Ricochet (15 page)

My life used to be calm and ordered, just the way I

like it, until this happened. Now the paparazzi

follow me everywhere, and people think I'm

subbing to you and keep asking me what you're like

in bed, and Emily left a very snippy message on

my cell phone, and… it's all totally fucked up!"

Matt threw his hands up in the air.

"Huh. See, for me it's the opposite," Rick

said, sitting down on his couch and flicking

through one of the magazines. "My life used to be

full of fun and chaos and now it's totally boring. I

used to actually have a life, Matty, and now I can't

do anything, or go anywhere, or be myself in case I

screw up and get fired."

"It's like we swapped lives," Matt lamented,

sitting down beside him. "I'm leading your high

octane life, and you're leading my more

structured…"

"Boring…" Rick interjected.

"Ordered," Matt insisted with a glare. "Life."

"I guess we're getting a taste of how the other

half lives." Rick found the article about them in the

magazine with the Rickochet! headline and began

laughing again. "
Matthew Lake might play wet-

behind-the-ears young agent Ben Harris on the

hit TV show
Collar Crime
, but in real life he's a

sexy sub-about-town who knows what he likes in

a dom. And what he likes is his co-star, legendary

sub-tease, Rick O'Shea
. Sub-tease? Where do they

get this shit?" He glanced up at Matt who was

shaking his head furiously.

"This one is even worse!" Matt grabbed the

other magazine and began reading. "
Rick O'Shea's

sexual appetite is legendary - no sub in town is

safe from his advances! But it looks like he's met

his match in fiery co-star Matthew Lake.

Matthew plays an innocent virgin onscreen, but

our pictures show he's not dom-shy in real life!

Has Rick finally found a sub who can cure him of

his sub-sexing ways?
"

"Sub-sexing? Is that even a word?" Rick

glanced at the photo of himself strapping on Matt's

motorcycle helmet that accompanied the article.

The camera must have caught him at an odd angle

because it looked like he was giving Matt a doting

look as he buckled the strap.

"No, it's a walking alliteration and that's all

that counts," Matt grumbled.

"This one goes on," Rick said, reading aloud.

"
By all accounts, Rick is a real dom's dom, the

kind who likes to master 'em and move on.

Matthew Lake's friends say they're worried that

he might have gotten in too deep. 'Matt's a very

sweet natured and sensitive sub,' one
Collar

Crime
insider told us. 'Whereas Rick is a total

player, a real sub seducer, and we're all worried

that Matt will get hurt.'
"

"My friends?" Matt grabbed the magazine off

him. "What "friends" did they talk to?"

"They didn't have to - they just make this stuff

up. Let me read the rest of your article." Rick

reached for the other magazine and read it out

loud.

"
Rick O'Shea might act like a party-loving

dom who is just out for a good time, but insiders

say the handsome, easygoing dom is really just

looking for the right sub to love - and they doubt

that Lake fits the bill. 'Matt has a really fiery

temper,' one cast member told us. 'He's blown up

at Rick on more than one occasion, and he can be

pretty mean when he gets going. We're just

hoping their affair doesn't go sour and turn into

all-out war. If it does - we'll be the ones caught

in the crossfire!'
"

"Hah! How come in one of these articles I'm

some bad-tempered, manipulative sub, who only

wants to snare you in my evil trap, while in the

other I'm sweet and sensitive, and you're about to

devastate me by dumping me?"

Rick shrugged. "It's all crap." He assumed a

dramatic pose. "They clearly don't know either of

us because if they did they'd know I'd never hurt

you,

Matty!"

He

fluttered

his

eyelashes

extravagantly.

"Oh, you old sub-tease!" Matt winked at him.

"As if I'd let you."

"Hey - you're talking to a dom's dom, you

sexy sub-about-town!"

"I'm not dom-shy, so fuck you!" Matt laughed

helplessly as Rick tackle-hugged him onto the

couch.

Rick pinned his arms above his head. "You

should be careful - remember there isn't a sub in

town who's safe from me!" He held Matt down

with one hand and tickled him with the other until

Matt was a gurgling mess beneath him.

Then Rick sat back with a sigh. "Thanks,

Matt. I needed the laugh."

Matt sat up. "Still feeling down, huh?"

"You have no idea. Look, Matt - I'm sorry

about all this shit." He waved his hand at the

magazines.

"It's not your fault, and in some ways I'm kind

of flattered. I guess I must have really made it in

this town if the magazines are making up shit about

me. Now, c'mon." He got to his feet. "We're due on

set in a couple of minutes. It's Karl's birthday, so

there's going to be cake!" He held out his hands,

and Rick took them and allowed Matt to haul him

to his feet.

He exited the trailer with one arm slung over

Matt's shoulder, but without the usual feeling of

exuberance he got when about to shoot a scene.

Being with Matt in the trailer, goofing off, just

made him even more aware of how much of a

straitjacket he was in the rest of the time.

He felt stifled and it was making him

irritable… and his co-workers weren't used to an

irritable Rick O'Shea.

The cast and crew had bought a huge

chocolate birthday cake as a surprise for Karl -

and he did look genuinely surprised; Matt didn't

think he was acting it.

