Anya stopped and stared into her own eyes incredulous and determined. She got up and walked after Dina who seemed to be determined to hustle her way to the stage before Anya could catch her. But catch her Anya did. She grabbed a trailing hand and asked “what on earth are you talking about?” Dina sighed sounding like she had been interrupted on her way to an important meeting and couldn’t possibly have time for this. She thought for a second and then said “I just wanted to say you’re my best friend. You always have been, you always will be. No matter what happens” and Anya stepped back even more incredulous than before. “What’s going to happen?” Dina shrugged and walked into the side of the stage quickly leaving Anya unable to demand any kind of further explanation. 

Dina walked out on the stage to loud clapping and some enthusiastic whistling. There he was, front row, waving like a teen girl hoping to catch the eye of a rugged rock star. Dina avoided his eye for a moment but thought better of it and blew a kiss in his direction. Several dedicated fans acted like they were scooping it out of the air to clutch to their chests or throats. Marcus jumped up and down excitedly to the music as Dina began to dance and sing along to the backing track. As one of the few queens who didn’t only lip sync Dina was concentrating fiercely and making sure she was flashing her winning smile out from under her neat and shining beard and not just getting what Oliver called her “singing face” which was a mask of complete blank focus. Dina finished her number and waved just as enthusiastically back to the crowd and by proxy Marcus. The next number started and she took a deep breath before throwing herself into it again. 

Anya was regal. Anya was unflappably calm. Anya was furious. The fuss that Chris had made over Jan. The humiliation Oliver had felt when Chris had slapped Jan’s friendliness back in his face and he had a ‘friend’ too. A ‘friend’ to blow kisses to and to make eye contact with during his slow songs and to wave to like an excitable school girl. God Oliver was so angry he was shaking. No, Anya was shaking but it was adrenaline, she was waiting for her turn to strut her stuff and give the expected aloof attitude out. Well this time the sneer came naturally to her lips, the shaking stilled as she thought about what she was going to do. 

She walked out to applause and instead of ignoring the crowd with a lifted chin, she looked down at them all, a slow sultry smile crossing her face as she let them all bathe in the spotlight of her attention. She had changed her scheduled numbers and as the throbbing bass started she began to slink across the stage, dripping equal parts sex and disdain. She stroked up the inside of her leg, stopping short of her upper thigh. She let her skirt drop again concealing what she was so blatantly hinting at. Her second number she threw her head back without any worry and ran her hands down her front, circling her breast forms and stroking her waist. Dina watched this all from the sidelines, slack jawed and glassy eyed. This vixen on the stage was someone Dina had never seen before, Anya was normally a dynamo, lip syncing to fierce beats and dancing like a woman possessed, not this woman who was now crawling across the stage on her hands and knees, necklace swinging enticingly between her breasts and drawing the eye rather effectively. 

Dina held her breath and watched as Anya reached the edge of the stage, crooning along seductively to the song and sitting back on her heels, crotch thrust forward towards the crowd and her back arched. She ran one hand down between her breasts and across her crotch before reaching out with one long manicured finger and daintily drawing it down the face of the blushing giggling man at the front. Marcus. Dina was equal parts angry and turned on and couldn’t decide which part was more in control. She knew Anya was just pulling a stunt, being like this just because she knew it would upset or frustrate Dina but the man, Chris, wanted so badly to be that red faced moron who pushed his face back towards Anya as she took her finger back and put it to her own lips. Chris was blushing furiously, flushed from anger, betrayal and the worst part of all, arousal. 

“God” Anya thought, catching sight of Dina in the wings, “men are so easy sometimes”