Chapter 21
Chapter twenty-one
Thomas gripped Scott’s wrist as he led him towards The Frog & Toad.
From the outside, it looked like a row of old townhouses with white walls and exposed black beams. The windows were small, cloudy, hinting at the masses of people inside, but giving them no distinct features.
A repetitive screeching had Scott looking up at the sign sticking out from the wall.
Battered and worn, it showed a frog being eaten by a huge warty toad.
“Ready?” Thomas asked.
“Always.”
Thomas had to duck to get inside the door, and once they were inside, the ceiling skimmed the top of Thomas’s head as they made their way through the entrance hall.
The low ceilings, the array of mismatched wooden and upholstered furniture made the place feel cramped and claustrophobic. Thomas had explained to Scott that rather than one big room, there were lots of smaller rooms with their own bars, and the place was somewhat of a maze.
The men and women around them were heavily tattooed and pierced with brightly coloured hair and wearing statement pieces of clothing. Fishnet, leather, and sheer fabric seemed to be the most popular choices as Thomas led Scott from room to room.
Scott had gone for the classic black trousers and white shirt route. He had the top buttons undone, and rather than show off his glowing, flawless skin beneath, it gave a glimpse of the pearls Thomas had bought for him.
He’d asked for Thomas’s permission to wear them, and he’d scrunched up his face and told Scott they were a gift, he could do whatever he liked with him.
Scott bit his tongue, holding back the obvious reply that they were a gift for the shoot, not everyday use.
Thomas had opted for a moss-green shirt with a snake-skin-patterned waistcoat and a pair of matching trousers. He’d glared when Scott had told him eyeliner would enhance his snake eyes.
One glance at his nails, and Thomas slumped in defeat, letting Scott pencil black on his lower eyelids from one corner to the other.
Thomas’s smile when he saw the result had been everything to Scott, who still felt giddy hours later.
The Frog & Toad was a labyrinth of rooms with heavy doors, winding corridors and rickety staircases.
Dully lit, with the scent of cigarettes still clinging onto the upholstered furniture, an angry owner who looked as if he could spit bullets, and his wife, whose wardrobe had come from the Victorian era with a Gothic twist, hovering close by for photo opportunities.
Her huge black dress blocked whatever corridor she happened to find herself in, and the low-cut bodice drew the eye like a magnet to her huge breasts.
Her red hair was up in an eccentric do, she had a drawn beauty spot by her mouth, and she flapped a lace fan at her face, pouting as people squeezed past her.
“Thomas,” she exclaimed before air-kissing nowhere near his face. “I haven’t seen you in years.”
Thomas’s replying smile was tight. “You’re looking well, Lisa.”
Scott didn’t know how he could tell with her hidden beneath miles of fabric and a thick face of makeup, but her chest looked bountiful, and Scott could see a few notes shoved down her bodice.
“Russell’s here…” She winked, knocking her elbow into Thomas’s side. “And he’s single again.”
That turn of events had been predictable to Scott, but from Thomas’s open mouth it came as a shock to him.
Scott shifted, and Lisa’s focus fell onto him. “Which room is Russell in?” he asked.
Lisa peered into Scott’s face, then flicked her eyes towards Thomas.
“This is Scott,” Thomas said. “A friend.”
Scott inwardly preened at being announced as such a thing.
“Russell is through there,” Lisa murmured, tipping her head in the direction of one of the doors. She stepped aside and let them pass.
“Remember what I said,” Scott murmured by Thomas’s ear. “You go in, make eye contact with him, and I follow in ten seconds later.”
Thomas sighed, shaking his head.
“Trust me. I know what I’m doing.”
He gave an encouraging shove to Thomas, who glared down at him before pushing into the room, unleashing a burst of chatter from the other side. The door closed, and Scott counted to ten all while Lisa stared at him.
“Showtime,” Scott whispered before pushing open the door.
Thomas hadn’t ventured far into the room, but he was looking at Russell, propped up against the bar, and Russell was looking back with a confident smirk until he noticed Scott.
His confidence faltered, then turned to anger when Scott joined Thomas’s side, pulling at his elbow until Thomas turned to him.
“Perfect,” Scott purred. “He hates my guts. Now let’s get a drink.”
Thomas took a step in Russell’s direction.
“At the other end of the bar,” Scott instructed, leading the way.
Russell tracked their every move. He wasn’t the only one staring at them. Scott took it in his stride, but Thomas’s jaw ticked with tension.
“Relax,” Scott told him after ordering their beers.
He directed Thomas to stand on his right so his back would be to Russell, who bashed his fist down on the bar.
“Perfect…”
“What?” Thomas asked.
“He’s looking pissed off.”
