Chapter 01: one space : two guys : thirty minutes : infinite possibilities
Steven and Chris sniggered to themselves as they walked off the set while the cameraman and director bickered about angles. Like two little boys up to no good, they snuck off into the brisk air outside the Toronto studio. Steven whipped out a cigarette as Chris, anticipating his move, held out a lighter, all ready to light up for Steven. Steven's face creased up with approbatory pleasure at the small gesture, taking in the volumes that it spoke as their eyes met.
A flicker of anticipation crossed Chris' face as he held the lighter, somewhat unsteadily, for Steven to light up. He studied Steven's expression as he inhaled the first puff, desperately hoping Steven would give him a sign of some sort. He fidgeted with his shirt cuffs nervously after putting the lighter back into his pocket, not trusting himself to speak.
Steven knew Chris had been waiting since the night before, when they'd gone to a friend's party at one of the chic downtown clubs. Steven had deliberately danced with all the girls who'd flocked around him, predictably. He was a celebrity anyway, who didn't know who Steven Sabados was anymore?
All the girls wanted a piece of Steven, of The Sabados Group, with his own TV show and a suave, smooth operator and a flair for interior design. Not that Chris wasn't as good a catch, being the quieter partner in the whole enterprise and co-hosting the design show that had launched them to international fame. But they both knew that it was Steven who was the one the girls watched for. Chris' bearing betrayed his orientation, his slightly dumpy figure a source of insecurity. He wasn't as tall as Steven, nor did he have that winning smile set off with the sharp features and dimples. But Steven liked Chris just the way he was, and so that was the way Chris kept it.
Chris had been besotted with Steven from the minute he laid eyes on him the first time. Steven had been just starting out then, making contacts and working as a junior designer for a large firm where talent easily went unnoticed. Chris had met him at an industry party, the kind people go to in order to get more contacts, network and generally find out the hottest gossip within the design industry and hob-nob with any big shot who might just turn up (They never did, but people never gave up hoping anyway). Steven had been flitting about making small talk, hoping for a way out of his tiny cubicle, while Chris had simply been chilling out in a corner with his martini and idly watching the crowd.
Their eyes met across the room, and Chris' heart promptly began overworking. Steven's intense blue-grey eyes bored into Chris' for a long moment, before flickering away to a person behind him. Chris couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment, but consoled himself thinking "Oh come on, Chris, get a hold on yourself. He probably likes them with boobs and a pussy. And he certainly won't be having any trouble with those..." His thoughts trailed off as he observed a rather attractive brunette ("Probably one of those junior clerks," thought Chris to himself spitefully) obviously flirting with Steven, who seemed to be enjoying the attention immensely.
The evening was an unpleasant one for Chris thereafter, watching Steven work the room with the charm and finesse of a seasoned smooth operator. Chris couldn't help but admire the way Steven's pert behind jauntily teased him when he stood with his back to him, his large hands with a thick sprinkling of hair along the arm almost hiding the strength in the arm that came naturally with working in a hands-on industry. The ready smile, the artless, unarming candour in the casual running of his hand through his thick dark hair. Chris wanted to put his hands in that thick head of hair and smell it, sure that it would smell of his shampoo, and to cup this man's chin in his hands and feel the 'now you see it, now you don't' little specks of stubble while inhaling the aroma of his aftershave... When Steven came close, his cologne lingered sharply in the air, intoxicating Chris more than any shot of liqueur could, before being replaced by the abject feeling of disappointment when Steven moved away once again.