button. “I’ll see you then,” he said.
* * * *
An hour later, Rush stepped into the elevator. His light, scruffy beard was
trimmed to perfection, and he was freshly showered. Unlike other young gay men his age,
he tended to dress more conservatively. He’d thought about changing his image, but
when he bought something trendy it always wound up in the back of his closet. He felt
comfortable and secure in classic outfits—partly because he didn’t want to make any
fashion mistakes and partly because he wanted to be taken seriously as a young lawyer.
He didn’t want to look like every other gay man in New York, with a turned-up wave
above his forehead. On that night, he wore a black suit jacket, simple faded jeans, and a
white dress shirt open at the collar. His shoes were black Prada quarter boots, and the
only piece of jewelry he wore was a Louis Vuitton watch. He’d bought the watch secondhand from a former co-worker at his old law firm. He wouldn’t have been able to
afford it otherwise.
Cody was already waiting for him in the lobby. He was pacing back and forth,
with his hands in his pockets, staring down at the brown tiled floor. Rush took a quick
breath when he looked down at his watch and saw he was five minutes early. He was
eager to make new friends in New York and he didn’t want to irritate Cody by being late.
When Cody saw him get off the elevator, he removed his hands from his pockets
and asked, “Do I look okay? I’m never sure how to dress for a show like this.”
Rush smiled and nodded. “You look great.” Cody was wearing a trendy black
denim sport jacket with an attached hood, a white mock turtleneck sweater, and cream
colored low-rise jeans. Rush noticed the jeans were tight, and there was a huge bulge in
Cody’s crotch. He looked down and said, “I like the jeans a lot.” Then he pointed to
Cody’s crotch and rolled his eyes, wishing that he had the courage to dress like that.
Cody looked down at himself and laughed. He shrugged his shoulders and said,
“They are going to be listening to my voice tonight, but they are also going to be staring
between my legs. I’m wearing a cock ring to enhance things a bit.”
Rush’s eyebrows went up and he said, “Ah well, I see.” Though he’d never worn
a cock ring, he knew what they were. Men either used them to prolong their erections or
to push their genitals forward so they could enhance their packages. Rush would never
have left the house wearing tight pants and a cock ring like that, but he thought it looked
cute, if not dangerous, on Cody. “Stop worrying about how you look, man,” Rush said.
“The minute you start singing no one will be paying attention to anything but your
voice.” Cody’s boyfriend, Roy Kling, was already waiting for them in the nightclub.
Cody introduced them, then ran backstage to get ready for his performance. They crossed
to a small table in front of the stage and sat down. Rush noticed that Roy kept fidgeting
with his keys and looking around the room as if he was waiting for someone else to arrive.
When he sat on the chair, he didn’t sit all the way back. He smiled at Rush, but his right
leg was jumping up and down.
Rush smiled back and said, “I heard Cody sing this morning in rehearsal. He’s
very talented.” He figured he’d start talking first, assuming Roy was preoccupied.
Roy nodded. “I just hope that tonight is a success, because what happened to him
this morning wasn’t fair. It kills me to see him get hurt that way. He was so devastated he
was talking about giving up show business and going to school for nursing.”
“Are you in show business?” Rush asked. He detected a certain apprehensiveness
in Roy’s tone, as if he wasn’t sure he liked his lover singing in a nightclub. Roy didn’t
look like he was in show business. He was wearing a gray business suit, a white shirt and
a yellow tie. And his shoes were black oxfords with wingtips. Although he was an
attractive young man in his thirties, he wasn’t nearly as sexy or as hip as Cody. His pale
blond hair was thinning, his nose had a bump, and his face was round with very little
bone structure. He had a nice body, from what Rush could see, but he was by no means
athletic.
“No,” Roy said, with force in his voice. “Absolutely not. I’m a teacher. I’m
strictly behind the scenes.” He sat back and squared his shoulders in defense, as if Rush
had said something wrong. Rush smiled. “I’m not a performer either,” he said. “I’m a lawyer and I work with
Cody’s agents. I just met Cody today. It turns out we live in the same building.”
When Roy heard Rush wasn’t a performer, he sat back and took a quick breath.
“Sorry if I seem a little nervous tonight,” he said. “But after getting fired the way he did
this morning, it’s very important that this performance is a huge success. Cody doesn’t
know this, but there are a couple of record producers here tonight. Lance told me, and
then he told me not to tell Cody so he wouldn’t be too nervous.”
“I have a feeling that Cody will be a huge smash tonight,” Rush said. “When I
first heard him sing this morning, I stopped dead in my tracks.”
As Rush said this, the lights dimmed and music started to play. Roy lifted his
drink and took a hard swallow, then raised his glass and smiled at Rush.
The first singer was Joey Delaney. He was tall and lanky, with short brown hair,
deep blue eyes, and full round lips. When he started to sing, Roy leaned across the table
and said, “On the far right wall, next to the stage door entrance, there are two people
sitting at a small table. The blond guy is Joey’s boyfriend, Anderson Sheppard. The thin
woman is Joey’s sister, Harriet Delaney. Harriet is Joey’s manager, and she’s not fond of
his boyfriend, Anderson.”
While Joey sang, Rush slowly turned to see the two people. The blond guy was so
attractive he looked like porn star material. The thin woman had medium-length hair,
parted on the side, with thick chunks of blond. The blond guy watched Joey sing with
true adoration. He leaned forward and smiled as if Joey were the only man in the room.
The woman sat up straight, with pinched lips, and watched Joey’s performance with a
critical eye. Rush whispered to Roy, “They guy is gorgeous. But the sister looks uptight.” Roy laughed. “She was born with a broomstick up her ass. Trust me, that is one
tough bitch. Cody isn’t very fond of her.”
