Footlights and Forever (Echoes of Us #1)

8. “Everyone’s a nerd inside. I don’t care how cool you are.” - Channing Tatum.

Chapter 8

“Everyone’s a nerd inside. I don’t care how cool you are.” - Channing Tatum.

Dylan

“ W hat’s a young unaccompanied lady like you, doing alone in a place like this?” he whispered in my ear as his group of minions slowly descended on the table, filling the other once-unoccupied eight chairs on the table until it was just me and them.

“It’s fine, I’ll just leave.” I started to stand up, but Garrett pressed a hand into the top of my shoulder and forced me back into my seat.

“Don’t be silly.” Garrett gave my shoulder one last violent squeeze before settling back in his own seat. “This prom is just as much for you as it is for us. You should enjoy yourself.”

Maybe if I just accept and give in to whatever they want to do with me, it will be over much quicker. “What do you want, Garrett?” I sighed, suddenly overly exhausted and wishing I would have just stayed home. “I’m literally trying to mind my own business and stay out of everyone’s way.”

“I don’t know if that’s quite true now, is it?” He shrugged his shoulder slightly. “I mean, a little bird told me that you have been spending some sweet quality time with my buddy Austin, is that right?”

My blood ran cold, and my heart began to pound in my chest. “I have been helping him to get his grades up, yes.” I lifted my chin indignantly. “He wants to get into college and needed help with a couple of classes.”

Garrett looked around the table at his sheep, and they all started to laugh lowly. “I think we all know what type of help you like to offer, don’t we, Dylan?” he said, leaning back in his seat and obscenely grabbing and squeezing his crotch.

“What…” I stammered, my heart seizing, and my vision going slightly wonky, fear and panic gripping me tightly.

“Come on, man,” Garrett groaned and squeezed harder, “we know what you have been doing for our buddy. It’s genius. He has been getting his grades up, and you have been getting something else up for him.”

“I haven’t…” I tried.

“We have rooms here at the hotel for our dates tonight, and we don’t wanna bust a nut the moment we get into bed. Maybe you can help us out and take the edge of for us all in the bathrooms?”

The chuckling rippled around the table as the people standing around us gave us all curious looks. I wanted to shout at them to stop listening, that it was all lies and it wouldn’t happen in a million years. “What do you say, Dylan?” Garrett winked. “Want to get the whole football team off?”

I willed the ground to swallow me whole as tears began to well behind my eyes and a slow burn grew in my throat. I didn’t trust myself to speak as I wasn’t not a hundred percent sure if I could say anything coherently right now. I started to stand up again, but Garrett blocked my escape.

“What, are we not good enough for you, Dylan?” he grinned. “Think maybe you can’t handle us all? We can take turns on you, if that helps.” His buddies openly started laughing at me as my face burst into flames.

“I don’t want to…”

“What the fuck is going on?” Austin’s voice, ice cold, sounded from directly behind me. His hands rested gently on my shoulder, his fingertips squeezing the strained tendons.

“Nothing, it’s fine…” I started to say. For god’s sake I just wanted to get out of there and allow the embarrassment to swallow me up.

“I’m sorry, Dylan, but I was talking to Garrett here.” I looked up to see what could only be described as a murderous expression carved into Austin’s normally rugged handsome face. His face was now twisted into something so different that it frightened me a little.

“Hey, we were just fucking with him,” Garrett laughed, his gaze shooting to his friends who hid their chuckles and giggles behind their fists.

“It’s not what it looked like to me,” Austin bit out. “Dylan doesn’t look like you were just fucking with him.”

Garrett shrugged, his feet coming up to the empty chair in front of him, legs crossed at the ankles. “Don’t know what to tell you, buddy.” He pointed a toe at me. “Guess we don’t have the game that you have. Dylan just wasn’t interested in what we had to offer.”

I felt an almost imperceptible squeeze of my shoulder and then all at once the pressure and Austin were gone altogether. Moving forward with what had to be inhuman speed, he reached down and gripped hold of Garrett’s ankle, pulling upward sharply, sending Garrett toppling over backwards. His chair flipped beneath him leaving him to land face down on its underside, the metal bar of the seat crushing into his face.

