“Don’t,” Jet said on a dazzling smile.

I watched this conversation wondering if maybe they were a little crazy when Roxie butted in.

“I’m living with Hank, Lee’s brother. We met each other less than two months ago. I moved from Chicago. My ex was kind of a jerk –”

“Kind of? He was a first class jerk,” Ally threw in. “He was more like a grade A prime ass**le.”

Roxie smiled at her. “Yeah, well, anyway,” she looked back at me, “the point is he kidnapped me and then, after I was rescued, he stalked me. It was a nightmare. Vance was the one who rescued me. Tracked me down and found me handcuffed to a sink in a sleazebag motel in Nebraska. He was very cool about it, took me to an outlet mall on the way home and everything and I didn’t even have to ask.”

I nodded, not knowing what to say, stalking ex-boyfriends, kidnapping, ra**sts, outlet malls. It was too bizarre for words.

Indy smiled at me. “We know you know Lee. Well, Lee, Eddie and Hank, they’re all part of our tribe. Vance is too. What we’re saying is, you get sucked in by one of the boys, you’re part of our tribe too.”

“We’re the Rock Chick Welcome Wagon,” Ally put in on a grin.

“See, these guys move kind of fast,” Jet added.

“It can make you dizzy,” Roxie said.

“So you need your girls around you,” Indy finished.

I looked to May to see how she was taking all of this and she was smiling at me like a loon. Maybe she was a loon, maybe all of them were loons.

“So, what’s goin’ on with you and Vance? Spill, Sugar. We’re here for you,” Daisy told me.

My eyes settled on her and it struck me immediately that she wasn’t just saying that. I realized with some intuitive clarity that they weren’t here to be nosy and interfering. They meant all this shit.

I opened my mouth to tell them it was none of their business, to guard my heart like an emotional Rottweiler when, just like I did with Zip blurting out my plan to save all the runaways from drug dealers, I told them everything.

Everything.

From the minute Vance cornered me in the alley to when he was holding my hand. I held nothing back. I even told them I was a virgin.

When I was done, they were all staring at me with wide eyes and open mouths.

“Shit,” Daisy breathed then swung her head to Roxie, “he moves even faster than Hank.”

“You can say that again,” Roxie replied.

“You’re a virgin?” Ally asked, eyes still huge.

“I can’t think about that right now,” I said to Ally. “It’s one thing at a time. He told me I should wear something nice. I don’t have anything nice. The only nice thing I have is a dress I wore to a colleague’s wedding two years ago and it’s a summer dress and now it’s November. I can’t wear a summer dress in November. And anyway, I don’t even know what ‘nice’ means.”

“Well, I can help with that,” Indy announced and looked at Ally. “We’ll call Tod and Stevie.”

“I’ll help with the outfit,” Roxie put in and Indy nodded.

“I’ll do your makeup,” Jet said on a smile.

“I’ll do your hair,” Daisy offered.

“No!” Indy, Ally and Jet all said in unison, making everyone else jump.

“I’ll do your hair,” Indy declared firmly.

“She gives good hair,” Ally informed me.

“You got her outfit,” Daisy complained, “you can’t have her hair too. What am I gonna do?”

“You can take the virgin part,” Indy said.

Daisy’s blue eyes swung to me and they were bright. “Oh yeah. I can do that.”

“Where do you live?” Ally asked.

I wasn’t keeping up and before I could think better of it, I gave them my address. They all got up.

“She’s in the ‘hood,” Indy noted to the group and then looked at me. “I live two blocks away from you.”

I nodded, still not keeping up.

Then Indy turned to the group again. “Five fifteen, we all meet at Jules’s. Bring what you can,” Indy ordered.

“I’m comin’ too,” May threw in and looked at me, “moral support.”

“Works for me,” Ally replied.

“Me too. See you there,” Roxie said to me.

Then they were gone. May and I stared at the door.

“What just happened?” I asked the door and felt rather than saw May’s eyes on me.

“What just happened was, just like I said, Crowe’s offerin’ you a life. If you’re smart, which I know you are, you’re gonna reach out and grab it.”

Then she was gone too.

Chapter Eight

You Like Bikes?

“She needs more sparkle,” Daisy announced and I could see her out of the corners of my eyes to which Jet was applying shadow. Daisy had her hands on her h*ps and she was staring at me assessingly and I could tell she did not like what she saw.

“She doesn’t need any sparkle. She’s going on a date with Vance, not ballroom dancing at The Ritz,” Indy returned, standing beside me and holding a curling iron in my hair.

“Tod, she needs sparkle. Every girl needs sparkle. Find some goddamned sparkle, comprende?” Daisy ordered, ignoring Indy.

The gang had descended on my house about five minutes after I arrived home from the Shelter. They came in carrying hangers full of clothes, curling irons, hairdryers, cosmetics bags stuffed with makeup, accessories and boxes of shoes.

They had two g*y men in tow. One, Tod, was a tall, lean, effeminate white man with a brown crew cut. The other, Stevie, was shorter, more butch, handsome and Hispanic. Tod, they told me, was Denver’s top drag queen, his alter ego known as Burgundy Rose. Stevie, they also told me, was his long-suffering but, nevertheless, obviously loving partner.

“Sparkle,” Tod muttered, digging through piles of clothes, belts, scarves and shoes, “gotcha.”

“I’m not sure about sparkle,” I whispered to Jet.

“Don’t worry,” Jet replied with a small smile to me then she glanced worriedly at Indy.

I figured this worried glance was not good. Really not good. The butterflies in my stomach started fluttering and not in a good Vance-said-or-did-something-sexy way but in an oh-my-God-get-me-out-of-here way.

Roxie was sitting on my couch drinking a margarita Boo in her lap. His yellow eyes were closed and she was stroking him full body.