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chance even in fantasyland for the two of them to ever touch.
    Shane just wanted to know that there was a chance of touching. Just to know it, he thought with a painfully thudding heart, just to know there was a chance…. It might make celibacy worth it just to know someone that beautiful might ever touch him.
    The dance continued and time stopped. When it was over, Shane clapped with the rest of the patrons in the food court, and the three performers stood together, bowed, and set up the tip basket. Shane waited until the crowds had cleared out and walked over and dropped a twenty in the basket Kimmy was holding, and she looked up at him in surprise.
    When she saw who it was, she passed the basket off to Oberon and squealed, launching herself at Shane with enough enthusiasm to make the three-hour trip to Gilroy completely worth it.
    “You came ! Oh God, Shaney, you came !”
    Shane laughed and hugged her, picking her up and swinging her around. “How many sisters you think I’ve got, sweetheart?” he asked as he 26

    put her down. ( Three , he answered himself, if he counted Benny and Amy, which he did.)
    “Did you see? Did you like?” Kimmy asked excitedly, bouncing up and down, and then she stopped and flushed. “I’m sorry—I’ve been trying to be less about Kimmy and more about the rest of the world.” She paused like a schoolgirl remembering her times tables. “How was your trip? Do you like the Faire? Will you be staying long?”
    “I’m here for the rest of the day, Kim. I’ve got a hotel room, but I need to leave early in the morning. I was hoping we could go out for dinner or something—even if it’s with your friends and all.” He took a chance and swung his chin around to indicate Oberon and Puck, both of whom were hanging out like friends to see who the behemoth hugging their Titania might be.
    Kimmy’s face lit up, and Shane forgot her pretty companion for a moment. His sister was honestly happy to see him.
    “You’ll stay?” she asked again hesitantly, and Shane smiled, feeling very happy he’d come.
    “Yeah—how many more performances you got?”
    “What, Mikhail—three today?” She grabbed Shane’s hand and looked behind her at Oberon, who was showing no signs of bugging off into the dusty wonder of the Faire.
    “You have three,” he replied in voice that held a slight accent. “I have only one more.”
    “Oh yeah,” Kimmy said, frowning in thought. “I’d forgotten.
    Mikhail isn’t a regular member of the troupe—he’s taking some of the slack off Kurt while he’s healing up.” She pitched her voice conspicuously over her shoulder. “Although we’d love for him to join us on a permanent basis, wouldn’t we, Brett?”
    “I’m all for it!” Brett muttered with a lewd and playful waggle of his eyebrows, and Mikhail cast a furtive look at Shane and blushed.
    Shane tried very hard to keep walking and not just turn around and stare. Did that blush mean what he thought it did? He dismissed the idea of what Brett might be to Mikhail—why would he blush?
    “I have things to do this season,” Mikhail was saying softly. “If there’s still room in the troupe when those things are done, I’d be happy to join, Kim—you know that.”

    Kim’s face softened. “Yeah, I know.”
    “Where we going?” Shane asked. He was being dragged past myriad vendors, all of them in costume and calling raucously to the passers-by to come see the wares set up in a variety of tents.
    “Well, I’m going to do my next costume change!” Kimmy laughed as she dragged Shane behind what looked like the Faire proper to a set of smaller tents behind the vendor’s tents. “And then I think we’re going to go get you some clothes. You’re sticking out like a sore thumb, Shane.
    Was that really the effect you wanted?”
    Shane cast a sideways look at Mikhail and knew he turned red.
    “No,” he said thickly. “Sore thumbs hurt.” Christ. Did he really say that?
    Jesus, Shane, try not to