Cool. This was cool.Hewas cool.
Maybe half of the seats were filled. Jamie found a spot off to the right of the stage, and tried to get comfortable as he waited. Maybe he should have asked someone if they knew where Tyler was, but he needed a moment to himself.
Newer country music played over the speakers, and he noticed other subtle nods to a country-Western theme around the space.
A yellow spotlight flashed on, illuminating the middle of the stage. Loud guitar filled the room. Someone in the front row whistled.
And then, there he was.
Tyler strutted–there was no other way to describe the way he moved–to the front of the stage. His arms and chest were bare,and a pair of denim overalls hung by one strap. His nipple piercings flashed in the light. He wore a pair of unlaced work-boots on his feet, and a wide-brimmed cowboy hat on his head.
Holy fuck.
Jamie watched, mouth open, his body hot and skin buzzing, as Tyler started to dance. He wasn’t breathing, didn’t know if he remembered how.
There was music. There were cheers. Lights flashed on and off, and spotlights sliced through the darkness, criss-crossing the stage. But none of that mattered to Jamie.
Everything else in his head had evaporated at the sight of Tyler. Any coherence was reduced to a static haze that sounded suspiciously like:him, him, mine, mine.
All that mattered was him.
His skin glittered gold, and he had a sultry smile in place as he moved. He arched his neck, one hand sliding down his front as he fell to the floor on his knees. His hips thrust up toward the sky, matching the beat of the song. He rolled, crawled, ran his tongue over his lips as he turned those dark eyes to the audience.
Fuck, he was transcendent. Beautiful. Like something from another world. Another planet. Jamie couldn’t decide whether or not he wanted to watch Tyler dance forever or shut him away where no one but Jamie could see him like this.
On his hands and knees, Tyler took off his hat and placed it on the head of a woman in the front row. When he winked down at her, she squealed.
Now his hair was loose and wild around his head, shining with the beginnings of sweat as Tyler kept working the stage. He got to his feet, teasing the strap holding the overalls in place. The crowd cheered. A flutter of bills were thrown onto the stage.
Do it,Jamie wanted to shout.Show me, dammit. Show me.
Tyler gripped the fabric, gave the audience a wicked smile, and thenyanked. The overalls ripped open, and Tyler tossed them aside as he stayed still, like he was giving the audience the opportunity to feast on his body.
And, fuck, itwasa feast.
A black lace jock strap hung low on his hips, the only thing covering him other than the work-boots on his feet. Jamie wanted to take him all in, to really see every little detail of his body, to commit every tattoo and dip and shadow to memory.
But then he started moving again, and Jamie couldn’t breathe. He just couldn’t compute this man beinghis. This was what he wanted, and Jamie was there to get him.
Jamie had been to strip clubs before. He’d been on hockey teams his whole life. He’d been to clubs catering to straight men and clubs catering to the queer community. He’d survived a few lap dances, although he hadn’t particularly enjoyed them.
He knew he couldn’t march up to the stage and throw Tyler over his shoulder without interfering with the set. He’d get thrown out, and knowing how hard Tyler worked to support himself and Rowan, he’d probably get dumped before they even had the chance to try.
Tyler had invited him here for a reason. He was sharing this part of himself with Jamie, and Jamie knew it was a big deal. That this was an extension of truth and trust.
What Jamie wanted didn’t matter. Not here. Not right now.
The song ended with Tyler kneeling at the edge of the stage, hands behind his head, as his bare chest rose and fell with heavy breaths. His hair hung in sweaty strands around his face. The people in the front row reached up to slide bills into the waistband of the jock, and before he knew what he was doing, Jamie was out of his seat.
He approached the stage slowly, staying back until the crowd around Tyler cleared. When he saw an opening, he moved forward, forcing himself to breathe.
Tyler’s body went still when he saw Jamie, his mouth ticking up into a smile. “Oh, hey,” he said, a hint of uncertainty in his voice, like he was bracing himself for disappointment.
Jamie needed to fix that. He couldn’t have Tyler doubtingthem–doubtinghim–already. “You were stunning up there,” he said, holding Tyler’s gaze.
Tyler’s head tilted to the side, and Jamie could see the shimmer of makeup on his brow and cheeks. “Are you okay? With this?”
“It doesn’t really matter, does it?” Jamie glanced around, a small smile on his face as he saw the blatant envy on the faces of some of the patrons. An older man in a suit did nothing to hide the deeply carved scowl on his face. Ignoring him, Jamie turned back to Tyler. “I’m here for you, and if this is a part of who you are, then I’m in.”