It was almost as if the music scratched to a halt, when in actual fact the DJ just lowered his set as the entire student body’s attention zeroed in on what looked from the outset like it could be an epic fight between the two hottest jocks in our year. My jaw dropped as I was rendered immobile in my seat as Austin, not done with his onslaught, grabbed Garrett by the back of the neck and hauled him to his feet. Spinning him around like a well-choregraphed dance, he slammed Garrett backwards until he bent backwards at an awkward angle over the round table.

Austin, still holding onto Garrett’s neck, leaned forwards until his face was only inches from his. “What the fuck did you just say?” His voice was cold and harsh, and a shiver raced up my spine.

“Yo, man, get the fuck off me!” Garrett’s panicked voice shrieked, his eyes darting around, likely not taking in the many eyes watching his utter domination.

“Say it again!” Spit flew from between Austin’s clenched teeth as he almost pleaded with Garrett to give him permission to do what his clenched fist was begging him to do.

My eyes flew to the edges of the room, the chaperones and teachers trying to push their way through the tight rings of students eagerly stepping forward to get a front row view of the unexpected two man show. I couldn’t let Austin get in trouble for me. I couldn’t let all his hard work be put at risk due to some misguided attempt to defend my honor. I should feel disgust or concern at the level of anger and palpable desire for destruction that rolled in waves off Austin as he ground his teeth in Garrett’s fearful face. Shamefully though, I wasn’t just flattered and overwhelmed with affection, but also turned the fuck on by the pure brute strength of him as he pushed Garrett down deeper into the table.

I spared one final glance to the teachers as they almost broke into the final ring of students. I surged forward, my hands coming up to grab at Austin’s biceps. “Hey, everything’s fine, but you have to let him go.”

“No!” Austin barked. “What he said to you…”

“Doesn’t matter.” Austin’s grips tightened around Garrett’s throat, his muscles bunching up underneath my hand. Holy shit, this is so hot. “ Hey look at me.” I pulled harder on his arm. I released him with one hand, only to run it up his back to the nape of his neck. My fingertips grazed the nape of his neck. I felt him shiver for a moment. “Look at me, Austin.”

As if it physically hurt him to do so, he turned his head towards me. His features softened into one of concern as he raked his gaze over my face. “He can’t say things like that to you,” he grunted, “no one can.”

“I know.” In that moment I knew that to be a hundred percent true. I knew that no matter what, Austin would not let anything bad happen to me. A small part of me wanted to watch him pummel the shit out of Garrett to prove that point, but I saw that the teachers were almost next to us. “But you have to let him go now. Please?”

He narrowed his eyes at me. Garrett’s face went an unnatural shade of red as Austin tightened his grip further. “But…”

“For me?” I must have pushed a button as he released his grip immediately, coming over to stand in front of me. He tipped my chin up, so I was forced to look up at him. I saw the confused faces of those around me, but at that moment I couldn’t care less. The only thing I could see past the lights, the balloons, the gowns, and the tuxes was Austin. His smile directed down at me was all I need in that moment.

Garrett pushed to his feet, his hand coming up to rub at his throat. He shot a sharp glare at me, before schooling his features as Austin moved to pull away from me. My hand shot out, grabbing his waistband, the tips of my fingers slipping down, holding him secure in front of me.

“Are you okay?” His hand rose up to rest against my shoulder, his thumb stroking my neck gently. I only nodded, not trusting my voice in that moment.

“What the hell is going on here?” Mr. Fletcher pushed through the crowd of students. His stare darted between the two of us and Garrett, “Mr. Marks?”

Mr. Fletcher’s pinned Garrett with a questioning glare. All it would take was for him to say that Austin attacked him, and it would all be over. The school had a zero-tolerance policy when it came to violence and bullying. Funny how it only seemed to matter when it affected those who mattered. If Garrett said something, it would be likely that Austin might be held back from graduating with the rest of the class. The teachers loved to flaunt that little loaded gun in their pocket whenever students got out of line. Graduating with your class was a privilege afforded to you by the school, it was not your right.

A cruel smile twisted Garrett’s lip. The fucker was going to say something. He was going to rat Austin out. A small bulb went off in my head as I stepped forward. “Sorry it was my fault Mr. Fletcher.”

“How is it your fault David?” I have been in Mr. Fletcher’s class for two years now and he thinks my name is David. Perfect.

