30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Christian

I smooth my shirt as I stand at Emil’s door, glancing down to make sure my outfit is in pristine condition. It was a short walk over here, but I still want to look perfect for my boyfriend. The one who gave me the courage to make this outfit in the first place.

When he opens the door, I think I might have just accomplished it.

Emil’s eyes flare wide, and he doesn’t speak for the longest moment, his gaze raking up and down my body.

“Holy shit,” he finally breathes. “Christian… You look… stunning .”

“You like it?” I ask, lips curling into a smile.

“I want to crawl under that skirt and show you how much.”

I bark a laugh. “I don’t think there’s room for you beside all the tulle.”

Emil shakes his head, eyes roving over the floor-length skirt. It’s made from the embroidered fabric I picked up not long ago when Emil and I went shopping. The base is a gentle snow white, but starting at the waistband and cascading downward in increasing volume are flowers in a variety of colors. They lift from the fabric, the petals fluttering gently each time they pick up a breeze. At the bottom hem, the flowers are heaviest, so dense the white is no longer visible. My top is simple: a sleeveless, white crop top that ends a couple inches above the skirt’s waistband, a snowy canvas by which to draw the eye downward.

Judging by Emil’s expression, the effect is exactly what I was going for.

“Gorgeous,” he says simply, finally stepping back to let me in. “Anything you need to do before we go?”

“I’m all set,” I tell him, walking inside. My subtle makeup is on, and my hair is pulled half-up, a few strands falling loose in front to frame my face.

Maybe this is just an awards ceremony for a rather niche porn market, but I’ll be proud to walk into that ballroom with Emil on my arm.

“You look handsome,” I tell him, following Emil into the living room as he checks on Arthur and Hermin. He’s wearing dark gray slacks with a matching vest, the simple white shirt and bright blue bowtie he paired it with a nice complement to the textured gray.

“Thanks,” he says, glancing over his shoulder, a shy smile on his face. “I just need to feed these two, and then we can go.”

“What are they having today?”

“Cantaloupe and kale,” he answers.

I huff a small laugh. “Bet Arthur will love the kale.”

“He won’t, the diva,” Emil says, putting it in the terrarium regardless. “But Hermin seems to like it.”

“Has anyone ever told you you’re a wonderful crab daddy?” I ask, stepping close and wrapping my arms around his waist. He inhales a breath, stomach moving under my palms.

“Alex, actually. But it sounds less weird coming from you.”

I hum, kissing his cheek, just as Emil’s phone pings. He pulls it from his pocket.

“Your mom again?” I ask, looking down at the screen.

He makes a small hum of acknowledgement. “Yeah. She’s been smothering me lately.” The uptick in the corner of Emil’s mouth lets me know exactly what he thinks about that.

“Good,” I say, glad his parents are staying true to their word and giving Emil the attention he deserves.

He sends a reply before turning in my arms. “Ready to go?”

“Let’s do it.”

The awards ceremony is being held at a hotel downtown. Emil and I get a ride so he doesn’t have to worry about driving us home afterwards. Much to my surprise, there’s a red carpet set up outside of the hotel entrance, and a small group of reporters are standing by, throwing questions at the people heading inside.

“Holy shit,” I mutter. “Is it always like this?”

“People love their porn,” Emil answers, lips twitching.

It’s not mayhem as we step out of the vehicle, but a few cameras spin our way. I notice Trevor up ahead, a slim redhead on his arm as they walk through the doors.

“Felix, Vixen,” one reporter calls. Honestly, I’m surprised they even know my name. “Is it true the two of you are a couple?”

Emil bumps up his glasses. “It’s true.”

“Vixen, who made your outfit?” the same reporter asks.

“Oh. I made it myself.”

“He’s an incredibly talented seamster,” Emil adds.

I give his arm a little pinch, but he looks unrepentant as he leads me past the flashing cameras. Someone asks if our relationship is open outside of the studio, but Emil tugs me forward, so I follow his cue, heading with him into the hotel lobby.

“It’s mostly gossip columns,” Emil tells me once we’re inside. “Hardly anyone reads it.”

“Still, I kinda feel like a star.”

He gives me a smile before his gaze catches across the room. “Oh, there’s Alex. C’mon.”

Our blonde coworker squeals when he sees us coming, disentangling from his boyfriends to meet us halfway. “You guys look amazing . Christian, that skirt!”

“Thanks,” I say, giving it a swoosh. “Is everybody here already?”

Alex nods, inserting himself between Emil and I and leading us forward like a gentlemanly guide. “They’re inside at our tables. I was waiting for you two. Mal is here tonight. And Cas.”

I know from what Emil’s told me that Mal was a performer before my time. Cas, of course, I’ve met. With Jason and Jason’s…Brad.

Alex’s boyfriends follow us hand in hand as we make our way into the ballroom, Alex keeping up commentary the whole time about who’s here from competing studios and those who are slated to win awards tonight. Apparently Alex is in the running for a scene he did involving fisting, and Dixon and Niko are up for an innovation award for a video in which they fucked inside a zero gravity booth. I’ll have to check that one out later.

Our coworkers are split amongst three large tables inside the ballroom, and we get a cheer as we join. Emil introduces me to Mal and Henrik. I notice a cane beside Henrik’s chair, as well as the fact that his bright green eyes wander in a way that suggests he might be blind. Mal, who looks like a surfer if I ever saw one, has a smile on his face as Alex regales us with a detailed explanation of how Henrik and Mal met while Mal was escorting.

