Acting Up
Page 19
I patted Cory’s cheek from a safe distance. His dimples flashed. He knew exactly why I was imposing a gap.
The overture was winding down. The theater was darkening even more. Voices out there in the shadows began to grow hushed with expectation. The actors behind us tensed, hopping around on their bare feet, dicks bouncing, adrenaline beginning to surge, concentrating on their blocking, hoping they wouldn’t make complete fools of themselves when their first big song-and-dance number began and they had to perform it stark raving naked.
That first big number would come up after Cory and I finished our little opening shtick. Just a few lines, hopefully grabbing a few laughs, getting the audience in the mood for what was about to be sprung on them by the playwright, who, it seemed to me, should have been locked away in an institution for the rest of his life for what he was about to inflict on all of us poor actors over the next two hours. But hey, it was a job. Cory and I were acting. We had exactly what we wanted. And we had each other.
I felt that old tingling begin in the soles of my feet. Nerves. Another little surge of stage fright stuttered through me. More than a little, actually, since for the first time in my life, I was going out on a stage with my dick blowing in the wind and my roommate and my mother sitting in the front row staring at me.
But I was also going out there in the arms of the man I loved. I studied Cory’s face beside me, wondering if he had butterflies. Wondering if he was scared. He appeared calm. He seemed to be having a good time. His lips were moving quietly, and I knew he was rehashing his lines in his head.
My heart began to race. My palms were sweaty. Opening night jitters. Then Cory turned his warm green eyes to me, and I fell into them, lost and breathless. The bustle around me faded into a hushed distance. I reached out and trailed a fingertip over the cleft in Cory’s chin. He smiled at me, his eyes filled with love.
“You ready?” he asked softly.
I nodded. “Let’s do it.”
As the final notes of the overture echoed down to silence, Cory lifted my naked body into his arms and flung me over his shoulder, ass up, just as the script demanded. Giving me a kiss on the hip for luck, he stepped out onto the stage in the glare of the spotlights.
A collective gasp filled the room, and from the front row, my own mother announced proudly in the dark, “That’s my boy! The one with the pretty butt!”
Then the show began in earnest. I had no doubt whatsoever that every moment of it would be a wonder. Every single moment. Just like our lives together would be.
The house quieted.
Cory delivered his first line, brave and strong.
I delivered mine and the audience laughed.
Cory and I immediately relaxed, easing ourselves into the play. Losing ourselves to the magic.
Yep, I thought. Every. Single. Moment.
More from John Inman
Robert Johnny just turned thirty, and his life is pretty much in the toilet. His writing career is on the skids. His love life is nonexistent. A stalker is driving him crazy. And his cat is a pain in the ass.
Then Robert orders a chimichanga platter at a neighborhood restaurant, and his life changes—just like that.
Dario Martinez isn’t having such a great existence either. He needs money for college. His shoes are falling apart. His boyfriend’s a dick. And he has a crap job as a busboy.
Then a stranger orders a chimichanga platter, and suddenly life isn’t quite as depressing.
But it’s the book in the busboy’s back pocket that really gets the ball rolling. For both our heroes. That and the black eye and the forgotten bowl of guacamole. Who knew true love could be so easily ignited or that the flames would spread so quickly?
But when Robert’s stalker gets dangerous, our two heroes find a lot more to occupy their time than falling in love. Staying alive might become the new game plan.
A classic tale takes off in sexy new directions! Poor Mr. Dickens must be twirling in his grave.
When E.B. Scrudge, putz extraordinaire and all-around numbnuts, is visited by his dead ex on Christmas Eve, he can’t imagine how his life could sink any lower. But the three ghostly spirits that come along after are even worse! Good lord, a dyke, a drag queen, and rounding out the trio, a big, hunky bear with nipple rings and a butt plug! What’s next?
What’s next is a good deal of soul-searching and some hard lessons learned with a dash of redemption thrown in for good measure.
And love too, believe it or not. Love that had been simmering all along at the heart of Scrudge’s miserable existence, although he was too selfish to see it—until a trio of holiday beasties pointed his sorry ass in the right direction.
A Belladonna Arms Novel
Welcome to the Belladonna Arms, a rundown little apartment building perched atop a hill in downtown San Diego, home to the city’s lost and lovelorn. Shy archaeology student Stanley Sternbaum has just moved in and fills his time quietly observing his eccentric neighbors, avoiding his hellion mother, and trying his best to go unnoticed… which proves to be a problem when it comes to fellow tenant Roger Jane. Smitten, the hunky nurse with beautiful green eyes does everything in his power to woo Stanley, but Stanley has always lived a quiet life, too withdrawn from the world to take a chance on love. Especially with someone as beautiful as Roger Jane.
