When The Right One Comes Along - Ch. 1 (Spark & Stone Side Story, Patreon Exclusive) (Patreon)

Author's note: Hey guys, here I am with the promised story of Michael and Jess. I hope it will amuse you, and that you'll find it enjoyable just as the main story line.  By how my notes look at this point, it will have several chapters (I just don't have an exact number at this point). Please accept this token of my appreciation for all your support.

Chapter One - Just A Mistake

Michael watched amused as his best friend scurried away with the young man he hoped to seduce. Aidan Spark was sweeter than candy, and Michael was genuinely surprised by Heath’s choice. It smelled like romance in the air, even though Heath would be quick to deny it, as always.

People who knew both of them often asked how come they weren’t together, that close they were. Not at the moment, as each of them was carefully building a reputation in their respective fields, but they were still best friends and would be forever. The right answer to anyone wondering about them was quite simple: where Michael was a compulsive romantic, Heath was a compulsive conqueror and one-night-stander. Therefore, no relationship of the kind could exist between them.

The part about being irremediably in love with the idea of being in love was still valid, but Michael seemed to lose faith in it with each passing day. Good guys seemed hard to find. He was a tiny bit jealous of Heath’s finding. But Aidan Spark was clearly smitten with the fitness guru, even though he seemed in denial over it.

Michael was about to decide who he should ask to dance only for the sake of being the charming host he always was when one of the bouncers walked over to him and informed him that someone looking to get hired as a dancer was interested in talking to him.

That was an odd time for an interview, but Michael ran a nightclub, and the idea of evaluating a new talent sounded like a good break from his usual Saturday routine. Should he have been in a relationship, he would have had a totally different arrangement, but relationships didn’t tend to stick in his case. As much as he desired to be involved with someone, things never appeared to work out for him.

“Send him to the room with the dancing pole,” Michael instructed the bouncer and headed in that direction, as well.

He had managed to educate all the personnel, including the people guarding the door, to have an eye for hot people. At least, the guy he would meet in the dancing pole room would be a looker. And Michael would just let him down gently in case he sucked as a dancer. There were always other openings, like waiter positions. 

He had taken his drink with him and sat comfortably in the only armchair in the room. Michael liked lavish interiors, but for the purpose, this room had been left only sparsely appointed. 

He caressed the glass rim, musing in expectation. Why had he always been so obsessed about relationships? Time and time again, he had sent plenty of hot guys packing for being too superficial, too interested in having fun only, or way into considering that being gay automatically meant that open relationships were the norm.

Someone knocked politely on the door and waited. 

“Come in,” Michael said and stared curiously at the door.

A man walked in, and Michael took in his graceful walk. He didn’t notice, for a moment, the elegant slender body, or the man’s handsome face. His trained eye was quickly drawn to the square shoulders, the sinuous movement of the hips, the somewhat lazy way of putting one foot in front of the other.

If the newcomer wanted a job as a cage dancer, Michael was pretty sure he would get it. That was the way only someone with experience in dancing could have walked. But a test was in order anyway.

“Good evening, Mr. Rivers,” the stranger said in a warm, sexy voice. “I apologize for this impromptu visit and my rather inopportune request. I realize that you would be normally busy doing something else right now.”

Michael watched the visitor with growing interest, as he stepped into the light. His curly brown hair was cut right under his ears, but it managed to look fashionably haphazard and attractive. His face was what some people would have called a classic beauty, with a straight nose and full lips. Michael could not help noticing the bedroom eyes. They seemed green, and Michael would have liked to see them from up close.

“Please, there’s no harm done. You’re not breaking any rule. These are my office hours, so to speak. May I please know your name?”

“Jess Rotham,” the other replied.

“Nice to meet you, Jess.”

“Nice to meet you, too, Mr. Rivers.”

“Please call me Michael. Now, could you tell me something about your experience as a dancer?”

“I have been practicing ballet for the last twenty years,” Jess said, without self-importance. “Since I was four.”

Michael quirked an eyebrow. “This place is hardly a venue where such talents would be put to good use.”

“I need the job,” Jess said concisely, even a bit abrupt. “Please,” he added.

