by Jerry Cole
“Uh…no?”
“That’s fine,” Trevor said, his smile turning into a grin. “You were so very, very shitfaced, you could barely stand up. You kept saying how our apartment was so nice, how you would totally much rather live there. You scared off the cute blond, put your arm around me, leaned into me, and told me how lucky your sister was.”
“That never happened,” Basil replied, his cheeks reddening.
“Oh, it happened,” Trevor said. “I thought I’d seen you before a couple of times and never really interacted with you, but it clicked the other day. You were the guy who cock blocked me at a party.”
Basil shook his head, licking his lips. “And that’s how we met?”
“And that’s how we met,” Trevor said.
“Fuck,” Basil replied. “I’m really sorry about that, man.”
“It’s fine,” Trevor said. “It makes for a good story, doesn’t it?”
Basil nodded. He put his nearly empty beer bottle on the coffee table in front of him and sighed. “I feel like I need to apologize to you.”
Trevor watched him, cocking his head. “For what?”
“To be honest, I’m not really sure. For cock blocking you?”
“You don’t have to apologize for that,” Trevor said, winking at him. “I get paid to be cock blocked by you.”
“I’m going to take that as a compliment,” Basil said.
“Take it as you will,” Trevor replied. “We still need to practice. There are things about each other we don’t know.”
“Like what?”
Trevor shrugged and looked up at the ceiling. Basil wondered if he was nervous, but he dismissed that thought almost as quickly as he thought about it. There was absolutely no reason for Trevor to be nervous.
“I don’t know,” Trevor said. “Things I normally know about my boyfriends. Like, what’s your favorite color?”
“Green,” Basil said.
Trevor smiled. “Boring. Mine’s yellow.”
“Whose favorite color is yellow?”
“Your boyfriend’s,” Trevor said. “Are you a cat or a dog person?”
“Neither,” Basil replied, shrugging. “I’m super allergic to animals. All animals. I can hardly even go into a zoo.”
“See? This is important information,” Trevor replied. “What if I suddenly started talking about us moving in together and brought up my childhood cat?”
“What would happen then?”
“Your parents might think we’re not as committed as you want them to think,” Trevor said. Then he set his gaze on Basil’s face, his expression serious. “You don’t want them to think this is just you experimenting, do you?”
Basil shook his head. “I really don’t.”
“Okay,” Trevor said. “So, what else don’t I know about you?”
“I don’t know. Lots of things? My favorite book is The Sorrows of Young Werther,” Basil offered.
“Fuck, you’re such a nerd,” Trevor replied.
Basil chuckled. “What? I love the romantics,” he said. “Plus the author was the first real celebrity in the world.”
“All because he wrote an incredibly emo book about a girl he couldn’t have,” Trevor said. “He sounds like a real charmer.”
“You don’t understand,” Basil said. “He was a sensitive soul.”
Trevor shook his head. “No, he wasn’t,” he said. “He was a proto-Nice Guy. You know, with the word trademark after guy. He expected girls to sleep with him just because he was nice to them.”
“You really know your Goethe,” Basil replied, shaking his head.
Trevor smiled at him. “Just because I’m an actor, you think I’m uneducated?”
“No,” Basil said. “Not just because you’re an actor.”
Trevor playfully shoved him with his shoulder and didn’t really move back, so he was maddeningly close to Basil, so close that Basil could smell his aftershave, the beer on his breath and even the traces of his coconut scented shampoo. Trevor’s hair was really short and Basil couldn’t help but wonder how often he actually washed his hair.
“I like books,” Trevor finally said. “I know that might surprise you, but I do. They’re the reason I got into acting.”
“Books are?”
“Yeah,” Trevor said, smiling at him. His smile made his green eyes shine. It made Basil’s heart beat too fast in his chest. It made everything weird. In a nice way, Basil thought, but he wasn’t sure. He didn’t think he was ever sure of anything when it came to Trevor.
