Seducing the President's Son Ch. 01

"Stop it!" I heard you yell. "Oh my God, Colin, I'm so sorry."

The weight on my chest was quickly alleviated. I coughed several times, looking over to see the Secret Service agent scrambling to his feet. The other one was standing over me, pointing his weapon right at my face.

"Stay down!" he yelled.

I weakly raised my hands, too confused to understand what was going on.

"Are you all right?" the other Secret Service agent asked you. I still remember the look of shock on his face as you smacked him on the arm.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" you asked angrily. "He didn't do anything!"

"He just shoved you-"

"Yeah, because I fucking made a fool out of myself, not because he was trying to attack me."

You shoved the other agent's gun away from me and grabbed my hand, helping me to my feet. I was still getting my breath back as you said, "Colin, I'm so sorry. Please excuse them."

You turned to glare at them. "Give us some space. NOW."

They backed off a few yards, still staring at me suspiciously.

"Well, I've officially fucked everything up," you said as you turned back to me. You could barely bring your eyes to meet mine, but when you did, I could see they were full of hurt. I wanted to reach out and touch you, but I didn't. Something in me was holding me back.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have sprung that on you. I just thought... I don't know. I guess I just thought you were into me."

You stared at me as if begging me to say something. I was at a loss for words, still unsure of what was going on inside me. This was all just a big misunderstanding. I wasn't gay, I was sure of that... I had BEEN sure of that...

But this was what I had feared would come to pass. This was the reason why I was reluctant to go along with Dominus' plan in the first place. I didn't want you to get hurt. And now it seemed as if I was hurting you more than ever by being unable to give you what you wanted.

After a moment of silence, you turned away from me. I could see your eyes were glassy.

"Well, I should go," you said. "Again, I'm sorry about all this. I did have a really nice time... Goodbye, Colin."

I watched as you walked away and got back in the car. You didn't turn to look at me before you left. I think you were too embarrassed. I watched the car drive off, wondering what on earth I was going to say to Dominus the next time I saw him.

Turns out, I didn't need to say much of anything.

"I'm confused, man," said Dominus, staring at me disapprovingly from over those horn-rimmed glasses. I could hear the veiled rage underlying his words. "See, I thought we'd agreed that you were going to bring him in. How does pushing him away make him want to join our cause?"

"I do want to bring him in, I just- I can't give him THAT. I'm not gay."

"Who said anything about being gay?" asked Dominus. "This is a mission, it's the same as running an R&R. You don't have to like the guy, you just have to give him what he wants long enough to get him through the front door."

I stared at him in shock. "You can't seriously be expecting me to sleep with him."

Dominus shrugged. "That's up to you."

I scoffed. "I can't have sex with a guy. Why don't you get one of the gay members to do it, like Josh or Michael, I'm sure they would-"

"He doesn't want Josh or Michael," snapped Dominus. "He wants you."

"I can't lie to him. It's wrong."

Dominus sighed. "Let me ask you something, Colin. Why do you think that lying is wrong?"

I looked at him in confusion. "Because it hurts people."

Dominus nodded. "Okay. And if the Nazis were pounding on your door, asking you if you had any Jews hidden upstairs, then by your logic you would have to say yes, because you wouldn't want to hurt the Nazis' feelings. And then the Jews would be taken and killed. Does that sound right to you?"

"I mean, obviously not-"

"The truth is that life isn't as black and white as you're making it out to be. People do bad things all the time, but they're usually for selfish reasons. You, on the other hand, are acting in the interest of being of service to others. Don't lose sight of that."

"I understand what you're saying, I do," I said. "But I just don't understand why we can't bring him in another way. Without lying."

Dominus smiled at me. "Do you know what I think? I think this is all part of a larger pattern."

"What pattern?"

He leaned forward. "Self-sabotage. You've said it yourself, that's a limitation you struggle with. It kept you from getting forward in your career before you came to us. It almost derailed your training, when you decided to put a relationship with a woman before your commitments here. And now it's threatening your ability to fulfill a task that you committed to. One that's going to help thousands of people."

He walked over to me and put his hand on my shoulder, looking in my eyes. "Stop getting in your own way," he said.

I looked in his eyes. I could still feel the pit in my stomach telling me that something was wrong. But I told myself it was just my fear, my weakness. I shoved it down further inside me and nodded.

"How do I fix this?" I asked.

He clapped me on the shoulder and grinned. "Don't worry. I know exactly what you're gonna say."

____________________

You sounded surprised to hear from me when you picked up the phone.

"Colin? Is that you?" you asked, your voice slightly higher than normal.

"Zach, hi," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. I had read lines from a script before, but never to someone who didn't know that's what I was doing. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for the other night."

"It's okay," you said quietly. "I really shouldn't have done that, I was being too forward-"

"No," I continued. I paused for a moment, readying myself to read the next lines.

"It's not that I didn't want to kiss you. I just didn't want to do it with all those Secret Service guys around."

You were silent. "Oh," you said after a moment.

"But I was thinking maybe we could hang out again? Someplace a little more private, if you had anything in mind?"

