Fandom:	Houston Knights
Series:	Exhibitions
Rating:	NC17
Pairing:	Joe/Levon
Archive:	Starwinder's
Title:	Exhibitions: Peppermint
Author:	Starwinder
e-mail:	starwinder2of7@gmail.com
Standard Disclaimer: Houston Knights belongs to Jay Bernstein and Michael Butler and Columbia Pictures. No copyright infringement is intended. This is fan fiction, written out of love for the shows. I am making no money off this. I have no money so please don't sue me. Any original characters who may appear in these stories are the property of the author.

Author's Note: The character of Rusty the bartender belongs to James Walkswithwind. Thanks, James, for letting me use him!

Exhibitions: Peppermint
By Starwinder

LaFiamma was steaming when he stalked out of his apartment and headed for The Eagle. He has been looking forward to an evening with Lundy. They had been planning to spend this first day that they had had off together in nearly three weeks to take a trip to the beach. LaFiamma had fallen in love with a little piece of private beach that belonged to an old friend of Lundy's and Lundy had promised that they would make a day of it.

Then Jamie had called Lundy from Austin to say that she and Eric would be down for the day and asked if she could see Lundy, mentioning, of course, how much Eric missed him. Lundy might have been able to tell Jamie that it was over and that he just didn't want to prolong things but he hated to disappoint Eric.

So he canceled their trip to the beach, ever so politely of course, offering to call his friend and arrange for LaFiamma to be able to go spend the day at the beach house if he wanted. LaFiamma was too mad at Lundy to even consider it.

After spending nearly the whole day stewing about Lundy canceling their plans to be with Jamie, LaFiamma decided that if Lundy could date other people so could he and he not only knew where he could find a date he knew how to guarantee that he got one. He parked the Cobra in plain sight in front of The Eagle. Let people see it. Damned if he cared.

Rusty looked up when LaFiamma came in and grinned at how great Levon's friend looked. LaFiamma had on his best black leather biker jacket (the one with all the chains), black denim jeans, a plain black tank top (at least two sizes too small) and black leather motorcycle boots. Rusty would have spoken but LaFiamma didn't give him a chance.

LaFiamma strode past the bar and walked down the line of tables facing the dance floor. He picked the last one in the line that separated the bar area from the dance floor. From that table he would be plainly visible from practically every area of the room and he smiled to himself as he pulled out a chair.

The bar was not as crowded as it sometimes was on a Friday night and it was quieter than usual for a Friday, too. He let his eyes sweep over the crowd picking out a half a dozen possibles that he would play to. One of them would get lucky tonight. He slipped the leather jacket off his shoulders and let it slide down his arms then hung it over the back of the chair. Turning the chair so that its back was to the table he straddled it and sat down, facing the table; the dance floor to his left, the bar area to his right. He was perfectly positioned to put on a little show.

He reached behind his back and pulled a wrapped peppermint stick from the back of his belt. It was one of the huge ones that you only see at Christmas, about eighteen inches long and nearly two inches diameter. He had gotten three for Christmas but this was the only one he had left and he intended to put it to good use.

He brought it around front and set one end of it firmly on the table. He carefully pulled the folded end of the wrapper up and very carefully began to unwrap the stick, making certain that he opened the paper only at the seam. He stripped the paper back slowly, being certain not to tear it and then slowly and purposefully wrapped it around the base of the peppermint stick giving himself a good handle to hold the stick by.
By the time he had the stick unwrapped half the men at the other tables were watching him intently. He ignored them completely although he had dressed very specifically to appeal to the type of man who frequented The Eagle. He focused his eyes completely on the peppermint stick then resting his elbows on the table he began the show.

He brought the peppermint stick up in front of his face and looked at it intently, adoringly, licking his lips slowly. He closed his eyes and leaning forward over the back of the chair he brought the peppermint stick to his mouth and licked it. He began at the top of the paper he had wrapped around the stick and licked slowly and firmly all the way up to the tip. When he reached the tip he let it slide into his mouth just an inch or so and twisting his head sucked hard at it. He let it slip from his lips and again licked his lips, slowly; sensuously. By this time he had the attention of every man at the tables and half of the ones on the dance floor. The noise level in the bar had dropped appreciably as the men stopped talking to watch.

He turned the peppermint a quarter turn and again, beginning just above the paper, he licked the length of the stick. This time when he reached the top he didn't take the tip into his mouth, instead he let his lips slide across it and turning the stick sideways sucked down the length of the side opposite the one he had licked up. When his lips reached the paper he reversed directions and sucked his way up the stick to the tip. By this time the men at the bar had begun to turn to see what was happening that had stopped conversation at the tables.

LaFiamma's eyes appeared closed but he was watching the room through his lashes, the sideways slide along the peppermint stick had told him that he had captured his audience and it was time to move to the main event. This time when he reached the tip of the peppermint stick he tilted his head back as far as it would go and raised the stick so that it was directly aligned with his throat. Then slowly and carefully, making certain that everyone had a good view, he let the stick slide down his throat, inch by slow inch, until more that two-thirds of the eighteen inch length was past his lips. He twisted the stick so that it made his throat bulge and then as slowly as he had swallowed it he withdrew it--- completely and licked his lips again.

The only sound in the bar now was the jukebox playing and the soft click of someone shooting pool in the area behind the bar. Every eye in the front of the bar was firmly fixed on LaFiamma and the peppermint stick as he returned his elbows to the table and began to repeat his circuit on the candy stick.