Now, Michael felt intrigued. He leaned into his seat and watched Jess closely. His body was a classic sculpture, like his face. In other words, a complete knockout, a bit too muscular to be considered a twink, but without the bulk that would have put him in another category. His physical beauty was unique and Michael, with his trained eye, could tell that Jess would be a hit if he chose to dance there.

Provided that he had the moves, too. Michael wasn’t willing to cut this good-looking man any slack. There were other professions where he could excel even if he had the poise of a monkey. Which Michael doubted, but needed to see if for no other purpose than to enjoy what promised to be an outstanding performance.

“Well, the pole is there. Let me just put some music.”

Michael fiddled with his phone, and after a brief deliberation, he chose something a bit wild. Such a sinewy body should have enough fever in it. Michael wanted a show.

The jungle rhythm broke the silence, and Jess seemed a bit startled at first.

“Honey, you’ll need to dance to impress me,” Michael said and smiled. “I see you have the looks, now show me the moves, too. Ah, and I think you’re a bit overdressed. You won’t be able to grab that pole if you keep your pants on.”

Jess seemed affronted, but only for a moment. Michael wasn’t crass; he was just doing his job. After all, Jess wanted to be a dancer in a nightclub. If he wasn’t comfortable with dancing almost naked in front of a single person, how could he perform in a room full of people?

Without a word, Jess began unbuttoning his pants. His moves were a tiny bit defiant, as he pushed his pants down and then proceeded to take off his shirt, too. Michael shifted a little in his chair.

Dressed in nothing but a pair of tight white underwear that allowed anyone interested to observe quite a nice bulge, Jess stepped close to the pole and grabbed it with one hand. 

His arms were perfect, Michael thought. That was just a trick to keep himself from staring too much at Jess’s equally perfect butt. He wasn’t there to ogle a stranger, but to decide whether he was a good dancer or not. Sex appeal was part of the deal, but Michael was against making this interview appear as something sleazy.

Nonetheless, while Jess engaged in some pretty dangerous and acrobatic moves, Michael found it more and more difficult to stop looking mainly at his round and shapely ass. 

That wasn’t like him. Maybe he should start dating again. As a general rule, Michael was against hooking up. The idea of meeting someone just for sex was a big turn off for him. It made everything appear too base, too primitive. He preferred to know the people he intended to sleep with, before getting between the sheets with them.

On the other hand, his body could not give a damn about his principles. Jess circled the pole with his muscular legs and arched his back until his head almost touched the floor, presenting the perfect form of his abs and pecs while looking at Michael upside down.

Michael was a bit pissed at his own cock right now. That specific part of his anatomy screamed at him to hire Jess. His brain was conspicuously silent.

Well, he was a businessman, after all. If Jess was capable of giving him a boner so quickly, that meant he would be a fascinating addition to the dancing crew. 

The music stopped, and Michael picked his phone only so that he could chill a little before starting to talk to Jess.

“So? What did you think?” Jess asked as soon as he got down.

Michael didn’t look at him. “Please dress up. Then we’ll go to my office for some preliminary formalities.”

“Oh, that’s great.”

Michael could swear Jess was relieved and surprised at the same time. Could it be that someone like him didn’t know what a great dancer he was? He doubted that. Jess hadn’t come across as someone who faked modesty.

Or maybe the blood from his head was in his cock, and he couldn’t judge things correctly. But, in the end, Jess was there to work as a cage dancer, which basically meant to give guys boners and pleasant dreams. Regardless of how he danced, he was clearly meant for that.

Jess followed him without a word. Michael invited him to his office, and soon, they were both alone. Somehow, Michael felt overly conscious of being in the same room with Jess. It was like suddenly, the atmosphere was intimate. What was he thinking? Hot people did that to anyone. It was just slightly uncomfortable. 

He pulled a standard contract from one of the drawers and handed it to Jess to sign it. Jess took it and wrote his name at the bottom of the page without reading the document.

“Aren’t you interested in what the paper says?” Michael asked.

“You have a reputation for being an honest employer,” Jess replied.

“I see. Damn, I wish I had you sign that you’d offer me your firstborn,” Michael joked.

