25
Evan
Flirt is packed.
This is one of the busiest Friday nights I’ve seen in a while.
A cluster of us hang by the door—me, Travis, Cody, Hayden, Donovan, and Frankie.
Travis seems to be doing his best to enjoy himself, but considering Gary had to head out of town for a work trip today, it’s clear that he’d rather be here with his fiancé.
The music’s blasting, and the shots are being passed around.
Jackson joins us soon enough, sliding between Donovan and Frankie, drink in hand.
“What’s gotten into your man tonight?” Frankie asks him. “He seems really stressed out.”
“Up to no good, as usual,” Jackson replies, but I’m not sure what he could mean.
When our group starts to disperse, catching up with people outside our little circle, I use the opportunity to ask Frankie, “You don’t think Derek’s doing something behind Jackson’s back, do you?”
“I doubt that,” Frankie says. “I’m pretty confident the only issue their love life has is refractory periods.”
I burst out laughing. “No, no. You’re right.”
I’m being silly. There are plenty of other reasons why Derek could be bouncing around the way he is tonight.
“It’s Derek,” Frankie reminds me. “He’s probably trying to fix some drama he started with some other power bottom.”
He winks, clearly teasing.
“Hey, be nice. He’s been very good to this power bottom.”
“Yes, he has,” Frankie says. “But I haven’t been so bad to this power bottom, either.”
He rubs my head, and I can’t stifle my grin.
I glance around at the rest of the guys, who are chatting away, none of them seeming to notice our playfulness is different than it used to be. Yeah, we’ve always been like this a little, but since we started the puppy play and fucking around, it’s become so much more. Every caress, every playful look means more than it once did, in a way that makes it so special.
And it’s kind of fun having our little secret.
Not that I wouldn’t want anyone to know. Hell, Frankie has more to lose by being associated with me in this town than the other way around. It’s just that there’s something nice about it just being ours. Not up for anyone’s judgment or scrutiny.
As the night wears on, Frankie and I work the room, catching up with different people. We dance with our crew for a bit before we get some more drinks.
“I think I’m gonna head out soon,” Travis says.
“Oh no, you don’t,” Cody tells him. “You’re having at least one more drink with us. Not a huge difference between staying here and being all sad and pathetic that you aren’t with your man tonight or back at your condo.”
Travis glares at Cody, a smirk on his face, as though he’s annoyed at Cody for calling him out but also like he enjoys knowing his friend gets him.
The drag show starts up, and after a few numbers, the host, Miss Laurie Firebomb, takes to the stage, snatching the mic from a Gaga impersonator. “Okay, okay. All my Flirters, we have a special event taking place tonight, so I need everyone’s attention.” She talks a little about the evening and all the money the drag show has raised for the Midtown LGBTQIA center before she announces, “Now, here to present you with a special treat is none other than Midtown’s most notorious twink, the one and only Bottom Boy, Derek!”
The room fills with applause, and I imagine it’s coming from many of Derek’s most satisfied customers.
Derek takes the stage, caressing his hand through his blond bangs, looking fab in a tight navy polo that’s obviously designed to show off his twinky figure. He takes the mic from Miss Laurie Firebomb, and she exits the stage.
“Wonder what Derek’s up to,” Frankie says. “Although I guess this explains why he made such a big deal about us coming out here tonight.”
“For sure.”
“Okay, okay, guys,” Derek says. “Settle down. Settle down. Please put your phones away. The boys that you’re trying to hook up with on Grindr and Scruff will still be there in ten minutes.”
Some more laughter from the crowd. Derek sure has a way of working an audience. His people skills are something I’ve always admired about him.
“Now, ladies and gentlemen, but mostly gentlemen,” Derek continues. “I don’t know how many of you know my buddy, Travis Waller…”
He indicates Travis, who’s standing near Cody and Hayden at the front of the stage. Travis gets his own fan base shouting out at the sound of his name, and he offers a polite smile and wave.
“This guy’s getting married in a couple of months, to my best friend ever, who unfortunately, couldn’t make it tonight.”
A collective “Awwwwww” fills the room.
“I know, I know,” Derek adds. “Let us take a moment of silence for the top that we’ll be losing. But in all seriousness, since this guy is going to be getting hitched, I thought I’d throw together a little something special just for him. Do you guys want to see what I’ve been scheming? Let me hear you shout out that you’re ready!”
Frankie and I join in the loud clamor from the room, giving Derek our full support of whatever he’s up to.
“Travis, I need you to come here to the stage so that I can publicly humiliate you in front of everyone.”
