Chapter 51

Epilogue

Stepping out of the crowd coming into the large room where Miss Teen Navada was being held, Bailey tried to avoid looking at the people around him like he had done all morning. Candi and he had spent the morning hours dressed up in costume at the comic book convention being held next door. “This room is so much bigger than ours.” Bailey said looking at the sea of chairs setup in front of the stage. Candi looked up from adjusting the thigh high boots she was wearing for her costume.

“Hmmm, I like don’t think so. It just looks that way because we have all those booths blocking our view.

“Yeah well, I still like don’t like how we got free tickets to the convention.” Candi gave her friend a sideways glance.

“Liar, we both know you are loving all the attention. Like besides how can you beat getting free tickets to a sold-out convention and totally get paid for it!” Bailey looked down at his costume, a blue one-piece bathing suit with a white star on his chest, a red and white vertical striped corset around his waist, an army green web belt with pouches and shoulder straps, white stockings and calf high red high heeled boots. Candi had told him how they were going to go and get to wear superhero costumes and even said how he could be Captain America. The idea of donning his favorite hero's costume had him excited, what he wore now was far from what he had expected, not to mention the retro hairstyle that took forever to get just right. He did hate it, but he wasn’t going to correct Candi about loving the attention, he really did love hanging around all the other booth babes that had been hired, but definitely not all the sweaty men that wanted to put their hands on him for a photo. Candi’s Captain Marvel costume left her just as exposed, it really only being five pieces. The thigh high heeled boots, a stylized black one-piece bathing suit with gold stripes across it, the red sash around her waist, the black long gloves and the mask. Bailey glanced at his friend again, he knew she didn’t enjoy all the attention they were getting, but at least she got to do it without a corset. He really hoped whatever costume Rosemarie, the supervisor for all the booth babes was going to be better tomorrow.

“Hello earth to Bailey.” Candi tried to snap her fingers but couldn’t with the gloves. When Bailey’s attention came back to the here and now she giggled, amused that soon as she called her out on her bull that she zoned out thinking, probably about the few cute guys they had seen today. “Think about anything or anyone fun? I bet Auggy would love to see you today, oh we should totally get photos of us with all the other girls! Ry and Auggy will just lose it!”

“I was thinking that if I’m Captain America I should have a shield.” So I can use it to cover up more and keep the creeps away, Bailey added mentally. “Taking some photos with the other girls… like totally sounds fun.” Bailey agreed to the plan for very different reasons than Candi.

“Okay, well like Aunt Megan is coming from backstage to show us our seats.” Candi turned off the screen on her phone, wishing she had a better place to put it than inside the leg of her boot, that wasn’t much more than a high heeled shoe covered in lycra up to her thigh. Bailey gave Candi a glance, hardly registering that his friend often insisted on calling his pretend aunt with the same family title he did.

It only took a few minutes before Bailey saw aunt Megan walking around the chairs to come to them at the back of the room. Bailey held up his hand and waved, giving her a smile, and happy to get one in return. Things had gotten better between them, not perfect, but much better. It seemed to become doubly so when Leah had moved in with her after what that asshole of his ex best friend pulled by abandoning Leah. How things turned out seemed amazing, he could have never imagined Liam being adopted and officially becoming Leah Megan Best, but then he would never have thought he would be here ready to take his seat for the Miss Teen Nevada pageant to see his old protege strut on stage.

“I love your dress!” Candi said, looking at Megan in a wraparound green dress. The skirt of it was a slightly darker shade of green then the top and had white dots across it.

“Hi girls, I should be the one commenting on what the two of you are wearing. I wasn’t prepared to have a pair of superheroes around. Are you girls enjoying your time here in Vegas at your convention?”

“Oh my gosh we are, I got a photo of Bailey with someone who went all out for an Iron Man costume, she has her head on his shoulder and is lifting one leg up.”

“We have like a lot of photos. I don't think Aunt Megan has time to go through them right now.” Bailey said trying to veer their path away from showing her any evidence of that morning. “How is my cousin doing backstage?”

