Final Act

by A R Steele

  “Okay, we have been taking some risks,” Trenton said. “I just don’t think it’s a big deal.”

  “I agree,” Brentley said. “Customers won’t see what they don’t want to see.”

  If it had just been Trenton, Austin might have told him about the awkward moment with him and Lev earlier. But Brentley was practically a stranger to him, and he wasn’t going to fill him in on the goings-on of his love life – even if that seemed to be the hot topic for everybody lately

  “I’m trying to protect this place,” Austin said, his voice a soft growl.

  “We have it under control,” Trenton said. “Everything will be fine.”

  With that, the two of them went back inside. Their heads inclined toward each other as they talked. The door clicked shut behind them.

  Austin leaned against the brick wall, letting out a sigh. It seemed more like it was close to who wouldn’t see what they didn’t want to see. This was a serious issue. He would have to try to talk to Trenton again later – on his own.

  A few customers arrived at the door, and then a few more. Austin’s lower back grew tense as a line formed. Hell, his upper back was getting tense too. All of this stress was taking its toll on his body. The club wasn’t full, but there were too many people trying to come in for only one bouncer to handle.

  He straightened again as yet another car pulled in. The women in that car came straight to the door. “Sorry, you have to wait in line,” he told them, pointing to the back of the queue.

  The women looked less than happy, but they stood back and grouped up on the pavement. “Not like we have any other option for seeing hot naked guys,” one muttered.

  “Look at it this way, this place is bound to be good if they have people lining up outside,” another told her.

  It was definitely unusual to have a line-up here, especially at this time of the night. Austin was letting them in as fast as he could. The tides were definitely turning, Austin thought.

  When the end of the night came a few hours later, Austin shifted his weight around on his aching feet. He waited by the door as the strippers filed out, pair by pair. “Night, guys. See you tomorrow.”

  Lev was among them, walking between two couples as if trying to sneak out unnoticed. Austin moved toward him. Just outside the door, Lev pulled away.

  “Just wanted to say, have a good night,” Austin said.

  Lev nodded to him. “Good night,” he said.

  Austin couldn’t think of a reason for the pain that shone so clearly in Lev’s eyes.

  Twenty-Four

  Eleven AM was way too early when Lev only got to bed at four. He would have liked to lie around for another hour or three, sleeping or just relaxing. It would have been nice to go for a jog before the actual day got started. Even having time for breakfast would have been nice.

  But eleven was the time that Peyton wanted to see him, and somehow Lev still couldn’t say no to Peyton.

  He arrived at the street corner and got off his skateboard, picking it up and putting it under his arm as he looked around. Despite the blue T-shirt and ripped jeans he wore, he felt like he would be completely naked before Peyton.

  I’m here, he texted.

  Why had he even agreed to get coffee with that man? Peyton had made his life so miserable for such a long time. Lev supposed doing this would make him certain he was over Peyton. It would be like an accomplishment. More than that, it would give him the closure he’d never gotten.

  Things had ended on a sudden note. The two of them were in a filthy bar bathroom, the same sort of place where they usually hooked up. Lev had never questioned Peyton’s story about living with family – after all, he was in the same boat.

  But that time, Peyton’s phone went off as it was lying on the floor. From Lev’s perch on the edge of the grimy toilet seat, he could see the picture Peyton had set as the wallpaper: Peyton and a woman he didn’t recognize. Lev asked who she was. From the look on Peyton’s face as he scrambled for an answer, Lev could guess she wasn’t really his sister.

  He was still lost in that moment of realization as his phone vibrated. I’m in the TJ Maxx across the street. Come meet me here.

  Trust Peyton to make plans and then change them. Lev glanced at the chain department store, a place where Lev would never set foot on his own. Come over here, Lev typed. This is where you said we were going to meet.

  Peyton: I’m telling you to come here. You’ll see why.

  Lev huffed as he stepped onto the crosswalk. Once again, he was giving in to whatever Peyton wanted. Maybe that was why he grimaced instead of faking a smile when he saw Peyton’s face.