While Roger tries to batter down Stanley’s defenses, Stanley turns to his new neighbors to learn about love: Ramon, who’s not afraid to give his heart to the wrong man; Sylvia, the trans who just wants to be a woman, and the secret admirer who loves her just the way she is; Arthur, the aging drag queen who loves them all, expecting nothing in return—and Roger, who has been hurt once before but is still willing to risk his heart on Stanley, if Stanley will only look past his own insecurities and let him in.
Reverend Brian Lucas has a secret his congregation in the Nine Mile Methodist Church knows nothing about, and he’d really like to keep it that way. But even his earth-shattering secret takes a backseat to what else is happening in his tiny hometown.
Murders usually do that.
Brian’s “close friend,” Sam, is urging a resolution to their little problem, but Brian’s brother, Boyd, the County Sheriff, is more caught up in chasing down a homicidal maniac who is slaughtering little old ladies.
When Brian’s secret and Boyd’s mystery run into each other head on, and Boyd’s fifteen-year-old son, Jesse, gets involved, all hell breaks loose. Then a fourth death comes to terrify the town, and it is Brian who begins to see what is taking place in their little corner of the Corn Belt. But even for a Methodist minister, it will take more than prayer to set it right.
Old friends and business partners, Maitland Carter and Lenny Fritz, may not be the two sharpest pickle forks in the picnic basket, but they have big hearts. And they are just now coming around to the fact that maybe their hearts are caught in a bit of turmoil.
Diving headfirst into a whirlwind of animal mayhem, these two self-proclaimed pet detectives strive to earn a living, reunite a few poor lost creatures with their lonely owners, and hopefully not make complete twits of themselves in the process.
When they stumble onto a confusing crime involving venomous reptiles, which is rather unnerving since they’re more accustomed to dealing with misplaced puppy dogs and puddy tats, they take the plunge into becoming real-life crime stoppers.
While they’re plunging into that, they’re also plunging into love. They just haven’t admitted it to each other yet.
Readers love John Inman
Ben and Shiloh
“Author John Inman has built a family, beginning with a fairy godfather in Arthur, and has just continued to add to the group with one fascinating person after another.”
—The Novel Approach
“This book was so full of humor and love. It was like a fun adventure…”
—Gay Book Reviews
My Busboy
“Please read My Busboy. I mean this with all my heart.”
—Joyfu
lly Jay
“This was a sweet story that had a great mystery thrown in. I enjoyed Inman’s story of connection, love, friendship and life.”
—Inked Rainbow Reads
Two Pet Dicks
“This was a light but laugh-out-loud, super-fun romp, just like I expected. John Inman never disappoints!”
—My Fiction Nook
“I had so much fun with this book. I can tell you that I will be reading it more than once. It gave me everything I could want in a story and so much more.”
—MM Good Book Reviews
JOHN INMAN has been writing fiction since he was old enough to hold a pencil. He and his partner live in beautiful San Diego, California. Together, they share a passion for theater, books, hiking and biking along the trails and canyons of San Diego or, if the mood strikes, simply kicking back with a beer and a movie. John’s advice for anyone who wishes to be a writer? “Set time aside to write every day and do it. Don’t be afraid to share what you’ve written. Feedback is important. When a rejection slip comes in, just tear it up and try again. Keep mailing stuff out. Keep writing and rewriting and then rewrite one more time. Every minute of the struggle is worth it in the end, so don’t give up. Ever. Remember that publishers are a lot like lovers. Sometimes you have to look a long time to find the one that’s right for you.”
E-mail: john492@att.net
Facebook: www.facebook.com/john.inman.79
Website: www.johninmanauthor.com
By John Inman
Acting Up
Chasing the Swallows
A Hard Winter Rain
Head-on
Hobbled
Jasper’s Mountain
Loving Hector
My Busboy
Paulie
Payback
The Poodle Apocalypse
Scrudge & Barley, Inc.
Shy
Snow on the Roof (Dreamspinner Anthology)
Spirit
Sunset Lake
Two Pet Dicks
THE BELLADONNA ARMS
Serenading Stanley
Work in Progress
Coming Back
Ben and Shiloh
Published by DREAMSPINNER PRESS
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
Published by
DREAMSPINNER PRESS
5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886 USA
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Acting Up
© 2016 John Inman.
Cover Art
© 2016 Reese Dante.
http://www.reesedante.com
Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.
All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA, or www.dreamspinnerpress.com.
ISBN: 978-1-63477-354-6
Digital ISBN: 978-1-63477-355-3
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016913011
Published December 2016
v. 1.0
Printed in the United States of America