Never Trust a Porn Star Page 2

  Zoey sighed but let the argument be. Instead, she turned to go to the shoebox-size closet and rummaged through it. She tossed a black shirt on the bed, whose collar was too big and usually ended up trapping down one of Skyler’s shoulders. She then tossed a pair of holey jeans on the bed next that showed more skin than covered. Skyler had no idea why he owned them; Zoey was a master at finding clothes that Skyler thought he’d either got rid of or didn’t have.

  She finished the outfit out with a pair of plain black Vans.

  “Come on, hurry up and shower and make sure to condition your hair,” Zoey said with her no-nonsense tone.

  Skyler got up and glared at his best friend. He knew if he didn’t go this once, she would pester him until he did. He was hoping this one night out would clear him of any more obligations to go out again for at least another year.

  “You do know it’s cold out?” Skyler pointed out.

  Zoey smiled at him. “But it will be hot in the club, and there’ll be plenty of body heat. Now get your ass in the shower.”

  Skyler grabbed his towel and walked out of his dorm room with his toiletries in hand, making his way down the hall to the community showers.

  Dressed and standing in line to get into the club next to an overly hyper Zoey summed up Skyler’s life. It wasn’t super cold, but still the breeze in the air had him shivering and shrugging his shoulders to tuck it back into the too-large shirt.

  “Can’t we go to a different bar?” Skyler tried.

  Zoey shook her head. “No, you need to shake your ass.”

  Skyler held back his groan. It was needless to say that Zoey had been trying to get Skyler to get out more than ever since his high school sweetheart had broken it off six months into college.

  Skyler had been sure they were going to be together forever; after all, Patrick had been everything Skyler had ever wanted. He had an athletic build and was even good at sports but enjoyed watching movies just as much as Skyler. Everything Skyler felt he lacked, Patrick had in spades. They’d been the best couple. So it had been a shock when Patrick had broken it off saying they weren’t meant to stay together. Skyler had been stunned to say the least, and ever since, he hadn’t really found the appeal in going out or trying anything with any other guy. Why if they all would just leave him like Patrick did?

  “Oh hell no, push that shit out of your head. We are getting drunk, and you are going to shake your ass all over this place,” Zoey said, grabbing Skyler’s shoulders in a tight grip. Her purple sparkling nails bit into his flesh.

  “Okay, but release your talons from my skin please,” Skyler said. He wasn’t about to argue that he wasn’t in fact shaking his ass anywhere. One, he couldn’t hold a beat to save his life, and two, his ass-shaking moves were seriously lacking.

  They made it to the front entrance of Andy's, the bouncer who checked both of their IDs before asking for the cover charge of ten dollars. Skyler held on to the ten for a minute too long, and the bouncer’s thick eyebrow lifted in question. Skyler reluctantly let it go. He wasn’t going to be eating out or buying another pack of popcorn for another two weeks. If only he hadn’t splurged and bought the box set of world discovery documentaries.

  “Go ahead,” the bouncer said.

  Zoey squealed with excitement, grabbed his hand, and dragged him in. Bodies were everywhere, and the music was bumping at head-splitting volume. Skyler tried to pull his hand back to cover his ears, but Zoey held strong and pulled him through the crowd. It was impossible to make out faces; everything seemed to blur together but Zoey seemed fine as she dragged him through. It was a blur of movement—bodies collided with him, and he was feeling the need to go home but doubted he would get out of it so easily.

  They made it to the bar, which was a miracle of its own. Zoey got the attention of one of the bartenders, which had Skyler amazed at her mysterious power. There had to be over thirty men and women trying to get the bartender’s attention.

  “Let’s find a seat,” Zoey shouted, but it came across as barely a whisper.

  Skyler was seriously skeptical on how people found dates there. The music was too loud, and everyone moved around like one big gyrating bug.

  Zoey continued to pull him, and Skyler followed along as if he were three years old and his mom needed to keep him close in the store. Before Skyler knew it, Zoey was pushing him into a seat and passing him some blue drink with a glow stick in it.

  How sanitary was that?

  “Drink it,” Zoey shouted.

