***
It didn't make sense to me at first but my friends allied and explained the details of a delusion that... at some point, somehow, came to be tested by us three idiots.
"You're right," scanning me from the other side of the table Mason agreed, uncharacteristically serious about Sophie's occurrence, "to this day, I sometimes think it's a waste that you're a girl. You're handsome and have an average height that's more to the cute side. Having short hair and dressing like you do really gives you a vibe many gay men would go for."
"Really? Is that why you refused to believe me until I had to make you grope my chest? Were you in love with me or something?"
"Don't you remember I puked because of that grope?! It was just because of shock, though… It's not an everyday thing to get a girl shove a guy's hand all over their soft breast! Ugh, idiot! Now that I think about it that was practically sexual harassment!"
"It shocked you enough to remember they are soft, huh?" Sophie muttered, enjoying Mason's redness.
"Whatever. You were getting annoying denying it every time you saw me. I just forgot shame for a second and… I did realise it was a little too much afterwards but at least it worked out."
Even to this day I kind of regret doing that since I should have cared more about my privates.
"Sigh… You have no cure."
"I don't need one."
"... Hey," Sophie then interrupted, "but you do need something, Layna."
"Hmm... new friends?"
"Besides that." Olympically ignoring me she agreed to finish me off, "You need money."
"Wooow. Hah... Thanks for the stab. You're so nice while calling me a beggar~"
"No problem."
"..."
"Heh. Sophie's right though. I'm inviting the drinks today but how will you get your weekly dose of alcohol from now on, Layna? If there's something you enjoy, then that would be Friday nights since you can lock yourself up to drink like this... but not after tonight. I can't afford another mouth here."
"Tsk! As if I would ask that from you... I don't know… Maybe I'll just abstain from it for a while—"
"Even you won't believe that. Hey, alpha gay boy, why don't you take her with you? To that pub from now on?" Suddenly, Sophie suggested to Mason. Turning to me to blurt a joke that was too good to just leave it at that, "you say Layna could easily pass as a guy so… why don't you go with him and get yourself some free drinks from hot gay men~? That way you get to save money, have fancy drinks and Mason can… Yeah! You could get the hunks Layna rejects, hahahaha~! It fits you well, wahahaha!!"
"....."
"That's nonsense," I laughed, thinking that Mason would get mad now.
"That's actually a good idea."
But then again… It turned out he was mad in the head instead.
"Huh?"
***
Turns out Mason and I apparently were just as desperate in the end, although for different reasons. The idea took off instantly after they convinced me it was only a test. I accepted not only out of desperation but also because of... boredom maybe (?), and so, we decided to try it out at least once and see if it works out.
Using face masks and high necks to cover the Adam apple I lack, we decided to go to the pub Mason showed us the week after that meeting since we ended that night planning how I should act, practising my manly voice and then for the rest of the week practice some more to make it "perfect". We were pretty free because of the end of the semester so it was a funny excuse for us to meet up.
It's a good thing I already had more of a low tone of voice so it wasn't that much of a hassle to make it sound manly. Mason had already thought I was a guy when we first met without me making any effort so at least we knew idiots like him would take the bait and fail to notice if I mess up. But still, not everyone lacks as many neurons as my dear best friend. We needed to be thorough in due respect for others' intellect. He said I could even call myself a 'Femboy' or something along those lines if things got difficult, so I trusted him on that and prepared to act accordingly.
However, nothing could foreshadow that our first try would be so extraordinarily successful for both of us.
That night, I got myself six free cocktails, all on my own and one more thanks to the guy flirting with Mason since he was nice enough to invite his target's friend for a drink too.
The first impression we got was awesome of course and so, we kept doing it… until it became a must-have plan for our every weekend. Sometimes, as it must happen everywhere, some bothersome guy would approach us, but even then, those around us were mostly respectful people and would help us get out of trouble with good intentions. Luckily we never had any big troubles, unlike others we did witness on the way while doing this tiny innocent scam.
I came to understand that sitting at the bar became the prime spot to be in at these kinds of places. Being near the staff and bartenders was already a good aid in case bothersome guys came near Mason or me and it was the place most guys could approach us more easily. We also learned that exclusively male gay clubs were better for us. The fact that I usually am also approached by girls was the reason behind this precaution since the danger of being found out was more on the table if it's a girl who had decided to flirt with me… hence, we decided to go more often to those exclusively open for gay men.
Mason was really happy with this arrangement as well. Having someone he trusts to go to these pubs made him less anxious, and although I did tease him about knowing he was gay... There was this one time we were on our own that we finally had a serious talk about that.