“It was love at first sight,” Henrik adds when Alex finishes his story, to which Mal snorts.

“And you two?” Mal asks, his hand laced with Henrik’s on the table. “Did you meet at the studio?”

“Oh, no,” I answer, giving my boyfriend a smirk. “We met before that when Emil gave me a pornographic peep show.”

Emil groans, dropping his head into his hands.

“Most days for three months, actually,” I go on with a grin. “We’re neighbors, so I watched him through the window. He didn’t even know who I was until I started at Elite 8 Studios.”

“Wait, what?” Alex squawks, eyes bouncing wide. To Emil, he says, “You didn’t tell me it was more than once!”

“How freakin’ sweet,” Niko interjects. “I don’t think fate could have handed you a better meet-cute, Emil.”

Alex cocks his head. “And why’s that?”

Niko takes a sip of his drink before answering. “Because he’s an exhibitionist.”

A beat of silence passes—a long beat—and then Alex goes, “ What? ”

Niko looks around the table. “We didn’t all know that?”

Alex’s wide eyes swing Emil’s way. I muffle a laugh against my palm as Emil’s cheeks redden.

“Excuse me,” a worker says, stopping at the table beside ours where Trevor is seated. “We need a word with the owners real quick.”

“Of course,” Trevor says, standing. He gives his husband—Isaac, as I learned—a quick kiss before walking off with the employee.

“Owners?” Alex asks, popping up in his seat. “What’s that mean?”

Isaac stops staring after Trevor long enough to say, “Because he started Elite 8 Studios.”

Silence falls again, and then Alex screeches, “ What? What is even happening right now? Trevor owns the studio? Did you know this?” he asks Niko, who shakes his head. “Who knew this?”

“Shit,” new-guy Sean mutters. “Really makes you wonder what his story is, huh?”

Several heads nod as Alex continues interrogating the group, determined to find out who knew Trevor owned the studio. Jerome and Nathaniel, I note, are conveniently absent, getting drink refills at the bar.

It isn’t long before the lights flicker, and the adult entertainers and crew members present quiet, finding their seats. It’s my first time at such an event, so I’m not sure what to expect. But, as it turns out, it’s like any other awards ceremony, just with more dicks.

Alex wins an award for taking half a forearm up his ass, and although Dixon and Niko don’t win theirs, they were runners up. Our studio also receives a commendation for excellence, a fact that makes Jerome flush with happiness, although I’m sure he’d deny it with every ounce of his being.

By the time the awards ceremony wraps up, my cheeks hurt from smiling, and Emil is hanging off my arm, buzzed and, if I had to guess, a little horny. I give his cheek a kiss as we stand to grab waters from the bar.

“It’s weird,” Emil says.

“What is?”

“This,” he answers, sweeping a hand toward the tables where our coworkers, new and old, are congregated. Some of the attendees have started filtering out, but I’m guessing with this many porn stars inside a hotel, the night is far from over. I know, assuming all goes well, ours is just beginning.

Most of our group is still inside the ballroom. Alex is sitting on Rowan’s lap, his arm around Finn’s shoulders. Cas and Jason are huddled close, looking at something on one of their phones. Mal is whispering into Henrik’s ear, the older man smiling coyly. Marco is hanging off his chair, talking with a few individuals from another studio I don’t know. Jerome and Nathaniel are standing near the stage, chatting with Trevor and Isaac. Dixon is entertaining a very rowdy Niko, the latter practically giving Dixon a lap dance the bigger man is doing his best to look grumpy about. Teddy and Kipp were making out in the corner a minute ago but have since disappeared. And some of the newer talent and other crew are mingling, Noel’s cousin Tanner included.

“So many of the people I started with are gone or are going, like Dixon,” Emil says. “And now, there are all these new faces, you know? Feels like the turn of an era.”

I hum.

“I’ll miss them, but…I like where we’re headed,” he says, looking at me. “I like that I’ll be there with you.”

My chest squeezes tight, and I bring Emil’s hand up to my mouth, kissing the back of it. “I’m glad I get to spend my days with you, too, Specs. I’ll forever be grateful I lost my job at the club and all but fell into your lap.”

He huffs a short breath.

“And whether it was asbestos or fate or pure luck,” I say, “I wouldn’t pick a different path than the one that led me to you.”

“Christian,” he says quietly, his fingers tightening around mine. “Thank you for leaving that letter on my door. For showing me you were someone I could trust. I’m so very glad you’re not an eighty-year-old grandma.”

I shake my head, a grin on my face. “Such a shit.”

“But I’m yours.”

“That you are,” I agree, twisting his hand in mine. “I have a surprise for you. Are you ready to go, or do you want to stick around a bit longer?”

Emil glances back at our tables. There’s a small smile on his face as he sets down his empty water glass. “I’m ready. What’s this surprise?”

“Telling you would ruin it,” I point out, giving Emil a tug. I catch Tanner’s eye, nodding before Emil and I turn the corner out of the ballroom. We stop at the elevators, and Emil raises an eyebrow.

“We’re going up?” he asks.

“Yep.”

Emil tucks his lip between his teeth, a hint of mischievousness in his expression. “You know, I never did like surprises before you.”

“And now?”

“And now…” he says. “Now, I hope you never stop surprising me.”

The elevator pings, doors opening, and I can’t help but grin. “Hang on to that thought, Specs.”