“Well Garrett here said that he and the rest of the team wanted to…” That was all I got out before Garrett stepped forward and laughed.

“I fell of the back of my chair Mr. Fletcher.” The fake smile plastered on his face was like a cruel twisted mask. “Everyone got a good laugh.”

Fletcher saw through the bullshit, his narrow stare said as much. “What was you about to say David?”

“I was about to say that Garrett and the team wanted to help the prom committee by staying behind this evening to help clean up… and Garrett here got clumsy and fell like he said.” A chorus of low groans rose up at the edges of the student circle. Likely said team planning my death.

“Oh how wonderful,” Mrs. Henstridge stepped forward next to her colleague, “that means that some of us can leave early this evening if you boys are going to stay and help. That is good news.” Anything to get out of doing her damned job.

“Get this place cleaned up.” Mr. Fletcher pointed at the overturned chair and spilled glasses on the table from Garrett’s back being slammed down into them. He and Mrs. Henstridge disappeared back into the throng of students. The DJ started the music as the rest of the crowd slowly lost interest, moving back to their own microcosms within the prom.

“Come with me.” Austin laced his fingers with mine and pulled me towards the now-crowded dance floor. Music seemed to move in waves across the room, some cheesy pop balled from a nineties rom com that for the life of me I could not remember the name of. As we approached the edge of the wooden dance floor, I started to notice the overt stares at our interlocked hands and our trajectory towards the sacred floor of dance.

“Austin…” I pulled on his hand, the freakout starting to build rapidly in the pit of my stomach. He stopped and turned back towards me, his expression confused, but still holding a warm smile. “People.” I nodded towards the cheerleaders in the corner who were quite literally pointing at me and whispering. I pointed at the couples on the dance floor who had now stopped and were watching to see what happened next, and the shocked faces of some of the teachers who were milling about between the groups of students.

Austin looked around and the realization dawned on him. I expected his face to fall or for the same fear that burned in my chest to appear. What I didn’t expect was the bright smile that he aimed my way as he turned back to face me. “Good. Means I don’t have to have any awkward conversations tomorrow.” He pulled me once again until we reached the center of the dance floor.

I pulled my hand from his, the sweatiness making me wince a little as I ran them quickly down the legs of my trousers, throwing him an apologetic look. He laughed a little before snagging my hand and pulling me towards him. My chest collided with his, his arms circling my waist, locking behind my back.

“Dylan, put your hands around my neck.” I chewed the inside of my cheek, giving one more cursory glance around the room and seeing nothing different. Fuck it. I placed my hands gingerly on his shoulder, the tight muscle tensing underneath my touch. He breathed out slowly, the smile widening on his face like he was releasing a sigh of relief.

“You need to understand one thing, Dylan,” he whispered in my ear.

“What’s that?” My voice was barely a whisper.

“You need to understand that no matter what happens, that me and you – us – we’re the most important thing. Nothing and no one should come between us. No friends, no enemies, no spotlights or footlight. Nothing, okay?”

My breath whooshed out of me in a rush. I could barely contain the feelings I had for him, and I didn’t want to, so I tightened my grip around his neck.

“What now?” I winced.

“Now you let me lead, okay?” He started to move us slowly from side to side in something of a dance as the slow melodic music plays in the background. “You’re here with me, right?” He shot me a quick look, afraid maybe that I was going to dart for the exit at any minute. I realized in that moment that everyone was still staring and like everything else for the past few years, I couldn’t change that. Nothing I did in that moment would stop their stares, it wouldn’t halt their whispers or their curiosity. It was kind of freeing, knowing that there was nothing I could do, so why spend any time worrying about it? I was at my prom, with the hottest guy in school, who just nearly decked someone for me and now wanted to dance with me in front of everyone. Why the fuck would I not enjoy that? Get it together asshole!

“I’m here with you.” I grinned, stepping forward to rest my cheek on his chest.

***

“Thank you for an amazing night.” I couldn’t seem to get the stupid smile off my face as I stood awkwardly at the door of Austin’s car. The same smile had been plastered there since our first dance at prom. We had stayed there for two or three songs; I’d lost count in the end as the room slowly got back to normal and the initial curiosity passed. We had spent the rest of the evening with Hailey and Todd, Hailey dragging me up on the floor to dance on several occasions.