“You didn’t really strike me as a reader or as a writer,” Basil said then covered his mouth with the palm of his hand. He didn’t think what he was saying was offensive but the moment the words came out of his mouth, he was aware they could be construed that way. “Shit, sorry, I totally didn’t mean that in a bad way. You’re just—”
Trevor raised an eyebrow. He was obviously less than impressed. “What?”
“I don’t know,” he said. He decided to be honest as his gaze lingered over Trevor’s face. “You’re just so…I don’t know, good looking. It feels like you should be the person in front of a camera, not behind it.”
“Thank you,” Trevor said, casting his gaze toward his lap. His cheeks reddened and Basil thought that was the very first time he had seen Trevor blush. It wasn’t as if he complimented him that often, but it was still weird to think Basil had been the one to have that effect on him.
They were both quiet for a couple of uncomfortable minutes.
“I know you’re more than just a pretty face,” Basil said.
Trevor watched him, his eyes widening, then he laughed. “Thanks, Basil,” he said. “I really needed the reassurance there.”
Basil nodded and swallowed. He cast his gaze toward Trevor’s lips, which were probably his favorite part of Trevor’s face, though Trevor looked like a Schiele portrait and everything about him was gorgeous. Every time he looked at Trevor, Basil was surprised he wasn’t already some sort of international superstar, a well-known model or actor. His looks alone should have carried him through.
Trevor was obviously not interested or simply didn’t have enough time for that. Basil would have thought about it longer, except Trevor leaned into him, his lips pressed against Basil’s own, and they were kissing again. It was a brief, shallow kiss to start. Basil didn’t kiss him back at first. He was too sober to go along with this as though it had been the natural progression of the night, they had only even consumed a beer each and Trevor was already kissing him as if it was the most natural thing in the world. As if that was what they did whenever they got together.
Basil grabbed Trevor’s hands and moved them away from him gently. “Trevor,” he said, trying to sound as serious as he felt as he looked into Trevor’s big green eyes. “You should know something.”
“What?”
“I’m not gay,” he said.
“Okay,” Trevor said.
“I’m straight,” Basil replied as he bit his lower lip.
Trevor smiled. “I know,” he said.
He kissed Basil again, and Basil completely forgot about what he had just told Trevor. He gave in to the kiss, to the way Trevor’s lips felt on him. Trevor’s lips were perfect against his own. Basil felt Trevor put his hand behind Basil’s head. The tight-lipped kisses quickly turned into something more when Basil opened his mouth to allow Trevor’s tongue in.
Trevor leaned over on top of him and Basil allowed himself to be set back on the soft sofa as Trevor kept kissing him deeply, deep passionate kisses that seemed urgent. Basil was moderately sure nothing else was going to happen, mostly because Trevor seemed to be so consumed with giving him passionate kisses and because he knew Basil wasn’t gay.
Basil didn’t think he would mind if they went further. He always loved the way Trevor kissed—he was the best kisser Basil ever dated by a mile—because it set him aflame in a way that didn’t feel like it had anything to do with his body. It felt much deeper and it scared him. It made h
im feel good and of course his cock reacted to it—but it also terrified him. Trevor seemed to be able to sense that because he moved his face away from Basil’s.
“This is not a good idea,” he said into Basil’s ear.
He was so close to Basil, his arm around Basil’s midriff, and his breath tickling Trevor’s skin when he spoke.
Basil turned slightly, as much as he could, to look at him. “Why not?”
“Because it’s not,” Trevor said. “You’re straight, right?”
Basil swallowed. He was glad he wasn’t standing because he felt a little dizzy. “Right.”
“Then it shouldn’t be a problem,” Trevor said. He got off the sofa and took a deep breath which turned into a sigh that seemed to shake his entire body. “Hey, listen, Basil. Do you mind if I hit the shower? I feel a bit…”
He didn’t finish the sentence and Basil didn’t dare ask.
