On the way to the club, a long black limo pulled up to a stop light where Treston was waiting to cross the street. Treston had decided to walk to work. It wasn't as hot as it had been earlier that week and he still had plenty of time to spare. While he stood there and waited for the light to change, he thought about how Lyon's first night doing the ping-pong ball act would turn out. Treston would be on stage with Lyon that night to help him out; they'd agreed to do a rare dual act so Lyon could get the hang of it, so to speak. But Treston had to admit he had his reservations. He'd been working with Lyon all week, showing him how to insert the ping-pong ball shooter into his ass so he could reach back and pull the trigger to create the illusion. And every single time the tip of the ping-pong ball shooter touched Lyon's anus, he screamed out in pain. When it was actually in him, as hard as he tried to smile, a look of pure discomfort would have been the only way to describe his expression.
The stoplight seemed to take forever to change. When Treston glanced at his watch to check on the time, the back window of the limo went down and a familiar voice said, "How about a lift to work?"
Treston glanced to the left and saw Chad Pratt's head poking through the open window. He'd started to grow a beard and there were cute little flecks of silver mingled with sandy blond stubble. For a second, he found it hard to exhale. "No, thank you, Jesus. I'm not that far away. I don't mind walking."
Chad laughed. The light changed and neither one of them made an attempt to move forward. "I see you've heard about my new movie. I'm growing a beard to get into character. I always become the character when I play a part. What do you think of it?"
Treston tilted his head one way, and then the other. He pressed his index finger to his chin and said, "I love the beard, but I'm not sure about the Jesus part. Because the day you play Jesus we're all in for trouble. Judas, yes. But not Jesus."
"Don't be mean," Chad said. "C'mon. Get in. I'll take you to work. You can sit on my lap and we'll do bad things."
"No, thank you." There was something about this man that made him smile and feel alive again. Treston felt drawn to him, as if an invisible force were pulling him into the limo. But he'd felt that way before about all the bad boys he'd fallen in love with and he wasn't going to let that happen again.
"Then I'll just have to come and see the show tonight," Chad said. "I've been missing you."
Treston set the backpack down on the pavement and clenched his fists. He walked up to the back door of the limo and glared at Chad. "Don't you dare show up tonight. This is my last night at the club and they're throwing a party for me. I'm moving out of my apartment on Sunday morning and I'm getting married to the man I love on Sunday afternoon. Cooper's coming to the party tonight and I don't want you there ruining things for me."
Chad stopped smiling. "So you're really going to do this. When Chickey told me I wasn't sure you'd actually do it."
"Yes, I'm really going to do it. I'm in love. And I would appreciate it if you didn't talk to Chickey about me."
"I've been keeping tabs," Chad said. "It's all harmless and Chickey's an old friend."
"Some people would call it stalking," Treston said.
Chad didn't actually frown, but he did send Treston one of the most intense looks anyone had sent him in years. He tilted his head and asked, "Are you happy?"
Treston hesitated for a moment. With Chad it was hard to tell if he was acting. This was the last thing Treston had expected him to say. He said, "I finally figured out how to not only change my life, but my circumstances. And most guys like me never figure that out. Cooper's one of the good guys."
Chad did not hesitate to reply. "I didn't ask you that. I'm sure this Chad is more like Jesus than Jesus himself. I asked you if you were happy."
Treston rolled his eyes. When Chad looked at him this way, he felt like gulping. It frightened him even more when he realized he wanted to get into the limo with him and hold him in his arms. But he wasn't falling for it anymore. No shifty, lying cheater would ever leave him naked at Lake Mead again. "Yes, I'm happy."
Chad winked at him and said, "That's all I wanted to know." Then he put the window up and told the driver to leave.