Megan waived her hand in the air in the general direction of the stage. “Happy, excited, nervous. All the emotions you can expect from a girl who is pushing herself to compete in a state level beauty pageant when she doesn’t think she deserves to be here.”

“That is just silly and nonsense!” Candi said as she started to text on her phone.

Candi: Hey girl!

Candi: You totally deserve to be here and if any of those stuck up girls say otherwise you just take a photo of them and I will come backstage and drag them out by their hair!

Candi: but like really, you got this. Bailey and I are dressed up like Captain America and Captain Marvel, but like we both think you are the real hero today.

Cand: You are brave, you are beautiful, and you are loved! <3

Pursing her lips, Candi looked up from her phone wishing Leah had responded so she could address anything specific that was bothering her, but she guessed she was busy.

“Were you just texting Leah?” Bailey leaned over to see the text messages. “Can’t we like just go backstage to talk to her?” Megan shook her head.

“Not this time, everyone is limited to two people, the hair stylist and makeup artist are already having to take turns being back with Leah when I’m not around and she did not get your text message I’m afraid Candi. I had to take away her phone, she kept texting Jeremy and with him on that yearly father son trip they go on he doesn't’ have good reception. So she is working herself into a tizzy, but it is her fault. She told him not to skip the trip and now she is panicking because he isn’t responding, so I had to take her phone away for now.”

“That rule sounds stupid, can we like just do it and get kicked out after we give her a hug?” Megan gave the well meaning girl a warm smile as she reached out and touched her forearm just above the long glove.

“I could do that if you want to risk being kicked out and not seeing the pageant.” Candi frowned sharking her head at the same time Bailey spoke up and made a chopping motion with her hand.

“No, we are here to see her and everyone would be looking at us when security like escorts out two super heroes.” Candi smirked and bumped her hip into Bailey’s. She agreed with her, but smiled at the excuse of everyone looking at her. “Besides like if anyone can help Leah, it would be her Mom.” Bailey missed the intimate times with Mandy, but having her play the role of his mother allowed him to lean on her in ways he never had before and he expected the same was true for Leah.

Megan touched her cheek with one hand, she wasn’t blushing, but the compliment from Bailey meant a lot to her. Getting Leah adopted took four visits from a social worker, a mountain of paperwork, a missing person's report for Charles, a good deal of money and brought both her and Leah to the brink of their patience with how slow the fast track for adoption was. Megan had agonized on how to say it, how to even bring it up with her daughter Becky, but in the end after multiple calls the most she got was Becky answering saying she didn’t have time to chat and would catch up another time. Her own daughter still wasn’t taking her calls and even with gaining a new daughter it hurt much more than she would let on.

Backstage Leah ran a brush across her cheek to fix her makeup that already looked perfect as she bounced one of her legs. She was sitting in front of a mirror with lights all around it like most of the other contestants. She was wearing the same red gown with the bow across her chest that she wore at the start of the last pageant and had even gone so far that she wore everything down to the same panties that she wore to the last pageant in hopes of recreating that magic. “Didn’t I just see your makeup artist just leave?”

Leah looked off to the side at the blonde girl with a bob haircut, wearing a pink and purple dress with forearm length gloves. Leah gave her a small smile, nodding her head at Melissa. Aspen was here today after winning some other qualifying pageant and instead of laying into her she had been teasing and harassing Melissa. Saying her hair was too short to compete, her dress was too old fashioned and frumpy. Melissa was just under six foot tall without the four inch heels she wore and being backstage Leah got a good look at her long legs and chest that had to be at least a D cup. Once upon a time Leah was sure a wave from this girl in his direction would have stunned his mind that she would pay any attention to her. Aspen was way off the mark picking on her and Leah was more than happy to tell her to shut her bitch mouth.

“I only bring it up because you are doing your makeup… after a professional just did it.” Melissa said when Leah didn’t verbally respond. Leah shifted her grasp on the brush and looked at it in an accusing way, like it was its fault. “Maybe I’m nervous and not as confident as I want to be.” It felt good and odd at the same time that she had struck up conversation with the pretty blonde girl after laying into Aspen.

