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pride_of_erinThis is just the first two chapters of 'There Is A God - Keller Be Thy Name', which I already posted at TS months ago, but I figured I should repost them here, since I'm posting Chapter Three here now.
For anybody who didn't read these previously, this is an AU where Chris and Toby meet long before they end up in Oz (and yes, I know it's been done before, but this one has a bit of a twist *g*)
Disclaimer: Don’t own or profit from the characters
******
Chapter One
/‘Man cannot live on bread alone…’ Matthew 4.4/
Saturday, July 8th, 1989
Las Vegas
‘I am not going to fucking drink’, Tobias Beecher thought to himself. It had been over two hours since his last martini and he was feeling unpleasantly sober. The mini-bar on the other side of his hotel room was practically beckoning to him.
Tobias irritably threw himself down on the queen-sized bed, and stared hard at the ceiling fan whirring above him, trying not to let his gaze wander over to that tempting mini-bar. Jesus, it was a hot night. The humidity was stifling and the temperature had been hanging around 90 degrees ever since he’d arrived in Vegas the day before.
‘To hell with it’, Tobias thought, ‘this heat alone is reason enough for some ice cold vodka.’
Of course, that wasn’t the real reason that he gave into temptation and walked over to that tiny fridge with its enticing array of little bottles of booze. The real reason was that it was only 11:30 and he was all alone in his hotel room. The real reason was that the two college buddies he’d come to Vegas with had both managed to pick up girls down in the casino earlier in the evening and had unceremoniously ditched their friend in favour of getting lucky in their own hotel rooms. The real reason was that today was Tobias Beecher’s twenty-fourth birthday and instead of celebrating he was being reminded yet again that nobody really gave a shit that he’d ever been born.
‘The real reason’, thought Tobias savagely, as he yanked open the mini-bar and surveyed its contents, ‘is that I am a pathetic goddamn loser who just wants to than to lose himself in drink. Hell, maybe I just need to lose myself completely.’
In a way, that had been the goal in coming out here to this glowing neon nightmare in the middle of the desert. Ever since graduating from Harvard last spring, Tobias had been suffocating in the plans that everyone else was making for *his* life. Urging him to join his father’s law practice; pressuring him to propose to his girlfriend, Genevieve; showing him his life as clearly as if he’d already lived it – same as his father’s life, same as his grandfather’s life, everything the same; day after day after monotonous day. Nothing was ever going to get any better – or worse. There were no surprises left for Tobias Beecher.
By the time his Harvard pals suggested going to Las Vegas for his birthday weekend, Tobias was practically screaming for release. Venturing out to the middle of the desert seemed as good a release as any – hell, by this point he would have skipped Vegas and just wandered the desert for forty days and nights like Jesus did. Not that Tobias was the son of God by any means – he doubted very much that Jesus would have been kneeling in front of a mini-bar just then, taking communion from a baby Smirnoff bottle.
He winced at the taste of straight vodka, but revelled in the warm sensation of alcohol, burning down his throat, spreading through his belly. So what if he was spending his birthday getting drunk by himself? So what if he was the loneliest bastard on the face of the planet? Who fucking cared?
Tobias raised the bottle to take another swig, but his hand froze halfway to his lips at the sound of a loud crash. What the hell was that? Sounded like it came from the room next door.
Tobias’s suspicions were confirmed when he heard a woman’s peal of laughter come from the other side of the wall. It was followed by the deeper chuckle of a man.
“Oh my god, you knocked over the lamp!” the woman laughed.
The man’s response was muffled, but Tobias heard the woman cry, “I was not running away! You’re just too damn eager…”
At this point, both voices became muffled. Tobias knew he shouldn’t eavesdrop, but he was curious. He put the vodka back in the fridge and pressed his ear against the wall in time to hear the woman say, “No-one in their right mind would run away from you, baby; I’d follow you to the ends of the earth.”