Jess didn’t seem eager to cozy up to his new boss by laughing at his bad jokes. Instead, he seemed intense. His eyes were dark green, as Michael could tell now and they appeared a tad tired.

“Would you like to start tonight?” Michael asked.

“Do I get an outfit?” Jess asked.

“Outfit? Your underwear is perfect.”

Jess seemed a bit taken aback. “Will I have to dance in my underwear?”

Michael frowned. “That’s the idea of a cage dancer. Good as naked, capable of sending good vibes ... I’d say you have it all.”

Jess opened his mouth and then pursed his lips. “I thought I would be somewhere, on the sideline. Not inside a cage.”

“With your moves? No way,” Michael said with a small snort. “What seems to be the problem? You just danced in front of me in nothing but your underwear.”

“That was to get the job,” Jess said. “I wouldn’t do something so overtly sexual in front of an audience.”

Michael could feel a headache coming up. “You just auditioned for being a dancer at a nightclub where there are striptease and cage dancing on the menu. You got what it takes. A gorgeous body, sexy moves, and even a handsome face. You have the whole package, and you’re telling me what? That you don’t want the job?”

“I do,” Jess said, somewhat defensively. “But I thought it would be something classier than dancing in nothing but underwear.”

Michael sighed. “It’s all right. If you don’t want the job, after all --”

“No, I need it.”

Michael pondered as he looked at Jess. The intense look in his eyes was still there. If he had his head on his shoulders, he would send this guy away. What was with all the fuss?

“Jess,” he tried to speak in an appeasing manner, “you are uncomfortable with being naked around people. Just drop it. And there are many other jobs you can try. Also, if you’re a ballet dancer --”

“Danseur. That’s the correct term,” Jess interrupted him, but he didn’t seem arrogant. Just concerned, like something was bothering him and making him anxious.

“Fine, danseur. If you’re that, go work somewhere that’s more fitting.”

“I could bring some class to your establishment,” Jess said.

Michael felt a bit insulted now. He never got into a fight with anyone, but this handsome danseur was starting to get on his nerves. “I don’t consider that’s something I need here.”

“I’d say you do,” Jess replied and bore his beautiful eyes into his.

“Are you always this confrontational?” Michael asked, with a deeper sigh this time around.

“I’m not confrontational. I’m just coming up with a new idea.”

“Did I say that I need new ideas?” Michael said, now his irritation growing into full-blown annoyance.

“That doesn’t mean you don’t,” Jess pointed out.

“Do you always get people to do things your way just because you’re hot?” Michael asked.

To his surprise, Jess appeared to blush at that, but not due to embarrassment. He seemed angered.

Now that was something. What did he have to be furious about?

“All right. I don’t think things will work out,” Michael said and stood up.

“No, please. Why don’t you just give it a chance? What’s for you to lose?”

Michael couldn’t quite believe his ears. “Why do you want this job, Jess? You’re not cut for it.”

“I don’t want to be in the spotlight,” Jess said. “I only want to be one of the entertainers. I can do lap dances and whatnot --”

“Lap dances?” Michael realized a bit too late that he was shouting.

“I need the money,” Jess said quietly.

“And you plan to do lap dances? I have a mind to throw you out this very moment, mister!”

“Why? You don’t think I can?”

Michael ground his teeth. He should have known that normal people, exotic dancers or not, didn’t just knock on doors at midnight on a Saturday night, to get hired out of the blue. He had a mind to tell Jess that his club wasn’t that kind of club and that dancers never did lap dances or anything similar.

“Sit here, and I’ll give you a lap dance,” Jess said, and pointed at the chair he had stood on until earlier.”

“No, thanks,” Michael said dryly.

“Why? Are you afraid that I might prove you wrong?” Jess said, this time with defiance.

All right. This little shit was getting on his nerves. It wasn’t like Michael to let people get to him this way, but right now he was itching to take this guy down a notch or two. Ballet for twenty years? For what? Lap dances? Jess had to be out of his mind.

With brusque moves, Michael grabbed the chair and sat on it, crossing his arms. “So?” he challenged the other. “Get to work.”

“Music?”

“I think you can do without. Gentlemen asking for lap dances are more interested in a visual performance.”

