Fan-Tastic (2 page)

Even a comic book nerd like Blake knew that was a brush off, but he returned the grin, hiding the fact that his heart was breaking. “Sure, I’ll be here all week.”

He then turned back to his table, cursing under his breath. That couldn’t have gone any worse.

Deke hurried up to the main stage, but his mind continued to stay with the slender blond who was still standing by the tiny table of comic books.

As he took a seat behind the long table where the other actors sat, Deke continued to rack his mind, trying to remember Blake. For the life of him he couldn’t recall ever meeting him before.

Then, just as he was about to give up, it came to him. Of course! Sure Blake had been several inches smaller and even skinnier then, but all of a sudden Deke had a clear visual of the, then, freshman.

Blake had always hung back in the shadows. When he wasn’t working on the set or lighting, he would be hunched over some kind of sketch book. Deke now regretted that he never went to see what Blake was working on.

There was no denying that the guy had major talent. Deke hadn’t been lying when he’d said that he’d been following Blake’s comic for some time. Not only was the story the right blend of sex and action, but the artwork was amazing.

Two guys approached Blake’s table. Of course, Blake had to flash that sexy smile of his. The one that had instantly made Deke stand up and take attention, even before they’d exchanged a word.

The guys were taller and bulkier than Blake and they really seemed to be invading his personal space. Blake took it all in his stride though. He just continued to smile, gesturing with his hands as his spoke.

“Deke! Did you hear the question?” a voice called.

Oh shit! He’d completely forgotten that he was supposed to be taking part in a Q and A presentation. He gave a slight shake of his head and smiled at the crowd. “Sorry, the jet lag is still getting to me. Can you repeat it for me, please?”

The reporter, one that he recognised from People magazine nodded, then asked, “There are rumours that some of the major characters are going to be killed off this year. Can you tell us if one of them is you?”

Actually, he already knew for a fact he wasn’t. While the fans didn’t find him sexy like some of the other cast members, he had a lot of followers that just loved him for his adorableness. While it annoyed him, at the same time he clung to it since it kept him steadily employed.

Giving a coy chuckle that he knew would annoy but endear his fans he replied, “You know I can’t tell you that. Are you trying to get me into trouble?”

On cue, one of the producers waved a mocking finger at the reporter. The crowd reacted as expected, with a soft titter of laughter. The next question was for another cast member, who was only in three more episodes--poor sap. At least that allowed Deke to turn his attention back to Blake.

He frowned when he noted the two men were still there and they had somehow managed to move in even closer. Blake was still smiling, but there was some nervousness behind expression now. Then, one of the men reached forward and pressed what looked to be a key card for one of the hotel rooms into Blake’s hand.

Blake shook his head and tried to hand it back, but the man refused to take it. The man and his friend didn’t seem to take the rejection very well. Their faces grew dark with anger and one of them swept his hand over the table, knocking over some of Blake’s comics.

Deke had seen enough. Not caring if it got him in trouble, he got up and rushed over to Blake's table.

He’d hoped that his leaving would go unnoticed, but damned if a few of the reporters didn’t turn their cameras his way, tracking his path as Deke hurried to Blake’s side.

“Is there a problem here?” Deke asked casually.

One of the men sneered at him. “Not anything that’s any of your business.”

While Deke knew he was too small to take on the meatheads by himself, one of the benefits of being on one of the top rated shows was that security was never far behind him. Hooking his hand over the man’s shoulder Deke said, “I can make it mine and their business really quick if you don’t leave now.”

The men looked like they were going to argue for a moment, but they took one glance at the security guards, then turned around and left. As they were walking away, Blake tossed the card at them. “Here, make sure you take this with you, because there is no way in hell that I’m going to be using it.”

It was only then that Deke noticed how silent the convention hall had grown. Blake must have realised the same thing, because his eyes grew wide as he paled.

“So, Deke, who’s your friend?” the People reporter asked, right before there was a flash as somebody took a picture.

“It’s Blake Tallision and he has the best comic out there.” Deke reached out and held up one of the copies, happy to notice more flashes going off. “You guys really need to check it out. He's amazing and so talented.”