  With a stack of shirts in his hands, Peyton looked happy enough to see Lev. “You’re right on time. Perfect.”

  “Looks like I’m early,” Lev said, gesturing at the shirts. “I can wait while you try those on.”

  Peyton shrugged, picking up another shirt from the rack. He barely looked at it before putting it back. “So, how are things?”

  “Fine.” Lev’s heart was beating a little faster than usual. Coming here was a bad idea. What had ever made him want to socialize with Peyton?

  “Good, good.” Peyton glanced around the men’s section.

  Lev wondered what might be going through his mind right now and if this was as weird for him as it was for Lev. What was he hoping to get out of this encounter? Lev doubted that he was worried about anything like closure.

  “I’m glad to see you kept that nice, tight little body,” Peyton said, looking up and down Lev’s lean frame. “You look just like you did way back when.”

  What a thing to say. A strangled “thanks” was all Lev could get out in return. What happened to his take-no-shit attitude? It seemed to just disappear when Peyton was around.

  “Where are we getting this coffee?” Lev asked. He wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. Once they were at whatever café Peyton chose, he’d down the coffee in ten minutes and get the hell out of there.

  “Never mind the coffee,” Peyton said distractedly.

  He took a few steps away, and Lev stared after him in confusion. Peyton stopped and turned around, beckoning to him.

  “Huh?” It took Lev a moment to realize Peyton was heading toward the changing room. “You can try on your clothes, I’ll wait for you here.” Even if it was decidedly odd that Peyton had dragged him along for this.

  Peyton’s expression made his impatience clear. As he walked back over to Lev, his face implied he thought Lev was a complete moron. “Come with me,” he said, taking him by the wrist.

  Holding his skateboard tightly, Lev went along with him. Peyton was making him nervous, but he didn’t know what else to do.

  “Six items,” Peyton told the employee.

  She handed him a door tag, then looked at Lev. “I’m just going to wait for him,” Lev stuttered.

  Peyton gave him a look of disgust. “He’s going to help me decide.”

  “Oh, that’s nice of you.” The employee handed him a tag with a zero. “You two can go on in, then.”

  This was bad, very bad. As Lev followed Peyton down the long corridor of dressing rooms, he could tell Peyton’s intentions for this meeting were different from his own. “I’ll wait for you – ” he started to say again.

  Peyton pulled him into the last room at the end. “Get in here!”

  The door had barely closed behind them when Peyton threw Lev against the wall. His mouth crushed over Lev’s. Lev let out a yelp as he struggled for balance. He pulled away as soon as he could.

  “What are you doing?” he hissed.

  “I figured you would want to get this out of the way before our coffee,” Peyton said. His teeth sank into Lev’s neck, and his fingers worked at Lev’s fly.

  Lev’s entire body tensed as he thrust his hand down Lev’s jeans and squeezed. “Stop!”

  “Oh, you want to play it like that?” Peyton grinned, withdrawing his hands and putting them on his own waistband. “I understand. No problem. I sho
uld’ve known, you always did love going down on me.”

  Lev’s heart twisted in his chest. He zipped himself up, feeling strangely violated. “You think that’s what I’m here for? You’re married, for Christ’s sake. Don’t you care about your wife in the least? I came here to catch up, not to fool around with you.”

  He thought of the nice lady he’d seen in the store. She didn’t deserve a husband who would pull this kind of thing. Nobody did.

  “You can tell yourself that all you want,” Peyton said. “I know you want this, though.”

  “I don’t,” Lev said, as firmly as he could. It wasn’t that he was lying, but being around Peyton made his voice weak.

  Peyton massaged the bulge that showed through his pants. “Of course you do,” he said, his eyes burning into Lev’s with unvarnished cruelty. “You can tell yourself whatever you want, but I know exactly why you came here. You’ve been dying for this since you saw me. Why else would you still be on that app? You’re a little slut, a cock-sucking slut. You can’t even deny it.”

  Lev’s eyes were wide and his mouth was slightly open. Something tightened in his chest, and bile rose in his throat.

