Ruby Slippers - 1

Ruby Slippers

Copyright © 2010 by Alexi Silversmith

All rights reserved. No part of this eBook may be used
or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written
permission except in case of brief quotations embodied
in critical articles or reviews. For information address
Torquere Press, Inc., PO Box 2545, Round Rock, TX
78680

Cover illustration copyright Alessia Brio

Used with permission

ISBN: 978-1-1-61040-038-1

Printed in the United States of America.

Torquere Press, Inc.: High Ball electronic edition /
August 2010

Torquere Press eBooks are published by Torquere Press,
Inc., PO Box 2545, Round Rock, TX 78680

Ruby Slippers - 2

ONE

Detective Mark Benemonti had just finished a late night
at the station and was taking the scenic route home
through Mitford’s little town park. It wasn’t quite seven
yet, so it wasn’t crowded, and Mark was enjoying the
quiet, the sight of green things just starting to sprout,
and the brilliance of the rising sun -- along with a large
travel-mug of strong coffee.

Then he crested the park’s small hill and saw a Greek
god in sweatpants.

The guy was running a little distance away, on a path
perpendicular to Mark’s own. In a moment, though, if
the jogger stayed his course, he would turn and pass
right by Mark.

He wasn’t tall, but his soft, ratty sweat-suit clung in all
the right places to showcase broad shoulders, a
washboard stomach, bulging thighs and -- oh, mama! --
an ass Mark could bounce quarters off. The guy might
be running this morning, but he looked like his normal
workout included some serious weights.

The sun lit up the honey-colored stubble of the runner’s
buzz cut and made his face glow golden, and then he
was turning toward Mark and a pair of chocolate brown
eyes with thick, blond lashes caught Mark’s attention.
The detective, a blue-eyed anomaly in his Italian family,

Ruby Slippers - 3

was a sucker for brown eyes.

The runner passed him, and those eyes cast Mark a
sidelong look -- a mixture of curiosity and appreciation,
Mark thought -- and Mark’s blood heated with
excitement, hoping that the runner might stop, do a
stretch, say good morning.

But he didn’t. He didn’t even slow. He just kept
running, those eyes flicking away as the generous lips
quirked into what might have been a tiny smile. Mark
sighed, swigged the last of his coffee and resisted the
urge to turn and watch. He couldn’t risk making the first
move. He was out at work, but a gay police officer who
hit on strangers in the park was just asking for trouble.
And the guy was a complete stranger. Mark had a cop’s
eye for faces, and this one was totally unfamiliar.

It was a small community, and Mark knew just about
everyone who was gay and out, at least by sight. Well,
apart from the downtown drag queen community, but
since the guy had been pumping out enough testosterone
to make Mark’s balls swell, Mark was pretty sure he
wasn’t a tranny.

So, either he was new in town and Mark would -- pray
to God -- run across him again, or he was in the closet
and…well, Mark had been there and had the scars to
show for it. He was never dating a man who kept his real
self a secret again. That was a surefire way to get your
heart ripped out.

With such unhappy thoughts haunting him, suddenly a
glance back at that killer ass felt like a good idea after

Ruby Slippers - 4

all. Mark peeked over his shoulder -- just as a kid on a
bicycle, his face hidden in a hoodie jacket, zipped past
him and made a grab at the jogger.

The kid on the bike caught hold of the white ear-bud
cord around the jogger’s neck and kept going,
wrenching the jogger off his feet as the cord ripped
away.

"Hey!" Mark shouted.

The kid put on a burst of speed, disappearing over the
hill that Mark had just walked across. The runner went
down hard on one knee, hands clutching at his throat. He
made a harsh coughing noise, and Mark, who had
already broken into a run, immediately revised his plan
to go after the mugger and instead dropped into a crouch
beside the injured man, tossing his coffee cup aside.

"Look at me," he said, a note of authority automatically
infusing his voice. He caught the jogger’s jaw between
his hands, tilting the man’s head to examine the rapidly
reddening mark left by the ear-bud cord. "Lift your
head. Are you okay? You can breathe?"

"Yeah," the jogger said, coughing again. "Just bruised.
Caught me off guard. Least the little bastard didn’t get
my iPod. I always fasten it in my pocket."

He pulled a tiny, hot pink iPod out of his pants pocket
and displayed it proudly, a small, crooked smile on his
face. Despite the situation, that sly smile and the man’s
deep, rumbling voice -- which had a hint of a Southern
accent -- instantly made Mark start to harden. Fuck.

Ruby Slippers - 5

"Yeah, but if you hadn’t fastened it so securely it
wouldn’t have almost taken your head off when he
pulled it," Mark pointed out, letting go of the jogger’s
face and trying to get control of his unruly libido as he
picked up his now empty coffee cup. He didn’t normally
have this problem around crime victims; either the guy
really was a Greek god, or it was way too long since
Mark’d had sex. Or maybe both.

He cleared his throat and continued. "There’s been a
rash of these bike muggings lately; we recommend that
people give up their possessions rather than risk their
lives."

"We recommend?" The jogger asked.

"Oh, sorry. Detective Mark Benemonti," Mark said,
feeling like a dick as he held out his hand.

The jogger took it without hesitation and gave it a strong
shake. Mark could feel weight-lifting calluses on the
guy’s palm. An electric tingle of excitement made him
stand quickly, heaving the other man to his feet in the
same movement. "Let me walk you down to the station.
We’ll fill out a report."

The jogger hung onto Mark’s hand once he gained his
feet, grinning again. "For this? No way am I wasting the
rest of my day waiting around in a police station over
this. The guy didn’t even get my iPod. Besides, I
couldn’t tell you if he was black or white, thirteen or
thirty. No offense, but I doubt you’ll have much luck
finding him."

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"And what if he does this to someone else?" Mark said,
but his attempt at sternness failed as the jogger squeezed
his hand gently.

"According to you, he’s been doing it plenty already,
and all his other victims filed reports, right? You still
haven’t caught him. One more report isn’t likely to
make any difference, and I’m not letting the fucker
make my day any worse than he already did."

The jogger let go of Mark’s hand and took a step back,
wincing as his leg pulled up short.

"You’re hurt," Mark said, eyes zeroing in on the area.

"Sorry." The jogger cut him off with another crooked
smile. "Not going to the emergency room, either. I know
my own body. I’m just a little banged up, that’s all."

"There’s blood," Mark pointed out, gesturing to a rip
near the runner’s hip that revealed a splash of scarlet.

For the first time the jogger’s cocky attitude wavered.
Mark watched, enchanted, as the man’s tan face slowly
turned deep pink. "Naw," he said, putting his hand over
the hole. "That’s just my underwear."

Mark actually heard his cock go DING! Dear God -- big
brown eyes, Southern accent and now blushing too? The
man was perfect.

"Hey, thanks for trying to come to the rescue," Mark
heard the man say. "I appreciate it. I’d better let you get

Ruby Slippers - 7

to work though, right? Don’t want to make you late."

"Actually, I’m on my way home," Mark said. "And I
was going to stop at Mimi’s Diner for breakfast anyway.
Why don’t I try to make your day a little better by
buying you breakfast, too?"

The jogger ducked his head shyly, and Mark took the
opportunity to discreetly adjust his trousers. "Are you
sure? I’m really fine. You don’t have to."

"I want to. Besides, muffins always make the world
seem brighter, right?" Mark said.

"Well…okay…" the jogger rubbed the stubble on his
head. "Ah, I don’t really know my way around town yet.
Which way is the diner?"

New in town, not closeted. Mark tried to tone the grin of
delight down to a sane looking smile, but wasn’t sure he
managed it. "This way," he said, putting his hand on the
jogger’s lower back. "It’s barely a two minute walk, but
if your leg hurts, lean on me."

"Thanks," the jogger said. "You’re a pal."

"So, what’s your name?" Mark asked, savoring the solid
feel of the jogger’s shoulder against his. Mark had a
good three inches on the other man, but the guy’s
shoulders had to be nearly twice the width of Mark’s,
and his arms were huge. The smell of shower gel and
clean sweat that rose from the jogger’s body made it
really hard not to sniff. Mark loved manly men. He’d
never been able to understand why so many of his

Ruby Slippers - 8

friends lusted after girly twinks. Effeminate did not do it
for him.

"Wow, I was kind of hoping you wouldn’t ask me that,"
the jogger said, face going pink again.

"What? Why?" Mark asked.

"Don’t laugh. Laugh, and I kick you in the balls, cop or
not," he said, face now so fiery red that it was a little
hard to take the threat seriously, even if the guy did have
a body that would make the Terminator feel inadequate.

"Come on, it can’t be that bad," Mark said. "I promise I
won’t laugh."

"Sterling Steele."

"Huh?"

"That’s my name, all right? First name Sterling. Last
name Steele."

"Ah…" Mark said, wishing he could scratch his head,
but unable to do so since one hand was holding the
jogger and the other still held his travel-mug. "What’s
funny about that? It’s the sort of name I thought guys
wished they had. It’s like, a super hero name."

Sterling looked surprised. "Yeah? Most people just start
laughing at that point. Once I mention the middle name
they’re gone."

"Why, what’s your middle name?"

Ruby Slippers - 9

"Rockland."

Mark shook his head. "It’s a little butch, but you’re
manly enough to pull it off. It suits you. Your friends
must have a strange sense of humor."

Sterling’s eyes widened a little, and he laughed uneasily.
"Yeah. Manly, that’s me."

Was Mark going crazy to think that the hint of insecurity
was just adorable? The guy got mugged and shrugged it
off like it was a friendly hug, and he thought he wasn’t
manly? How cute was that?

Mark kept close as he guided Sterling across the street --
just doing his duty, taking care of the walking wounded,
yes sir -- and took him into the cherry red interior of
Mimi’s diner. Wendy, the pink uniformed waitress,
bounced over as Mark got them to one of the booths and
helped Sterling, who seemed to be having trouble
bending his right knee, into his side of the booth, then
reluctantly let go to take a seat opposite.

"Hey, Officer Mark!"

Mark winced. "You can just call me Mark, Wendy, I
told you that. You don’t call your husband Officer
Travers, do you?"

Wendy laughed. "Sure, Officer Mark. You want
coffee?"

Mark shook his head, but didn’t pursue it. "Please. What

Ruby Slippers - 10

about you, Sterling?"

"Could I get orange juice?" Sterling asked. "I worked up
a thirst out there."

"Sure thing," Wendy said, her brow wrinkling as she
stared at Sterling. "Do I know you, hon? I know you
haven’t been in here before, but I never forget a face,
‘specially a pretty one, and yours is really familiar."

Sterling blinked, casting Mark a wary look. "I don’t
think so. I’m sure I’d remember."

Wendy tapped her pen against her teeth. "Hmmm. I’ll
think on it. Back in a minute to take your orders."

Sterling leaned over the table to whisper. "Was she
coming on to me?"

Mark tried to hold the laugh in, but didn’t fully succeed.
"No way. Wendy’s married to her childhood sweetheart.
She was just being friendly. Maybe she did see you
somewhere before? How long have you been in town?"

"A couple of weeks. But I haven’t had time to go
anywhere. I’ve been too busy working…" Sterling’s
voice trailed off, and he coughed a little rubbing his
throat.

"Still sore?" Mark asked.

"Little bit. Be fine after something to drink."

Mark picked up his menu. "What do you feel like? I

Ruby Slippers - 11

wasn’t kidding, the muffins here are really good."

"Too many carbs," Sterling said, straight-faced, as he
studied his menu. "I got to watch my girlish figure."

Mark snorted, and Sterling sent him an interested look
over the top of the menu. "What? You stay that skinny
eating muffins?"

"Can’t put on weight. I tried lifting weights, but the
muscle just doesn’t seem to bulk up on me. I swim and
run a little, but that’s more to keep myself fit for the job
than to keep weight off."

"Lucky bastard," Sterling said. "I look at a fucking
muffin and my ass expands."

"Yeah, right," Mark said. "I got a pretty good look at
your ass earlier, and it seems fine to me. Better than
fine. The finest. Best I’ve ever seen."

Sterling put his menu up again, but Mark could see the
side of his neck, and it was turning pink again. "Thank
you."

"You are very welcome."

Wendy came back with their drinks, and they ordered.
To Mark’s amusement, Sterling went for the light
breakfast, with whole-wheat toast. So cute.

Mark decided it was time to take the plunge. "So, you
move here with anyone?"

Ruby Slippers - 12

"Yeah, my friend Bobby. We shared the expenses, and
now we live together so we can afford a bigger place.
He’s great."

Mark turned his cup of coffee in a half circle, then
turned it back. "And he’s…just a friend?"

Sterling quirked an eyebrow. "That’s what I said."

"You meet anyone since you got here?"

"Plenty of people. I love how gay friendly it is,
especially for a small town. Makes it real easy to feel at
home."

Mark didn’t think of himself as particularly subtle, but
obviously Sterling was the kind of guy who couldn’t
catch a hint unless it was aimed at his head like a
baseball. And Mark was out of practice with this stuff.
But he wasn’t giving up. Sterling Steele was just too
gorgeous.

He stared into Sterling’s eyes. "You’re single?"

Sterling stared back at him for a second, then did the shy
head-duck again, looking at the laminated menu even
though they’d already ordered. "Yeah. You?"

"Footloose and fancy free," Mark said, then wondered if
that was too gay.

The crooked grin creased Sterling’s face, and his eyes
sneaked another one of those appreciative looks at Mark,
this one travelling slowly down Mark’s body. "Fancy

Ruby Slippers - 13

free, huh?"

Definitely too gay. Oh, well. "Yep. And out."

