Page 30

Chapter Thirty

Dominic

Vegas is insane.

“I haven’t been here since my early twenties,” I say, gripping Mikah’s hand.

“Because you’re boring nowadays,” Gerard comments.

There was a large limo in the pick-up area at the airport waiting to take us to the hotel. Sixteen of us were on the private plane, and all of us are in this limo, each with a glass of champagne in their hand.

Well, except Mikah, who drank his already. It’s going to be a long weekend for him for so many reasons. So many people to talk to and things to do. He’s not a social person the way I am. It drains him more than it energizes him.

“Keep talking shit, Ger. He’s going to knock you out,” Victor says.

“Oh please,” Gerard mutters with an eye roll .

“The cocky pretty boy thing works in the videos, but not in real life,” Diana says smartly, causing Gerard’s girl, Stella, to scoff.

I sigh, running a hand down my face. The drama is real in this limo. At least on this end. The other seems to be getting along just fine.

“Are we almost there?” I swear there’s about to be a fight in this limo if we don’t get everyone out. I am in no mood to deal with Gerard being a prick.

“Yeah, as soon as we get through this last bit of traffic,” Victor answers. “We’ll be right on time.”

“Which still gives us plenty of time to drink.” Diana raises her glass, then takes a big gulp.

“You’ve always been good at swallowing,” Gerard says under his breath, causing his girlfriend to frown.

“Don’t you know it?” Diana responds with an exaggerated wink.

I take a swig of my drink and offer my glass to Mikah. He takes it and empties it, handing the glass back to me. Diana hides her laugh behind her hand.

“You two ever think of tag-teaming a woman?” she asks suddenly, causing Mikah to choke on… well, nothing, I guess.

I narrow my eyes at her, then look at Mikah.

We’ve never had this conversation. Oddly enough. I don’t know if he’s gay or bi or something in between. We had the threesome with Storm, but that just happened because of too much alcohol. Thankfully it worked out because it could have ended very badly.

“We’ve never discussed it,” Mikah says politely.

“Well, if you ever do, I’m your girl,” Diana answers.

“You’re everyone’s girl,” Gerard mutters.

“You’re just mad I’m not yours anymore!” she shouts at him, scowling.

“Are you fucking serious?” Stella screeches back at her, as if she’s the problem.

“Get your girl under control,” Victor barks at Gerard.

I shake my head before turning toward Mikah and resting it against his shoulder.

“Get me outta here,” I say as everyone else keeps bickering. I should have sat on the other side of the limo, where everyone is calm and quiet.

Ten minutes after that, we’re getting out, and no one threw punches or took out their claws. My vote is on Diana all damn day. Stella has a big mouth. She’s nice, but she’s a shit talker. She’s only well-known because of dating Gerard, and she’s pissed that Diana, who dated Gerard for years, has a shit ton of fame on her own. She’s jealous. Point blank.

The second the limo comes to a halt, I lunge for the door. Yeah, that’s why I sat over here. Now I remember. Once I’m out, I grab Mikah’s hand and help him out. There are a ton of paparazzi snapping photos, blinding us already.

We’re ushered toward the rose gold carpet, both of us smoothing down our suits to be presentable .

“You ready for this?” I ask.

“I don’t know,” he answers stiffly. “I didn’t realize this would be such a big thing.”

I chuckle, taking his hand and moving forward.

“Just smile and wave,” I say.

Where the limo drops us off, there are hardly any people. Once we get onto the carpet and closer to the hotel, there are ropes tied off with screaming fans and people with cameras behind them. They’re all lunging, trying to grab anyone they can on the carpet, holding out photos and markers.

I stop and sign a few pictures of me, along with some boobs, because why not? I take a selfie with a few people, and Mikah waits patiently for me.

“Oh my god, that’s Michael Preston!” someone shouts, causing him to frown. He turns to face the other side, and a young guy with long curly hair has hearts in his eyes. “Michael, I love you!” he says. “Please, sign me! Sign something! Can I have a hug?”

Mikah looks at me, unsure. Maybe a little scared.

“Go on,” I say, shooing him with a smile.

He goes to the guy with a shrug, signs his arm and takes a picture with him.

