Chapter 15 Jesse #2
This year, I convinced everyone to dress as characters from The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Will was supposed to be Riff Raff, but he was being a little bitch about the bald cap.
Meanwhile, Ari’s Magenta wig is huge, and he hasn’t complained once.
Naz’s costume is nothing but a pair of tiny, shiny gold briefs.
I, obviously, was going to be Dr. Frank-N-Furter.
It’s a shame, really. I was looking forward to hearing Luc’s reaction to our costumes, since I know he’s a fan of the film, and also recently became a fan of seeing me in lingerie.
Blake comes back in and lets us know we’re on for next weekend.
There are still a lot of logistics to work out, so he’s heading back to the hotel where he has an office set up in his suite.
“PR wants you to record a video for your socials about the changes. It’ll be a good way to soothe the hurt of the cancellation and get the fans hyped for next weekend.
Send it over to Charlene, and we’ll post it as soon as the logistics are worked out.
And since we’re going to miss Halloween, we decided to do a subtle resistance theme.
Emphasis on subtle.” He gives me a pointed look.
“What?”
The guys snicker.
“Anyway, the label rarely polices what you wear or display on stage. However, with the addition of Waves to the event programming, and because this will probably reach double the home viewership, we’d like to keep it a little more family friendly than usual.
No one expects you to change your lyrics or performance, but let’s keep our protest positive.
“Pro-Women, Pro-LGBTQ, Pro-Immigration, Pro-Prison Reform,” he says.
“Yes, Naz, you can wear your Read Books, Punch Nazis shirt. And Will, hard no to the guillotine shirt, but your No Kings But Drag Kings shirt would be a winner.”
“Can I wear guillotine earrings?” Will asks.
Blake sighs. “How big are they? Wait. No. Better safe than sorry.”
“Fine. At least I don’t have to wear the bald cap.”
“Actually…” I say, giving him my most angelic grin.
“That’s creepy,” Ari says.
“Hush. I have an idea. Tomorrow is Halloween, and the fans always make a big deal out of our costumes. The makeup and wardrobe crews are already going to be here, so why don’t we make the most of it and do something fun for the fans by recording the video in costume?
Will, you’d only have to wear it for a short while. ”
“Yeah, no, for sure. I’d be cool with that.”
“Alright then,” Blake says. “It’s settled. I’m going to head back to the hotel to get some of this work done if anyone wants to ride with me.”
“I wouldn’t mind going for a swim,” I say. The other guys nod and decide to leave too.
We pile into our rented SUV, Blake sitting up front while Tad drives. “So, it looks like you all are free after about two p.m. tomorrow. Any plans for what you guys are going to do with your unexpected weekend off?”
“I think I might head home and check on construction. I should have at least the framework of a house up by now,” Naz says.
Ari and Will say, “New York,” at the same time and then pout. They share a condo in the city and usually go there during any time off we have.
“Atlanta,” I say, smiling to myself.
“What’s in Atlanta?” Will asks.
“There’s a football game I’d like to see.”
“Since when do you like football?”
Naz snorts. “Since he found himself a boy-friend,” he says, singing the word like a bully on a playground.
“What? Since when?” Ari shrieks.
I shrug. “About… six years-ish?”
Ari, Will, and Blake are all staring at me in confusion.
I shouldn’t have said anything. Nosy bastards.
I give them a brief rundown without much detail, just that we’d met at a party the night before the band got picked up by the producer.
We lost contact and recently reconnected. That’s all. No biggie.
Blake huffs thoughtfully and turns back around. Ari and Will, however, are still giving me dubious looks.
“Y’all haven’t seen him walking around with that goofy-ass smile on his face, always typing away on his phone?” Naz asks. “Suddenly requesting a penthouse suite all to himself, and staying locked away in his own room when we share a suite like usual?”
“Wait. Is that why you were all distracted in Dallas?” Ari asks, with an almost sad crinkle in his brows.
“Uh, more importantly, when I walked out on the balcony yesterday morning, did I or did I not almost catch you taking a dick pic? Because you threw your phone down like you were doing something sketchy.”
“When have I ever been shy about showing anyone my dick?” I ask.
“Since you traded in your fuckboy status for The Smile That Broke The Internet,” Naz laughs.
“WHAT?!”Ari’s outburst is so loud, Tad slams on the brakes and nearly gets rear-ended.
“Shit. Sorry. Are you okay back there?”
I give him a thumbs-up in the rearview.
“Jesus, Ari, calm down.”
“I fucking can’t, William,” he says, over-enunciating his name. “Did you hear what he said?” Ari looks at Naz, then points at me. “You’re telling me that he is dating Mr. Colgate?”
“Don’t call him that. He hates that.” After his newfound fame, Luc was approached to do a toothpaste endorsement, which was mortifying for him. I was amused, though. I thought he should do it.
Ari blinks. “You’re actually serious?”
My face breaks out in a grin. How can I not smile? I’m getting to lay claim to my man.
Will shakes his head. “Only you, man. Wait. Is he out?”
“No. He’s extremely private about his personal life.”
I don’t miss the looks of pity on Naz and Ari’s faces. They’re looking at me like I’m some kind of sad sap falling for a toxic closet case who will only break my heart by rejecting me publicly, just like the field hockey player I secretly hooked up with my junior year of high school.
“Don’t look at me like that. He’s not closeted, he’s just private.
And don’t judge him either. We live in very different worlds.
I can screw whoever I want and its entertainment news, at most. If he gets outed publicly, it follows him and overshadows his entire career.
I get to be Jesse Moore, rockstar and sex god.
He’d be Luc Martín, homosexual defensive back for the Shreveport Cyclones.
He’s one of the best defensive players in the league, but I don’t know, Chuck, I’m just not comfortable being in the locker room with one of them queers.
Reporters would hound him almost as much as they do us, follow him home, to the grocery store, bother his family.
All things he’s spent his entire career avoiding even before he knew for sure that he was gay. ”
“Jesse, how can you date a guy who isn’t out and doesn’t want to be out with your level of fame?” Ari asks gently. “How does it work?”
“Well, right now it’s a lot of late-night phone calls and dick pics, but we’ll figure it out.” We have to.
“If Luc doesn’t want to be famous, he might want to reconsider making eyes at you through a camera lens,” Naz jokes.
“I’ll let him know you said so,” I laugh.
“Ooh! When do we get to meet him?” Ari asks excitedly.
“Hard no.”
“What?” All three complain.
“It’s not going to happen. You’ll scare him away with your heavy breathing. Ew. Stop. Also, you’re meddlesome, and you know it. You can’t be trusted not to scare him away. It’s precarious enough just because of who I am.”
“Damn,” Will says. “Can you imagine how many broken hearts there are going to be if it does ever get out? People might actually send you death threats. You could get booed off stage.”
Ari nods, agreeing with Will for perhaps the first time today. “He’s right. I even kind of hate you right now. I don’t want to admit how many times I’ve watched that GIF on repeat.”
Same, Ari. Same. But he’s mine.
“Well, you’re definitely never meeting him now. Stay away. He’s mine.”