"Really?" Now Sterling lifted his head. "But you’re a
cop."

"Gay friendly town," Mark pointed out. "I moved here
for that reason. I don’t want to hide who I am, or make
someone I’m with hide, either. I want to build a life on
my own terms."

"That’s an amazing attitude to have. I really admire you,
man."

Mark basked in the look Sterling gave him. "You’re out,
too, right?"

Sterling grinned, as if that was funny. "Oh, yeah. Kind
of hard to keep it a secret, what with the show tunes and
the stilettos and all."

Mark guffawed. "I cannot see you in stilettos, man."

Sterling shrugged. "Appearances can be deceptive, you
know. Just because I’m pumped, doesn’t mean I’m some
macho hulk."

"I know you’re not," Mark said seriously, reacting to a
note of…hurt, maybe? in Sterling’s voice. "I can already
tell you’re a nice guy."

Sterling bit his lip, but this time he didn’t look away.
"Thank you."

Ruby Slippers - 14

Mark felt his cock starting to get really interested again.

Their food arrived. Which was a good thing, because
gay police officers should not mount crime victims in
Mimi’s Diner and hump them, even if said crime victims
had eyes like Bambi and biceps that could probably
crush walnuts. Mark noticed the biceps when Sterling
unzipped his track suit top and pulled it off, revealing a
white tank top beneath. It took him a couple of minutes
to tear his eyes away enough to even find his plate.

They chatted casually for the next little while, making
inroads on their breakfast. The diner was filling up now,
not that it took much, the place was tiny, but Mark
couldn’t take his eyes off the man sitting across from
him. Sterling alternated direct, slightly cocky looks with
self-conscious blinking and occasional blushes, and the
combination drove Mark nuts. The blushes got deeper
and more frequent as their conversation trailed off. The
sexual tension was so thick Mark thought he could
probably poke holes in it with his fork. Or a certain
other hard object that was currently in a poking mood.

Mark swallowed his last bite of ham, gulped his last
mouthful of coffee and took a deep breath.

"You want to come back to my place?"

Amazingly, Sterling didn’t blush this time. He nodded,
meeting Mark’s eyes with a little smile. Mark threw a
couple of bills on the table and stood, reaching for
Sterling’s hand. Sterling didn’t hesitate, snagging his
track suit top with his right hand as his left curled gently

Ruby Slippers - 15

around Mark’s.

Those calluses were going to feel fantastic on Mark’s
cock.

"You live nearby?" Sterling asked, as they left the diner
and went back out onto the street.

"Five, ten minutes. You okay with that? Your leg? We
can catch a taxi."

Sterling grinned. "It’s stiffened up a little, but, well, it’s
not the only thing. I’m more concerned with the other
thing right now."

"Let’s go."

Ruby Slippers - 16

TWO

They literally fell through the door of the apartment into
the tiny foyer, Mark landing on the bottom with
Sterling’s solid form on top of him. The door hit Mark’s
foot as it swung back. He kicked it, letting it slam shut
as he clutched at Sterling, angling his head to thrust his
tongue deeper into the other man’s mouth.

Mark wasn’t sure who’d made the first move. One
moment they were standing outside Mark’s door,
looking at each other as Mark fumbled with his keys and
his empty travel-cup. The next he had Sterling plastered
to his chest and his tongue halfway down Sterling’s
throat.

He had no idea where his go-cup or his keys had gone
now, and he had no complaints.

Not with the way Sterling was moving against him, the
other man’s cock a sizeable, rock-hard lump against his
hip. Not with the way Sterling’s knee was pressing hard
enough into Mark’s groin to give him that sweet ache of
half-pain, half-pleasure. Not with Sterling’s fingers
buried in Mark’s hair, his breath panting against Mark’s
cheek, and the sweet, guttural noises Sterling was
making deep in his chest.

Mark sunk his fingers deep into that glorious gift of an
ass and pulled Sterling harder against him, humping up.
He could feel practically every tooth on his zipper
digging into his cock, and his underwear was giving him

Ruby Slippers - 17

the wedgie of his life, and somehow it all added to the
insane, frantic hotness of it.

"Coming," Sterling groaned into Mark’s mouth.

"Go on," Mark said raggedly, sparing a hand to grab
Sterling’s head and drag his face up, look into those
dark eyes. "Wanna see."

"Fuuuuuck…"

Sterling’s voice left his throat in a long, low moan. Mark
felt the warm dampness seeping into his hip. Mark kept
both of his hands where they were, forcing Sterling to
keep looking at him as he wrapped his leg around
Sterling’s waist and thrust against him. Just a little more.
Just a little…

Mark grunted as he shot, sparks filling his sight for a
second before his vision cleared enough to see Sterling,
still staring down at him. The other man’s face was
slowly turning that deep and distinctive pink.

Mark let out a tired chuckle. "Too late to be embarrassed
now. We already did it. Now we both need a shower.
What do you say?"

"You mean -- er -- you don’t mind if I stay?"

"What kind of an ass would I be if I kicked you out in
soggy sweatpants about five seconds after you crossed
the threshold?" Mark asked, rubbing Sterling’s suede-
soft scalp with a friendly hand before wriggling a little
to let Sterling know he was serious about wanting to

Ruby Slippers - 18

move.

"A fairly common kind of ass," Sterling said ruefully,
grinning, as he slid back and off Mark with an easy
movement, making the muscles in his arms and
shoulders bulge. "It’s been known to happen a time or
two. Or maybe three or four."

"Sounds like you have piss-poor taste in men, Sterling,"
Mark said, getting his legs under him and climbing to
his feet. The feeling of cooling spunk in his underwear
made him grimace. "Luckily I’m the exception that
proves the rule. Give me your hand. I bet your knee
hurts like a son of a bitch right about now."

"Little bit," Sterling said, taking Mark’s hand again and
letting the detective help him up.

They limped -- in Sterling’s case -- and staggered -- in
Mark’s -- down the hallway to Mark’s black and white
tiled bathroom. There was a fairly sizeable roll-top tub,
but Mark turned on the showerhead, knowing that it
would be a lot less sizeable if two guys tried to fit into it
horizontally, especially if one of them had shoulders like
Sterling’s and the other had legs as long as Mark’s.
Showering was just easier.

They stripped off together and climbed in, Sterling
pulling a face as he lifted his leg over the edge. Mark
pulled the shower curtain behind him and then crouched
down as the steam started to rise up around them.

"I appreciate the thought, but I’m not ready for round
two yet," Sterling said jokingly.

Ruby Slippers - 19

"Shut up and let me look at your knee," Mark said,
running his fingers carefully over the wounded area. It
didn’t look too swollen yet, but there was already a deep
bruise there, so purple that it looked black. "I’ll get you
an icepack for that when we’re done in here," he said,
standing straight again.

Sterling reached out as if to touch Mark’s face,
hesitated, and instead patted him on the shoulder
awkwardly. "You’re a nice guy, Mark. Thanks."

Mark grabbed Sterling’s shoulders and dragged the other
man to him for a deep, wet kiss. "You can touch me if
you want," he murmured. "I like it. I already proved that
by coming all over you, right?"

"But I came on you first," Sterling said, his hands now
naturally stroking up and down Mark’s back. The man
was a born sensualist. Someone had done a serious job
on him to make him so unsure of himself. Mark
promised himself he’d get to the bottom of that.

"Well, we’ll fix that next time, okay? Right now I’d like
to get the come out of my pubes before it dries and pulls
half of ‘em out."

Sterling laughed, grabbing the shower gel from behind
Mark. "Since you asked so nice," he said, "Let me help
you with that."

They were both too tired and sated to get more than
half-hard, but Mark still enjoyed exploring Sterling’s
body and having Sterling get acquainted with his.

Ruby Slippers - 20

Sterling’s body was totally hairless, even his legs and
underarms, and Mark wondered if the other man shaved
for swimming or cycling. The only hair Sterling had left
untouched was the thick, curling crop around his cock,
the color of honey.

It might have made Mark feel a little over-hairy -- he
was Italian, after all -- except that Sterling was rubbing
and stroking at the thick, dark hair on his chest like he
was fascinated with it. The sensation of gentle, blunt
fingers combing along his pecs made Mark shiver.

"What’s this?" Mark exclaimed, finding a small, red
mark on Sterling’s shoulder. Sterling turned a little
reluctantly to let Mark see, and Mark burst out laughing
as he saw that it was a tattoo -- a tiny pair of sparkly red
stiletto heels.

"So that’s what you meant!"

Sterling shrugged, grinning over his shoulder. "Who
doesn’t love the Wizard of Oz? There’s no place like
home, right?"

The easy intimacy of the shared shower made it easy for
Mark -- having dried off and grabbed a spare hand towel
and an ice-pack from his freezer -- to say to a naked
Sterling:

"Can you stay? Your knee’ll do better if you rest it for a
bit, and I don’t have anywhere to be except bed. Come
and lie down with me."

Sterling shook his head. Mark felt a pang of sadness

Ruby Slippers - 21

before Sterling said, "I don’t have anywhere to be,
either. I work nights. That was my end of day jog you
caught me on. It helps me unwind before bed."

Mark led Sterling into the bedroom, where the navy
drapes were drawn, leaving the room shadowed and
cozy. The unmade bed, with its blue and white striped
sheets, was way too big for the room, Mark knew, but he
had long legs, and he liked to be comfortable. It just
meant he had his lamp on the windowsill and did
without a nightstand, that was all. There were a couple
of corner bookshelves that he had fitted when he first
moved in, which were stuffed with the battered
paperback science fiction and fantasy novels that had
come with him through college, and the pale blue walls
were decorated with a series of vivid Italian landscapes
that his sister had taken. Despite being a little cramped,
it was his sanctuary.

The sight of the room made Mark really aware of how
long it had been since he’d slept. He threw himself onto
the bed, enjoying the bounce, and then felt the dip as
Sterling crawled on beside him. The other man stretched
out his bad leg. Mark sat up with an effort, carefully
wrapped the hand towel around Sterling’s knee and
strapped the ice-pack on top, then grabbed his double-
thick duvet and dragged it over the pair of them.

"If I snore," Sterling said softly, nestling his face into
the pillow next to Mark’s, "just roll me over, okay?"

Mark leered as best he could, given the way the day was
catching up on him. "My pleasure, baby."

Ruby Slippers - 22

Sterling’s snort of laughter was the last thing Mark
heard before he fell asleep.

He woke up a solid six hours later with a feeling of
complete relaxation and well being. He snuggled deeper
into the pillow, blinking slowly as he tried to remember
why he felt so damn good.

Pretty regular shift at work…walking home through the
park…Greek god in sweats -- Sterling!

Mark rolled over and found himself looking at an empty,
fluffed pillow. There was no sign that another person
had ever occupied the rumpled sheets. Mark listened
carefully, hoping to hear some movement in the
apartment that would tell him Sterling was just making
coffee or using the john, but there was nothing.

Well, shit. There went his afterglow.

Mark rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and dragged
himself out of the bed, shuffling into the kitchen.

He perked up when he saw the folded piece of paper
propped against the coffee machine, along with a small,
white box that said ‘Mimi’s’ in cherry red script. He
grabbed the note with one hand and opened the box with
the other.

The box held a blueberry muffin. The note read:

Thanks for making my day brighter. Give me a call and
I’ll return the favor.

Ruby Slippers - 23

There was a cell number underneath.

Mark grinned. "You already did, Mr. Steele."

***

Sterling, balanced on the rim of the bathtub, wiped the
shaving foam off his leg and ran his fingers over his
knee and calf, checking for any missed stubble. Nope.
Smooth as a baby’s backside, just the way he liked it.

Shame about the giant black and purple bruise.

"You’re gonna hafta use make-up on that, Ster," Bobby
said, flicking his nearly waist-length black braid over his
shoulder and leaning against the doorframe. "Jeez, that
must of been a heck of a fall you took."

"Yeah, and if I catch the little bastard who did it to me,
I’ll make a matching bruise right on his face," Sterling
said, but absently, as he propped his foot on the plastic
toilet lid and started shaving the other leg.

If the guy hadn’t tried to mug him, he wouldn’t have
met Mark. Which seemed like a really sappy thing to say
when they hadn’t even had sex -- not real sex -- but it
was still one of the best experiences of Sterling’s life.
He had a feeling Mark was…special.

His eyes flicked to the cell phone that he’d propped
carefully on the edge of the sink; there was no room
anywhere else in the cramped bathroom to put it, since
Bobby crowded every available surface with beauty
products. Mark had been fast asleep when Sterling

Ruby Slippers - 24

finally left the apartment, even though Sterling had
accidentally-on-purpose slammed the door when he
came back in with the muffin. He must have been dead
on his feet. Probably wasn’t even awake yet. And no one
called the same day, right?

Stop freaking out about it, he told himself. He’s a great
guy. He liked you. He’ll call.

The cell buzzed, filling the bathroom with the echoes of
Bette Midler’s ‘Wind Beneath my Wings’. Sterling
dropped his razor into the bath and grabbed for the
phone before it could vibrate off the sink, glaring at
Bobby, who tried to look innocent. Like Sterling didn’t
know who kept changing his ringtone from The Killers
to Bette Midler. Sterling liked the singer and all, but he
didn’t need the whole world to know it every time his
phone rang, especially if he was on the bus or
something, surrounded by heteros.

"Yeah?" He said into the phone, aware of the breathy
quality of his voice. Please let it be Mark please let it be
Mark please let it be Mark…

"Is that Sterling?"

Sterling punched the air with his free hand.

