I'll Love You Forever

Thanks to my reviewers! ...and sorry for the delay 'runs away'

Chapter 8:

It was Friday, the day of his first performance. He had been learning from Kaiyo all week, and finally, the instructor had announced Goten ready. Goten stood in front of the mirror in Kaiyo’s bedroom, applying makeup to his wide black eyes. His hair had already been tamed, well as tamed as his hair could be. It swept like a black flame into the air, frozen with gel.

Kaiyo walked into the room and sat on the bed. He looked at Goten’s reflection in the mirror and whistled. “Looking good.”

In spite of himself, Goten blushed and grinned shyly at Kaiyo through the mirror. He continued to apply the eyeliner as Kaiyo watched, the more experienced man making suggestions now and then.
When Goten finished, Kaiyo grabbed their coats and they made their way to the bar. “I’ll help you get ready, then I’ll be in the front watching,” Kaiyo said as they entered the bar.

Goten remembered Kaiyo wasn’t dancing that night. He nodded, nervousness beginning to bloom in his stomach. The next hour passed much too quickly for Goten’s liking. Before he knew it, Kaiyo was helping him slip the black mask over his eyes and wishing him good luck, leaving him with the other performers.

“Don’t worry, kid,” a nearby fellow dancer said to Goten, “I’ve seen you dance, and you’re something--they’ll love you.”

Goten answered with a nervous grin and a shy thanks. All too soon, his name was being called, and he followed an attendant backstage. From his place behind the curtains, he watched the dancer ahead of him.

He was nearing the end of his act. He was completely naked by now, striding to the poll at the center of the stage, his back to the audience and presenting them with a view of his backside. He wound his legs around the poll, hung on with his head, and did an incredibly flexible backbend. The lights blacked out with him in this pose.

Goten’s eyes adjusted just in time to see the dancer hurry off the dark stage before the lights came back on. The dancer winked at Goten before disappearing to the dressing rooms.

“—our newest dancer,” the announcer was saying, “—Son Goten!”

Goten swallowed past the lump in his throat and wet his lips as Kaiyo had instructed him to do before striding on to the stage with a confidence he didn’t feel. The lights slowly came back on, displaying Goten with his black mask over his eyes, one arm raised his and one curled behind it.

A few catcalls came from audience members as they spotted Goten, his body curved in an alluring pose. The familiar music started and Goten began moving, twisting his body to the beat. His first moves were hesitant and clumsy to his dismay. A loud cheer came from the back, and Goten’s eyes flew to the person. Kaiyo’s black eyes encouraged him from the shadows. He flashed a smile to Goten and nodded for him to continue.

That small bit of familiarness out in a crowd of foreign strangers gave Goten the comfort he needed to overcome his stage fright. His body moved with a mind of its own—it twirled, swayed, and bent easily, enticing the audience. Goten saw the men in the front row, saw how their eyes watched him with need, and he felt powerful knowing he had such control over them. They needed him, and he could satisfy their expectations, but first, he would make them wait.

With painful slowness, he unbuttoned the top button of his tight black jacket. The audience called loud encouragement, and Goten unbuttoned the second one. After a few seconds, his upper chest had been bared, his unblemished white skin, sparkling with a light sheen of glittering, showing through. A few more second and hoots later, Goten had completely unbuttoned the jacket. In one graceful movement, he slipped his arms from it and ripped it from his body, twirling it once over his head before tossing it backstage, where an attendant caught it from behind the curtains.

The crowd was roaring for more by now. Goten sought out Kaiyo’s black eyes and found them smiling with pride. He danced with a passion that captured the already excited crowd. He had gained control over his embarrassment at being naked during the sessions of training with Kaiyo. He learned to push it into the back of his mind, focusing solely on his performance, and not the opinion of others.

Right before the music ended, he slipped his black thong off, wagged his hips seductively, and gracefully seated himself on the raised stage, placing his hands behind him and throwing his head back as if in a moment of ecstasy. The lights brightened suddenly before abruptly going out, leaving the image of Goten’s last enticing pose burnt into every audience member’s eyes.

Goten rushed offstage in the darkness where the attendant handed him his clothes. The next dancer, the man who had talked to him in the dressing room, patted him on the back as he passed.

Kaiyo was waiting in the dressing room. “Goten,” he exclaimed when the door opened, “you were amazing!”

Goten blushed and fumbled with his mask. “Y-You think so?”

Kaiyo stepped closer and smoothly helped Goten whisk off the mask. “Of course! You’re such a natural.”

Goten wasn’t sure how to take this: he was glad he was good at pole dancing, but was that what he wanted to be good at? “I…thanks.”

Kaiyo grinned and wrapped his arm around Goten’s back. “Come on, babe, let’s go celebrate.”