Spar & Stone -

Chapter Five - In Which Aidan Learns Lies Tend To Have Short Legs

Heathcliff had his eyes set on Aidan, from the moment he had walked on the set. Even though he really needed all the concentration he could gather since they were now shooting a video, he could not keep from following the cute bunny around, at least with his eyes.

Unlike other times, Aidan had messaged him to meet at the set and hadn't offered the usual courtesy of transportation. He had tried to brush it off, saying to himself that, most probably, Aidan was busy with other work-related tasks, but he knew his gut instinct wasn't lying.

The bunny was avoiding him. And there were a few explanations he could think of, and not one was satisfying enough. If there was some issue, it had to be addressed and fast. He had no intention to let Aidan go, but he needed to have the patience to allow the little prey the possibility to surrender on his own accord.

Aidan had run away like a kid who just did something naughty and was now scared of being found out by his parents. Could it be that the bunny was still living with his folks? It wasn't impossible.

He knew little about Aidan, Heathcliff thought, as the assistant on the set began talking to him, explaining what he had to do.

"Just a second." Heathcliff stopped the assistant and sauntered over where Aidan stood on the sidelines, like an extra with no hope of getting selected for the team.

He could see Aidan's eyes growing wide as he approached. By how stiff he stood, it was clear that he was embarrassed and now trying to save face by pretending to be what he considered the perfect professional.

"Hey," Heathcliff said curtly, nodding at Aidan.

"Hey," Aidan replied, just as curtly, and mimicking his nod.

"Aren't you supposed to give me pointers about this?" Heathcliff gestured with his chin over his shoulder, his eyes never leaving Aidan's face.

Aidan licked his lips nervously. Was it wrong for Heathcliff that such a simple gesture was making him want to do nothing but lean over and lick that gorgeous pouting mouth? How come there were so many details about the young man that made him look so endearing? How come he hadn't noticed them right from the start?

As a connoisseur of male beauty, Heathcliff needed to correct that. Aidan's top lip arched enticingly, and all he needed to do was to raise one hand and draw the beautiful shape with his fingers.

Damn, he shook his head. He was getting absurdly romantic these days. What he needed was to drag the young man to his bed, fuck him into the mattress, and then he would see whether he would still behave like a love-struck teenager or not. He could bet all was going to fade away. Poets were guys who had troubles getting laid; he was sure of it.

"Hey, Earth to Stone." Aidan waved one hand in front of him.

Heathcliff caught the guy's hand deftly. "Come with me," he ordered and practically dragged the guy after him.

"You don't need me. I gave all the pointers to the assistant on the set," Aidan protested but didn't squirm, as a few people around were already stealing glances in their direction. "He can tell you everything you need to know. He has all the details."

Heathcliff shook his head. "You're not delegating this, Spark. I'm your charge, so behave like it. Now, get to work."

"What's wrong with working with the assistant?" Aidan whispered.

Heathcliff whispered back. "I don't like him."

"You don't? By all means, I'd say he is your type."

They were talking in hushed voices while the other people were getting busy with the props. The assistant was a tall, slender guy in his 20s, with a charming smile, and come hither looks. Heathcliff nodded perfunctorily at him. Aidan wasn't wrong. But right that moment, he wasn't interested.

"He's not you," he said into Aidan's ear, making sure to brush his lips lightly over the heated tip.

"Okay, you spoiled fitness guru," Aidan replied, a bit annoyed. "Really, guru? This so doesn't apply to you. Gurus are guys who are definitely not as spoiled as you."

Heathcliff smiled. "It's your fault. You spoiled me," he said, as he positioned himself in front of Aidan and crossed his arms over his chest.

"How did I do that?" Aidan crossed his arms, too.

What was with the mimicking? Heathcliff wondered briefly. The little bunny had little, if any control over the situation, so he was trying to put on a brave front. It wasn't working. Maybe guys were falling at Heathcliff's feet, but that didn't mean that he couldn't go through Aidan's defenses, seeing how weak they were.

"By jerking me off." Heathcliff leaned closer and said the words while looking Aidan straight into his pretty eyes.

"That was ..." Aidan trailed off and gulped nervously.

"Pretty good." Heathcliff offered an encouraging smile. "But I think there's room for improvement. And I believe I can give you plenty of pointers."

Aidan was so cute when blushing.

"Heathcliff, are you ready?" the assistant on the set interrupted them.