There were a few moments of silence before Tobias heard a bump, a thud, the squeak of mattress springs and the woman gasping, “Oh Jesus Christ,” followed by the unmistakeable sounds of sex.
He quickly backed away from the wall. He may be lonely and pathetic he decided, but he was *not* going to listen in on panting and moaning like some disgusting pervert. So he lay back down on the bed and resumed staring at the ceiling fan. Unfortunately a few minutes later the sounds followed him across the room as they dramatically rose in volume. Tobias was treated to loud moaning and grunting, and then the woman’s cry of “Oh Jesus, Jesus, *Jesus!*”
Then he heard the man’s voice clearly for the first time. “That’s right, honey. You love it like that, don’t you?”
Tobias shivered. The voice was a deep, sexy growl, but what got his attention was the conviction in that growl. This guy just sounded so damn confident, like there was absolutely no doubt in his mind that the woman was truly loving whatever he was doing to her, that she was just so *hot* for him that not only would she come, but *he’d* be the one to bring her right to the edge and leave her begging for more. The man was completely in control – and obviously loving every goddamn second of it.
Tobias couldn’t remember ever being in control like that – he had nowhere near that level of confidence in his abilities. Whenever he had sex with Genevieve there was always that niggling thought in the back of his mind that maybe she was faking it. There was nothing fake about what he was hearing now. In fact, the moans and groans were going straight to his groin.
“Oh God, oh God,” the woman whimpered.
“Yeah, babe, that’s right,” growled the man.
Then the woman let out a sudden, strangled cry.
“Ooh, you like that, huh? Want me to do it again?”
“Unnhhh…”
“C’mon, honey… ask me *real* nice.”
“Pl – please…” the woman sounded completely breathless.
‘Sweet Jesus,’ thought Tobias, his own breath coming harder. He glanced down at the beginnings of a bulge in his pants and wondered… ‘*No* Beecher,’ he told himself, ‘you are *not* going to jack off while two strangers go at it in the next room. You’re already running for Loser of the Year – you really *don’t* want to win that crown, baby.’
He lay there and listened as a steady ‘thud…thud…thud’ started – Christ, the couple were moving so vigorously that the headboard was banging against the wall. Sounded like they were in the home stretch now.
“Uh… *God*.” That deep voice wasn’t a growl anymore; it was now ragged and tense with desire.
“OhGodohGodohGod,” the woman keened.
“Shit yeah, Bonnie, you’re getting fucked by God himself – I wanna hear you scream it!”
“You’re a god, Chris – uhhh!”
“Fuck… yes… I’m a god, I’m a god, I’m a *fucking* god!”
There were loud cries as the couple seemed to climax almost simultaneously, before the room next door fell deathly silent.
“Jesus Christ,” Tobias whispered, his heart thudding in his chest.
****************
Chapter Two
/ ‘Then the spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the devil…’ Matthew 4.1/
Just after midnight,
Sunday, July 9th, 1989
Las Vegas
‘I have got to get out of here,’ Tobias thought agitated. He felt so dirty, like a peeping Tom. He couldn’t believe that he’d just listened to all of that or that he’d gotten excited by it. He just didn’t do that kind of thing. *Beechers* didn’t do that kind of thing. There was only one thing to do, Tobias decided. Go back downstairs, head straight for the bar and proceed to get mind-numbingly plastered. Drinking alone at the bar had to be *slight* improvement on drinking alone in his room.
Tobias put on some shoes, gathered up his wallet and room key, and stepped into the hall. As he was shutting his door, the door a few metres down the hall opened and a man literally stumbled out, tripping over an unseen obstacle and crashing into the wall opposite.
‘Oh crap, it’s Mr Sex God from next door’. Tobias blushed, even though there was no way the guy could’ve known that he’d listened in. His first urge was to run away in embarrassment, but then he realized that the guy was sprawled out on the carpet, not moving, and Tobias’s common sense kicked in.