"Hi Mark!" Sterling winced and pulled his voice down
into a slightly more masculine register as he continued.
"Yes, it’s me. How are you?"

"Fine, although I’d have been better if you’d stuck
around. I was hoping for wake-up sex."

Ruby Slippers - 25

"Is that like make-up sex?" Sterling asked, smiling.

"Yeah, only without the angst. But I enjoyed my muffin.
Thanks."

"Least I could do," Sterling said. "You were great to me.
My knee’s practically all better."

He turned his face away to avoid Bobby’s eye-rolling.
All right, so it looked like ground beef. Nothing a little
foundation wouldn’t cover.

"No big deal," Mark said. "Hey, listen. I had a really
nice time. I mean, I know it wasn’t exactly a date, but it
was…you know…so…would you like to go out with me
sometime? I could show you around some places maybe,
take you to dinner. Whatever you want. What do you
say?"

"I’d love to," Sterling said. "I work eight to three, and
get Sundays and Mondays off. I’m free whenever you
want."

Bobby rolled his eyes again, and Sterling stuck his
tongue out. So what if he was being easy? He was easy.
Mark already knew that -- it was too late to play hard to
get.

"Tomorrow’s Sunday. Would tomorrow be too soon? I
mean, there’s a classic movie festival at the Regency
Theater, and they’re showing Easter Parade. It’s on at
six pm. We could get dinner afterward and…just see
what happens? There’s a good club near there, too,

Ruby Slippers - 26

called Love Bites. You like to dance?"

"I love to dance," Sterling said, not even trying to keep
the purr out of his voice.

Mark cleared his throat. "Tease."

"Nope. I’m totally willing to put out." Sterling said,
giving Bobby the hand without even looking at him.
"So, it’s a date?"

"Yeah," Mark said. "Where should I pick you up?"

Sterling shook his head. "How about I meet you? I’m
trying to get places fixed in my head so I can find my
way around a little better. I’ll get there at ten to?"

"Perfect. Hey, I meant what I said, Sterling. I had a good
time with you. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow."

"Me, too. See you."

Mark hung up. Sterling quickly added the number to
memory, then sighed, putting the phone to his chest.
"He’s sooo cute."

"And you’re sooo screwed," Bobby said.

Sterling opened his mouth to give a smart comeback, but
the worried look in Bobby’s slanting, almond shaped
eyes shut him up.

"Sterling, this always happens to you," Bobby said,
squeezing in next to Sterling on the edge of the bathtub.

Ruby Slippers - 27

"You always fall for the straight and narrow guy, the
macho guy, the guy with the butch job. The guy who’s
never going to be able to accept you for who you are.
You said every hint you made just bounced right off,
like it didn’t even cross his mind. How is this going to
work out?"

"I…it’s just a date," Sterling said, his voice coming out
small and forlorn.

"No, it isn’t," Bobby said, putting one whip-thin arm
around Sterling’s shoulder. "You really like him. I don’t
blame you, ‘cos he sounds nice, but…he doesn’t sound
right for you. I just don’t want you to get your heart
broken. Again."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" Sterling said. "Just
blow him off? I do like him. He is nice. Why shouldn’t I
see how it works out?"

"Because you’re already hiding stuff from him. You’re
already lying."

"No, I’m not!"

Bobby blew a raspberry that echoed loudly off the tiled
walls. "Don’t think I didn’t notice how quick you got
him to give up on the idea of coming here. You didn’t
want him meeting me. And I bet you’re going to be
raiding your bottom drawer for stuff to wear for the date,
too. Look, if you like him, you oughta be honest with
him right off bat. That way if he freaks you can walk
away now, before you get in too deep."

Ruby Slippers - 28

"But…"

Bobby sighed. "Fine. Then feel him out a little. See how
things stand. I dunno. Just try to protect yourself, would
ya? You’ve got the biggest heart I know, Ster, and I love
you for it, but that doesn’t mean you always have to let
it get kicked into itty bitty pieces every time some guy
wants a football."

Sterling nodded, feeling his earlier effervescence fading
into depression. "I’ll try."

Bobby sighed again. "Yeah. Right."

Ruby Slippers - 29

THREE

Mark had been waiting outside the Regency Theater,
pacing up and down, for about five minutes before
Sterling arrived. Not because Sterling was late --
actually he was five minutes early -- but because Mark
had had a freak out while getting ready and ended up
leaving the house just to stop himself changing outfits
again.

He’d called up his friend Ethan -- former sex-friend, but
now happily settled down -- and asked for advice.

"He’s perfect," Mark had said. "He’s hot, he’s sweet,
he’s got eyes like a cocker spaniel, he blushes when you
compliment him. What the fuck am I going to do?"

Ethan laughed at him, but it was a compassionate laugh,
because Ethan had been there when Mark was getting
over Bryan, and knew this was the first time Mark had
asked anyone out in over two years. Until recently, the
two of them had cruised the clubs together, sometimes
leaving with other people and sometimes with each
other, but Mark’d always kept everything completely
anonymous with his pick-ups, and there was no danger
of Ethan getting serious about Mark, because Ethan had
been in love with someone else for years.

So this was different. Different was dangerous.

"Listen, I’ve been there," Ethan said. "It’s fucking scary
putting yourself on the line like that. But you’re a good

Ruby Slippers - 30

guy, Mark, and you deserve to be happy. Don’t let that
prick Bryan ruin your life more than he already did."

Which reminded Mark of what Sterling had said about
the mugger. Involuntarily he smiled, but still felt bound
to say, "He wasn’t a prick."

"Yes, he fucking was, and don’t you dare defend that
fucker. If you hadn’t stopped me, I’d have smashed his
face in myself. Bastard strings you along for, like, seven
years, then says, ‘Sorry, I’m getting married’ and asks
you to be his best man? What the Hell is that?" Ethan’s
voice trailed off into wordless grunts of outrage, and
Mark smiled again. Ethan was a good friend.

"What happened to my favorite cynic?" Mark teased.
"Since you and James got together you’ve become a
giant marshmallow, man."

"And proud of it, too," Ethan said. "Now listen up. Take
a couple deep breaths, remind yourself that it’s just a
date, the only thing you have to do is have fun. End of
story. Now stop acting like a little fucking girl and get
your ass out of the house. Because if you ask my advice
on what to wear, I’m going to put Jamie on the phone
and then you’ll end up wearing make-up."

Mark shuddered. He liked James, but the guy’s habit of
wearing eye-liner, mascara and occasionally lip-gloss
when they went dancing kind of weirded him out. They
were gay, not women. If he wanted make-up on his
partners, he’d be straight.

But he’d done what Ethan said, hence the earliness,

Ruby Slippers - 31

hence the pacing. He was so delighted to see Sterling
that he ended up running to meet the guy and pulling
him into an impulsive hug there on the sidewalk.

"Mmm. Nice to see you, too," Sterling murmured into
his ear, giving Mark a pleasant shiver.

"Sorry. I got here a little early then got nervous," Mark
admitted, pulling back.

"You?" Sterling looked shocked. "Wow, I wouldn’t have
expected that. Anyway, don’t apologize, man. You can
hug me whenever you want."

"Thanks. I’ll take you up on that." Mark said, stepping
back a little farther to feast his eyes on the sight of
Sterling in tight black jeans, blue and white sneakers, a
blue T-shirt and gray suede jacket. He looked good.
Very good. But…young. And kind of softer, too.
Suddenly, Mark thought he might get why Sterling’s
friends found his name funny. He was just so damn cute.

"Hey, why wouldn’t I get nervous?" Mark asked. "It’s a
first date. Everyone gets nervous." He took Sterling’s
hand, heartened when the other man not only let him but
clung to his fingers.

"I don’t know. You just seemed really together
yesterday," Sterling said, going a little pink again. "Like,
you knew just what you were doing while I was flailing
around."

"I don’t remember any flailing," Mark said as they
reached the entrance of the theater. "Moaning, writhing

Ruby Slippers - 32

and other good stuff like that, but no flailing at all."

"Well. Okay," Sterling cleared his throat, nodding in the
direction of the ticket booth. "Should I get these? You
paid for breakfast the other day."

"Sure," Mark said, letting go of Sterling’s hand to let the
other man dig out his wallet. As soon as Sterling put the
wallet away, Mark took his hand again, and Sterling
smiled a smile of such sweetness that Mark gave him a
peck on the lips the minute they sat down in the
darkened theater.

"Oh, I get it," Sterling said. "You just brought me here
to make out."

"No. Well, maybe a little. But this is a great movie, and
we can make out anywhere, so let’s try to watch at least
some of it."

Sterling laughed. "Okay."

They did watch the movie -- in fact, Sterling even sung
along to some of the songs, surprising Mark with his
rich, beautiful tenor -- but by the time they left they’d
also made out quite a lot, too. They kept holding hands
as they walked down the street to the little pizza place
that Mark had decided on, and once the food arrived,
they got even bolder and fed each other. The sight of
Sterling’s pink tongue tangling with the gooey strands of
cheese got Mark so excited that he felt kind of perverted.

But even with the latent sexual tension, it was incredibly
easy to relax with Sterling. They got each other’s jokes,

Ruby Slippers - 33

disagreed about stuff amicably, and…well, Mark hadn’t
felt this way in a long time. The sensation was strong
enough that part of him was trying to freak out again,
but with Sterling’s big, sincere eyes gazing at him, it
was less of an effort to shut that part down and ignore it.

"The night’s still young," Mark said, when they’d
finished eating. "You feel like going to a club?"

"Hell, yeah," Sterling said. "No date is complete without
dancing."

"Seriously?" Mark asked with a laugh, putting some
money on the table. "I know you said you loved it, but I
sort of thought you were just teasing me."

"I told you, I’m not a tease," Sterling said, waggling one
eyebrow. "And that sounds like a challenge to me. So
now we’re definitely going to the club. I’m going to
shake my money-maker, baybee."

Mark laughed again, putting his arm around Sterling’s
shoulders, savoring the fact that he could touch the other
man like this, out in public, without hesitating or
checking if anyone who knew them was nearby.

"So, what, you think only skinny guys like you can
dance?" Sterling asked, as they stood in line outside
Love Bites.

"No. You just seem like the jock type, you know? It’s
hard to picture you being all slinky."

Sterling stared at him, apparently speechless, for a

Ruby Slippers - 34

minute, then sniggered. "Man, did you get the wrong
impression of me. I know I’m ripped, but I have to be.
It’s either that or go back to the chubby kid I was all
through school. In no way am I a jock. And I’m a
fucking amazing dancer, so just get ready."

"Oh, I’m ready," Mark said. "Bring it."

"What’s this?" A familiar voice said from behind them.
"This is how you talk to your dates? No wonder you’re
single, man."

Mark turned to see Ethan and Jamie standing behind
him, apparently having just arrived. Ethan was wearing
his normal club uniform of leather pants and a T-shirt.
Mark thought he looked great. On the other hand, James
-- Ethan’s partner in business and now life as well -- was
wearing skinny jeans tucked into red cowboy boots and
a red silk shirt that was open over his toned, waxed
chest. He was also wearing shiny red lip gloss and
enough mascara and smoky eye shadow to sink a ship.
Mark had to admit that James looked hot like this, but he
still much preferred to see the other guy in the suits he
wore to work in James and Ethan’s IT company or the
jeans and t-shirts he wore when they hung out. Men in
make-up just wasn’t right.

"Hey! I didn’t know you’d be here tonight; you
should’ve told me."

Mark leaned forward to give both of them a guy-hug,
complete with back slapping, then turned to pull Sterling
closer. "This is Sterling, my date."

Ruby Slippers - 35

"We got that already, man," Ethan said, shaking
Sterling’s hand. "Nice to meet you. I’m Ethan."

Sterling returned the handshake, but his gaze was on
James, like he couldn’t look away. Mark cringed at that
wide-eyed look. Despite what Sterling said about not
being a jock, he was sure the other guy had never put on
lip-gloss in his life.

However, Sterling surprised him. "I love your eye
shadow, James," he said suddenly. "It makes your eyes
pop. Is it a blend? Mac?"

"Yeah," James said, after an amused glance at Mark.
James was well aware of Mark’s make-up aversion.
Mark sometimes thought he put the stuff on especially
just to mess with Mark. "You’re right, it’s a blend of Tilt
and Typographic with some Nehru on the lash-line."

"How did you know that?" Mark asked Sterling, torn
between relief and irritation.

Sterling blushed. "Ah, my roommate -- I told you about
him, Bobby? He’s really into Mac. Never leaves the
house without a couple of coats. Makes getting into the
bathroom in the morning a nightmare."

Before anymore could be said, the line moved forward
and they all paid the cover and went in. Mark was left
feeling a little worried about Sterling’s intimate
knowledge of cosmetics. Was Mark really the only gay
guy that felt dressing up like a girl was letting the side
down? Giving into the stereotype? Ethan gave him a
sideways look that said he knew exactly what Mark was

Ruby Slippers - 36

feeling and thought it was really funny.

Mark shrugged and decided to let it go. So long as
Sterling didn’t wear that stuff himself, what did it
matter?

Blue and white lights were strobing through the place in
time to the music, sending starbursts of light off the
chrome-topped tables and the jagged mirrors on the
walls. The song was good, and Mark felt his toes
starting to tap as they made their way into the club.

"You want something to drink?" he yelled in Sterling’s
ear.

Sterling shook his head. "Music’s a natural high, man!"

Sterling headed straight to the dance floor, and the other
three shrugged and followed. Sterling’s hips were
gyrating, his arms going above his head as he moved
through the crowd. He twirled, looked back at Mark, and
winked.

