Exposed, page 15
part #5 of Tool Shed Series
The one person that he wanted to get along with was acting so distant. And even if they supposedly weren’t on bad terms, he didn’t have what he wanted from Wright.
An hour passed, and then another. Yorick played the music that people wanted to hear, and when the strippers did their acts, he introduced them with as much enthusiasm as he could muster. He was fairly sure that he came out sounding half-hearted, but he couldn’t help it. His heart wasn’t in this, not tonight.
Every time he glanced over at Wright, his own words to Trenton and Brentley echoed through his head. This former Marine… those big blue eyes…
At last three-thirty came. The lights turned on and the club closed down. Wright walked out the door before Yorick could catch up with him. He supposed Wright had probably done it on purpose. They had already had their talk, and there was nothing more to be said.
He made his way to his bike. Wright had been driving him most of the past week, and sadness came over Yorick as he climbed onto the bike alone. He made his way home and opened the door.
As soon as he went inside, a little face appeared at the top of the stairs. Oh, no.
“Jamie, you didn’t stay up late for me, did you?”
She tumbled down the stairs, her hair flying everywhere. She looked as bright-eyed as if she hadn’t been to bed in the first place. “I wanted to see Papa.”
“And I want to see you too, Princess, but in the morning. You’re supposed to be in bed right now.”
“Don’t want to sleep,” she said, shaking her head. “Want to play with Barbies.”
“Barbie’s upstairs,” Yorick said tiredly. “And so’s Ken.”
“We can play with two Kens,” Jamie said.
Yorick sighed. She had accepted the idea so readily. Why had he been so different? How much had he missed out on because of his own stubbornness?
“Yes, we can, but not now.”
He picked her up, resting her on his hip as he began the walk up the stairs.
“Is Papa like Ken?” she asked as he pushed the door open to her room.
He blinked, letting go of the handle too soon. It let out a creak that would probably wake up Tonya and Quentin. “Like Ken?”
“You know what I mean, Papa. Like Mommy told me about Ken. Do you have another Ken?”
He set her down on her bed and covered her with the blanket. He looked down at her little face, so sweet, so innocent. He wished the answer he was going to give her was different, but it didn’t look like it was going to change.
“No, Princess. I don’t.”
Twenty-Six
The club had never been so packed. As Wright looked around from behind the bar, he pondered on how much of a success this had been. Who would have known that customers wanted to see non-professionals strip so bad?
Maybe it was because of the posters they’d put up. If the others did half as many as him and Yorick, those flyers had blanketed the town. Every woman in town would have seen them, and even if a small percentage of those came out tonight, it was going to be their busiest shift by a long shot.
The memory of those nights with Yorick made him bite his lip. He glanced over at the DJ booth. Yorick was busy, of course. Wright couldn’t be hurt that he wasn’t helping him set up. He had his own stuff to do. It was just nice when he had done that. Wright had to admit that he missed having the help.
He deposited another empty bottle in the recycling bin and stood up straight. From back here, he could watch all of the performances – not that he really cared. The only man that he wanted was off-limits, and it was his own doing. He would never be with another man again. There was no way he was going to reveal his freakish injury.
As the customers settled into their tables, a line-up formed at the bar. One woman after another wanted a drink, and many of them wanted the fancy kind that took extra effort to make. Wright flipped bottle after bottle into the air. He was on his game tonight, and he didn’t intend to break any glass.
It was eleven-thirty by the time the competition started. By that point, customers were squeezed into the room, too many of them to fit at the tables. It was standing room only. Wright had to rise onto his tiptoes to get a good view of the DJ booth, although he could see the stage perfectly fine from where he was.
Yorick had been quiet so far tonight, since the strippers were doing their usual acts. As Wright watched the line form behind the stage, he heard Yorick’s deep voice announcing what was happening.
“Ladies, prepare to see the hottest, buffest, sexiest men that Bridgehaven has to offer. You may want to take off your panties in advance, because you’re going to be throwing them at the stage in just five minutes.”
Hearing Yorick talk about hot, buff, sexy men sent a surge of jealousy through Wright. Yorick wasn’t supposed to see any other men as hot or sexy. Wright was the one who had brought him out of the closet.
A customer cleared her throat noisily, and Wright looked over to find a line had formed. Women were crowded around the bar, many with wads of bills in their hands. They didn’t look happy.
“I’m in a hurry,” the throat-clearer snapped. “I don’t want to miss the beginning of the show.”
“Sorry,” Wright said. “What would you like?”
He served as many of them as he could for the next few minutes, doing his best to maintain a balance between speed and flair. He still stopped short when he heard Yorick’s voice cut across the room. A bottle was in midair, and he jerked to grab it before it shattered.
