Starboys

by Jeremy Jenkins

  There was a click from inside the lock, and I pushed the door open.

  Inside, the room looked exactly like mine had, but there was a portable sewing machine in the corner, swatches of fabric everywhere, and buttons peppering the ground like little jewels. It was easy to imagine him frantically working in here.

  I sat him down on the bed, and his head rolled again. He must have been blackout at this point. Though, it didn’t make any sense, because I had only seen him drink one White Claw.

  “Alright, you good?” I asked.

  He mumbled something that I couldn’t quite hear, so I asked him to repeat it.

  “Stay,” he said, grabbing my hand.

  “Oliver, no, you’re drunk,” I said, fighting the desire within me.

  “Stay,” he pleaded. “You’re beautiful…”

  “Cut the bullshit,” I said, the blush rising into my cheeks. “You’re drunk, Oliver.”

  “No… you… I always thought… I always…”

  “Stop,” I said, getting more and more annoyed.

  Anything for Leo, my mind repeated. I gritted my teeth. All I wanted to do was to return to the bonfire to socialize with him, not babysit this drunken idiot.

  “I’m gonna… I’m gonna…” he said.

  I rolled my eyes. “You’re gonna puke? Come on, let’s go to the bathroom…”

  “No!” he said, sitting up straight.

  I was surprised by his sudden lucidity.

  He pointed one of his perfectly manicured fingers at me and said, “I’m gonna suck your dick.”

  “Fucking come on, Oliver,” I said, sighing. “Quit it, just fucking pass out already,” I snapped.

  “No, you fucking… you listen to me, Cornfed,” he said, keeping his finger pointed at me. “I met you, and you’re like… you’re all shiny.”

  I bit my lip. That’s what Hazel said about me.

  Something in his eyes was clear enough that what he said intrigued me. It might have been bullshit, drunken garbling, but I had to know.

  I had to.

  Crossing my arms and legs, I said carefully, “What do you mean, Oliver?”

  He blinked a bit, then said, “When I met you… you… you were all like…” he made a noise and fluttered his hands around me. “Like that. You’re… one of those. I can’t stop looking at you…” he said.

  There was a silence that hung in the air, and I was starting to feel a buzzing in my ears.

  “I hate you for it…” he said, his teeth clinking together on that word. Hate.

  I was lost for words.

  “Do you… even know… how beautiful you are?” Oliver asked.

  This was getting too heavy for me. I needed to escape — I needed to get out of this situation.

  But it was too late. He lunged forward and began unbuttoning my pants.

  I jerked away. “Oliver! Oliver stop, you’re drunk!”

  And just like that, when he was fumbling with my button on my jeans, he leaned to the side and passed out.

  Relief flooded through me, and I pulled myself out of his grip.

  He didn’t wake up as I got off the bed.

  My heart was racing as my mind tried to put together what had just happened. Was he secretly into me this whole time? I remembered getting shades of it when we were at that secret bar, not knowing if that sparkle in his eye was for me or Reese when we made the plan.

  I shook the thought away as I tilted him onto his side, then covered him with a blanket.

  He was out cold. I checked his pulse, just to make sure he was still alive. Satisfied by his beating heart under his smooth neck, I got up and left.

  I called another Lyft, courtesy of the production company, and was back at the beach within a few minutes.

  The party was dying down, and the only ones on the beach left were Mason and Alina. I was disappointed that Leo was gone, and felt a red hot anger stir within me at Oliver.

  He’d wasted my time; squandered my opportunity to talk to Leo alone.

  I trudged my way through the sand and sat on the log next to Alina.

  The bonfire, which only half an hour before had been roaring to match Reese’s anger, had now died down to a few glowing embers.

  “Look who’s back,” Mason said tauntingly as I settled in.

  “Did you not expect me to come back?” I asked, my eyes narrowing at him.

  “All I know is that you went back to Oliver’s hotel room,” he said, the light from the embers dancing in his eyes.

