Gob sat in the audience of the Tony Wonder show, the darkness and the smokiness of the club surrounding him, enveloping him. This was a private club so you could smoke, and he was tempted to bum a cigarette from someone but he clenched his fists and lightly brought them down on his thighs. He'd given up smoking. It was just one of a thousand things he'd given up.
Tony Wonder went through his practiced moves easily, seamlessly, and his eyes had adjusted to the dark. Did he see Gob Bluth in the audience? He was way in the back and obscured by a few other patrons, but the glimpses he was getting lead him to believe it was Gob. Even sitting reclined back in a chair he looked like a coiled cat, ready to pounce.
As the tricks and surprises came in their predicted places and the crowd was wowed, Tony's mind was free to roam. Gob Bluth. He thought about him, thought about his incredible green eyes, like jade or emeralds, like the Atlantic Ocean. He thought of his light dusting of freckles, his crooked smile, his amazing muscle definition. Tony bit his lip, certain that Gob was in his audience right now, certain that he could have a drink with him at the bar when his show was through. He thought about how Gob thought that they were rival magicians, and he stifled a laugh. They weren't. Gob was nowhere near his league.
As the climax of his show came he felt the predicted release, and the screams and catcalls and applause washed over him. As he took his deep bow he scanned the audience for Gob, and where he had been there was no one, a trick to rival his own. Tony's heart seemed to clench inside his chest, and he hoped he had just gone to the bar. He hoped he hadn't imagined him sitting there, hoped he hadn't just seen what he wanted to see.
As the stagehands were sweeping up all the glitter and wheeling his various boxes and cages backstage, Tony wandered toward the bar. He felt the comforting shape of the pack of cigarettes in his pocket. He inhaled his breath sharply when he saw, unmistakably, Gob Bluth leaning casually against the bar.
He stood back for a moment, looking at him before he knew he was there. Then he centered himself and sought the stillness, just like he did before a show. He could see the aqua tint of Gob's eyes, the natural red of his lips. He saw the perfect squared off polish of Gob's nails as his hand curled around a shot glass. He edged close enough to hear him talk, waiting for his cue.
The bartender would provide it, he could tell, as he recounted one of his cooler illusions to Gob.
"Yeah, I wonder how he did that?" Gob said, although Tony knew this was just idle conversation. Gob knew how he did all his tricks.
"Did somebody say wonder?" Tony said, stepping up to the bar, turning dramatically to stare at Gob. Gob's eyes widened as he licked his lips, and Tony swallowed hard, feeling his desire for nicotine crawl up his nerve endings at that very second.
"Hey, uh, hi," Gob said, and Tony had hoped to hear his crazy sexy stutter.
"Hi," he said, not breaking eye contact with him for a second, and he watched as Gob's pupils dilated in the dim light. Then he looked away, his gaze sweeping across the entire club until it swung back to Gob. Gob downed his shot.
"Want one?" Gob said, gesturing toward his empty shot glass, and Tony nodded and ordered two more. As he waited for the bartender to set down the drinks he noticed how Gob was leaning, one foot balanced on the ledge under the bar. He was wearing leather pants and a tight T-shirt, his version of a gay outfit, but Tony liked the way the leather looked against the soft tight T-shirt. There was some kind of lock necklace around his neck, and Tony could nearly feel the soft pulse he saw beneath the harsh chain.
Tony was still in his show clothes, the suit with the 70's butterfly collar, the bright pink cuffs peaking beneath the black jacket. He saw a leather jacket slung over the back of the chair Gob stood near. The bartender set their drinks down on the bar, only spilling a drop or two. Gob looked hungrily at it, and Tony followed his gaze to the shot glasses, the deep amber liquid shimmering under the dim lights.
Gob raised his shot but didn't drink it, and Tony scrambled in his mind, feeling drunk already just being so close to him, breathing in the scent of his light cologne. He picked up his glass and softly clinked it against Gob's. He saw his lip curl up into his crooked smile, and then he tossed his head back and downed the shot. Tony did the same, feeling the liquid burn down his throat and explode in his stomach.
He licked the whiskey from his lips and took his pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He slipped one out.
"Want one?" he said to Gob, and he saw the desire in his eyes and the fight. He knew by that look that he had quit or wanted to, but he held it out to him and smiled, his eyes soft and communicating, "it's okay,"
"Uh, y-yeah," Gob said, and Tony's breath quickened to hear him trip over that word.
He took it, and Tony was quick to light it for him. He watched as Gob inhaled slowly, the pleasure evident as his shoulders relaxed, as his eyes dilated even more until there was only a faint fairy ring of green around the pupil.
"That trick you were talking about with the bartender, want to see how I do it?"
Gob tapped his ash into a small glass ashtray and inhaled again, releasing the smoke in a steady stream. Tony wondered how long he had been smoking. Did he sneak them as a teenager, hanging out his window and fanning the smoke desperately when he heard his parents on the stairs?
"That trick? Uh, yeah, s-s-sure," he said, and Tony bit his lower lip, something twisting deliciously in his stomach every time Gob stuttered. He narrowed his eyes at him, wondering if he did it on purpose to some degree.
"Okay, c'mon," he said, walking through the club, weaving between patrons and tables and haphazard chairs, not once looking back to make sure Gob was following him.
Backstage amid all his props, alone with a line of dressing mirrors and dressing tables, huge globes of lights hanging above them, he watched as Gob's pupils became nearly pinpoints after the dim smokiness of the main floor, the crystal green of his eyes such an unreal shade that Tony had to blink and look again to make sure it was real.
"Hey," he said softly, backing Gob up against the one clear wall. Gob allowed himself to be pushed, leaning against the wall, head tilted down. Tony licked his lips, enveloped in the scent of Gob's cologne and the cigarette smoke. He wanted to taste the whiskey he drank. He could feel his muscles beneath the soft fabric of his T-shirt.
"Gob," he said, his name just a whisper as he leaned closer until his lips were against his, and he could taste the sharp whiskey and the mint of the menthol cigarette he had given him
"Hmmmmm" Gob said, his eyes closing as he slid down a little, his legs spread so Tony could lean between them, and he leaned in for another kiss.