“Yes, finally.”
“Finally? Monty, we only graduated ten years ago. You move pretty fast.”
The blush was acting, Benson was sure, as Monty was a conceited bastard, but a good egg, nonetheless. “Well…”
He was a handsome man, gay, and yes, they’d had their trysts but left it off as friends. Sandy hair, sky-blue eyes and a smile that had gotten his acting career started and stopped with toothpaste commercials.
“What do you really want to talk about? I see it in your face, Ben.”
It was Benson’s turn to blush. “Well, Monty, I went to a play the other evening and found someone who intrigued me.”
“In other words, your big dick stood up.”
“Shut up,” he said, laughing as he looked around to make sure Monty wasn’t overheard.
He wasn’t.
“Who’s the guy?”
“The director spoke to my assistant, and he graduated recently from your little program. His name is Luka Mann.”
Monty sat back hard as he laughed. “Luke. Well, you still have good taste. That kid is beautiful, I must say.”
“You didn’t…?”
“No. I didn’t. I am with Ethan, and we’re planning a wedding in two years.”
“Two years?”
“He’s a…planner. Anyway, Luka. He’s…different. As far as I know, he didn’t date. I’m pretty sure he’s gay, but it is hard to tell, being he didn’t date.”
“How do you know?”
Monty leaned in and said, “Drama queens got their names from drama students. They love drama, gossip, and there is no one safe from it.”
He could see that. “Okay, well, is he shy?”
Monty laughed heartily and said, “No. Not at all. He’s aggressive, but that is all directed in every single way to his profession. He’s an actor. Through and through an actor, and that is all he thinks about, all he works toward, and all he wants. He’s determined to make a place for himself among the greats. And he is his own biggest critic.”
Lowering his head, Benson thought about his own past. “I can relate.”
“No, you at least got laid, and I have the stretched ass to prove it.”
Benson’s head rose, and on his mouth was a full grin. “Keep talking like that and I’ll take you into the bathroom.”
“Engaged, remember, but don’t tempt me. I get it, Benson, but this guy isn’t for you. He’s… not looking for a relationship. He’s looking for…”
“Fame?”
“Not exactly. It goes deeper, I think. I have dozens of students who dream of hitting it big on the stage or screen, but he’s not exactly like that. He wants immortality. He wants his name on the lips of people that know what really great acting is, not who acts in some blockbuster of the week trends on TikTok.”
Benson knew that feeling too. He wanted to do something great, seen as great in his field. “How do I get to him then?”
Monty raised his glass and said, “I forgot. You’re determined when you want something too.”
Their glasses clinked, and they both drank before Monty started, “Okay, well, be warned. This isn’t a Flash Dance scenario where you get him the part of a lifetime, and he eventually forgives you and sees it as a good thing. He’d hate you.”
“Okay, well, I can’t say as I’d blame him. So, what then?”