Heathcliff looked at the guy, and by how the assistant froze on the spot, he knew his laser cut stare was working flawlessly.

"Not yet," he said brusquely. "And, please, Mr. Stone. Let's not get confused."

The assistant mumbled an excuse and walked away.

"Mr. Stone? Really?" Aidan asked him, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yeah, why not?" Heathcliff said.

"But why don't you let me address you like that, then?"

"Hmm, I might reconsider. Although, in your case, I'd like you to address me as 'sir'."

For a moment, Heathcliff thought he had had a glimpse of something, as Aidan's eyes lit up.

"You're so not a 'sir'," Aidan snickered.

Heathcliff rolled his eyes. "Spark, I think you need some discipline and tough love. Didn't your parents teach you how to behave like a good kid?"

"They did, but, well, I'm no longer living with them," Aidan replied promptly.

"Ah, good to know," Heathcliff nodded.

Aidan looked at him a bit questioningly, but whatever he wanted to say, he let it drop.

"You're the one who needs a bit of tough love, Stone," he said. "Come on, let's get you ready, or we will be here all day. And, seriously, why did you snap at the assistant? He was just trying to do his job."

"One, I didn't snap." Heathcliff raised one finger. "I don't snap. And two, he was trying to get you away from me. Seeing how you're the babysitter, I have no idea how you can agree to something like that."

"I'm the babysitter? Then you're the kid." Aidan snickered. "Should I call you 'young master' instead of 'sir'?"

Heathcliff played along. "Master would be suitable."

Aidan snorted. "Damn, you're so full of yourself. Let's shoot the ad already."

"Only if you call me master," Heathcliff pressed the matter, as amused by the situation as Aidan seemed to be.

"Get on the set, Stone. And stop being such a big baby." Aidan pushed him to move.

Heathcliff liked that. Aidan Spark wasn't the kind to be yanked and jerked around. Yeah, he very much liked that.

***

Standing his ground in front of Heathcliff Stone was no easy feat. Nonetheless, it was nothing he couldn't handle. At least he hoped that was the case. Now, he needed to focus on getting the ad perfect so that he could report back to the headquarters with another accomplished task.

After all, his probabilities to get ahead on the career ladder lay on his success in taking care of Heathcliff and enduring the guy's shenanigans to get the job done. So, he had every reason in the world to be the perfect professional with the occasional leeway for Heathcliff's strong personality. The man liked to do as he wished all the time.

That was what he was saying to himself while following his charge as Heathcliff was doing his best on the set. He was, indeed, a natural born star. People were going to buy whatever The Healthy Shakers were selling if they were one percent as taken with the guy as Aidan was, and everyone else around.

The thing was he could not let it show. He could appreciate Heathcliff Stone from a professional standpoint, and that was that. And he had already sworn off offering handjobs, as soon as he had gotten home after Heathcliff's birthday party. From that moment forward, he was going to be nothing else but the perfect professional.

Of course, getting the obnoxious fitness guru to forget about the incident seemed to be a challenge. By how much attention Heathcliff was getting from the male population so inclined everywhere he went, one would have expected him to have forgotten already about a rushed handjob given by someone who definitely didn't have enough expertise in pleasing others.

Heathcliff had enjoyed it at the time, by what Aidan could tell. But it had been a breach of conduct, and it was Aidan's job to correct that. The simplest way to do it was by being nothing but the perfect professional, as he had already told himself a thousand times.

It didn't seem such a simple thing to do. He could feel his breath catching in his chest as he looked at Heathcliff. Maybe he wasn't anything like the dark, brooding character from Wuthering Heights, but he could draw a sigh or two from anyone he met, and not due to some misplaced reverence.

But regret. Aidan considered himself way too young to qualify for a proper list of regrets, but, in this case, he could tell he had just met his first serious one. Nothing was going to happen between him and Heathcliff Stone, and that was final. How could he lose his head like that?

Okay, so Heathcliff had kissed him. And fondled his ass. Aidan could feel his cheeks warming up only thinking about that incident. He needed to become better versed in flirting with guys if he was to survive around the sex bomb that Heathcliff was. Some training in that kind of dealings was required. All he needed was a plan and to act accordingly.

Discreetly, Aidan looked at his watch. The less time he spent in close proximity of that sexy bastard, the better. But he could not just take off. It would have been a terrible breach of his contract since he had a job to do. With a long, heartfelt sigh, he looked at Heathcliff, how he was looking straight into the camera, and saying the words from the script with a broad smile that was lighting his entire face.

