by Etan, Cher
“For someone who just met me today, you’re pretty rigid in your ideas of who I am,” he said hand held out for her clothes. Ava had to concede that this was so, and instead of replying, she closed the door between them and took her clothes off. She shrugged on the comfortable robe and opened the door, handing her clothes over.
“Thank you,” she said.
“You’re welcome.”
Ava closed the door again and stepped in the state of the art shower, luxuriating in the abundance of hot water. She was tempted to stay in there all night but she didn’t want to completely deplete Tristan’s supply. She sang a bit as she showered, marvelling at how at home she felt in this stranger’s digs. It was crazy. She wished she had someone to call and tell all about it but her one confidante, her mother, had passed away just six months before of cancer. It was a very quick death; she’d gone to the hospital feeling weak and dizzy, by morning she’d been in a coma and by noon, she was dead. Cause of death turned out to be a tumour in her brain. The only thing Ava had been grateful for was the speed with which she died. Her mother was a worrier, she would have hated to be sick. She’d left Ava a fully paid for house in the Bronx and five hundred dollars in her bank account.
Ava had sold the house and put the money into mutual funds. Luckily, she had a full ride to Berklee University and had just one more year to go to complete her degree in music production and sound engineering. She picked up gigs like this to make money to live on. The summer was full of music festivals, pop star tours and shows. There was no shortage of work if one knew the right people. And Ava made sure she knew all the right people.
She hadn’t been home in weeks, jumping from gig to gig without a break. She made sure to send her roomie rent on the regular though; she didn’t want him to throw her things out of her room. They’d met the first day of college when she moved to Boston; both feeling out of place and out of step with everyone else. Bob was a transgender from a small town in New Mexico; this was his first time out of the confines of his parents’ expectations and he hadn’t quite known how to handle it. Ava took pity on him and took him under her wing and he followed her around for months before he felt brave enough to venture out on his own and find himself. These days though, he was deeply enmeshed in the transgender scene in Boston and his and Ava’s friendship was based more on nostalgia than any present day ties.
Ava emerged steaming from the shower, feeling the day slip off her shoulders. She opened the door to the bathroom to the aroma of coffee permeating everything.
“Ahhhh! What is that ambrosia?” she sighed.
“Coffee?” Tristan replied.
“Hmm, usually this is the part where you try to ply with me alcohol,” she informed him.
“Do I really look like I need to get you drunk to get you into bed?” he asked.
Ava shrugged, “Two words for you; Bill Cosby.”
“Touché,” he replied. “I swear there are no roofies in your coffee.”
Ava smiled reaching a hand out for the cup. “I believe you,” she said. And she did; she just didn’t know why.
He led her to his plush leather seats and they sat opposite each other sitting companionably and drinking coffee.
“So…you said you’d got some bad news. What was it.”
Tristan rolled his eyes, “Way to kill my vibe chick.”
Ava laughed, “Sorry. Forget I said anything.”
Tristan shrugged, “Tell me about you. How does a nice girl like you end up as a roadie?”
“The money’s good. And the experience is invaluable,” she said with a shrug.
“Let me guess, you want to be a singer,” he said cynically.
“Actually, I want to be a producer,” she replied.
Tristan nodded, “How’s that going?”
“Great. My GPA is at a steady 3.9 and I have a lot of practical experience. I’ve also made pretty solid contacts over the last two summers.”
“Your GPA? You’re in school?”
“Don’t sound so surprised.”
“Hey, I can pre-judge you too. By the way your clothes are dry.”
“Great. This robe is really comfortable though. I think I’ll hang in it a bit longer.”
“So you were saying about your GPA.”
“Oh yeah; Berklee university, third year.”
Tristan gave her a slow clap. Ava flipped him the finger. Tristan stood up from his perch and came to sit right next to Ava, putting up his hands.
“I’m not trying anything. I just want to sit next to you.”
“I didn’t say nothin,” Ava replied clutching her coffee cup with both hands.