We finally make it to the doors, and once we’re in the foyer, we get pulled aside by some woman in a sparkling dress who starts asking all kinds of questions with a camera pointed in my face .

“How do you feel about the award tonight, Dominic? Are you worried about your competition?” she asks, looking into the camera.

“I don’t consider this competition,” I answer. “We’re all friends. Just trying to make a living.”

“That’s very kind of you to say, but Gerard Lewis doesn’t quite agree with that.”

“Gerard Lewis only ever agrees with himself,” I say with a smile.

The woman laughs, then moves on to asking me some other questions. Things about the break I’m taking, about Mikah, what suit I’m wearing. You’d think this was the damn Grammys or something.

We make our way into the lobby and are greeted by one of the workers who helps us find our seats. Once we know where we are sitting, we go to the bar.

“Vodka on the rocks,” I order. I started with that, so I’m going to end the night with that.

“Same,” Mikah says, running a hand through his hair.

“You good?” I ask.

“Yes. Will be better after this drink, I hope.”

I chuckle. “Should I have warned you how crazy this would be?”

“Did you actually know?”

“Not really, no. This is my first year here.” He steps closer, his arm brushing mine. “You sure you’re okay? ”

“If I wasn’t, I’d tell you. I don’t have to be here, you do. I can leave whenever I want.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” I groan.

“Enjoy your evening,” the bartender says when she hands us our drinks. It’s an open bar; we don’t have to pay for anything. We both turn, drinks in hand.

“It’s going to be a long night,” Mikah says with a heavy sigh.

“Aren’t you glad I sucked your dick earlier?”

“Grateful, that’s for sure. I’d be much grumpier if you hadn’t.” He smiles around his glass, and I lean in to kiss his cheek. Someone snaps a photo, and I try not to frown, not wanting that photo to make the front page of some gossip magazine. Not because I don’t want people to know, but I don’t need our lives being brought into stupid gossip.

“How do people deal with this all the time?” he asks as we walk off.

“Drugs. Sex. Lots of alcohol.”

Mikah chuckles, holding up his glass. “Cheers to that.”

We mingle as other people come in. The show won’t start for another few hours, but there are so many people here, so they have us get here early. Between all the photos and interviews, it takes a long time to get everyone settled. We make small talk with some people and greet a ton of others.

The bar sees us a few more times, and with each drink, Mikah relaxes more and more. Talking to people gets easier for him. He isn’t as tense when hugs are forced on him, and he doesn’t look like he’s going to strangle someone when they hug me. Though, inside, he probably still wants to, and I find that all really sexy.

I shouldn’t, but I do.

There is an announcement made when it’s time to get to our seats. Some move to the bar to get another drink, but I don’t bother because there will be people going around inside with drinks. May as well get to our seats and have them bring us the alcohol. We take a quick bathroom break, though.

Because I’m nominated, we’re seated at a small table in front of the stage, along with everyone else who has been nominated. Guests are sitting in the rows of seats behind us and up in the balcony.

The tables are covered in sheer rose gold tablecloths, the chairs with black bows behind them. I look around at all the people here. It’s much more than I thought it would be. I’m getting a little nervous, I won’t lie. On the table is an order of events, so I know when to prepare to walk up on stage or not. This isn’t one of those shows where you’re told beforehand if you’re the winner. It’s a complete surprise.

The lights dim, and the giant screen behind the stage turns on, showing the MAIF Awards name and logo. Everyone claps and whoops, and slowly, everyone gets to their feet, the cheering getting even louder until Chelseigh walks out on stage in a shimmering rose gold dress, looking as gorgeous as always. Her blonde hair is shiny and falling down her back in bouncy cascades. She’s smiling and waving at everyone, a proud look on her face, as she makes her way to the podium. She stands there a moment, looking around as everyone applauds her.

She’s just a regular person like us. A popular adult content creator who decided she wanted to have an awards ceremony to celebrate the hard work we do, because no, it isn’t always easy. It’s stressful at times. Exhausting.

The noise starts to settle, and Chelseigh’s smile grows. The screen starts to play in the background, cutting through different videos of her, staying on each for a couple seconds. Blow jobs, cum shots, anal… she does it all. We get a quick glimpse into what she does, and it’s perfect for the setting.