“Look at us,” she had whispered in my ear as we swayed to the music, “two absolute smoke shows are sitting there and watching us as we dance.”

“I know,” I chuckled.

“What is this life? I don’t think it’s ours.” She pressed her forehead against my cheek.

“It could be though.” I wished and hoped and prayed for us both in that moment.

The rest of the night had passed like a dream until it was time to leave. Hailey had left with Todd in his limo. He was a total gentleman and had flat out refused when Hailey had offered to get them a room at the hotel. I feared for poor Todd’s safety in the back of the limo on the ride home. Lacing their fingers again, Austin had led us back to his car.

“No need to thank me.” Austin stepped forward, crowding me against the door. He placed his hands on either side of me, gripping the metal runners on the roof of the car and leaned down. “It was completely my pleasure.”

He was so close to me, our faces mere inches apart. The air seemed to instantly thicken around us. I craved his touch, desperate for something, anything but I didn’t know exactly what. My skin seemed to be on fire and cold all at the same time. The tendons in my neck stiffened as if preparing for battle. His breath was sweet on my face and made my lips tingle.

“Dylan…”

I think I answered. I was fairly sure I answered. Didn’t I?

“Dylan I’m going to kiss you now unless you stop me.” His voice sounded strained, almost desperate. Why the fuck would I stop him? Is he insane? Unable to pull my eyes away from his pink plump mouth, I merely nodded my head slightly.

Like a tightened band, stretched to capacity, something within him snapped. He caught my lips with his own. A shift in the universe, that’s the only way I could describe it, like my whole life I was slightly out of phase with the rest of the world. Everything came sharply into color. My scent filled my nose as his taste coated my mouth.

His hand slipped down and wrapped around my waist, pulling me forcefully against him. His lips slowly parted mine, his tongue reaching out gently and sliding across my own. I heard a groan and briefly wondered where it had came from before I realized it had come from me. I felt a hardness in his groin as he pushed firmly against me, I hummed deeply and returned the favor. My own erection was like a railroad spike in my trousers trying to desperately break free.

“Oh fuck,” he moaned into my mouth. “I can’t believe we are finally doing this,” he said before diving back into the kiss. It was almost frightening how his first gentle ministrations of his tongue developed into an all-consuming fire of teeth, saliva and breath.

I pushed my cock harder against his. “Please don’t fucking stop!” I gasped. “Never fucking stop.”

I felt his smile against my mouth, his hand snaking down between us as he palmed my dick through my trousers. The firm pressure of his hand almost had me coming undone. I reached up and grabbed his bicep, squeezing sharply as he drew a deep moan from my stomach.

“You’re so hard me for,” he gasped, his voice filled with something akin to wonder.

I clawed at his back and pulled on his arm, doing anything to get him closer to me, his hand sliding over my cock and moving the material of my suit over the hard length. My brain sputtered to life for a moment and suddenly I realized I had hands of my own.

“Jesus fuck!” he moaned as I reached down and palmed his own cock. I had dreamed about this moment for weeks, of feeling his heavy hard dick in my hand. I cursed the layers of clothing that separated us but praised any gods that would listen for getting me this far.

“I want you so much.” I nipped his bottom lip lightly before diving back into his mouth.

“Dylan,” he whined, pushing his cock deeper towards me, “Dylan.”

Somewhere in the distance I heard a car door slam. I realized that we were still in a car lot, and anyone could walk by at any minute. What they would see was me purring and moaning like a wanton slut trying to climb this football jock like a tree. “We can’t do this.”

He grinded to a stop, and pulled back from me sharply, his eyes betraying the resigned look on his face, the hurt there palpable. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to push…”

I reached forward and snagged his suit jacket, pulling him back towards me and sliding my tongue across his bottom lip and back into his mouth, the fire igniting once again. “I meant we can’t do this in this spot.” I smiled against his mouth. “Open the car and let’s get in the back.”

“Are you sure?” He rested his forehead against my own.

“I’ve never been surer of anything in my life.” I reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his keys. After unlocking the door and climbing over the passenger seat into the back, I leaned forward. “You better hurry up or I’m going to start without you.”