  “Stop it, Mason,” Alina said, the tiredness lingering in her voice.

  “What? I’m just calling it like I see it,” he said, his eyes still dancing with delight.

  My hands were shaking. I was so… so incredibly done with drama for tonight that I didn’t know how much more I could take. I was exhausted. Maybe that’s why I snapped, “Why, you jealous?”

  Alina and Mason both looked at me.

  It was like Mason couldn’t believe that I was standing up to his taunts, entering the banter with him. After a few uncomfortable seconds passed, Mason said, “You wish.”

  Alina audibly yawned. “Well, I’m tired. I’m going to call it a night.”

  I knew what she was doing. Trying to leave me alone with Mason because there was some kind of weird, bantering flirting going on.

  “I’ll come with you,” I said quickly, hoping to walk her back to her trailer and then go back to mine.

  “Well, I’m not going to be alone out here on the beach,” said Mason smoothly. “I’ll walk back with you.”

  Internally I cursed. I was hoping to be with Alina alone so I could catch her up on the drama for the night.

  But here we were, the three of us trudging through the sand and towards the glow of the trailers. We did the whole small talk thing, saying we were excited for the shoot tomorrow and all of the offshoots of conversation that were spawned from it. Thankfully it was enough to take up the entire walk.

  Dread swelled within me as I realized we’d be dropping Alina off at her trailer first.

  Me and Mason would have to be alone together for a few minutes.

  There was this weird energy coming off of him like he saw what was about to happen and was delighted by it.

  Because I was dreading it, it made it only happen faster. Before I knew it, we were outside Alina’s trailer door, bidding her goodnight.

  She went inside and I heard the lock click.

  Then it was just me and him.

  “So,” he said with his Cheshire Cat grin. “Welcome to the shit show.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “If you want to squeeze more secrets out of me, I have to warn you that I’m not in the mood,” I mumbled grumpily.

  “It doesn’t matter if you’re in the mood or not,” he said. “This kind of drama — it never stops when you’re in show business. I tried to warn you when we were up on that cliff earlier today…”

  “Was that today?” I said sleepily. It felt like this day had lasted an eternity.

  Mason chuckled. “Yeah, that feeling never goes away either. The days feel like they last months.”

  I walked with him through the sand, following the directions a crew member texted me earlier to find my new trailer.

  “Good job on your negotiation earlier, by the way,” Mason said.

  “How do you know about that already?” I asked.

  “Word gets around fast on the set,” he said slyly. “Plus, it’s me, and I know everything.”

  I frowned at his arrogance. “You don’t know everything,” I said. I knew I shouldn’t have baited him like that, because it would only lead to more of his annoying questioning, but I couldn’t resist.

  I needed a win.

  “Right. You know the one thing I don’t,” he said, watching me carefully. “I’m surprised you’ve been able to keep it from me for this long. Usually, all I have to do is look at people and they tell me anything I need to know.”

  “You’re so full of yourself,” I snarled.
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  Normally I wouldn’t have been this rude to Mason, but I was so exhausted by the events of the day that I couldn’t stop myself.

  “I’m not full of myself, I’m just honest,” he said.

  I rolled my eyes, searching for my trailer.

  “So what is it, Charlie? What’s Alina hiding? I know it has something to do with Rachel.”

  I stiffened, then immediately tried to hide it.

  “Well well well, so I guessed right…” he purred.

  “No, I’m just surprised you’d think that,” I said quickly.

  “Please. It was so obvious the way she was reacting at dinner when we brought up Rachel. You’d have to be a complete simpleton to miss it.”

  I was begging the universe to show me my trailer so I could escape this situation. He was way too observant; I felt like his eyes were scanning me like a microscope.

  “Well, I don’t need you to tell me anything anyway,” he said, leaning back to his full height with his chest puffed out. “She’ll be here tomorrow, and I’ll get it out of her.”