Other guys were moving away to give him room, and he
hadn’t even hit the dance floor yet.

Mark felt his heartbeat speeding up, shivers of arousal
working down his spine as Sterling moved into the
center of the heaving space and took possession of it. He
ripped off his suede jacket and dropped it on the floor
like it was trash. One of the dancers nearby picked it up
and folded it carefully over a chair at the edge of the
dance floor without taking his eyes off Sterling for a
second.

Ruby Slippers - 37

Mark didn’t know where Ethan and James had gone, and
right then he didn’t give a crap. He couldn’t look away
from his date.

Sterling’s powerful hips writhed in liquid movements
that spelled out hot, dirty sex. Under his thin, tight T-
shirt and jeans, glorious muscles clenched and bunched.
His hands slithered over his own body like just touching
himself was enough to make him come right there, and
his face took on a look of remote bliss, eyes closed as if
he didn’t know or care that anyone else was in the room.
Like every other man present, Mark stood back and
watched, not even attempting to join in.

He was thirty-two years old, and he knew for a dead fact
that he had never been that turned on in his whole life.
His cock felt like it was about to explode. And then
Sterling opened his eyes and looked right at him and
beckoned.

Spellbound, amid mutters of "Lucky bastard" and some
downright pissed off looks, Mark moved forward, taking
the hand that Sterling held out. Sterling dragged Mark
against him and, like gears clicking into place, they were
moving together, hands on each other’s bodies, hips
thrusting against each other in perfect synchronization.

Mark had never experienced anything like it. The music,
the glittering lights, the feeling of Sterling’s hands on
him and his heart thudding under Mark’s palm. It was
magic. Sterling’s magic.

He didn’t know how long they danced together. The

Ruby Slippers - 38

song changed. Neither of them noticed apart from to
shift their rhythm to the new beat. It changed again, and
they carried on. And then Sterling leaned into Mark and
whispered, "I want to fuck you."

Mark was surprised he didn’t come right then. He didn’t
remember much of the next half hour, until he found
himself lying back on his bed, naked, with Sterling --
still in jeans, though they were unzipped now -- lying
between his legs eating his ass.

"Fuck me, fuck me, fuck me," Mark was chanting as
Sterling’s hot, wet tongue rimmed him and speared deep
in his hole. "Jesus, fuck me, please."

"Name’s Sterling, not Jesus," Sterling muttered against
Mark’s skin, and then he turned his head sideways and
bit down gently on Mark’s taint. "Just wait. Gotta get
you ready."

One of his hands was holding tight to the base of Mark’s
cock, preventing him from coming; the other was flat on
Mark’s stomach, exerting considerable pressure to keep
Mark from jumping right off the bed. Mark was making
noises he’d never made before. Grunts and moans,
whining cries. He kept waiting for Sterling to laugh or
make a joke about it -- Bryan would’ve -- but Sterling
was deadly serious, all that intense energy Mark had
seen on the dance floor now focused on Mark.

Despite Mark’s begging and pleas, despite the prolonged
tonguing that had left Mark loose and relaxed, Sterling
carefully and thoroughly prepared him with plenty of
lube and three fingers before he finally grabbed Mark’s

Ruby Slippers - 39

legs and flipped him over, pulling him up onto his
knees. Sterling grabbed the condom that Mark had
tossed onto the pillow what felt like hours earlier, and
Mark panted in anticipation, his hands clenching into
fists in the sheets.

"Hold on tight," Sterling whispered, and Mark felt
denim brushing the back of his thighs and then the hard
blunt head of Sterling’s cock pushing at his hole.

Mark was relaxed and wanting, and Sterling’s cock slid
past the entrance and straight inside. Sterling’s hips hit
Mark’s haunches with a sharp, spanking noise, and
Mark made a strangled groan, pushing back on his hands
to grind down harder on Sterling’s cock, wanting to feel
his lover’s pubic hair abrading his stretched hole.

Sterling’s hands bit into Mark’s hips, forcing him
forward again, but staying inside him, keeping them
mashed together.

"Move. Fuck me!" Mark practically screamed.

"Ssh," Sterling soothed, leaning over to press his chest
into Mark’s back. His arms came around Mark’s
stomach in a tight hug, and his voice was nothing more
than a growl as he said, "I need you to hold me up, baby,
‘cos I need all my energy for fucking now, okay?"

Mark nodded, letting his head fall forward as Sterling’s
mouth latched onto the back of his shoulder and sucked
hard.

Sterling’s hips started moving, his cock sliding out

Ruby Slippers - 40

slowly, slowly, until the head was stretching Mark’s
hole wide open. Then he shoved back in one movement,
making Mark grunt at the force behind it. He drew back
slowly again, and again shoved back hard enough to
rock Mark’s whole body.

Gradually, his thrusts began to speed up, getting deeper,
more brutal, but staying steady and long. Holy Christ,
the man fucks like a machine, Mark thought dazedly, his
breath coming out through gritted teeth. He could feel
sweat, his own and Sterling’s, dripping down his ass and
back, felt deafened by the hard slap and squelch of
Sterling rutting in his body and his ragged breathing
against Mark’s shoulder.

Then Sterling shifted back and changed his angle ever so
slightly, and suddenly every thrust was ramming the
head of his cock over Mark’s prostate. At the same time,
one of his hands closed around Mark’s cock, jerking him
off, pressing his thumb into the slit. Mark couldn’t make
noises anymore. He didn’t have any breath. He froze,
muscles straining like a horse at the starting line. He
heard Sterling’s groan as his ass clamped down on
Sterling’s cock like a vice, and came, hot ropes of come
shooting out of him.

He just managed to keep himself in position as Sterling
humped out his own orgasm against him, the other
man’s suddenly desperate movements prolonging
Mark’s pleasure until his vision started to go black at the
edges. Then the two of them collapsed together onto the
bed, Sterling still grafted to his back. Mark stretched
out, sighing. He didn’t even care that he’d landed in the
wet patch. He had just had the very best fucking of his

Ruby Slippers - 41

life, and he was damn well going to bask.

Apparently Sterling agreed, because he stayed on top of
Mark for several minutes, gently stroking Mark’s side,
rubbing his face against Mark’s back. Mark wanted him
to stay there forever. When he finally moved, Mark
made a tiny noise of protest that turned into a moan
when the other man’s softening cock slid out of his
tender hole.

"Sorry, just need to take care of this," Sterling said,
soothing him with a kiss on the small of his back, using
a corner of the duvet to wipe Mark’s ass off.

Mark closed his eyes, but he waited until Sterling had
climbed back onto the bed and spooned up behind him,
one hand placed possessively on Mark’s hip, before he
let sleep take him.

Ruby Slippers - 42

FOUR

"You topped?" Bobby asked flatly, sitting down on one
of the mismatched sofas in their living room, opposite
Sterling.

"Yeah, but --"

"You said you were never doing that again after Sam.
You said it felt wrong, and unnatural, and if guys
couldn’t deal with it you didn’t want them."

"This was different!" Sterling said. "Mark is different. It
felt right with him. I liked it. Hell, I loved it."

"Really?" Bobby said. "I mean, really really? Or
Sterling’s living in Cloud Cuckoo Land and will
convince himself of anything just to keep this guy,
really?"

"Really really," Sterling said, laughing. "Look at me. Do
I look squicked out?"

Bobby studied him through the steam rising from a mug
of herbal tea -- which proclaimed Queens Do It Royally
in bold letters -- eyes narrowed.

"Hmmm….no. You look after-glowy or some shit like
that."

"Exactly," Sterling curled his legs up under him on the
saggy, green plaid sofa, revisiting the glorious night

Ruby Slippers - 43

he’d spent with Mark. After fucking, they’d fallen
asleep snuggled together, which was a rarity in
Sterling’s experience. When they woke up, they gave
mutual blow-jobs, then showered together at Mark’s
insistence -- even though Sterling had told Mark he
could stay in bed and get some more sleep -- and then
Mark had seen Sterling off with lazy, lingering kisses in
the doorway, pulling Sterling back to him about four
times before finally letting him leave.

"So did you do what I asked? Did you, like, test the
ground?" Bobby reached out over the narrow gap
between the sofas and prodded Sterling with his
pedicured foot.

"I didn’t need to," Sterling said smugly. "I met his
friends at the club, and one of them was wearing more
make-up than you are now, Bob. Mark didn’t bat an eye.
I think he’s going to be fine with it."

Bobby’s thin, pointed face lit up. "That’s fantastic, Ster.
So, you going to wear normal clothes on your next
date?"

Sterling shook his head. "It’s a little early for that. I was
thinking I’d give it a couple more dates, then invite him
to the club one night. You know, then he can see me in
my full glory."

The smile slid slowly off Bobby’s face. "Okay, Ster. If
you think it’s best."

***

Ruby Slippers - 44

Mark finished typing up his report on the Reizya
burglary, pressed save and sat back, sighing. God, he
was tired. It had been one of those weeks. His car had
broken down on Tuesday, and he’d been forced to drive
around town in one of the department’s junkers, which
had a strong and apparently indelible odor of tuna. His
mechanic had just called to tell him the new whatever-
the-Hell needed replacing wouldn’t be in stock for a
week, and Mark was pretty sure by that time the very
sight of tuna was going to make him ralph. He’d had a
computer meltdown on Thursday and lost half a dozen
documents, and his complaints to the IT department had
been met with scorn when he confessed he hadn’t
backed up his data in over a month. So what? He had a
fucking life, you know?

Then there had been a call from Sterling.

Mark’s heart had jumped -- as always -- when he saw
the name on the screen. But it had soon sunk again when
he heard the apologetic note in Sterling’s softly accented
voice.

"I’m so sorry, Mark," Sterling said, sounding harried. "I
know I said I’d got the night off, but one of the guys got
the flu and there’s no one else to cover. I’ve tried to get
out of it, but --"

"Hey, calm down," Mark interrupted, keeping the
disappointment out of his voice with an effort. "It’s not
like we had big plans or something. We were just going
to watch the Lord of the Rings box set and make out on
the sofa. We can do that anytime. I’ll miss you, but we’ll
make it up another day."

Ruby Slippers - 45

"I guess. I was really looking forward to it…" Sterling’s
voice trailed off, and then he added softly, "Sorry,
baby."

Mark felt something deep inside him go soft and warm.
It might be a generic endearment to some people, but
Sterling used it very sparingly, and Mark knew his
boyfriend well enough by now to know what it really
meant. Or what he hoped it really meant.

"Me, too," Mark said. "Call me when you get in, okay?
Take care."

And that was the end of Mark’s plans for a lazy, blissful
Saturday night with Sterling.

Mark was kind of disturbed when he realized how upset
he felt that he would have to wait another day to see his
boyfriend. It wasn’t like they hadn’t had lunch -- and a
quickie -- on Wednesday.

But being with the other man felt like the most natural,
comfortable thing in the world to Mark now. It was
being apart, even for a short time, that felt wrong. They
meshed in every way, from little things like the movies
and books they enjoyed to what they wanted in bed.

Mark’s preference was to bottom, and Sterling was a
perfect top; intense, tender, and naturally dominant.
Mark had been baffled when Sterling admitted that
before he slept with Mark he hadn’t liked topping much.
He certainly enjoyed it now. Mark felt both smug and
grateful.

Ruby Slippers - 46

Mark remembered a recent Sunday when Ethan and
James had held a house-warming barbecue at their new
house, inviting Mark and Sterling and a couple of their
other friends. Sterling had fitted into Mark’s close little
circle perfectly, laughing and relaxed. It had been a
strange and wonderful feeling to have someone he really
cared about become part of the group like that.

Sterling and James seemed to get on especially well.
The two of them had huddled in a corner chatting for
ages, and when James -- thankfully wearing jeans and a
T-shirt that day and no make-up -- had finally gotten up
for another beer, he’d leaned over Mark’s chair and
whispered, "He’s a keeper, Mark. You got lucky."

Later on during that same barbecue, a slightly tipsy
Ethan had referred to the "good old times" when he and
Mark had been on slightly more intimate terms. James
had rolled his eyes and cuffed Ethan on the back of the
head. Sterling, practically glowing pink with the effort,
had plopped himself right down in Mark’s lap and said:
"Hands off. He’s mine."

There had been a round of good--natured laughter and
wolf-whistles, and Sterling had grinned, but Mark felt
the clutch of Sterling’s fingers on his back. Sterling
meant it. And that had made Mark want to cry. No one
had ever claimed him like that, proudly and
unashamedly -- even if their skin was nearly hot enough
to fry eggs on with the embarrassment.

He’d buried his face in Sterling’s neck to hide his
emotions, not wanting anyone to realize how moved he

Ruby Slippers - 47

was, not even Sterling.

The depth of his investment in the other man scared the
shit out of Mark. In relationship terms, they’d barely
been introduced. It was, what, seven weeks since Mark
had spotted a Greek god getting mugged in the park?
And there were a lot of gaps in his knowledge of
Sterling. Mark knew that the other man was twenty--
five, estranged from his family, that he had gone
through college on a drama scholarship and graduated
with a degree in performing arts. He didn’t know exactly
where Sterling worked, except that it was a place
downtown. Sterling didn’t talk about his work much,
except to tell the occasional story about something
funny a customer did or to say that his coworkers were
driving him crazy. And Mark had never been to
Sterling’s apartment or met his best friend Bobby. Mark
didn’t know what Sterling had done between the day he
graduated college and come out to his family -- and was
thrown out of the house -- and the day he arrived here.
Mark didn’t know what lover had made Sterling so
shockingly diffident that sometimes Mark still had to
reassure him it was okay to touch Mark casually, as well
as during sex.

