The Queens of San Diego (18+)

Chapter 28

Desmond

The call came out of nowhere. Izzy was getting married. Like, today.

I was sitting in my apartment yesterday, flipping through my planner when my phone buzzed. I saw Izzy's name and thought it was just a quick catch-up call, but no. "I'm getting married tomorrow," she said in her usual no-nonsense way, her voice bubbling with excitement. Within hours, we were scrambling, booking flights, and throwing things in suitcases without a second thought. There was no way any of us would miss it.

Now, we were in Virginia Beach, and things were moving fast. It had only been a day since Izzy's last-minute call, but here we were at The Cavalier Hotel—a stunning, historic place that practically screamed elegance. We landed in Norfolk, checked in, and immediately got to work. I was already in full drag, of course, because there's no way I'm officiating a wedding without Kate Chocolate Mousse showing up and showing out. Yes, honey. I'm officiating the damn wedding!

The whole thing still felt surreal. I've hosted drag shows, performed to wild crowds, and put on all kinds of fabulous events, but officiating a wedding? That was next level. It's not like I had much time to freak out about it, though. As soon as we checked into our suite, Martina started steaming Izzy's wedding dress—because, of course, the queen herself picked it up from Izzy's downtown apartment on the way to the airport. As always, she was thinking ahead.

"Can you believe this?" I asked Martina, who was laser-focused on making sure there wasn't a single wrinkle in that dress. "Kate Chocolate Mousse, officiating a wedding. If that isn't the most fabulous thing in the world, I don't know what is."

Martina chuckled, brushing a stray hair out of her face as she concentrated. "Honestly, it's perfect. Who else would Izzy trust to slay like this?"

"Right?!" I said, refreshing the online certification course I was finishing to make it all legal. "I just need this website to finish loading, and boom—I'm an official officiant."

Martina glanced over and raised an eyebrow. "Only you could manage to become a wedding officiant while in drag. Iconic."

We laughed, but underneath all the joking and lightheartedness, I could feel how special this moment was. It was one of those moments where you realize just how far you've come with your friends. We've all been through so much, and now, here we were, getting Izzy ready to marry the love of her life, Conrad, in a beautiful, impromptu wedding. It was a full-circle kind of day.

"Alright," I said, leaning back on the bed after clicking the final button on my screen. "It's official. Kate Chocolate Mousse can marry people. Izzy's in for the most fabulous ceremony of her life."

"She's so lucky to have us," Martina quipped, standing up and giving the wedding dress a final inspection.

"Seriously though," I added, reflecting for a moment. "This is something, huh? Us being here for her like this. Last-minute flight, no questions asked. That's love."

Martina smiled, her eyes softening. "Yeah. That's what we do for each other."

And that's the truth. When you've been through everything we have, dropping everything for each other becomes second nature. It's not even a decision anymore—it's just what you do. The world could be crumbling around us, but if one of us called for help, the others would be there in a heartbeat.

Just as I was about to get all sentimental, the door to our suite swung open, and in walked JJ and Lukas, looking way too relaxed for a day like this.

"How's the online course going?" JJ asked with a grin, taking in the sight of me sitting in full drag, laptop in front of me, like it was just another Tuesday.