“Hey, are you okay?” he asked, walking over to the prone figure.
Mr Sex God slowly opened his eyes and glanced around groggily, before pulling himself into a sitting position. “Hmm? Yeah, I’m fine.”
Yes, he certainly was – he was clad in nothing but a pair of ratty blue jeans, and as Tobias looked down at his shirtless chest he couldn’t help but be envious of the man’s perfect muscles. Biceps, pecs, flat washboard stomach – the guy was a Roman statue. He brought his gaze back to the man’s face and was met by a pair of interested dark blue eyes watching him intently. Tobias knew his face was going red again as Mr Sex God gave him an enigmatic grin, lifted up his hand and said, “Wanna help me up, pal?”
Tobias smiled back sheepishly, grabbing the outstretched hand and pulling the man up off the floor. He didn’t let go of the hand as the guy seemed to be swaying dangerously on his feet. Tobias put his other hand on a muscular shoulder, steadying him.
“Jesus, man, how much have *you* had to drink?”
“I haven’t drunk nothing!” the man exclaimed, then burst into laughter. Nope, not laughter, *giggles*. This tall, muscly, tough-looking guy was giggling like a little kid.
‘Oh Christ, he’s on drugs,’ Tobias thought, checking his pupils, although that didn’t really tell him anything. He wasn’t sure what he’d taken, but Mr Sex God was clearly feeling no pain.
Tobias tried to pull his hand away, but the guy tightened his grasp, running his thumb over Tobias’s knuckle. “Your skin’s so soft,” he whispered, staring down at the hand he held, seemingly fascinated by it.
“Uh…” Tobias started, taking a step back.
The man followed him, invading his personal space. “So soft and warm,” he breathed into Tobias’s ear.
Tobias ignored the little shiver that ran down his spine. “Whoa there, buddy,” he said, shoving him away and finally disentangling his hand. “I think you’re little out of your head right now. Maybe you should go back to your room and lay down.”
“Huh? No, I don’t need to lie down. I’m fine really – falling down made me a bit shaky, but I really am fine now, see?” The guy stretched out his arms and managed to stand on one leg without wobbling much, doing a good impression of a sober person. He put his leg down and continued to babble. “I don’t wanna go to bed anyway. Bonnie’s fallen asleep and I’m fucking bored. I wanna go out and have some fun. I mean, fuck! We’re in Vegas, right? What’s your name anyway? Mine’s Chris.”
It took a second for the question to penetrate, as Tobias was having trouble following the man’s – Chris’s – stoned rambling when he wasn’t 100% lucid himself. “My name’s Tobias.”
Chris scratched his head, running his fingers through his longish, dark hair, which Tobias could see was already starting to recede in the front. “Nope, that’s not gonna do,” he said, “Tobias is an old man’s name – you’re young and cute, you need a cute name to match.”
Tobias stared. ‘Did this guy just call me cute? Oh my God, maybe he’s… but, no, he can’t be – I just heard him having sex with a woman.’
“How ‘bout I call you Toby?” Chris continued, oblivious to Tobias’s thoughts. “Toby’s cute – it suits you.”
“Only my family calls me Toby.”
“Guess I’m a member of the family then, Toby.” Chris seemed to find his statement incredibly funny as he burst into giggles again.
“Look, um, I don’t know where you were planning on going, but you can’t go out like that – you’re half-naked.”
“Is that a bad thing, Toby?” Chris gave him that enigmatic smile again.
Toby couldn’t help blushing again. Jesus, this guy was pure sex – everything he said and did seemed to have a double meaning. Toby knew for sure that kind of confidence was something he’d never have. “I’m just saying that if you’re going out in public you might want to put on a shirt and shoes.”
Chris looked down at himself as though he hadn’t really noticed what he was wearing and nodded. “You’re probably right. Even though it’s hot enough for me to want to walk around butt-naked.”
Toby was trying to process the interesting image *that* conjured up, when Chris grabbed his hand again and dragged him into his room.
