I will leave Kenton's age up to my readers and note that this is a complete work of fantasy. This story is set in a completely fictional world and I certainly would not encourage anyone to try and replicate this fantasy in the real world. It is just a flight of my fancy. Please feel free to email me at moonlitrain@protonmail.com with feedback, comments and suggestions!
Chapter One - Captivation
Let me tell you a story. It's a story that I can barely believe happened to me, but it did and I want to share it with you all. Before I begin my tale, let me tell you about myself. My name is Christian and I'm 25 years old. I like to think I'm not bad looking and I keep myself in shape, but I am not especially vain about my looks. I'm a freelance illustrator and I live for beauty in all things.
My story begins one winter night as I was moving into the ornate surroundings of a beautiful old concert hall. I had gone with a friend to see the regional dance competition in which her niece was dancing. I have been a long time lover of dance in all its forms and I was happy to be invited. What I didn't tell my friend was that I have an equal passion for the beauty of young male dancers. The prospect of seeing their grace and beautiful strength on display was one which I could scarcely reject.
We took our seats and got comfortable as the audience continued to move in. The expectant hush of a pre-performance theatre fell and the house lights went down. The curtain drew back and the stage was illuminated by one clear, bright light that revealed a stark stage, almost entirely bare of anything but a simple set resembling diffuse clouds made of a gauzy material. A swirling piece of ambient music, ethereal and delicate, began to coalesce as a piano carried a beautiful and simple melody. From stage right, a single lean figure slowly stalked onto stage in one lithe movement. He was one of the most beautiful young men that I had ever set my eyes on.
He was six feet tall with long, muscled and elegant legs and a slender torso that was equally defined and powerful without seeming bulky. His arms were long and full of graceful movement with expressive, gracile hands. His face was a mixture of angelic youth and masculine hardness, hovering just perfectly on the line between the two states. He had full lips, deep green eyes and his features were framed in fiery crimson curls. I was utterly transfixed by his appearance, but once he started to dance I was mesmerized. His motions were each perfectly choreographed and controlled. The smooth, taut movements were a testament to the intensity of his training and his dedication to his artform.
Passion flowed through his lissome, but powerful frame and transformed the music into pure expression. Emotion poured from him in waves as he danced and wrapped its seeking tendrils around my soul. I could feel his heart reaching out for me and pulling me in. The world had fallen away and all that was left was the two of us. His emerald gaze seemed to fall on me and hold me and my heart lurched in my chest at its ferocious intensity. The connection was broken quickly but I had been unable to breathe when it had been made.
His performance was over far sooner than I wished. I could have watched him dance all night without any problem at all. The rest of the evening passed in a blur and it wasn't until I got home that I realized I still had the programme for the night in my coat pocket. I opened it and read through until I found the young dancer's picture and a name - Kenton Gravesend. I stared at the photo of him until I had to put it down. The thought that such beauty existed in the world was almost too much to bear. I wanted nothing more than to be within touching distance of such a stunning human being. For a moment, I considered using my friend's connection to the company to get us introduced but I decided that I couldn't use her that way.
I resolved to content myself with attending more of his performances and basking in the reflected glory of this angelic being as much as I could. I was never comfortable with engineering situations to take advantage of my desire for young men. I felt a momentary bitterness for the burden of my desire. However I accepted it as I had on many previous occasions and moved on.
Life remained uneventful for several months and I continued to go with my friend and alone to see as many of Kenton's performances as I could. I became more entranced by his beauty and the graceful power of his dancing. I felt my desire continue to grow, but allowed it to remain in the background. As is so often the case, chance intervened to move the situation in a new direction. My friend came to me with a request from the dance company's board of directors. They wanted portraits of their dancers for a programme. The idea was to create drawings of each cast member, rather than the usual photographic headshots. They were portraits from the shoulders up and my friend had immediately thought of me for the artwork.
Of course, I jumped at the chance and submitted my portfolio to them. They liked my work and after I offered a discount on my rates, they hired me on. The thought that I would be able to be within touching distance to Kenton and be able to speak to him thrilled and terrified me equally.
I started working on the drawings, having each of the cast members sit for me. I am a classically trained artist so I work in a stepwise fashion and it was a week before I was ready for Kenton's portrait. It took me an hour to calm myself down before he arrived. My hands had finally stopped shaking when he came into the room. My heart charged in my chest as I watched his gliding progress as he slid with complete grace onto the chair I'd set up for the portraits.
I tried to keep my voice steady as his stunning green gaze entrapped me. "Hi Kenton! My name's Steven and I'm going to draw your portrait for the programme."
His smile was quick and bright which only made my heart beat faster. His voice was resonant and gentle, but confident as he replied. "Hey Steven! I think this is such an awesome idea. They showed us some of your work and it looks so amazing. It'll be cool to have you draw my portrait."