“Maybe all of us are like, but you earned your spot here. Just like the rest of us, you are more than pretty and nicer than most of the girls here. I saw that Aspen girl doing the same thing to two others before she started in with me and no one said a word to her, that is until you stood up to her. I didn’t even speak up to defend myself, so maybe it is okay to have little more confidence, but like not too much because we are absolutely rivals and not best friends.”

“Best friends?” Leah repeated, confused as to why she would say that.

“Yeah after what you did absolutely, but like maybe just friends till after the competition. I would feel awful if I beat my rival and best friend today, but maybe just maybe she could be happy for me when I win the crown. Or am I not good enough to be your friend? Cause I feel good enough.”

“No, no, no, no…” Leah waved her hands back and forth.

“I’m just kidding with you Leah, lighten up or you are going to have a stroke before we are old enough to drink. But I was thinking…” Melissa trailed off, giving a shrug of her shoulders. “We could be friends.” It wasn’t long ago that Leah was running around as Liam trying to get laid as often as he could, and here that boy was now dolled up for a pageant as a teen girl making friends with another girl, after just being adopted by a woman who supported her and loved her. Life had taken some odd turns and brought her to a place where things were better, things were good.

“I would like really like that.” Leah put down the offending brush. “Do we like hug or something?” Leah asked thinking of how often his other female friends hugged.

“Oh absolutely, so long as you aren’t trying to ruin my makeup.” Melissa narrowed her eyes, taking a half a step back as she slightly cocked her head. “I think I’m on to you, you are trying to sabotage me aren't you… expected of my rival.” She broke into a fit of laughter before moving forward to give her new friend a hug. “Also, you used the word like twice to say you wanted to be friend. You either really wanted my friendship or we need to break you of that habit. Can’t have people thinking less of you, because you deserve more than that.”

“I will like try to do better.” Melissa smirked, giving her new friend’s shoulder a squeeze. “You do that. Oh and like do you have any plans for after the pageant like tonight? I’m here with my uncle and he isn’t into any of this, but he does it for me and I thought the two of us. And umm…” Melissa bit her lip, ruining the glossy finish. “Him and your Mom could all get to know one another.” Leah missed the not so subtle hint of them setting up their guardians as she thought about what she really wanted to do. She wanted Jeremy to be in town and for them to have a room of their own. Her back on the surface of the table in the hotel room, the crown in her hair and the sash covering one of her breasts on her naked body as she had her heeled feet up in the air on his shoulders. His strong hands gripping her thighs as he pushed himself into her as she let out mews of pleasure and gasps of air as he filled her up, much like he had done in the back seat of his car or when she was on her knees with her ass in the air inside his bedroom on that rare day both of his parents were out of the house.

A blush came to Leah’s cheeks as the carnal thoughts ran through her mind, she could have never imagined the pleasure that came from anal sex when a cock hit just that right spot inside of her. Leah shook her head to try and clear away the fantasy that couldn’t happen, at least not tonight. “No, darn I guess you already have plans.”

Leah pressed her lips together as she looked into Melissa’s brown eyes, seeing the few flecks of gold in them for the first time that only enhanced this girl's beauty. “No, I mean yeah we should totally get together for dinner. My cousins are also in town, well cousin at the comic convention. I don’t like know what their plans are, but would it be okay if they came?”

“That depends on whether your cousins are cute?” Leah smiled widely at the girl showing her braces.

“They are, like really they are, but they are girls.”

“Shame, well that sounds delightful to me, then you will have a good support after I win today.”

“Do you umm how are you so confident?” Melissa leaned in closer.

“I’m not, I’m just trying to talk myself up instead of putting myself down like my brain is constantly doing today.”

“I think you could win.” Melissa smiled at Leah more than happy to have someone besides her uncle say that to her.

“We are rivals, you aren’t supposed to say things like that. Gosh you are just the sweetest thing; I am so happy I met you today, Leah. And for what it is worth, I think you could win too.”