  Skyler brought the straw to his lips and took a tentative sip, ready for the strong taste of alcohol, but was pleasantly surprised by the sweet tang that helped mask the bitterness of the alcohol. He took a bigger drink of the cool liquid before sitting it down. Zoey had a knowing smile on her face, pleased she’d bought something that Skyler actually liked. She had golden liquid in her cup with a lime. She grabbed the salt shaker on the miniature table, then licked her hand and dashed the salt on her wet skin before licking the salt, shooting back her shot, and biting into the lime. Her face screwed up for a second before it mellowed out, and she dropped the lime in the now empty cup.

  “Really tequila?” Skyler asked. Why couldn't his best friend want to start off with something that wouldn't have him puking up his guts?

  Zoey smiled. “Want to try one?”

  Skyler shook his head, already against the idea. If Zoey could take it, there was no way he could. Zoey laughed before she was up and jumping up and down. “This is my jam. Come on, Skyler.”

  Skyler didn’t even have the chance to say no—Zoey was pulling him up and moving to the dance floor in a blink of an eye. Skyler really needed to have a talk with Zoey about manhandling him so much, but she’d been doing it since they were in middle school, and if Skyler was honest he usually found it fun or at the most, he enjoyed how happy it made Zoey.

  Zoey pushed between writhing bodies, and she was right: it was hot in the club. Skyler was happy she’d picked out jeanes that hugged him too tight and a shirt that was so big on him his shoulder was bare.. Zoey began to dance, and Skyler stood there awkwardly, unsure of what to do. He twirled a curl of his hair around his finger as he watched Zoey enjoy herself.

  Andy’s catered to the LGBT community. There were more men than there were women, but Zoey still seemed to have a lot of fun. Hands gripped Skyler’s hips and rocked into him. Skyler felt the heat in his face build to an impossible level. He was going to burst. Zoey noticed right away and moved to grab him, but the gyrating guy kept his hands on Skyler’s hips and held him fast against him.

  Skyler was shaking now, wanting more than anything to get out of there. He wasn’t ready for this. He didn’t do parties or dancing. Before his panic could rear its ugly head, bright red hair flashed in front of Skyler’s face before he was yanked from the gyrator.

  “It’s okay, stay close to me,” a man said, one who was just as small as Skyler.

  Gone were the hard hands that had held his hips in a bruising grip. Instead he felt someone else dancing behind him. He stiffened once more.

  “It’s okay. It’s my boyfriend. He’s there to make sure that asshat doesn’t come near you again,” the redhead said. His smile was gone, and his so-called boyfriend didn’t get too close to Skyler, making sure to stay a distance away.

  The song ended and Skyler was led off the dance floor by the redhead and his boyfriend. He was sat down and was thankful—he was sure his legs were going to give out at any second. Why had he let Zoey talk him into going out? He felt awkward there; everyone was having fun, dancing and drinking, but he would much rather be in his room snuggled up with his blankets. He looked down at his trembling hands. Fuck he was such a spaz. He glanced around for the exit. Maybe if he slipped out, he wouldn’t ruin Zoey’s night. He knew deep down that she’d dragged him out for his own sake, but he just wasn’t ready.

  “Fuck, are you okay, Bailey?” Zoey shouted. She was in front of him, worry etched all over her face.

  There was his escap
e, but when he saw how worried she was, there was no way he could leave her. He knew that he needed to be out, be a little social, and Zoey had dragged him out just for that. He swallowed down his need to flee. He was okay—he just hadn’t been expecting such aggressive behavior. He nodded, feigning a smile.

  “We can go. I’m so sorry,” Zoey said, fully standing up.

  Skyler felt bad, as if he’d ruined the night. It wasn’t logical; after all, if that guy had simply asked, it would have gone differently, but instead he’d just started dancing against Skyler. He was sure others would have walked away or danced with the guy, but he’d frozen and in typical Skyler fashion, had almost started crying instead of helping himself.

  “Thank you,” Zoey said, pulling Skyler from his own thoughts.

  He finally looked at the two men who’d saved him. One looked really familiar, but Skyler couldn’t place it. Maybe he attended a few classes at Vanderbilt. The redhead bent over with a smile on his face. He looked as if he was trying not to spook a baby deer.

