Worlds Away

by Alexa Land

  I ran the pointed toe of my shoe over the bulge in his pants, very lightly. He mouthed the words, “Oh God,” and licked his lips, his expression one of pure lust. I licked his lower lip for him, then straightened up and held up each foot in turn, and he slid my shoes off. When I tapped my belt buckle, Alastair grinned wickedly. Once he got them unfastened, I let my pants fall to the floor, and stepped out of them and kicked them aside.

  That left me in only the corset and garters, a leather jockstrap, and stockings, all black. I held up my left foot for him again, and he surprised me by running his tongue up my shin before slipping the shoe back on. When I held up my right foot, he grabbed my leg, swung it outward, and licked my inner thigh before slipping on the other shoe. The audience roared, while I fought the urge to fuck him right then and there.

  I turned my back to him and gave Alastair a lap dance as the music pulsated. When I turned to face him again, I used the tie to pull him to his feet, then kept hold of it and danced with him. He moved with me, his hands on my hips, looking blissfully happy as he smiled up at me.

  Just as the song ended, I tipped him back and kissed him. The kiss I got in return was wild, passionate, burning with need. When I swung him upright again, he pulled me down to his height with a hand on the back of my neck and whispered in my ear, “I need you in me. Now.”

  Two words: Fuck. Yes.

  Alastair and I ran backstage hand-in-hand. Our extremely hasty retreat left little doubt where we were going and what we were going to do once we got there. I didn’t even care that the audience was waving bills at me as we left the theater, or that they were on their feet and cheering. He was all that mattered.

  The stage manager greeted us with knit brows and arms crossed over her chest. But then she grinned and tilted her head to the right, where there was a narrow staircase. I shot her a smile, and as we bounded up the stairs, she called, “Come see me after you get your rocks off. You were made for burlesque, Sawyer.”

  There was a small storeroom at the top of the stairs, and we tumbled inside, kissing and pawing at each other. Somehow, we managed to get him naked without just ripping his clothes off, despite the fact that we were frantic with need. I picked him up and sat him on a couple stacked boxes, then grabbed the backs of his thighs and pushed them up and out. I dove onto his clean, tight little opening, licking him, tonguing him, and he writhed and moaned, “Fuck me, Sawyer. I can’t wait another minute.” I couldn’t either.

  He directed me to his wallet, and I fumbled for some condoms and lube packets, pulled my jock strap below my balls, and prepped both of us. But then I asked, as I slid my lubed finger from his hole, “You sure you’re ready?”

  Alastair nodded, then pushed back as I sank into him, opening himself up for me. We fucked wildly, urgently, while I jerked him off. He bounced on my cock, biting his lip to hold back his moans, totally lost in the moment.

  It was so intense that I didn’t last long. I moaned as I came in him a few minutes later, and after I slid out of him, Alastair surprised me by jumping off the boxes, grabbing me, and spinning me around. I murmured, “Fuck yes,” as I got on my knees on a low box, bent over, and arched my back for him.

  He grabbed another condom and more lube, pushed a slick finger into me and quickly worked me open. When I told him I was ready, he claimed me with a long, hard thrust, filling me with his thick cock, stretching me. I moaned and rocked back onto him, taking him deep. Not surprisingly, given how aroused he was, Alastair didn’t last long. In just a few minutes, he grasped my hips, impaled me with a hard thrust and came with a stifled yell.

  He slid out of me, and when I straightened up and turned to him, we both burst out laughing. “So, that happened,” I said.

  “Yes! Came out of nowhere, so to speak.”

  “You okay? We didn’t do much prep this time.”

  “I’m fine,” he said as we both tossed the condoms in a big trash can in the corner. “Totally worth the slight ache. What about you? I didn’t give you much advance notice before jumping you.”

  “I’m excellent. Any time you feel like jumping me, go right ahead.” I ached a little too, but I didn’t even sort of mind.

  As we washed our hands in a big, industrial sink next to the mops and buckets, he said, “I hadn’t planned that part, though I did hope we’d have sex this evening, hence the dozen condoms and lube packets stuffed in my wallet. I have to admit, I pleasured myself twice this afternoon thinking about you performing in a sexy outfit. It got to the point where I just couldn’t stay away. Are you mad at me for showing up here when you told me not to?”

