The Valet Ch. 03

~ Hi everyone! Sorry it's taken so long, but I have finally gotten round to writing the next chapter of Alex and Jason's lives. This chapter is a bit longer than the previous ones, but there is also less action. However, I think it's a necessary step for the story to develop. I hope you enjoy it, and as always, feedback is appreciated! Please note that absolutely everything is fictional, and all my own work. Sapphire ~

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As dawn broke the next day, Jason had never been happier to see the sun rise. He'd spent the entire night tossing and turning, his emotions swinging between fury and despair. He hated Alex for using him like he had and yet...and yet. Maybe Alex was scared, or didn't have a choice about his sexual preferences because he was royalty. Whenever Jason found himself thinking along these lines, he banished the thoughts from his head. He hated Alex, and it would not do to feel any other way about him. So the cycle had gone all night, and Jason had watched the hours tick by on his alarm clock. At 6am, he got out of bed and went for a long run, hoping that the exercise would numb his mind and help him express his anger in a way that didn't involve punching Alex.

He didn't particularly want to go to work, and would have called in sick if it hadn't been the day of the feast. As it was, Mrs Hughes would need all the help she could get and if he didn't go in, she might just have a heart attack. The up-side was that he was playing waiter today. The feast would officially start with a drinks reception at 2pm, where Jason would have to carry round trays of champagne and canapés which cost far more than he probably had in his bank account. Then, after a short speech, guests would be seated inside the grand hall for the main meal, a BBQ which was expected to last at least 3 hours and would see most of the guests getting thoroughly drunk. Then there would be outdoor mingling and dancing, with a buffet of desserts into the late hours of the night. All in all, it sounded like the perfect recipe for avoiding Alex.

As Jason walked into the kitchen, ready to start the day's work, he bumped into Sam.

"Shit man," exclaimed Sam as he stared at Jason. "What happened to you?" Jason sighed. The sleepless night was clearly showing.

"It's the hot weather, can't sleep," he lied. Sam nodded in agreement.

"Ask one of the maids for some foundation!" he laughed, and dashed off before Jason could catch him. Smiling for the first time that day, Jason pulled down his list of duties from the board and set to work. There were over 100 places to be set at the table in the grand hall, and each one had to be identical to the next. Jason had thought that Mrs Hughes was joking when she'd mentioned using a ruler to measure the spaces, but she wasn't. To make things worse, specific orders arrived from the Prince to change some of the seating arrangements - apparently, there had been a few tiffs since the guests' arrivals, and strategic seating was of utmost importance. Jason snorted as he read the note, and then shifted the names as requested. He noticed that Alex had been placed right next to his father - no doubt the Duke would be wanting to keep a close eye on his wayward son.

At 1.45pm sharp, the waiters all presented themselves for inspection. After straightening a few jackets and brushing off invisible specks of dust, Mrs Hughes pronounced them ready to serve. Jason collected his first tray of champagne from the kitchen and made his way to the reception area where the guests were slowly gathering. Classical music drifted in the air -- none of the recorded stuff mind, the palace's own musicians had been practicing for months for this day. Jason carefully wove his way through the crowd, remembering to maintain a formal, polite air but not 'grinning like a chimpanzee' as Mrs Hughes had put it.

He marvelled at how invisible he was to these royalties. As Jason appeared at their side, they would pluck a flute off the tray without so much as a glance at him, barely pausing in their conversation. Jason also noticed that no one ever beckoned him -- they simply waited for him to approach them. He began to play a game to see how many people's eyes he could catch, before they quickly looked away -- embarrassed to have been caught looking at a waiter. The younger girls were easy targets, and he could feel their admiring eyes following him around the room. Besides making the dull work slightly more interesting, it also distracted Jason from constantly looking around for a certain person.

That certain person was not to be avoided, however. After his tray was emptied, Jason began to make his way back to the kitchen for a refill, checking his texts as he did so. Phones weren't really allowed on duty but his friends were planning a final get-together before they all went their separate ways for university in September, and God only knew how desperately Jason needed a night out. So engrossed was he in reading his messages that he didn't hear or see Alex hurtling down the stairs at breakneck speed. Apparently, Alex didn't see him either because next thing Jason knew, his tray was knocked out of his hands as they collided and sprawled onto the marble floor of the hallway. Jason suddenly found his breath taken away from the fall -- or it could have been because of the piercing blue eyes which were gazing into his.

