Chapter 11 - Dark Places
by CameoLover93
W R I T T E N BY C A M E O L O V E R 93
11. DARK PLACES
Days Later
It was crazy how one innocent kiss had somehow managed to change Julian's entire outlook on his brooding, constant mood swinging, yet overall alluring boss. A hell of a lot had changed since Julian first arrived at Aiden's house, saying the least.
Only but a few days ago, Julian could barely tolerate Aiden; however, right now, given everything that's happened between them and whether or not that had all been a colossal mistake, Julian couldn't help but see Aiden in a different light.
And as much as Julian would rather
not be crushing on his currently unattainable boss that's secretly having a sexual identity crisis, Julian was only human at the end of the day. He couldn't help how he felt inside nor could Aiden, who'd been busy trying to drink his problems away rather than talk them out like a rational adult.
"Terrance Price, the private investigator that I've been talking to for these past few days will be here in about fifteen minutes to meet with you." Julian, now back in professional mode, stood at the entrance of Aiden's bar and was staring idly at him as he watched Aiden tilt his head back to consume a shot of something he didn't need.
Julian sighed quietly in disappointment.
There was a small part of him that felt like this, Aiden's slow spiral downhill, was all his fault. Ever since the two of them kissed, Aiden's been drinking more and more each day. And when he got intoxicated he wasn't flirty or playful with Julian; rather, he was quiet and standoffish, practically giving him the cold shoulder.
"I'll be downstairs if you need me," Julian muttered and eventually walked off.
After he was gone, Aiden relaxed in his seat at the bar and poured himself another drink, feeling like a total asshole. He'd been desperately trying to chase away all the complex emotions that had been pestering him ever since he royally fucked up and kissed his bodyguard.
But, to no avail, they remained.
How could I have been so stupid?
Aiden thought to himself. How could I have kissed another man?
Aiden took another shot.
He was in a very dark place right now, or at least he felt like he was in a very dark place; a place where he was irritated and angry with himself because nothing seemed to make any sense to him anymore. He didn't know what the hell to think in regard to his sexuality and he has the charming, brown eyed muscle man downstairs to thank for that.
Aiden's been so lost in himself ever since his lips touched Julian's that when he wasn't busy sulking, he was busy replaying that kiss over in his head.
Why did he like kissing Julian so much? And why did he want to do it again and again? But the most important question is why did he feel so damn drawn towards Julian McAndrew - someone of the same sex - when all his life he's only ever been attracted to women?
Aiden took another shot.
Could he actually be gay? Maybe bisexual? Bicurious? Not in the mood to try and label himself, Aiden's frustration grew.
He seemed to be coming up with more questions for himself than actual answers, but having to even consider the thought that he might actually be anything other than heterosexual was enough to frighten him to the core. And it wasn't because he had a thing against homosexuals; more so, he was scared thanks to this all being so damn new for him.
He'd never once questioned his sexuality before now. It's all come about so unexpectedly that it had Aiden sidetracked. He'd been thrown so far off guard that he didn't even know who he was anymore.
"Party's over," Aiden mumbled to himself after he heard the front door slam shut from downstairs.
He got up from his seat and stumbled out into the hallway to head downstairs to meet with the man that would hopefully wind up tracking down his stalker and blackmailer - Clarissa Bollinger.
Shamefully, Aiden's been too wrapped up in his puzzling feelings towards Julian that, until now, Clarissa hasn't even been on his mind. And despite what he was going through at the moment, it was actually a relief to not have to focus on the fact that there was a deranged woman somewhere out there trying to take him down.
"Ah, there he is," Julian spoke in a displeased tone, talking to Terrance Price as they watched Aiden make his way down the long staircase.
"Mr. Price, it's nice to finally meet you in person." Aiden reached out and shook the man's hand when he finally made it to the end of the staircase. "Let's go into the parlor room and chat, shall we?"
"Yes, after you." Terrance smiled.
Julian trailed in behind the two men, making sure to keep his distance from Aiden. At the last moment, he opted to sit on the same couch as Terrance Price, given that it appeared Aiden wanted nothing to do with him.
"Mr. Price has been in this line of work for over fifteen years," Julian said to Aiden, who has yet to look his way. "There's no better P.I. than him. If he can't find Clarissa, no one can."
"Thanks, Mr. McAndrew. You're far too kind." Price smiled at Julian, patting him on the knee, which in turn caught Aiden's attention.
