Happy World (18 page)

Kyle made a soft whimpering sound and tilted his hips forward in offering. “Rory, come on. This is the worst time to tease.”

Rory gave a strangled laugh. Kyle thought he was teasing? Rory would have liked nothing better than to ram himself into Kyle and pound away until he came, but he was too much of a gentleman for that. Rory sincerely hoped that hadn’t been the only kind of experience Kyle had had with sex.

“I’m not teasing you, trust me,” Rory told him. He took a deep breath and made a quick promise to himself not to rush, then eased the tip of one finger inside Kyle. He pushed it in and then let it slip back out, over and over, until Kyle was pleading with him for more.

Rory bent his head once more and licked at the tip of Kyle’s cock just as he pushed two fingers deep inside of him, past the tight ring of muscle and searching for Kyle’s gland.

“Rory!” Kyle shouted, his hands stretching out to grab onto whatever part of Rory he could reach. “Come on, please?”

The pleading wasn’t necessary. Rory didn’t need any further encouragement, but it was still nice to hear. “Okay, okay,” he laughed, reaching up to squeeze one of Kyle’s hands with his own free one. “Easy.”

He withdrew his fingers and expertly slid on a condom. Then he leaned up and over Kyle’s body. Positioning himself just right, Rory paused for a moment to slick his cock with the lube and nudge the swollen head against Kyle’s hole. Even that small movement felt good enough to make him come. God, already? Rory squeezed his eyes shut and counted to thirty.

When the feeling had receded enough for Rory to continue without embarrassing himself, he pushed forward. Kyle’s body was warm and welcoming, the lube making everything slippery and doing its job of letting Rory slide carefully inside in little pushes.

Rory paused when he was fully sheathed in Kyle’s ass. The only sounds in the room were the harsh, panting breaths they were both taking, and that urgent need to come had returned in force. He’d wanted to last for a while, to make this good for both of them, but Kyle was so tight and felt so good around Rory’s cock that making this last a long time was an impossibility.

The futility of it became even more obvious when Kyle started moaning again and clenching around Rory’s prick. Rory looked down in time to see Kyle reach for his own cock and start stroking.

“Rory, God. Please move!” Kyle begged and writhed, and any ideas Rory still had about making this last went right out the window.

“Moving,” Rory gasped, and he did. Long push in, short pull out, over and over until his jaw ached from gritting his teeth so hard in an effort not to spill. “Okay?” he managed to ask.

Kyle nodded with his eyes closed. “Big,” he sighed.

“Very nice.” Rory chuckled, but the vibrations of that traveled down to the spot where they were joined and threatened to end it all. Rory thought it was probably time to concentrate. There’d be more of this later, he was sure.

He returned to the push-in, pull-out rhythm, watching Kyle jerk off the whole time. God, it was so hot to watch Kyle touch himself like that, but Rory hoped he was as close to the edge and Rory was. “Hurry up,” Rory murmured, his dick twitching inside Kyle’s ass. “I want to see you come.”

Like Rory had whispered magic words, Kyle arched his neck on the bed and groaned. His entire body went rigid and Rory watched three white ribbons of come paint Kyle’s belly and chest. “Rory,” Kyle whimpered as he shuddered beneath Rory’s body.

The picture Kyle made was pretty enough for Rory to forget he hadn’t shot yet, but his dick had other ideas. One more slight push inside and then Rory was coming too, getting short of breath and seeing little fiery sparks behind his eyes.

He couldn’t help collapsing down onto Kyle’s body, not caring about the stickiness that Kyle’s spunk had left there. Rory was still buried deep and wanted to stay where he was forever. “Holy crap, that was good,” Rory whispered hoarsely.

Kyle half-mumbled, half-laughed his agreement. “Mhmm. Good. Wow.”

Rory started to say something else, but was stopped by a huge yawn. A nap wouldn’t hurt. Kyle was already breathing deeply, obviously thinking the same thing.

He withdrew enough to get the condom off and discarded it in the trash can next to the bed, then snuggled back down into the warmth of Kyle’s body. Nap now. Then food. More sex later.

That was the perfect kind of date, Rory was sure.

***

Rehearsals for Pierre began on the following Monday. At first it was kind of weird for Rory not to pick up the white Groundskeeper’s costume, especially when he saw Kyle donning the familiar clothing. But Kyle just shrugged at Rory and gave him a thumbs up as Rory turned toward the backstage dance studio that served as a rehearsal facility.