Both Alex and Jason were silent for a moment. Alex had conveniently managed to land right on top of Jason, and he now shifted his weight slightly, making it possible for Jason to breathe again, but made no attempt to stand up. Jason was acutely aware of Alex's muscular body on top of his, and as good as it felt, he knew someone would have heard the clatter of his tray and would be coming to investigate.

"Hmm, I thought you'd prefer to bottom," he commented sarcastically, raising an eyebrow as he spoke. His words had the desired effect and Alex jumped up as though he'd been electrocuted.

"Sorry!" he exclaimed. "I was late to the reception thing so I was running down the stairs and I wasn't watching where I was going and --"

"Clearly," said Jason curtly, cutting off Alex's babble as he also got to his feet. He retrieved his tray and then glanced at Alex, and immediately wished he hadn't. Alex was blushing slightly, and his hair was ruffled from the fall, making him look incredibly boyish and sexy.

"Look, man..." Alex began.

"You should go into the hall, your father's probably looking for you. And you might want to straighten your tie," Jason said quietly.

Alex turned even redder at this, as both boys remembered the last time Alex had worn a bow tie. For a moment, they gazed at each other, neither sure of what to say or do. Eventually, Jason looked away.

"I have to get back to my duties," he said.

"Yeah...me too," replied Alex in a heavy voice. "See you later."

Jason nodded and headed off towards the kitchen. He could feel Alex watching him as he walked away, and it took every ounce of his willpower not to turn round and lose himself in those blue eyes again.

The kitchen was in complete chaos as final touches were added to the dishes for the main meal. Jason didn't really see the point of a barbeque which was served indoors but he couldn't deny that the dishes did look impressive. Grilled scallops, marinated stake, seafood skewers and spice-rubbed pork chops were only a few of the main dishes, complemented by rice salad, grilled vegetables, soba in cashew butter sauce and what seemed like one hundred different condiments. Of course, nothing was simply called its name -- everything seemed to have an alternative name in a foreign language, which waiters were expected to know.

"Dude, what the hell is stroganoff?" muttered Sam at Jason's shoulder as they both stared at the tables laden with food.

"It's the steak," replied Jason. Sam looked at him, and then back at the table.

"Err...none of that looks like the steak I eat."

"That's because one is not cultured and refined, unlike one's guests seated in the grand dining room above us," replied Jason in a high-pitched voice.

Several kitchen maids overheard and began giggling, just as Mrs Hughes swept past.

"Once you're quite done wasting precious time at the expense of our reputation, would you please start taking the dishes out! And Sam, if you really don't know which plate is the steak, then may I suggest a culinary course as a wise way of spending your next vacation!"

Sam rolled his eyes and nudged Jason.

"Let's get this show on the road!"

The main meal lasted three long hours during which Jason made countless trips to the kitchen, balancing trays of food, drinks, sauces and anything else the honoured guests cared to request. As the day wore on, the guests did indeed become more and more inebriated, and the volume in the dining room steadily rose with the levels of alcohol consumed. By 6pm, Jason's head was pounding, his feet were aching and his back felt like it was about to crack. The only positive was that he was too busy to think about Alex, although he occasionally felt the other boy's eyes following him around the room.

Eventually, plates were cleared and chairs were vacated as guests finished their meals and moved into the garden for dancing and desserts. As the last few royalties left the dining hall, Jason breathed a sigh of relief. There would be about an hour before desserts were served which gave him just enough time to have a hot shower and grab a bite to eat.

As he headed up to the spare room which servants had been permitted to use for the day, he heard the murmur of voices around the corner. Considering that everyone was supposed to be downstairs, Jason couldn't help but be a little intrigued. He quietly walked to the end of the corridor and peered around the corner.

Alex was standing with his back to the wall whilst a girl who Jason vaguely recognised from the dinner planted soft kisses on his neck, pressing her body against his. Jason felt an irrational surge of jealousy, swiftly followed by disgust and was about to walk away when Alex spoke.

