Chapter 12 - In The Bathroom
by CameoLover93
W R I T T E N BY C A M E O L O V E R 93
12. In The Bathroom
Later That Evening...
The Worldstar Event - 8P.M.
Despite having hired more men to his security detail, Aiden didn't want to bring any unwanted attention upon himself by having three bulky bodyguards follow him around. He didn't want any unnecessary questions to be raised, so he opted to only bring Julian along with him for tonight's festivities.
What other choice did he have?
Sure, he could have easily brought another guard to be his chaperone, but when does Aiden Grayson ever make things easy for himself? The answer is never. Complicated should have been his middle name.
And now thanks to his stubbornness, he's currently stuck on a limo ride with a man that has single-handedly flipped his entire world upside down, all due to one little stupid kiss.
"I talked to Kyle earlier. He told me that you've been keeping him and Thomas updated on the Clarissa situation. You even went as far in telling them that I hired two more guards for the house and a private investigator," Aiden spoke to Julian in a low tone, keeping his green eyes glued to the floor of the limousine. "When were you going to tell me that you've been going behind my back to report everything to them?"
Julian, not feeling up for an argument, sighed in annoyance.
"Thomas is the one that hired me to look after you, Grayson. He's the one who writes off on my paychecks. So if you want to get technical, he's my boss. It only makes sense that I keep him up to date with what's going on with you. As for Kyle, he's your brother. I thought that-"
"You thought wrong!" Aiden shouted. His anger was more so directed at his brother, not Julian. "I get that you have to tell Thomas everything, but from here on out, I don't want Kyle knowing shit about what's going on with me. If he wants to get into my business so fucking bad he can ask Thomas for the scoop. As for you, I don't want you talking to him anymore. Got that?"
"Fine. I won't discuss anything else with Kyle," Julian muttered. "Is there anything else that you'd like me to keep my mouth shut about? Because I'm all ears."
Julian knew that Aiden was only lashing out at him because he was still flustered about that enticing kiss they shared in his bedroom about a week ago. Still, one could only endure so much. Julian could only give his boss the benefit of the doubt for so long because his patience was on the verge of running thin.
He didn't care who the fuck Aiden Grayson was, he refused to be anyone's verbal punching bag
"There's no need for you to be a smartass." Aiden rolled his eyes, feeling unamused by Julian's sarcastic tone.
"I'm not trying to be one intentionally," Julian mumbled, growing exasperated as the seconds ticked on. "Look, I can only imagine what you must be going through right now. And while I've been trying to give you space to get your head right, I'd greatly appreciate it if you didn't take all your frustrations out on me when I'm only trying to do my job. After all, you're the one who kissed me. I didn't--"
"Don't say another word," Aiden whispered. His voice was soft, yet filled with so much authority at the same time. "I know what I did, okay? I replay that night over and over in my head. It's not like I want to relive it, but... fuck, I can't talk about this right now. What's done is done. It's in the past and I don't want to hear anything else about it, so keep your fucking mouth shut and don't mention it ever again."
Before Julian could say another word, the limo came to a stop.
Aiden flew out of the car with quickness as Julian, who was slightly taken aback by Aiden's half-assed confession that their kiss was still lingering in his mind, followed in behind him.
The two men walked a long red carpet while cameras snapped various pictures of them. Aiden had on his best poker face, even stopping to smile and wave for his audience. Julian, on the other hand, stood back far enough to where Aiden held the spotlight all on his own.
"Mr. Grayson, over here!"
"You look stunning, Mr. Grayson! Who are you wearing tonight?"
"Mr. Grayson, are you single?"
"Do you have any comments about Little Town's article, Mr. Grayson?"
Aiden continued down the red carpet, a part of him wondering how people might react if Julian had been his date for the evening. He wondered what everyone's reaction would be if they had gotten out of the limo together and walked the carpet hand in hand.
What the fuck am I thinking? Aiden shook his head once he got inside the building, hurriedly dismissing the unsettling thought as he made a beeline for the bar.
Julian wasn't too far behind him when he got ready to open his mouth to tell Aiden that he should take it easy, being that he's already wasted, but after thinking about it for a second, he decided to keep quiet out of fear of starting up another pointless argument.
