The Limelight

by Louisa Keller

  “That’s so trippy. I can’t believe I remembered that,” I told him. “It’s like these statues dragged that memory out of the depths of my mind.”

  “I mean, that’s what art is supposed to do,” Levi pointed out. “Among other things, obviously, but most artists are striving to draw up some emotion or sensation or memory. That’s how we engage with our audience.”

  “And you consider yourself an artist?” I asked, elbowing Levi teasingly.

  “Fuck you, man,” Levi laughed. “Pop-punk may not be groundbreaking poetry, but we damn well exert emotion.”

  My smile softened.

  “You really do,” I said, my voice sounding almost unbearably fond to my own ears.

  “That’s why they pay me the big bucks,” Levi said with a laugh.

  “Oh yeah, your tour bus just screams rich and famous,” I said.

  “Our tour bus screams budget cuts,” Levi muttered, kicking at a stone on the ground. “But never fear, before long we’ll be hotshot super stars and then they’ll have to give us a new bus with a whole bunch of people whose sole purpose is to bring me champagne and tell me what a musical genius I am.”

  “Isn’t that why Cooper hired me?” I asked, trying desperately to keep my face straight.

  “If so, you’re doing a shit job,” said Levi with a smile. “I haven’t received a single glass of champagne the entire time we’ve been on tour.”

  “It’s only been, like, six days,” I pointed out.

  “Yeah, yeah, semantics,” said Levi, waving my words away.

  “Okay, fine, come over here,” I said, pulling Levi away from the statues and across a busy road. I planted him outside of a small bodega and said, “Stay put.”

  Then I headed inside by myself, leaving him to wonder what I was up to.

  “What was that all about?” Levi asked when I joined him outside a couple of minutes later.

  “Never you mind,” I said, biting down on a grin. “Hey, do you want to go on one of those duck tours?”

  The tour started out on the road, the two of us and a dozen other tourists riding around in a boat on wheels. The tour guide enthusiastically pointed out every little detail of the neighborhoods that we passed, drawing our attention to the architecture, monuments, and topiary. Then, just when I was starting to get antsy, the vehicle took a sudden turn down a ramp and plunged into a small lake. Everyone started chattering excitedly, watching the shore retreat as we floated along.

  “Isn’t this awesome?” Levi asked, turning to catch my eye.

  “I can think of something that will make it even more awesome,” I said, trying to tamp down on my mischievous expression. I reached into the inside pocket of my jacket and produced two miniature bottles of champagne.

  “You didn’t!” Levi exclaimed.

  “I did,” I replied. “I figured we should wait until we were on the water since they can’t really kick us off at this point.”

  “Good thinking,” said Levi, reaching for one of the bottles.

  “Um, I’m pretty sure you said you wanted me to serve it to you,” I said, opening the bottle deftly before handing it to him. Then I opened mine as well and we clinked them together, sharing a private smile.

  “I take back every complaint I’ve had about this tour,” Levi said solemnly. “This is the best service I could possible hope to receive.”

  “Glad to hear it,” I said, flushing as I imagined other ways I could service him. God, I was starting to feel desperate. What was it about Levi that intoxicated me?

  I took a long draw of my champagne, enjoying the sensation of the bubbles sliding down my throat.

  “Is this, like, your signature move?” Levi asked me.

  “What, sneaking alcohol onto a boat?” I said. “Not quite.”

  “Oh, come on,” said Levi, “I bet you do this for all the boys.”

  “Totally,” I said, deadpan. “And for all the girls too.”

  “Glad to hear I’m just another notch on your bedpost,” Levi laughed.

  “I’m pretty sure the hotels won’t be happy if I start carving into the bedposts,” I pointed out.

  “True,” said Levi. “I guess you’ll have to only sleep with me from now on.”

  My stomach flipped and I felt a blush rise on my cheeks.

  “That doesn’t sound so bad,” I said quietly.

  “Not bad at all,” Levi agreed.

