14

[Mandella]

A collective sigh and fluttering of hands signaled Verona's arrival at the front entrance. The owner and his boyfriend were all a twitter, and judging from Patrick's face, he was ready to bolt. I rushed toward him and the testosterone fog cleared as I linked my arm with his and yanked him away from his new fan boys.

We stopped at the juice bar and I told Wendy to give him whatever his heart desired. "I'm so sorry about that," I said as we took adjoining seats at the bar.

Patrick shrugged as he took in the banners floating over our heads. "GLBT, huh?"

There were a bunch of straight folks here tonight too. "Partly."

"And you?"

"I'm all about the L word."

A slight smile flitted across his perfect lips, and I suddenly got what all the fuss was about. "Huh."

"You didn't know?" I watched the fascinating play of emotions ripple across his jawline.

He took a long sip of his drink before answering. "Never gave it any thought. But, it all makes sense now."

"What does?" I was always discreet, and nobody knew my secret except my friends here tonight.

"The way you follow her around and hang on every word." Patrick put down his drink and really looked at me as if seeing me for the first time. "Not that I blame you. She's rather..."

"Amazing?"

Patrick laughed. "And hot."

My face started to burn at that revelation, a feeling I shared but would never utter aloud. "She doesn't know."

He leaned in close and whispered, "It will be our little secret."

"That's cool, except, I'm performing tonight, and she'll read between the lines."

He shook his head with a smile. "You sure about that? If it's not the Kat Stratford show, she'll probably tune it out."

Yeah, like she had with my English essay. "Maybe," I said with a shrug.

I was looking down when he touched my shoulder. "Don't sweat it, M."

The James Bond reference startled me into a giggle. I wrote "Thank Q' on his napkin and waited for his grin to break out once again before hopping down. I held out my palm and said, "That will be five cents please."

Patrick favored me with his smirk. "Sorry, Lucy. I spent my last cent bribing my way into the Golden Lotus."

"Was it worth it?"

"Totally."

The barely restrained heat in that single word nearly melted me on the spot. But then I remembered this evening's agenda and steered my mind back to the business at hand. "Good, so you'll have no problem singing a duet with her."

"What did you say?"

"You heard me."

"Yeah, well, I suck at singing, so it's not gonna happen."

I dug my fingers into my back pocket and handed him a crumpled set of lyrics. "Oh, yeah, it totally is. I've come collecting."

Patrick scanned the paper and scowled at me. "You can't be serious."

"Oh, but I am, and it's so much fun," I replied before moving out of range with a skip in my step.

[SH]

I forgot my annoyance when Mandella took the stage and transfixed the audience with her poetry. Her words vibrated with emotion and sang with the pain of unrequited love. I was stunned by my reaction, for I'd never much cared for haiku, iambic pentameter, or free verse. I'd had my fill of it at the book store whenever Rachel hosted an arts night, but it had never been like this.

Her words spoke of scorching betrayal and the blackness and rage of rejection. She was on the brink of her denouement when Kat showed her face, clearly confused by the sight of her closest friend emoting with such vehemence.

"Remind me not to piss her off," she mumbled as she dropped onto the couch next to me. "You been here long?"

"Long enough." I whispered in her ear, more so I could inhale her spicy scent than caring whether I bugged the art snobs in our midst.

Kat caught me in mid sniff and rolled her eyes. "Personal space, ever heard of it?"

I moved even closer and felt the length of her leg against mine. "Sure, how's this?"

"Jerk." Her elbow dug into my ribs and I finally moved back to my perch.

Mandella finished her diatribe and a fusillade of applause exploded around us. "Wow, who knew that M was a celebrity?"

Kat raised an eyebrow. "What's this M crap?"

I laughed and traced 007 in the air. "Too much Bond as a kid."

"Aww, and here I thought you were weaned on The Avengers."

I liked the thought of being ripped from Emma Peel's chest and leered appreciatively. "Total hotness."

"Pig." Kat kicked my foot and I was about to retaliate when Mandella found us.

"You made it," Mandella said with an awkward smile.

"Barely. Dad thinks we're studying for an English lit test."

Mandella nodded appreciatively. "I like it. Have to use that one next time I sneak out to a slam."

Kat moved over to make room for Mandella. "Speaking of which, didn't think you had it in you."

Mandella's eyes narrowed as she tucked a fuchsia strand beind one ear. "Really? Why's that?"

Kat quickly realized she was out of her element here. "You seeme so...contained most of the time. I was just surprised by your energy."

"Were you? Because you really shouldn't be." The challenge in Mandella's voice was unmistakable.

"Why not?"

Mandella rose to her feet. "Because it was all about you."

"Me?" Kat's voice squeaked slightly as it all hit home. "Oh my God, it can't be...you're saying you and me? Because I never..."

"I know," Mandella said. "I get it, OK?"

"I'm so sorry, I didn't realize..." Kat was scrambling for something, anything to say that might make it right with Mandella.

Mandella interrupted, "It's my problem, and I'm dealing with it."

Kat's mouth opened and closed before she finally nodded. "So we're cool, right?"

"Not in a million years." I startled them both when I handed over the lyrics to Kat. "After tonight's duet, we're going down in flames."