“Excellent!” the photographer said. He snapped a few shots, then reached down and lifted Gavin’s left leg, placing it on top of the wooden bench beside him. He moved Gavin’s arm so that his right hand rested on the top of the half-open locker door. Gavin didn’t understand why the guy couldn’t have just told him what to do, but that was the business.
The photographer took some more shots, then sent Gavin back to wardrobe.
The wardrobe mistress was a plump Latina with dyed red hair, who had “fag hag” stamped all over her. She looked at her clipboard. “You’re Havin, right?” she asked, giving the G at the start of his name a breathy accent.
“Yup.”
“You’re wearing the body shapers next.” She handed him a T-shirt and a pair of briefs with some kind of reinforcing on his abs and waist.
“What are these?” he asked.
“They slim you.” She rubbed her belly. “You know, down here.”
“I don’t need these!” Gavin protested.
“Of course not. If you did, you wouldn’t be able to model them.”
The contradiction confounded Gavin until he’d slipped into them. If they were tight on him, when he had single-digit body fat, he could only imagine how awful they’d be on a guy who needed them. He looked at himself in the full-length mirror in the dressing area.
The white fabric clung to him like a second skin. Not an ounce of fat pushed through. He felt like he was standing up straighter, perhaps because of the lumbar support. It was the least sexy underwear he’d ever modeled, but what the hell, he was making money and building his portfolio.
When the bus returned them to Lincoln Road that evening, Gavin headed back to Java Joe’s. He was relaxing, sipping a low-fat fruit smoothie, when he noticed a guy across from him checking him out. The dude was older, at least forty, and wore the kind of suit you couldn’t buy off the shelf. The coal-black jacket was tailored snugly over his shoulders, and the slacks fell perfectly over his black tasseled loafers.
He was on the phone, but his eyes met Gavin’s. In a flash, the guy ended his call and looked at Gavin with one of those gazes that said to Gavin that he was being stripped naked. Then the man smiled. “I’m Ben,” he said.
“Gavin.”
“You look very familiar to me,” Ben said. “Have I seen you before?”
Gavin shrugged. “I work the morning shift here.”
Ben shook his head. “No, that’s not it.” He reached for the glossy magazine by his side and flipped through it. “There,” he said, pointing at Gavin’s photo in a group bathing-suit shot. Gavin was wearing boxer-brief trunks, and his skin glistened with what was supposed to be either perspiration or seawater from the Atlantic Ocean in the background.
His blond hair was longer then, and the hair stylist had sprayed in some glistening highlights. It was a great shot and in fact the first one in Gavin’s portfolio.
“Yeah, that’s me,” Gavin said.
Ben looked at his watch. “I was just about to get something to eat,” he said. “Honestly, I’ve been delaying because I hate eating alone when I’m on the road. Can I buy you dinner?”
Gavin’s roommates complained that this kind of thing happened to him all the time—getting picked up by handsome, sexy guys. The truth was it didn’t happen that often, and he was delighted whenever it did. “Sure,” Gavin said. “Where would you like to go?”
“What do you recommend?”
That was a touchy question. The guy dressed well, and he’d already mentioned he was traveling on business, which meant expense account. Most of the places Gavin knew wouldn’t be appropriate.
Ben saved the day, though, by mentioning the name of his boutique hotel. “The restaurant there looks pretty good.”
That was an understatement, Gavin thought. He was no gourmet, but he knew that the restaurants in those fancy hotels were beaucoup expensive and therefore had to be beaucoup good at the same time. And there was an unspoken message in Ben’s suggestion: come eat at my hotel, and then we’re just an elevator ride away from continuing the evening together.
He didn’t mind that at all. The guy was rich and handsome, and maybe Gavin could short-circuit the track that was intended to lead him to Mr. Right.
Not that he was jumping ahead of the game or anything.
It was only a few blocks to the hotel, and Ben spent most of the walk on the phone, confirming a business meeting the next day. That was fine with Gavin; he could flirt like mad but wasn’t much for small talk once the deal was sealed. Ben finished his call as they approached the Collins Avenue entrance to the hotel and even ushered Gavin in ahead of him as the valet opened the door.
Ben led Gavin across the lobby, to the restaurant entrance. He spoke to the maître d’, who took them to a table with a view of the beach and the ocean beyond. “Kind of like where you were shooting,” Ben said.