Definitely not a Heathcliff. It was like the entire set was alive because of him. And even if it was just a regular commercial for advertising a mundane product, it looked like everyone around was looking in pure rapture at him.

It was, most probably, a perk only truly beautiful people had. Heathcliff seemed to have a talent for getting on his nerves, too, but Aidan knew he could not be really mad at him. No one ever really was; he was sure of it.

When the team on the set began wrapping up the video shoot, Aidan shook his head as if he was awakening from a dream. Yes, he needed to get a hold of himself and fast.

"So, what do you say, Spark?" Heathcliff sauntered over to him.

"You killed it," Aidan said with a smile he couldn't stop.

"Bro fist?" Heathcliff offered.

"Sure." Aidan shrugged and pushed his closed fist against the guy's.

Heathcliff leaned in. "See? My job is to make you happy."

Aidan could sense the man's intentions from a mile away, and he needed to do something about them. And fast. But the problem was whether he could bring it up, or was it a better idea to let the guy initiate?

He had his speech already prepared. But what if Heathcliff wasn't going to say anything? What if all had been nothing but harmless teasing, kissing, and ass fondling, handjobs notwithstanding?

That could be, and it was damn disappointing if he was to think about it. But, it was for the better. He used two fingers to press against his forehead, between his eyebrows, and stopped his internal struggle.

"What monsters are you fighting in your head, my valiant knight?" Heathcliff joked.

"Ah, nothing." Aidan shook his head. "I mean, I'm not fighting ... And I'm not a knight."

"I think you are. You single-handedly annihilated those paparazzi. And saved my reputation, in the process."

"Oh, you give me too much credit," Aidan said, but he could feel his chest puffing out on its own accord. "Plus, you're no fair maiden."

"Only fair," Heathcliff played along. "Let's talk."

Aidan felt a bit out of balance, as Heathcliff took his arm and made him walk. That was Heathcliff Stone. A man of action. Only that Aidan could feel sweat pooling at the small of his back, just thinking what he wanted to talk about.

It looked like Heathcliff knew perfectly well where he was heading, as he practically pushed Aidan through a side door that seemed to open to a small empty room, filled with cleaning supplies.

He was about to open his mouth and ask what the hell they were doing in a janitor's closet when Heathcliff made their lips meet.

The first automatic instinct was to open his mouth and let the man sneak his tongue inside. His eyelids shut, and, in spite of himself, he voiced a small, meaningful moan. Heathcliff almost slammed him against a wall and got busy right away with his hands. Then he grabbed his ass hard, and Aidan could feel his knees giving in.

What was his plan again? Definitely not this. With some difficulty, he pushed his hands between them and Heathcliff away along with that. "Wait," he breathed out.

Heathcliff watched him, a bit thoughtfully. And annoyed.

"What are we doing?" Aidan asked.

He knew the answer. But he was too much of a coward to lead this conversation properly.

"Well, in a nutshell," Heathcliff drew their bodies close again, "I'm trying to get into your pants."

Aidan evaded the second kiss in time.

"What?" Heathcliff murmured, seemingly a bit surprised at being denied. "Okay," he took one step back. "I suppose a place like this is not ideal. But, bunny boy, you gave me a taste and ran away. Forgive me if I think this is sort of due."

"Due?" Aidan mumbled.

"Yeah." Heathcliff looked him in the eye. "But I have nothing against taking this to my house. Or do you have to go back to work?"

Aidan grabbed that straw with the desperation of a drowning man. "Actually, I need to report back. And there are many other things I need to work on."

"Are you trying to tell me I'm not the only one you're babysitting?" Heathcliff joked, but he was frowning.

"You're the only one I'm babysitting. But my work entails other things. Like filing reports, doing market research ..."

"All right. When do you get away?"

"It all depends on the boss," Aidan said with a small shrug.

"It doesn't matter. As soon as you leave work, you'll come straight to my house."

"Don't wait for me," Aidan said quickly.

"Why?" Heathcliff's frown deepened.

Damn, he needed to cut and run. Aidan moved from one foot to the other.

"I'm not gay," he blurted out.

Was the lie going to hold? He had no idea. But it was the only card he could play.

Heathcliff cocked his head to one side. "You're kidding me, right? So it's just a habit to give handjobs to guys? When you're working? Shit, that must be one hell of a job description, Spark."