The positive energy and flicker of intelligence in his captivating gaze only served to further drawn me in. I felt a blush cross my cheeks in spite of myself as I replied, hoping my voice came out smoothly. "That's very nice of you, Kenton. I hope I can do you all justice in my portraits."
Sketching and drawing are naturally calming actions for me, so I soon settled in and began to chat with my beautiful young companion as I worked. He was an easy conversationalist and I felt myself relaxing even more. I flashed a glance at him as I said, "I'm sure you know Kaela pretty well?"
He nodded so I went on. "I know her aunt quite well so I've been attending a lot of your company's performances and the dance competitions. You're all so talented. What got you into dance, Kenton?"
Once again, his breathtaking eyes met mine. "I've been dancing since I was like 5 years old. I've always loved expressing myself through movement. I really can't imagine doing anything else with my life."
Feeling confident as I responded, I made a bolder statement. "I've been especially impressed by your dancing. There's something so deep in it, like you're putting your whole being into the dance."
There wasn't a waver in his clear-eyed gaze or the slightest hint of a blush on his face as the replied. "Thank you! I guess that I'm managing to do what I intend when I perform. I leave nothing behind when I dance, I don't hide a thing on stage. What you see is my emotional interpretation of the choreography and the music."
My attraction to this incredible young man was growing by the minute as he spoke with such passion and articulation about himself and dancing. Time simultaneously felt as it if was expanding and contracting as I felt an urgent need to somehow extend this connection, while needing to finish the initial sketch.
I smiled again, easily done as I felt elated at being able to talk to Kenton, before I replied. "Art is the same for me. I try to put all my emotion and expression into my work, to lay bare what's in my heart."
There was a brief flicker of some indefinable expression across my sitter's gorgeous features before he spoke. "I could tell that from your art that they showed us. You seem to see into people and capture them through your own feelings. We're the same really. We want to make people feel what we feel."
I nodded in agreement and our conversation drifted into more prosaic territory. All too soon, our session was drawing to a close and Kenton's smooth movements brought him elegantly to his feet. He came to stand next to me and glanced at my sketch of him. His finely penciled eyebrows rose. "Oh my god! It's already so good. It really looks like me. You see me and feel me."
I made some noncommittal comment in my flustered state and he caught my gaze. "Do you have a business card?"
His question was so sudden and unexpected that I froze for a moment. "Uh...yes...I do."
Kenton gifted me with a brilliant grin. "I'll take it. My mom's been wanting to have a family portrait done and has been trying to find an artist to do it. I think you're the man for the job."
I fumbled in my wallet for the card and handed it to him. As I did so, our fingertips briefly touched and the contact was electric. As our eyes met, I thought there was something in his gaze again but dismissed it.
He thanked me for doing the work and for putting him at ease (as if I needed to do that.) I felt mingled elation and deflation as I watched his silken progress out of the room. I contented myself with the thought that I might get to see even more of him with the portrait, if it happened.
I went on my way and continued with the rest of my evening, but at around 9 p.m. my mobile rang and an unfamiliar number came up on the display. I decided to let it go to voicemail as I was engrossed in listening to some classical guitar. When I paused, I checked my messages and nearly dropped my phone. The message said, "Hey Steven! This is Kenton calling. I'd really like it if you gave me a call."
Unsure of what to expect, I called his number and waited. He picked up right away. "Steven? Hey...sorry to bother you if you're busy. I guess I could have texted you but I wanted to be more personal. Do you have time to talk?"
Intrigued, I said that I did and he went on speaking. "This is gonna sound weird but...um...I know you've been watching me pretty faithfully and coming to my performances. It's...well...I have noticed you really paying attention to me, more than other people."
My heart began to pound in my chest and before I could say anything else, he kept on talking. "When you were drawing me today, when we were chatting, I just felt so comfortable with you. It's like I have known you for a lot longer. I know I'm a lot younger than you and I probably shouldn't be saying this but I really wanna meet up with you."
It took me a full minute to regain the ability to speak after that revelation. "I...well...um...I'm not sure that would be appropriate, Kenton. It's sweet of you but..."
The response was rapid. "All I ask is that you meet me and grab a coffee. All I want to do is talk to you a bit more. It's...you are gay right or at least into guys? I guess I shoulda asked that first."
I felt compelled to keep talking. "Yes I am. I..."
Kenton cut in again. "Steven - look, I just get bored with guys my own age. I never really get into a lot of the stuff they talk about. It'd be great if we could just have another conversation like the one we had. Is that so bad?"
The resolve to resist was crumbling inside of me. He was right. What could be so wrong about it? It was just a chat over coffee and he was not much younger than me at any rate. I had always been so cautious, so careful and it had gotten me precisely nowhere. I swallowed and took the plunge. "No it isn't so bad. When can we meet and where?"
After we'd worked out the details, I ended the call and sat staring into space. I felt as if I'd stepped from a precipice into wide open void and was now hurtling into the unknown. I knew my life might change, but I had no idea just how true that was going to be.