The Deadliest Game:

Joe in Tights

Petina grabbed hold of Joe's arm, both of them laughing as she half-pulled and half-dragged him over to the tall poles supporting the platforms and wires of the trapeze.  "Come, Joe.  You must let me teach you!  You showed me how to ride and now it is my turn to show you how to fly."

"I don't know about this."  Joe protested, smiling his most charming grin at the young woman.  When he had watched the aerialists in action before it had looked fun and exciting, and when invited to try he had, just for a split second, considered it.  Now, looking up at that flimsy little platform so, so high up, he wished he had not allowed himself to be tempted for a second time.  He had been so intent on bringing that charming little smile back to Petina's face, that when she had asked him again if he would like to try, he had flippantly replied, "Why not?" and now he was stuck.  "I don't have the slightest idea how to even begin," he confessed.

"Oh, I will show you," she declared happily, seemingly oblivious to the decidedly sickly turn his smile had just taken.  "I can see that you are both strong and flexible and that is all you really need, other than practice of course."

Joe instinctively puffed up a bit, flexing the bicep in her grasp as he noticed the admiring way her eyes were looking him over.  "I suppose it's really something, huh?  Being up there?"

The look of rapture in her eyes was impossible to miss as she glanced up at the freely swinging bar overhead.  "It is glorious, Joe.  There is nothing so free as the feeling of soaring through the air like the birds.  I promise you will love it!"

Desperate to come up with some reason to give other than the truth; which was that he was scared spitless at the very idea, Joe gestured to the trapeze and the girl's form-fitting outfit.  He could not stop himself from taking a moment to admire the way the material showed off her figure, but he quickly moved on to more pressing matters.  "I don't think I'm dressed quite right."

"You are right," she agreed, looking at him thoughtfully.  "It might not be safe for you to be wearing such loose clothing." 

Joe glanced down at himself.  He did not think anyone else would ever described his tightly fitting tan trousers and brown work shirt as 'loose' but if loose clothing kept his feet on the ground then he would happily go along with her assessment.  "Yeah, too bad.  I was really looking forward to it."  He felt perfectly willing to bolster the image of his own bravery now that he was sure he'd gotten out of actually going up to the platform.  "Since that's out, why don't we go for a ride instead?  I know a quiet little spot where we could have a nice, long talk."

Smiling coyly, the girl demurred.  "I really should stay here and practice.  Guido and Alfieri-"

"Aw, come on," he interrupted, bringing her hand up to nuzzle the knuckles with his lips. "I'm sure they won't mind if I borrow you for just a little while."

With a little exclamation, Petina clapped her hands.  "Of course!  Joe, why didn't I think of it before?  We can borrow one of the practice leotards from the dressing tent, then you will be able to come flying with me!"

"Won't somebody be unhappy about my borrowing his clothes?" Joe asked hopefully, wondering why he had not just kept his mouth shut.

The girl grinned and placed a finger to her lips.  "If we act quickly no one will never know. Come!" 

Again, she began to tow him along in her wake.  Not knowing how to squirm out of her plans without looking like a coward, Joe had no choice but to go along.

~*~*~*~*~

Fifteen minutes later, Joe found himself with a whole new reason for wanting to back out of the deal.  The skin-tight garments, which he had found so exciting and attractive on Petina, were a whole other story when he was standing in a set of them himself.  This outfit, unlike the more flamboyant costume that Alfieri had worn before the crowd, was composed of plain white tights and a sleeveless white jersey that clung to Joe's body like a second skin.  He caught sight of his reflection in the dressing room mirror and blushed to realize that he could actually see the play of muscles in his thighs and buttocks as he turned around, and that the material stretching across his pelvis left almost nothing to the imagination at all!  

"Are you ready?"  Petina's voice called. 

"No!" he called with a hint of panic evident in his voice. "Don't come in!  I-I don't think this is gonna work out.  These things are too small for me."

"Let me see," she ordered.

Before he could stop her, the flap of the small tent that served as a dressing area opened up and the young woman came inside.  For a moment, Joe hid behind a concealing screen and considered ordering her away, then he sighed and stepped out, throwing his arms out to the sides in resignation.  "See?"

His face colored even more brightly when she slowly circled him to examine his appearance.  "I would say that they fit perfectly," she decided, the gleam of appreciation in her eyes giving away her approval. "You must try it with the belt, though, to look like a true performer."

