Anything Could Happen (27 page)

Guy’s eyes widened even more. “What are you suggesting, baby?”

Austin reached up, placed his hands on Guy’s chest and gently pushed, gently guided him back… and back… into a stall.

“Wha-wha…?”

“Drop your pants,” Austin said.

“What?”

Austin leaned up and placed a gentle kiss on Guy’s lips. “I love you so much.” He touched Guy’s cheeks, lowered his hands and let the back of his knuckles lightly graze his lover’s nipples through his oversized hoodie.

“Austin?”

Austin did it again, and Guy moaned softly. Then Austin reached for Guy’s belt while continuing to kiss him, more fully now, letting his tongue touch Guy’s lips. Guy moaned again, touched Austin’s hands, but didn’t stop him.

“W-what are you doing…? Someone might….”

“The doors lock when people leave, right?” Austin said quietly.

“Yes.”

“And there’s no one here but us?” He kissed Guy again.

“Y-yes.”

“Jennifer?”

“Out—out of town.”

Austin unbuckled the belt, popped the upper snap of Guy’s jeans, kissed him more deeply.

“Aus—” He kissed back.

Austin pulled down the zipper, and Guy’s jeans slipped to his ankles. Feeling bare hips, reaching behind and touching Guy’s bare ass, Austin thought,
Bingo. Freeballing.

He gently pushed his lover down so the man was sitting on the faux toilet, bent, kissed him again, and then stepped back.
I love you
, he mouthed, and then went to the next stall, undid his own jeans and underwear, lowered them, and sat down.

“Oh God, Austin… I can’t….”

“You
want
to,” Austin whispered back.

“God, yes. My heart is fucking pounding.”

“Stick it through for me, Guy.”

“But….”

Austin got down on his knees before the hole in the pretend stall wall. He could just see Guy’s lap, his growing erection. To his delight, his own cock was already rising. This was sexy. It was kinky and naughty and… safe. Perfect.

“But what if—”

“What if what?” Austin asked quietly.

“What if this triggers something…?”

“Then we have this set.”

“But later…?”

“We’ll take this fucking partition home with us.”

“Oh, baby,” said Guy.

“Stick it through, my love.”

“But….”

“It’s okay, Guy. It’s safe. I love you. Do it.”

Guy stood up quickly, and then his throbbing erection came through the hole. Austin rocked back on his heels and his eyes widened. Guy’s cock looked so big this way. He moaned in lust, amazed at the sight. It was so hot, so sensual, this huge bodiless cock. He wanted to pounce on it but stopped himself. He kissed it instead, lightly at first, as he had Guy’s lips moments before. Then slowly, he kissed it more, lovingly, and then with more and more passion until he took it deeply into his mouth, taking it to the root.

“God!” shouted his lover. “My God!” There was a thump against the wall—Guy collapsing against the wall?—and a slight pulling away before the erection was thrust into Austin’s mouth again. Guy thrust again and Austin grabbed hold of the cock, not letting him pull back. He used his fingers to pull at the scrotum and work his lover’s balls through, held them at the base so that Guy couldn’t fuck his mouth. He began to tenderly, adoringly, suck on his man, making love to him even through this hole. It was erotic and loving at the same time, the best of two worlds. Did Guy see it that way? He hoped so.

It didn’t take long before Guy was crying out, warning Austin, and suddenly he was cumming in great blasts, surprising Austin with the power and volume. Guy was all but screaming as his orgasm rocked him, the whole wall between them shaking. When the spurts stopped, the throbbing subsided, and the erection began to soften, Guy pulled back and collapsed on his side. He was heaving in great gasps of air and… sobbing? Was he crying?

Austin grabbed his jeans and half pulled them up, then went as quickly as he could to the other side. “Guy?”

His lover looked up, and yes, there were tears in his eyes. But more. Love. And lust. He shot to his feet and kissed Austin madly, pulling him roughly into his arms. “I fucking love you,” he finally said, after a long, powerful kiss that had brought Austin’s erection up fully, and apparently, Guy’s as well. “I love you,” he said again. “That was amazing.”

“Was it?” Austin asked, still a little afraid. Had he done the right thing or not?

“I’ve wanted this again so much, but I knew I couldn’t. I knew what it might do…. But you made it okay.”