  I grinned at him. “Do I seem mad?” He shook his head, and I told him, “I was wrong to ask you not to come. Good thing you don’t listen.”

  “I’m so glad I didn’t miss that. You were sensational, Sawyer! You’re already unbelievably sexy, and then to see you up on stage, proud and confident, my God! You took my breath away.”

  “You didn’t think it was tacky, stripping in front of strangers?”

  “Well, it was far more than a strip tease, wasn’t it? That was you boldly and bravely declaring, ‘This is who I am.’ I got a sense of how important my reaction was last night when you showed me what you had on under your clothes. So, to see you up there thrilled me, because I knew what it meant to you.”

  I pulled him into my arms. “You were pretty bold yourself. Thanks for letting me drag you into the act.”

  “It was my pleasure. You realize that for the rest of my life, whenever I hear that song, I’ll think of you and instantly bone up. Bound to get embarrassing when I hear it out in public.” I kissed his cute little grin, and then he asked, “When’s the next time you absolutely have to be somewhere these next couple days? Appointments, I mean, that sort of thing.”

  “I’m going in for a Tracyectomy on Tuesday afternoon.” When he raised an eyebrow at that, I tapped the name on my chest and said, “I have a tattoo appointment. I can hardly wait to obliterate my ex’s name. Other than that, I’m planning to spend the week job hunting.”

  “I think you just found one. The woman with a clipboard sounded as though she intends to hire you.”

  “Think so? I suppose it could be fun in the short term, until I find a real job. You know, one that doesn’t involve baring my ass in public.”

  Alastair grinned as his hand slid down and cupped my bare butt cheek. “The leather jock strap was quite shocking.”

  “You don’t approve?”

  “Oh now, I never said that, love.” He gave me a flirty smile, then said, “Back to my original question, though the memory of you flaunting that perfect arse is quite a distraction. If you have nowhere you need to be these next couple days, will you go away with me?”

  “Go where?”

  “I have a list of places I intend to visit while living in the U.S. It’s over two pages long, and I’m embarrassed to admit that even after four years, much of it remains. I’d love to pick a destination and enjoy it with you. San Diego, for example. I promise to bring you back in plenty of time for your Tracyectomy.”

  “Sounds fun. When do you want to leave?”

  “Tonight, if that’s alright with you.”

  “Sure. A little spontaneity is a good thing.”

  His face lit up. “Wonderful! I just need to send a text, and we can take off as soon as we’ve found your trousers. Mine too, apparently. I’ll just need to swing by my flat to pack an overnight bag, which won’t take long. I assume you’ll want to do the same.” He looked around the storeroom, then bent over and retrieved his briefs from behind a couple boxes while I admired his smooth, sexy ass.

  He pulled on the briefs, then found his phone. After he sent a text, I asked, “Was that to your bodyguard?”

  “It was. He’ll make our travel arrangements. His name’s Roger, by the way. I sometimes call him Roger the Shrubber, just to irk him. It’s from—”

  “Monty Python and the Holy Grail. One of the funniest movies ever.”

  “Indeed!
I jokingly asked Roger to try and locate your trousers when I texted him. I’m quite sure he was mortified.” Alastair looked very pleased with himself.

  “You mean he’s here? In the building?”

  He nodded. “Roger always shadows me when I’m going to be in a crowd. Not that anything ever happens, but as he keeps reminding me, ‘those are the rules.’ Bloody daft ones if you ask me.”

  “So, your bodyguard watched me strip, shake my bare ass, and dry hump you. Awesome. I’m lucky he didn’t jump up and taser me.”

  As Alastair pulled on his white, button-down shirt, he said, “Don’t be embarrassed. Roger’s quite open-minded, far more than you’d guess by his outward appearance. His family has looked after mine for decades, and I’ve known him all my life. In fact, I think of him as an older brother.”

  “It’s so much more awkward now that you’ve put it that way.” He looked concerned, but then I smiled at him and kissed his forehead, and the little crease between his brows went away.