Like Aiden, Julian also didn't want to bring any unwanted attention to the two of them.
And at this specific moment, being frank, he wished that Aiden hadn't made him tag along with him this evening. In fact, Julian would much rather be at home flirting with the cute blonde hunk that Aiden had hired on for extra security, Clayton Benton.
Julian wasn't at all serious about the new guy; rather, he welcomed Clayton as an easy distraction while he tried to sort out the problematic feelings in which he held towards Aiden.
"If you're going to babysit me, do it from the other end of the bar," Aiden said to Julian after he tried to sit next to him. Julian sighed heavily in response, quickly moving to the opposite end of the bar. "Pour me something strong, beautiful," Aiden later said to the bartender. "Give me something that'll put some hair on my chest."
"Are you saying that you currently
don't have any hair on your chest?" The bartender teased, smiling hard.
"If you'd like, I can show you exactly what's underneath this suit and tie, baby." Aiden gave the brunette a lazy grin while he looked her over, analyzing her, wondering if he should take her home with him tonight. "What do you say to that, gorgeous?"
"I'd say that my name is Lacey and I'm not that easy, sugar." The bartender poured Aiden a drink, pretending to not be interested in him. "You'll have to try harder than that if you want to get to me, pretty boy."
"Challenge accepted." Aiden winked at the girl, and out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Julian had been conversing with another man.
Aiden took a swig from his glass and began to pay closer attention when Lacey walked over to Julian and his new friend.
"How long have you been a bodyguard?" Julian asked the handsome stranger that sat next to him while the bartender fetched their drinks.
"I've been in this business for almost fifteen years," the stranger replied. "I never planned to be in it for this long, but the pay is too good for me to quit; plus, I get to travel all over the world with celebrities as a perk, so I can't complain too much."
"Yeah, at least not until you're getting shot at or thrown in the line of danger for a person you barely know," Julian added. The man laughed. "What, I'm not wrong am I?"
"No, not at all." The man smiled. "Being in this line of work definitely has its disadvantages. Had I known that I'd be forced to be single I'd have never signed up for this damn job, honestly. Long distance relationships aren't really my thing, so I've been on my own longer than I care to admit because this job, as you know, requires ninety percent of our time. It's not fair for me to expect someone to be happy with just ten percent of me, you know?"
"Yeah, I can relate." Julian sighed, thinking back to all his failed relationships that got lost due to his profession, Lance Joyner being one of them.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•
Several Minutes Later...
"The two of them are just so damn cute, aren't they?" Lacey said to Aiden. "How much do you want to bet that the one you came in here with will be the one to make the first move? Just look! They're already touching each other. It's pretty obvious to tell what this is all going to lead up to – sex."
Aiden's head whipped around to see Julian's hand resting on the other man's knee while he leaned in to whisper something in his ear. They were both smiling and laughing, carrying on like they were the best of friends. Aiden honestly didn't know how to feel about it all. His emotions were all over the fucking place.
"Pour me another one." Aiden's grip tightened on his glass after he downed the rest of his drink, later holding it out to Lacey. "Something stronger."
Aiden knew that he wasn't going to make it through the remainder of this event, not emotionally intact. And it'd only be a while before he snapped and did something that he later regretted. So how long did Kyle expect him to stay here? He already walked the red carpet and took pictures for the media. He smiled for the cameras even when he didn't feel like it. He's come out and shown his face, so surely all that had been enough in regard to 'keeping up appearances'.
"You got it, pretty boy," Lacey replied after she took his glass to give him a refill.
"My name is Aiden, drop that pretty boy shit, will you? I'm not in the mood for it anymore." Aiden ran his hands over his face in frustration when Julian and his new friend's laughter grew louder and louder.
Was Julian purposely trying to get under his boss' skin? If so, why? And if that wasn't the case, could Aiden just be reading too much into things? Shit, he didn't fucking know. He could barely tell up from down right now.
"Okay, just calm down, darling. There's no need to cop an attitude. Take the stick out of your ass and chill," Lacey teased. "I thought we might have hit it off earlier. What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"
"Nothing, I'm fine." Aiden lied, chugging his drink as Julian continued to shamelessly flirt with his new friend. "Pour me another one."