Austin smiled, relieved. It had been nice.

“You are a great exorcist,” Guy said, and waggled his eyebrows.

Austin laughed.

“One more thing?”

“What?” Austin asked.

“I want to do what I never have. What I wanted to do but was too afraid.”

“Yes?”

“I want to suck
you
!”

“Oh,” Austin said, his cock leaping at the thought.

“Go on,” Guy commanded.

So he did. He went back to the wall, let his jeans fall and started to stick it through, and—

“Wait” came Guy’s voice. “Sit down. Lean back.”

Curious, Austin did as asked.

A finger came through the hole. Just the tip. Only for a second.
Wha…?

Then the finger came through again, ran about two-thirds of the circumference, then was gone. That’s when Austin remembered. He saw Guy’s foot. It was tapping.

“What?” he asked.

“Stick it through” came Guy’s disembodied voice.

“Stick what through?” he asked, trying to sound as if he had no idea.

“Your cock.”

“My what?” he asked, filling his tone with surprise.

“Come on. Do it. Please, man.”

So he did. An instant later, his cock was engulfed, and it was his turn to cry out in pleasure. It had almost been a shock, even though he knew what was coming. It was the alienness of it all, standing there, his body against the rough panel of wood, his erection thrust through trustingly, the not knowing for sure. And then that warm, wet mouth—

… that warm, wet heat, a tongue, lips…

—hit him, and he had to reach up and grab the top of the partition to keep from falling.

Guy began to suck him with great enthusiasm, and they both cried out, moaning, groaning. The pleasure, found not only in Guy’s expertise, but the erotic nature of it all, soon had Austin on the brink. He tried to warn his lover, but the shock of his orgasm suddenly overwhelmed him. His legs shaking, he exploded into Guy’s mouth. The warmth and wetness did not go away. Guy had not pulled back but moaned all the louder, greedily swallowing Austin’s orgasm. At last, Austin couldn’t take it anymore and practically fell back onto his toilet. Already Guy was coming around to his side, kneeling before him, kneeling and drawing him into his arms.

They sat like that for what felt like ever. They kissed, then pulled themselves together and went home. Once there—they made love again, quietly, softly, reassuringly. All was beautifully right in the world.

But somehow, Austin knew taking home that partition would lead to nothing but many more fun and erotic, loving adventures for them for years to come.

A
FEW
weeks later,
Tearoom Tango
opened to… interesting reviews. All agreed the show was well to excellently acted, and there was praise for its direction as well. Obviously, this made Austin and Guy very happy.

Some conservatives were outraged, of course, which bothered no one at the Pegasus. Outrage from the conservatives started controversy, and that meant more ticket sales. Then there were those who didn’t understand….

“Why write something like this? Aren’t there any other stories the Pegasus could have chosen to present about gay life instead of this one? I know the Pegasus is all about showing controversial pieces, but this just seemed like it was controversial to be controversial. What the hell was it about?”

Austin ranted about that one. Balled the newspaper up and threw it across the room, and then began to pace. Guy only smiled, opened it up, and smoothed it out so he could snip it from the paper and save it.

“What’s so funny?” Austin raged.

“You didn’t get it either.”

That stopped Austin in his tracks, and he wound up sitting in Guy’s lap and hugging him tight.

In an article where theatergoers were asked their opinions, there were comments like:

“I was struck at how sad it was that some of the characters thought anonymous sex was the only way to find intimacy with anyone, especially another man. I hurt for them. There are so many more ways to find intimacy. I was deeply moved.”

(“Hurray,” said Austin. “He
got
it.”)

“I was disgusted. I don’t want my Mom thinking that this is the only way gay men find sexual partners. This play needs to be banned!”

(“Hurray,” cried Guy—to Austin’s surprise. “More tickets!”)

“It was very well done. Very real. I wish there had been more hot bodies. The dudes didn’t have very good bodies. Well, except for The Kid. Wow. He was hot. And he gave an excellent performance too.”

(“What the fuck?” asked Guy. “What do the bodies have
anything
to do with anything?”—while all Austin could tell his lover was, “I could have been up there, dammit. Next time!”)