"I've never been on such a friendly set," Karl

said, coming over to talk as Matt ate his slice of

the cake.

"Really? I've only done a handful of other

shows, so I guess I've got nothing to compare it

with."

"Trust me, they aren't all like this. You guys

have been so welcoming. I think it's largely down

to Daniel - as the lead, he sets the tone for the

entire set, doesn't he?"

Karl cast Daniel a wistful look, and Matt felt

sorry for him. "What other shows have you done?"

Matt asked, deliberately changing the subject. "I

remember seeing you in that adaptation of
A Tale

of Two Switches
a couple of years ago."

"You saw that? It was pretty low budget, but I

was proud of it."

"I loved it, and I thought you made an

awesome Nathaniel!"

"Thanks, Matt. Sadly, I've also been in some

real crap - one has to pay the bills, after all." Karl

made a face. "Before this, I was in a show that

only made it to six episodes before it was

cancelled - and rightly so."

"Bad huh?"

"Worse - boring!" Karl grinned. "It was a sort

of sci-fi thing - a dystopian vision of a universe in

which nobody identifies as dom or sub. It was

called
Otherworld
." He traced his hand through

the air like a title appearing across an imaginary

screen.

Matt grinned. "Ooh - sounds kind of kinky."

"You'd think so, wouldn't you? But instead of

going for the kinky angle, which might have been

fun, they tried to do it as a sort of serious, high-

minded exploration of how such a society would

work."

"And how would it work?" Matt frowned.

"Are they all switches?"

"Nope." Karl shook his head. "Most people

don't identify as dom, sub or switch, and the

minority who do have to keep quiet about it and

meet up in special clubs."

"So it's kind of like an inversion of how

things work in our world? But who collars who

then?" Matt asked, confused.

"Nobody collars anyone - that's the point."

"So, when a couple get serious about each

other…?"

"They move in together."

"That's it?" Matt tried to get his head around

that. "Do they even have weddings?"

"Yes - but they use rings instead of a wedding

collar and belt."

"So - who puts the ring on who? I don't get

this!" Matt wailed.

Karl grinned. "They each put rings on each

other!"

"Oh. Okay. So, there are no big collaring

scenes? I love collaring scenes!"

"No collarings, no leashes, no wedding belts

- no dynamics at all."

"No sharing a plate?" Matt asked. When

couples in a romantic relationship became serious

they often started sharing a plate, with the dom

hand-feeding the sub. Karl shook his head, and

Matt thought about it for a moment. "So, if they

can't do any of those things - what was this show

actually about?" he asked eventually.

Karl laughed. "Like I said, it only ran for six

episodes and then it was cancelled. What shows

have you done?"

"Not much - mostly little roles in crappy

soaps. This is my first big break."

"Ah, crappy soaps - I remember them well. I

was once in one about a dom addicted to kink

houses!"

Matt gave a guilty laugh. "Kink houses?

Really?" He took a large mouthful of cake and

munched on it studiously, hoping he didn't look

like someone with a secret fascination for kink

houses.

Karl glanced across the room to where Rick

was standing. "Is Rick doing okay?" he asked

quietly. "Only he's usually the life and soul of the

party, but he's been kind of grumpy the past few

days."

"He's trying to be good," Matt said, around

his mouthful of cake. Rick did look grumpy. He

was standing by himself, his hands thrust deep into

his pockets, looking bored. Usually, he'd be the

center of attention, and there would be a large

group of people around him, hanging onto his

every word while he performed outrageously to

his audience.

"Then I guess that's taking its toll," Karl

observed.

At that moment, Rick turned abruptly and

stalked off in the direction of his trailer.

"I hope he's okay," Matt murmured. "He's

been through a lot lately."

"Yeah - I saw the news; and the magazine

articles." Karl raised a meaningful eyebrow.

"Oh please! Don't believe anything you read

in those. I went over to Rick's place to cheer him

up - I took some wine, and we ended up falling

asleep on his sofa after watching an episode of

Collar Crime
."

"So there's nothing going on between you

two?"

"What? No!" Matt laughed. "If you'd been

here longer you'd know that me and Rick - we're

combustible! We argue all the time, and we have

nothing in common. There's no attraction there, and

besides Rick likes to play the field, and I…" He

paused, unsure how to finish that sentence.

"You're looking for a big romance?" Karl

prompted gently.

"No!" Matt protested. "I mean, everyone's

looking for love - except Rick, obviously - but no,

I'm realistic about that. I'm simply looking for a

compatible dom to share my life with."

"A compatible dom? Karl grinned. "You

make it sound more like a job interview than

finding a life partner."

"It'd be easier if you could find someone that

way," Matt said. "You know, put an advert in the

paper, interview a few people, find someone

suitable and settle down with them."

"I can't believe a cute sub like you has any

problems meeting someone!"

Matt flushed, thinking of all the doms who'd

dumped him. "Maybe I don't date the right kind of

doms," he muttered.

"Or maybe you want a dom to charge into

your life and sweep you off your feet."

Matt gazed at him suspiciously. Was he

wrong about Karl's thing for Daniel? Was Karl