Page 70 of Strawberry Kisses

Chapter Thirty-One

Patrick

The fold-out chair underneath me squeaked as I shifted position slightly. It wasn’t exactly the most comfortable seat, but that didn’t matter. I was here to watch Connor, and I knew I was going to be easily distracted.

He and Levi had managed to pull a showcase together for the end of August, getting loads of their pole students to sign up and have a go as well as putting routines together themselves. It was more a fun, casual event than a competition Connor had said, and they’d designed it so anyone could take part if they wanted—whether they’d performed before or not. Connor had said it was much easier to get up and perform in front of a small, supportive crowd that you knew, especially for the first time, than stepping on stage at a competition.

Connor and Levi had worked really hard over the past eight weeks to pull it together, and the event had completely sold out. The lights of the second studio had been dimmed at one end, leaving a warmly lit performance space at the other end. There was a black curtain covered in fairy lights behind it, with plain black curtains hung on the side walls, hiding the floor-to-ceiling mirrors that stretched along the length of the room. There were two chrome poles in the performance space, about six feet apart. Connor had mentioned something about one of them being on static and one being set to spin so the pole itself would spin in place when the dancer touched it. Just the idea of clutching onto something spinning at high speed made me feel a little travel sick.

A friend of Levi’s had set up a long table covered in a sparkling tablecloth with large speakers on either side of it to provide the music, and Connor had booked a local drag queen, Miss Fortune, as compare. Miss Fortune was brilliant, funny, encouraging, and self-deprecating, and she kept gently ribbing Levi and Connor, which was a hilarious bonus.

The audience of family members, partners, and other students was squeezed into the other end of the room on a random collection of fold-out chairs they’d procured, a couple of low sofas from the reception area that parents usually sat on during the kids classes, and even a couple of mats at the front—although that was mostly for the performers. I was sandwiched between Ben, who’d come to play supportive brother to Levi, and Taylor and Simon, who Connor had invited up for the weekend. It was the first time I’d really met them, but already I could see why Taylor and Connor were so close. They were so funny to watch together. The best way to describe it was almost lovingly snarky.

The first section of performers had already been, which had been mostly people who weren’t too far into their pole journey. They were all still ridiculously impressive to me, and I’d clapped and cheered for everyone. I’d never be brave enough to do something like this, and to me they all deserved a standing ovation just for getting up there. We’d also had an interval where the audience had been able to help themselves to cake and donate to charity. I’d provided the cake after a panicked kitchen visit from Levi who was terrified that Connor was going to try baking again. I had no idea how his cake had been so bad the first time he’d tried, but I was almost tempted to get Connor to try again one day so I could see the resulting horror for myself.

I’d hardly seen Connor for most of the evening since he’d been helping Levi with the organisation. But now as I looked around for him, he’d disappeared from sight.

“He’s probably gone to get changed,” Taylor murmured from beside me before clapping and cheering for the young woman currently performing. She was in some form of inverted position on the spinning pole which looked virtually impossible for any normal human to achieve. I hadn’t realised I’d spoken out loud, but when I glanced at Taylor, he just grinned.

“You were looking for him,” he added.

“I didn’t realise I was so obvious.” I chuckled and then gasped as the performer dropped down the pole and into a ball around it.

“You are, but it’s cute. Have you seen Connor perform before?”

“Sort of. I’ve watched lots of his Instagram videos.” I’d watched more of them over the past couple of weeks after I’d finally come clean to Connor about only liking them without watching because I’d felt guilty getting turned on by videos of my best friend. He’d pulled them all up on his phone, and we’d watched some of them together. Then he’d offered to show me some of his floor work in person. We hadn’t made it far into the incredibly sexy routine he’d started, and then we’d never made it beyond the sofa. “Have you?”

“A couple of times. I used to go and watch him compete sometimes. He’s even better in person,” Taylor turned to look at me, a wry smile on his lips. “But I’m not his boyfriend, so you might find it a little more… intense than I do.”

Something inside my chest fluttered with nerves and excitement. Connor had told me that he loved doing sexy routines, and I was never going to stop him from doing them. Watching him on video had been intense enough, so I had no idea what this was going to do to me. God, it was going to be so embarrassing if I got hard in public. I just had to hope it wouldn’t be visible through my jeans in the dark, and that I could get it under control by the end of the night.

The performer onstage finished with a dramatic flair and we all applauded wildly. She gave a breathless bow and then ran into the arms of some friends, who pulled her into giant hugs on the mats. Miss Fortune rose from her chair on the edge of the stage area and reached for her microphone and her clipboard, which had everyone’s bios on it, and stepped onto the floor with a flare.

