Prince of the Playhouse (31 page)

As she flitted by, giving orders to the waiters, Penelope stopped. “I can’t regret not having something that was never mine.” She smiled. “Besides, I’d be crazy to hate the hottest new designer in New York.” She winked and ran off to yell at the chef.

Somewhere between the entrée and the totally decadent dessert, Artie leaned forward and looked at Gray. “You once said you’d consider doing a film with me.”

Gray shook his head. “No, I said I’d love to do any movie you ever wanted to do.”

“How about a film version of
Hamlet
? Don’t you think what a couple thousand people got to see on the stage should be shared with the world?”

Gray’s famous smile lit the room. “Man, what an idea. With the original cast, right? Beverly, Phillip, Tilda, and, of course, the finest Horatio of them all.”

Merle let out a whoop.

Artie nodded. “Getting funding won’t be easy. Even with Gray Anson in the lead, Shakespeare isn’t a big moneymaker.”

“But with Ru’s costumes—” He laughed. “—and my money, I don’t think we’ll have much trouble getting it made.”

Benson cleared his throat. “We’ll have to work on scheduling, since you’ve been offered two new films and a Broadway play.”

Gray laughed. “You’re kidding. I thought my box office was down.”

“It is, which means producers who’ve wanted to use you for smaller films think they might be able to get you now.”

Pamela laughed. “That’s perfect. I’m happy to see Gray do something that isn’t exclusively about blowing shit up.”

Merle grinned. “So we all get to work together again.”

Ru just hugged Gray’s arm.

RU UNLOCKED
the suite and bumped the door with his hip to get inside. “Oh my God, what a day!” He threw his arms in the air as he crossed the living room toward the windows. “What a year! What a life!” He laughed and turned.

Gray stood close to the door, arms hanging, staring at the floor.

“Darling, what’s wrong?” Ru flew across the room and ducked so he could see Gray’s face. The brilliant stormy eyes looked shiny and blinked fast. “Tell me, please.”

Gray shook his head. “I-I just walked across the lobby of the hotel, holding your hand, and I didn’t even care about what anyone would think.”

Ru smiled. “That’s how life should be.”

“Yes. You changed everything.”

“No. You changed everything, Gray. You did it. You decided what you wanted in life. I just happened to be lucky enough to be hanging around when you did.”

He wrapped his arms around Ru’s waist. “It took one hell of a lot to get me over being scared.”

“You had one helluva lot to lose. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to face jeopardizing a career like yours.”

He shrugged. “Who knows what will happen? Action stars don’t last forever, no matter what. I’d really like to do some new things before I get too old.”

Ru snorted. “Poor decrepit guy.”

Gray sighed long and loud. “Yeah, you better take me in the other room and fuck my ass while I can still get my legs over my head.”

“Come on, grandpa, let me help you.” Ru wrapped his arm under Gray’s shoulders, and they walked three-legged into the bedroom—or maybe more like five-legged, since a couple of new stanchions had showed up for the party.

Gray undressed and brushed his teeth while Ru removed his Maitland Designs suit. With a huge leap, Gray landed naked in the middle of the king-size bed. “Show. I want a show.”

Ru had made it down to his shirt and underwear. Slowly, he raised the shirttail to reveal the Betty Boop bikinis that couldn’t contain his now massive erection. A couple of inches of penis peeked over the elastic top.

Gray licked his lips. “Are those actually made for guys?”

“They’re made for this guy.”

“Get that shirt off, but leave those on and come here.”

Ru covered his dick, then popped the shirt hem up again. “Oooh, what do you plan to do, you lascivious man?”

“I plan to swallow that thing so far down my throat they’ll need a drilling machine to find it.”

Ru pulled off his shirt and dropped it on the floor. “Ummm.” He walked forward, running his fingertip around the leaking head of his cock. “But you can’t do it too long, because I’ll come, and if I come I won’t be able to put this in your beautiful ass—the one I fell in love with at first sight.”

“It’s okay, darling, we have all night. Actually, if you’ll have me, I’d like to make it a date for every night of our lives.”

Tears flashed to Ru’s eyes. He looked up at the dresser mirror, which perfectly reflected his back, and smiled. “I didn’t know when I got this tattoo that she was my guardian angel.”

THE SURF
crashed about a thousand feet below them, and seagulls squawked as they fought over scraps on the sand. The sounds made Ru catch his breath.

Gray squeezed his arm around Ru’s shoulders. “What do you think?”

“I think it’s beautiful, amazing, phenomenal. Uh, what am I looking at?”

“One of the few empty lots left on the beachfront in Laguna. True, it’s on the southern end, but it’s quieter and more private here.”

Ru’s heart beat like an old Singer sewing machine. “And?”

