It was disappointing, to say the least, when our closing night cast party was canceled last minute. Even 'last minute' is putting it lightly. We were all fired up, doing one last show, when randomly during the middle of the second act, Janis called what seemed to be an emergency greenroom to break the news to us. Mary had also refused to elaborate on the specific reasons as to why, but that there were things pertaining to strike that would make it impossible for us to celebrate the way we'd all already been planning to for over a week. So much for going out with a bang.
At least I had my shrooms trip with Josie the next day to look forward to.
The cast scrambled to figure out something else. There was only one problem though: the babies. We didn't want to exclude the under-21s by heading straight over to The Pub--the bar across the street--so we went to IHOP after we'd finished strike. But even though it was supposed to be open for 24 hours, apparently the kitchen would close at midnight and the overworked Hispanic manager was not happy at the prospect of having to serve 20 or so theatre assholes 45 minutes before the end of his shift. Carol was not about to take his shit, so we decided to bail and headed back toward the theatre. We then unanimously decided to head over to Applebee's so that our lovely 20-year-old swing, Charlie, could have a last hurrah with us before we all called it a night.
I ordered some fries and a blue long island iced tea which was so sugary it didn't taste like it had a drop of alcohol in it, but an hour later, I was nice and buzzed. We hung out for a while, then the gentle gay giant Jonny came over to say goodbye and greeting me with his usual almost frighteningly jolting "Bitch!" followed it up with, "Will I be seeing you at The Pub later?"
I couldn't bear to disappoint him, so I said, yes. "Who else is there?" I asked.
"Uh, Conlon, Jesus, and Aram."
Wonderful. Just the people I'd love to spend more time with. I thought.
Once we finally got our checks, I got up and said my farewells to the closest of my friends in the cast, then walked over to The Pub, hoping it was still open. With minutes to spare and just about to close, I managed to make it in just in time to say hi to some of Conlon's friends who recognized me as Maria (as I played her in a production of West Side Story last year) and help Jonny finish his drink which was some kind of beer.
We left at about 1 a.m. and headed back toward the theatre parking lot, only to find that the weather was chasing us away. The wind was picking up debris and shoving it close to my eyes and I wondered if it might just sweep my under 130-lbs frame right away.
But even when Conlon called it a night, we met up with Aram once again and Jonny and I hung out with him for a few more minutes. We discussed life and art and not much later, Jonny said goodbye to the two of us. I felt like I should leave, but Aram had just said he needed to pee, and as I discreetly kept my eyes averted from his designated "pee spot" (a tree in the corner between the theatre and IHOP), I waited for his return to either say goodbye to him, or manage to hang out with him just a little longer. Though I had long ago understood that I would never be more than a friend to him, I was a little sad that I would no longer get to rub my hands on his supremely hairy chest (even if it was over a sweaty pirate shirt) now that the show had closed.
Another detail I'd liked to add was that just before he headed over to his tree we'd had a bit of banter that went something like,
Aram: I gotta go pee.
Me: Ah yes, to your designated pee spot.
Aram: Yep.
Me: Remember when you accused me of stealing your pee spot?
Aram: Yeah.
Me: But I didn't. The tree that I pee at is right over there.
I pointed to the tree directly behind us. He winced and turned his head.
Aram: Ah no, that's a terrible spot. The other one has way more coverage.
Me: I don't care, it's one a.m., there's no one around.
Aram: No, you shouldn't pee there, you could be seen so easily.
Me: I thought I wasn't supposed to steal 'your' pee spot, dude!
Then he waved me off and walked over to his tree.
As he was coming back, I was pretending to be absorbed in something on my phone and only looked up as he approached.
"So, are you taking a break after this?" I asked.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I mean, do you have anything lined up or are you not doing theatre for a while?"
"Oh, no, I don't have anything lined up."
"Cool, me neither."
"Oh yeah?" he raised a bushy black eyebrow.
"Nah." I hesitated for a moment, but then thought I should probably go home before I made a fool of myself in front of this specimen.
"Well," I said, "It's been really fun working with you. I had a great time." I hugged him. "It's been really fun working with you too," as usual, his grainy baritone vibrated me as I pressed against his chest.
I took a deep breath, inhaling his scent and feeling happy, even if a tiny bit disappointed, that we would be able to part ways as friends despite my awkwardness with the whole situation.
"I hope we can do it again sometime."
"I hope we can do it again sometime too." He said.
Then, avoiding his mesmerizing hazel eyes, I turned toward my car.
"You good to drive?" he asked.
"Oh, yeah, I think I should be okay."