“Talk to me Ava. Tell me something great about your life.”
“I’m sitting here in this big ass trailer, after having had an epic shower. Life is good.”
“Yeah. For me too,” Tristan agreed. They looked at each other and smiled.
“You wanna spend the night?” Tristan asked suddenly. Ava lifted her eyebrows at him. “Not in the same bed obviously. I have some bunk beds.”
“I have a bed,” Ava said.
“Is it as comfortable as my beds?”
Ava opened her mouth to say, “Yeah it is,” but then found she couldn’t quite lie. She shared a tiny trailer with two other women. The bed was small and the mattress thin. Also the food was crap.
“Why?” she asked instead.
“Because you make me laugh. And I need to laugh this weekend,” he said, not pretending to misunderstand.
Ava thought about it. She had no problem being a distraction; it was why people came to these events after all.
“Okay. I’ll stay,” she said.
“Yay,” Tristan said fist pumping the air.
“But I still have to work tomorrow,” she warned.
“I know.”
Chapter 2
For a moment after she woke up, Ava didn’t know where she was. She sat up quickly and almost fell out of the bunk before she realised she was way up high. Tristan had offered his queen sized bed for her to sleep on; while he slept on a bunk but Ava'd had just about all the chivalry she could take for one night. So she turned him down. She got up now and jumped out of bed, eager to get in the steamy shower again before Tristan awoke. She tiptoed to the bath and pushed open the door stepped in and then stopped dead. Tristan had beat her to it. He was already in the shower, eyes cast down, hand on his…penis. Ava’s eyes traveled down from his strong looking broad shoulders, tapering down to his waist. His compact well muscled butt jutted out, just right for her fingers to curve around, if she wanted to; if he wanted her to. His long muscled legs were akimbo as his hand moved between them. It took a moment for him to look up from what he was doing. Clearly he was distracted. Ava knew she should step out of the room but it was like her feet were frozen to the spot. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen a naked man. But this was the first time she’d seen the male form quite so up close and personal.
She willed her legs to move but he was already turning around to look at her. It was as if it was happening in slow motion. His green eyes widened in shock and then narrowed again. Then he smiled.
“Want to join?” he asked.
Ava was literally frozen to the spot. She couldn’t move, think or talk. She just stared at him as he took his dick in his hand again, eyes not leaving hers and began to stroke himself. Ava could see Tristan’s hand moving up and down, as he continued speaking, Tristan’s hand moved quicker. His eyes were closed and his leg gradually widened until he was standing with them splayed wide open. Ava couldn’t help herself, she watched Tristan as he jerked his fist in rhythm. She saw Tristan bite down on his lip hard then thrust into his fist as he bit back a moan and then seemed to realize he was getting way too into it and sucked in a breath, slowing his hand down.
Tristan looked over at Ava, knowing that she had been watching him, he felt his face getting warmer. He slid his tongue across his lips and let out a long slow breath.
“Uh…so wh-what were you sayi
ng? How do you…mmm.”
Tristan paused, wondering if he should stop touching himself but he could see that Ava was fascinated. That only made it worse because just the thought of Ava watching him jerk off made him horny as hell but actually seeing her do it was driving Tristan insane.
“Like what you see?” he asked recovering coherency.
Ava’s eyes were on Tristan. The more Ava looked the faster Tristan seemed to be moving his hand. Ava cleared her throat but her voice was strained, "It’s a good show. Are you enjoying yourself?”
“I’d enjoy it a lot more if it was your hand on my dick,” he said with a naughty grin.
“Yeah well…I should go make some coffee,” Ava said as if waking from a dream. Her feet were finally able to move again and she hastened to the kitchen to get some caffeine down her throat.
