2002
Paradise, Nevada
Caesars Palace
AEX
-1-
“Shit, my heart is beating so fast…Gosh...you’re just so beautiful. ”
“Aw, thank
you,” Haley smiles at the bearded middle aged man standing across the table from
him as he carefully signs a photo of himself.
“So, um, a-a-are
you from Las Vegas or...?,” the man stammers, clearing his throat.
“No,” Haley says, shaking his hair out of his face flirtatiously. “Guess.”
“Uh, California ?”
“No shit,
that’s actually right! What the hell ? Have you been stalking me ?,” he teases.
“I don’t know…you have the..look ?,” the man says nervously. “I just um, also wanted to say....I really like how you do something different every time and everything…can I take a picture with your or is that…”
“It's fine. Wow, look at this!” Haley says taking the man’s digital camera and giving it to Maverick, who was sitting next to him in the corner of the Virtue signing booth.
Haley climbs out of his seat to sit on the signing table and the man leans down as Maverick runs around the booth takes their photo.
“We all have to do one together, I wanna see what I look like,” Maverick says to the man. “Is that cool ?”
The man nods as Maverick tosses the camera to a startled Charlotte who was monitoring the signing lines. Maverick pulls Haley off the table so they can stand on either side of the man who was suddenly shaking with either fear or excitement.
“Your camera
is so fucking cool--,” Maverick tells him, looking at the pictures in the viewfinder.
“It’s
kind of expensive but I work at Best Buy so I get--”
“No shit!,” Maverick exclaims. “I used to work at Best Buy--”
“Really ? Which department--”
“Oh, I got fired pretty quickly,” he grins.
They chat
with the man for a few more minutes before he leaves with a smile plastered on his face.
“You used to
work at Best Buy ?,” Haley asks after a beat, when no one else comes to their side of the booth.
“No,” Maverick says. “But they love the small talk. These dudes paid to come to a porn convention. We should make the interaction worth it. Especially for the gay guys.”
“You are scarily good at turning it on-”
“It's like Hooters. Except instead of tips they download more of our videos.”
“Is the student becoming the teacher ?,” Haley retorts, narrowing his eyes at Maverick’s six pack. Maverick had abandoned his shirt earlier in the morning. “I hate that you eat those disguising chicken wings for every meal, work out for like a week before a shoot and then look like that--”
Maverick laughs and kisses him before pulling back sharply.
“Oh wait,” he says. “Are we even still allowed to do that now that you have a boyfriend.”
Maverick had been among the Virtue staff to see his walk of shame (pride?) that morning.
“Shut up, we are not talking about that,” Haley warns, hitting him lightly in the nose with the penis shaped lollipop someone had left on their table. “Now, let’s drum up some attention so this afternoon isn't a total waste.”
They’re suggestively sharing the lollipop when another visitor approaches their booth. Haley has something flirtatious on the tip of his tongue but stops when he sees the guests are two men in suits with gold plated name tags and walkie talkies on their hips.
“Alex Haley ?,” one asks.
“Y-yes.”
“We’re with hotel security. We need to take your statement about an incident yesterday in Ballroom A and get you to sign some papers--”
“You’re not cops,” Maverick interjects. “You can’t arrest him without a warrant.”
“Whoa, now. Nobody is under arrest,” the man says.
“Bullshit. That’s what you guys always say--”
“It’s okay,” Haley says quickly. “I’ll go. Tell Jean where I went.”
***
When he steps out of the security office two hours later Luce is waiting.
“What are you doing here ?,” Haley asks.
“I volunteered to check up on you. What happened in there ?”
“They just needed me to give an official statement…they told me Maxwell got a life ban from AEX and the hotel. He got escorted out by security last night.”
“Good on them.”
“Yeah…I wish I’d known it was that easy--”
“I don't think it usually is,” Luce says quickly. “The crazy motherfucker punched you in a room full of people. He thought he'd get away with it.”
Haley shrugs
“I should get back to the booth--”
“The girls lines were overflowing so Charlotte dismissed everyone else to make more room. I thought we could get lunch ?”
“Do you mind getting room service ?,” Haley asks. “I'm playing hooky from nursing school and I have to do some studying while no one else is in the penthouse.”
Luce frowns but nods.
As they get in the elevator he notices the black plastic bag dangling from Luce's wrist.
“Did you buy something fun?,” Haley asks.
“I’ll show you later. I don’t want to distract you from studying.”
“Is it for me ? Okay, now you have to show me.”
-2-
Luce only holds the plastic bag tighter as they disembark on their floor. Haley finds the room service menu and holds his nose as he orders a $22 turkey sandwich. Virtue was picking up all their meals but it was the principle. Luce orders a ribeye and two beers without batting an eye at the price.
As Luce cleans off a space on the dining room table for them to eat Haley takes advantage of the moment to look in Luce's black bag. Inside is pink and black nylon rope.
“You have no patience,” Luce says at the rustle of the bag. “ Don’t jump to conclusions. I just saw it for sale at a vendor and thought--”
“And thought I’d be a good little rope bunny who lets you tie him up so you can fuck him whenever you please ?”
“I--”
“Cause I will,” he adds, tossing the rolled rope to Luce.
Luce unrolls the
rope and ties a near perfect handcuff knot with a wicked smirk.