It wasn’t that Sterling was evasive. Mark was sure that if
he ever asked Sterling about this stuff he’d be given
straight, honest answers, because Sterling was a straight,
honest person. But the second they actually got together
Mark didn’t care about any of it anymore. It was only
when he was on his own that the things he didn’t know -
- little things that he noticed about his boyfriend that
made his radar ping a warning -- started to prey on his
mind.

Ruby Slippers - 48

So what if a couple of times when Sterling had called
Mark there had been a woman’s voice in the
background? So what if Sterling sometimes smelled of
perfume? So what if once he’d had a smear of lipstick
on his shirt?

Sterling was not Bryan.

Mark knew that Sterling didn’t have it in him to deceive
anyone the way Bryan had deceived Mark. Looking
back, Mark knew that even if Bryan had loved him --
and Mark thought he had, hoped he had -- he had still
always put Mark right at the bottom of his list of
priorities and himself at the top.

Bryan wouldn’t have come to a barbecue with guys that
were openly gay because someone might see and his
family might find out. He would never have sat in
Mark’s lap in public to show that Mark was off limits;
not only because would he have called such behavior
‘nancy’, but because it wouldn’t have occurred to him
there was any reason to be jealous about Mark at all.

Bryan wouldn’t have called Mark nearly in tears
because he had to miss a date that involved nothing
more glamorous than snuggling in front of the TV.

And when he thought about it like that, Mark knew that
the reason there were gaps in what he knew about
Sterling was not because Sterling was dating a woman
behind Mark’s back in order to gain his family’s
approval and their financial support, like Bryan. It was
because Mark and Sterling were a new couple, and they

Ruby Slippers - 49

were still learning about each other -- and that was a
normal, fun process that Mark really did not need to
spoil by freaking out.

So fucking stop freaking out, you stupid bastard.

"What’s up?" Jerry, Mark’s on and off work partner
asked, plopping his skinny butt down on the edge of
Mark’s desk. "You look like your cat died or
something."

Mark looked pointedly at the place where Jerry’s ass
rested on his Star Wars mouse pad and raised his
eyebrows. Jerry raised his eyebrows back with a grin.
"Well?"

"I don’t have a cat," Mark said.

"Then why do you look like it died? If you sighed any
freaking harder you’d have blown all my files out of
order."

Mark transferred his gaze to his co-worker’s desk,
usually referred to by their colleagues as The Pit. He
didn’t see any files. He did see an old pizza box, a
coffee mug that had green stuff growing out of it, three
half-eaten takeout sandwiches and about enough dust to
drown a midget.

"Yeah, I can see how devastating that would be for
you," he said dryly, looking back at Jerry again. "My
date just got cancelled, okay? Now get off my desk."

"No way, man. This is the first time you haven’t been

Ruby Slippers - 50

busy since you and the little woman hooked up! You
gotta come out with us! Travers told me about this
amazing new club, and we’re all gonna go tonight."

Mark shook his head. "First of all, if you refer to my
boyfriend as a "little woman" again, I’m going to tell
him. And then he’ll probably crush all the bones in your
hand with one finger. Second of all, I really doubt my
idea of ‘amazing’ is the same as yours, so, with all due
respect, not a hope in Hell."

Jerry just carried on grinning. "You’re totally coming
with us."

"I’d rather stick a fork in my eye and swirl it around for
a count of ten," Mark said. "I’m not coming."

And so it was that half an hour after he finished up with
work, instead of sinking into his comfortable -- if lonely
-- bed, Mark was following three of his co-workers into
a downtown club called Ruby Slippers.

Jerry and Travers -- who happened to be married to
Wendy down at Mimi’s Diner -- had been frustratingly
closed mouthed about what he could expect in the club,
so Mark fully expected it to be a titty bar with strippers
draped in boa constrictors or something equally horrific.
Instead, he was pleasantly surprised to find the interior
was decorated in the style of a 30s jazz club, with a
monochrome theme, small round tables surrounding a
dance floor and stage area, and waiters in white shirts
and waistcoats. Piped in music played softly, and there
was a mixed crowd, from what looked to Mark’s
jaundiced eyes like fake-ID’ed students in skinny jeans

Ruby Slippers - 51

to older couples in suits and cocktail dresses. The place
was full, but the noise was muted.

"This is nice," he said with some surprise, sitting down
at one of the few empty tables.

Miles, the newest detective on the squad, looked around
with disappointment as a waiter took their drink order.
"What’s so amazing about this place? There aren’t even
any strippers."

Mark whacked him lightly on the back of the head.
"You’re not old enough for strippers."

Travers grinned. "Just wait. This is a special treat from
us to you."

As their drinks arrived, the piped in music stopped and a
spotlight above the stage clicked on. There was a stir of
excitement as a deep but slightly campy voice came
through the speaker system.

"And now, ladies and gentleman, the special
entertainment portion of the evening will begin. Please
welcome to the stage our very own siren: singing
sensation Silver!"

There was a loud whoot from the students in the corner
and enthusiastic applause from the rest of the club as the
spotlight flicked off. A second later it was back on, and
now there was a tall stool there, and someone perched
on the edge of it.

The first thing Mark noticed was an extremely well

Ruby Slippers - 52

muscled leg in a sheer, sparkling stocking. The lacy top
of the stocking peeked out from a thigh-high slit in a
floor length, silvery-blue dress. The foot wore a silver
stiletto heel that tapped out a beat on the stage. Mark’s
eyes traveled up that leg to a pair of slender hips that
swayed gently and a pinched in waist in a silver leather
corset that laced up both sides with dangling blue
ribbons.

Long, straight, silvery-blonde hair cascaded down over a
pair of solid shoulders and framed an exquisite face with
golden skin, wide, dark eyes with long lashes, and a
generous pink glossed mouth. One silver-satin gloved
hand lifted a microphone, the lips pursed, and, a
cappella, a beautiful, mellow golden tenor -- a tenor
Mark had heard often, in the shower or when they were
cuddled on the sofa watching musicals -- sung the
opening words of Nina Simone’s song:

"Birds flyin’ high, you know how I feel…"

After a few bars, the distinctive trumpets kicked in, and
now the performer was dancing as well as singing,
slinking gracefully across the stage, pivoting on the
impossibly high heels. Every eye in the place was
riveted to those slow, seductive movements, to the legs
that flashed through the slit in the dress, to the nipples
that peeked slyly out of the top of the corset when the
singer lifted those gloved arms.

"Freedom is mine…you know how I feel…Feeling
good…"

The club patrons certainly were. They were on their feet,

Ruby Slippers - 53

dancing along, whistling, begging for more as the song
finished, even Jerry and Travers. The man on stage
curtsied gracefully, blew kisses, and then launched into
a sexed up version of Judy Garland’s ‘I Can’t Give you
Anything But Love’.

And Mark sat, frozen with a shattering sense of betrayal
as he realized that he’d been wrong about Sterling. He
was a damn good liar after all.

Ruby Slippers - 54

FIVE

Sterling collapsed on the little padded stool in front of
his dressing table, gulping down half a bottle of chilled
water in one drag as he carefully pulled off his Christina
style wig.

"Great set," his co-worker Dylan, otherwise known as
Dyana, said from the stool next to him, adjusting his
vibrant red bob. "Hey, can I borrow your lip gloss? I
can’t find my vixen pink anywhere. I think that skank
Bobby stole it."

"Don’t call Bobby a skank," Sterling said, though he
was pretty sure that Dylan was right. Bobby was always
stealing Sterling’s make-up, too. "But yes, you can
borrow it."

"You’re a pal," Dylan said.

"There’s some drag out there tonight," Sterling said,
deftly fitting his wig back on its plastic stand and noting
that two of the little bulbs that surrounded the dressing
table mirror had gone out again. Probably because
Bobby was always flinging his fake-fur coat over the
damn things. It was Hell sharing a dressing table. But
the room was so small, Sterling knew he was lucky not
to be sharing the table with Dyana as well. He cast a
fond look around the room, smiling at the posters of
Classic Hollywood stars that concealed the fading
wallpaper and breathing in the comforting smell of
perfume, hair-spray and sweaty feet. This was the first

Ruby Slippers - 55

place he’d ever felt really at home. At least until he met
Mark. "I couldn’t see where, but someone was seriously
hating on me. Watch it."

"Well, the crowd seemed pretty happy to me, but I’ll
keep a weather eye out," Dylan said. "I’d better get back
stage. I’m on in five. Thanks for filling in for Jake
tonight. If I’d had to do three sets alone, I’d probably
have collapsed."

"No biggie. My boyfriend was okay about it." Sterling
felt his cheeks starting to heat up as he used the word
and was thankful for the layers of make-up that hid it.

Dylan’s smirk said he saw it anyway. "Don’t suppose he
has a brother?"

"Not that I know of," Sterling said, picking up his packet
of cleansing wipes. "Sorry."

Dylan laughed. "No you’re not! Oh, well. You’re a
sweetie, so I won’t put a hex on you."

"Break a leg," Sterling said as Dylan swayed out of the
room on four inch heels.

Sterling had pulled off his fake eye-lashes and wiped his
face clean, but was still in full stage costume -- minus
the gloves, which he hated and always pulled off the
second he left the stage -- when there was a knock at the
door. He frowned. No one ever bothered to knock back
here. Sterling sometimes wondered why there was a
door at all.

Ruby Slippers - 56

"Come in," he called, watching the door warily in his
mirror.

There was a long pause, and Sterling wondered if
someone had a made a mistake. Then the door swung
open and Mark stepped inside.

Sterling’s first reaction was the same as any time he saw
Mark -- a flush of deep happiness and warmth. He
smiled and turned on the stool, automatically twitching
his skirt out of the way of his heels.

"Hey! What are you doing here?"

And then he saw the look on Mark’s face -- the frozen,
hurt, horrified look -- and he remembered where he was.
What he was wearing. And that Mark didn’t know.

"Mark --"

"You lied to me," Mark said, his blue eyes travelling
slowly over Sterling with the same horrified fascination
Sterling had seen on his face when they watched The
Secret Life of Insects on National Geographic. "All
along. You -- you were doing this -- all along. You lied
about everything."

Sterling shook his head, taking in a deep breath. This
was important. He had to stay calm and explain it in a
way Mark would understand. Mark would understand.
He knew it. Mark would get it because Mark was
special.

"I never lied to you. I just didn’t tell you about this part

Ruby Slippers - 57

of myself because I wasn’t ready. I’ve had bad reactions
from people in the past."

"Bad reactions?" Mark laughed, a harsh sound nothing
like his normal laughter. Sterling winced. "You’re not
kidding. Who would have a good reaction to this?
Finding out your boyfriend is some kind of -- some kind
of -- "

Mark stuttered to a stop, and Sterling felt something
knotting up in his chest, something hard and painful. He
fought against the pain, standing up and reaching out to
Mark.

For the first time since they’d met, Mark turned away
from Sterling’s touch. He held up his hands as if to ward
Sterling off, and the hard knot inside Sterling got tighter.
His hands dropped back to his sides, closing slowly into
fists.

"Finding out your boyfriend is some kind of what?" he
asked, his voice small and thin. "Why is it such a big
deal? I’m the same person I always was. This is just a
different aspect of me."

"The same person?" Mark turned his face away, as if he
couldn’t bear to look at Sterling anymore. "I don’t know
who you are. I thought you were sweet and innocent and
incapable of lying. But you’re not any of those things.
I’ve been dating a fucking drag queen, and I didn’t even
know it. My God, what if the guys at work had realized?
Jesus, I can’t believe this. You bastard! You deliberately
kept this from me! You pretended you were normal, and
you let me…"

Ruby Slippers - 58

"Pretended I was normal?" Sterling’s lips felt numb.
Everything felt numb -- his skin, his fingers, his legs --
except that place deep inside him, where his heart had
twisted up into a fist. "What exactly am I then? A
pervert? A freak? What?"

Mark’s jaw clenched. "You know this isn’t right. You’re
a man."

"Yes. I’m a gay man who likes to wear silk stockings
and pretty dresses and sing and dance. So what? Half the
world thinks I should get burned on the cross just for the
gay part. Why the Hell does any of the rest matter?"

"You know it matters! That’s why you lied -- "

"I didn’t lie!" Sterling screamed, his voice drowning
Mark’s out easily. "I never lied about a fucking thing!"

"You deceived me, and you know it!" Mark made a
slashing movement with his hands. "Fuck you, Sterling -
- I can’t deal with this shit. It’s over. Don’t ever come
anywhere near me again."

Mark turned and grabbed the door handle.

"Wait. Mark, wait!" Sterling cried, watching in disbelief
as his lover walked away. "I love you."

Mark didn’t even pause. He stepped through the door
and slammed it shut behind him.

Sterling stared at it, frozen. Go after him, a voice at the

Ruby Slippers - 59

back of his mind screamed. Run after him! Go on!
Maybe if you try again he’d listen. He can’t have gotten
far!

"I can’t," Sterling whispered to himself, looking down at
his corset, skirt and heels. Mark already hated him. If
someone saw them together and connected Mark’s
boyfriend with Silver the drag queen, Mark would
never, ever forgive him. He’s never going to forgive you
anyway, the little voice said sadly.

Mark hadn’t got it. He hadn’t understood. He thought
Sterling was a freak. Mark he hated him.

The fist in his chest opened. Sterling crumpled to the
floor, tears pouring down his face.

***

Mark dragged himself through the door of his
apartment, toeing off his shoes and walking straight into
the bedroom. He fell facedown onto the duvet,
squeezing his eyes shut in a vain attempt to block out
the images that had been haunting him ever since he left
the club.