“What the – “ Toby spluttered as Chris started rummaging through a pile of clothes on the floor.
“Keep your voice down – Bonnie’s asleep,” said Chris, as he pulled out a sleeveless black shirt and slipped it over his head. “You’re coming with me.”
“Oh, am I?” Toby muttered.
“You got anything better to do?”
Toby’s embarrassed silence said it all.
“Didn’t think so,” Chris smirked. “Hey, don’t worry about it, man. I don’t got no-one to hang ‘round with neither – you’re gonna keep me from being bored.” Chris started giggling again as got down on his hands and knees and started hunting around for his shoes.
‘Is he *deliberately* poking his ass out at me like that?’ Toby turned away from that disconcerting thought to look at the woman who was sleeping in the queen-sized bed. He was surprised to see she was very overweight – he’d have thought that someone like Chris would be with a woman who looked like a supermodel.
“Is that your, um, girlfriend?”
“My *wife*,” said Chris with a grin.
Toby couldn’t hide his surprise. As far he was concerned, people did not have the kind of sex he’d overheard with people they were *married* to. And not when they looked like…
“Chris, she’s – ”
“Huge,” supplied Chris, smiling.
Toby didn’t like to think he was shallow or anything, but he just couldn’t imagine why Chris would have married her, when he could’ve had someone much better looking. Chris sat down on the bed next to her and put on his shoes. She didn’t stir, which made Toby a little worried.
“Uh, Chris? Are you sure she’s just asleep and not passed out? Did she take the same stuff you did?”
“I didn’t take anything.”
Toby looked at him sharply. “For Christ’s sake, it’s as obvious as hell you’re on drugs, why bother lying? I’m not a cop, I’m just worried that your wife might’ve OD’d or something.”
Chris gave him the sweetest grin imaginable, as though Toby had just said something simply adorable. “Toby, if she’d OD’d she’d be looking a hell of a lot less peaceful than she is now. You know, thrashing around and shit? Don’t worry about it, she didn’t take any. She just drank enough to give her a shit of a hangover in the morning. I put a bucket next to the bed in case she needs to puke during the night.”
“So what did you take?”
“Persistent, aren’t you? Ecstasy.”
Toby didn’t say anything, but it was clear he had no idea what that was. “Oh, baby, you need to get out more. I know it’s only been around a few years, but *c’mon*,” he laughed, “You ready to go?”
“Shouldn’t you leave her a note in case she wakes up?”
“Probably.” Chris quickly scribbled something illegible on a napkin and left it on the nightstand. He moved the puke bucket closer to the bed, and pressed a kiss to Bonnie’s forehead. “See you later, babe,” he whispered softly. Toby was surprised by how gentle and sweet Chris was with his wife. It contrasted sharply with the fact that he was leaving her alone in a hotel room while he went off to have fun with some stranger he’d just met.
“Okay, let’s get out of here!” Chris laughed, grabbing Toby’s hand again and pulling him out into hall. He paused long enough to lock the door, then dragged Toby towards the elevators, still chuckling.
“You’re pulling my arm out of its socket!” Toby laughed. Despite the discomfort, Chris’s good mood was infectious. Chris loosened his grip on Toby’s hand, but didn’t let go as he hit the ‘Down’ button.
Toby thought it was a bit odd that Chris wouldn’t let go of him, even if was high. He didn’t comment on it though – after all, he decided, he didn’t really mind it *that* much. “So where are we going anyway?” Toby asked, as they waited for the elevator, “The casino?”
“Fuck that shit – I finally made some decent money yesterday and I ain’t planning on blowing it all in one hit. Nope,” said Chris, as the elevator arrived and they stepped inside, “we’re going down the strip.”
“And doing what?” asked Toby, since pretty much the only thing on the strip was more casinos.
Chris turned to him, dark blue eyes sparkling like the night sky. “Well, I don’t know about you, Toby, but *I’m* getting a tattoo.” And he grinned.