  I looked out at the Boston landscape, a sense of contentment washing over me. I might have only known Levi for a few short days, but something about our connection felt so right. I knew that I wouldn’t have been able to explain it, if anyone had asked, but I wasn’t afraid of Levi’s stark affection. On the contrary, I was buoyed up by it. Spending time with him, exploring new cities and trying exotic food and messing around in dark rooms—it all felt like breathing fresh air after spending a lifetime stuck indoors.

  So, despite my usual trepidations, despite my chronic caution, I allowed myself to sink into Levi’s world without questioning it too much. Something changed between us as we covertly sipped champagne on the duck tour. We rode the high of it all the way back to the hotel.

  Somehow, without discussing it, without asking each other, we came to the same conclusion. We made our way directly to the room I was sharing with Cooper, both well aware that he was meeting with another band at some trendy cafe and wouldn’t be back until the evening.

  I fumbled with my keycard, trying twice before I finally managed to unlock the door. We walked in at a normal pace, staying a reasonable distance apart from one another. The second the door closed, however, we threw ourselves at each other. Levi stripped off his shirt, casting it aside before wrapping his arms around my neck once more. I spun him so that he was crushed between my body and the door. Then I slid my hands along the underside of his thighs and hoisted him up. Levi let out a lascivious moan and wrapped his legs around my hips.

  What a beautiful, sensuous man. All I could think about was the way his body was moving against mine, driving me crazy, pulling little moans out of me. And we weren’t even undressed yet.

  “Fuck yes,” I breathed into Levi’s neck, using my hips to pin him harder against the door.

  “Give it to me,” Levi said, grinding his hips against mine. Both of our cocks were hard, straining against the confines of our jeans, and Levi let out a frustrated moan.

  All I wanted in the world was to hear him moan like that again. I knew already that it would be the soundtrack to my most depraved fantasies from that point forward.

  “God, Levi, you can’t just—”

  “Can’t just what?” Levi asked, his voice a challenge.

  “You can’t work me up like this,” I growled.

  “Even if I plan to make good on my promises?” Levi asked. He looked utterly debauched, his auburn hair a wreck, his eyes wide, his lips parted.

  “What promises?” I panted, thrusting against Levi.

  He was everything I wanted. Everything I had ever dreamed of. And he was teasing me.

  “Hmm,” said Levi, pretending to consider it. “I promise to completely undo you.” I threw my head back, letting out a tortured sound. “I promise to kiss you everywhere.” I leaned in to nip at Levi’s neck. “I promise to make you come harder than you have ever come before.”

  My hands dropped away from Levi’s thighs, and he scrambled to get his feet on the floor.

  “Don’t tease me, Levi,” I warned.

  His name tasted delightful in my mouth.

  “Believe me, I couldn’t tease you even if I wanted to,” Levi said earnestly. His pupils were blown, and he licked his lips as he locked his eyes onto mine. “Will you let me do all of those things?” he asked, his voice going shaky and vulnerable.

  It wasn’t even a question for me. I wanted Levi so damn much it was physically painful. And there Levi was, offering himself up to me on a fucking silver platter.

  “Please,” I whispered, my voice coming out hoarse.

  “Please what?�
� Levi asked, a wild energy coming off of him. “I’ll do anything, just tell me—”

  “I want all of it,” I groaned. “I want your kisses, I want your body, I want to come apart for you.”

  “Then come with me,” Levi said, reaching a trembling hand out to wrap around my wrist. The possession in his grip really did it for me.

  He led me into the bathroom and pointed at the jetted whirlpool tub and then the separate rainfall shower.

  “Pick one.”

  I hesitated, considering the merits of the shower versus the bath. In all honesty, I could see myself wrapped around Levi in either of them. But I stepped toward the shower on instinct, sending out a plea to the universe.

  Please tell me I chose the right one.

  He pressed himself against my back and stood up on his tiptoes to whisper against the skin of my neck, “I was hoping you’d chose the shower.”

  “Tell me what you want me to do,” I said unevenly, shivering at the sensation.

  “Get undressed,” Levi said as the sound of his own fly unzipping rent the air.