“It’s that time you’ve all been waiting for,” Yorick said. “I hope you have your ballots with you, because we’re all going to vote on the best amateur stripper in this town. The first man who’s going to strut his stuff goes by the name of Kyle Jordan.”
Wright poured orange juice into a glass, staring daggers at the man stepping onto the stage. He knew nothing about this man except that Yorick was looking at him. For that, he hated him.
“Kyle hails from the sunny land of California,” Yorick said, his voice far too enthusiastic. “He’s a soccer player, which explains the amazing body we’re about to see.”
Where was this coming from? A week ago, Yorick would never have said things like this. Now Wright wondered if he meant what he was saying. His appreciation of Kyle Jordan certainly sounded genuine.
The amateur went into a dance, and Yorick blessedly stopped talking. Why did Wright even care? He passed the mixed drink to the customer, but he couldn’t manage a smile. He was jealous, which was ridiculous. He had already turned Yorick down. Yorick was into him, and he had set him free. Yorick had every right to look at other men if he wanted. He could even date them.
Hearing him talk made Wright’s hackles rise. And the night was only halfway over! He almost wanted to take a drink to make this easier. Maybe he should take a shot of absinthe. He snickered to himself. That would be strangely appropriate.
“I think we can all appreciate what we just saw,” Yorick said as the song ended. “Kyle has some moves on the stage. Ladies, just think about what he would be like in the bedroom. Give it up for Kyle, and then give it up again for our next amateur of the night.”
Kyle Jordan got off the stage. The next man up was a tall, buff type – the kind of guy that everyone wanted. Wright paused, a beer glass in his hand, and stared up at the stage with ice running through his veins.
“Mr. Frederick Goss is from Texas,” Yorick announced. “Ladies, I’m told everything is bigger in Texas. Look at those big… muscles.”
Wright rose onto his tiptoes to peek at Yorick in his booth. His huge headphones shielded his face, and Wright couldn’t begin to guess what he was thinking. Yorick was doing his job, though. Nothing more. So why was Wright taking it so hard?
“My beer, please?” the customer waiting snapped.
“Just one minute,” Wright said. “You wanted a Heineken?”
“I said a Guinness! Pay attention, please.”
Wright turned on the tap and held it down as he stared at Yorick.
“You know what they say about men with big feet,” Yorick said as the music swelled. He finally shut up as dumbass Frederick Goss started to dance.
Wright shook himself, realizing how hard he was clenching his jaw. Something cold splashed over his hand, and he let go of the beer handle. Unfortunately, he let go of the glass at the same time. It dropped to the floor.
“Ugh, never mind!” the customer snapped.
Wright was making a mess out of this – literally. He had to get himself in order. He needed to stop thinking about Yorick’s enthusiastic approval of the amateurs. It was irrational, but as the next few men went onstage, his feelings wouldn’t go away.
At some point, the crowd of customers faded into a trickle. Wright’s jaw was no less stiff as he continued to hear Yorick’s voice booming through the room. He grabbed a cloth and wiped up the spilled beer, but there was nowhere for him to escape from his rampant emotions.
His idea from before came back to him. Fuck it. It might not have been professional, but this was no normal night. One shot of absinthe wouldn’t hurt him. He glanced over to the DJ booth, then made his way to the far end of the bar, where the bottle sat barely visible on the highest shelf.
With his hands shaking slightly, he pulled it down. He stood with his back to the rest of the room, shielding what he was doing from sight as he poured out a shot. Hunching over the cash register, he took a sip – and gagged. It was ridiculously strong. Figures. He turned back and glanced around, making sure no one was around before grabbing a few ice cubes out of the bin. That was better.
A friendly face appeared at the side of the bar. “Hey, Wright.” Shade gave him a sympathetic smile, and he immediately put down his glass. “Busy night?”
“Busy enough,” Wright said. “What do you need, champagne?”
“No, I just came by to chat. All these amateurs are leaving us with nothing to do.”
“I’m sure the customers still want to be seduced by a stripper.”
“You’d think so, but they mostly want to watch the show.” Shade gestured around the room.
Wright’s eyes followed his hand. He hadn’t even noticed that the audience was on the edge of their seats, leaving the strippers grouped at the wall or at the back of the room.
“That sucks,” Wright said.
“It’s not so bad. It’s just like a break. I got to spend a little quality time with Jesse.” Shade’s eyes glinted.
They were a very cute couple. Then again, every couple here was adorable. With so many good-looking guys, it was no wonder they all ended up dating each other.
Wright and Yorick could have been like that if Wright hadn’t gone and ruined it. Well, his body had ruined it. Yorick wouldn’t have wanted to be with him if he knew the truth, anyway.