“Just down the beach,” Gavin said. He smiled.
The place wasn’t as pricy as Gavin expected, and he was considering what he wanted when Ben said, “I know you guys are always watching your weight. They have some nice salads.”
“I’m more of a carnivore,” Gavin said, arching an eyebrow. “And I’m lucky to have a fast metabolism.”
Ben smiled. “Then order whatever you’d like.”
Since he didn’t have any gigs set up for the next few days, Gavin decided to splurge on the surf and turf—a petit filet mignon, which came with a grilled Ivory Coast prawn, whipped potatoes, rapini, and a béarnaise sauce. He had no idea why a prawn shipped in from Africa would be better than a lobster from Maine, and he had only the vaguest idea what rapini was, but it wasn’t the most expensive item on the menu. He announced his choice to Ben. “I’ve got a hankering for meat.” He’d have preferred the twenty-two ounce T-bone, but that was a few bucks more, and he didn’t want to seem like a pig.
Ben snickered at the double entendre. “I guess I do too. I’ll have the T-bone.”
Crap, Gavin thought. He could have waited and then tagged onto Ben’s order. When the waiter came over to take their drink orders, Ben ordered a Manhattan, and Gavin a Cosmo. The alcohol relaxed him, and they chatted through the meal about Ben’s job—he was in something called “advertising specialties,” which he must have assumed Gavin knew all about because he never got specific.
Gavin told some funny stories about modeling jobs. The food was great, and Ben had a salesman’s charm.
The waiter cleared their plates, then asked, “Can I tempt you with our chocolate tart?”
Ben said, “We’re good,” then signed the check to his room with a flourish, adding a hefty tip.
“It’s such a beautiful evening,” Ben said as he stood up. “Would you like to take a walk along the beach?”
“I’ll bet the view from your room is just as good,” Gavin said.
Ben smiled wolfishly. “I like the way you think.”
They rode the elevator up to Ben’s room, and he swiped the card in the door, then ushered Gavin in ahead of him. The view was disappointing, miles of dark ocean with the lights of a single freighter off the coast.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Ben said, coming up beside him. He put his arm around Gavin’s waist. For the first time, Gavin realized the guy was a couple of inches shorter than he was.
“It sure is.” Gavin turned toward Ben and leaned down to kiss him. The kiss he received in return was more like a peck, and then Ben backed away.
“Let me get out of my suit.” He stepped back into the hotel room, and Gavin watched as he opened the closet door. He took his time, hanging up his suit jacket, removing his dress loafers and lining them up on the closet floor, then unbuttoning his white shirt.
Well, Gavin thought, if my clothes were worth that much money, I’d take good care of them too. He pulled his polo shirt off and toed off his deck shoes. When he turned to go back into the bedroom, he saw Ben had put on black leather boxer briefs, and he was fastening a studded leather bandolier over his chest.
Kinky, Gavin thought. And interesting.
He walked back into the room, and Ben looked up at him. “You’re still wearing your pants.”
“Not for long,” Gavin said. He unbuttoned them, and they slid down over his waist.
“Shorts too,” Ben said.
Gavin’s dick was already hard, and it bounced against his stomach when he jerked down his briefs. As he looked up, he saw Ben take a pair of leather-lined handcuffs from his backpack. Gavin was surprised he’d been able to get them past the TSA check. Weren’t handcuffs on the prohibited list?
Before Gavin realized it, Ben had locked a cuff on one of Gavin’s wrists and expertly pulled that arm behind his back. “Hey, hold on,” Gavin said, but Ben already had Gavin’s other wrist in the second cuff.
Ben removed a leather paddle from a backpack and slapped it against his palm. “Bend over.”
Gavin did as he was told, though it was awkward with his hands cuffed behind him. “Nothing that shows,” he said. “I have another shoot in a few days.”
“Like that matters to me,” Ben said, and he smacked Gavin’s butt.
It sent electric currents through his dick and the rest of his body. It was kinky, but he thought he could get into it.
“I’m new at this,” Gavin said. “So go easy, all right?”
He felt the edge of the paddle caressing his butt crack and relaxed. Funny how the innocent-looking guys turned out to be the weirdest in bed. Ben slipped a leather glove on his right hand and began fingering Gavin’s hole. He alternated with light slaps of the paddle, and Gavin’s dick began to leak precum. This was getting good.