  I hurried to comply, nearly tripping over my jeans as I shoved them down. When I was completely naked—and completely at Levi’s mercy—I stepped into the shower and turned to regard him with as much composure as I could muster. Which, admittedly, was not much.

  There wasn’t a flaw on his body as far as I could see. Every blemish, every scar, every irregularity was beautiful to me, precious even. Levi squirmed under the scrutiny, clearly not used to being unabashedly regarded in the light of day, nude and hard. But he rallied, taking himself in hand and stroking lazily.

  “May I join you?”

  I swallowed hard.

  “God, yes,” I murmured, stepping back to make room.

  Levi stepped into the shower, swinging the door shut behind him and reaching past me to turn on the water.

  “Shit, that’s cold,” he hissed as the water hit us.

  I crowded Levi back away from the frigid spray, pressing him against the cool subway tiles that made up the wall.

  “I’m pretty sure you miscalculated that,” I told Levi.

  “I mean…I’m not exactly complaining about the position I’m in, so…” Levi trailed off, his eyes flashing.

  “I…don’t have much to complain about either,” I conceded, leaning down to capture Levi’s lips in a passionate kiss.

  He ran his hands along the lines of my body, moaning into the kiss. It warmed me from the inside out, feeling Levi pressed against me. As steam began to fill the room I allowed myself to really relax into the moment. There I was, putting my hands all over the man who had been driving me crazy since the night we met. And it felt phenomenal. There was something uniquely powerful about realizing that I could have Levi.

  “I want to touch every inch of you,” he breathed, arching his back as my hands slid down to cup his ass.

  “It’s all yours,” I replied with a smile.

  “You can’t say stuff like that,” moaned Levi, leaning up to bite and suck at my neck.

  “I’m just being honest,” I gasped, my hand coming up to cradle Levi’s head, holding him exactly where I wanted him. “Keep doing that, ohmygod—”

  “You like being marked up?” Levi asked, pulling back slightly to smirk up at me. What a singularly beautiful creature.

  “When you’re the one doing it? Hell yeah,” I said.

  My heart was racing and all I could think about was getting Levi’s mouth back on my neck.

  “Where do you want me to leave the next one?” Levi asked, thumbing at one of my nipples. I shuddered.

  “Anywhere, everywhere—”

  “How about…here?” Levi suggested, pressing a gentle kiss to my collarbone.

  I adored him, in that moment. God, did I adore him.

  I nodded frantically and bucked forward as Levi simultaneously wrapped his hand around my cock and began sucking a hickey into my clavicle.

  “Oh god—yeah, there—”

  “Or maybe over here?” Levi asked, licking across one of my pecs.

  “Yes…please…”

  It was strange, feeling that level of urgency, of pleasure. It had been years since I had been with Becca, but I could remember exactly how intimacy had felt with her. Steady, safe, fun. I had loved it—had loved her—but she had never sparked the kind of fire in my gut that Levi invariably did whenever he entered a room. I had never careened desperately between lust and affection with Becca. I had been attracted to her, wanted her, gotten off with her, but it was nothing compared to watching—feeling—Levi goddamn Montgomery leave a trail of hickeys down my torso.

  “Porter…Porter, baby, are you with me?” Levi asked, peering up at me.

  “Yeah, I’m with you,” I panted, threading my hands through Levi’s hair once more and kissing him swiftly. “How do you want me?”

  His face was awash with emotions, each of them battling with his relentless lust. He seemed to be taking inventory of our options. I was open to whatever he might come up with, just as long as I didn’t have to take my hands off of him.

  After a few beats he turned us so that I was standing behind him, my front pressed against Levi’s back. We were facing the rushing water, and he handed me a little prepackaged bar of soap. I fumbled to discard the packaging, tossing it aside, and began rubbing the soap between my hands. When I had worked up a lather, I brought my soapy hands to Levi’s shoulders and began rubbing gentle circles.

  “Fuck,” he groaned, “that feels amazing.”

  “You feel…so good under my hands,” I admitted through my haze of lust. I was glad that Levi couldn’t see the blush glowing on my cheeks.

