him, glad that Lance was free of the straight-acting BS that so many other guys had.
"So, um, what kind of music do you like?" Lance continued. "Different types," Sergio answered. "Trance . hiphop . Tejano . How about you?" "I''m huge on show tunes. Like I''ve got this kind of obnoxious habit of humming and singing showstoppers anytime, anywhere." He shuffled his feet.
"Gotta sing! Gotta dance!" "Glad you warned me." Sergio pretended to cover his ears, though in fact he liked Lance''s voice: strong, smooth, sexy. "Actually," Lance continued, "I''m a better singer than dancer." "I''m just the opposite," Sergio said. "My singing sucks, but my dancing is pretty good-especially Latin stuff. I''m president of my school''s Dance Club. Do you salsa? I can teach you." "Cool!" Lance exclaimed.
He''d always dreamed of dancing with a guy-holding him in his arms, moving together. But first he needed to slow down, get back to the present. "So, um ." He moved to the next question on his list. "Are you out at school?" "I''m out as bi," Sergio said, a little cautiously. Although girls usually accepted his bi-ness, with guys it sometimes seemed like the kiss of death. The word bi prompted Allie to turn from her conversation with Kimiko and nod encouragingly to Lance. "Well, um .
" he stirred the slush in his smoothie cup and asked Sergio, ". what exactly do you mean when you say bi?" "You know," Sergio said. "It means I''m turned on by both guys and chicks." "But you admit you''re attracted to guys?" Lance asked, trying not to come off as confrontational. "Yeah . ," Sergio sa.