“Oh my God, Ellie. That was amazing! Wasn’t she amazing, everyone?” We all cheered. “You definitely need to perform more often, although maybe less of those drops, okay? I thought my heart was going to come out through my throat and that would’ve just been messy!” The audience laughed, and Ellie beamed from her seat. It looked like she was breathing for the first time in five minutes. “Are you ready for our next performer? Since we’re getting towards the end of the evening, it’s time for our instructors to get on the stage and put their money where their mouths are. Are you excited?”

We cheered, and my heart leapt into my throat. I couldn’t see Levi or Connor, but I knew Levi was closing out the show since he owned the studio.

“Okay, so next up we have Connor. Connor has been poling for eleven years, starting when he was only seventeen alongside his ballet and dance training…” Miss Fortune grinned. “I won’t tell you what I was doing at seventeen because it’s embarrassing compared to this. Drinking WKD in the park is not comparable in any way.”

Taylor snorted from beside me. “No, we just drank it in my room instead.”

“Connor started doing competitions as soon as he turned eighteen, and credits pole with helping him embrace his queerness and sexuality—I love that so much, like so fucking much—He’s been an instructor at Above the Barre since it opened and is so proud of every single one of his students. Tonight’s routine is something he put together for fun—because he wanted to be very gay and extra. He wants to dedicate the performance to his boyfriend, Patrick, who is a continued source of love and encouragement.”

I felt my face heating, and I was glad nobody apart from Taylor, Simon, and Ben would be able to see the colour of my face. But I couldn’t focus on my embarrassment because I was too fixed on the stage. The first few beats of Connor’s music kicked in, and I recognised it instantly, “I Like Boys” by Todrick Hall.

The back curtains parted, Connor stepped onto the studio floor, and my jaw dropped. He was wearing tiny black shorts that just covered his ass, black knee pads, and black patent-leather, knee-high boots with a platform wedge and stiletto heels that must have been at least eight inches high. His skin shimmered with body glitter and his face was perfectly made-up, complete with smoky eyes and dark red lipstick that just made me melt. I wanted him to smear it all over my skin.

He strode over to the static pole, eyes locking onto the audience as he began to move. I was transfixed. Connor moved like water—completely fluid and effortless. Every roll of his hips and bend of his body was entrancing and sensuous. He oozed pure sex appeal as he slid down the pole and onto the floor, spreading his legs then lifting them over his head to crack the platform of his boots on the floor and then together. The sound sent shivers running through me.

Connor’s muscles rippled as he flipped onto his stomach and his eyes found mine as he lifted his hips and began to slowly roll them, humping the floor. All I could think of was how he’d moved his hips like that when he’d fucked me three days ago, slow and deep and perfect until I’d painted our skin with my cum. I bit my lip, trying hard not to let it show how much his performance was affecting me. Luckily, everyone’s eyes were on him as he slid across the floor and wrapped his knee around the spinning pole, using the momentum to swing himself onto his feet before he began to climb it. I stared at him, watching as the pole almost became an extension of his body. Connor made it look so graceful and easy, even though I’d heard him complain about the pain and the bruises. The sheer strength involved was incredible, and I gasped as he held himself perpendicular to the pole. Then with a simple twist, he was suddenly descending as the pole spun, walking on the air until he reached the floor where he began to dip and spin, dropping down into a bouncing squat before pushing his perfect ass out.

There was a huge grin on Connor’s face, and it was easy to tell he was having a fabulous time grinding, bouncing, and spinning while Todrick Hall sung about dick prints and bubble butts and sexy boys. His enthusiasm was infectious, and the whole room was whooping, cheering, and clapping with every move he made. At one point, Taylor had even whistled and then laughed. I didn’t know if Connor had heard him, but the way his face had twitched suggested he had.

Connor finished the routine with a final clack of his heels and a spectacular drop to the floor. There was a split second of silence and then the audience erupted with cheers and waves of applause. Connor gracefully climbed to his feet, his chest heaving. He was wearing the most enormous smile and was immediately jumped on by a couple of students who dragged him into giant hugs. He returned them quickly, then sauntered across the room, wriggling through the audience until he reached us.

“Excuse me, darling,” he said to Simon and Taylor, his voice hoarse and breathless. He squeezed past them and collapsed onto my lap, stretching his boots out over Taylor who laughed. “Hello, my love. Did you enjoy that?”

“I… er… I…”

---