  “I’m Ryan and this my boyfriend, Travis,” Ryan said.

  Ryan’s infectious smile had Skyler grinning. He had saved him after all. He glanced at Travis, who stood slightly behind his boyfriend as if knowing that Ryan was the least scary of the two. Skyler stretched out his hand toward Ryan and shook his hand.

  He turned to Zoey. “We can stay.”

  She looked surprised but didn’t question him or suggest they still leave.

  “I’ll go get us a drink. You two want anything?” Zoey asked.

  They gave her their order, with Skyler wanting water. His throat felt scratchy as if the room had sucked up all the moisture.

  “I feel as if I’ve seen you somewhere before,” Skyler said. His focus was on Ryan; he couldn’t place it, but he knew for sure Ryan’s face had crossed his path somewhere.

  Ryan blushed and Travis wrapped an arm around him, bringing him to his chest. Travis easily had a foot on Ryan. He laughed as he embraced his boyfriend. Ryan hid his face for a second, and Travis whispered something into Ryan’s ear before he uncovered his face. Skyler watched their interaction. It was something that he longed for. It had him remembering his ex, Patrick, but they’d never been that intimate. Whenever Skyler had his freak-out moments or was too shy, Patrick would get embarrassed and walk away or talk as if Skyler wasn’t there. Now watching Travis and Ryan interact had him realizing how wrong it had been, but it wasn’t like Skyler had done anything to change it. He’d simply gone along with it.

  Snickering from Ryan drew him from his thoughts. “Do you attend the university?” Skyler asked.

  Ryan ducked his head, and there was an audible groan that even Skyler heard over the music and crowd. Travis seemed to find that even more hilarious as he took a seat and easily scooped Ryan into his lap.

  “What’s your name?” Travis asked.

  Skyler realized he hadn’t given his name. It was his turn to blush in embarrassment. “Skyler Bailey. Not that you need my last name, but um, yeah, Skyler is fine.” Skyler twisted the curl around his finger fast, a nervous motion he found himself doing often when he was out of sorts

  "Nice to meet you Skyler. So you attend the university, what's your major?" Travis asked. His smile infectious.

  Skyler didn't feel as if Travis was just being polite but genuinely wanted to know. . “ I’m a film studies major.”

  Ryan beamed up. “So you make movies?”

  Skyler shook his head. “Not really good ones. I’m studying to be able to.”

  Ryan smiled at him. “That’s really cool.”

  “What’s cool?” Zoey asked, back at the table and passing drinks around.

  “That I’m a film major,” Skyler told her, feeling the heat in his face. It was going to be permanent at this point.

  “Right! I can’t wait till he makes his movie. He wants to do one on the sex industry,” Zoey said with excitement.

  Skyler gawked at her. She was the only one who knew about his end-of-the-year project—the one he’d barely made any headway with—and the due date was approaching fast.

  Ryan sat straight up, a smile from ear to ear. “You should come to my work tomorrow.”

  “Why?” Skyler and Zoey said in unison.

  Ryan was blushing, but Skyler watched as he fought not to back down. Instead he smirked at them and batted his thick lashes. In the lighting, Skyler couldn’t really tell what color his eyes were, but he would bet they twinkled at that moment.

  “I don’t usually tell strangers what I do for a living,” Ryan admitted.

  Skyler understood that. “You don’t have to.” He noticed that either the music had been turned down or he was used to the loud noise because he could hear again.

  Ryan shook his head. “I like you. I get this good vibe from you. Plus if I can help you with your project, then that would be cool. I work for Blow Studios.”

  Skyler sat there in silence, trying to remember which production company was Blow Studios. It was like slow motion, a fucking light bulb going off, and he instantly knew where he’d recognized Ryan from. He went by the name Lex Tail—it was an okay name, but when Ryan had done a video where he’d had a tail butt plug, the name had fit him perfectly. Skyler’s face felt as if on fire. He remembered now why he knew Ryan’s face—and that he knew Ryan’s O face. Holy shit, he was about to pass out from embarrassment.