  “You’re dying for this,” Peyton said, his voice low, his eyes burning. “You know this is all you’re good for. Or have you managed to make something of yourself since last time I saw you?”

  Tears rose in Lev’s eyes. Peyton was right. He was worthless, always had been. He was just a stripper, taking off his clothes for money. How did that give him any sense of accomplishment? He was deluding himself. He couldn’t make it in what he wanted to do, so he was tricking himself into thinking he was happy.

  But he did have the strength to resist Peyton, didn’t he? With everything Peyton had done to him, even this truth shouldn’t drive him back into his arms.

  “Come here,” Peyton said. “Your mouth has been missing this cock, hasn’t it? You miss knowing that you’re good for something.”

  The tears spilled down Lev’s cheeks, and Peyton’s expression didn’t change. He pulled the zipper to its lowest. He was wearing plaid briefs, and the familiar swollen head stuck just out of the opening. He was hard, completely hard, Lev realized. Even Lev’s crying wasn’t making him want to stop or even pause this. If anything, his distress was actually turning him on.

  Lev blinked, trying to clear his blurry vision. He could almost feel his knees hitting the floor of the dressing room. He could imagine getting down and taking the organ into his throat. He would take so much comfort in the brief caress of Peyton’s hand on his hair. The only time Peyton ever showed him affection was when he was on his knees.

  Peyton never returned the favor, either. Lev’s orgasms were incidental to his own. If Lev came while he was fucking him, he was fine with that. He just never put it in any effort to get him off.

  “What are you waiting for?” Peyton asked. He gave himself a few long, slow strokes. “I’m getting impatient.”

  Lev’s eyes were glued to his cock. He recalled all the times Peyton had told him to suck it. One time Peyton had wanted him to take it deep, and he’d fucked Lev’s face until he couldn’t breathe. Lev had wrenched away, wiping off his mouth, gasping for oxygen.

  While Lev was trying to keep some semblance of dignity, Peyton had told him he was being overdramatic. Without making sure Lev could keep breathing, he pushed his cock between his lips again.

  “Suck me,” Peyton said, a steely edge to his voice.

  “No,” Lev said. His voice was barely audible, but the sentiment got across. He looked up, barely able to lift his eyes to Peyton’s face. The rage there only made him want to lower them again.

  “What?”

  “No.” Lev shook his head, more strength flowing through him with every second. “I don’t want anything to do with you.” Another tear dripped from his eye, and he reached for the door handle. It was locked, and he spent a moment fumbling with it.

  “God, you’re such a drama queen,” Peyton said. He zipped himself up, which only made another tear drop to Lev’s cheek. “I have a million options, you know. Any guy would kill to suck me off. I was doing you a favor, trying to put a little spice into your worthless existence. Seems like your life’s been pretty shitty since I left.”

  “I’m leaving,” Lev said.

  Tears streamed down his face as he opened it, not even bothering to close it behind him. At the end of the corridor, the store employee was already staring at him. He swiped at his face, only making his eyes blur more, as Peyton called after him.

  “Good luck getting anyone to treat you better than I do.”

  Twenty-Five

  Austin wiped his face, oblivious to the other men around him. He felt a few eyes on his body, but took it as a compliment to his physique. The locker room was always full of admiring eyes. The men at the gym all aspired to his body. He was one of the biggest guys who worked out there, if not number one.

  Even as he wrapped the towel around his waist, he knew he stood out compared to most of these other guys. Casual gym-goers could only dream of looking like him. He opened his locker and grabbed his clothes. Out of habit, he reached for his cell phone. A new message was on it. His heart sped up when he saw it was from Lev, and he opened it before even putting his clothes on.

  Lev: How is that sexy body?

  Austin laughed. Lev was so ridiculous. My body is good. How about yours?

  Excellent, came the reply as Austin stepped into his shorts. I think my body needs to have another encounter with your body. For real this time.

  Austin raised an eyebrow. That sounded good to him. Before he could respond, though, another message came in. I want you to fuck me so hard, Lev wrote. Bend my ass over and fuck it for an hour.

