Stage Fright by Pender Mackie Read Free Book Online

conquests there. Maybe some of the other guys did too. As the bartender, Val would have a key, and Jesse was more than willing. It wouldn’t have been the first time he was someone’s dirty secret.
    In the privacy of the storeroom Val could have kissed him stupid, pressed him up against the wall, sliding in and out of him, stroking him, as Jesse tried to muffle helpless sounds of pleasure. Oh, God, Jesse almost wished he would.
    But Val wanted more than just a quick hookup. He wanted to date, in public. Jesse admired his honesty, but it was scary too. He’d never dated someone who wasn’t closeted. But this was a chance to have a real relationship, and he wanted it.
    After the show, he didn’t know what to suggest for their date. He hoped Val would bring up the subject first so Jesse could take his lead from him, but when he headed over to the bar for his nightly club soda, Val didn’t mention their date.
    Jesse leaned on the counter, ignoring the dancers and women behind him. “What’s Val short for?” he stalled.
“I’d tell you, but then I’d have to kill you,” Val said drily.
    “Osvaldo?” Jesse guessed.
Val flicked him with a bar towel.
“It couldn’t be Valerie, could it?”
Val just looked at him.
     
“Valerian?”
    “Now you’re really reaching.”
Jesse grinned. “If I guess right, do I get something? A reward?”
Val shook his head, smiling. “You won’t be able to guess.”
“Well, at least I know it’s not short for Rumpelstiltskin,” Jesse joked. Val frowned. “My mom wasn’t much for fairy tales and bedtime stories. Is he the guy who slept for twenty years?”
    Jesse felt sorry for Val. His own childhood had been rich with bedtime stories and good-night kisses. “He’s a goblin who offered to help a woman spin straw into gold if she promised to give him her firstborn. She couldn’t go through with it, though, so he said she could keep the baby if she guessed his name.”
    “I’ll never ask you to make promises you can’t keep,” Val said gently, and Jesse knew he meant coming out. His face burned, and he dropped his gaze to the counter.
Val cleared his throat. “Vallis Delwyn Tremain. That’s my full name.”
If Val had told him as a way to distract him, to ease his embarrassment, it was a good ploy. “Vallis.” He tried out the exotic, foreign-sounding name, liking the way it felt in his mouth.
“You can see why I go by Val.”
Jesse smiled. “Are you going to do away with me? Now that I know your real name?”
    Val smirked. “I think I’ll keep you.”
Jesse cast a quick, guilty look over his shoulder. Val must have taken it as a cue to wrap up their conversation, because he asked, “Have you thought about what you’d like to do on Monday?”
“I don’t know.” Jesse chewed on the inside of his cheek. If he said he wanted to spend time alone, Val might think it was because he was in the closet, not because he was hoping to have sex.
Val studied him. “It’s okay,” he said slowly. “I’m not going to ask you to do anything that makes you uncomfortable.”
“I know. That’s not it.”
“No?” Val cocked his head to one side.
“No.” Jesse felt his face grow hot under Val’s scrutiny.
     
“Well.” Val flashed him a grin. “Maybe I can come up with something you’ll enjoy.”
    Now it was Jesse’s turn to examine Val’s face, but his expression gave nothing away.
“Okay.” Jesse wasn’t sure if the double meaning was intentional, but he hoped so.
He went back to the group. He laughed along with everyone else when Brad made a joke, but his thoughts were still with Val. Jesse tried to focus. Chaz was just a few feet away, on the other side of a cluster of women. Chaz kept looking at him, but Jesse didn’t know what that meant. He tried to make small talk, but the women’s coy looks and too-familiar touches weren’t what he wanted.
When he felt like he couldn’t take any more without screaming, he made his apologies. “I’m sorry. I’ve got