“What was that?” she asked herself as she poured coffee beans into the coffee maker. Ava had managed to go twenty three years without getting this close to a guy and his junk. It wasn’t for lack of trying; it was just that her mother had been very strict about curfews, deadlines and knowing where Ava was at all times. Also she just hadn’t managed to meet a guy who swept her off her feet. It could have had something to do with being molested by her uncle when she was fourteen. He’d sat her on his lap and rubbed himself on her back until she felt something wet spreading on her skirt. Then he’d turned her face toward him, thrust his tongue in her mouth, and moved it around. he’d then pushed her off his mouth and made her swear not to tell a soul. She’d almost told her mother anyway but she didn’t see what good it would do. Soon after that he’d been hit by a car and left paralyzed from the waist down. Karma was a bitch.
Still, it meant that Ava was left wary of men and all too aware of their dark side. She tried not to let it influence her life but it was hard going sometimes. That was why she was so surprised at her reaction to Tristan; so out of character. Ava didn’t know what to make of it.
“Is the universe trying to tell me something?” she asked the coffee maker.
“Very likely,” a voice said from behind her startling her quite badly. She turned quickly, almost spilling coffee on herself to see Tristan leaning on the kitchen doorway hands folded, grin in place.
“Hey! Warn a girl,” she growled.
“Sorry,” Tristan said coming forward to stand beside her. “How is the coffee making going?”
“Great,” Ava said turning away toward the fridge. “What do you have for breakfast?” she asked opening it. There was a tray of eggs that she could see, some cheese, tomatoes, and milk. Tristan was removing some bread from the basket in the corner.
“So…omelet and toast?” Ava asked turning toward him.
“Yeah sounds good. I’ll make the omelet, you butter the toast,” he replied surprising her again. She almost asked the obvious ‘you can cook?’ question but decided she was through being surprised at him. Clearly he wasn’t your run of the mill trust fund kid. Instead, she reached for the bread and began to butter it.
*****
The job of a Roadie involved setting up the equipment that artists need for the show. They can cover every aspect of the live performance, aside from the actual performing itself. The main responsibility out of all this is to make sure that the equipment needed for each event is transported safely and correctly from one venue to the next, and daily grunt work may include; driving, loading and unloading vans; lifting and carrying audio equipment, sets and lighting, rigging of electrical equipment; checking sound levels; tuning instruments; taking down the set after the show.
The day was warm and Ava was busy. There was equipment to be moved around and stages to be set. Sound equipment to be checked and costume changes to organize. As she went about her tasks, she passed Tristan now and then, hanging out at the Black Bar. She’d told him that was where the roadies took their breaks and he’d been there all day except when he was watching shows. Ava kept expecting him to get bored, disappear or otherwise lose interest, but his eyes lit up every time she stepped in the door of the Black Bar regardless of what he was doing. Conversing with other patrons, or drinking his scotch on the rocks, playing darts with Jose the bartender or sitting in the corner, reading the paper.
She came by to check on him at least once an hour until she was through for the day. There were some night shows that she’d have to prepare for but between three and seven pm she was free.
“Hey. Let’s go back to your trailer and watch TV,” she suggested to him as she slid into the booth opposite him.
“Okay,” he said folding his paper and standing up. He drained his glass and held out a hand to her. He tucked her hand into his elbow as he led her out of the bar. Jose waved at them with an indulgent smile which Tristan returned. It seemed a bit conspiratorial to Ava but maybe she was just being paranoid. They walked slowly to Tristan’s trailer, taking in the sights and sound, noise and madness of the festival on its most busy day.
“Are you having fun?” Ava asked him.
“Time of my life,” Tristan replied green eyes twinkling at her.
“Seriously? Coz all of you’ve been doing is waiting on me all day.”
“I’ve also been drinking, playing darts and getting to know some new guys.”
“Yeah okay. I felt a little bad seeing you sit there by yourself,” Ava said.
“Hey, I was enjoying myself; it was just what I needed,” Tristan said.
“Cool.”
They got to the trailer and went in, Ava flopped on the couch and put her legs up. She really was very tired. Tristan got the remote and dropped down next to her, flicking the TV on as he did so.
“Do you want a drink?” he asked as a movie came on.
“No. I’d have thought you were all drank out,” she said with a grin.