TBC…
On to Chapter 3
For anybody who didn't read these previously, this is an AU where Chris and Toby meet long before they end up in Oz (and yes, I know it's been done before, but this one has a bit of a twist *g*)
Disclaimer: Don’t own or profit from the characters
******
Chapter One
/‘Man cannot live on bread alone…’ Matthew 4.4/
Saturday, July 8th, 1989
Las Vegas
‘I am not going to fucking drink’, Tobias Beecher thought to himself. It had been over two hours since his last martini and he was feeling unpleasantly sober. The mini-bar on the other side of his hotel room was practically beckoning to him.
Tobias irritably threw himself down on the queen-sized bed, and stared hard at the ceiling fan whirring above him, trying not to let his gaze wander over to that tempting mini-bar. Jesus, it was a hot night. The humidity was stifling and the temperature had been hanging around 90 degrees ever since he’d arrived in Vegas the day before.
‘To hell with it’, Tobias thought, ‘this heat alone is reason enough for some ice cold vodka.’
Of course, that wasn’t the real reason that he gave into temptation and walked over to that tiny fridge with its enticing array of little bottles of booze. The real reason was that it was only 11:30 and he was all alone in his hotel room. The real reason was that the two college buddies he’d come to Vegas with had both managed to pick up girls down in the casino earlier in the evening and had unceremoniously ditched their friend in favour of getting lucky in their own hotel rooms. The real reason was that today was Tobias Beecher’s twenty-fourth birthday and instead of celebrating he was being reminded yet again that nobody really gave a shit that he’d ever been born.
‘The real reason’, thought Tobias savagely, as he yanked open the mini-bar and surveyed its contents, ‘is that I am a pathetic goddamn loser who just wants to than to lose himself in drink. Hell, maybe I just need to lose myself completely.’
In a way, that had been the goal in coming out here to this glowing neon nightmare in the middle of the desert. Ever since graduating from Harvard last spring, Tobias had been suffocating in the plans that everyone else was making for *his* life. Urging him to join his father’s law practice; pressuring him to propose to his girlfriend, Genevieve; showing him his life as clearly as if he’d already lived it – same as his father’s life, same as his grandfather’s life, everything the same; day after day after monotonous day. Nothing was ever going to get any better – or worse. There were no surprises left for Tobias Beecher.
By the time his Harvard pals suggested going to Las Vegas for his birthday weekend, Tobias was practically screaming for release. Venturing out to the middle of the desert seemed as good a release as any – hell, by this point he would have skipped Vegas and just wandered the desert for forty days and nights like Jesus did. Not that Tobias was the son of God by any means – he doubted very much that Jesus would have been kneeling in front of a mini-bar just then, taking communion from a baby Smirnoff bottle.
He winced at the taste of straight vodka, but revelled in the warm sensation of alcohol, burning down his throat, spreading through his belly. So what if he was spending his birthday getting drunk by himself? So what if he was the loneliest bastard on the face of the planet? Who fucking cared?
Tobias raised the bottle to take another swig, but his hand froze halfway to his lips at the sound of a loud crash. What the hell was that? Sounded like it came from the room next door.
Tobias’s suspicions were confirmed when he heard a woman’s peal of laughter come from the other side of the wall. It was followed by the deeper chuckle of a man.
“Oh my god, you knocked over the lamp!” the woman laughed.
The man’s response was muffled, but Tobias heard the woman cry, “I was not running away! You’re just too damn eager…”
At this point, both voices became muffled. Tobias knew he shouldn’t eavesdrop, but he was curious. He put the vodka back in the fridge and pressed his ear against the wall in time to hear the woman say, “No-one in their right mind would run away from you, baby; I’d follow you to the ends of the earth.”
There were a few moments of silence before Tobias heard a bump, a thud, the squeak of mattress springs and the woman gasping, “Oh Jesus Christ,” followed by the unmistakeable sounds of sex.