  Intriguing. We’ll see about that, he wrote.

  No we’ll see, Lev wrote. You’re going to be my bitch tonight, and I’m fucking serious about that. You’re going to do exactly what I tell you. Don’t even fucking play games with me.

  Austin laced up his shoes before answering. Lev was always ridiculous, but this was a little disconcerting. Lev seemed off last night, too.

  Maybe something was up. If it was, he would find out before he did anything with him.

  No, Lev was just being a brat, as usual. Austin would set him straight once he got him alone. This seemed to be turning into something between them, and Austin couldn’t say he had a problem with that.

  Come over tonight, Austin wrote.

  Lev: See you then.

  Austin headed home, already hard at the thought of getting to see Lev again. Lev was so hot and cold, and Austin never knew what was on his mind. He did seem to be coming around, though. He was definitely leaning more toward being into Austin. If this was going to be the third time doing stuff together, that meant he’d gotten past his “policy.”

  But when Lev showed up a little later, Austin’s optimism quickly disappeared.

  “Yo,” Lev said, poking him in the chest before he even got in the door. “Going to make you my bitch tonight.” His eyes burned with a new kind of fire. His fingers twitched, and Austin blinked at him before letting him step inside.

  “Is that so?”

  Kicking his shoes off, Lev grabbed Austin’s wrist and yanked him. It took no effort for Austin to resist his pulling. Instead of pouting or sulking, Lev just glared at him and tried again. Again Austin resisted. He didn’t move an inch.

  “Get the fuck in your room,” Lev said. “You’re going to fuck me. You’re going to give me that huge cock.”

  Lev’s hands tugged at him, having approximately about the effect of a tiny insect. “You don’t have to wine and dine me, but a ‘hey, what’s up’ would be nice,” Austin said. He took a step back and folded his arms over his chest.

  “Fuck that,” Lev said, his voice rising. “Come on, bitch. You’re doing this with me. I know you want it. You told me you did.”

  His face looked funny. His lips were twisted in a way Austin hadn’t seen before, and he wasn’t looking into
Austin’s eyes. As Austin watched, the side of his face twitched. It almost made Austin wonder if he was high.

  At last Lev looked up and stared into Austin’s eyes again. “What are you, a pussy? Fuck me!”

  Austin raised an eyebrow at him. Lev was just being a brat again. Austin was going to handle this. “All right, come with me.”

  Grabbing his wrist, Lev tried to pull him along. Once again Austin ignored his touch. He wrenched his hand away as if Lev’s hand wasn’t even there. Then he stepped ahead of Lev and led the way instead.

  “I’ll give you what you want,” Austin said darkly, pushing the bedroom door shut behind them. “As soon as you change your attitude.”

  Lev’s eyes widened as he looked around. Austin realized this place had to look a bit scary to him. Half of the room was taken up with an extensive set of weights. They were racked together on a metal rack that could almost pass for some kind of BDSM torture device.

  Then there were the actual BDSM implements – the set of handcuffs that still lay on the desk. Just the other day, Austin had been holding them as he jerked off thinking about how much he wanted to lock Lev up in them.

  In any case, Lev’s astonishment didn’t last long. He puffed himself up again in that way he had. “I hope you’re ready to fuck me for an hour straight, because I’m not giving you any breaks. This tight fucking asshole is going to try and make you come right away, but you have to give it to me for longer than that. If you don’t satisfy me, I’ll…”

  Austin clapped his hand over his mouth, making Lev’s eyes widen. It took so little effort to push Lev back against the wall, it practically wasn’t fair. Lev stared at him in shock as Austin held him there. “I’ve had about enough of you telling me what to do,” Austin said, leaning forward to whisper in his ear. The downy hairs on Lev’s earlobe tickled his lips. “You are such a little brat. Somebody has to teach you how to behave.”

  Lev trembled under his touch, and Austin pulled his hand back. “That teacher is going to be me. Does that sound good to you?”