"You sure?" the same bushy eyebrow raise. As always, I assumed he was just looking out for me as the gentleman he is is wont to do, but there was something in his tone that made me wonder. I reassured myself I was just hearing what I wanted to hear.
"Yeah, I'm good. See you."
I unlocked my car. As I opened the door, he said, "Because,"
I turned toward him. "Because?"
"Because... and I don't mean anything by it, but... if you want to sober up for a bit, we could make out."
The shock hit me like a cast-iron pan to the head. "We could... wait--" I said between laughs, "What do you mean, you don't mean anything by it?"
He shrugged. "Oh you know, just... casually."
Now this I could get behind.
"Okay, sure." I was grinning now. Without a second thought I closed the car door and locked it.
I turned toward him as he neared me, his sturdy frame assuming the position. There was no hesitation on either side. We melted into each other as easily as though we'd planned it. His lips were plush but firm enough to be enticing, and five seconds in he was already pushing, probing with his tongue into my mouth and teasing my own. He tasted like the cigarette he'd puffed when Jonny had offered him one half an hour ago, and the warm, spicy musk of a mature man who knew what he was doing.
Almost immediately, his strong hands were reaching underneath my dress and riding it up, caressing my underwear.
"How did you know I wasn't wearing shorts underneath this?" I asked him.
"Oh, you're not? Damn."
Now he was fully feeling me up, running his hands down my legs, hips, and cupping my ass.
He dragged me toward the back of the car, then hoisted me up with his hands under my hips and placed me on the top of the trunk. He continued to kiss and stroke, faster and more passionately, rubbing my breasts and beginning to breathe more heavily.
He brought me back down, picking me up as easily as lifting a sack of cotton and pressed me against the side of the car.
The wind picked up and I felt it sweep my dress fully up so that my underwear was in full view of whoever might be passing by. My hair blew in my face.
He broke the kiss for just a moment to say, "If you want to, we can keep making out in my car so we can stay out of the cold and wind."
I nodded. "Yeah, sure."
We walked over to his car, which he unlocked and I opened the door.
"You're going in the front?"
I looked up and noticed that he had already opened the opposite door to the backseat. Ah yes, just like Jesus, prepped for the next conquest. I shrugged, embarrassed. Little had I known I would be hooking up with two beautiful men of color within the span of three weeks.
"I don't know what the hell I'm doing, dude. I'll have you know I'm still very new to this kind of thing. I'm a very awkward slut."
"You're good, girl."
My heart was beginning to pound, but it didn't feel bad. My dream of nearly a year was finally coming true. We closed the doors behind us and hesitated for just a moment. Then we were all over each other again. He began lifting my right leg so I was partially cradled in his lap.
"What are you trying to do?" I asked. "Get you on top of me."
"Oh okay, well just say so."
With more clunky movements I made my way to sitting on top of him. Now with access of his arms, back, and chest. I was experiencing sensations I didn't know were possible. We kept kissing, as I ran my fingers through his hair and beard, and he brushed my hair behind my ears. Without warning, he snagged a lock of my stretched-out curls and pulled hard. Not enough to hurt me, but enough to render me incapable of moving back. I made a sharp exhale, followed by a breathless giggle. He kept on, kissing my neck.
"Can I take this dress off?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Can I kiss your breasts?"
"Yeah." I was beginning to lose my breath. "I'm not wearing a bra underneath." He grunted contentedly and rolled my sleeves down until my boobs were exposed, then his mouth was on them, and I lost the ability to think. He sucked on them hard enough to make funny noises, but I was trying to ignore them. I was actually doing more than just kissing Aram. This was more than I ever expected.
"What do you want me to do to you?" he asked me suddenly. I froze, suddenly afraid to say what it was. But he seemed game. I should have just said exactly what was on my mind.
"Uh..." I stammered, "I--I don't... What do you want to do?"
"I wanna be inside you," his low baritone growled. I could have creamed right there. "Do you want me to be inside you?" he asked. I hesitated, looking around.
"Do you... do you have condoms here?"
"Yeah," he said.
"Yes." I nodded. As soon as I'd given the response his mouth was on me again, on my mouth, my breasts, my neck. He reached his hand into my underwear and pushed his fingers inside me. I gasped with the sudden pain followed by a perfect release of pleasure.
"Oh wow, you're really wet." He said.
I hummed contentedly, beginning to moan in earnest. Now he was beginning to grunt like an animal.
"You're one of the sexiest men I've ever met, Aram." I said.
"Thank you." He was now beginning to sound breathless.