Joe did not even have time to ask what she meant before the girl had scampered over to a trunk and pulled out a spangled golden sash. With a smile, she put her arms around his body and drew the cloth around his narrow waist, securing it in place with expert efficiency.  For his part, Joe was concentrating hard, trying to think about cattle or horses or anything else that might distract him from the close contact of Petina's body next to his own.  He had not felt so awkward around a pretty girl since he was thirteen, but then, he had rarely been so scantily dressed around one either!

~*~*~*~*~

"I must be insane."  Joe mumbled the words under his breath as he approached the trapeze once again, repeatedly taking glances around the empty practice yard in the fervent hope that he would not be seen by anyone other than Petina and the trapeze catcher who waited above.  He could not decide which was the most uncomfortable part of this situation; the too-tight straps of the sleeveless jersey that were biting into his shoulders, the fact that he almost felt as though he were standing out in the open stark naked, or the idea that he would soon be suspended far above ground on that fragile looking wire swing. 

Having just watched Petina scramble up the rope ladder like a nimble little monkey, Joe truly felt that he had no choice about going through with this, but his grimly set mouth as he slowly followed her gave away his unease.  His companion seemed to realize how he felt, for she smiled and nodded reassuringly at him, placing a steadying hand on his back when he finally reached the platform.  "The net is securely fastened below to catch us if we drop," she showed him.  "Just like you saw Guido and I doing.  I assure you, we are quite safe.  Just follow our instructions.  Your catcher tells you when to swing and when to release your hands from the bar.  Watch me."

Taking a bar off of the rack she had hooked it on, Petina steadied the trapeze in her hands.  Then, at the call of her catcher she swung gracefully toward him, pumping her body to give herself extra lift as she came back toward Joe then forward again.  Another signal was barked out and she let go of the bar, her body propelled forward by the swing and straight into the waiting hands of the man on the other bar.  The catcher held her suspended for a moment, then pumped his arms strongly and arched her back to meet the swing of her original trapeze.  She let go of his hands and swung her body around just in time to catch hold of the bar and glide back to Joe's platform with no visible effort at all. 

"There, you see?" she asked brightly.  "It's simple."

"Simple," he repeated.  Certainly, it had looked easy when Petina did it, but he was not so sure about himself.  

Catching the bar again, the girl placed it in Joe's hands.  "Why don't you try just swinging out and back a couple of times?"

Nodding, his jaw set in determination, Joe gripped the bar tightly and glanced down at the net as though to assure himself that it was still there.  The discomfiting fact that he could see the ground below the net made him break out in a fine sheen of sweat but he was determined not to give in to his fear of heights.  Taking a deep breath, he counted to three and jumped.  Involuntarily, he squeezed his eyes shut and at first, the rushing in his ears was too loud to allow any other sound to penetrate.  After a moment, however, he heard the catcher's laughing voice order him to open his eyes.  Reluctantly, he obeyed and for a moment it seemed that there was nothing around him anywhere except blue sky, but as he obeyed a second order and began to pump his legs back and forth to increase his momentum Joe realized that he could see the top of the trapeze wire, the catcher, and occasionally the net and ground below.  Forcing his eyes to focus only on the other man, Joe continued to pump.

"On your next swing toward me, let your hands release the bar and I will catch you," the other man called to him. 

Joe gulped hard and managed a nod as he flew backward toward Petina.  As he came forward again, he fingers tightened hard on the bar and he was sure he would not be able to let go, but at the call from the catcher his fingers released as though independent of his conscious command.  Joe yelped as he felt his body soaring through the air, unimpeded and uncontrolled. The strong grip of a pair of callused hands clamping around his wrists moments later therefore came as something of a shock.  He clamped his own hands around the other man's wrists with desperate strength, and as he looked up into the grinning face of the catcher, a fast high-pitched titter escaped Joe's lips.  "I did it!"

"You certainly did," the other replied.  "Now we will see if you can get back to the other bar.  Ready?"