Scott recognised the men with him. The guy with the red mohawk, who had his ear wrapped up in a bandage, and Russell’s shorter friend with the piercings all down his nose.
A man further up the bar staggered over, grinning from ear to ear. Thomas stiffened when he fell into his back and slowly turned to face him with his most murderous expression. Instead of being intimidated, the man gasped in excitement rather than fear.
“No freaking way,” he exclaimed, before poking Thomas’s biceps.
Thomas smacked his hand away. “Can we help you?”
The drunken man briefly went cross-eyed, then pointed at Scott and snorted. “Beauty.”
Scott frowned, glancing at Thomas, who tensed.
“Thanks…I think.” Scott replied.
The man nodded and moved his finger to Thomas. “Beast.”
“Beast?” Scott eyed the man. “You want to try looking in the mirror, pal?”
“It’s okay, Scott,” Thomas said, placing a hand on his chest.
“It’s not fucking okay for him to come over here and call you that.”
The man blinked dozily. “But you’re Beauty and the Beast.”
Scott picked his beer off the bar. “This is going in your face.”
“No, Scott,” Thomas said, taking it off him. “He’s not insulting me.”
“But –”
“It’s what our profile is called,” Thomas said, touching Scott’s waist, drawing him closer, so they had a semblance of privacy.
“I thought it was called Sexy Scott.”
Thomas smirked. “Yes, it was. A name you probably came up with in ten seconds.”
“Five actually.”
“I renamed it to something that reflects both of us.”
“You’re not a beast…”
“In our videos, I am.”
When Scott went to disagree, Thomas jumped in with a sly smile on his lips. “I’m the beast who’s locked you away in my mansion and makes you come over and over as punishment for being so goddamn beautiful.”
Scott worked his jaw and opened his mouth, but no words followed.
“It’s hot,” the guy said, swaying. “The last video you put up…” He whistled. “Seriously, was it real?”
He addressed the question to Scott.
“Was what real?”
“Being made to come until you fainted?”
Scott’s cheeks flushed. He didn’t know where to look.
The man laughed, getting his answer. “Good,” he said. “That’s mind-blowingly hot. I didn’t think you’d faked it, but sometimes you can’t tell.” He gave Scott a wide, drunken smile. “You are insanely sexy while you’re like that.”
He leaned in, and Thomas blocked him with his arm. “And you’ve outstayed your welcome.”
The guy held his hands up as he retreated, knocking into a woman and spilling her drink. “I’m backing up,” he slurred. “I don’t want to unleash the Beast.”
Scott turned back to his beer on the bar. “Beauty and the Beast?”
“We needed a unique selling point,” Thomas said. “There are thousands upon thousands of beautiful men competing on that site, but only one me.”
“You’re the selling point?”
“No, we are. Us. Together. Beauty and the Beast.”
Scott sipped his beer and tried to refocus his mind on why they were there.
Russell kept glancing their way, and his friends looked too, giving Scott obvious ‘I hate you’ glares, which he shrugged off before huddling closer to Thomas.
He leaned up to whisper something mundane in his ear but was interrupted by a tap on his shoulder.
He turned, and a different guy with a lip ring pointed at him, then Thomas. “Beauty and the Beast…” He held his hand out to Thomas, eyes round with envy. “You’re one lucky guy.”
“I know I am,” Thomas replied, shaking the offered hand while glancing at Scott.
“I hope you took good care of him afterwards.”
Thomas’s face fell.
Scott raised his hand. “I am here, you know.”
The man chuckled. “Oh, I know, but you’re not as recognisable without a pump on your dick and a vibrator up your arse, being fucked out of your mind.”
“Pussy,” Thomas corrected. “Up his pussy.”
Scott’s cheeks burned, and he took a gulp of beer to cool himself down.
The man made a pleasurable hum. “Pussy, yeah, he liked it being called that…”
Scott recoiled. “I don’t think I had an opinion on it.”
“Yeah, you did, that third time.” The man licked his lips. “When he pushed down on your stomach, talking in your ear about how good your pussy felt and you started trembling as you came.” He reached down to adjust himself, then whispered the word by Scott’s ear, “Pussy.”
Scott’s nape tingled, and he slapped his hand against it with a frown.
“Hey,” Thomas snapped, giving the man a shove. “Kindly remove your dick from our vicinity.”
“Sorry, sorry,” the man said. He tongued the piercing in his lip. “Big fan, that’s all.”
His eyes darted between Thomas and Scott a few times, then he left with a big smile on his face.
“I knew this was a bad idea,” Thomas muttered.
“How many people here have seen our videos?”
“From the way 50 per cent of people are looking over like they want to eat you, I’d say 50 per cent.”