The Fab Life of Jay (True Love Series Book 2)

Chapter 1

Jay

“Mrs. Cruz, when I am done with you, you will look and feel like a brand new woman!” I tell my 75-year-old customer sitting in my hairdresser's chair.

“Ha! Unless those scissors can magically take all this arthritis away and make me 23 again, I’m probably just going to be the same old Faye,” she says to me.

I love to joke and make my customers feel good. I know what it’s like to not feel good about yourself. I went through that period in my life when I was a teenager.

Now I’m 25, I have a successful salon, and I have a clientele base that wants me to make them beautiful. My professional life couldn’t be any better.

My personal life, on the other hand, is so-so. I own a nice three-bedroom condo, I have a drag queen for a roommate who is also my best friend, and my last boyfriend was well over a year ago; that ended in disaster.

Why did it end in disaster? It’s because I tend to fall for men who look straight, act straight, but are afraid to come out of the closet. In the end, their not wanting to be who they really are ends our relationship because I get tired of being the dirty little secret.

Tonight, I’m supposed to go to a club with my roommate, Mitzi. I think she’s just tired of me moping because I haven’t really gotten with anybody in a while. Plus, I think Mitzi is in a fairytale mood because of my little friend we just helped.

My cousin Jamie, who I love like a little sister because her mother basically raised me after I came out to my parents. My parents abandoned me and kicked me out of the family. Jamie’s mother was the only one who fully accepted me and treated me like her own son.

Jamie’s best friend, Keira, reminds me so much of myself when I was a teenager. She hasn’t had the easiest life; she was bullied and hurt by her classmates and her own brother. Is it any wonder that she and I ended up becoming very good friends?

She was in desperate need of a makeover, but it wasn’t so much a makeover; she just needed confidence and guidance in the right direction. I am glad to see her coming into that confidence, even if it has to be by the guy who bullied her. It’s ironic watching her and him fall in love with each other, and now they’re going to prom.

But Keira also has another bully—her mother. Her mother actually bought her this hideous prom dress. It wasn’t even a real prom dress; it was a fancy maternity dress for a formal occasion. She has convinced Keira that she is extremely overweight and should hide it. That dress her mother got her for the prom was proof of that.

Mitzi redid her dress and transformed it into a stunning prom gown. I think watching the two teenage lovebirds has made Mitzi believe she created a fairytale for them. The downside of living with a drag queen is that they think everything is a fairytale with just a quick flick of some fabric and makeup.

I think it’s just the euphoria of the fairytale that’s why Mitzi is insisting we’re going to a club tonight to find men, as she told me. The only reason I agreed to go is that I really could use a distraction from my love life tonight. And a gay club is the perfect place to go if you want that. You never know what you will find there.

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Miss Mitzi

“Jay, darling, your attire is not worthy of the club. Change your shirt; we need to find us men, not old folks at the nursing home!” I tell my roommate.

“What’s wrong with this? It’s black and it’s sexy,” Jay says, flashing me his winning smile.

“Boy, that won’t work on me, and you know it. You are simply not my type. That black shirt screams ‘Netflix and chill,’ not sexy. Go put on that white dress shirt you have. That screams sexy, darling,” I tell him.

Jay shakes his head and goes up to his room to change. I swear, sometimes getting that boy to go to the club is like giving a cat a bath.

He’s been in a funk for a very long time, and I need to pull him out. The best way to do that is to go to the club and find us men.

I work the shows at the club; you would think that on my night off, the last thing I want to do is go to where I work. But sometimes being a spectator is a lot more fun than working it.

Jay has always been my knight in shining armor. He wears his heart on his sleeve, and I for one would love to see that boy in a relationship.

Jay comes back down and asks, “Is this better, your highness?”

“Much better! Now that is what I’m talking about—a man shirt. Come, let’s get to our carriage; the club awaits,” I tell him.

Tonight, the club is a little light, but that is to be expected since this is only Wednesday. Plus, I’m not performing tonight either. Not to toot my own horn, but I am a pretty big draw for a crowd at the club.

Then I see him—and by him, I mean trouble. He is 6’2”, with dark hair, all-American looks, a chiseled jaw, and just the right amount of scruff. He looks nervous, like this is his first time in a gay bar. And he’s Jay’s type—oh boy.

Looks like my Jay has seen him too. I glance over to see him sauntering over to the all-American stud. Yep, looks like the next heartbreak is going to happen when I see Jay waving at the bartender to get them a drink.

It is no wonder Ben and Jerry’s came out with the flavor “Netflix and Chill,” because, lordy, that is the perfect flavor to eat while you watch sappy movies during a breakup. I know I better stock up because we are going to need it in about two months when Mr. All-American breaks Jay’s heart.