“I am but I thought you could use something,” he said. She gave him an affectionate smile.
“Thank you for your concern.”
“You’re welcome,” he said glancing at her and then back at the TV.
Ava continued to look at him though, studying his face and wondering at the strange butterflies she had in her stomach. Pretty soon, Tristan couldn’t pretend that he didn’t know she was staring at him for much longer. He turned his head to look at her, eyebrows raised. Brown eyes caught green and they just looked at each other for a long moment. Then Tristan’s eyes dropped down to her lush lips. She licked them unconsciously, looking at his lips too. Their eyes rose simultaneously to lock into a stare again and somehow, the space between them got less and less.
Ava felt the cool pressure of Tristan’s lips on hers as his eyes were so close to hers she couldn’t really see anything but a green blur. Her hands came up and her fingers threaded through his brown hair, pulling him closer. Her mouth opened a bit and his tongue snaked in, tasting the length of her lips and then exploring the inside of her mouth before tangling with her tongue. There was a ringing in Ava’s ears and she felt like the room might be moving really fast around her. Tristan’s hands were exploring as well, moving restlessly all over Ava’s back. His hands drifted downwards to land on her butt where he squeezed her cheeks as he pulled her closer.
His leg lifted and came to rest atop her lap as he pulled her even deeper into his embrace. His hand lifted up her black vest to rest on her stomach, caressing her abdomen sensuously. She groaned into his mouth arching her back to be closer to him. Their lips fused together in a dance of joy and sensation and time stood still.
Tristan softly kissed her neck, sucking a love bite into the skin before nuzzling her. Ava melted. She cuddled closer and hugged Tristan, kissed him tenderly, palming his stubble cheek as she tasted the sweetness of his lips. Tristan lightly grasped Ava’s chin and held her so he could kiss her again. Ava nibbled Tristan’s lips, licked them to savor the sweet taste as Tristan palmed her cheeks, stroking his thumb tenderly over her cheekbones.
“Ava,” Tristan hushed, “Stay with me.”
*****
"Ok, that was pretty awe
some." They were following the crowd that was leaving the makeshift performance area and Tristan had his arm around Ava's waist. As soon as she’d finished up her roadie duties, she’d come to find him.
"See I told you! And they even covered some classic rock."
They spent the entire show absorbed in each other with Tristan holding Ava from behind.
"So, um do you want to come out to my trailer? I have some really good rum or if you're tired I can walk you to your trailer."
"No, I'll go with you. I'll drink your rum, s’long as you have coke. It's getting kind of cool so it'll help with the chill."
"I can help with that too." He gave Ava his best leer and couldn't help but laugh at the way Ava's face twisted.
"C'mon I'll lead the way." He took Ava's hand and began to lead her through the trees, away from the crowds and towards where he had parked his trailer.
The truth was Tristan was more nervous than he was letting on. He had barely been able to keep himself from dragging Ava off to a quiet spot while they were watching the show and he wasn't sure he could keep himself in check when they were alone. Tristan was never shy about sex or letting his partners know that was all he wanted from them. No strings no morning after. With Ava it was different. He didn't want Ava to feel rushed or used. Tristan wasn't sure how to handle this. He couldn't stick around for longer than the weekend. He had an almost fiancé he had to contend with. His mother was expecting an announcement; after they’d dealt with the potentially explosive idea of him never being able to conceive. He wanted to spend as much time with Ava as possible but he didn’t want to mislead her.
This was a foreign feeling to him. It was unsettling to have someone be that important to him so fast. His instincts were to run at the first sign of attachment. Especially with someone outside his circle of trust. His mother was forever warning him about gold diggers. Not that he hadn’t already met his fair share of those. But he had a feeling Ava wasn’t like that. She worked hard for what she had and she obviously liked him too. He should probably break it off right here.
Tristan was so lost in his own head that when Ava stopped walking he nearly tripped. He felt worry coming from her. "What's wrong?" He instantly began to study Ava's face with concern.