* * * *
Although Treston's regular Saturday night performance began at eleven o'clock and ran until eleven thirty, that night Chickey was trying out a new act where a young guy went out on stage and juggled six balls while wearing nothing but a sock over his dick and two fringed pasties over his nipples. Treston thought it was actually a very interesting act and he would have been intimidated if that hadn't been his last night at the club. The guy was damn good and Treston knew it. Instead of coming out on stage at the beginning of his act in a flamboyant fantasy cop or fireman costume like the other strippers did, this guy just loped out on stage in regular street clothes and he looked like any other straight young male tourist on the streets of Las Vegas. The fact that he didn't know how to dance at all only made it better. He had one of those naturally stocky bodies with just the right amount of hair everywhere. That night he moved his cute legs in every direction, except to the beat of the music-an old-fashioned retro stripper song women used to dance to. When he went out on stage, wearing flip-flops, baggy shorts, and a blue and white polo shirt, the men watching the show actually started to roar. And when he stripped down and started juggling the balls wearing the sock and pasties, they pounded the tables so hard one actually tipped over.
It took so long for the new guy to collect the tips the men had thrown on the stage for him, Treston and Lyon didn't actually go on until midnight. Treston had been hoping this wouldn't happen. He didn't want Cooper to see him shooting ping-pong balls out of his ass. But he couldn't say no; Lyon and Chickey were depending on him.
There were so many men in the club that night Treston couldn't see anything when he danced onto the stage in Lyon's arms. Lyon had decided he wanted to wear something more formal for the beginning of the act and he'd chosen tight black pants, a white shirt, and dressy black shoes. Treston wore the same identical outfit. Lyon wasn't the best dancer, so he'd decided to do a mock version of the tango to a classic song with which everyone was familiar. As an added bonus, they'd agreed to undress each other before they climbed up on the platform and did the ping-pong ball act. Lyon thought it would garner them more tips if they undressed each other. He also said Treston was the only guy he would trust doing this with. As a straight man, he had lines he refused to cross, but he said he knew Treston wouldn't take advantage and touch him or do anything to him that was inappropriate.
The first part of the act went smoothly and the customers applauded several moves they made. At one point, when Treston's cheek was against Lyon's cheek and they were gliding across the stage, Treston said, "Aren't you glad we rehearsed so much this week? They love us."
Lyon said, "I can't even believe I'm doing this. I usually just come out and swing my ass around, dude. I never thought I could actually dance, and not with another dude."
One of the things Treston loved most about Lyon was his humility. He truly was one of the few fantastic-looking straight men who didn't know it or use it to his advantage. "You're a wonderful dancer."
Then they broke away, did a few more complicated turns they'd rehearsed that week, and the music started to get faster for the second part of the act. This was where the actual stripping began. After they each kicked off their shoes and pulled off their socks, Treston danced over to Lyon and slowly unbuttoned his shirt, taking great care to be sure he didn't touch him in an inappropriate way. They continued to move their legs to the beat of the music the entire time and the men in the audience went silent and watched each move they made. When Lyon was down to nothing but a black silk thong, he reached forward and he began to undress Treston.
Only he didn't undress Treston the same way Treston had undressed him. As if he could sense the energy in the audience and the natural chemistry between them, he wrapped his naked legs around Treston's body, ran his hands up and down Treston's ass, and even pulled Treston in front of him and made bucking movements. At one point, when Treston was down to nothing but his black silk thong, and Lyon was behind him bucking, he tilted his head and said, "What on Earth are you doing? If you get any closer you're going to be inside me."
By that time the men were screaming for more. Lyon held Treston's waist tighter and said, "They love us. I'm giving them what they want. Look at all the money they're throwing on the stage. Just trust me. I know what I'm doing."
Though Treston felt awkward doing this with his best friend, a straight married guy no less, he threw his head back and laughed. He felt the energy and chemistry, too. He was having too much fun to complain. And he did know it was all in good fun and there was nothing serious about it. He kissed Lyon on the cheek and said, "You're the boss."
Lyon gave his ass a gentle slap and he said, "Just follow my next move and jump into my arms, buddy." Then he shoved Treston forward, turned him around, and pulled him back again so Treston could jump into his arms and wrap his legs around his waist. Even though they hadn't rehearsed this part, Treston followed his moves and wound up in his arms.