"No, it's not a habit." Aidan scowled. "It was ... I mean ... It was ..."

Heathcliff put one hand up. "Enough. I get it."

"You do?" Aidan breathed out in relief.

Heathcliff smiled. "Yeah. You're confused. Well, I'm available if you need to work that confusion out of your system."

"I'm not confused!" Aidan protested.

"Sure." Heathcliff grinned. "Well, suit yourself. My offer won't stay for long. I need to get laid."

"And? Why don't you get laid?" Aidan questioned.

"Hmm, I don't know, maybe because making my bed partners sign some NDA doesn't sound like the perfect kind of foreplay," Heathcliff replied. "And I'm all for perfection when it comes to lovemaking."

Now there was a decent distance between them, and Aidan was grateful for it.

"Sorry about that," Aidan offered. "But you signed the agreement."

"That I did," Heathcliff admitted. "So you're not gay?"

"That's right," Aidan hurried to confirm.

The guy was still staring at him as if he didn't quite believe him. "Well," Heathcliff shrugged, "I suppose my gaydar malfunctioned this time. Then let's get out of this closet already," he joked.

Aidan nodded. He should have been relieved to see Heathcliff taking things so lightly. Yet, he could not stop the little pang of disappointment he felt as he walked out the janitor's closet, after Heathcliff.

"So, see you tomorrow?" he asked, feeling a bit nervous as he stood face to face with Heathcliff.

"What do you need me for?" Heathcliff questioned.

Aidan was a bit taken aback. The man had taken the rejection well. Too well. But now he sounded pissed.

"Just to look together over some marketing materials. Also, I can help you with, you know, pointers."

"Send them by e-mail," Heathcliff said, rather clipped. "And I think I'm done with taking advice from you. I know what I need to do. Just do your job, Spark."

Aidan watched in disbelief while Heathcliff stormed off. "Would you like me to give you a ride?" he called after the man.

"I'll just Uber home," Heathcliff threw over his shoulder.

***

It wasn't like him to let his emotions show, Heathcliff thought as he climbed out of the car that had taken him back home. But the thing was: he was pissed. First, he had played things cool. If Aidan felt the need to lie about his sexuality, that was fine by him. It was none of his business.

Spark was gay as a rainbow unicorn. Okay, maybe not that flashy, but it was clear as day that the guy was eating him up with his eyes whenever they were close.

Yet, for some reason, Aidan had chosen to lie. And Heathcliff could not take it easy. The fuck was wrong with him? If a guy didn't want him, it wasn't the end of the world. But not being able to get his hands on that corporate bunny was making him frustrated.

He needed to collect himself a little. So his pride had just taken a hit. But that wasn't it. He could still taste Aidan's sweet lips on his. The bunny was frigging tasty. Heathcliff wanted to eat him whole, probably starting with his beautiful mouth and ending with his sexy bubblegum ass. And that particular dessert was not going to be served to him on a silver platter as he had expected.

So, he was not the kind of man to get caught up in some dilemma. The bunny wanted him. He was going to come around, eventually. If not, it wasn't a disaster. But Heathcliff didn't really want to write him off as the one who got away. Guys didn't get away from him, usually.

Hmm, he could not be so petty. If Aidan didn't want him, it was fine. Totally fine.

Also, he just needed to get laid. It was the best medicine to cure that unexpected rejection. And he could put Aidan Spark out of his mind. It wasn't that difficult, after all.

***

Aidan took his phone and headed for the bathroom. Bathroom mirror selfies were clichés, but there was no other way to take pics of his ass, without having to call someone and have that person do it for him.

The snafu with Heathcliff would not have existed if he had just gotten laid. With that sexual tension out of the way, it was going to be simple to keep things professional with the fitness guru.

So, he needed to take action. Heathcliff had praised his ass, which meant that there was a good chance that others were going to appreciate it, too.

Torso and ass pics were going to do it. He wasn't going to show his face, at least, not until he was going to secure a date.

He could not believe he was going to do this. Never before had he used a dating app. But desperate times called for desperate measures. All he needed to do was to convince himself that nothing bad was going to happen, that he wasn't going to stumble upon some trolls who only wanted to catfish him, or ... worse ...

Aidan gulped. All that his parents had told him about being careful was rushing to mind, right now. But there was no other choice. He had to get rid of his V card and stop acting like a love-struck teenager around Heathcliff. That was the key to his professional success, and he needed to be courageous about it.