by HJ Welch
He had already sat through one of the baby classes. But that was full of adorable toddlers who mostly spun around while their parents ‘oohed’ and ‘ahhed.’ This was the premier lesson, the one everyone old enough had auditioned with the hopes of getting in.
Elion was already wired for sound, but one of the producers, the ear gauge girl Kala, was moving him around to a new position. “So,” she said, pushing him into a new seat. “You’re not going to just sit there and watch this one, are you?”
Elion frowned. “Um, what else am I supposed to do in a dance class?”
She slowly blinked her eyes at him as a makeup artist gave him a touchup on powder. He wasn’t used to wearing makeup, but he had to say he was quite enjoying being fussed over.
“You’re here to do one thing,” said Kala, narrowing her eyes. “Be the boyfriend. That means drama. If you don’t bring it, Seth will cut you to create it. Is that what you want?”
Elion glanced towards Blake in his skin tight t-shirt and dazzling smile. This may have all been fake, but he was still enjoying it. If he and Blake ‘broke up,’ they wouldn’t have an excuse to hang out a fraction of the time they were going to on the show.
“No,” he replied. “That’s not what I want.”
Kala nodded at him. “Then find a way to bring some drama, before someone else does.”
She purposefully nodded towards Nessa. She was sitting on the floor in sideways leg splits, her elbows leaning on the floor like it was nothing. This offered a spectacular display of her cleavage.
Unable to help himself, Elion automatically glanced towards Blake. But he was engrossed talking to a very excitable-looking mom. It would be stupid for Elion to be jealous if he was looking at her, except…that was what Kala wanted, wasn’t it?
Sure enough, when he looked back at her, she winked. “Good boy.” Then she stepped behind the camera in his face. It was like she disappeared once the thing was on.
That was okay though, it made it easier for him to pretend she wasn’t there. Instead Elion scanned the room and tried to think how he’d make himself more interesting. She was right. His sitting there silently watching was boring.
Blake finished talking to the mom and caught his eye. Without thinking, Elion leaned forward on his seat in the sidelines and crooked his finger. Blake’s eyes went wide. He looked around him, as if to check if Elion was urging someone else to come over. Elion nodded encouragingly. Blake seemed to get the hint.
“Um, hi,” he said as he stopped in front of him. There were three rows of free standing seats, and Elion was in the first.
How could Blake be so shy and unsure of himself? He was glistening with light perspiration and his muscles looked amazing in his tight training gear.
Elion angled his head so Blake would lean in. Then Elion closed the distance and pressed a swift kiss to his cheek. “Just wanted to wish you luck, baby.”
Blake looked adorable when he blushed. “Um, thanks,” he stammered.
He hugged himself and glanced around, obviously self-conscious at being kissed by a guy. They’d have to work on that. They were supposed to be boyfriends.
A few people were watching them, some scowling, some gawping. “Hey,” said Elion. He snagged one of Blake’s hands in his own. “Don’t pay any attention to them. I’ve got you.”
Blake glanced at the camera, then licked his lips. “Right,” he said. He offered a shaky smile, then tentatively rubbed his thumb over Elion’s knuckles.
It may have done nothing for Blake, but it made Elion shiver, head to toe. It wasn’t exactly the red, hot romance the producers wanted for the viewers. But this was brand new for Blake, and it felt like a good step forwards to Elion.
“Knock ‘em dead,” he told him with a wink.
Some of Blake’s confidence seemed to come back to him. His smile became more assured and his back straighter. “Thanks,” he said.
Then he was gone, into the throng, pulling the class to order and starting warm up.
From the corner of his eye, Elion saw Kala give him a thumbs up.
That was fun, but they were supposed to be loved-up boyfriends. Blake was cute as a rabbit in headlights. How long would that convince viewers they were together though?
There was a part of Elion that wanted to make Blake more comfortable around him for him too. Not just for show. But that was ridiculous. Blake wasn’t into guys, otherwise he would have said something already. Imagining a scenario where he was comfortable stepping in close to give Elion a casual kiss was only going to hurt.