Sterling in a corset and heels, with long, blonde hair,
dancing and twirling on stage.

Sterling blowing kisses with glossy pink lips and
winking his fake lashes at the crowd.

Sterling, now bare-faced and wigless, staring at Mark
with heartbreak in his eyes as Mark turned away from

Ruby Slippers - 60

him.

"Oh, God," Mark moaned, punching the pillow
viciously. He felt like a meteor had crashed down into
his life and smashed everything. What the fuck? Sterling
-- his gorgeous, perfect Sterling -- was some kind of
cross-dressing stage act? Sterling had deliberately lied to
him every day that they were together? How could he do
that? Didn’t he realize how important honesty was to
Mark? Didn’t he see how sick, how wrong it was for a
man to dress up and act like a woman?

Except Sterling hadn’t acted like a woman on stage.
He’d just acted like…Sterling. Just sung and danced and
moved like Sterling always had, whenever he was in a
club or a song he liked came on the radio. Mark had
loved that about him, that he was so shy and sweet but
could be completely wild and uninhibited at the same
time. On the stage hadn’t been any different. No
different except that he’d been wearing a fucking corset
and stockings and stiletto heels.

Mark felt a shiver of arousal at the memory, followed by
a surge of disgust at himself. What was wrong with
him? He was gay, but he wasn’t some weirdo who got
turned on by a man in stockings. That was just wrong.

And Sterling hadn’t even admitted it! He kept saying
that he hadn’t lied. What the Hell was that about?
Leading a double life, keeping secrets, pretending to be
normal -- what was that if it wasn’t a lie? Mark punched
the pillow again, feeling tears well up in the corners of
his eyes. He had felt like this before -- felt the sickening,
lurching sense of betrayal -- and he had sworn then that

Ruby Slippers - 61

it would never happen to him again. He’d thought that
Sterling was safe. That Sterling would never make him
feel like this.

What a fucking idiot.

His cell rang, and Mark instinctively flicked it open,
then cursed himself. He didn’t want to talk to anyone.

"Mark! We’re heading out to the club tonight, you and
Sterling want to come with?" Ethan’s familiar voice
made Mark groan.

"I’m…I’m not really in the mood to talk right now,
Ethan. I’ll call you back. Bye."

Mark hung up. The phone immediately rang again. Mark
swore, considering letting it go to voice mail, but he
knew from experience that Ethan wouldn’t give up, and
he was still on call, which meant he couldn’t switch the
phone off.

He flicked it open again. "I’m serious, man, I’m not in
the mood to talk."

"What the Hell happened? You sound like your cat
died."

Mark tried to laugh, but the reminder of Jerry’s
comment earlier, and the discovery it had led to, turned
the noise into a sob.

"Holy fuck, Mark, are you crying? We’ll be there in ten
minutes."

Ruby Slippers - 62

"No! No, I don’t want to see anyone. Please Ethan."

"Are you all right? Did something happen at work?"

"It’s…it’s Sterling."

Mark heard James voice in the background asking,
"Shit! Is he hurt?"

"No! He’s fine. It’s just we -- we broke up."

There was a long silence. Then Ethan sighed. "Well,
fuck. What did you do?"

Mark gaped at the phone. "What did I do? I didn’t do
any fucking thing. It wasn’t my fault. He was lying to
me, so I ended it."

"Sterling?" Ethan sounded incredulous. In the
background, Mark heard James again, shouting, "No
way!"

"Yes way," Mark said wearily.

"Man, I did not see that coming. I’d have bet my left ball
that boy was the real deal. I can’t believe he’d cheat on
you."

"He didn’t cheat on me. That I know of, anyway, but
what the fuck do I know? I don’t know him at all."

"He didn’t? What was he lying about? Is he on drugs?"

Ruby Slippers - 63

Mark ground the heel of his hand into his eye. "You ever
hear of a club called Ruby Slippers? It’s -- "

"Yeah!" There was a scuffle, and James came on the
phone. "Me and Ethan go there all the time. We love
that place. Did you catch him doing something bad
there?"

Slightly rattled by the idea that his friends actually went
to a club like that for fun, Mark nonetheless ploughed
ahead. "You could say that. He works there -- and I
don’t mean behind the bar. He’s a….a…" He took a
deep breath and said it. "He’s a transvestite. He sings.
On stage, in woman’s clothes."

There was another long pause. "Huh?"

Mark made his half-sob noise again. "Yeah."

"Wait. Just -- hang on. You mean that’s it? You broke
up with a man that adored you because he works as a
female impersonator, and now you’re, like, Oh Poor
Me? What the Hell is wrong with you?"

Mark sat up on the bed. "What the Hell is wrong with
me?"

James wasn’t listening. "Did you hear that, Ethe? Did
you -- I mean -- what the -- "

"Baby, give me the phone."

Ethan’s voice came back on the line. "Did I get this
right, or did I miss something, Mark? What was Sterling

Ruby Slippers - 64

supposed to be lying about?"

"He was lying about his whole double life!" Mark
shouted. "The bastard was going around behind my back
dressed in fucking stockings and high heels, singing on
stage for everyone to see, and he never even -- I mean he
didn’t even warn me! What if someone at work had
realized who he was? I’d have been a fucking laughing-
stock. He’s a tranny!"

"Whoa," Ethan breathed. "This is freaking me out. It’s
like…it’s not even you I’m talking to now. It’s Bryan."

"What? What the fuck does Bryan have to do with this?"
Mark yelled, grabbing a handful of his own hair and
pulling. "I’m talking about Sterling."

"Bullshit. This isn’t about Sterling; it’s about Bryan’s
seven-year brainwashing program. You practically
quoted him word for word. All that stuff about how
cross-dressers were freaks, how femme guys gave gay
men a bad name, how he couldn’t possibly come out and
tell anyone he was gay because then everyone would
think he was a pervert, too. I know you swallowed all
that shit down without chewing -- but I thought by now
you’d have had enough sense to realize it was just a
fucking excuse. The real reason he didn’t want to come
out was because he didn’t want to risk losing his cushy
trust fund. Men like him are the ones that give gay men
a bad name."

"That’s not fair -- "

"Oh no? You think I didn’t see the faces you pulled

Ruby Slippers - 65

whenever Jamie turned up somewhere with some
fucking lip-gloss on? Like he was some kind of a
deviant?"

"I don’t think Jamie’s a deviant! I just think men should
be men and --"

"And what? All the queers should go die? You’re a
fucking gay homophobe!" Mark could hear a note of
true rage in Ethan’s voice now.

"This isn’t even about that! Okay, seeing Sterling like
that freaked me out, but this is about honesty, Ethan.
Sterling lied to me, just like Bryan. He kept secrets from
me deliberately, shut me out, just like Bryan. You
should be on my side!"

"Ah, no, because there’s a crucial difference. Bryan lied
and cheated to keep you a secret because he was
ashamed of you. Sterling kept a secret from you because
you obviously made him ashamed of who he was and he
was scared of losing you. Congratulations, fuckwit. You
just became your own ex-boyfriend."

Mark gaped at the phone, speechless.

"And another thing," Ethan said, clearly so furious he
could barely speak now. "Even if Jamie turned up in the
office tomorrow in a fucking skirt, he’d still be more of
a man than Bryan ever was, and the same goes for
Sterling. At least they have the fucking courage to be
true to themselves. Unlike you. After everything he did
you’re still letting that bastard live in your head, and
that’s pretty damn sad, man. You can call me again

Ruby Slippers - 66

when you get your brain out of your ass. But I wouldn’t
bother calling Sterling, because I bet he’s never going to
forgive you. I sure as Hell wouldn’t."

The dial tone made Mark flinch. He clicked the phone
closed and stared at it.

What. The. Hell?

His lover had lied to him and gone behind his back, and
instead of being on his side, his friend had just ripped
him a new asshole. What was wrong with this picture?

Mark sat in silence for a long time, chewing over
everything that Ethan had said. Surely he couldn’t be
right? Sure, Mark had been with Bryan for a long time --
they’d met fresh out of college -- and Bryan had
basically been Mark’s first real boyfriend. And sure,
Bryan had talked a lot about what he called the ‘limp-
wrists’ giving gay men a bad name, making it hard for
everyone. And maybe Mark had believed that if some
guys weren’t so determined to make flaming spectacles
of themselves, Bryan might have been able to be more
open, to be honest with his family. To make Mark more
of a priority.

To love Mark, instead of treating him like a dirty little
secret.

But I didn’t let him tell me what to think, Mark protested
to himself. I was young when we met, but I wasn’t some
naïve idiot. I mean…it’s about me, too. About the way I
feel. I find guys who dress up as girls repellent, right?

Ruby Slippers - 67

Right?

So why did he get turned on thinking about Sterling’s
legs in those stockings then?

Mark fell back on the bed and let himself draw a picture
in his mind of the way that Sterling had looked. Of those
incredible, cut arms and legs covered in silk and satin.
Of those gorgeous eyes surrounded by smoky shadow
and long lashes. Of the way Sterling’s tight butt had
looked under that thin skirt and the way his nipples had
flirted with the top of the corset.

His cock stirred, starting to get hard. Mark reached
down and rubbed it, then pulled his hand away as he
realized the truth. He found Sterling dressed as a woman
repellent? Oh, Hell no. Sterling was beautiful no matter
what.

Jesus, it was true. Maybe the real reason Mark had
found it so uncomfortable whenever James turned up
somewhere in make--up and femme clothes was that he
found the other man too damn sexy looking like that. It
had prodded at a part of himself that he’d locked away.
A part he’d had to suppress, because if he found femme
attractive -- if guys wearing make-up or acting queenie
was actually not disgusting and wrong -- then Bryan was
wrong. And if Bryan was wrong, then Mark had wasted
seven fucking years of his life listening to an idiot and
believing him, instead of walking away when he realized
that Bryan was never going to come out.

Was that really all it came down to? That he’d had to
cling to his little illusion that there had been a real

Ruby Slippers - 68

relationship there and Bryan had good reasons for how
he acted? No matter what Bryan had felt, he’d still hurt
and betrayed Mark. Why did any of it matter?

Ethan was right. It was long past time to throw all that
old baggage out.

Sterling still lied, he told himself. He kept a big,
important part of himself a secret and deceived me. He
must have known that was wrong. A lie by omission is
still a lie.

But considering what Sterling had said about people
reacting badly in the past --

And considering that Mark already knew someone else
had hurt Sterling really badly --

And considering the fact that Sterling’s own family had
thrown him out when he tried to be honest with them --

Mark groaned. No wonder Sterling hadn’t been
comfortable telling him everything straight away. He’d
been afraid that Mark would act just exactly the way
Mark had acted.

Okay, okay.

He was a fucking idiot. But this…this couldn’t be the
end, right? Mark knew he had said some stupid -- no,
worse than that, hurtful, cruel -- things. And he had said
it was over. But this was Sterling. Everyone said
Sterling worshipped him. So Mark just had to see him
again, discuss this with him calmly, explain why he’d

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reacted the way he had and get Sterling to understand.
Sterling would forgive him, right?

Ruby Slippers - 70

SIX

"You’re kinda starting to scare me," Bobby said, his
hand still gently rubbing Sterling’s back, like it had been
doing for the past hour while Sterling sobbed himself
into exhaustion on the narrow bed. "The crying I can
handle. This staring at the wall like you’re dead inside
shit is not like you. Talk to me."

Sterling sighed, finally managing to look Bobby in the
face. "You were right, Bobby. This is my own fault."

Bobby made an outraged noise. "Did I ever say I Told
You So? What kind of a friend does that?"

Sterling heaved himself up and leaned wearily against
his friend’s shoulder. "You’re a great friend. And you
don’t have to say anything. I know it’s true. You warned
me; I ignored you. I just…I liked him so much. I never
felt that way about anyone before."

"Oh, honey, you’ll get over him -- "

"No, I won’t," Sterling interrupted. "You know the last
thing I said to him? I said ‘I love you’. It was true. Is
true. He didn’t even look back. I loved him, and he
didn’t even look at me when I told him."

Bobby pressed a kiss to his forehead, speechless for
once.

"I felt like shit. Like dirt, lower than dirt. And I’m so

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fucking sick of feeling this way, because I don’t deserve
it. I just want to be who I am and be happy. So this is the
last time, Bobby. I’m not doing this to myself -- or you -
- anymore. I need to grow up, accept the way things are
and just move on."

"You’re not going to start singing ‘All by Myself’ are
you?"

Sterling wished he could manage a laugh for his friend,
but it just wasn’t there. Not yet. "I don’t feel like singing
right now."

Bobby stared into Sterling’s face. "Sterling, are you
really okay?"

"No," he said quietly. "But I will be."

***

By Monday morning, Mark had left four messages on
Sterling’s cell phone. He didn’t really know what to say,
how to explain himself, so he just said, "I’m really sorry.
We need to talk. Call me. Please."

Sterling didn’t return his calls.

Mark told himself that was to be expected. Sterling must
be incredibly hurt. The poor guy wouldn’t want to put
himself in a vulnerable position again so soon. He
wouldn’t want to talk to Mark and risk getting more shit
thrown at him. This is your own fault, Mark told himself
severely. You need to take the initiative, see him face to
face and, and clear the air.

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But that was easier said than done when Mark didn’t
actually know Sterling’s address. The only place he
knew Sterling was sure to be was Ruby Slippers.
Whenever he thought about the place, Mark had a weird,
sick feeling -- a combination of arousal that he had only
just begun to acknowledge, worry that someone he knew
might still figure out that Mark’s boyfriend was on stage
there, and horror about the way he’d treated Sterling that
night. He didn’t want to go back. But when his attempt
to leave message number five was thwarted by a
recorded voice telling him that this number was
blocking his calls, Mark knew he had no choice.

