Disclaimer: The author makes no representation as to the sexuality of either of the main characters, or about the plotline of an otherwise insignificant film.
Winning A Date with Tad Hamilton, Part 4
The dew burned off the set and accompanying trailers early on Saturday morning - a sign that it was going to be another hot day. Almost all of the scenes had been shot and the director was nearing time to wrap the movie. "If we can get a solid morning of work in now, I'll give everyone the afternoon off and you won't need to be back on set 'til Monday." Cheers and applause erupted from cast and crew alike; while everyone was anxious to be done with the shooting, a couple of days break would be welcome.
The rest of the day passed uneventfully; no lingering glances or anything inappropriate passed between the two co-stars. In fact, both Josh and Topher were playing as if neither recalled or give any sort of recognition to the smoldering looks that had passed between the two of them earlier in the week.
"That's a wrap. See everyone on Monday morning."
Everyone started to pack up; Topher turned to Josh and asked, "So, what are you going to do with a few days off set? Going to fly back to California? Or up to New York?"
"Nah, I was thinking about just sticking around here. Not that I want to be like my character or anything and buy a house here," he said with a chuckle. "It's just fun to be somewhere different and try to be just a regular, all-American guy."
"Wow, that's pretty cool. I was thinking about going up to New York, but, well, do you want to make it a guy's weekend or something? Not that I want to intrude or anything, but, well, I grew up in a pretty typical suburban environment, and this is totally a new experience for me. You're from the mid-west, right? So, you're, well..."
"Yeah, I'm from North Dakota. And, I guess you could say that these are my people. And, sure, we can play like we're two guys from out of town just looking for some local fun. Probably'll need some sort of make-up or something to help disguise ourselves so that we don't get mobbed too badly by the locals."
"Sounds like fun, Josh. Or, should we come up with aliases?"
"Yeah. Um, call me, let's see, JD. And you'll be, let's see, Grace? Nah, that sounds a little too gay. How about Chris?" Topher nodded, a little reluctantly.
"I call myself Topher precisely because I don't want to be Chris...too generic and all-American, but it should work well here."
"OK, And we're down here on... hmmm, a road trip to a college buddy's bachelor party. Yeah, that sounds pretty plausible," offered Josh (aka JD).
"Jeans and a polo shirt sound good?" asked Topher (aka Chris).
"You got it. How about we meet outside of my trailer at 8 PM?"
At seven forty-five, Topher walked out of his trailer, pulling the door shut behind him. He was dressed in a pair of jeans, scuffed white sneakers, a slightly rumpled collared polo shirt and a faded baseball cap. Definitely felt like he was dressed the part of average All-American Chris. He had spritzed on a little bit of cologne, rubbed some gel through his hair but didn't shave; he knew that a little bit of stubble made him look older and made him look a little less recognizable.
A few minutes later, he knocked at the door to Josh's trailer. The door opened inward and Josh was standing there, illuminated by the interior light, wearing only a pair of jeans and boots. "I'm almost ready - want to come in while I figure out a top?"
Topher stood there, dumb-founded, as he continued to stare at Josh's muscular body. Even though he had seen it only days ago, it still struck him as one of the most perfect male specimens that he had ever seen, and being only a few feet away from it and without anyone else around made him start to get a little excited. He felt his dick start to harden in his pants and quickly looked out into the distance. "Sure, I guess." He pulled himself together and put his hand in his pocket to try to keep his dick pointed downwards - even in a pair of jeans, he knew that the boxers that he was wearing would do very little to conceal his erection, and he didn't want to send Josh any sort of message that early in the evening.
"Help yourself to a drink, if you want. Beer, vodka and whiskey are all that I can offer. Unfortunately, I am not that well-stocked," Josh apologized.
"Could've fooled me," Topher responded. "Shit, did I just say that out loud?" His face turned beet-red as he clapped his hands over his mouth.
"What? I missed that," said Josh.
"N-n-n-never mind," mumbled Topher. Since Josh was facing away from him, Topher couldn't see the grin on Josh's face. Josh wriggled into a red-white-and-blue polo shirt and grabbed a pair of keys off of the small kitchenette table before walking to the door.
"You ready? And, make sure you grab the bottle of whskey - that seems like the perfect drink for tonight."
"Sure, Josh, I mean JD. What car are we taking, by the way?"
"Oh, we'll take the convertible from the set. It's a little showy, but no one will recognize it - remember, the movie hasn't come out yet. I have a couple of ideas of where to go - there are two great bars a few miles away and a strip club that some of the crew were talking about yesterday."
Ten minutes later, the two guys were cruising along the local roads, passing back and forth the bottle of whiskey. "Let's head for those lights in the distance. I think that's where the bar is," said Topher. "I don't know how much more of this whiskey I can handle, though; I didn't have a chance to eat very much earlier and I'm kind of a lightweight."
"We'll have to see about that," Josh said with a wink as he eased the bottle out of Topher's hand, took a wig and put the bottle in the center cupholder. "That b-u-r-n-s going down, right, buddy?"
Minutes later, they pulled up in front of the bar. No bouncer out front, which was good - it meant that they didn't have to pull out their IDs and have some idiot recognizing them and making a scene. The two guys went in, pulled out two stools and sat down at the bar. "What'll it be boys?" asked the guy behind the bar. The bartender was maybe a couple of years older than Josh, but more solidly built, like he could have been equally at home in a mechanic's garage as behind the bar. His close-cropped hair only made him look even more aggressive than the two actors, and the scar on his cheek didn't soften his appearance at all.
"Two of the strongest drinks that your bar can make. Whatever you want, that's what we'll have," Josh responded.
The bartender laughed as he poured contents from one bottle after the next into a shaker before he eventually placed two pitchers in front of the two stars. "Bottom's up."
'You have no idea how right he might be,' though Josh, as all three clinked their glasses.
As always, any comments, feel free to send 'em along to rolandgardens@yahoo.com.