Ben’s leather-clad finger pushed past Gavin’s anal ring, and he winced. “Take it easy,” he said. “That’s not Grand Central Station back there.”
“You know, you’re much better looking with your mouth shut,” Ben said. “But if you won’t shut it yourself, I can take care of that.”
He reached back into his bag of tricks and brought out a ball gag. Gavin had never seen one of those in person, but he’d seen enough videos online to know what happened next. The ball would go in his mouth, with the rubber strap around the back of his head.
“Hey, I’ll shut up,” Gavin said. “You don’t have to use that, honest.”
Ben was surprisingly strong for a little guy. He pried open Gavin’s mouth and stuffed the rubber ball inside, then pulled the strap over his head.
Gavin’s dick had begun to soften. This wasn’t his scene. What had happened to the eager guy who’d wanted to make it with a model? Who’d paid for a great dinner and wanted to take a walk on the beach?
Ben began smacking Gavin’s ass hard. It hurt, but he couldn’t cry out because the ball filled his mouth. Tiny tears leaked out of the corners of his eyes.
“Not such a big stud now, are you?” Ben asked. “You model types are all alike. You lord your good looks over normal guys. But when it comes to pain, you’re just a wimp.”
Gavin tried to shake his head, but Ben slapped his cheek. Anything Gavin said turned into a garbled mumble, but Ben wasn’t paying attention. He dug through his pack and found a big black dildo, larger than anything Gavin had ever had up his ass.
That was it. He had had enough. He turned around and caught Ben off guard, then kneed him in the balls.
“You fucker!” Ben yelped. “You’re really going to get it now.” He clutched his balls and writhed on the bed.
Gavin grabbed the key to the handcuffs from the bureau in one hand, then stepped into his deck shoes. While Ben was still immobilized, Gavin squatted down and grabbed his shirt, slacks, and briefs.
“Don’t go out in the hall like that!” Ben screeched.
Gavin didn’t bother to answer. He used his elbow to knock the door open and then stalked out into the carpeted hallway, stark naked. He used his elbow again to push the elevator button.
When the door opened, the car was empty. Not my day, Gavin thought. He managed to push the button for the ground floor, though it took some contortions. He rode down alone, and when the door opened to the marble foyer, he stalked over to the concierge desk. He dropped his clothes to the floor and then placed the key on the desk. He turned around, presenting his hands to the young woman on duty.
She didn’t say a word, just unlocked the cuffs for him. He immediately removed the ball gag from his mouth and laid it and the cuffs on the concierge desk. “These belong to the asshole in 1210,” he said politely. He pulled on his briefs and his slacks, then tossed his shirt over his shoulders. “Thank you for your help.”
He walked out of the hotel bare-chested, daring anyone to stare at him. He was a fucking model, and they’d just gotten a free show.
The walk back home seemed longer than usual to him because his ass stung, his mouth felt weird, and he kept running over the events of the day in his head. What had gone wrong? Ben had seemed like a perfectly normal guy. Rich and handsome and sexy. But he had turned out to be a jerk.
Gavin was wasting his time going after rich guys. It was time that he became successful so that he could afford the custom-tailored suits, the expensive champagne, the sports cars, and the exotic travel.
But what could he do? He wasn’t about to invent the next must-have electronic product or develop a cure for cancer. He’d never been a great student, and he had no desire to go back to school for a degree in business or law.
Modeling was boring, and the real money was in runway work. Though he’d auditioned for dozens of shows, he hadn’t been able to get any gigs. He had performed in musicals and dramas in high school and college, and though he had auditioned for a couple of productions in Miami, he’d never been called back.
He knew his looks wouldn’t last forever. Even at twenty-two, he was beginning to get edged out for jobs by teenagers. His whole life, it seemed, he’d been accepted at face value. Wasn’t there something he could do to prove he was more than he appeared on the surface?
Starlit Lake
A week later, Gavin was back home in Wisconsin for Independence Day. That evening, he leaned back in an Adirondack chair next to his Grandma Frances as fireflies danced in the cooling air and the sun set over Starlit Lake. He loved coming back for visits, almost as much as he had hated being a teenager there. Now that he lived in Miami Beach, surrounded by glitz and glamour, he found comfort in the simple rural pleasures of his home state.