Before the rush of questions that was sure to follow could come, Deke leaned in and whispered, “You wore a pair of black jeans and a Pokémon T-shirt.”

Blake scrunched his face up. “Huh?”

“The night of the cast party for our high school play. It took me a minute, but I finally remembered. What I can’t figure out is what you spent all your time drawing.”

Giving Deke a timid smile, Blake said, “Maybe someday I’ll show you.”

Chapter Two

Blake was packing everything up for the evening when Deke approached him. As always, whenever he caught sight of the man’s slim body and boyish grin, Blake’s heart did a little stutter.

Damn, one would think that after all the passing years he would have got over his crush, but it’d only managed to grow stronger.

“So, what are you doing for dinner?” Deke asked.

Eating the other half of the comp sandwich they gave us for lunch today since I can’t afford anything else.

Blake shrugged. “I’m tired, so I thought I would just go up to my room and crash.”

“How about you let me take you out to dinner?”

Blake felt that cursed blush creeping up on his face again. “I don’t know.”

“Come on. I want to catch up. We can go to the steak house that’s right inside the hotel. It’s a bit pricey, but since my company is footing the bill, we can splurge.”

Wow, it had taken forever, but Blake was finally getting what he’d always dreamed of, but never dared believe would ever come true…an invitation to a date with Deke.

“Okay, sure. I am kind of hungry,” Blake conceded, his stomach doing a happy little flip.

Deke scrunched up his face. “Yeah, that crap they gave us for lunch was terrible.”

Actually, it had been the best food that Blake had eaten in a long time but he’d die before he admitted that. Instead, he shoved the rest of his comics into the box, then pushed it all under the table.

“So, it looks like you sold a lot today,” Deke observed.

“Yeah, thanks to you. I had to put in a rush order for more so I don’t run out before the week is over. Some customers even want to order T-shirts and stuff. I’ve hardly sold any of that merchandise before.”

That had been yet another reason why Blake was currently broke. While it was great that he was gaining some attention, it had cost a fortune to rush the order. He just hoped it paid off in the end and he didn’t go home to an empty bank account.

If the day turned out to be a one-time hit for him, he was going to wind up taking home a whole bunch of junk. His gut clenched in dread as he thought about how much extra that could cost him at baggage claim on his flight home.

Deke reached over and put a hand on Blake’s arm. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I was wondering if today was just a fluke and tomorrow I’m going to end up standing all by myself again.”

“I seriously doubt that will happen.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“You know that reporter for People?”

“The chick with the long, curly red hair that looked like it weighed more than she did?”

Deke smiled. “That would be her. By the way, her name is Debbie Montgomery. You may want to make a note of it.”

“Why?”

“Because she just sent me a text, asking if I could set up an interview with you tomorrow.”

Confused and feeling as if he were in the middle of some surreal dream, Blake pointed at his own chest. “Me? Why?”

“She bought one of your comics and has been sending me a slew of texts ever since, all of them telling me how much she loves it.”

Blake was certain that Deke was only trying to make him feel better. “Sure, like some lady from a huge magazine is going to give a rip about my comic.”

“I’m telling you the god’s honest truth. Not only does she love it, but she’s calling her friend from Logo to see if they would be interested in doing a feature on it.”

Blake pinched his arm, letting out a hiss of pain. “Okay, so I’m not dreaming. I just don’t get how this all happened.”

A bitter smile crossed Deke’s face. “Once in a while true talent is actually given the credit it's due and this is one of those rare times.”

“I just write dirty comic books.”

“No, you write art. There’s a huge difference. You need to give yourself more credit.”

Stunned, Blake was silent as Deke led him to the restaurant and they were seated. It wasn’t until they’d placed their order that he finally spoke again, “I still don’t get it.”

Accepting a glass of wine from the waiter, Deke tasted it before nodding his approval. Returning his attention to Blake, Deke said, “You’re a genius. It’s about time you learnt to accept that.”

“If I’m such a genius then how come I live in my mom’s basement with her stinky cats and old recliners? I didn’t even graduate college.”