"Thanks to Mr. McAndrew here, I'm fully informed of your situation, Mr. Grayson. And while I'd be happy to give you the rundown of what I do when trying to catch a perp, I don't want to bore you to death."
Price and Julian laughed. Aiden, on the other hand, was not impressed by the man. Instead, he felt angry... or was it jealousy at how well Julian and his guest seemed to be getting along?
"Anyway, I've seen the two guards outside parked in their cars positioned in front of the gate," Price continued. "It's good that you're beefing up your security, but you might want to also consider placing two men in the backyard, even though you have the security cameras around. One can never be too cautious these days."
"I'll take that into consideration, though I highly doubt that anyone, let alone a small girl, could actually manage to climb over the high ass fence that's set up around the property," Aiden replied in a cool tone. "It's nearly impossible."
"No disrespect, Mr. Grayson, but you really shouldn't underestimate Ms. Bollinger," Price said. "When desperate, you'd be surprised of the things that a woman can do. I've seen a lot of crazy shit in my line of work over the years, and it's made me learn to never judge a book by its cover."
Aiden, suddenly aggravated by Price, stood up to leave. "I have some other important business to attend to, so I'll be on my way, but it was nice meeting you, Mr. Price. Please keep me updated with your investigation; night or day, call me the moment you get a lead."
Price nodded to Aiden before he left the room in a hurry, headed back upstairs to the bar. Before he could pour himself another drink, his cell phone rang.
Sighing heavily, Aiden took it out from his pocket and answered it.
"What is it?"
Kyle chuckled. "I guess I'll keep this short since you're clearly in a pissy mood."
"Whatever," Aiden grumbled. "Just get on with it, Kyle. What do you want? I'm busy."
"Well, the Worldstar Event is tonight and everyone who's anyone will be there," Kyle said. "You've been to one of these before, so you already know how they work. Anyway, I booked you a spot for it about three months ago and I honestly let it slip my mind, but they just called and reminded me of your reservation, so now I'm calling and reminding you."
"You do know that there's still a psycho bitch out there that's after me, right?" Aiden replied in a dry tone. "Or has that slipped your mind as well?"
"No, actually. I've been talking to your bodyguard, he's been keeping me and Thomas updated on your... situation. I'm glad you upped your security and hired a private investigator. It's nice to see you finally take initiative, for once. Besides, now that Little Town's story is dying out, I figured you might want to get out of the house and do something. You know, jump back into the scene. Get back to your normal self," Kyle paused. "Plus, it'd be in your best interest if you keep up appearances, Aiden. You're the face of a multibillion-dollar business, remember? People will expect you to be there tonight."
"So let me get this shit straight - you actually want me to go out there tonight to smile and play pretend like I'm not currently being stalked and blackmailed, all for the sake of keeping up appearances?" Aiden asked his brother in disbelief. "Wow, Kyle. And here I thought that Thomas was the heartless one. He's been grooming you well, I see. You're almost like him now. Hell, I won't be surprised if he pulls some strings to have you replace me soon. I bet you'd like that, wouldn't you?"
"Aiden, I didn't mean-" Kyle started.
"No, fuck it! I'll go if it's really such a big fucking deal to everyone," Aiden exclaimed. "Who cares that my life might potentially be in danger? I must keep up appearances despite being hunted by a madwoman!" Aiden was flooded with rage, so much so that his hands were starting to shake. "Just know that if something happens to me tonight, you'll have no one to blame but yourself, Kyle."
Aiden hung up the phone and then slammed it down onto the countertop of the bar before pouring himself another drink. He was irked that his brother didn't seem to give two shits about his well-being tonight, which was odd because just a few days ago Kyle was ordering him to not leave his house thanks to Little Town's story.
And to make matters worse, Aiden was even more irritated in having to hear that Julian has been reporting everything back to Kyle and Thomas, all having been done behind his back.
"Fuck them all," Aiden muttered to himself. "I don't need any of them. I'm better off alone. I've always been better off alone."
The night hasn't even begun, but Aiden was already over it.
a/n: this is my first time writing a story about a gay couple. & being that I've never had to struggle with my sexual identity/preference, I don't know how it feels to have to emotionally deal with 'accepting yourself' nor do I know how it feels to be confused with yourself because one day you find yourself looking at the same sex a little too hard and suddenly you begin to question your sexuality...
I hope I did this scene justice (Aiden battling with his inner demons and questioning everything) lol just know, again, I'm new to this style of writing - lgbt, so be easy on me in the comments, please!