  “Why, are you two friends or something?” I asked.

  “You could say that,” he said evasively.

  I knew he wanted me to pry, to ask him about details about the way he said that, so I resisted.

  He frowned.

  “Good, I hope she tells you everything you want to know,” I said, exhausted.

  Finally, I spotted my trailer, the tire tracks fresh in the wet sand.

  “This is me,” I said, walking towards it. “Goodnight.”

  I took a few steps away from him and towards my trailer, then felt his fingers close on my wrist.

  “Charlie,” he breathed.

  The way he said my name was like he was enchanting it; like anything he said after that was something I would have to do.

  I did my best to resist whatever spell he was trying to put over me.

  “Let go,” I said, tugging my wrist out of his grip.

  “Charlie, wait,” he said.

  There was something else hidden in his voice now; something on the edge of desperate.

  I turned to look at him, only to see him watching me earnestly in the moonlight. All I wanted to do was to go to my new trailer and let my head hit the pillow.

  But the way he was looking at me was begging me for something.

  “…what?” I asked.

  He closed his eyes and looked down at the sand. “Never mind.”

  I was tired of this. I was tired of him wielding his power over me, and jerking me around, and all of these games he was playing.

  So I took two steps closer to him in the sand.

  “No, you’re going to tell me. Quit with the bullshit,” I said, the words coming out of my mouth aggressively.

  He looked surprised. The expression looked foreign on his face.

  I didn’t recognize my voice as I laid into him. But after the events of the night, I felt stronger. Less tolerant of putting up with this I-know-something-you-don’t nonsense.

  “It’s just that…” he said, finally shedding a layer of his cocky shell.

  “If you’ve got nothing to say, then let me go to bed,” I demanded, feeling stronger with every word leaving my mouth.

  “Can I come?” he asked.

  I stared at him, unable to believe what just came out of his mouth.

  “What?” I hissed. It took a moment for me to register what he just said. “Is this a joke?”

  “No joke,” he said, his eyes boring into me with clarity. Then he pulled me in close. “I’ve been unable to get you out of my mind since we kissed earlier.”

  I was pressed up against his hard chest and looked up into his eyes. It seemed like he was telling the truth, but I still had my doubts.

  “What do you want?” I asked.

  Those blue eyes bored into me, but there was this gentleness about them now. Something that I’d never seen there before.

  “I want you, Charlie.”

  For a second I almost believe him. Almost.

  “You’re a good actor,” I said, pushing away from him. “But I know you don’t really want me. You want what you can’t have— which is what I know.”

  “Stop pushing me away, Charlie. Stop pushing everyone away,” he said as he pulled me back in.

  I relaxed in his arms, conflicted. A part of me wanted to believe him; wanted to give in to his magnetic pull. It was like everything about him was enchanted; designed to ensnare someone like me and making me his slave.

  I found myself thinking, It can’t be that bad, he could be telling the truth.

  And just like that, I began to forget the reason why I was resisting so much.

  “We’ve already kissed,” I said into his hard chest.

  “It was unforgettable,” he said.

  Alarm bells were going off in my mind, but my libido muffled them under a blanket of desire.

  “You’re so full of shit,” I chuckled.

  He pulled away slightly and looked into my eyes. “Are you going to stand there and tell me that you didn’t feel something real when we kissed?”

  I returned his gaze and something intangible passed between us. The heat in my body was concentrating in my pants, making my cock hard. I could feel his hardness pressing against my thigh.

  “Can’t you feel how much I want you?” he asked in his silkiest voice.

  Everything in my brain was screaming at me to give in, to succumb to him. I could only hold onto one small scrap of rationality.

  “We shouldn’t…” I said, breathing in his scent. “We’re coworkers now.”

  He tensed ever so slightly. I could tell he didn’t like that.