And also, not accepted in his nightclub.

Jess shrugged as if that wasn’t important anyway. He approached Michael and suddenly straddled his chair without touching him at all. Michael wanted to tell him that he should be naked for that kind of dance, but since he was allowing, against his better judgment, this guy to make a fool of himself, he needed to keep his mouth shut.

Michael inhaled as Jess moved lasciviously, along his body like a snake, but again, without making contact. That wasn’t such a good idea; Jess’s clean sweat from the earlier exertion smelled heavenly.

Seriously, as Heath would have put it, he needed to get laid. 

What the hell was he thinking, anyway? He was in his office, with a current employee - whether he liked it or not - and getting a lap dance. Anyone walking in on him would have said that he totally lost his mind.

Jess continued to move, undulating his body as if there was no bone left in it, looked Michael in the eyes and bit his bottom lip, the gleam in his eyes a promise and provocation.

“Okay. I think you proved your point,” Michael said in a strange voice.

“Are you sure? I don’t think you’re convinced.”

Jess laughed as he moved closer. Michael risked a look to the side, only to see Jess moving that lovely ass like a professional twerker. A sudden itch to smack that ass made him move his eyes away.

“No. I mean it. It’s more than enough,” Michael said again.

“Are you chicken?” Jess laughed again.

“That’s it,” Michael said through his teeth.

He grabbed a handful of curly hair, making Jess gasp in shock. The second time he did that was because Michael used his other hand to slap his ass hard.

Oh, shit, Michael thought as he realized what he had just done. Jess was looking at him with those intense eyes. 

So the guy was trouble, after all. Michael dropped his arms and tried to get up, but Jess took him by surprise. He lowered himself in Michael’s lap, so hard that Michael felt his boner crushed under the weight.

Not that he minded. The pressure was amazing, taking the edge off. It was then his turn to gasp as Jess closed his lips over his mouth. 

Michael grabbed Jess again, harder this time, half determined to make him stop. Instead of doing that, he squeezed one shapely buttock through the tight pants. Jess was panting, clearly aroused, and Michael stood up with him in his arms.

Jess didn’t protest as Michael pushed him over the desk, smacked his ass a couple more times and then began searching frantically for a condom.

He returned and pulled down Jess’s pants roughly. Not only Jess wasn’t protesting. He was bucking his hips higher, making his butt appear even more appealing. 

He was asking for it, Michael realized. With satisfaction, he smacked the naked butt over and over, making Jess gasp and shiver with each slap. The kinky bastard wanted someone to put him in place.

Michael was nothing but courteous with most people, so the idea that he was spanking a stranger in his office after midnight, someone he had just had a fight with, was beyond any comprehension.

Not that his cock gave a fuck about his inner struggles. Michael poured lube clumsily over Jess’s butt and positioned himself for penetration. He grabbed Jess by the hair again as he pushed.

Jess’s small cry wasn’t one of pain, which Michael found surprising. He wasn’t into rough sex, and this was an exception, but Jess’s reaction, which appeared to be of unrestrained arousal, sent a clear message straight to his cock and brain.

Michael steadied himself and began pounding Jess hard. Under him, that gorgeous man was panting and making all sorts of lewd sounds, egging him on. 

Why the fuck did it feel so good? Had it been that much time since he last had sex? Michael had no answers, nothing else but a burning need to teach that lovely bum a lesson.

The way Jess bucked back into his cock told him this was no actual punishment. The arrogant asshole enjoyed it. Michael could not believe how hard he was, given the circumstances.

This wasn’t how he made love. He wasn’t this animal slamming inside the other’s body over and over again as if it was made to be used. Yet, right now, in his own office, he was fucking a gorgeous man’s brains out, and that without taking him out to dinner or asking him about what plans he had for the future and how many kids he would like to have.

Jess groaned and moaned, thrashing under him. He slightly turned his head to look at Michael and licked his lips lasciviously while his eyelids dropped over those bedroom eyes that were alone enough to give any gay man alive a solid boner. 

Michael increased the rhythm. “Fuck,” he whispered.

There was something in Jess’s eyes as he watched him lose control. Was it triumph? Was he being played? Michael wondered. Jess bit his bottom lip and moved his hips with the same grace he had exhibited earlier, making Michael almost black out for a second. 