He drove downtown, sitting in the tuna-stinking interior
of the car for ten minutes while he nerved himself up,
watching the side entrance of the club. It was like being
on a stake-out, except that this felt way more important.

Finally, Mark saw a familiar, broad-shouldered form
walking down the street, lit orange in the street-lights
and muffled up against the cold snap. Mark was out of
his car and across the street before he even noticed that
Sterling wasn’t alone. A much taller guy with a slender
build was walking next to him, a long, black braid
hanging down over his shoulder. The man had coffee-
colored skin and vaguely Asian features accented by
skillfully applied make-up.

Mark gulped as he approached them. In days gone by
he’d have dismissed the guy as a weirdo, but now that
he was being honest, he had to admit that the man with
his arm linked through Sterling’s was stunning. Way
more stunning than Mark could claim to be.

Ruby Slippers - 73

He’s probably just a friend. Calm down. Focus.

"Sterling," he called out, and watched Sterling’s head
snap up and those broad shoulders tense as if in
expectation of a blow. "Listen, I need to talk to you."

Sterling was staring at the ground. "Well, I don’t really
want to talk to you."

"Wait, is this him?" The tall guy said. "This is the rat
bastard?"

"Bobby -- " Sterling began, still not meeting Mark’s
eyes.

"What the Hell are you doing coming here again?"
Bobby demanded, pushing Sterling behind him and
waving one crimson-tipped finger in Mark’s face. "You
didn’t crush him enough the first time, now you’re back
for more?"

"Bobby!" Sterling grabbed the tall guy’s arm. "Look, I
can deal with this. Can you go inside and wait for me?"

"You sure? ‘Cos I can think of a few more things this
bastard needs to hear."

"I’m sure. I’ll be there in a minute."

Bobby stalked past Mark, making sure to bump Mark’s
shoulder as he went. But Mark didn’t care. He couldn’t
take his eyes off Sterling’s face. He’d never seen that
expression before -- remote and calm, like Sterling was

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dealing with a stranger. And Sterling still wouldn’t look
him in the eye.

"What do you want?"

Mark took a deep breath. "I want to tell you I’m sorry I
blew up and said so many awful things. I didn’t mean
any of them. There’s some stuff I need to explain to you,
about why I reacted that way. But what’s important is
that I’m sorry, I don’t want to break up, and I’m begging
you to forgive me."

Sterling nodded slowly, finally lifting his head to look at
Mark. His eyes were bleak, and Mark felt about two
inches tall for making this sweet man look like that.
"You didn’t mean any of it?"

"No."

"So why did you say it then?"

Mark made a helpless gesture. "Like I said, I have some
issues. Stuff I hadn’t dealt with. But I’ve faced it now,
and I know that I was wrong."

"Right. Overnight, you completely changed your mind.
You don’t think I’m some kind of sick pervert anymore.
You’re totally fine with me in women’s clothes. And
when the policemen’s family picnic rolls around, you’re
going to be A-okay if I turn up in a dress and sensible
heels."

Mark hesitated, caught off guard both by Sterling’s tone
and what he had said. "I…"

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"Yeah, that’s what I thought. You feel bad now because
you exposed your own prejudices and acted like an ass,
and you came here so you can feel like the good guy
again. But you don’t want me -- not the real me. You
don’t want a boyfriend who loves dressing up in a corset
and putting on wigs and dancing for the crowd. One
who sleeps in lingerie. One who shaves his legs every
day. You feel exactly the same way now that you did in
the dressing room when you broke up with me, it’s just
that now you’re lying about it, to me and yourself."

Mark was reeling under this deluge of information.
Sterling slept in lingerie? God, was that sexy as Hell or
wrong as fuck? He didn’t even know.

"That -- that’s not true," he stammered weakly. "I’m
trying to fix this because -- because I care about you,
and I…maybe I haven’t thought everything through, but
that’s not all my fault. I haven’t had a chance to adjust. I
thought you were one person, and then I found out you
were someone else. You never turned up at my place in
women’s underwear."

"Yeah, ‘cos that would have gone down real well."
Sterling rubbed his hand over his head. "The fact is that
the whole time we were going out I was holding back,
trying to be who I thought you wanted me to be.
Practically everything you ever saw me wearing was
borrowed from the other guys at the club, because I ran
out of regular boy-clothes at date two. I went out and
bought four packs of boxers especially for when I stayed
over with you. I topped every time we were together,
when all I ever wanted was for you to make love to me."

Ruby Slippers - 76

"Why didn’t you tell me you wanted me to top? I
would’ve been fine with it!" Mark protested.

"Maybe. But when you saw who I really am you reacted
exactly how I thought you would, so you proved me
right. You were so sickened by me that when I said I
loved you, you couldn’t even look at me."

"What?" Mark breathed. "You said what? When did you
tell me that?"

Sterling shook his head. "It’s too late now, even if I
believed you just didn’t hear me, which I don’t. We’re
not right for each other, Mark. I want someone who
likes me, the real me. Not someone who puts up with it,
or ignores it, but someone who gets it, gets turned on by
it. I deserve that. And you want some regular, normal
jock-type who’d rather die than put on lip-gloss. It’s
better if we call it a day."

"No. No, it isn’t," Mark said, not even trying to keep the
pleading out of his voice. "I don’t want some jock-type,
I want you. You’re special to me, Sterling. I want us to
be together. I think -- I think I love you too."

Sterling looked away for a moment, as if he was
struggling with himself. But when he looked back at
Mark, his face was set. "I don’t believe you. Please
don’t come here again."

He stepped around Mark and walked to the entrance of
the club.

Ruby Slippers - 77

Mark stood, struggling desperately to breathe as the door
shut behind him. It was like déjà vu; only this time
Sterling was the one slamming the door.

Sterling hadn’t believed him. He’d told Sterling he
loved him. Mark had only said that to one person before
in his life. But Sterling hadn’t believed him. Sterling
thought Mark didn’t mean it, was just messing around,
that he would break Sterling’s heart again.

It finally dawned on Mark the magnitude of the mistake
he had made. He remembered the happy smile on
Sterling’ face when the other man had first seen Mark
walk into the dressing room, and the way he had looked
when Mark backed away. And Sterling had told Mark
that he loved him, and Mark had been so taken up with
his own righteous indignation that he hadn’t even heard.
Sterling might have been "holding back" when it came
to a few facts of his life, but he hadn’t held back
emotionally. He’d laid everything out for Mark, given
Mark his heart, and Mark had kicked it to the curb
without even noticing.

"Jesus fuck," he whispered. "How the Hell am I gonna
fix this?"

***

Inside the club Sterling was sitting down on an empty
packing crate by the back door, with his head between
his legs, taking long, deep breaths as he related the
conversation with Mark to his roommate.

"And what did he say to that?" Bobby asked from his

Ruby Slippers - 78

seat next to Sterling on the crate.

"Something about how I was special and…I think he
said he loved me. I said I didn’t believe him and told
him not to come back. Oh, Jesus."

Bobby patted Sterling’s shoulder. "Listen up, short-stuff.
You did good. You did great. You handed his own
bullshit back to him on a plate. You should be proud."

Sterling took one more deep breath and then forced
himself to sit upright. He couldn’t forget the look on
Mark’s face. He’d looked…devastated. Sterling might
have done the right thing -- in fact, he was sure he had --
but that didn’t make it any easier to think about that
look. I shouldn’t care, he told himself. He hurt me first,
and if I give in he’ll just do it again. It’s better this way.

"Not sure I can do proud just yet, but…anyway, I don’t
think he’s going to bother me anymore. It’s over. And
we’ve got half an hour to get ready."

"Fuck!" Bobby said, jumping to his feet. Sterling
managed a weak smile as he followed the other man to
the dressing room.

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SEVEN

Ethan opened the door and stared at Mark for a long
moment. Mark wondered for a second if the other man
was going to close the door in his face. Then Ethan
sighed and reached out, drawing Mark into a hug.

"You look like shit on toast," he muttered.

Mark made a hiccupping little laugh. "Really? That’s
about ten times better than I feel."

"Come in, you dumb fuck. Only I gotta warn you, you
are not Jamie’s favorite person right now."

And indeed, when Ethan led Mark into the soft cream
and polished wood décor of the living room, James took
one look at Mark and started to walk out of the room.

"Wait!" Mark said. "James, I need your help."

James paused, raising his eyebrows. "With what?"

"With getting Sterling back. You were right, I was
wrong, I love him, and he’s perfect just the way he is,
and…now he doesn’t believe me. Help."

James’ icy expression softened a little, and he moved
back into the room, dropping down onto one of the
cream sofas and patting the seat beside him. "All right.
Everyone makes mistakes. Take a seat and tell me
everything."

Ruby Slippers - 80

Mark sat down next to James, swallowed, and then
reached out to hug him, too. A real, warm hug. James
rubbed his back a little, and Mark’s breath hitched.

"I’m sorry if I made you feel weird," he managed to get
out. "I don’t think you’re a deviant. It wasn’t ever about
you, man. You look so hot in your eyeliner it made me
uncomfortable. I’m really sorry."

"Hey, hey, it’s okay," James was saying. "I’m a big boy.
We’re fine, Mark."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really," Ethan drawled from the arm of the sofa,
next to James. "So would you get the Hell off Jamie
now, before I give into the urge to kick you in the ass?"

Mark sat back, struggling to keep his composure as
James gave him an understanding smile.

"Look, when Ethan and I first got together I was a
complete bastard. After one night I went so deep into
denial I couldn’t even see straight, and I basically broke
his heart," he said.

Mark gaped, because the idea of metrosexual, make-up
wearing James in the closet was pretty hard to get into
his head.

Jamie nodded. "I’m serious. I was as bad as you. I nearly
lost him."

Ruby Slippers - 81

Ethan put his arm around James, and James grabbed his
hand, twining their fingers together.

"But when he realized that," Ethan continued the story,
"Jamie went all out to prove to me that he knew what
he’d done wrong. He came out in front of everyone both
of us knew -- at his dad’s birthday party, actually -- told
me exactly what I meant to him and asked me to be part
of his life again. It was the bravest thing I ever saw
anyone do."

James squeezed Ethan’s hand and turned back to look at
Mark. "So the question is: how do you prove to Sterling
that you know what you did wrong and you really do
want him? And soon? Because Ethan and I knew each
other for ten years before my fuck-up. Our families were
friends, and we owned a business together. Ethan
couldn’t get away from me. You and Sterling haven’t
known each other for that long, and it’s not like you’re
going to bump into each other at your dad’s birthday
party. If you don’t do something soon, he’s going to put
you in the box marked ‘Bastard Exes’ and that will be
the end."

Mark shook his head. "I don’t know. I went to find him
at Ruby Slippers earlier, and I told him that I was wrong
and I loved him. He didn’t believe me. I can’t even
blame him because…when I saw him there -- on stage, I
mean -- it was like something flipped in my head. I can
barely remember some of the stuff that I said to him,
but…it was pretty bad. And he said that he told me he
loved me and I just walked away, and I don’t remember
that either. He didn’t even seem mad at me, just really
tired and like he couldn’t wait to get away. And when I

Ruby Slippers - 82

think about what I know about his history, like his
family disowning him and stuff, I wonder how he can
ever forgive me for doing the same thing."

"Jesus, that doesn’t sound good. All right," Jamie
nodded. "We already know he’s not going to listen to a
bunch of explanations. He’s too hurt for that. You need
to show him. You need to make a huge, splashy
statement."

"What, like two dozen long-stemmed roses?" Ethan
asked, and James smiled.

"I don’t know, does Sterling like roses?"

A light went on above Mark’s head, and his eyes
widened. "I’ll tell you what Sterling likes…" he said
slowly.

***

One week. One week since I saw him here. The last time
I’ll ever see him...

Sterling sighed as he and Bobby walked down the road
toward the club and, more to drown out his depressing
thoughts than because he really cared, said "So, let me
get this straight, the boss is auditioning a new guy and
he wants us all to watch and vote? And that’s why I had
to get out of bed an hour early?"

Bobby shrugged. "I dunno. I mean, it’s a good idea to let
us have some input, because if they had asked me, we
would never have hired that ho Brad and had that whole

Ruby Slippers - 83

crabs epidemic, but I don’t know why we all hafta be
there. Boss sounded pretty strange, too. Like he had a
little joke no one else knew."

"Maybe the guy’s so dreadful that Manny wants to give
us all a laugh," Sterling said, trying to act like he gave a
crap. It was increasingly hard to manage. He knew
because over the past few days Bobby’s concerned face
had been making frequent appearances.

Mark hadn’t tried to contact him again -- he hadn’t
expected it -- and he was glad. Once had been hard
enough. Sterling told himself over and over that he had
done the right thing. He was strong enough to get
through this, and one day he’d find the right person and
none of it would matter. But even though he knew all
that, he still spent most of his time now looking at the
world through a gray fog of indifference that would have
scared him if he could muster that much emotion. When
would it start to get better?

He looked down at his feet, shod in black, lace-up knee
high boots with stiletto heels. They were designer and
had been half-off, and this was the first time he’d worn
them, but even that didn’t give him the same thrill it
once would have. Sterling was mostly wearing them,
and the black silk hold-ups, and the short denim skirt
and button-down sweater, because he was determined
now not to pretend anymore. He was what he was, and
he wasn’t going to hide ever again. Not for anyone.