He moved forward, resting his arms on top of the car and sagging forward. “I don’t want you to think this is nothing by rushing things and doing stuff you’re not ready for in the back seat of my car at prom.” I heard him sigh. “It’s such a cliché, and you’re worth more than that.” I see that his crotch was framed perfectly in the doorway and the idea formed whole in my head all at once.

“I love that you worried about that.” I reached forward and grabbed hold of his belt. “But right now I’m so horny and nothing is going to stop me from getting what I want right now. Not even you.” I chuckled.

I quickly undid his belt, popping the button open and unzipping his fly. “What are you…” was all he got out before I reached inside his trousers and pulled out his solid prick. “Fuck Dylan!” his gruff voice shot straight to my balls as he pushed his waist forward on instinct. If anyone cast a passing glance towards the car now, they would just see a guy standing in front of an open car door.

His cock rested heavy and large in my hand. I tried to close my fist around it, but it was too fat for me to make my fingers touch. “I need to taste you so bad, Austin.” The sounds of his panting breaths made me smile as I leaned forward and gave an experimental lick to the head of his deep pink cock. A small bead of precum gathered on the slit transferred onto my tongue, coating my mouth with a salty sweetness. “I knew you would taste good.”

“Fuck baby, don’t stop.” Like a magical cock sucking spell, the endearment demolished the last seed of doubt as I surged forward and tried my best to stuff as much of his dick in my mouth as possible. Of course I only got about three inches in before I started to gag on his meat. “Easy there, there is no rush.”

He must be fucking insane. “Yes there is a rush,” I mumbled around him before letting him slip out of my mouth. I pressed a kiss in his groin. “I need you to cum in my mouth. I really want to taste you.”

He reaches down and grabs hold of the base of his cock and squeezes. “Fuck, you can’t say that,” he growled. “You nearly just made me cum.”

“Shhhh, let me work.” I laughed. I fisted his cock and guided him back into my mouth. His taste was everything I hadn’t known I was missing, sweet and salty with a hint of musk that filled my nose. Sliding my enclosed hand up and down his cock, I sucked on the head and took as much of his shaft as I could manage into my mouth. I moaned around him, pulling and tugging and sucking. My other hand reached around him, slipping down the back of his shorts and palming his cheeks. I pulled him forwards, deeper into my mouth.

He pumped into my mouth, his growling and groaning getting deeper and deeper as I sucked on his foreskin and tongued the head of his cock. “Fuck baby, I’m so close.” I moaned harder around him, needing him, wanting him to spill inside me. A familiar tightness at the base of my own balls started to tingle and a rush of heat and embarrassment travels up my neck.

“Dylan, I’m gonna…” He tensed up, his skin going taut. The head of his cock swelled before the first shot of cum hit the back of my throat. “Oh god. Oh god.” His hands gripped the back of my head and pulled me down until my mouth was full to the brim with his meat. Two more volleys of cum filled my mouth. I continued to suck on him, his cum and my saliva mixing, coating his prick as it slid in and out of my throat. Tears filled my eyes, and I choked and coughed around him but forced myself to swallow everything he had to give me.

He held my head in place as he slid gentle across my tongue. “What… I can’t even… Oh fuck,” he breathed. He stilled for a moment and then scrambled into the car. I moved over as he took the seat next to me. He pushed me back into the seat and forced his tongue into my mouth. I hummed happily, his tongue mixing with his own essence in my mouth. He pulled back quickly, pressing his palm into my chest and holding me in place. “You’re mine. You hear me?” I quickly nodded, but it didn’t seem enough for him. “You are mine, Dylan. No one else gets to have you, have this, okay?”

“Just yours,” I smiled, pulling him back down to kiss me.

We kissed for a few moments before he pulled back again. “Let me help you out.” He winked.

“Eurgh….” Oh god.

“What?” He smirked.

“I kinda already… You know.” I shrugged.

“What?” A slow smile formed on his mouth. He already knows!

“Okay jackass,” I laughed, pushing his shoulder. “Sucking your cock made me cum in my pants.”

He laughed, placing a small kiss on my lips and rests his head on my shoulder. “I meant what I said,” he murmured after a minute.

“Hmmmm?”

“You’re mine, Dylan. I just want you. No one else.” My heart hammered in my chest so hard, I was sure he could feel it. “You okay with that?”

“More than okay.”