And then he did something else. His ass began squeezing harder, and by how he rolled his eyes and gasped, Michael realized what was going on. Was Jess coming from that? Michael still wanted to consider it some punishment. Instead, it was angry, but great fucking sex. 

Jess moved his head, dropping it on his bent elbows supporting him as he was taken like that, bent over a desk, as if he was some random fuck.

Which he practically was, Michael squeezed in one last rational thought, as he let go, too, with a loud groan. 

One minute later, after he threw the condom, and pushed his cock back into his pants, Michael could feel some of his common sense getting back to where it was supposed to belong. 

Jess stood up and moved gingerly as he dressed up, too. 

“I should apologize --” Michael began.

“So, where will I dance? And how much do lap dances pay around here?”

Michael worked his jaw. Getting rammed like a sex doll meant nothing for this man. “Lap dances?” He smiled thinly. “Not allowed here. Whoever informed you was either mistaken or wanted to lead you on.”

“Not allowed?” Jess asked. “And what was this?” He gestured as if he was talking about the sex session they just shared.

Good question, Michael thought. What the hell had just happened? He needed to reassess himself. This wasn’t normal. He could blame it on Jess, for getting on his nerves, but he wasn’t that type of man. “This was a mistake,” he said, as gently as he could. 

Jess snorted. “It wasn’t. You liked it.”

“Well, it’s not a question of whether or not I liked it. Hey, did you imagine you could come here and whore yourself? Just for the record, no one here touches the dancers, and they’re not allowed to sleep with customers, especially on the premises,” Michael said.

Jess took a step back as if he had just been slapped. “Whore myself?” His dark green eyes were shooting daggers now. “I just know lap dances pay better.”

“You also seem to know that they are followed by sex,” Michael pointed out. “You know what? Just leave. I have no idea why you came here tonight. I am pretty certain it wasn’t to get fucked by your would-be employer if the way you glare at me is any indication.”

“I need the money,” Jess said dejectedly and looked down.

Michael sighed. “I’m sorry, Jess. I don’t run a charity here. And I’m not going to pay you for what just happened.”

“I wouldn’t ask money for that! What do you take me for?”

Great, they were yelling at each other. The problem was Michael didn’t want to insult Jess, but he was doing a great number on him. “But you would take money for lap dances. And expect to perform sexual services. For money.”

“No!” Jess was even more angered now. “Just lap dances! Not sex!”

“Then, what was this?” Michael threw his arms to the sides in defeat.

Jess looked away. “Just a mistake.”

Michael sighed. “My point exactly.”

“Please, I need to work here,” Jess begged openly.

“Why here, of all places?”

“Because it’s respectable. At least, for a nightclub, it is.”

Michael didn’t have enough energy left to feel upset over that kind of statement. It was a compliment of sorts. “Are you short on cash? Do you need to pay rent and you’re way overdue? I could lend you some money.”

“I’m a stranger. Are you sure you want to offer me money, just like that?”

Michael had a mind to tell Jess that being strangers hadn’t stopped them from humping like rabbits just earlier. “It’s okay. I can spare a little. And I would lend it to you, not give it away.”

Jess shook his head. “No, I will earn it. Please just let me dance.”

“My dancers are decently paid,” Michael explained. “There may not be lap dances, but you don’t have to worry that you won’t get enough. Everyone says it’s better here than anywhere else.”

“That’s what I heard,” Jess said softly.

“Okay. I don’t think tonight is still a good idea for you to start. Come back tomorrow if you still want to do this.”

“All right,” Jess said. “I will. And where will I dance?”

Michael stopped himself in time from rolling his eyes. “Inside a cage, obviously.”

Jess made a sour face. “I would rather not.”

Michael pushed his hands through his hair. “You’re driving me nuts. All right. I’m your boss, so you’ll dance where I tell you to.”

“Fine!” Jess pursed his lips and turned on his heels. “Goodnight!”

What the hell? Michael stared at the closed door, long after Jess was gone. Had he just fucked a stranger, and hired him, not in that order? He needed to start dating again.

TBC

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