Mike walked into Woofs that Sunday afternoon to be greeted by a round of applause from Kevin and Patrick.
“We were wondering if you were gonna show up for work tonight, or if you’d be too busy with your boy toy,” Kevin said with a leer.
“Fuck. Off,” Mike said shortly, taking off his leather jacket and stashing it behind the bar. He’d known it was coming, of course. There was no way Kevin would’ve been able to resist.
Kevin joined him. “Aw, come on. I’ve been dying for you to get here and spill the beans. Did it all go according to plan? Is Tommy a good fuck?” His voice took on a wheedling tone. “Aw, Mikey, play fair. After all, we helped ya get together with Mr. Farm Boy, didn’t we?”
Mike sighed. “I am gonna say this just once. Tommy is a good kid, and I am not gonna talk about him behind his back. So I will not be sharing details, ya got that?” He didn’t understand why Kevin’s question put his back up. Mike often shared what went on during his scenes.
This felt… different.
Kevin folded his arms across his wide chest and stared at Mike. “Fair enough. Just tell me one thing. Does he know about the porn?”
Mike shook his head. “No,” he said emphatically. When Kevin pursed his lips, Mike huffed. “Look, if he knew, there’s no way he’d be able to hide that. Trust me.” Mike imagined Tommy would no sooner watch porn than he would swear in church.
Kevin nodded. “Then you need to tell him.”
Mike gaped. “Why the fuck would I do that?”
There was a moment’s silence before Kevin replied. “Ask yourself why you don’t want him to know.”
That made him stop and think. He’d been in a few relationships that had crashed and burned once his partners had found out about his othercareer.
Except I’m not in a relationship with Tommy, am I?
Damn, that boy just scrambled his circuits.
Kevin was looking awfully smug. “Now I got ya thinking. So while you’re doing some reflecting, reflect on this. You’ve been doing porn for a long while now, Mike. Some day, maybe sooner than you think, that boy is gonnaseesomething,hearsomething, and then that cat is out of its bag. It’s gonna be better if he hears it from you first.”
Fuck. Much as he didn’t want to think about that, Kevin had a point.
“Okay,” he said, nodding. “You’re right. I will tell him.”Just not yet.
Mike liked the way Tommy had looked at him. He had a feeling that just might change once Tommy knew how Mike earned some of his dollars.
And damn if that thought didn’t make Mike feel sad.
Chapter Sixteen
Mike switchedoff the car engine and grabbed his bag from the passenger seat. Instead of getting out of the car, he sat there for a moment, staring up at ManFactory’s exterior. He was still fuming over that little shit’s review of his last scene.
Not many sites reviewed porn, but there were a few. Most of them just published the stills and the abstract, but a few sites—one in particular—went further. It didn’t matter that most of the industry hated the PornWatch blog. That didn’t stop its one—and only—reviewer from coming out with the most incendiary reviews out there. Oh, they brought in the readers, and they certainly helped bring up his ratings, but the whole blog was kind of the supermarket checkout line tabloid of the gay porn world. That last review had been almost rabid. He’d sounded off about how poor the acting was. The most entertaining thing about it all had been the comments. One guy had actually written, “Er, excuse me? Wearetalking about porn, right? I don’t know about most of you guys out there, butI’mnot watching it for the quality of the acting, and the performers certainly aren’t aiming for Academy awards.”
Sitting there fuming about it wasn’t going to improve his mood.
Mike got out of the car, locked it, shouldered his bag, and walked across the parking lot to the main door. It was midday. He’d been ready to leave the house at eight thirty, and Paul’s phone call had caught him halfway out the door. Apparently there’d been a delay and they wanted him later.
What now?Something else to piss him off, no doubt.
He pushed open the glass door and walked up to the main desk. Paul glanced up and gave him a nervous smile, blinking rapidly. “Hey, Scott.” He handed over the clipboard. “Tony’s waiting for you in the prep room.”
That stopped him in his tracks. Tony normally gave him a while to get the paperwork done and talk through the scene before wanting to see him. “Is Troy there too?” Mike knew Troy Rosen of old. Working with him was always a lot of fun, and Mike had been pleased when ManFactory had sent him the e-mail a couple of weeks ago, informing him of their scene together. Troy was a real power bottom and something of a rarity in the industry—his husband was also a porn actor. The couple were often interviewed about their life in the spotlight. Lately they’d been the focus of an online hate campaign, conducted in the full glare of social media. Troy’s husband, Carl, had reached out to their thousands of fans, and they’d received an overwhelming amount of support. They were quickly becoming the most well-known gay couple on the Internet.
Mike often wondered what their secret was. Both of them working in the industry might’ve had something to do with it, he supposed, but they’d clearly found a way that worked for them. Whatever it was, Mike sure envied them. You only had to look at photos of the couple to see they were in love.
What I’d give to find someone who looks at me the way they look at each other.
Paul rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry, Scott, there’s been a change. It’s all on the documentation.” The phone rang,cutting short the conversation. Paul took the call, giving Mike an apologetic glance.