Though the answer was truly, no, Joe nodded, listening carefully to the instructions on how to spin his body around in mid-air to catch the free-swinging bar.  At the man's command, he did his best to turn neatly, and did get one hand on the returning bar, but not firmly enough to hang on.  With a terrified yell, Joe dropped, flailing his arms and legs wildly as he plunged toward the ground.  Just as he was sure he would miss the net and die, he felt it catch him and toss him skyward again.  He bounced a couple more times then steadied as gravity finally caught up to him.  Joe's fingers twined through the mesh of the net and clung tight, his heart pounding triple time against his chest, breath shaking in his lungs when he finally remembered to breathe again.  He lay still in the cushion of gently swaying rope and stared at the sky moving dizzily above him.

"Joe!  Are you all right?"  Petina's voice helped steady the disoriented cowboy and he blinked up at her, his green eyes seemingly stuck in their wide-open expression of terror.  "Are you hurt?"

Cautiously, Joe sat up, then stood, wobbling on the ropes that gave slightly beneath his feet.  "I'm okay," he called, clearing his throat self-consciously to get it back down to a normal register from the squeaky sound it had given when he spoke.  Now that his heartbeat and respiration were finally steadying again, a strange feeling of exhilaration filled Joe, making his body tingle from head to toe.  Petina had been right, flying through the air had been as thrilling as it was frightening, and his fall and rescue by the safety net had surprisingly taken some of the fear away.  "Can I try again?"

Petina's delighted laughter was answer enough.  The catcher gave a single sharp clap of his hands and gestured for Joe to come up.  "I knew you were a good one," he called cheerfully.  "Let us try again, only this time turn your head as well as your arms so that you can see the bar as you reach for it."

Much more willingly than before, Joe quickly climbed back up the platform.  Rolling his shoulders in anticipation, he suddenly became aware again of the tight material gouging into his skin.  He wondered if it would offend the girl standing next to him if he were to remove the jersey.  Well, there was only one way to find out.  "This strap is killing me," he complained, tugging at the offending material.  "Would you mind if I took this shirt off before I try again?"

"Not at all," she replied quickly.  Perhaps a bit too quickly, for at the amused raise of Joe's eyebrow she colored a bit and laughed.  "What I meant to say is that Alfieri often removes his shirt during practice.  He believes that it gives him greater freedom of motion."

"Good," he replied with a grin.  Pulling the hem up carefully to avoid dislodging the gold belt Petina had girded around his waist, Joe quickly stripped off his jersey and tossed it aside, happy to be rid of it.  The sun felt good on his bare back, but the cool, gentle waft of breeze made him shiver slightly as it kissed his sweat stippled chest.  Concentrating on what was to come, he never noticed the admiring once-over he received from Petina as he once again gripped the trapeze bar, muscles flexing in anticipation of what was to come.  "Ready!"

At the signal from the catcher, Joe once again leapt off the platform and began swinging his legs and body.  When the call came he was ready to let go and once again, the other man caught him easily.  Almost before he could think about it, he was tossed back into the open air and as he twisted his body back around Joe led the motion with his head this time and was able to see the bar coming in time to grab hold.  He seized it with such energy that he nearly lost his grip again from the jar of impact but by squeezing his fingers tightly shut, Joe managed to hang on as he soared back to the platform.  Petina was ready and caught him about the waist, helping him to land by pulling him toward her.  The laugh Joe released as he let go of the bar and threw both arms around the girl was pure, giddy triumph and she laughed as well as she hugged him back. 

"Would you like to try a somersault next?" she asked mischievously as they separated. 

Holding up one hand, surprised to find it shaking like a leaf in the wind, Joe grinned and adamantly shook his head.  "No thanks!  That was incredible, but I think I've had all the flying I can handle.  I'll just watch you from now on."

In spite of the encouragement to try again from both Petina and the catcher, Joe meant what he said, denying even the quicker easier route to the ground of swinging out on the bar and dropping to the net.  Instead he quickly descended the rope ladder and sat down in a heap in the soft grass nearby, thankful for the feeling of steady earth beneath him. After taking a moment to steady himself and collect his thoughts, Joe glanced down and noticed with some embarrassment the all too apparent physical excitement of his experience showing through his skin-tight outfit.  Hoping Petina had not noticed, he retired to the tent to put his own clothing back on then came back out to watch the rest of the practice from the safety of solid ground.  It was a beautiful thing to watch the graceful arc of Petina's lithe body as she flipped and tumbled through the air.  Admiring her nerve even more than before now that he'd had a taste of her world, Joe shook his head in amazement. 

Alfieri was a lucky man.

The End