“You underestimate yourself.”

But Blake had worked himself into a lather and there was no stopping him. “You have no idea how much of a loser I am. I’m so broke that I’m trying to think of a discreet way to ask for doggy bags after we’re done here, so I can live off the leftovers for the next few days. I don’t even have enough money to buy a soda from the hotel vending machine. I have to run out to the party store across the street, and there are some pretty scary guys who hang out there. The last time, they promised to make me their bitch. I’m not sure exactly what that means but going by the looks on their faces, it’s not a good thing. Plus, I only have a few changes of clothes and now that I blew all my money in getting the extra merchandise here in time, I don’t even have enough to wash them at the laundromat. How pathetic is that? I don’t think I can sink any lower.”

By this point, Blake was breathing fast, his pulse racing, both out of panic and from the embarrassment of what he’d just revealed to, literally, the man of his dreams. Even though he was scared of what he would find, Blake forced himself to glance at Deke.

There was no anger or judgment on Deke’s face, just a gentle smile and a soft gaze that spoke of understanding. Reaching across the table, he grabbed Blake’s hand. “When I first moved to LA, I shared a one-bedroom apartment with six other guys and I had to do my laundry in the bath tub.”

Somehow, that made Blake feel so much better. “Really?”

“Yeah, we all have to start somewhere. I just happen to be farther along while you’re still at the beginning.”

Blake closed his eyes and let out a groan. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to drag you down and whine about my problems.”

“Isn’t that what friends are for?”

Blake opened his eyes. “How can we be friends when you hardly even remember me?”

“Let’s just say, I spent most of the day thinking back to that year we did the play together and I’m recalling more and more about you.”

“Oh, great. I was an even bigger dork back then.”

“On the contrary, you were as adorable then as you are now.”

A thrill went through Blake at the unexpected compliment. “You’re just saying that to make me feel better because I just spilled my guts out to you.”

Looking directly into Blake’s eyes Deke said, “No, I mean every word of it.”

The raw emotion that was so plain on Deke’s face made a shiver of desire shoot up Blake’s spine. “I’m just a nobody.”

“No, you’re Blake. The skinny, little blond who used to hide out in the projection room and sketch when he was supposed to be in gym class.”

Blake gasped. “You remember that?”

“Yeah, I do. It was so cute.”

“I did it because I sucked at sports and didn’t want to get picked on by the jocks. Do you know how humiliating it is to always be picked last to be on a team?”

Using his free hand Deke gestured to his own thin frame. “Uh…yeah.”

A burst of laughter bubbled over Blake’s lips and before he knew it, he and Deke were both cracking up. Once they were finished, Deke grabbed for Blake’s hand again. “Now, here is what we’re going to do. After we’re done eating here, we’re going to go cancel your room for the rest of the week and you’re going to stay with me instead.”

Blake shook his head. “I couldn’t impose like that.”

Damn, it was tempting, but a guy had to have some sort of pride. At the moment, that was the only thing that Blake really owned.

Deke fanned his thumb over Blake’s hand. “You would be doing me a favour. It gets pretty lonely being on the road like this.”

Instead of making him feel better, that comment only left a bitter taste in Blake’s mouth. Jerking his hand back, he spat, “I’m not Julia Roberts and you’re not Richard Gere. I may be desperate, but I would never sink that low.”

Deke’s eyes grew wide and he fanned his hands out. “No! Shit, I’m messing this all up. I just wanted a friend to hang out with, honest.”

Blake still wasn’t convinced. He narrowed his gaze “Really? You’re just doing this out of the goodness of your heart?”

“Just look at it as one artist helping another one out.”

“So, I don’t have to do anything that would make me qualify as rent boy status?”

Deke gave a soft chuckle. “Look, I’m not going to lie and say that I don’t think you’re the hottest thing I’ve ever seen. In fact, all I can think about is taking the saucer of butter from this table, pouring it over your naked body and slowly licking it off, inch-by-inch. But, if we’re going to do anything, it’s only going to be because we both want it and not because you feel indebted to me. When I make love to you, I want it to be free of any strings and I want to possess every part of you.”