So Elion just needed to shelve his feelings. They weren’t even feelings. They were lust.
Elion was used to that. Hook-ups over the weekend in Cincinnati were his usual style of things. That way they didn’t have to see each other again and no hearts got broken. Live for the now. He’d never pined over a straight boy and he wasn’t about to start today.
It had been a long time though since he’d had a real challenge. If he was going to keep himself in the game and on the show he’d need to step it up with the public displays of affection. But how far would Blake be willing to go?
His train of thought was disrupted by a cry from the left.
“Oh my goodness, you must be Elion?”
Elion turned to the woman who was now sitting next to him. She was the one who had cornered Blake a minute ago.
Unlike most of the other moms loitering in the studio, she wasn’t done up to the nines. Her hair was naturally curly and mousey brown, sitting just at her shoulders. She only wore a little make up and her nail polish was chipped. Her pink blouse was nice but it clashed horribly with the beige pants she had on.
Her smile was wide and genuine though, and she had one hand placed over her chest. Elion switched to customer service mode and smiled back at her. He could never forget the cameras were rolling.
“Yes I am, nice to meet you, ma’am.”
She carried on smiling, looking back and forth between him and Blake who was talking with Seth, presumably about how the lesson should go. The students were crossing the room in pairs doing high kicks. Blake would shout out encouragement or gentle critique whenever it was needed.
“I’ve never met a gay man before,” the mom said. “It’s funny, you boys look so normal.”
Elion worked very hard to keep his smile screwed on straight.
“It is funny, isn’t it?” he said cheerfully. “We look just like everyone else.”
She shook her head. “Well, I guess when you see them on TV they act different, don’t they?” She flopped her hand about with a limp wrist. “But you’re as cute as a button. I love your hair.” She reached out and ran her hair through it.
It took everything Elion had not to bat her away. “Why thank you. I can give you some conditioning tips, if you like?”
She missed the barb and just giggle behind her hand. “Well, I’m glad Blake’s having fun. This bisexual thing’s all the rage now.” She sighed. “When Below Zero were over my heart did break a little. I’m so glad he had a friend like you there for him.”
There was so much to unravel in that sentence, Elion wasn’t sure where to start.
“We’re a bit more than friends,” he said, arching an eyebrow.
The woman went pink and shifted on her seat. “Well, I’m sure Blake’s mom will want to see him married to a nice girl someday. But there’s no harm in you two doing your thing while you’re young!”
She patted his knee with a sincere grin, then turned back towards Blake.
“Better than being old and bitter for chances not taken,” said Elion sweetly, then also looked over at Blake with a sigh. “He really is gorgeous, isn’t he?”
The mom blinked, then apparently chose to ignore his last comment. “Oh yes,” she cooed. “You know, my daughter Poppy and I were Below Zero’s biggest fans. We drove all the way to Chicago to see them. She was just pleased as punch to get into this class. Weren’t you, sweetheart?”
A gangly teenage girl glared in mort
ification at the woman. Then she turned her back on her mother in order to step-turn-leap diagonally across the room.
“We’re just praying they get back together,” said Poppy’s mom with a sigh. “He’s meant for the big old world, that boy. Not like you and me.”
“I think Blake’s happier dancing,” said Elion stiffly, crossing his arms. He didn’t need reminding that Blake was too good for him. That he was almost certainly going to leave again before long.
It was distressing the real pang that caused for him, though. Blake wasn’t just hot. The sweet way he’d talked to that kid who hadn’t made the class had stirred something in Elion’s heart. He was kind as well as talented and gorgeous.
If there was even the smallest chance that Blake wasn’t totally straight, Elion was going to find it. The show gave him the perfect opportunity to explore any possibility there might be. He just had to take it.
Poppy’s mom prattled on in his ear, but Elion mostly let it wash over him. The class was moving fast, with the cameras zipping around to catch the action.
