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.