"Stop."

Jason froze, thinking he'd been seen but when he looked at Alex, he saw that he was looking at his companion. The girl lifted her head to look at Alex.

"What? Do you want to go somewhere more private?" she murmured, batting her eyelashes at him. Alex placed his hands on her shoulders and firmly pushed her away.

"No, I just...look, I'm sorry, I'm just not in the mood tonight."

The girl laughed breathily and pouted at Alex.

"Babe, surely you don't mean that. I've been looking forward to this for soo long, and I know you have too." She slipped a strap of her dress off her shoulder and took a step forward, but Alex side-stepped her.

"Emma, I'm serious. Leave me alone ok, I really don't want to do this right now."

"Oh, I see," said Emma, her tone suddenly changing. "So you invite me up here with sweet words and promises and then, just when you feel like it, you go cold turkey on me and decide you don't want me after all! Don't worry about my feelings, and what I want!"

"Yeah I won't!" replied Alex angrily, "because we both know that you'll have hooked up with five other guys before the night is over."

"And since when did you want exclusivity?" yelled Emma, as Alex shook his head and began walking off. Jason backed away from the corner and hurried down the corridor as Alex's footsteps became louder. His hands were shaking as he fumbled with the key but he managed to get the door open just as Alex came into sight. Upon seeing Jason, he stopped short.

"What are you doing here?" he said in an accusatory tone.

"I'm on break, I just came up to have a shower," Jason replied, trying to keep his voice steady. Again, a silence fell between them which felt pregnant with thoughts shared but words unspoken. This time Alex looked away first, and then walked up to Jason. For a moment, Jason thought he was going to continue walking straight past him, but then Alex peered over the banister and then turned back to him.

"Can I join you?"

Jason felt the blood rushing to his cock but had just enough sense remaining to remember he was supposed to hate this guy.

"Somehow, I don't think that's a good idea."

Alex smiled, and put a finger on Jason's lips.

"It's not...which is exactly why we should do it," he whispered. He gently pushed Jason backwards into the room, closed the door behind him and had Jason up against it before Jason could even begin to form a protest.

"I want you," he murmured, brushing his thumb over Jason's lips. What little reason had remained in Jason slowly trickled away as Alex's lips captured his and Jason lost himself in the sensation. For the next few minutes, both Alex and Jason's worlds were a pure, heady concoction of desperate tongues, searching hands, grinding hips and erections which were obeying hearts rather than brains. When they finally pulled apart, gasping for air, they were both in a state of semi-undress. Alex's jacket lay on the floor, and his shirt was half untucked. Jason's hair was ruffled, his cheeks flushed and his flies undone.

Alex took in this utterly sexy sight before him and was aware that his trousers were becoming increasingly tight and painful. He leaned forward and nuzzled Jason's neck, inhaling the intoxicating masculine scent of aftershave, sweat and sex. Jason moaned and tilted his head, giving Alex more room to continue his delightful ministrations. With each moan that issued from Jason's mouth, Alex's desire flared and he grew desperate to have this hot man -- completely.

"God, I want you Jason. I want you now."

Somewhere in the deep recesses of Jason's brain, these words registered but he didn't react for a few moments. One part of him wanted Alex too, admittedly the part that was stiff as a board and dribbling with pre-cum. But his logical side knew that this would only end in heartbreak, and as he recalled the pain of Alex's previous comments about being straight, his logical side won. For a moment anyway.

Jason put his hands on Alex's chest and firmly pushed, leaning away so that Alex would stop kissing his neck and look up at him. Alex's eyes were glazed with lust and desire, but seeing Jason's serious expression he straightened up.

"What is it? Aren't you enjoying this?" he asked, accusation again tainting his voice.

Jason sighed. "Of course I'm enjoying it," he said, indicating the bulge in his trousers. "I want you too -- you can't guess how much."

"Then-" Alex began to interrupt but Jason silenced him by placing a finger on his lips.

"I'm all for fun and games, Alex, but not in a closet. And definitely not with someone who's usually straight."

Alex winced as Jason used his own words against him, and his shoulders drooped. He stepped back and ran his hands over his face in exasperation.