It was easy to spot the diva child Karyn that had been a part of his and Blake’s set-up. She wasn’t an especially remarkable looking girl. When she was on the sidelines, she didn’t particularly talk, she just watched. But then she took to the floor and a hush would descend as people couldn’t help but watch.
That was nothing though compared to when Blake stood in front of them all and outlined a two-count of eight he wanted them to try.
“Be sure and concentrate on your lines,” he said after he completed the sequence once. “Finish every move with your fingers, toes or eyes. Nice long necks and think about your core. Do it with me?”
The kids complied, most of them picking up the moves easily enough. But Elion was solely captivated by Blake and Blake alone. There may as well have been no one else in the room.
Suddenly, the ‘Feet of Flames’ name didn’t seem so ridiculous after all. He could take the simplest of motions and turn it into art. Every muscle of his perfectly sculpted body worked in harmony to deliver beauty and strength. He sizzled with raw energy. It was like he was leaving scorch marks in his wake.
He was aware he was leaning on his knees, eagerly drinking in everything Blake did. He didn’t even care he’d tuned Poppy’s mom out completely.
“I think we should change the double pirouette to a triple.” Karyn stopped and placed her hands on her hips. A number of the kids around her stumbled in an effort not to crash into her. Blake also stopped dancing, making Elion scowl.
Nessa met Karyn’s glare. “How about we learn the choreography first before criticizing it?”
“But it’s dumb,” argued Karyn, flinging out her hands. The cameras flocked around them.
Blake rolled his eyes in exasperation. Elion managed to catch his attention though and offer him a sympathetic smile. That seemed to help him calm down, which made Elion feel warm with pleasure. He wanted to be able to help and support Blake, in any way he could.
“Could you cut that out?”
Elion frowned and look around at another mom. This one was the more typical skinny, yoga-pants, frap-in-hand type. She sneered at Elion.
“There are children here, they don’t need to see you acting perverted.”
It wasn’t anything Elion hadn’t heard before, but the insult still stung. He could feel Kala and the camera on him though, so he swallowed the hurt and stuck his chin out.
“They don’t need to see that cheap dye job either.” He flicked his fingers towards her highlighted hair. To be fair, it wasn’t bad, but the bitch had gone for him first. “However, it appears you’re insisting on inflicting it on them anyway.”
The chorus of gasps that earned him was extremely satisfying.
She wasn’t done though. “Blake may think you’re a cute publicity stunt, but I don’t want my daughter anywhere near you.”
Elion leaned back and narrowed his eyes. “Afraid she might learn some decent morals?”
The cat fight between Karyn and Nessa was reaching pitch. Several other parents started bickering around Elion. Suddenly it was becoming clear which were the homophobes and which were more accepting. He realized Kala was jerking her head towards the door.
Elion stood up, making those around him draw back and pause in what they were saying. “This is ridiculous. I don’t need to put up with this.”
He made sure the camera was looking at him, then glanced over at Blake before storming off. He felt utterly idiotic, but the camera stayed with him. Sure enough, within twenty seconds Blake was out the door and following him down the hall.
“Hey, what’s going on?” The concern in his voice was real. Bless him, he was even worse at faking this drama than Elion. But that meant he actually cared, which lifted Elion spirits as well as his courage.
“Just some homophobic bullshit,” he said with a shrug. Seth had said it was good to swear as much as they liked. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have disrupted your class like that.”
Blake huffed and folded his arms. “It was already disrupted,” he grumbled.
Elion rested his hand on Blake’s solid bicep. It was his natural instinct, but the cameras edged closer. So he hammed it up, stepping a little nearer, rubbing his arm.
“It’s your first day, there was bound to be hiccups.”
Blake scowled. “From the kids, yeah. I don’t want people giving you crap though.”
Elion couldn’t help it. His heart melted a little. “I’m fine, babe,” he murmured. They were almost brushing shoulders, eyes gazing into one another’s.
