Kendra Chelsea Reviews DC 9 and Rebirth

Rebirth (Part 1 of 2)

I was close to timing this right, really close. This review was supposed to coincide with my journal entries but I was one freaking measly article short. In other words, Williamsburg at the Right time part 2 was supposed to be yesterday, but well, I failed…

Getting kind of used to it I guess; I had an interview with the University of Maryland newspaper yesterday and I failed at that too. While I am on the subject, Jerry, screw it, Keith (his real name) told me yesterday he noticed that I am comfortable talking in front of large crowds but freeze up when I am one on one. Now I have something else I have to worry about. (Are ya following my attention deficit disorder of a brain or am I all over the place again)

Anyway the story so far- I was at the point in my life where I felt like I would never meet anyone I could call my own. My friends and my family all had boyfriends or girlfriends while I maintained my status quo of being the third wheel. I ended up meeting up with a crossdressing man in Williamsburg and we ended up hot and heavy for a while. And even though I knew that wasn’t what I was looking for, it made me feel like there was some hope for me after all.

Ok, so after Williamsburg part 2, my friends and I had plans to go to a club in DC called Cloak and Dagger; it’s a straight club not too far away from Logan Circle. You see, I was failing miserably at gay bars because, well, gay men do not seem to be looking for women… So, this combination review, journal entry takes place immediately after tomorrows story….shew, complicated.

“Oh you are gorgeous Marcie.” I said as we climbed into the back seat of Jamie’s car.

“You like it?” Marcie replied and did somewhat of a curtsey. “I thought it would go with a club called Cloak and Dagger.”

“Oh it does.” I said as I rubbed her shoulder. I smiled and thought about how I truly meant it, I loved her as much as I loved anyone in my life and even though she is ten times the woman I am, I did not have one ounce of jealousy “I have a feeling that this is going to be a good night.” I continued and then paused, “Well I hope it is going to be a great night anyway.”

We began our girl’s night out at the right time, late enough where the clubs had already began to fill up but sadly that meant most of the parking was no longer available.

“How about down here?” Jamie said as she slowed down passing a dark ally.

“Um, that’s a little creepy don’t you think?” I asked

“It says parking, ten dollars.” She responded as she proceeded to make the turn anyway.

“Okay, so we start off the evening dead, not sure that will make the night successful.” I thought to myself but remained silent.

I gathered my purse as Jamie paid the parking attendant, checked my makeup and stepped out of the car. “You are pretty too Kendra.” Marcie said as she slipped her hand inside mine and we headed back out to the street.

Yes, I was extremely happy to be back into a well-lit area but I did not stay comfortable for very long because I did not take three steps before I felt someone grab me from behind. “Hey, let me talk to you for a second…Come over here for a second.” He said as he guided me over to the bus stop. “Are running the clubs?”

Not only was I uneasy about the situation, I was watching my friends continue down the street, not knowing that I was being held back by a stranger. “Yes, we are going to Cloak and Dagger. My friends, down there, the ones that are getting away” I said nervously and pointed toward Jamie and Marcie.

“I just wanted to tell you that you are beautiful and sexy, I had to take the chance and say something. And if you girls wouldn’t mind some company I wouldn’t mind hanging out with you.” He said as he made direct eye contact with me.

That was the first chance I had to get a real good look at him. Yes he was a little shorter than me and yes his breath smelled like alcohol but somewhere underneath of it all I realized he was kind of cute. “I don’t know, I should ask them.” I said when I noticed they had stopped walking and had turned back toward me.

He released me and followed close behind me as I attempted to catch back up with them.

“Marcie…this is…”I said before I realized I did not know his name.

“Keith.” He continued for me and stuck out his hand to greet her.

“He wants to go to Cloak and Dagger with us, what do you think?” I asked Marcie but meant the question for both of them.

“Hmmm… Marcie groaned as she looked him up and down, presumably to find something wrong with him. “That is up to you.”

Ugh, that is the type of thing that makes me love her more and trust me, I do not need to love her more. She sounded like, well, a motherly figure, my little protective guardian angel.

I felt uncomfortable and uneasy as we walked the remaining three blocks until we reached the club. I really didn’t say anything as they began to check our ID one by one. Jamie first, then Marcie followed closely by me. I was kind of reluctant to enter without Keith but I was not going get separated from my friends.

Yes, as Jamie ordered our first round of drinks, I waited near the entrance for Keith but for some reason he was being held up by security and eventually I gave up and rejoined my friends and downed my first bourbon.

After a few minutes Keith, the man that had hit me up, just a dozen or steps after I had gotten out of Jamie’s car, was just a memory.

We headed upstairs to the real action, everyone knew that all I wanted to do was dance. I ordered another drink and headed to the dance floor and my friends followed close behind. “Wow, it’s really crowded, I have no idea how you plan on dancing in this mess.” Jamie said as we pushed our way through and found a little corner to ourselves.

Yep, with this many people I knew it might be a little difficult to get any type of one on one interaction with anyone, which by the way, was the primary reason I wanted to go to a straight club….(insert sit-com laugh track of the image of a transgender woman trying to find a straight man to date)

But we danced and in between good songs I ordered my third and fourth drinks and yes, an hour into my little dancing vacation I was feeling quite good.

And with each and every minute that passed more people crowded onto the dance floor. I was stepped on four times, had a drink spilled on me twice and elbowed more times than I care to remember. “Hey.” Jamie yelled over the noise. “Maybe we should find somewhere else to go.”

