Day By Day

.:Chapter Three:.

      Zacky sauntered into The Lion's Den, giving a friendly wave to Jimmy and Ricki as he passed the bar on his way to the dressing room. He was becoming more and more relaxed each day, and by now, he was able to get dressed without feeling too self conscious around the other dancers. Especially Andrew.. He had become especially flirty with Zacky since he started working there. It wasn't like he minded it, though. He liked the feeling of being wanted. Plus, it was good attention, so Zacky wouldn't complain unless he got too pushy or made him too uncomfortable. He plopped his bag down into his designated chair, pulling out his underwear first so that he could quickly change into them without letting anyone get too much of a peek; then, he pulled out his corset and thigh highs, and then he set his white high heels onto the ground in front of his chair.
        "Hey, Zacky," A deep voice sounded behind him, making him whirl around halfway through unzipping his jeans. It was Andrew, the burly man that had been flirting with him. "How are you liking it here?" He usually made casual conversation, but this was a strange question in Zacky's eyes.
         "Uh.. It's pretty cool. Flexible hours, plenty of money, y'know. A lot better than my last job." He replied smoothly, unzipping his pants the rest of the way and shimmying out of them, suddenly feeling very confident about his body. Ever since he'd started dancing, his muscles had gotten more toned, and he'd even lost a little bit of weight; that was convenient, since it made the corset feel a little looser around his torso.
        "Well, I'll let you get finished here.. Y'know, maybe someday we could dance together." Andrew's suggestion caught the hazel-eyed man off guard, and he nearly fell on his butt when he processed what had been said.
        "U-uh.. Yeah, I'd.. I'd like that." Zacky stuttered, flashing a nervous smile at the bulky man. He nodded and then walked away, leaving the dressing room completely. After heaving a relieved sigh, Zacky stripped out of his boxers and then quickly stepped into his hot pink panties, pulling them up onto his well-sculpted hips. He always liked the feeling of the satin lace on his skin; it didn't chafe or scratch like men's underwear usually did. Zacky slipped on his thigh highs, connecting them to the underwear with the built-in straps, and then he pulled on his corset and tied it. He had gotten a lot better at tying it on his own, and now, all Miss Bri had to do for him was his eyeshadow, and he'd be ready to slip on his heels and rock the club.
        "Ready for your makeup, Zacky?" The older, plump woman asked as she was finishing up the final touches on another dancer's contoured cheekbones.
        "Yes, ma'am." Zacky responded politely, slipping his feet into his high heels and wiggling his toes while he waited for Miss Bri to finish with her other dancer. Once she was finished, the dancer hopped out of his chair and left the dressing room, leaving Miss Bri to do Zacky's eyeshadow now. She used the same colors as always; hot pink towards the outside corners and white towards the insides, blending them together to create a wonderful gradient effect that made Zacky's hazel eyes pop and sparkle. After he thanked Miss Bri, Zacky completely slipped on his heels and then made his way to the side of the stage, waiting for his cue to step on; the intro to Ladies and Gentlemen began to play, and slowly, he strutted out onto the stage with his hands on his hips.
        He nearly froze in place, however, when he spotted the same man that had been ogling him not too long ago. The man with the gorgeous tan skin, high cheekbones, feathery black hair and mysterious brown eyes.. He was hot, Zacky wasn't even going to deny it. He wondered what the man's name was.. Zacky decided that after his shift, if the man was still there, he'd go over and talk to him. He couldn't let himself be distracted by this beautiful man, though, and after he gave himself a mental shake, he wrapped his hands around the main pole and began his nightly solo dance that made everyone go nuts.