The seasons were changing, which meant a new parade. Rory would be required to learn the routine that Pierre and Daniel played out together during the course of the parade. The routine would repeat itself along the route, of course, but Rory knew that it was as essential to know the choreography for Pierre as well as he knew his own name.

Despite the excitement Rory felt over his new position, there was also dread about having to face Charlie Taylor and work so closely with him. However, his fears for first rehearsal went unfounded, since the Actor on shift that day to play Daniel was a guy named Trick Young. Rory knew that eventually Charlie would turn up at rehearsal, but for now he was glad for the reprieve.

For the next few shifts, Rory managed to avoid working with Charlie. He and Kyle spent their evenings together if their schedules allowed. Kyle would ask endless questions about the rehearsal process, always with a wistful look on his face, but he seemed genuinely happy for Rory and Rory couldn’t detect a hint of resentment, even if there was some.

Things continued in this way for almost two weeks. Rory had relaxed enough to start to enjoy his rehearsal days. The autumn parade was making its debut shortly and Rory was scheduled to work the very first day of it, so when he walked into rehearsal one morning and saw Charlie Taylor dressed in Daniel’s costume, the feeling of dread returned swiftly enough to make Rory a bit nauseous.

“Hi there!” Charlie grinned hugely at him and twirled his sword around before sheathing it safely in the scabbard at his waist. “Looks like we’re practicing together today!”

Fucker. Rory forced himself to smile back, even though he was seething inside. “Looks like.” He took his place at the far end of the wooden floor and waited for their music to start. No sense inviting conversation.

Charlie paused to say something to one of the choreographers and they both laughed. He moved to the opposite side of the floor from Rory and withdrew his sword. “We’re doing the fight scene today, okay?”

Rory knew the question didn’t require an answer. Charlie was boss around here. He took Pierre’s overly-large sword from its holder with a sigh and nodded.

Three hours later, Rory knew he was in trouble. The studio was hot as a fucking oven and they hadn’t had one break yet. Even the casting director was looking bored and tired, but Charlie kept insisting that Rory was missing the fourth step in the choreography.

“Bullshit.” Rory planted his hands on his hips and felt a drop of sweat roll down his back. “I had this down perfect when I rehearsed with Trick last week. Joanna, you said I did!” Rory gave the choreographer a pleading look.

Charlie shook his head sadly. “Oh, man. Trick’s a nice guy, but he’s not really good with new stuff. This routine needs to be perfect, Rory. Can you handle that? We all thought you could, but maybe we were wrong.” He glanced in Joanna’s direction and, like a puppet, she nodded.

Rory blew out an exasperated breath. His head hurt, he was soaked with sweat, and he knew it was past time for him to eat the granola bar he had in his backpack. His blood sugar was already low. But something about Charlie’s patronizing, smug face wouldn’t let Rory quit.

“Fine,” Rory spat. “We’ll do the goddamned thing again.” He returned to his corner of the floor and waited for the music to start.

And start it did, for three more run-throughs. Rory ignored the shaky, dizzy feeling that was getting worse in favor of doing his choreography perfectly. Stupid fucking Charlie Taylor was not driving him out of this position, even though Charlie had been the one to put Rory there in the first place.

Finally, nearly an hour and a half later, Charlie pointed at the casting director. “I think that’s good!” he said with a huge smile, clapping Rory on the shoulder in a fake show of camaraderie. “We’ll pick this up again right after lunch, in twenty minutes!”

“Twenty minutes? You’re shitting me. We get an hour for lunch.” Rory stared at him.

Charlie gave him a rueful look. “Not today, I’m afraid. I have something to do tonight, so instead of a long lunch, we’re knocking off a half hour early. Short lunch today. Sorry.” He managed to look anything but sorry.

On a normal day, Rory would have argued with him and pleaded his case to either Joanna or the casting director. But today was way too hot, Charlie was working him way too hard, and Rory was feeling way too crappy to protest. He gave Charlie a narrowed stare and retreated to one of the tables near the fan to gulp some water.

The granola bar and apple in his backpack were completely unappealing. Rory held the granola bar in his hand while he downed a bottle of water, knowing he should eat it but unwilling to upset his already queasy stomach. Maybe two bites and then a bite of apple would appease his blood sugar enough to get through the rest of rehearsal.