This was it. This was his moment. He really hoped Blake wouldn’t punch him. But the cameras were rolling and his heart was thudding in his chest. He couldn’t let this slip through his fingers.
So he leaned in and pressed his lips to Blake’s in a sweet, gentle kiss.
12
Blake
Blake had been wholly unprepared for Elion to kiss him. Of course he knew they were pretending to date, but he figured in reality they’d just stick with holding hands. There was a crazy part of him that had thought perhaps Elion was flirting for real, but he didn’t think he’d act on it. Because Blake was straight.
Then Elion had gone and leaned in, touching their mouths together, and Blake couldn’t deny he lost himself immediately. It was a chaste kiss, just a little tongue, lips tentatively exploring. But it was like fireworks on the Fourth of July in Blake’s chest. Without realizing, he slipped his hands around Elion’s waist and neck, drawing their bodies together.
It was Elion who broke the embrace in the end. He smiled and gave Blake another quick peck on the lips. “You ready to go back in there and face them?”
Blake couldn’t explain it. He’d just kissed a guy. Surely he should he felt a bit wrong or freaked out. At the very least embarrassed that he was the one to deepen it.
Instead he felt like his body was singing. He was filled with the kind of adrenaline you experienced after a great performance. It hadn’t felt wrong at all.
“Uh, yeah,” he said hoarsely.
Elion swatted his ass, making him jump. “Then what are you waiting for?”
Blake was way more tired that he’d have thought he’d be several hours later. Who knew teaching took so much out of you? He slipped gratefully into the shower in his en suite bathroom, letting the hot water pound against his aching muscles.
It was more than just the physical exertion. That hadn’t been that hard at all. It was more the mental strain of concentrating for that long.
It had been a good day though, despite the cameras. Eventually Blake had been able to more or less ignore them. That was, until Seth or one of the producers started asking him to do stupid things like comparing the kids to make one cry. He’d loathed that, but Nessa seemed quite comfortable stepping in to be the bad cop. So he was happy to let her.
The real highlight of the day, aside from the moments when he’d been allowed to just get on and teach, had been Elion. Blake was still thoroughly
confused as to what to think of the whole thing. Of course, the kiss had just been for show. But then Elion had stayed to support him the rest of the afternoon.
Seth and Kala had been all over it, getting plenty of shots of Elion. He hadn’t done much more than watch after the catfight and their kiss. But the look on his face suggested he’d love nothing more than to eat Blake up. The guy exuded sexuality, totally not afraid of who he was.
The fact he was a man wasn’t lost on Blake; quite the opposite. But it had yet to freak him out the way it should have. He realized he liked the way he looked at him. And that kiss…
Blake struggled to remember the last time he’d kissed someone for real. Maybe New Year’s, at a party a while back? The other guys in the band often talked about kissing like it was a gateway to knowing if you liked someone. As if that would help you get to know them better than talking with them. Blake never felt like that.
Except with Elion, it felt like he’d discovered a whole new side of himself. It was sensual and sweet and – urgh! Not real. He couldn’t forget that.
It had felt real enough though. And hot. What might have happened if the cameras hadn’t been there?
The thought lodged in his brain and wouldn’t go away. What if Elion kissed him when they’d been alone? Would he have stopped there? He’d moved closer when Blake had slipped his hand on his waist. He couldn’t deny how natural that had felt.
The shower cubical was full of steam and his skin tingled with warmth. He could feel his cock was perking up, stimulated by the memory of the kiss. Blake bit his lip. What would it be like to feel Elion’s hand stroke him?
For a famous popstar, Blake had had a shockingly low number of hook ups. They hadn’t interested him all that much. But now, as he reached between his legs and began coaxing his dick to attention, he couldn’t help but wonder what it might be like to make out with Elion.
His devil-may-care attitude and easy smiles made Blake feel lighter. Comfortable. Maybe it wouldn’t be so scary to try something new with him?