After the first few days, sales dropped off, but another week’s passage sent them soaring, and they were sold out almost every night. Word gets around. And it helped that Austin went out almost every night to the bars and passed out fliers. He also gave Liddle Awful Annie tickets to give away as prizes during her show. It didn’t hurt that the actor who played The Kid, and the older muscle bear who played The Cop, got on stage shirtless half a dozen nights on her show either.

Austin saw the play almost every night. What surprised him was that sometimes the show was… different. The actors could change the whole tone of the show by changing the inflection of their words, or by how the chemistry between them played out on a particular night. There were performances that left the audience quietly stunned, while another night had them weeping in their seats, and a third had them leaping to their feet, applauding. Austin saw there was even chemistry within the audience, as well as between them and the actors. It amazed and thrilled him, and he absorbed it all like a sponge.

Uncle Bodie saw it twice. He even took a nap before seeing it the second time, because he wanted to be able to go to the little cast party at Guy’s afterward.

Austin knew how much Guy hated cast parties, so both he and Uncle Bodie had spent a couple of days preparing treats for the guests. They wanted it to have a fun theme, so they were sure to include little signs to make sure no one missed the jokes. There were cocktail “wieners,” meatballs, nut mix, “cream”-filled éclairs. They also made a large summer sausage flanked with two cheese balls and a fringe of parsley, and a penis-shaped cake, and even salad made with, yes, penis-shaped pasta. Uncle Bodie didn’t stick around long enough, though. Lucille was acting punkie again and wouldn’t come out from under the bed. It made Austin sad that his uncle didn’t see what a hit their food was, and how it helped take the edge off the final-night blues now that the show was over and everyone was off for new parts and new shows.

“Tell me,” Austin asked Asher, the man who had played The Cop, “Why do you do it?”

“Do what?” he asked.

“Act? I’ve been listening to everyone for weeks. They obviously love acting. But the hours are killing, they have to be there no matter what happens….”

Asher nodded. “Like my grandmother dying during the run? Thank God the funeral was in town….”

Austin sighed. “Exactly. And sorry, I didn’t mean to….”

“No, it’s okay. I assume you are thinking of giving acting a go after all?”

Austin blushed. The man had been one of the witnesses when he’d run out on his audition.

“Let me just say this,” Asher said. “Don’t do it unless you
must
.”

“Must?” Austin asked.

“
Must
. The answer to your question is I act because I
must
. I
have
to. I can’t
not
act. I tried once or twice, but it always calls me back. I’m like a lemming, I guess. I have no choice. It might sound stupid or corny, but it’s in my soul.”

Austin nodded, his skin tingling at the words. “I think I understand….”

Asher smiled. “If you plan on coming back, then you understand. And dammit, I get to say the words of
Shakespeare
! Or Peter Shaffer or Tom Stoppard—they have a turn of phrase better than anything I’d ever be able to come up with.”

“Hey,” said Jennifer Leavitt, joining them. “Great party, Austin.”

“Thanks.” He grinned. Austin liked the woman a lot. She was so filled with energy. So exciting. So full of love for what she did. It was contagious. It probably helped that she was “family” as well.

“Young Austin here is thinking about acting,” said Asher.

She nodded. “Of course he is. Maybe he’ll audition for the role of James Smith in Guy’s play.”

“Huh?” Austin asked. What? James Smith? Guy’s play?

“Well, now that it’s finally finished—”

“Guy’s play is finished?” Austin asked, astonished. Finished? Surely she was mistaken. Guy would have told him.

Jennifer’s eyes widened a tiny bit, and she glanced at Asher. “Um,” she said.

Austin shook his head. “When did he finish?”

“I-I’m sorry, Austin,” she said. “I just
assumed
….”

“No. It’s not finished. And there isn’t a character named James Smith. There’s Perseus and Jacob and Molly and… James Smith?”

Jennifer bit her lip. “I think I may have just fucked up.”

Austin got in control of his face.
I can do this. I’m an actor, right?
He laughed and gave her a hug. “You couldn’t fuck up anything, Jennifer! Now it looks to me like you need a refill,” he said, pointing to her near-empty glass of wine.

He decided to wait until the next day before bringing it up. He hoped Guy would. Surely Jennifer would mention her “fuck-up” to her friend and employee?