  After Alastair was fully dressed, we went downstairs and found the stage manager and Gabriel waiting for us in the dressing room. My clothes where draped over a chair, and my friend smiled at me and said, “You killed it, just like I knew you would! And guess what? Joan wants to put both of us on the payroll!”

  I glanced at the stage manager, Joan presumably, and she held out a business card. “If you’re looking for work, I need someone to do three performances a night, Thursdays through Saturdays. Just FYI, the club owner generally wants old-school burlesque as opposed to pissed-off Magic Mike, but she liked your look and your act. We both did.”

  I slipped her card in my backpack and said, “I’m actually between jobs right now, so this could be fun. I wouldn’t be able to commit to anything long-term though, it’d just be until I found something full-time. Is that okay?”

  Joan just shrugged. “This is a high-turnover gig. Shocker, I know. If you’re still here three months from now, it’ll be a goddamn miracle. Show up at seven-thirty on Thursday to fill out your paperwork if you want to do this.”

  “You’re hiring me, just like that? Don’t you want to check my references or anything?”

  She stared at me and said, “This isn’t the FBI, kid. Just show up on time, take off your clothes, and get paid.”

  Gabriel waved a fan of bills and said, “Speaking of which, I collected your tips after you two ran off for a quickie. You cleaned up! I’m sorry to say you didn’t win the prize money, but Joan said you were a very close second.”

  “Did you win?” He grinned and nodded as he tucked the money in my backpack, and I said, “Good. You deserved it.”

  Joan pushed off the makeup table she’d been leaning against and said, “Alright, I’ve got work to do. Good job tonight, I hope to see you both on Thursday.” She turned to Alastair and added, “Come back anytime, Blondie, especially when your boyfriend’s working. The heat between you two almost burned the place down. Keep that shit up.” She sauntered from the room.

  As I started to pull on my shirt, I realized I’d skipped the introductions and said, “Gabriel, you know Alastair, right? I assume you do, since you’re both friends with Zachary.”

  “A bit, yeah,” Alastair said as he held out his hand and Gabriel shook it. “Nice to see you again, mate. You were sensational tonight.”

  The two of them chatted while I got dressed, and as we headed for the door, I asked Gabriel, “Are you staying with your friend Scottie while you’re in town?”

  He shook his head. “We used to be roommates, so it’s the first place that guy I told you about would look for me. I slept at a motel last night, but I can’t afford to keep doing that, not even after tonight’s windfall. So, I guess I’ll head home to Martinsville, then drive in again on Thursday for this job.”

  “Martinsville is over two hours from here,” Alastair said. “Why don’t you stay in my flat instead? If someone’s harassing you, my building has excellent security, you’ll have nothing to worry about. And Sawyer and I are heading out of town for a couple nights, so you’ll have the place to yourself.”

  Gabriel looked stunned. “Are you serious?”

  “Of course.”

  “You’d trust me enough to leave me unsupervised in your apartment?”

  “Zachary speaks very highly of you, so trusting you is a given. And it sounds like you’re having a rough time of it, so I’m glad to help out.”

  “This offer is just for tonight though, right?”

  Alastair shook his head. “Stay as long as you’d like.”

  Gabriel looked emotional as he murmured, “This means so much to me. I can’t even tell you.”

  A minute later, the three of us found Roger waiting in the lobby. He was in his late twenties, six-foot-two and solidly built, with a frown that seemed right at home on his square-jawed face. Between his expression, the gangsteresque black-on-black suit, shirt and tie, and the long scar running down his right cheek, which suggested a violent past, he looked like someone you didn’t want to run into in a dark alley.

  But Alastair bounded up to him, linked arms, and gave him a huge smile as he said, “What did you think of the show? I’ll bet you enjoyed the bloke with the red bikini briefs, yeah? He was one high kick away from his meat and two veg flopping out!” Roger tried to hide an amused expression and knit his brows at Alastair.

  Gabriel came damn close to batting his eyelashes at Roger when the two of them were introduced. The big bodyguard actually colored a bit and grinned as Gabriel flashed him a flirtatious smile. I thought that little spark of attraction was interesting.