“Hm. Somebody’s been practicing.”
“Give me your wrist,” Luce demands. Haley nearly comes in his pants from the cool, stern tone his voice had suddenly taken.
The room erupts into chimes and Luce drops the rope to open the door for room service. He rolls in the room service cart and sets the covered plates on the table.
Haley sits opposite him and watches curiously as Luce cuts into the bleeding ribeye.
“...Did you want some ?,” Luce asks.
“A good Dom would tell me to stop staring and eat my own fucking food,” Haley tells him as he examines his own sandwich. He tries to ignore the fact that he could be at his apartment in less than 30 minutes and make a similar sandwich for 80 percent less.
“What makes you think I'm a Dom--”
“Well, I see all the fucked up Star Trek erotica you bookmark every time you call me to take a virus off your computer--”
“It's called fanfiction” Haley shrugs. “Plus, it’s way hotter because it doesn’t have to be practical or realistic. They’re all aliens or something I think.”
“Have you even seen the actual Star Trek ?,”
“It's.... the thing with Jar Jar Binks people don’t shut up about ?”
Luce laughs
and cracks opens one of his beer bottles with the USC class ring on his finger. Haley makes another line on his list of concerning non-sexual behaviors that made him horny.
“How did you know ?,” Luce asks him. “That you were a...submissive or whatever.”
“I don’t know,” Haley shrugs. “In retrospect I think I was scary young ? When I
was in elementary school they hit kids--”
“What the fuck ? They didn't do that when I was a kid and you’re younger than me--"
“I grew up in bumfuck California where the school board was run by all the religious nuts. I was too much of a goody two shoes to get in trouble but the at the beginning of the school year the principal always came to each class with his paddle as a warning and I never stopped thinking about that ? Is that totally fucked ?”
“I don’t think so,” Luce says. “When I was twelve I went to see Raiders of The Lost Ark everyday after school for like three months just for this scene where Harrison Ford and that girl are being tied to a pole and I just… I'd replay it in my head at night.”
“Hmm,” Haley says, moving out of his chair to straddle Luce’s lap. His legs hanging down either side of the chair.
He was aware
he was getting entirely too comfortable but if they’d moved to talking about
sexual awakenings it didn’t seem out of the question. And Luce seemed to like
it, wrapping his arm around Haley’s waist to keep him in place.
“I didn’t even really know it was a sex thing until I met Gaige through Jean,” Luce continues. “He took me to a club when I was 18 but it was weird because it's a small world and a lot of them knew me as a kid through Jean … I tried a cat house but they don’t let you do that kind of stuff there and the woman kept bitching about my size so I left…which I think kinda fucked me up for a while.”
“That sucks.”
“Yeah. When I saw your Virtue stuff…. most of it blew me away. It was like you got in my fucked up head and were making shit just for me.”
“What the hell do you mean most of it blew you away ?,”
“You’ve done some things that suck,” Luce says pointedly. “Frot House ?”
“Frottage feels better than it looks on camera…plus I can do it without a condom,” he says, rubbing himself against Luce. “That first time you jerked off at my apartment... after Maxwell came by…did you know I saw you ?”
“N-n-o,” Luce admits gripping Haley's hips as he increases the friction. “I think I wanted you to but I also didn’t want you to think I couldn’t separate you from the person you are in those videos. I’ve always really liked you.”
I’ve always really liked you.
Haley had to divert. That was too much sentiment for one day and he would not cry in front of this man
“Why don’t you carry me into the room, tie me up with that cute rope and fuck me in the most degrading way possible.”
“I thought I called the shots ?”
“I'm a little bit of a bratty sub.”
“Should we…have a safe word or something ?,”
“We can do the whole red, yellow, green thing but I trust you until you give me a reason not to,” Haley says. “I will push your buttons…so you may have to be rough with me in and out of the bedroom.”
“Rough, huh ?”
Haley nods. “I'm all for impact play but…don’t hit me in the face with a belt.”
“Jesus. I don't think I needed to be told that. Any other hard limits--”
“Um. Hm...I..don’t love when men call me a bitch. Or like...a girl in a derogatory way,” he shrugs. “Ageplay is a soft limit--”
“Too bad.”
“Oh. Are you into that ?”
“Not really but someone needs to put you over their knee--”
“Really ? Have I been bad or something ?”
“You skipped class to come to a porn convention and clearly have no real intention of studying this weekend--”
“Oh, that,” he rolls his eyes. “I work better under pressure. Like you’ve never skipped a class--”
“Never.”
“I didn’t say no spanking,” he says squinting his eyes. “I didn’t take you for a Daddy Dom but you've got the look--"
“Were almost the same age--,” Luce huffs.
“Well… you do have gray hair--,” he teases touching the streak in Luce’s hair.
Luce stands suddenly, picking him up with him. He tosses him on the couch and hovers over him in an impressive plank.
“Is that really how you’re going to talk to the man whose about to tie you up ?”
---
This is the only chapter I wrote out of order. I went back and added it in because I realize I never established the kinkier side of their relationship. The part where they are talking about sexual awakenings was originally a pillowtalk scene after their first time together but it didn't flow.
Also, yes I totally looked at the Caesars Palace room service menu to pick their lunch (lol, this is my favorite part of writing) and Luce's meal would have been $70....the water is $8!!!