When Joey was finished performing, Cody stepped out on the stage. The minute
he opened his mouth to sing the audience went silent. And it wasn’t just because Cody
had a smooth voice with perfect pitch. He was calm and at home on stage, as if he was
singing to one person instead of hundreds. He knew when to smile, he knew how to move
his arms and legs without appearing awkward, and he knew just how to make his eyes
sparkle beneath the lights. He had an unusual style that was hard to pigeonhole. He
slipped between cool-rocker and slick-swing artist without trying too hard. When he did a
slow ballad, he did it with a style of his own that couldn’t have been duplicated by
anyone else. His biggest gift, aside from his looks and his voice, was that he knew how
to claim a song and make it his very own.
At the end of the show, Joey and Cody did one number together. The song was a
slow, easy version of an old Sonny and Cher hit single. Though they both had different
voices and different qualities, they blended well together. Joey was more on the
wholesome, boy-next-door side, and Cody had that rugged rock-star quality. Fans would
want to cuddle with Joey, and they’d want Cody to throw them down and ravish them on
the floor. Cody knew how to exaggerate certain words and sounds in a new, trendy way.
When he sang the word, “don’t,” it sounded like “jia-ownt.” And Joey, with his well
trained voice, knew how to articulate each lyric to perfection. When they were finished
singing, the audience stood to applaud them both, with loud cheers and whistles.
Rush watched Roy stand to applaud. He smiled so wide, and with such
satisfaction, the dimples in his puffy cheeks appeared. While they were clapping and Joey and Cody were taking bows, a tall swarthy man with short sandy hair crossed over to
their table. He put his arm on Roy’s shoulder and murmured something into Roy’s ear.
Rush just stood there staring at the man. Rush had never seen a better-looking human
specimen in his life. This guy had the sharp chiseled features of a male runway model,
the strong square chin of a true aristocrat, and the sleek, sturdy body of an athlete. His
hands were large and his fingers were thick. His skin had a slight tan and his eyes were
pale green.
When the applause died down and Joey and Cody walked off stage, Rush was still
standing, staring at the man next to Roy. The man leaned toward Rush and smiled. He
extended his right hand and said, “I’m Lance Sharp. Are you a friend of Cody’s?” While
he smiled, he looked directly into Rush’s eyes.
Rush’s heart began to beat faster; his palms became damp. But he clenched one
fist behind his back and reached out with the other to shake Lance’s hand. Trying to be as
cool and expressionless as he could, he smiled and said, “I just met Cody. We live in the
same building. I think you’re my new boss. It’s very nice to meet you, Mr. Sharp. I’m
Rush Goodwin.”
Roy wasn’t paying attention to them. He was staring backstage, looking for a
glimpse of Cody. Lance smiled and tilted his head to the side. “You’re the new guy at the
office? It’s nice to meet you, Rush. I heard all about you from Esther. She told me what
Bart did to you this morning. He shouldn’t have sent you to Radcliff’s dressing room that
way. It wasn’t nice. You should have been prepared.”
Rush smiled and shrugged, trying hard not to stare directly at Lance’s magnificent
lips. It was hard not to grab Lance’s head, pull it toward his face, and kiss him. Rush had a feeling that everything about this man tasted wonderful. “I’m okay,” he said, joking, “I
ducked just in time. The blow dryer flew right over my head.” Then he shrugged again
and laughed.
“How do you think the show went?” Lance asked.
“I loved it, Mr. Sharp,” Rush said. “I heard Cody sing this morning while I was
delivering the contract to Radcliff, and I thought he was wonderful then. But on stage
tonight, he blew me away.”
“Please,” he said, “call me Lance.”
Rush blinked and smiled. “Are you sure? We just met, and you’re my boss.”
Lance moved closer to him and placed his palm on the small of Rush’s back. He
leaned into his ear, in a seductive way, and whispered, “I insist.”
When Lance’s warm, sweet breath touched the tip of Rush’s earlobe, he lowered
his eyelids and smiled. On the outside, his hands were steady and his voice was level. But
on the inside, with Lance’s hand on his back, his entire body was ready to explode in a
way he’d never experienced. Suddenly, there had never been another man in Rush’s life.
Harold didn’t exist. If there ever was such a thing as love at first sight, meeting Lance
Sharp that night confirmed all of Rush’s expectations of what it felt like.
Chapter Four
After the show, they all went to a small, dark bar a few blocks from the nightclub
and sat down at a round booth with red leather seats. It was one of those long, narrow
New York bars where people walked with care so they wouldn’t bump into each other.
Cody and Roy sat together. Joey Delaney and his handsome blond lover, Anderson, sat
next to them. Lance Sharp took control of everything and guided each one of them
toward their seats.
Rush watched every move Lance made. He even noticed that when Lance smiled,
the right side of his face went higher than the left.
When the last man was seated, Lance smiled at Rush and said, “You can sit here,
right next to me.” Then he placed his palm on Rush’s back and gently pushed him
forward.
Cody gave Rush a look. But Rush ignored him, maintaining a blank expression.
Then Lance ordered a round of drinks for everyone, and when the drinks arrived
he stood up to make a toast. “I have an announcement to make,” he said, holding a
martini glass up high. “I didn’t say anything to anyone but Roy, but there were a few
producers from a record company in the audience tonight and they loved the show. They
want to offer Cody a contract, and they want to fly Joey out to Los Angeles to audition
for a new TV series that involves music they think he’s perfect for.” He raised his glass