        After his solo dance ended, Zacky wandered over to the bar as he carefully scanned through the many patrons of the club, eager to find the gorgeous brown-eyed man. Then, as he stepped closer to the bar, he caught sight of long, feathery black hair that was elegantly draped across a pair of broad shoulders. There he was. Taking in a deep breath, Zacky flipped his hair and sauntered over to the stool right next to the gorgeous man before he sat down and turned to look at him.
        "I saw you here last night. You were talking to Jimmy." Zacky murmured bravely, catching the man's attention.
        "Good memory." The brown-eyed man grinned. "My name's Brian. I'm a good friend of Jimmy's. And you're.. Zacky, right?"
        "Good memory," Zacky repeated, earning a chuckle from Brian. "Y'know, you looked pretty uncomfortable last night. Was that your first time in a place like this?" The hazel-eyed man tilted his head, finding it surprisingly easy to talk to Brian. If it had been any other person, he'd have to rehearse his introduction a million times over, and even then, he'd probably still mess up.
        "No, actually, uh," Brian let out a nervous laugh, glancing around a little bit before his voice dropped to a low murmur. "Jimmy's been trying to.. I don't even know how you'd put it. Convert me?'
        Zacky raised a brow. "Convert you? Like, religiously?" Brian threw his head back, a boisterous laughter flowing out of his mouth. He just found the hazel-eyed man simply adorable.
        "No, no, no. See.. I'm pretty sure that I'm straight, but Jimmy wants me to experiment with my feelings. So sometimes, he calls me to pick him up and give him a ride, but he says that he's gonna have to stay late." Brian paused to chuckle and shake his head. "He figures there's no other option for me but to watch the dancers. And, he's right, there isn't."
        "I've always known I was gay, really," Zacky shrugged, ordering a beer. Ricki brought it over and sat it down, giving Brian a friendly smile before she went back to tend to her other customers. "I've never slept with anyone before, but.. I dunno, I just don't get attracted to women. I mean, yeah, I can recognize a beautiful woman, but I just don't feel any sort of sexual attraction to them." He chose his words carefully, taking a few sips from his beer bottle as he eyed Brian down hungrily. Oh, I could make you sure about your sexuality.. Zacky thought, his nails absentmindedly digging into the wooden counter of the bar.
        "I guess I'm attracted to men, but, I don't know. I've just never found the right guy that would make me want to settle down and have a relationship. It's weird." Brian shrugged, quickly snatching Zacky's beer and taking a gulp from it.
        "H-hey! Ya know, if you wanted a drink, you could've asked!" The hazel-eyed man whined, poking out his plump bottom lip. I wonder if he's a good kisser.. Brian thought as he shook his head, his entire body vibrating with a deep chuckle.
        "It wouldn't have tasted as good then." He smirked, drumming his long, tan fingers on the counter top. "You know, you're actually pretty cool. If you don't mind, I'd really like to hang out with you. Like, outside of this place." Brian chuckled nervously, fiddling with a few strands of his feathery black hair. Zacky wondered what it'd be like to run his hand through that hair, to tug on it, to feel it brush his thighs as he..
        "Sure! Here, let me give you my number.." Zacky muttered, grabbing a napkin and snatching Ricki's pen from the other side of the counter. He scribbled a few things on it, then he folded it up and handed it over to Brian. "Well, Brian, I've gotta go ahead and get back to work, but.. I get off at twelve thirty, if you want to text me or whatever. I mean, don't stay up just to text me, if you're tired go to bed, but.." He stumbled over his words, his anxiety now beginning to show in his voice; when he got too nervous or scared, he somehow developed a lisp. Everyone else thought it was cute, but Zacky absolutely fucking hated it.
        "Sounds good to me. Have a good rest of the night, Zacky." Brian smiled, taking one last drink of the hazel-eyed man's beer before he winked at him and then sauntered out of the club. Zacky watched him go, his bottom lip caught between his teeth as his eyes skimmed over Brian's entire muscular frame. He was tan, well built, tattooed, sexy.. He was everything Zacky wanted; and that wasn't even the start. Brian seemed pretty laid back, he seemed like he had a good sense of humor, and he even seemed pretty intelligent, too.
        "Lord, have mercy.." Zacky whispered to himself with a soft chuckle before he downed the rest of his beer. Then, he stood from his bar stool with a stretch and headed back towards the dressing room to touch up his makeup and his outfit for his next dance. Twelve thirty definitely couldn't come soon enough for Zacky; he wanted to talk to Brian again, and he even found himself feeling a little giddy at the fact that a hot guy like Brian would even want to hang out with him.

        Zacky slowly walked out of the club, leaning up against the wall next to the door as he lit up a cigarette and checked his phone. He found that he had one text from an unknown number, and it was sent at 12:28 am.
        'Hey, i hope i got the number right haha. Is this zacky? If so hey, its brian.' It read, and the hazel-eyed man's heart began pounding against his ribcage. He took a quick drag from his cigarette and then firmly tucked it between his full lips, his fingers moving at lightning speed over the keys to create a reply.
        'Hey! Yeah, this is Zacky. I was kinda expecting you to blow me off honestly, haha.' He replied, cringing internally at what he had written. He hoped Brian wouldn't take that the wrong way. He slid his phone back into his pocket, finishing his cigarette and then flicking it to the ground. He snuffed it out with his shoe, then began wandering over to his car. About halfway there, his phone buzzed with a new message. He slid into the driver's seat of his car, starting it up and then pulling out his phone to see what had been said.
        'Nah man. When i tell someone i wanna hang out i dont lie. Haha. If i didnt like you i wouldve told you to fuck off when you sat down, so youre cool.' Zacky cackled softly at the blunt reply before he pulled out of the parking lot, heading home to take a well needed shower.
        But instead of taking his shower right away, Zacky sat on the couch and sent texts back and forth to Brian until, much unlike Zacky, he ended up falling asleep o the couch. Brian, assuming that Zacky had fallen asleep, set one last goodnight text ad the curled up under his blankets, shutting his eyes and eagerly waiting to fall asleep so that he could be one day closer to seeing Zacky again.