  “Isn’t that one of the best gay porn studios?” Zoey said out loud.

  Skyler was covering her mouth before he thought better of it, his embarrassment running high. He’d told Ryan he’d seen him before, and now Ryan knew he’d watched him be fucked on his computer. He glanced at Ryan, whose face was just as red, but he still smiled at Skyler. There was an etch of worry that showed clear on his face, and Skyler quickly backed away from Zoey.

  “Sorry,” he said. He had no idea which part he was apologizing about. Shit, meeting an actual porn star and then being invited to the production office was like handing him an A on a silver platter. He could actually ask questions and see behind the scenes. He was already planning out the questions when Zoey’s hand slapped against his bare shoulder, shaking Skyler from his thoughts.

  “You’re being rude,” Zoey pointed out.

  Skyler looked up, and still Ryan looked as if he was on the edge of his boyfriend’s lap, minutes away from bolting, and Skyler realized his mistake—he hadn’t said yes or anything really. It had to be hard for Ryan to tell him. It was another question he added to the list.

  “That would be amazing. I would love to come by if your boss is okay with it,” Skyler said. He sounded overly excited to his own ears.

  Ryan seemed to relax, his smile seeming less forced as he leaned back into his boyfriend’s chest. Skyler itched to ask his question then but held them back. He didn’t want to ruin his chances and the night.

  Ryan looked away and his smile broadened as he waved someone over. Skyler turned to see who Ryan was motioning over. His pulse raced as he saw the man he’d been watching ever since Patrick had broken things off with him. Brad fucking Knight aka Aiden Scott. The only reason his real name had been released was because of his family’s long standing in Nashville. And Skyler may have been a bit of a stalker and had tried to find out everything about his favorite porn star.

  Skyler’s body was confused. Was he supposed to get a boner or be embarrassed the blood didn’t know which way to travel?

  “I thought you said you wouldn’t make it?” Ryan asked just as Aiden made it to the table—or should he refer to him as Brad? Fuck, either way his dick was winning the blood battle.

  “It was winding down. Clay could handle the rest,” Aiden said.

  He turned to Skyler and flashed a perfect smile. Yeah, his dick was definitely winning now. He tried to refrain from moving around, making it obvious he was hard.

  Aiden was more than happy that he decided to go to Andy’s, especially with the cutie sitting with Ryan and his boyfriend. The man’s mouth was slightly open—his plu
sh lips looked delectable—and Aiden had the urge to take those sweet lips. Instead, he controlled himself and moved closer to the man and extended his hand.

  “Aiden Scott,” Aiden introduced himself, making sure to speak over the loud music.

  A pink tongue darted out and swiped against the tempting lips, making Aiden second-guess his choice of holding back.

  “He’s Skyler,” the woman behind Skyler said. Her smile was gone, and she eyed Aiden with suspicion.

  Skyler nodded his head as if to confirm his name, but still he hadn’t spoken. It was adorable just as much as it was funny.

  “How was the gala?” Ryan asked.

  Aiden glanced over to him but put his eyes back on Skyler. He was going to get him in his bed tonight.

  “It was okay. Got out as soon as I could. Why are you all sitting here and not dancing?” Aiden asked.

  He didn’t miss the way Skyler subtly shrunk in on himself or the way he darted his eyes down. Aiden moved before he thought better of it, and he was tilting Skyler’s chin back up until his dark-colored eyes were once again staring at him.

  “Would you like to dance?” Aiden found himself asking. He hadn’t planned on dancing. He was still in his suit and stuck out, but one look at Skyler’s sweet face and he was willing to go out on the dance floor.

  Skyler tried nodding, but Aiden held his chin firm until his tongue darted out once more before he answered, “Yes.”

  Aiden smiled and took a step back. He unbuttoned his gray suit and slipped the tie off in one quick motion, then put them on the back of Skyler’s chair before taking his hand and moving them toward the dance floor.

  Aiden glanced at the table and saw the shocked look on Skyler's friends face and figured Skyler wasn’t one to get out much let alone let someone take him over to the dance floor. Aiden didn’t have to ask for anyone to move; they did on their own, making room for him and Skyler to dance.