He quickly backed away from the wall. He may be lonely and pathetic he decided, but he was *not* going to listen in on panting and moaning like some disgusting pervert. So he lay back down on the bed and resumed staring at the ceiling fan. Unfortunately a few minutes later the sounds followed him across the room as they dramatically rose in volume. Tobias was treated to loud moaning and grunting, and then the woman’s cry of “Oh Jesus, Jesus, *Jesus!*”
Then he heard the man’s voice clearly for the first time. “That’s right, honey. You love it like that, don’t you?”
Tobias shivered. The voice was a deep, sexy growl, but what got his attention was the conviction in that growl. This guy just sounded so damn confident, like there was absolutely no doubt in his mind that the woman was truly loving whatever he was doing to her, that she was just so *hot* for him that not only would she come, but *he’d* be the one to bring her right to the edge and leave her begging for more. The man was completely in control – and obviously loving every goddamn second of it.
Tobias couldn’t remember ever being in control like that – he had nowhere near that level of confidence in his abilities. Whenever he had sex with Genevieve there was always that niggling thought in the back of his mind that maybe she was faking it. There was nothing fake about what he was hearing now. In fact, the moans and groans were going straight to his groin.
“Oh God, oh God,” the woman whimpered.
“Yeah, babe, that’s right,” growled the man.
Then the woman let out a sudden, strangled cry.
“Ooh, you like that, huh? Want me to do it again?”
“Unnhhh…”
“C’mon, honey… ask me *real* nice.”
“Pl – please…” the woman sounded completely breathless.
‘Sweet Jesus,’ thought Tobias, his own breath coming harder. He glanced down at the beginnings of a bulge in his pants and wondered… ‘*No* Beecher,’ he told himself, ‘you are *not* going to jack off while two strangers go at it in the next room. You’re already running for Loser of the Year – you really *don’t* want to win that crown, baby.’
He lay there and listened as a steady ‘thud…thud…thud’ started – Christ, the couple were moving so vigorously that the headboard was banging against the wall. Sounded like they were in the home stretch now.
“Uh… *God*.” That deep voice wasn’t a growl anymore; it was now ragged and tense with desire.
“OhGodohGodohGod,” the woman keened.
“Shit yeah, Bonnie, you’re getting fucked by God himself – I wanna hear you scream it!”
“You’re a god, Chris – uhhh!”
“Fuck… yes… I’m a god, I’m a god, I’m a *fucking* god!”
There were loud cries as the couple seemed to climax almost simultaneously, before the room next door fell deathly silent.
“Jesus Christ,” Tobias whispered, his heart thudding in his chest.
****************
Chapter Two
/ ‘Then the spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the devil…’ Matthew 4.1/
Just after midnight,
Sunday, July 9th, 1989
Las Vegas
‘I have got to get out of here,’ Tobias thought agitated. He felt so dirty, like a peeping Tom. He couldn’t believe that he’d just listened to all of that or that he’d gotten excited by it. He just didn’t do that kind of thing. *Beechers* didn’t do that kind of thing. There was only one thing to do, Tobias decided. Go back downstairs, head straight for the bar and proceed to get mind-numbingly plastered. Drinking alone at the bar had to be *slight* improvement on drinking alone in his room.
Tobias put on some shoes, gathered up his wallet and room key, and stepped into the hall. As he was shutting his door, the door a few metres down the hall opened and a man literally stumbled out, tripping over an unseen obstacle and crashing into the wall opposite.
‘Oh crap, it’s Mr Sex God from next door’. Tobias blushed, even though there was no way the guy could’ve known that he’d listened in. His first urge was to run away in embarrassment, but then he realized that the guy was sprawled out on the carpet, not moving, and Tobias’s common sense kicked in.
“Hey, are you okay?” he asked, walking over to the prone figure.