"Are you sure?" Lacey paused, feeling hesitant. "Because you look like you've had enough for the night and—"
"Don't question me! Just do your job and pour me another fucking drink like I've asked," Aiden shouted at the poor girl, which then caused everyone that had been standing close enough to the bar to stop and stare in his direction.
"Oh, shit..." Julian excused himself from the conversation that he and his acquaintance were having before he walked over to Aiden, now whispering frantically in his ear, "You're causing a scene and this might just be the worst place for you to do it. Let's go outside and get you some fresh air before you further humiliate yourself."
"Don't put your filthy hands on me! I'm not going anywhere with you." Aiden shoved Julian away. "Go back to pretending like I'm not sitting right the fuck here. Please don't let me keep you from that Vin Diesel wannabe because God knows I'd hate to be a cockblock."
"Vin Diesel wannabe? Cockblock? What the hell are you talking about, Grayson? What do you..." And then it hit him. Just like that. The wheels in Julian's head started to turn at a fast rate and he blushed when he finally figured it all out. "Oh my God. Are you jealous ?"
"Fuck off, Julian." Aiden stumbled after he got up from his seat and started to walk away from the bar, headed in the wrong direction towards a door that wasn't the exit.
Julian had no choice but to follow closely in behind Aiden. He then grabbed hold of Aiden's arm once he spotted the men's bathroom and dragged his boss inside. They were lucky enough to find that it was deserted.
"I said don't touch me!" Aiden fussed.
"Have you lost your mind? Have you forgotten where you are right now?" Julian kept his voice low, his facial expression mirrored Aiden's - he was lost, simply put. Lost and not knowing how to feel. "You've been here for less than an hour and you're already acting like-"
"Say it! Go on and tell me how much of a fuck-up I am. Tell me how I screw up everything and can do nothing right. Or better yet, how about you try to tell me something that I don't already fucking know, Julian!" Aiden sunk to the floor and began to cradle his head in his hands, just like how he did in his shower after he woke up to find that his body was wrapped tightly around Julian's.
"What the fuck is wrong with me?" Aiden asked, thinking aloud. "What have you done to me, Jules?"
"Jesus Christ, Grayson..." Julian sighed, growing sympathetic. And with caution, he kneeled to Aiden's level and placed a hand on his shoulder, looking him in the eyes.
"Listen, I can try my best to help you get through this, to help you sort your feelings out, but you have to stop shutting me out in the process. You have to stop fighting with me and let me in, Grayson."
You have to trust me, Julian thought.
"But I'm not like you. I can't be like you. We're not the same, I'm not...God, I can't even say the fucking word out loud," Aiden whispered in a shaky tone. Julian couldn't tell if he was crying, having a panic attack, or both with the way that Aiden's body shook. "I like women. I've always loved women. But then you came along and... our kiss made me feel so..."
Aiden's words got lost on his tongue. His head was throbbing, his pulse was going crazy and even though he was currently sitting down, everything around him was beginning to spin.
"This shit doesn't make any sense," Aiden whispered, sweat appearing on his forehead. "I'm so confused about everything now."
"What you need to do is calm down and think about this shit later on when your head is clear and your thoughts aren't scattered all over the place. I promise that you'll feel a hell of a lot better when you're not drunk and freaking out." Julian helped Aiden up from the floor. He looked a hot mess, so dejected and hopeless. It pained Julian to see Aiden like this. "What do you say we head out of here and call it a night?"
"Yeah, I don't feel so well," Aiden's words were slurred and his eyes were starting to shut as he leaned against Julian, resting his head against Julian's shoulder. "I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry for..."
Aiden jerked in Julian's grasp, his body now shaking viciously. It had gotten so bad that both men fell to the ground. Aiden's eyes rolled to the back of his head with nothing but the whites of them showing while he began to have a seizure on the bathroom floor.
"Shit!" Julian exclaimed in a panic while trying to pull his cell phone from his pocket. "You'd better not fucking die on me. Not here. Not like this."
Aiden couldn't hear his bodyguard talking to him because his mind was in another place; one where he didn't feel stressed, under pressure, or in denial. Instead, he was in a place where he could be himself, his true
self.