In the pool table area, Lundy raised his head and listened. It had gotten unusually quiet up front. If the jukebox hadn't been on you could almost say that you could hear a pin drop. I wonder what's going on up there. He thought but went on with his game.

As LaFiamma began his second circuit on the candy stick Rusty backed around the edge of the wall that separated the bar from the pool tables. He had known that Lundy was back there when LaFiamma had walked in and would have told LaFiamma had he been given the chance but LaFiamma had gone straight to the table to begin his show. It had been plain to Rusty when LaFiamma had come in that he was upset about something. Just as it had been plain to him earlier that Lundy had come in to think about something. Now he was pretty sure that what Lundy was thinking about, and what LaFiamma was upset about was the same thing. Obviously they had had a fight. A serious fight from the looks of the show LaFiamma was putting on.

Lundy straightened up and laid his pool cue down when he saw Rusty back around the corner. He walked over to the other man. "Something wrong, Rusty?"

"Lundy," Rusty's voice sounded a little choked, "Are you and LaFiamma still...." He let it trail off.

"Far's I know," Lundy replied, wondering what on Earth, Rusty was asking for.

"Then you better go out there and get him." Rusty managed to choke out, "Before---"

Lundy didn't hear the rest of what Rusty was saying. He rounded the end of the wall just in time to see LaFiamma stand up over the chair he was straddling and slowly withdraw almost the full length of the peppermint stick from his throat as every man in the bar stared openly at him. Lundy shoved his way through the crowd and reached LaFiammia as he was taking a bow, holding the peppermint stick out at arms length for the patron's to see.

Lundy grabbed the candy stick and tried to yank it out of LaFiamma's hand but LaFiamma had too firm a grip on it and wasn't about to lose his last peppermint stick. "No! That's the only one I got left!" He yelled as he realized that Lundy meant to smash it.

"What the Hell do you think you're doing?" Lundy roared.

"Trying to get a date. You had one!" LaFiamma snapped back at him.

"I did not have a date!"

"You can call it anything you want to! But I call going out with an old girlfriend 'a date'!" LaFiamma yelled.

"Fine! Call it 'a date'. You looking for a date?"

"Yes!"

"Fine! You got one!" Lundy grabbed LaFiamma and started hauling him toward the door.

A couple of the guys in the bar started to interfere but Rusty stopped them with a few quiet words, "Lover's quarrel, Guys! Let it alone!"

In the parking lot Lundy was dragging LaFiamma towards the Jimmy, when LaFiamma started hollering, "Hey! Hey! Wait a minute! I ain't leaving the Cobra here!"

"I don't see your damn car!" Lundy yelled back and kept dragging him.

"I parked in front!"

"You what!?"

"I was mad!"

"Damn! Lundy reversed directions and headed for the front still dragging LaFiamma. "Gimme your keys!"

"What!? I ain't giving you---" LaFiamma started to protest but Lundy shoved him up against the Cobra.

"I said, 'Gimme your damn keys!"

LaFiamma complied.

"Get in." Lundy's voice was perfectly calm and quiet now.

LaFiamma obeyed knowing that when Lundy's voice got that quiet, calm tone he was really mad.

Lundy went around the car and got in. Before he put the key in the ignition he gripped the wheel tightly, his knuckles going white. "I told you that I was only going to spend the day with her because of Eric. It ain't fair to the boy for him to have to lose me as a friend just because Jamie and I can't make a go of it. I told you that I don't love her. Why couldn't you believe me?" He turned to look at LaFiamma.

"Why'd you have to go and do this?"

LaFiamma stared down at his hands and the peppermint stick he still held. Finally he said softly, " I was scared. Scared of losing you. You're all I've got." He blinked, fighting back tears.

"LaFiamma, what are you talking about? You've got lots of friends. Family. All sorts of people in your life. I'm not all---"

"You don't understand. My family is in Chicago. And my friends... my friends down here. They were all your friends first. If I lose you, then I lose everybody. They ain't gonna choose me over you. You're one of them. I'm just some damn Yankee." He couldn't hold back the tears any longer and they began to roll silently down his face.

Lundy stared at him in dismay, then reached over to pull him as close as he could in the small car. He stroked Joe's hair and said softly, "I'm sorry, Joe. I didn't realize you still felt like an outsider. You're not. I swear to you, Joe. It's not like that. Your friends may have been friends with me first but they love you for you. I wish I could prove it to you. I just don't know how." He kissed Joe on the top of his head, still stroking him tenderly. "I love you, Joe. You're not gonna lose me. You don't ever have to be afraid of that."

LaFiamma pulled back slightly from Lundy's embrace and wiped his face. "I can't help it. When you go back to her even if you say it's 'not going back to her' I feel.... abandoned." He whispered. He sat up drawing back into his seat. "Just take me home, OK?"

"Joe -- " Lundy began.

"Just take me home!"

"OK." Lundy started the Cobra. They drove to LaFiamma's apartment in silence.

Once there, Lundy parked in Joe's spot and turned to his lover. "Joe," He reached out to touch Joe's face, caressing it gently.

Joe reached up and took his hand, drawing it to his lips, kissing it. "Don't leave me. Please. Don't leave me tonight." The desperation in his eyes was almost more than Lundy could bear.

"I won't leave you, Joe. I don't ever want to leave you." He whispered as he drew Joe to him, and kissed him tenderly.

The End