I love a good overheard conversation story, be it through a baby monitor, a grate, at a party, or in a bar like this one. One of my stories, Ancient History, used an overhead conversation in a pub toilet for devastating consequences. I write for myself, but I am always pleased if anyone else enjoys them.
I thank you for your kindness during my recent surgeries--just one more to go.
There is no sex in this story, just sex references--English spelling and terms. Equity is the UK performing arts and entertainment trade union.
The Best in the Business
Ollie Potter had a very long career in entertainment as an actor, presenter and celebrity. He was a large, jolly man, camp and known for having a much younger and very handsome Italian husband. They had appeared in the pages of the glossy magazines on numerous occasions. He was holding court in the stalls bar of a stunning Victorian theatre. Jack's wife Tilly was appearing in a play there. Ollie had met Jack when he and Tilly had appeared in pantomime together; he was a very popular pantomime dame. He wouldn't recognise Jack, though; he was not important and was much younger then, without a beard, when Tilly appeared with Ollie. Jack's ears pricked up when he heard him talk about her.
"Of course, Tilly Mulhern is the best in the business by far."
Jack smiled then and felt so proud of her.
"I even tried her, and she's the only woman I ever did that with. This was before I met my Lorenzo, of course."
Jack sank back into the booth with a sickening feeling as he heard the whoops and hollers from Ollie's posse as they hung onto his every word. Jack wanted to go over there and ask him what he meant, but he was stuck in that booth, his legs no longer working.
Jack met Tilly at school. Childhood sweethearts. She still had her sticky-out teeth before her new expensive smile. Jack loved those teeth and her quirky little snaggle tooth almost as much as she hated them. He loved every part of her, and this imperfection just made her more real and his own. Of course, Jack knew even as a young teen that you can't own a person, yet you can own their heart and let them own yours. Tilly had always had Jack's heart. They were each other's first everything; she was also his last.
Tilly had talent. She was always the star of any school production. Although technically too young for a lot of the parts in the local amateur groups, with the right hair and makeup, she seemed able to transform herself and steal the show.
Jack went to university after sixth form, and she got into a prestigious drama academy. It was a shock at first for her to realise that she had been a big fish in a small pond back home. She was amongst many equal talents, but eventually, her talent won out. Although parted, they still managed to spend weekends together. He knew her friends, and she knew his. Long-distance relationships can be difficult, but he never really worried about their faithfulness.
After graduation, she did the odd small television role here and there, but her real love was the theatre. She dreamed of appearing in the West End but excelled in regional theatre tours, even touring Europe with some productions. She came alive on the stage, and Jack never tired of watching her.
So, settled in his career as an engineer, they married. She was the most beautiful bride. He had seen her in a wedding dress onstage a couple of times, but she had never looked more radiant than when she walked down that aisle. She seemed to sparkle somehow and shined more that day than she ever had on a stage, as good as she was.
When they married, he realised they would have to spend much of their time apart as she appeared on stage at night or toured. They prepared for that and had a routine. A quick phone call just before the half-hour call. A more extended call or Facetime when she was back at her digs. Of course, her adrenalin levels were always high after she appeared onstage, and she often struggled to sleep. She didn't want to socialise with the cast, though she wanted to spend time with Jack. This meant he frequently had some very late nights or early mornings chatting with her, but it was worth it to spend any time with her.
After five years of living their lives like this, with her touring or having short runs in various regional theatres, she got a part in a soap. She knew from the start that it would only be a 12-month contract with no hope of a longer stay as her character had a very definite story arc that would result in her death and a murder trial, with the accused being a longstanding, well-loved character in the show. It was a wonderful time, though. They did get to spend more time together in the evenings, and it all seemed a bit more normal. While she still didn't exactly have a regular nine-to-five job, they could see that a role like this would enable them to eventually have the family they yearned for.
When her role was over, the image of her splashed with blood lying on the pavement made her a hot property. Suddenly, she was offered more extensive tours and higher billing as long as they could print the name of her soap under her name.
So, that brought them here; it was a fun play she was in, playing the role of a ship's cook aboard a pirate ship. She was cheeky and irreverent, and the audience was in no doubt that she was in charge of that ship more than the captain of the pirate ship. He was played by an ageing TV heartthrob, Ty Porter, famous for his tight trousers and his curtain of dark hair. It was now looking a little too dark as he approached his fifties. Tilly had appeared in many shows with him, and he always got along famously with Jack when their paths had crossed. Jack had considered him a friend as they had a laugh together; now he was starting to wonder if Ty was actually laughing at him, not with him.
Ollie continued, "Of course, she only does her speciality now that she is married. Before then she offered the full works to anyone she thought would help her career. She wasn't fussy at all. Once she got married, she refused anything more than oral, but trust me, she is the best at that. Believe me, I'm an expert on fellatio, and she is a queen of it."
Jack looked down at the flowers he had brought her as part of his surprise. He wasn't meant to be here tonight but join her tomorrow. A problem at work with one of the machines meant an unexpected day off, so he decided to surprise her. Looks like the surprise was on Jack; he knew that Ollie was speaking the truth. Although he'd had no one other than Tilly to compare with, he knew how amazing she was at giving oral. He also knew that she loved it.
He had often sat quietly at work when he heard the other blokes talk about getting their increasingly rare blowjobs like it was something their wives suffered for a special occasion. Jack knew that Tilly really got off on it, got off on the power she had to literally bring him to his knees. Of course, he would never have talked to the other blokes about his love life with Tilly. It was sacred, or he thought it was.
"Of course, Ty is reaping the benefits of Tilly's skills on this tour almost exclusively. Before and after every performance, he tells me. He finds it very relaxing now he has had to give up the sauce on doctor's orders."
"Almost exclusively?" queried his friend with a pink stripe in his hair.
"Well, she still gives a blowjob to any member of the team celebrating a birthday. Silly cow hasn't even noticed that they all seem to have had a birthday during this tour. Most of the stagehands here seemed to have had a birthday this week, just by chance," he guffawed.
"The little actor who plays the cabin boy couldn't believe his luck when he found out what his gift from her was."
"But he's just a kid," the pink-striped one declared.
"No, he's just short, ideal to get around the child labour laws. He might look thirteen, but he's actually nineteen. His birthday blowjob off Miss Tilly was apparently the first he had ever received; bless him. Mind you," leaned in Ollie, "If I'm any judge, he will soon be batting for our team, but he just hasn't realised it yet. The closet door is just a little ajar at the moment, but I think it will soon be fully open."
Ollie's posse laughed and hollered as Jack reached inside his jacket for a pen to scratch out what he had written on the card within the flowers.
