Wednesday, March 29, 2017

The Art of Displacing Nero excerpt







Excerpt #1

“Early Night?” Vance asked, trying to keep his gaze on Nero’s chartreuse eyes rather than the drops of water sliding down his chest, disappearing into the treasure trail half hidden by a second towel. One would think that after two years of watching Nero wander around the apartment half-naked he’d finally be unaffected by the sight, but so far, nothing regarding Nero had gone according to plan.
“Yeah, I switched shifts with Tucker, he needed to stay late at school for an exam, so…yeah. I don’t envy the guy. I wouldn’t want to spend three hours answering essay questions on Willa Cather and her works, then have to go strip for a room full of horny drunks who think the essays in the nudy magazines are literature.”
Snickering, Vance covered his mouth, willing himself not to laugh, it sounded like a donkey braying, and he hated it, especially when it happened in front of Nero.
“I’d much rather a beer and a hottie stripping for me, at least then the night would be worth something,” Nero remarked.
“I’m sure the value is in the grade, provided he gets a good one.”
“He’s wicked smart, I’m sure he did fine,” Nero said. “He was all hyped on Monday when he came in ‘cause his professor had given him an ‘A’ on the essay he’d written about the influence of Dionysianism on modern music culture.”
“Yeah, you lost me at Dionysianism,” Vance muttered.
Snickering, Nero burst into a riot of musical laughter, clasping Vance on the shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze. “I told him the same thing. Should have kept my mouth shut, he spent the next ten minutes explaining Dionysis to me and drunken, celebratory orgies.”
Instead of removing his hand, he let it linger, gently massaging the muscle until Vance let out a shaky groan.
“Someone’s tense,” Nero commented pressing his fingers a little deeper into Vance’s flesh.
Damn, that felt good.
“More like someone spent most of their shift chopping veggies and stirring pots.”
“Thought you got promoted to sous chef? Don’t you have someone who’s supposed to do the prepping for you?”
“Danial called out sick, pretty convenient considering Black Label Society is playing at The Garden tonight and he’s a huge fan. I swear if I find out he cut work to go see them he’ll spend the next three shifts doing all the prep work for the Coq au Vins and Paellas.”
“Yeah, um, remember what you said about Dionysianism?”
Vance snorted. “Coq au Vin is…”

“No, no, no, no, no,” Nero interrupted. “When will I ever learn to keep my mouth shut?”


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