Just as he opened the package, however, Charlie clapped his hands from across the room. “Ready, Rory?” he called.

Rory shook his head slowly. “No.”

Charlie crossed the room and propped one foot up on the bench next to Rory. “Come on, let’s get started.” He leaned down close and spoke in a low tone, meant for Rory’s ears only. “Get your ass up, Stafford. Unless you want to be embarrassed even more than you’ve already been. I can make your life hell here, and your boyfriend’s, too.”

It was the mention of Kyle that got Rory moving. Fully intending to get in Charlie’s face and wipe that smirk off, Rory stood up from the bench. “I’ll have your balls,” he started, but a wave of dizziness overtook him and Rory was forced to grab the side of the table. “Whoa.”

Charlie snorted and rolled his eyes. “Good one. Now you’re pretending to faint? What’s the matter, the heat getting to you? Just admit this part was too much for you, Stafford. You won’t be the first one I’ve run out of here.”

Rory blinked at the table and used it to balance himself. Something was really wrong. He was hearing Charlie’s words, but they weren’t making sense, and Rory couldn’t stand up straight. Slowly, he sank down again onto the bench. “I need to eat,” he said to no one in particular.

“No, you need to rehearse. Get up.”

He looked up at Charlie, who sounded very far away. “Get Joanna.” His words were coming out slurred. “Tell Joanna I…” Rory shook his head to clear it, but that only made him dizzier. “Charlie. Get Joanna.”

Charlie raised a brow. “You’re not getting out of rehearsal that easily. I’ve seen you work out in the hot sun, carrying that broom, for an eight hour shift. If you can handle cleaning up puke, you should be able to handle rehearsing a simple character part. Pierre’s one of the easiest parts there is.”

It wasn’t true, actually. Rory had been informed by at least two people that Pierre’s choreography was difficult, especially when Pierre and Daniel appeared together in a stage show or parade. On a normal day, Rory would have called bullshit on that, but he was definitely not feeling normal today.

When Charlie yanked at the sleeve of Rory’s T-shirt in a final effort to get Rory to stand up, Rory batted him away weakly. “Get Joanna,” he whispered. “Please.”

The last thing Rory remembered with any kind of clarity was Charlie looking at him strangely, and then there was a soft gray nothing.

***

He knew he was on a cot when he came to, but it took a moment or three of staring at the ceiling for Rory to figure out that he’d been transported to the medical facility that was backstage of the Park.

Another moment of staring upward cleared his head enough to realize there was an intravenous needle in his right arm and one of the paramedics that Happy World kept on staff was monitoring it. “Hey, buddy,” the man said with a smile. “Welcome back.”

“Thanks,” Rory croaked and lifted his head.

Kyle’s pale face met Rory’s gaze. “God, don’t do that again!” He was sitting on a plastic chair next to Rory’s cot. “You didn’t eat when you should have!” Kyle took Rory’s free hand and squeezed it.

“Uh.” Rory scratched his head, trying to remember. There had been rehearsal, and it was hot, and… oh yeah, there’d been Charlie. Fucker. “Who brought me here? And how the hell did you even know?” Christ, word traveled fast in a theme park.

“I was on break when they brought you through.” Kyle’s face was getting a little more color, but it was still tense and drawn. “And Joanna was making a bunch of noise backstage. A hundred people heard.”

“We brought you,” the medic confirmed, nodding to his partner. “Entertainment called us over, we stuck you with the needle, then put you on the gurney for the trip over here. You woke up once on the way, do you remember?”

He didn’t, but Rory nodded anyway, just to relieve some of Kyle’s obvious stress. “Yeah, that’s right. I remember. Thanks.”

The paramedic tapped the medical bracelet on Rory’s wrist. “Good on you for wearing that, but bad on you for not eating.”

Kyle nodded too. “He will, from now on. I’ll make sure. Right, Rory?”

Rory smiled, a warm feeling spreading in his chest despite how crappy he felt. Something about Kyle being so fierce and protective made Rory glow. “Yeah, yeah. You can make sure.”

“I will.” Kyle nodded again and looked determined.

A cup of red sports drink was presented to Rory with an instruction to drink it all, so he obeyed while still holding tightly to Kyle’s hand. He lay his head back down on the thin pillow when he was finished and waited for the sugar to do its job. Christ, how embarrassing. He hadn’t let his blood sugar get that low in years.