He and Bobby let themselves in at the back of the club
and found the other performers, Dylan, Brendon, Pablo
and Frank, already there.

Ruby Slippers - 84

"Those boots are gorgeous!" Dylan exclaimed, bustling
over to kiss Sterling’s cheek. "Hey, do either of you
know why we’re really here? Is this new guy that
good?"

Chattering curiously, they all made their way to the front
of the club, where their Boss, Manny Condito, was
waiting.

"Heya boys," he said, grinning through his moustache.
"You all look gorgeous as always. Take a seat, make
yourselves comfy. Marietta will be out in a minute."

"Marietta? That’s the new guy’s name?" Bobby asked.
"Are you seriously going to hire him or not based on
what we say?"

Manny’s grin got even bigger. He patted both Sterling
and Bobby on the head as they sat down. "Let’s just say
I think your feedback is really important to Marietta,
okay?"

Bobby threw Sterling a skeptical look. Sterling
shrugged. Whatever.

Manny bustled off, and one of the other guys went over
to the bar to pour them all a drink. Sterling accepted a
tequila and sat back.

A few minutes later the stage-lights went off and
Manny’s deep voice came over the speaker system.

"And now, a special performance, just for the belles of

Ruby Slippers - 85

Ruby Slippers, and most especially for Silver, who is
luckier than he knows. Please welcome…Marietta!"

Sterling had just opened his mouth to ask what the Hell
that was supposed to mean, when the spotlight came on.
A tall, slim figure stood center-stage. The man was clad
in a red satin dress with a sweetheart neckline that
revealed a hairless, glittered chest. The figure wore red,
open-toe kitten-heels -- red polished toenails peeped out
-- had long, glossy ringlets of black hair and a shiny red
mouth.

It was Mark.

Sterling’s drink hit the floor. As the music, the intro to
Katy Perry’s "Thinking of You", started, he was up on
his feet.

"What the Hell -- ?"

"Ster, what is it?" Bobby whispered, clearly having not
recognized the man on stage.

Mark looked right at Sterling and smiled as he lifted his
microphone. "This is for you, baby."

Then Mark started singing, husking the lyrics out in a
soft, heartfelt, bass voice, telling Sterling that
comparisons were too easy once you’d tasted perfection,
that even if Sterling told him to move on there was
nowhere he could go, because from now on everyone
else would be second best.

Sterling’s hands flew to his face, but he was unable to

Ruby Slippers - 86

look away. He made it until the second verse, when
Mark started singing about how Sterling was like a hard
candy with a surprise center, asking how Mark could get
better now he’d had the best, before the tears started.

Bobby had got it now, as had all the other guys. They
were looking backward and forward between Sterling
and the man on stage. Mark just kept on singing about
how he couldn’t stop thinking about Sterling, and
Sterling couldn’t move.

Mark held out his free hand, singing that he longed to be
looking into Sterling’s eyes, begging Sterling to bust
down the door and take him away -- and Sterling saw a
tear slide down Mark’s made-up face and broke.

He rushed at the stage, jumping the rail and vaulting up
to stand next to Mark. Mark dropped the mic, and
Sterling went into his arms, burying his face in Mark’s
shoulder.

"You mean it?" he asked through his tears. "You really
mean it?"

"Forever, Sterling," Mark whispered. "I love you."

Sterling turned his head, and they kissed, cherry lip-
gloss mixing with raspberry. Sterling pulled the wig off
Mark’s head so he could bury his fingers in Mark’s own
hair and hang on, because his knees were made of Jello
now. Distantly, Sterling heard the hoots and cheering
from the club behind them, but he couldn’t stop, just
opened his mouth wider and invited Mark’s tongue
inside.

Ruby Slippers - 87

"Come on," Mark whispered against his lips. "Let’s go
backstage."

Mark took Sterling’s hand and tugged him away from
the lights, rushing him off the stage and down the
corridor into the deserted dressing room. Mark whirled
Sterling inside, grabbed a mismatched chair from in
front of one of the tables and wedged it under the door
handle, then turned to face him again.

Mark was flushed and smeared with lipstick and his hair
was standing up all over the place. He’d come here,
done all this, just for Sterling, and Sterling…God, he
loved him so much. It felt like something dead had come
alive inside him, like he could finally see and feel after
more than a week of gray, blank nothingness.

Sterling couldn’t help it. He started crying again.

Ruby Slippers - 88

EIGHT

Mark’s heart ached like a broken bone when he saw
tears well up in Sterling’s mascaraed eyes. He drew the
other man to him, whispering softly.

"I’m sorry. I’m so sorry."

"It’s not that," Sterling whispered into his neck. Mark
realized they were much closer in height with Sterling in
heels, and that he liked it, just as Sterling’s fingers ran
gently along the neckline of Mark’s dress. "You
waxed!"

"Yep," Mark said, pressing a kiss to the top of Sterling’s
head. "All over, too. It feels amazing, but I don’t think
I’ll be doing it again. Too painful."

"Yeah, the waxing is what separates the men from the
boys." Sterling gave a watery laugh. "I can’t believe you
did all this for me."

"Fuck that. You’re more than worth it," Mark said
seriously. "Listen, I know I made the fuck-up to end all
fuck-ups, and I know I acted like a complete jerk, but it
was not about you, okay? You have to believe that. It
was about me and my messed up issues, and it’s not
even important anymore. You’re important.
You’re…you’re it for me. You’re beautiful, and I love
you. I’d rip my own skin off a million times if that was
what it took for you to see that."

Ruby Slippers - 89

Sterling laughed again, more convincingly this time.
"Rip your own skin off? You big baby, it’s just wax."

"Well, I guess we know who’s the man and who’s the
boy in this relationship then. If we still have a
relationship. Do you forgive me, Sterling? Can I have
another chance?"

Sterling took a deep breath. "Yes. If…if you’ll make
love to me. I mean, if you’ll do it this time."

Mark kissed Sterling, using his tongue and his teeth to
give his answer. Sterling sighed into his mouth, relaxing
against him. Mark realized that so far Sterling had
always been in charge of whatever happened between
them in the bedroom, and while Mark had liked that, it
was also great to feel the other man melt into him and
give up control.

Not breaking the kiss, Mark reached down and began
opening Sterling’s sweater. He shivered when he
realized that his fingers were grazing silk and lace as the
buttons opened. He pulled back to look at the lacy, white
slip that Sterling had on under the sweater.

Sterling’s face went bright pink, and his hand came up
as if to hide the slip, but Mark caught his wrist and held
it away.

"You know something?" He whispered. "You are so
fucking hot right now. I cannot wait to see what you
have on under there. My cock feels like a rock."

He brought Sterling’s hand down to touch his dick

Ruby Slippers - 90

through the thin satin of the dress and saw Sterling’s
face go even pinker as the other man gently shaped his
fingers around Mark. A shy smile graced his lips.

"If this is turning you on, wait until you see the rest," he
said.

Mark pulled the sweater away and unsnapped the waist
of Sterling’s skirt. Sterling wiggled his hips and let it
fall down, exposing matching panties and black, thigh-
high stockings that disappeared into knee boots.
Sterling’s cock was pushing against the material of his
underwear, leaving a wet patch, and his tanned skin
glistened faintly with sweat. Mark gulped.

"I don’t want to push you or anything, but…can we do it
like this? With everything on?"

Sterling bit his lip. "I think you need to take your dress
off or -- "

Mark grabbed the dress -- purchased at great expense on
James’ advice -- and ripped it over his head.
Underneath, he was naked, having found girl’s
underwear and hose so uncomfortable that he couldn’t
walk, let alone sing in them. He kicked off his kitten
heels and dragged Sterling against him, lifting the other
man off his feet and putting him down on the edge of the
nearest dressing table, scattering brushes and lipsticks
left and right.

"Open your legs, baby," he growled, and Sterling
moaned, a low-pitched little mewl the like of which
Mark had never heard out of his lips before. Holy Fuck

Ruby Slippers - 91

that’s sexy.

Sterling obediently spread his legs a little and lifted up,
and Mark grabbed his panties and drew them carefully
down his legs, not wanting to rip the delicate fabric,
running fingertips over Sterling’s thighs as he went and
finding the contrast between skin and stocking
unbearably erotic. He lifted Sterling’s booted feet,
pulled the panties away and then stepped between
Sterling’s legs and kissed him again. Sterling clutched at
Mark, making more of those soft, yearning noises.
Mark’s cock rubbed against Sterling’s, and they both
writhed against each other for a minute, the sensations
overwhelming after a week apart.

"Do me," Sterling begged. "Please. God, I want you to. I
dreamed about it."

"Slick. Slick? Where’s the -- crap, condoms! I don’t
have anything!"

Sterling latched onto the side of Mark’s neck with his
mouth as Mark frantically looked around, like condoms
and lube might appear out of thin air.

"Look in the drawer," he muttered. "This is a dressing
room for drag queens. There’ll be something."

Sterling’s teeth on his neck were driving him out of his
mind, but Mark managed to fumble a drawer open. Sure
enough there was a handful of condoms and a tube of
Astroglide right there on top. He snatched out what he
needed and dropped it onto the dressing table next to
Sterling’s butt, slammed the drawer shut and then

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caught Sterling by the hips, yanking him forward to the
edge so that Mark could see his little pink hole. It
clenched as he watched, and Sterling moaned again,
letting go of Mark to lie flat, sending more cosmetics
clattering to the floor.

How in the Hell had Mark not done this before? Sterling
might be an amazing top, but he was the best bottom
ever and Mark hadn’t even gotten inside him yet. Mark
pushed one of Sterling’s legs up so that the leather-clad
calf rested on Mark’s shoulder, opening the other man
up, and picked up the lube, coating one finger.

"Two…"Sterling panted, his hands on his own chest
now, moving under the slip, stroking his nipples. "Start
with two."

Mark added more lube and began gently easing his
fingers into that puckered hole. Sterling arched, crying
out, and his ass literally sucked Mark’s fingers inside.
Mark stroked deep, stretching Sterling, and Sterling
called his name.

"That’s enough. Please. I want you inside."

"God. You’re going to kill me," Mark muttered, rolling
on a condom and liberally lubing up his cock. He
resolved to go slowly. His dick might be desperate to get
in there, but he hadn’t stretched Sterling nearly as much
as he wanted. He wrapped his hands around Sterling’s
thighs, pulling him forward again so that he hung off the
edge of the table a little.

Slowly, gently, Mark began to push into Sterling,

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feeling Sterling flutter and spasm around Mark’s cock as
if he was trying to pull Mark inside.

"So good," Sterling moaned, one of his hands flying up
to grab the top of the mirror, the other catching the edge
of the table. For a second, Mark wished the mirror was a
bit bigger, so he could watch them doing this, but then
he looked down again at where his cock was sinking
into Sterling, at Sterling’s stockinged thighs, at the lacy
slip, and finally at Sterling’s pink, ecstatic face, and he
didn’t need anything else.

He pushed steadily until his balls were pressing hard
against Sterling’s ass, until he was grinding the base of
his cock into Sterling’s hole. Sterling looked at him with
lidded eyes, the expression similar to the one he wore
when he was dancing and the music took him over.
"Harder," he groaned. "Deeper. Want more."

Mark slapped one of his hands down on the table for
leverage and moved his hips in a deep, slow circle,
getting as deep as he could go. Sterling arched against
him, one of his legs going behind Mark’s back, the sharp
heel digging in as he urged Mark on. His cock was
purple and leaking, his balls drawn up tight against his
body, but he didn’t make any effort to touch himself.

"Want to feel you," he said. "Want to feel you every
time I sit down. For days. Harder. Fuck me harder."

Mark thrust, every muscle in his body straining to do
Sterling’s bidding. Sterling clenched, hissing, and Mark
thrust again, pushing his dick through the contraction,
knowing his fingers were going to leave bruises on

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Sterling’s hip, feeling like he would have a heart attack
if he couldn’t get closer.

"More. More," Sterling chanted. The dressing table was
groaning now, hitting the wall with each thrust. "Harder.
Yes! There!"

Mark was on fire now, and if his mother had walked in
the door, he couldn’t have stopped fucking Sterling,
pounding into the other man, reveling in the way
Sterling clenched on him each time he withdrew like
Sterling was fighting to keep Mark’s cock inside.

He braced his legs and jerked his hips hard enough to
make the dressing table skid across the floor, and
Sterling screamed, the sound echoing off the walls as a
long ribbon of cum spurted out of his cock, hitting
Mark’s chest.

"Mark!"

Mark fucked Sterling through his orgasm, forcing his
cock into the tightening hole until Sterling was sobbing,
his cock spent, his eyes fixed on Mark like he couldn’t
look away. Then Mark let go, his own climax rushing
over him in a tide of pleasure, making everything go
loose and weak, except his cock, spearing into Sterling’s
body.

When he came back, Mark realized that the only things
keeping him upright were Sterling’s legs and arms
wrapped around him -- and that he was crushing Sterling
into the table.

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"Sorry," he said drowsily, easing up onto his wobbly
arms.

"Don’t be," Sterling whispered, pressing a kiss to the
end of his nose. "It was amazing. I’ve never come just
from being fucked. I thought it was a myth."

"You make myths come true," Mark said, leaning his
forehead against Sterling’s. "You made them all come
true for me. All those feelings that I thought couldn’t
exist, like being soul-mates, being destined for each
other. I know what people mean now. It’s like coming
home."

"Yeah?" Sterling smiled. "Then there really is no place
like home?"

"Right," Mark agreed. "And next time we do this, you’re
definitely going to be wearing ruby slippers."

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