With another sigh, Wright leaned on the bar. He wished he could finish his drink, but in the meantime, the Green Fairy was already giving him the courage to bring this up. “Hey, can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
Lev appeared behind Shade. “What are we talking about?”
That guy had to be the most immature of all the strippers. There was no way Wright would talk about this with him around. He shook his head. “Nothing.”
Cooper walked up behind Lev. “What’s going on?”
“Wright was just about to ask me something,” Shade said.
Even if Wright was willing to ask Shade, which he wasn’t even sure about, he wasn’t about to open up to three different people. “It’s nothing. I just had a thought.”
“You can ask whatever you want,” Cooper said. “I’m sure we’d all be happy to give our opinions.”
Wright frowned, looking from one to the next. They were all into guys, and maybe it would be good to get a variety of opinions. He didn’t have to tell them why he was asking the question.
“Fine,” he said. “I was just… daydreaming. What would you just think if you were into someone, but he was an amputee?”
Their expressions became confused. “What kind of limb would he be missing? A hand might be different than a foot,” Shade said.
“Gross either way,” Lev said. “I prefer my men with all parts intact, thank you very much.”
Exactly as Wright had thought. He shrank back, knowing he shouldn’t have asked in the first place. There was no point in trying to convince himself that this was anything other than what it was. His life was decided from the minute he went and stepped on a landmine.
“I’m not so sure,” Shade said. “I don’t think it would really matter to me.”
“Same here,” Cooper said. “There’s some good-looking amputees out there. Have you seen some of the Paralympic athletes?”
“The guy in question wouldn’t be a Paralympic athlete,” Wright said softly. If he was, he might have half a shot.
“But he is hot, isn’t he?” Lev asked. “I mean, he would have to be hot for me to be interested in the first place.”
“I guess you’d think he was kind of hot,” Wright said, thinking about the way Yorick looked at him. If Yorick wasn’t attracted to him, he wouldn’t have tried so hard to get him out of his clothes.
“If I think he’s hot, then there isn’t an issue,” Cooper said. “Owen could be missing both arms and legs, and I wouldn’t care. It’s him that I love.”
“Same with me and Jesse,” Shade said. “I don’t think it would affect anything. It might make things different if I had to help him with certain things, but it wouldn’t keep me away from him. No way.”
Wright frowned. A lot of people had told him that, but they were all just telling him what he wanted to hear. His experience with Malone had shown him that no one would want to date an amputee.
But these guys didn’t even know they were talking to an amputee. If they said they were willing to date someone like him, it wasn’t because they were concerned for his feelings.
He looked at Lev, the one hold-out. “So if the guy was good-looking enough, you might go for it?”
Lev wrinkled his nose, confirming all of Wright’s fears. But when he spoke, he wasn’t as contemptuous as Wright had anticipated. “I might try it once.”
“Once?”
“I never go back for seconds anyway. I might be curious just to see how it is. But only if he was really, crazy, super, incredibly hot.”
Wright pursed his lips. He had no doubt that Lev had given an honest response. And even if he was the shallowest of the three guys, even he was a tiny bit open to the idea. Maybe his missing limb wasn’t the life sentence he had always imagined. Maybe, just maybe, he could have a chance with Yorick.
Malone had hurt him badly, but Yorick wasn’t Malone. Yorick was like no one else Wright had ever met, and Yorick claimed he really liked him. Wright had a shot.
Andrew’s assurances from earlier came back to him. Wright was so hopeful right now that he could almost let himself believe he’d done something good for his country. It was true that only blind chance that had put him and not Andrew in harm’s way.
What would things be like if he could accept what everybody said? He’d already spent so long mired in his own self-loathing. The past couldn’t be changed, but he had been spared his life that day. The least he could do was live it.
He stared up at the DJ booth. The man sitting there was everything that he wanted. If Wright never gave him a chance to make an informed decision, he could only blame himself for being alone.
“Just a second,” Wright said. He went back to the cash register and picked up his glass. The ice cubes had melted just a little, and he swirled it around to watch the colors mingle. Was he completely crazy? Probably… but the Green Fairy had a plan for him.
Lifting the glass, he threw back the shot all at once. He swallowed and felt the fire catch low in his belly. Fuck, this stuff was strong. He hardly ever drank, and when he did, it hit him hard. Maybe that was why he was even entertaining this idea. He closed his eyes and shuddered, feeling the liquor spread from his gut all the way to his fingers and toes. Yes, he was going to do this.
“Listen, I need to step away,” he said urgently as he returned to the group standing around the bar. “Could one of you stand behind the bar for me? Just tell anyone who wants a drink that I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll do it,” Lev said. “Sounds like fun.”
Flames blazed inside Wright as he lifted the divider. Lev came in, placing himself behind the bar.
And Wright moved toward the front of the room.
Twenty-Seven