Chapter Seventeen
Basil’s bathroom was nice. It was much nicer than Trevor’s personal bathroom, in any case. All the fixtures were new and properly attached, even the grouting had been done with what looked like a huge amount of care. Sage warned Trevor he might feel a little overwhelmed when going to the estate, but Trevor had played it off. He already knew the Walker family had more money than sense, and all that was going to happen was he was going to see that live and in stereo. It had been so weird to sit there with Basil, pretending he didn’t want this to be a date with Basil, and then pulling away when all he wanted to do was keep kissing him.
Basil had become something of an addiction. Trevor knew better, he always knew better, then Basil would go and do something or say something, and Trevor would just forget everything standing in the way, including his own fucking livelihood. The moment he managed to break away from Basil’s magnetic lips he had reconsidered his situation. Kissing the man who was employing him was probably the worst idea Trevor had ever had, and yet he seemed to do it every weekend they saw each other. Basil didn’t act like he was repulsed by Trevor, which made it so much worse. It made Trevor believe Basil was into him, and that was not fair.
He was tricking himself.
He was tricking himself into being with a guy who didn’t even want to be with him. It wasn’t fair, he was sure it wasn’t fair, and yet it wasn’t as if he could help himself. He tried, but every night when he finally went to sleep, the only thing he thought about was Basil. The way Basil looked at him, and the way his eyes widened whenever Trevor teased him. Basil’s eyes were gorgeous, dark brown with little gold freckles, and Trevor would have happily spent the entire night gazing into them.
Like a fucking idiot.
Because Basil was straight. Basil might have liked looking at Trevor, talking to Trevor, maybe even kissing Trevor. But before he kissed him, he had looked into his eyes and he told him he was straight. Trevor had wanted to slap him across the face. He hadn’t done that. He had opted to kiss him instead, their kisses soft and long and wonderful, until the situation he was in started to sink in.
He hadn’t wanted to do anything more, but he wasn’t sure he was going to be able to stop himself at just making out. He didn’t think Basil was going to stop him. Basil seemed to have no problem giving into his curiosity, which Trevor would have normally found endearing, maybe even brave. He didn’t mind hooking up with straight guys—he had done it a few times—but it was different with Basil because it felt like it was more than just hooking up.
Along with a host of other complicating factors.
Trevor took a deep breath as he stuck in his hand to test how hot the water was. He had brought his bag in with him, the overnight one Basil had told him to take, the one with his conservative old man pajamas with the checkered buttoned-up long-sleeve shirt and the long soft pants. As he was packing, he was shaking his head, quite aware he was trying his best to be unsexy and hating himself for it.
He shouldn’t have to change himself or the way he presented himself just for the sake of fucking Basil Walker. Then he had shaken his head and told himself to stop being ridiculous. Of course he had to do that. This was basically business attire. It was just business attire he would have to sleep in.
He took his black boxers—just as plain, black, no brand, he expected them to be seen by no one—off and tossed them somewhere in the perfectly tiled bathroom before he stepped into the shower. He was, of course, hard as a fucking rock just from kissing Basil. As if he was a teenager or something.
He didn’t miss those days.
The shower was kind of small and Trevor was a little bit surprised it didn’t have a tub, considering just how stylish it was otherwise. Trevor had stayed at swanky hotels before—mostly when he was going out with his ex-boyfriend, who was a rich kid who wanted to be an actor only because his parents would only support him if he did something, anything at all. So, his ex had decided to take up acting, because he apparently thought that was what his parents meant by doing something. Not that Trevor could judge him, he had loved being able to live on Carl’s parents’ money. He supposed nothing had changed because technically, he was still just benefiting from money that came straight out of the pocket of Basil’s parents. Even if it was Basil’s idea.
Basil.