“Thank you,” she says when the noise is at a level we can hear her over. “Thank you so much. I am so grateful for each and every one of you. Without you, this wouldn’t happen. I wouldn’t be standing up here, ready to announce the best of the best in this industry.”

People clap again; this time it’s at a more reasonable level.

“There are plenty of awards out there for people, but I wanted to put the focus on those who do it all themselves. Growing up, I was always called Miss Independent by my parents, who are extremely proud of what I do, by the way.” A lot of us chuckle as she winks. “I DIYed everything I could. Growing up in the age of technology, I was able to learn so much in the way of editing videos and photos. As it grows more, we are able to do more right inside our own homes. We have websites, apps, emails… so many things that give us the opportunity to be a one-person show. And that is what we’re celebrating today. In the way of adult content, of course.”

The video behind her ends with her squirting all over some guy’s face, which causes the crowd to go crazy again. The energy in here is buzzing and I can’t help but smile.

“So, without further ado, let’s start the show!” she shouts, raising her hands up and clapping. The crowd follows along.

She moves to the side of the podium as a guy walks out on stage. Gavin Steele. Everyone in the industry knows his name. He’s been doing this for a long time and is known for being a dominant silver fox. He kisses Chelseigh on the cheek as he reaches the podium, then faces us all.

“Good evening, creators!” he welcomes. We clap appropriately. “It’s so wonderful to be up here and see all you beautiful people out there smiling back at me. It’s nice to know people still like me after seeing what’s in my pants,” he jokes. The crowd laughs. “Joking aside, I am up here to present the nominees for a very important-to-me category. Sexiest Silver Fox!”

The screen lights up to go through clips of the men being nominated. The first is Pablo Santos. His name is along the bottom in shimmering pink letters. He’s fucking a girl doggy style over a bed. It plays for a few seconds, then it moves on to the next nominee, showing a quick video of this guy fucking someone against a shower wall. Everyone claps in between the clips, and after they’ve all been shown, Gavin goes back to the microphone .

He leans in, fanning himself. “I’ll say, these men even give me a run for my money.” He unfolds the sparkling rose gold card, pulls out the slip of paper, and looks up to grin at us. “Roman Blackwell!” he calls out, and the crowd erupts.

I watch as he gets up from his table a short way away and hurries up on stage. He’s wearing a sparkling navy-blue suit that showcases his personality. He’s in his sixties, and you could guess that by his looks, but he’s handsome and in really good fucking shape.

He’s handed his award, which is a phallic-esque rose gold statue, and he gives a quick speech thanking a long list of people before going back to his seat.

Another announcer walks out, this one I don’t recognize by face. He tells us the next category: Most Dicks Taken at Once. More videos show up on the screen in the same manner, with a clip playing and the name at the bottom.

Sloane Hawthorne wins that one, with a whopping seven dicks she’s handling. This category isn’t necessarily about who can take the most at the same time, but it’s about creativity too. And the tit-fucking, two dicks in her mouth, one in each hand, one in her ass and one in her pussy is pretty great, I won’t lie.

When the waiter comes around offering drinks, I get one for Mikah and me.

“You okay?” he whispers as I take a mouthful of vodka. I hiss at the burn.

“Just nervous.”

He puts his hand on my thigh, squeezing gently .

“You got this, babe.”

I smile at him calling me babe. He’s never done that before. I put my hand on top of his, folding my fingers against his palm.

I keep my breathing even as I wait for each category to pass, and before I know it, Sabrina Royce is on stage, letting us know she’ll be announcing the winner for Best Dominating Male.

The first face up on the screen is Gerard’s, and that just annoys the fuck out of me. I’m the third up there, and I see Mikah smile from the corner of my eye. It eases my anxiety a little, and finishing off my drink helps more.

I know everyone nominated in this category and they’re all talented. Any one of us deserves to win, except maybe Gerard, because he’s a cocky asshole. Still, his videos are good, and he did work hard to get where he’s at. He just let the fame go to his head. Time goes on forever. The seconds pass like hours as Sabrina smiles out at us, pulls the paper from the envelope, and announces the winner.