Jackson sneaks up behind us, and Frankie turns to him. “What’s going on?”
“Not exactly sure,” Jackson replies, “but I know Derek hired a stripper.”
“Oh, I don’t know how Travis is going to feel about that,” Frankie adds.
“Well, it’s Derek’s funeral.”
“Louder,” Derek calls out, and the audience’s excitement turns into a chant of “Show and tell, show and tell, show and tell.”
I notice some commotion coming from the other side of the main, rectangular bar that takes up most of the space. On the other side, the crowd makes space for four guys, who are carrying a wooden platform with a large cake on it.
“Oh, Jesus fucking Christ,” I say.
Cody and Hayden urge Travis onto the stage and into a chair Derek’s pulled up.
“You guys know this isn’t cool,” Travis spits out as the four guys carrying the cake set it down in front of Travis’s chair.
He stands and starts to walk away when the top of the cake pops off, revealing Gary, in a white tux.
Travis’s mouth drops open as his defenses are clearly lowered.
“Travis, you can admit it,” Derek says, standing beside them, mic in hand. “I’m pretty good at surprises.”
Gary steps out of the cake and approaches Travis, urging him back into the chair.
Travis shakes his head, but he clearly can’t fight the smile spreading across his face.
Derek motions to the DJ behind the booth in the corner of the room. The DJ turns up the music as Gary removes the jacket and spins it like a helicopter over his head.
He tosses it into the audience and then grabs the placket of his button-up—which is obviously part of a costume since the buttons tear right off with the sleeves.
He approaches Travis, whirling around and straddling his man’s waist.
This reminds me of that night when he and Gary orchestrated a fundraiser strip-off…how Gary totally owned his little striptease, giving a lap dance for another guy, doing something I would never have expected from Gary. At the time, I just knew him as this quiet, more reserved guy.
That’s not the Gary we’re seeing right now as he pushes Travis’s hands off his hips and rises, pulling on the thighs of his pants so that they tear right off, revealing a white jockstrap. Now all he has on is a bow tie, cufflinks, and the jock. Reminds me of when he and Travis proposed to one another on the dock at the lake.
The audience loses their fucking minds.
“Damn, his body’s looking fierce,” I tell Frankie as Gary approaches Travis and straddles his waist, offering a lap dance.
He steps off the chair for a moment, and then whirls around, shaking his ass for Travis in a way that lets me know why he really is Midtown’s Superass.
Travis grabs the straps of the jock and pulls his fiancé close, feeling his way around Gary’s body in a way that is surely making us all jealous as fuck.
Derek stands behind the DJ booth, still holding the mic. “Come on, everybody. Let’s make it rain on these guys. All the money’s going to go to tonight’s charity.”
Everyone gets out their wallets, and as Gary continues his dance, dollar bills fill the air and cover the stage.
Gary spins back to Travis and squats so his ass is in Travis’s lap. As he dances, Travis hooks his arms around him and pulls him close, offering a kiss—one they both get lost in on stage, which only makes the audience that much more excited.
I feel a hand on my ass, cupping it.
I turn to see Frankie giving me a mischievous look like he wouldn’t mind taking me right there.
I glance around and notice everyone’s so caught up in the show Gary and Travis are putting on that no one sees what we’re up to.
My dick goes hard.
This is such a perfect example of what’s going on between us, about this secret that we’re keeping from everybody.
“Okay, seriously, guys. You can’t actually have sex on the stage,” Derek announces from the DJ booth since neither Gary nor Travis seems to be stopping their make-out session.
Travis pulls away from their kiss and turns to the audience. “Give us a minute,” he says playfully, which only makes the audience that much more excited as Travis gets back to sticking his tongue down Gary’s throat.
It’s so cool seeing Travis and Gary totally wrapped up in one another. Even though it’s this big public display, it’s almost like they can’t even see anyone but each other as they put on their little show on the stage, the dollar bills continually being thrown and taking up the space around them.
They’re really lucky to have found such a special relationship.
As they pull away from their kiss, they grin like they’re the luckiest guys on the planet.
Frankie leans down and says into my ear, “I don’t know about you, but this makes me want to get home real fast.”
I turn and see that hungry expression on his face…that one he makes that has a way of getting me going.
“We might have to just sneak away real quick,” I tell him. Then a realization hits me. “But oh, wait. Can I have some cake first?”
Frankie cracks up. “Ev, you can have all the cake you want. And then I’ll feed you some icing after.”
He hooks his arm around me, pulling me close to him.