Trevor was trying hard not to think about him as the hot water fell on his body. He was struggling, Basil was so gorgeous, such a good kisser, and all Trevor wanted was to kiss him again. He didn’t just want to kiss him on the mouth, he wanted to kiss him everywhere, Basil all soft and pliant and sexy under him, already panting from the way Trevor was kissing him.
Before he could think it through, his hand was wrapped around his erection. He was thinking about the way Basil’s skin felt under him, the way he stirred when Trevor had barely touched him, the way he moaned under him.
It would have been so much easier if Basil hadn’t been so fucking sexy. Trevor would have had a much easier time pretending if he hadn’t been constantly thinking about what Basil would look like on his knees, with his mouth wrapped around Trevor’s hard cock. Trevor moaned as he sped up, closing his eyes as he thought about whether Basil would do it with his eyes closed or open, if he would look at him as Trevor was coming.
Trevor threw his head back and moaned as the thought of Basil swallowing his cum took him over the edge. He took a couple of deep sighs and leaned against the cold tile wall in the shower.
He thought relieving himself would make him want Basil less, but he found it wasn’t the case. His hand was no replacement for Basil, whom he wanted so very, very much. His heart started beating fast again and he was sure he would have had another erection almost instantly if it hadn’t been for the fact he had just cum.
He closed his eyes and waited. He couldn’t go out there feeling like this. He would have to give himself some time to process everything that was happening.
***
Basil tried to concentrate on the television, which he had turned on. If it was up to him, he wouldn’t have cable, since he much preferred to stream his shows. All of his utilities were tied into the utilities of the main house, which meant he also got the cable his parents paid for. He normally never watched TV unless he was feeling particularly unsettled. He was definitely feeling unsettled then.
After Trevor stormed off into the shower, everything felt different to Basil. To start with, it felt wrong, unfinished. Basil would have happily kept making out with Trevor forever. Except Trevor didn’t want to and it wasn’t as if Basil could blame him.
They were supposed to have boundaries. He thought most people didn’t kiss their employees like that.
He closed his eyes as he thought about their arrangement, putting his arm behind him and leaning back. He was trying hard to relax but it wasn’t working. Maybe he should have told his lawyer to give Trevor more money. He knew she had already given him a starting bonus of a couple of grand when he had gone to sign the contract. She tried to convince Basil it was unnecessary, but Basil had been so grateful Trevor had taken his idea seriously enough to actu
ally accept his job offer. Trevor hadn’t mentioned it at all and Basil wondered if that was because he wasn’t sure how to bring it up. Basil hadn’t really expected him to. He wanted them to talk about the monetary part of the arrangement as little as possible, mostly so the whole thing felt as authentic as possible. It had even started to feel authentic to Basil.
He thought that was important. After all, if he was sold on it, then it was much more likely his own parents would be sold on it. Of course the kisses were just to keep up the illusion, but going any further than that—that would be too much. Basil wondered if Trevor knew that and if that was what he was protecting him from.
Or maybe he was protecting himself, but Basil didn’t think so.
He snapped his head as he heard Trevor step out of the bathroom. Basil took a good long look at him, at his blue and white checkered pajamas, and he tried his best not to laugh. Even though Trevor was wearing old man clothes, he still looked like he was modeling them. The top button was undone and the clothes looked like they had been tailored to him. Even from where Basil was sitting, he could tell the pajamas Trevor was wearing weren’t particularly fine clothes and there was no way that had actually been tailored.
There was little in the world Basil enjoyed as much as tailored clothes. He tried to live a lifestyle that wasn’t full of privileged choices, because he was aware his existence wasn’t one which most people would ever even have access to and even though he made sizable charitable contributions every month, he still felt a little guilty at how good he had it.
Even then, there was nothing quite as nice as going out in clothes that fit perfectly, that were specifically made for him.
“Next weekend,” he said as Trevor approached him. “I’m taking you to my tailor.”
Trevor frowned. “Why?”
“Because,” Basil said. “You need nicer clothes.”