“Thank god someone else was thinking what I was thinking.” I yelled back at her but not giving her a chance to change her mind I worked my way through the crowd to settle the check.

And I realized that Kendra could not hold her alcohol like Ken could because as I reached the top of the stairs I need both Jamie and Marcie to help guide me down to ground level. “Where do you want to go next?” Marcie asked as we reached the exit.

Trust me, I was not really in the state of mind to figure out the next place for our party to convene but still, we started down U Street.

As we turned the next corner I noticed a familiar face; the man that attempted to pick me up before we went into Cloak and Dagger. “Hey beautiful. Wow, it is like destiny that we ran into each other again.” He said as he began to walk along side of me.

“Hey baby.” I responded

Yes, even though I did not know anything about this man, I realized that if you add a bunch of bourbon into the equation, you begin to feel like you are his best friend.

“I know this club you all will all like, it is just a couple blocks from here too.” He said as he took my arm as we continued to walk.

Marcie briefly looked back at us with her beautiful judgmental look but shrugged it off; I think that she knew how important for me to find someone to care about and had decided to give me some leeway.

“Here it is DC 9.” He said as he directed us toward the entrance.

“It’s a laid back place, but they have a dance floor on the second level and a restaurant on the third. And I will take care of you, no one will mess with you here.” He continued.

We ordered another round and I sat down at a booth with Keith; Jamie and Marcie remained standing. “I think we are going to check out the dance floor while you and Keith get to know each other better.”

Kendra Reviews DC 9

Wow, and the drinks we ordered was about half the price of the drinks at Cloak and Dagger. The place was more laid back, friendlier. In fact the bartender actually took a moment to say hi, asked how we were doing.

As far as the dance floor, the restaurant upstairs, well I wouldn’t actually get to experience those until a later date but they were quaint, spacious and it was far from crowded. As far as the bar/restaurant upstairs. It was friendly and cool, even during the summer that area seemed to get a fairly nice breeze. I would seriously consider, if you have never visited that club before, put it on your list of places to party.

Rebirth (Part 2 of 2)

Keith wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close to him. “I think you have a beautiful soul Kendra and I really want to get to know you.”

I could tell both of us was really feeling the effect of the alcohol we were consuming and as he spoke I slipped my hand onto his thigh. “You are sweet.” I said with a smile and at that moment my favorite song began to play on the jukebox.

“Seriously Kendra, what would it take for you to come home with me?” He asked as he looked deep into my eyes.

“No, seriously…” I slurred, “There is nothing you can do or say to get me to go home with you. No way would I leave my friends.” I began and briefly paused. (See you can be wasted and somehow make some sort of good decisions. “But when my friends come back downstairs and you let me leave with them, I will respect that and we can actually go out, get to know each other and I will make it worth your while.”

He didn’t say anything, instead he looked deeper into my eyes and he pulled me close and kissed me. Honestly it was the first time since I began to transition that I kissed a man as a woman and I was very conscious of how my head was placed, what my hand was doing, how my head was tilted and most importantly, what my tongue was doing. I called upon all of my past memories of how women had kissed me and did my best to recreate that experience with Keith.

“Oh wow, I love you Kendra…I mean your soul, I can see you are a beautiful person.” He said as soon as he released me.

I danced sitting down next to him as he continued his outpouring of emotion; doing my best not to follow him down that road. “Just kiss me Keith.”

And that is what we did, not sure if it was for thirty minutes or an hour but I felt, well, for the first time in over a year, felt like a complete woman. “Here, I want you to take my number before your friends come back…You won’t forget me will you? Tell me you are going to call?”

I took his number but remained silent, I didn’t want to make any promises that I didn’t intend to keep and as soon as I finished entering it into my cell I went back to kissing Keith. “God.” I sighed, “You are one sexy man.”

And as we broke our kiss and I took my eyes off of him, I looked up to see my friends standing over us. “You two look like you were having fun.” Jamie giggled.

I did the best I could, in my somewhat of a drunken state, to pull myself together, straighten my hair and unruffled my dress and stand.

“Nice to meet you Keith.” I said with a smile and then winked at him a little seductively.

“Call me Kendra.” He replied as he watched me walk out of the bar.

As soon as we was out of earshot, Marcie put her arm around my shoulder, “Well, how was Keith?” She asked. I noticed that this time she was not judging me, it was just one girl asking another girl how her night with.

“He was nice.” I slurred.

“I hate to do this but, I am not entirely sure he knew you were transgender.” She responded with concern, “Just something for you to think about.”

“Na, I am sure he knows, no way he doesn’t, I mean…We kissed all night, I try to shave well but…I doubt I shave that good.”

Marcie giggled a bit, “Okay, but I don’t know, you have to be careful about that.”

And all of a sudden my mind started to race, “really, mother-Marcie…really, this was such a perfect night, just what I needed and now all I can think about is me deceiving Keith; something I swore I would never do.

And yes, I think for a moment or two I was a bit frustrated, at least until I realized it was my best friend in the world looking out for me. “Really? I guess that’s that, no way I am going to call him now.” I grumbled.

“I am not saying not to call him, I am saying you need to make sure he knows.” She said rather sternly.

Just like that, like always, I realized that Marcie was right again. And just like that, I went from my deepest depression since I had begun to transition to on top of the world, I might even say it was sort of a rebirth for me.

#Marcie #Jamie #Keith #Relationships #Review #Nightlife