A place where he could, simply put, be free.
a/n: SHITS GETTING REAL, GUYS !
your thoughts?
by CameoLover93
W R I T T E N BY C A M E O L O V E R 93
12. In The Bathroom
Later That Evening...
The Worldstar Event - 8P.M.
Despite having hired more men to his security detail, Aiden didn't want to bring any unwanted attention upon himself by having three bulky bodyguards follow him around. He didn't want any unnecessary questions to be raised, so he opted to only bring Julian along with him for tonight's festivities.
What other choice did he have?
Sure, he could have easily brought another guard to be his chaperone, but when does Aiden Grayson ever make things easy for himself? The answer is never. Complicated should have been his middle name.
And now thanks to his stubbornness, he's currently stuck on a limo ride with a man that has single-handedly flipped his entire world upside down, all due to one little stupid kiss.
"I talked to Kyle earlier. He told me that you've been keeping him and Thomas updated on the Clarissa situation. You even went as far in telling them that I hired two more guards for the house and a private investigator," Aiden spoke to Julian in a low tone, keeping his green eyes glued to the floor of the limousine. "When were you going to tell me that you've been going behind my back to report everything to them?"
Julian, not feeling up for an argument, sighed in annoyance.
"Thomas is the one that hired me to look after you, Grayson. He's the one who writes off on my paychecks. So if you want to get technical, he's my boss. It only makes sense that I keep him up to date with what's going on with you. As for Kyle, he's your brother. I thought that-"
"You thought wrong!" Aiden shouted. His anger was more so directed at his brother, not Julian. "I get that you have to tell Thomas everything, but from here on out, I don't want Kyle knowing shit about what's going on with me. If he wants to get into my business so fucking bad he can ask Thomas for the scoop. As for you, I don't want you talking to him anymore. Got that?"
"Fine. I won't discuss anything else with Kyle," Julian muttered. "Is there anything else that you'd like me to keep my mouth shut about? Because I'm all ears."
Julian knew that Aiden was only lashing out at him because he was still flustered about that enticing kiss they shared in his bedroom about a week ago. Still, one could only endure so much. Julian could only give his boss the benefit of the doubt for so long because his patience was on the verge of running thin.
He didn't care who the fuck Aiden Grayson was, he refused to be anyone's verbal punching bag
"There's no need for you to be a smartass." Aiden rolled his eyes, feeling unamused by Julian's sarcastic tone.
"I'm not trying to be one intentionally," Julian mumbled, growing exasperated as the seconds ticked on. "Look, I can only imagine what you must be going through right now. And while I've been trying to give you space to get your head right, I'd greatly appreciate it if you didn't take all your frustrations out on me when I'm only trying to do my job. After all, you're the one who kissed me. I didn't--"
"Don't say another word," Aiden whispered. His voice was soft, yet filled with so much authority at the same time. "I know what I did, okay? I replay that night over and over in my head. It's not like I want to relive it, but... fuck, I can't talk about this right now. What's done is done. It's in the past and I don't want to hear anything else about it, so keep your fucking mouth shut and don't mention it ever again."
Before Julian could say another word, the limo came to a stop.
Aiden flew out of the car with quickness as Julian, who was slightly taken aback by Aiden's half-assed confession that their kiss was still lingering in his mind, followed in behind him.
The two men walked a long red carpet while cameras snapped various pictures of them. Aiden had on his best poker face, even stopping to smile and wave for his audience. Julian, on the other hand, stood back far enough to where Aiden held the spotlight all on his own.
"Mr. Grayson, over here!"
"You look stunning, Mr. Grayson! Who are you wearing tonight?"
"Mr. Grayson, are you single?"
"Do you have any comments about Little Town's article, Mr. Grayson?"
Aiden continued down the red carpet, a part of him wondering how people might react if Julian had been his date for the evening. He wondered what everyone's reaction would be if they had gotten out of the limo together and walked the carpet hand in hand.
What the fuck am I thinking? Aiden shook his head once he got inside the building, hurriedly dismissing the unsettling thought as he made a beeline for the bar.
Julian wasn't too far behind him when he got ready to open his mouth to tell Aiden that he should take it easy, being that he's already wasted, but after thinking about it for a second, he decided to keep quiet out of fear of starting up another pointless argument.
Like Aiden, Julian also didn't want to bring any unwanted attention to the two of them.