  When Alastair introduced me, we shook hands, and I told Roger, “Wow, this is exciting. I’ve never met someone in your line of work.”

  He raised a brow and asked, with a pronounced British accent, “You’ve never met a bodyguard?”

  I kept my expression serious and said, “Oh no, I’ve met plenty of those. What I’ve never met is a shrubber. Must be exciting work, arranging, designing and selling shrubberies.”

  Alastair doubled over laughing at my Monty Python reference, and the corner of Roger’s mouth quirked up, just for a moment. Then he turned and headed for the exit as he announced, “I’m calling your family, Gromit. I’ll be requesting hazard pay now that you and Bonny Barebottom have teamed up.” I liked him immediately.

  Gabriel asked, “Gromit?”

  “As in the dog from the Wallace and Gromit cartoons,” Alastair explained as we followed Roger. “When I was twelve, I tried to put together a ferocious Hound of the Baskervilles costume for a fancy dress party, but it didn’t quite go as planned. Ro will never let me live it down.” He and his bodyguard chuckled at the memory. Their shared history and easy rapport did make them seem like brothers.

  I found myself wondering if Roger planned to tell Alastair’s parents about me, and how the news of a cross-dressing gay stripper would go over. But then, I didn’t need their approval. This was just a fling, after all, and whatever his family might have thought of me was never going to matter. I frowned a little and took Alastair’s hand.

  Chapter Five

  The privately chartered jet to San Diego hadn’t been what I was expecting, and neither was the lavish suite at the Hotel Del Coronado. Given the standards he was used to, I couldn’t help but wonder what Alastair would think if he visited my shabby house. Then I felt like an asshole when I realized I’d denied him that opportunity just a few hours earlier, because I couldn’t face introducing my father to the man I was dating.

  Gabriel had followed Alastair and Roger back to the apartment in his car, while I’d gone home to pack an overnight bag. It turned out my dad had already gone to bed, so my attempt at stealthiness was pointless anyway. I left a note on the kitchen table telling him I’d be gone a couple days, and then I’d waited out on the street corner for Alastair and Roger to pick me up on the way to the airport. I’d arranged that rendezvous just in case my father might still be up, and I knew I was being ridiculous. I was a grown man, b
ut I was sneaking around behind my father’s back like a guilty teenager, just because I didn’t have the balls to come out to him. That conversation was years past due.

  Alastair pulled me from my thoughts when he stuck his arms out to the sides and dropped backwards onto the bed. He murmured, “Ahhh, that’s nice,” as he sank into the fluffy, white bedspread.

  I walked over to him and sat on the edge of the mattress. “I’m sorry about earlier. That was bullshit, telling you to pick me up on the corner. I just realized I treated you the same way my ex used to treat me, like a dirty little secret, and I’m ashamed of myself.”

  He pulled me onto the bed with him, and after we stretched out facing each other, he said, “Don’t beat yourself up over it, Sawyer. I know why you did it. I can’t talk to my parents about my sexuality, either.”

  “Have you tried?”

  He nodded. “I came out to them when I was fourteen, but it didn’t make a bit of difference. My grandfather actually had this cliché-riddled talk with me last time I was home, after I refused to take out the granddaughter of a friend of his. It was all about how vitally important it was to ‘keep up appearances,’ and how, if I had ‘an itch I needed to scratch’ I was expected to keep that private. I asked him what exactly he meant by that, and he told me flat-out, my family expects me to marry a girl and raise a family, and if I need to satisfy my ‘urges’ with men, I’ll just have to sneak off and do that on the side, unbeknownst to anyone.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Unfortunately, I am. My grandfather actually told me that’s how it’s always been done in our family, and how it always will be done. So, apparently I come from a long line of secretly gay adulterers. Is that not the most cocked up thing you’ve ever heard in your life?”

  “It’s pretty high up there.” He sighed and lowered his lids, and after a moment I asked, “Why do you let them dictate your life, Alastair? You’re such an intelligent, capable person, and you could go off and have a brilliant career as an astrophysicist and do whatever you want. It might not be as lavish as the one you have now, but it’d still be a good life, and it’d be on your terms.”