  “What would be the harm in it? I know you’re just as curious as I am. Come on, spend the night with me…”

  And just like that, it was like that small thread of reasoning and rationality that kept me tethered to my better judgment was snipped away.

  I leaned forward and pressed my face to his. Again, I felt that spark spiral in my body and catch. Everything in my erupted into the flames of desire.

  Our mouths were melding together, locked in a dance of human want. His tongue dipped into my mouth and pressed against my own. He pushed me against the side of my trailer, our bodies tangled together.

  All of my thoughts took a backseat as the monster of lust, a primal, ancient beast, took control of my body. I was only vaguely aware that I was kissing Mason Vayne — a guy that had been my celebrity crush for half of my life. The guy that drove me crazy — this arrogant, self-absorbed asshole who loved to stir up drama…

  For now, we were just two guys succumbing to desire under the light of the full moon here on this magical Italian beach.

  All my reservations slipped away as he slipped his hand into the waistband of my pants.

  “Is this okay?” he asked breathlessly when he pulled away from my mouth.

  I nodded, panting.

  His charm, his charisma was too much to resist. On some level, I knew that nothing good could come of this, but I was letting myself enjoy the moment anyway.

  And I couldn’t deny this burning passion — this insane realness in our physical connection here that was so rare to find. I had hooked up with lots of guys from Grindr, but none of them ever set my body on fire like Mason Vayne was doing right now.

  “Inside?” I asked as he touched my hot, throbbing shaft.

  I nodded at the shadowy man and plunged my hand into my pocket for my key ring. Earlier today, I got the keys for my new trailer from one of the crew members. I fumbled with it, my hands shaking, and unlocked the door of my trailer.

  Mason followed me up the steps, and I was seized by a moment of panic that this trailer might not even be ready. I half expected to ascend the stairs and find the entire thing as empty as a shipping container, but to my delight, it was already furnished.

  I made a beeline to the back room where the bed — my bed, was.

  Mason followed without a sound.

  Thankfully
the bed was already made, with a fluffy duvet and fresh sheets.

  I felt his hands around my back. They threaded to the front of my body, roving up and down my torso. I leaned back and my lips found his.

  I knew that this wasn’t going to lead to anything good, but I was so starved for any kind of touch that I just went with it. I was succumbing to his power of seduction.

  Honestly, I never stood a chance against it.

  We tumbled onto the bed, his body falling on top of mine. He was kissing me ravenously, as if he was starving for me.

  It made me think that maybe there was some truth to his words earlier; maybe he did feel a genuine desire for me.

  But then again, he was an actor. He made a living by pretending to feel things.

  I shuffled those thoughts to the back of my mind as his lips crashed into me, wanting me, needing me.

  It felt good to be needed.

  My back arched, a primal reflex.

  I was putty in his hands.

  He roved his hands down my body slowly, as if he was cherishing me. As if he couldn’t believe that he was here in this bed with me instead of the other way around.

  I threaded my fingers at the hem of his shirt and peeled it off of him. The moonlight glinted through the window and illuminated his glorious form. He was all abs and sinewy muscle.

  “You’re perfect,” I said in a hushed whisper.

  He smirked, and I knew he was absorbing the compliment and using it to nourish his already overinflated ego. But the thought was whisked away as he took off my shirt.

  “No…,” he said, his eyes tickling my body.

  I moved my hands down to cover myself, still embarrassed that I was eight pounds overweight.

  “No, don’t do that…” he reiterated.

  I was still trying to cover myself, trying to get him to look at anything except me. He would judge me; he would see my body and realize that he was a god hooking up with a simple plebeian.

  He deserved better; he was probably used to his boyfriends and hookups looking like those beautiful twinks in music videos. Not a disgusting blob like me.

  “Stop that, Charlie,” he said, his voice firm. He took both of my wrists and pinned my arms above my head.

  I fought him for a few seconds, trying to break his grasp so I could cover myself again. So I could feel safe and secure from those x-ray eyes of his.