And at this specific moment, being frank, he wished that Aiden hadn't made him tag along with him this evening. In fact, Julian would much rather be at home flirting with the cute blonde hunk that Aiden had hired on for extra security, Clayton Benton.
Julian wasn't at all serious about the new guy; rather, he welcomed Clayton as an easy distraction while he tried to sort out the problematic feelings in which he held towards Aiden.
"If you're going to babysit me, do it from the other end of the bar," Aiden said to Julian after he tried to sit next to him. Julian sighed heavily in response, quickly moving to the opposite end of the bar. "Pour me something strong, beautiful," Aiden later said to the bartender. "Give me something that'll put some hair on my chest."
"Are you saying that you currently
don't have any hair on your chest?" The bartender teased, smiling hard.
"If you'd like, I can show you exactly what's underneath this suit and tie, baby." Aiden gave the brunette a lazy grin while he looked her over, analyzing her, wondering if he should take her home with him tonight. "What do you say to that, gorgeous?"
"I'd say that my name is Lacey and I'm not that easy, sugar." The bartender poured Aiden a drink, pretending to not be interested in him. "You'll have to try harder than that if you want to get to me, pretty boy."
"Challenge accepted." Aiden winked at the girl, and out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Julian had been conversing with another man.
Aiden took a swig from his glass and began to pay closer attention when Lacey walked over to Julian and his new friend.
"How long have you been a bodyguard?" Julian asked the handsome stranger that sat next to him while the bartender fetched their drinks.
"I've been in this business for almost fifteen years," the stranger replied. "I never planned to be in it for this long, but the pay is too good for me to quit; plus, I get to travel all over the world with celebrities as a perk, so I can't complain too much."
"Yeah, at least not until you're getting shot at or thrown in the line of danger for a person you barely know," Julian added. The man laughed. "What, I'm not wrong am I?"
"No, not at all." The man smiled. "Being in this line of work definitely has its disadvantages. Had I known that I'd be forced to be single I'd have never signed up for this damn job, honestly. Long distance relationships aren't really my thing, so I've been on my own longer than I care to admit because this job, as you know, requires ninety percent of our time. It's not fair for me to expect someone to be happy with just ten percent of me, you know?"
"Yeah, I can relate." Julian sighed, thinking back to all his failed relationships that got lost due to his profession, Lance Joyner being one of them.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•
Several Minutes Later...
"The two of them are just so damn cute, aren't they?" Lacey said to Aiden. "How much do you want to bet that the one you came in here with will be the one to make the first move? Just look! They're already touching each other. It's pretty obvious to tell what this is all going to lead up to – sex."
Aiden's head whipped around to see Julian's hand resting on the other man's knee while he leaned in to whisper something in his ear. They were both smiling and laughing, carrying on like they were the best of friends. Aiden honestly didn't know how to feel about it all. His emotions were all over the fucking place.
"Pour me another one." Aiden's grip tightened on his glass after he downed the rest of his drink, later holding it out to Lacey. "Something stronger."
Aiden knew that he wasn't going to make it through the remainder of this event, not emotionally intact. And it'd only be a while before he snapped and did something that he later regretted. So how long did Kyle expect him to stay here? He already walked the red carpet and took pictures for the media. He smiled for the cameras even when he didn't feel like it. He's come out and shown his face, so surely all that had been enough in regard to 'keeping up appearances'.
"You got it, pretty boy," Lacey replied after she took his glass to give him a refill.
"My name is Aiden, drop that pretty boy shit, will you? I'm not in the mood for it anymore." Aiden ran his hands over his face in frustration when Julian and his new friend's laughter grew louder and louder.
Was Julian purposely trying to get under his boss' skin? If so, why? And if that wasn't the case, could Aiden just be reading too much into things? Shit, he didn't fucking know. He could barely tell up from down right now.
"Okay, just calm down, darling. There's no need to cop an attitude. Take the stick out of your ass and chill," Lacey teased. "I thought we might have hit it off earlier. What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"
"Nothing, I'm fine." Aiden lied, chugging his drink as Julian continued to shamelessly flirt with his new friend. "Pour me another one."