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•
s/n: I welcome all constructive criticism -- your thoughts?
by CameoLover93
W R I T T E N BY C A M E O L O V E R 93
11. DARK PLACES
Days Later
It was crazy how one innocent kiss had somehow managed to change Julian's entire outlook on his brooding, constant mood swinging, yet overall alluring boss. A hell of a lot had changed since Julian first arrived at Aiden's house, saying the least.
Only but a few days ago, Julian could barely tolerate Aiden; however, right now, given everything that's happened between them and whether or not that had all been a colossal mistake, Julian couldn't help but see Aiden in a different light.
And as much as Julian would rather
not be crushing on his currently unattainable boss that's secretly having a sexual identity crisis, Julian was only human at the end of the day. He couldn't help how he felt inside nor could Aiden, who'd been busy trying to drink his problems away rather than talk them out like a rational adult.
"Terrance Price, the private investigator that I've been talking to for these past few days will be here in about fifteen minutes to meet with you." Julian, now back in professional mode, stood at the entrance of Aiden's bar and was staring idly at him as he watched Aiden tilt his head back to consume a shot of something he didn't need.
Julian sighed quietly in disappointment.
There was a small part of him that felt like this, Aiden's slow spiral downhill, was all his fault. Ever since the two of them kissed, Aiden's been drinking more and more each day. And when he got intoxicated he wasn't flirty or playful with Julian; rather, he was quiet and standoffish, practically giving him the cold shoulder.
"I'll be downstairs if you need me," Julian muttered and eventually walked off.
After he was gone, Aiden relaxed in his seat at the bar and poured himself another drink, feeling like a total asshole. He'd been desperately trying to chase away all the complex emotions that had been pestering him ever since he royally fucked up and kissed his bodyguard.
But, to no avail, they remained.
How could I have been so stupid?
Aiden thought to himself. How could I have kissed another man?
Aiden took another shot.
He was in a very dark place right now, or at least he felt like he was in a very dark place; a place where he was irritated and angry with himself because nothing seemed to make any sense to him anymore. He didn't know what the hell to think in regard to his sexuality and he has the charming, brown eyed muscle man downstairs to thank for that.
Aiden's been so lost in himself ever since his lips touched Julian's that when he wasn't busy sulking, he was busy replaying that kiss over in his head.
Why did he like kissing Julian so much? And why did he want to do it again and again? But the most important question is why did he feel so damn drawn towards Julian McAndrew - someone of the same sex - when all his life he's only ever been attracted to women?
Aiden took another shot.
Could he actually be gay? Maybe bisexual? Bicurious? Not in the mood to try and label himself, Aiden's frustration grew.
He seemed to be coming up with more questions for himself than actual answers, but having to even consider the thought that he might actually be anything other than heterosexual was enough to frighten him to the core. And it wasn't because he had a thing against homosexuals; more so, he was scared thanks to this all being so damn new for him.
He'd never once questioned his sexuality before now. It's all come about so unexpectedly that it had Aiden sidetracked. He'd been thrown so far off guard that he didn't even know who he was anymore.
"Party's over," Aiden mumbled to himself after he heard the front door slam shut from downstairs.
He got up from his seat and stumbled out into the hallway to head downstairs to meet with the man that would hopefully wind up tracking down his stalker and blackmailer - Clarissa Bollinger.
Shamefully, Aiden's been too wrapped up in his puzzling feelings towards Julian that, until now, Clarissa hasn't even been on his mind. And despite what he was going through at the moment, it was actually a relief to not have to focus on the fact that there was a deranged woman somewhere out there trying to take him down.
"Ah, there he is," Julian spoke in a displeased tone, talking to Terrance Price as they watched Aiden make his way down the long staircase.
"Mr. Price, it's nice to finally meet you in person." Aiden reached out and shook the man's hand when he finally made it to the end of the staircase. "Let's go into the parlor room and chat, shall we?"
"Yes, after you." Terrance smiled.
Julian trailed in behind the two men, making sure to keep his distance from Aiden. At the last moment, he opted to sit on the same couch as Terrance Price, given that it appeared Aiden wanted nothing to do with him.
"Mr. Price has been in this line of work for over fifteen years," Julian said to Aiden, who has yet to look his way. "There's no better P.I. than him. If he can't find Clarissa, no one can."
"Thanks, Mr. McAndrew. You're far too kind." Price smiled at Julian, patting him on the knee, which in turn caught Aiden's attention.