  “Don’t let me go,” Levi begged, and I skated my hands down and around so that I was massaging his abs.

  “I’ve got you,” I assured him. “Can I—”

  “Yes,” rasped Levi.

  I let one hand trail down to Levi’s hard, flushed cock.

  “I’ve been thinking about this,” I murmured into Levi’s hair.

  “Yeah?” A shiver wracked Levi’s body as I began to stroke him in earnest.

  My beautiful, sensual man. I could have watched him tremble in my hands for days.

  “Ever since the other night in the green room,” I went on. “I wanted to see you, to feel you, Jesus…”

  Levi was bucking up into my hand, his head thrown back shamelessly as he listened to my babbling.

  “Is this living up to your fantasies?” Levi asked, his voice wrecked.

  “Levi,” I gasped, my leaking cock pinned between my stomach and his lower back. I thrust forward, desperate for friction.

  “I want you between my legs,” Levi whimpered, and for a moment I thought he meant that he wanted me to blow him. But then I looked down at my cock, trapped between our bodies, and I understood.

  “Let me just…” I said, reaching down to line myself up.

  I rubbed my soapy hand over my cock and then slid it between Levi’s thighs. His legs were pressed together, providing me with a hot, slick channel to fuck into.

  I have never in my life wanted anyone this badly, I thought.

  “God Porter,” whined Levi as he leaned forward to brace himself against the wall.

  I reached one hand up to support myself and let the other fall back down to wrap around his cock once more. I began thrusting forward, letting out little high-pitched sounds as I fucked Levi’s thighs. He felt beyond amazing.

  Levi was pressing back against me, meeting me thrust-for-thrust. For a few earth-shattering minutes there was nothing else in the world except for the two of us, perfectly synchronized.

  This feel so right, I thought as another shudder wracked my body. He feels so right.

  Levi reached back with one hand to tangle it in my hair, moaning as he tugged lightly.

  “Fuck,” I muttered, pressing my lips against the smooth skin behind Levi’s ear and biting down. Levi leaned back into me even more, letting his head fall to the side to expose his neck.r />
  He’s going to kill me. I’m going to die in this shower.

  I began stroking him faster, running my thumb around the head of Levi’s cock with each pass. It was intensely gratifying to hear his breathing hitch in his chest as I toyed with him, to feel his smaller body sinking against my larger form with abandon.

  “I’m close, Porter—so close—”

  Levi’s body seemed to coax the orgasm out of me all at once. One second, we were moving in sync and the next I was losing my goddamn mind, emptying a frankly appalling amount of cum between Levi’s thighs. He wasn’t far behind, and it only took another couple of strokes before he was coming across his own stomach, calling out my name like some kind of mantra.

  We stayed there, bodies going limp beneath the warm spray of water. I wrapped my arms around Levi, supporting him as he went loose and wobbly in the aftermath of his orgasm. He turned in my arms, hugging me tightly around the waist, and nestled his head against my chest.

  “You okay?” I slurred, completely blissed out.

  “Mmm,” replied Levi, his eyes fluttering closed.

  “I think…uh…we should probably get cleaned up,” I said, trying to clear my head. It felt like I was blinking literal stars out of my vision.

  “Nose goes,” murmured Levi.

  “Sorry?”

  “Y’know, like when you were a kid. Nose goes…I’m calling dibs on not being the one to clean us up,” Levi explained sleepily.

  “You can’t nose goes post-coital clean up,” I grumbled, but I was smiling. There was something about Levi’s whimsical mind that enchanted me. I half expected him to announce that he still believed in fairies at any given moment.

  For the second time that afternoon, I began to work up a lather with the small bar of hotel soap. It smelled faintly of lavender, and I felt waves of contentment break over me as I carefully cleaned Levi’s torso and thighs. The water washed away the evidence of our tryst, and for a split second, I felt bittersweet about watching everything swirl down the drain. I didn’t want the moment to be over, didn’t want to let Levi go. But then he was dragging me back into the bedroom and pulling the covers up over our naked bodies.

  “You warm enough?” I asked as sleep threatened to pull me under.