"Are you sure?" Lacey paused, feeling hesitant. "Because you look like you've had enough for the night and—"
"Don't question me! Just do your job and pour me another fucking drink like I've asked," Aiden shouted at the poor girl, which then caused everyone that had been standing close enough to the bar to stop and stare in his direction.
"Oh, shit..." Julian excused himself from the conversation that he and his acquaintance were having before he walked over to Aiden, now whispering frantically in his ear, "You're causing a scene and this might just be the worst place for you to do it. Let's go outside and get you some fresh air before you further humiliate yourself."
"Don't put your filthy hands on me! I'm not going anywhere with you." Aiden shoved Julian away. "Go back to pretending like I'm not sitting right the fuck here. Please don't let me keep you from that Vin Diesel wannabe because God knows I'd hate to be a cockblock."
"Vin Diesel wannabe? Cockblock? What the hell are you talking about, Grayson? What do you..." And then it hit him. Just like that. The wheels in Julian's head started to turn at a fast rate and he blushed when he finally figured it all out. "Oh my God. Are you jealous ?"
"Fuck off, Julian." Aiden stumbled after he got up from his seat and started to walk away from the bar, headed in the wrong direction towards a door that wasn't the exit.
Julian had no choice but to follow closely in behind Aiden. He then grabbed hold of Aiden's arm once he spotted the men's bathroom and dragged his boss inside. They were lucky enough to find that it was deserted.
"I said don't touch me!" Aiden fussed.
"Have you lost your mind? Have you forgotten where you are right now?" Julian kept his voice low, his facial expression mirrored Aiden's - he was lost, simply put. Lost and not knowing how to feel. "You've been here for less than an hour and you're already acting like-"
"Say it! Go on and tell me how much of a fuck-up I am. Tell me how I screw up everything and can do nothing right. Or better yet, how about you try to tell me something that I don't already fucking know, Julian!" Aiden sunk to the floor and began to cradle his head in his hands, just like how he did in his shower after he woke up to find that his body was wrapped tightly around Julian's.
"What the fuck is wrong with me?" Aiden asked, thinking aloud. "What have you done to me, Jules?"
"Jesus Christ, Grayson..." Julian sighed, growing sympathetic. And with caution, he kneeled to Aiden's level and placed a hand on his shoulder, looking him in the eyes.
"Listen, I can try my best to help you get through this, to help you sort your feelings out, but you have to stop shutting me out in the process. You have to stop fighting with me and let me in, Grayson."
You have to trust me, Julian thought.
"But I'm not like you. I can't be like you. We're not the same, I'm not...God, I can't even say the fucking word out loud," Aiden whispered in a shaky tone. Julian couldn't tell if he was crying, having a panic attack, or both with the way that Aiden's body shook. "I like women. I've always loved women. But then you came along and... our kiss made me feel so..."
Aiden's words got lost on his tongue. His head was throbbing, his pulse was going crazy and even though he was currently sitting down, everything around him was beginning to spin.
"This shit doesn't make any sense," Aiden whispered, sweat appearing on his forehead. "I'm so confused about everything now."
"What you need to do is calm down and think about this shit later on when your head is clear and your thoughts aren't scattered all over the place. I promise that you'll feel a hell of a lot better when you're not drunk and freaking out." Julian helped Aiden up from the floor. He looked a hot mess, so dejected and hopeless. It pained Julian to see Aiden like this. "What do you say we head out of here and call it a night?"
"Yeah, I don't feel so well," Aiden's words were slurred and his eyes were starting to shut as he leaned against Julian, resting his head against Julian's shoulder. "I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry for..."
Aiden jerked in Julian's grasp, his body now shaking viciously. It had gotten so bad that both men fell to the ground. Aiden's eyes rolled to the back of his head with nothing but the whites of them showing while he began to have a seizure on the bathroom floor.
"Shit!" Julian exclaimed in a panic while trying to pull his cell phone from his pocket. "You'd better not fucking die on me. Not here. Not like this."
Aiden couldn't hear his bodyguard talking to him because his mind was in another place; one where he didn't feel stressed, under pressure, or in denial. Instead, he was in a place where he could be himself, his true
self.
A place where he could, simply put, be free.
a/n: SHITS GETTING REAL, GUYS !
your thoughts?
Comments
Post a Comment