"Thanks to Mr. McAndrew here, I'm fully informed of your situation, Mr. Grayson. And while I'd be happy to give you the rundown of what I do when trying to catch a perp, I don't want to bore you to death."
Price and Julian laughed. Aiden, on the other hand, was not impressed by the man. Instead, he felt angry... or was it jealousy at how well Julian and his guest seemed to be getting along?
"Anyway, I've seen the two guards outside parked in their cars positioned in front of the gate," Price continued. "It's good that you're beefing up your security, but you might want to also consider placing two men in the backyard, even though you have the security cameras around. One can never be too cautious these days."
"I'll take that into consideration, though I highly doubt that anyone, let alone a small girl, could actually manage to climb over the high ass fence that's set up around the property," Aiden replied in a cool tone. "It's nearly impossible."
"No disrespect, Mr. Grayson, but you really shouldn't underestimate Ms. Bollinger," Price said. "When desperate, you'd be surprised of the things that a woman can do. I've seen a lot of crazy shit in my line of work over the years, and it's made me learn to never judge a book by its cover."
Aiden, suddenly aggravated by Price, stood up to leave. "I have some other important business to attend to, so I'll be on my way, but it was nice meeting you, Mr. Price. Please keep me updated with your investigation; night or day, call me the moment you get a lead."
Price nodded to Aiden before he left the room in a hurry, headed back upstairs to the bar. Before he could pour himself another drink, his cell phone rang.
Sighing heavily, Aiden took it out from his pocket and answered it.
"What is it?"
Kyle chuckled. "I guess I'll keep this short since you're clearly in a pissy mood."
"Whatever," Aiden grumbled. "Just get on with it, Kyle. What do you want? I'm busy."
"Well, the Worldstar Event is tonight and everyone who's anyone will be there," Kyle said. "You've been to one of these before, so you already know how they work. Anyway, I booked you a spot for it about three months ago and I honestly let it slip my mind, but they just called and reminded me of your reservation, so now I'm calling and reminding you."
"You do know that there's still a psycho bitch out there that's after me, right?" Aiden replied in a dry tone. "Or has that slipped your mind as well?"
"No, actually. I've been talking to your bodyguard, he's been keeping me and Thomas updated on your... situation. I'm glad you upped your security and hired a private investigator. It's nice to see you finally take initiative, for once. Besides, now that Little Town's story is dying out, I figured you might want to get out of the house and do something. You know, jump back into the scene. Get back to your normal self," Kyle paused. "Plus, it'd be in your best interest if you keep up appearances, Aiden. You're the face of a multibillion-dollar business, remember? People will expect you to be there tonight."
"So let me get this shit straight - you actually want me to go out there tonight to smile and play pretend like I'm not currently being stalked and blackmailed, all for the sake of keeping up appearances?" Aiden asked his brother in disbelief. "Wow, Kyle. And here I thought that Thomas was the heartless one. He's been grooming you well, I see. You're almost like him now. Hell, I won't be surprised if he pulls some strings to have you replace me soon. I bet you'd like that, wouldn't you?"
"Aiden, I didn't mean-" Kyle started.
"No, fuck it! I'll go if it's really such a big fucking deal to everyone," Aiden exclaimed. "Who cares that my life might potentially be in danger? I must keep up appearances despite being hunted by a madwoman!" Aiden was flooded with rage, so much so that his hands were starting to shake. "Just know that if something happens to me tonight, you'll have no one to blame but yourself, Kyle."
Aiden hung up the phone and then slammed it down onto the countertop of the bar before pouring himself another drink. He was irked that his brother didn't seem to give two shits about his well-being tonight, which was odd because just a few days ago Kyle was ordering him to not leave his house thanks to Little Town's story.
And to make matters worse, Aiden was even more irritated in having to hear that Julian has been reporting everything back to Kyle and Thomas, all having been done behind his back.
"Fuck them all," Aiden muttered to himself. "I don't need any of them. I'm better off alone. I've always been better off alone."
The night hasn't even begun, but Aiden was already over it.
a/n: this is my first time writing a story about a gay couple. & being that I've never had to struggle with my sexual identity/preference, I don't know how it feels to have to emotionally deal with 'accepting yourself' nor do I know how it feels to be confused with yourself because one day you find yourself looking at the same sex a little too hard and suddenly you begin to question your sexuality...
I hope I did this scene justice (Aiden battling with his inner demons and questioning everything) lol just know, again, I'm new to this style of writing - lgbt, so be easy on me in the comments, please!
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•
s/n: I welcome all constructive criticism -- your thoughts?
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