"This is so messed up!" he exclaimed. "I'm so confused and scared and..." his voice faltered and he looked down at the floor. He suddenly looked so vulnerable that Jason's heart went out to him.

"Hey, it's ok. Come on." Jason led Alex over to the huge double bed and sat them both down on the edge of it...even though he wanted to do something quite different on that bed with this gorgeous man. "You can talk to me."

Alex snorted and then looked at Jason.

"Talking is pretty far down on the list of things I want to do to you."

Jason junior has softened slightly, but sprang back to full attention at this comment and the heat in Alex's eyes.

"Me too. But I think you need to talk to someone," he managed to say.

Alex looked down at his hands, and Jason thought he was about to call the whole thing off and walk away. But then he began.

"I went to an all-boys boarding school from the age of about 10 until I finished school last year. When my dad told me I was going to a boarding school I went into rage and felt like I was being taken away from my home, my friends and my family. But boarding school actually turned out to be alright - in fact, I loved it. We were all pretty privileged and came from similar backgrounds so it was kinda like one big family. Obviously the older kids would bully the younger ones and I still bear some scars from the more serious fights. But overall it was a great time. I'm sure you can imagine though, in an all male environment of hundreds of kids hitting puberty, fighting wasn't exactly the only thing going on behind the teachers' backs.

"After lights out in the dorms every night, everyone would pretend to be asleep but then after a while you'd always hear the other kids jacking off. Some people were pretty open about it - it was natural after all. But then some people took it further; there's only so much satisfaction you can get from your own hand. Some guys would give hand jobs, some would even give blow jobs, but it was all done behind closed doors. That's not to say we didn't know who to go to if we wanted something, but names were never mentioned and it was purely physical...for most guys. Everyone guessed that the guys giving the blow jobs were gay, but no one ever said anything. To be gay in my school was to guarantee bullying to the point where you had to leave - it was the whole macho locker room attitude; it was just unacceptable.

"So when I developed a crush on a guy in the year above, I seriously freaked out. At first, I didn't know what was happening - we used to give each other hand jobs and I kept telling myself that the only reason I kept going back to him was because he was good. But then one day, he kissed me - and I kissed him back. And I liked it, although of course, I didn't admit that at the time. Instead I made out like it was his fault, I called him all sorts of things and avoided him for the rest of the year. I stopped receiving 'favours' from anyone and would make sure I slept with tonnes of girls whenever I went home. That wasn't just to keep the suspicion at bay but also to keep trying to convince myself that I wasn't gay. I'd been brought up in such a homophobic environment - not just school but family as well - that the thought disgusted me.

"But obviously, it didn't work. Girls just don't do it for me so I guess I am...you know..." He trailed off here and looked down, and Jason saw a tear trickle down his cheek.

"Hey, don't cry," whispered Jason, wiping the tear away and turning Alex's face towards him. "There are worse things in life; you could be sleeping with Emma right now." Alex gave a half-sob, half-laugh and then glanced at Jason.

"Spying were you?"

"I'd like to think of it as keeping an eye on you. Maybe your father will tip me if I do a good job?" Jason had meant it as a joke but Alex's face darkened at mention of the duke.

"Ugh my father. That's a whole different issue. He is the most homophobic man ever and all he cares about is his stupid reputation! He would literally kill me if I told him I was gay...well, he'd hire someone to do it. Far be it from him to get his hands dirty." Alex buried his face in his hands and sighed.

"Shit, man. What am I gonna do?"

Jason cleared his throat. The more time he spent with Alex, the more he was getting to like him. But Jason was out, and he'd learnt from experience that secret relationships were not healthy and did not have happy endings - even more so in this case with royalty involved. There was no point in leading Alex on - he had to be straight with him (no pun intended).

"Look, Alex, I really like you. Ever since you strolled in here a few days ago, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you. You're funny, smart and very hot. Which only makes this harder on me...but the thing is, I am openly gay and I just don't do closet cases. Not casually, and definitely not long term. I'm in a happy place right now and I don't wanna get caught up in the middle of some huge family fiasco, you know? I wish things were different because I really like you...but you need to sort your life out mate." As he finished, Alex looked away from him and sighed again.