Mr Sex God slowly opened his eyes and glanced around groggily, before pulling himself into a sitting position. “Hmm? Yeah, I’m fine.”
Yes, he certainly was – he was clad in nothing but a pair of ratty blue jeans, and as Tobias looked down at his shirtless chest he couldn’t help but be envious of the man’s perfect muscles. Biceps, pecs, flat washboard stomach – the guy was a Roman statue. He brought his gaze back to the man’s face and was met by a pair of interested dark blue eyes watching him intently. Tobias knew his face was going red again as Mr Sex God gave him an enigmatic grin, lifted up his hand and said, “Wanna help me up, pal?”
Tobias smiled back sheepishly, grabbing the outstretched hand and pulling the man up off the floor. He didn’t let go of the hand as the guy seemed to be swaying dangerously on his feet. Tobias put his other hand on a muscular shoulder, steadying him.
“Jesus, man, how much have *you* had to drink?”
“I haven’t drunk nothing!” the man exclaimed, then burst into laughter. Nope, not laughter, *giggles*. This tall, muscly, tough-looking guy was giggling like a little kid.
‘Oh Christ, he’s on drugs,’ Tobias thought, checking his pupils, although that didn’t really tell him anything. He wasn’t sure what he’d taken, but Mr Sex God was clearly feeling no pain.
Tobias tried to pull his hand away, but the guy tightened his grasp, running his thumb over Tobias’s knuckle. “Your skin’s so soft,” he whispered, staring down at the hand he held, seemingly fascinated by it.
“Uh…” Tobias started, taking a step back.
The man followed him, invading his personal space. “So soft and warm,” he breathed into Tobias’s ear.
Tobias ignored the little shiver that ran down his spine. “Whoa there, buddy,” he said, shoving him away and finally disentangling his hand. “I think you’re little out of your head right now. Maybe you should go back to your room and lay down.”
“Huh? No, I don’t need to lie down. I’m fine really – falling down made me a bit shaky, but I really am fine now, see?” The guy stretched out his arms and managed to stand on one leg without wobbling much, doing a good impression of a sober person. He put his leg down and continued to babble. “I don’t wanna go to bed anyway. Bonnie’s fallen asleep and I’m fucking bored. I wanna go out and have some fun. I mean, fuck! We’re in Vegas, right? What’s your name anyway? Mine’s Chris.”
It took a second for the question to penetrate, as Tobias was having trouble following the man’s – Chris’s – stoned rambling when he wasn’t 100% lucid himself. “My name’s Tobias.”
Chris scratched his head, running his fingers through his longish, dark hair, which Tobias could see was already starting to recede in the front. “Nope, that’s not gonna do,” he said, “Tobias is an old man’s name – you’re young and cute, you need a cute name to match.”
Tobias stared. ‘Did this guy just call me cute? Oh my God, maybe he’s… but, no, he can’t be – I just heard him having sex with a woman.’
“How ‘bout I call you Toby?” Chris continued, oblivious to Tobias’s thoughts. “Toby’s cute – it suits you.”
“Only my family calls me Toby.”
“Guess I’m a member of the family then, Toby.” Chris seemed to find his statement incredibly funny as he burst into giggles again.
“Look, um, I don’t know where you were planning on going, but you can’t go out like that – you’re half-naked.”
“Is that a bad thing, Toby?” Chris gave him that enigmatic smile again.
Toby couldn’t help blushing again. Jesus, this guy was pure sex – everything he said and did seemed to have a double meaning. Toby knew for sure that kind of confidence was something he’d never have. “I’m just saying that if you’re going out in public you might want to put on a shirt and shoes.”
Chris looked down at himself as though he hadn’t really noticed what he was wearing and nodded. “You’re probably right. Even though it’s hot enough for me to want to walk around butt-naked.”
Toby was trying to process the interesting image *that* conjured up, when Chris grabbed his hand again and dragged him into his room.
“What the – “ Toby spluttered as Chris started rummaging through a pile of clothes on the floor.
