I was Baby New Year.
The guy they got first came down with mono and couldn't do it. So, Hugo calls Greg in a panic, Greg calls me, I say "Hell, no!", Greg calls Hugo back, Hugo doubles the fee, Greg calls me back and I say I'll do it.
I arrived a little after eight and started to warm up.
Hugo walked up and handed me my costume. "Here you go sweetness," he said, handing me the outfit. "Your ensemble."
"Thanks."
" Greg 's coming tonight. He said he can't wait to see you dance."
"So?"
"You know, it's not my place to say."
He was going to say it, anyway.
"Our Gregory is more than a little taken with you."
"Yeah. I thought everyone knew that."
"This doesn't bother you? It's just that..."
"Hugo, I'm a dancer. He's not the first guy to want me to be their 'boyfriend.' It's nothing new."
He looked me up and down.
"I can see why."
"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" cheered the crowd.
The clock struck twelve and out I came.
I did my campiest routine and the crowd ate it up.
They threw confetti, streamers and blew horns.
The crowd roared.
"Let's boogie!" he shouted, the emcee in his element. "Party, party, party!"
A few men jumped on the stage and joined us, stripping down to their underwear.
The music blasted out of the speakers, getting louder and louder.
The mass of people on the dance floor swelled, pulsing and swaying with the music.
Greg leaped up on stage and moved towards me.
"Happy New Year," he said, in a drunken slur, reaching over to kiss me.
But he tripped and landed, face first, on the stage, at my feet.
I continued to dance.