“Well, I was thinking this would be a great lot for Mrs. O and the furries to come and visit. You know how dogs like to play on the beach.”

“Yes, true.” Ru stared at Gray with wide eyes.

“And my folks love the water, so I was thinking they’d get a big kick out of visiting here. We could build them a guest cottage.”

“Yessss.”

“And when they’re not here we could have Merle over to hang out, and—”

“Gray, dammit!”

Gray stared at the horizon, obviously trying not to laugh. “How would you like to build a house here exactly to your specifications?”

Ru leaped into Gray’s arms, threw back his head and shouted—then stopped. “Oh, but we’d have to figure out a way for me to pay for half of it. I mean, my collection is doing well, so maybe by next year, I can afford my part—”

“Your part?”

“Of course. So we can both own it.”

“We will both own it.”

“No, I can’t let you do that, Gray, I—”

The Gray Anson smile broke out like sunrise. “Did I forget to mention that I’m hoping we can move into the house right after the wedding?”

A Love in Laguna Novel

How can you be twenty-five and not know you’re gay? Billy Ballew runs from that question. A high school dropout, barely able to read until he taught himself, Billy’s life is driven by his need to help support his parents as a construction worker, put his sisters through college, coach his Little League team, and not think about being a three-time loser in the engagement department. Being terrified of taking tests keeps Billy from getting the contractor’s license he so desires, and fear of his mother’s judgment blinds Billy to what could make him truly happy.

Then, in preparation for his sister’s big wedding, Billy meets Shaz—Chase Phillips—a rising-star celebrity stylist who defines the word gay. To Shaz, Billy embodies everything he’s ever wanted—stalwart, honest, brave—but even if Billy turns out to be gay, he could never endure the censure he’d get for being with a queen like Shaz. How can two men with so little in common find a way to be together? Can the Stylist of the Year end up with the Knight of Ocean Avenue?

A Love in Laguna Novel

Jim Carney has a full-time job—running from himself. Since he walked out on his wealthy family at sixteen because he’d wrecked his best friend’s life over some yaoi graphic novels, Jim has lived a macho, blue-collar existence of too much booze and too little responsibility. Then Billy Ballew, the man Jim most admires, gives Jim a chance to come through as his construction supervisor. For once, Jim is determined to make someone proud. Then Jim goes in for a physical for his new job, and his yaoi dream comes to life in the form of cardiologist Ken Tanaka. Jim discovers he has two heart problems—a wonky mitral valve and a serious attraction to his doctor. But Ken is a major player, and Jim might be just a notch on the doc’s stethoscope. To Ken, Jim is unforgettable—but the living embodiment of his traditional family’s worst nightmares. How come the minute Jim decides to be responsible, he finds himself taking care of his kid brother, getting a proposal from a wealthy woman, making a deal with the devil, and winding up in the hospital—when all he really wants is the Knave of Broken Hearts?

A Pennymaker Tale

Young Snowden “Snow” Reynaldi is brilliant, beautiful, and alone. Though he’s shy, weird, and tolerated by the NorCal University students because he’s a renowned whiz at chess and helps put the school on the map, that doesn’t keep him from dreaming of the object of his desires: Riley Prince, championship quarterback.

When Riley needs a physics tutor, Snow jumps at the chance, and their relationship heats up—but Riley has to come out of the jock closet to get anywhere. Meanwhile, Snow’s one true friend and mentor, Professor Kingsley, marries a woman who secretly wants the chess tournament glory and money for herself. Soon after, the professor collapses and Snow finds himself underwater—literally. In a car!

Seven frat brothers from Grimm College rescue Snow just in time for his life to get even worse, and Snow discovers the one relationship he always wanted slipping away. With evil looming at every turn, Snow must survive if only to prove he’s the fairest of them all and regain the trust of his handsome prince.

A Novel in the Long Pass Chronicles

Everyone wants the best for SCU student and tight end Raven Nez—and they know exactly what that is. Enter the NFL draft, become a big football hero, promote his tribe’s casino, and make a lot of money to help people on the reservation. Just one problem. Raven’s gay and he really wants to work with gay kids. Plus he figures a gay Native tight end will get flattened in the NFL. Then the casino board hires a talented student filmmaker to create ads for the tribal business and asks Raven to work with him. But the filmmaker is Dennis Hascomb, a guy with so much to hide and a life so ugly it’s beyond Raven’s understanding. Still he’s drawn to Dennis’s pain and incredible ability to survive. Captivated by Raven’s stories of the two-spirited and by the amazing joy of finally having a friend, Dennis knows he has to break free from everything he’s ever been taught was good—but that’s a struggle that could kill him and Raven too. Is there a chance for “the great red hope” and the “whitest guy on earth”? A future for the serpent and the raven?