“Keep your voice down – Bonnie’s asleep,” said Chris, as he pulled out a sleeveless black shirt and slipped it over his head. “You’re coming with me.”
“Oh, am I?” Toby muttered.
“You got anything better to do?”
Toby’s embarrassed silence said it all.
“Didn’t think so,” Chris smirked. “Hey, don’t worry about it, man. I don’t got no-one to hang ‘round with neither – you’re gonna keep me from being bored.” Chris started giggling again as got down on his hands and knees and started hunting around for his shoes.
‘Is he *deliberately* poking his ass out at me like that?’ Toby turned away from that disconcerting thought to look at the woman who was sleeping in the queen-sized bed. He was surprised to see she was very overweight – he’d have thought that someone like Chris would be with a woman who looked like a supermodel.
“Is that your, um, girlfriend?”
“My *wife*,” said Chris with a grin.
Toby couldn’t hide his surprise. As far he was concerned, people did not have the kind of sex he’d overheard with people they were *married* to. And not when they looked like…
“Chris, she’s – ”
“Huge,” supplied Chris, smiling.
Toby didn’t like to think he was shallow or anything, but he just couldn’t imagine why Chris would have married her, when he could’ve had someone much better looking. Chris sat down on the bed next to her and put on his shoes. She didn’t stir, which made Toby a little worried.
“Uh, Chris? Are you sure she’s just asleep and not passed out? Did she take the same stuff you did?”
“I didn’t take anything.”
Toby looked at him sharply. “For Christ’s sake, it’s as obvious as hell you’re on drugs, why bother lying? I’m not a cop, I’m just worried that your wife might’ve OD’d or something.”
Chris gave him the sweetest grin imaginable, as though Toby had just said something simply adorable. “Toby, if she’d OD’d she’d be looking a hell of a lot less peaceful than she is now. You know, thrashing around and shit? Don’t worry about it, she didn’t take any. She just drank enough to give her a shit of a hangover in the morning. I put a bucket next to the bed in case she needs to puke during the night.”
“So what did you take?”
“Persistent, aren’t you? Ecstasy.”
Toby didn’t say anything, but it was clear he had no idea what that was. “Oh, baby, you need to get out more. I know it’s only been around a few years, but *c’mon*,” he laughed, “You ready to go?”
“Shouldn’t you leave her a note in case she wakes up?”
“Probably.” Chris quickly scribbled something illegible on a napkin and left it on the nightstand. He moved the puke bucket closer to the bed, and pressed a kiss to Bonnie’s forehead. “See you later, babe,” he whispered softly. Toby was surprised by how gentle and sweet Chris was with his wife. It contrasted sharply with the fact that he was leaving her alone in a hotel room while he went off to have fun with some stranger he’d just met.
“Okay, let’s get out of here!” Chris laughed, grabbing Toby’s hand again and pulling him out into hall. He paused long enough to lock the door, then dragged Toby towards the elevators, still chuckling.
“You’re pulling my arm out of its socket!” Toby laughed. Despite the discomfort, Chris’s good mood was infectious. Chris loosened his grip on Toby’s hand, but didn’t let go as he hit the ‘Down’ button.
Toby thought it was a bit odd that Chris wouldn’t let go of him, even if was high. He didn’t comment on it though – after all, he decided, he didn’t really mind it *that* much. “So where are we going anyway?” Toby asked, as they waited for the elevator, “The casino?”
“Fuck that shit – I finally made some decent money yesterday and I ain’t planning on blowing it all in one hit. Nope,” said Chris, as the elevator arrived and they stepped inside, “we’re going down the strip.”
“And doing what?” asked Toby, since pretty much the only thing on the strip was more casinos.
Chris turned to him, dark blue eyes sparkling like the night sky. “Well, I don’t know about you, Toby, but *I’m* getting a tattoo.” And he grinned.
TBC…
On to Chapter 3