I had no idea what Dominus meant by that, nor what you would suggest. I could only hope that whatever our second date was, I would be able to get through it without having to have sex with you. As committed as I was to the cause, I seriously did not think that I could stomach having sex with another man. Not even you.

"I'd like that a lot," you said after a moment. "And I think I have an idea of where we can go. Tell me, do you burn easily?"

You invited me along on a helicopter ride to a private beach along the Chesapeake Bay where your family owned a beach house. I climbed in the helicopter, my legs wobbling from nervousness.

"First time in a helicopter?" you asked, grinning at me from the other seat.

I nodded queasily.

"Don't worry. It's only a 15 minute ride. Then I promise to have you back on solid ground."

I noticed you keeping your distance from me. I think that you were still feeling stung from my rebuke earlier. It pained me to think that I had created this rift between us. Despite my uneasiness at riding in a helicopter, I tried my best to make small talk during the ride to the beach. I think after a few minutes I had warmed you up to the point where you were your old self again.

When we got out of the helicopter and stepped onto the hot concrete, you grabbed my hand and dragged me up past the dune towards your beach house. I was already in my board shorts, so I took a look around the house as you changed into your swimsuit in the other room.

The house was right on the water, separated only by a small dune with a porch overlooking the Chesapeake Bay. I hadn't grown up with money, and when I became an actor I spent all of my money on Ecclesium, so I wasn't used to all of this luxury.

"Ready?" I heard you say behind me.

I turned around to see you in a blue and white striped speedo and an oversized button-down beach shirt that laid bare your torso. I turned red seeing you almost naked like that for the first time.

You were smoother than I had expected, mostly hairless except for the smattering on your chest and of course your ginger beard. Your body was lithe and pale, but I noticed your obliques were well defined and you filled out your swimsuit nicely. The personal trainer in me wondered what your workout routine was like.

You smiled at me as you caught me staring. "Come on, stud," you said as you grabbed my hand, pulling me after you.

I remember feeling slightly embarrassed as I held your hand when we walked down the beach. It felt like we were being watched, even though there was no one else around. Perhaps it was the two Secret Service agents who were at least a dozen yards back, following us discreetly.

"So, what's one thing you wish I'd ask you?" you said to me as we strolled along the beach.

"What do you mean?" I said, smiling. The discomfort was beginning to slip away as we fell into the same easy rhythm of conversation we'd had a few nights earlier.

"You know, like a wild card. Something you'd like to talk about but you feel awkward bringing up inorganically."

I laughed. "I like that. I think I need some time to think about it first, though."

"Take your time," you said, winking at me. "I'll be here all day."

"What about you?" I asked. "What's one thing you wish I'd ask you?"

You were silent for a moment, your face growing thoughful. "I guess I wish you'd ask me about my dad."

I looked at you, confused. "I would think that would be the thing everyone asks you about."

You laughed. "You're right about that. But you're different. The other night at dinner, you didn't ask me a single question about him. What he was like, whether or not you could get a meeting with him, whether or not he dyed his hair..."

I chuckled.

"Seriously though. Normally I don't really like opening up about my relationship with him. It feels like I'm... spilling government secrets or something. But you make me feel safe. Like I can trust you."

The pit in my stomach came back. I shoved it down again, trying to focus on the plan.

"So what IS it like, then? Being the President's son?"

You smiled sadly. "It's like being in a play. And you know all your lines, and you know everyone's watching you and expecting you to do and say all the right things and act a certain way. But you hate the play, and you don't like your character, and you just wish you could go off-book and say whatever the fuck you want. But you can't, because then the show would fall apart. So you go through the motions like you have a choice."

"You don't seem to be somebody who's going through the motions," I said. "I think you're very outspoken."

You rolled your eyes. "Please. That's me at about 15%. Trust me, if I could say the things I was really thinking..."

I stopped and looked at you. "I wanna know what you're really thinking."

You looked at me with a sudden look of fear across your face. It was the same one from the other night.

"I'm thinking... that you're the first guy that I've met who knows what it's like to feel the way I do. To be in the spotlight 24/7. And I'm thinking that maybe you... maybe you would be able to hold my heart."

You blushed suddenly. "I'm sorry, that sounds dumb-"

"It doesn't sound dumb," I said, pulling you in close to me.

I could feel your skin warm against mine. I didn't have the slightest clue what I was doing. It was like my body was acting before my brain was able to respond. I wasn't thinking about Dominus, or my mission, or even the Secret Service agents boring a hole in the back of my head.

All I could see was you.

"Can I kiss you?" I asked softly.

You nodded. I leaned down and kissed you gently on the lips, my eyes closing. I breathed in deeply as our faces crushed together, my hands gripping your lower back. You opened your mouth to allow my tongue to enter. I was surprised by how sweet you tasted, almost like you had been eating strawberries only moments before we kissed.

You lifted your hands and wrapped them around my neck, holding onto me as we kissed. I could feel the hot sun on my neck, the sweat dripping down my abs as we stood there in the calm ocean breeze.

After a moment, you pulled away to catch your breath.

"Wow," you said breathlessly. "Cheryl must love kissing you."

I laughed.

"Seriously," you said. "Do you kiss all the boys like that?"

"I've never kissed a boy before," I said simply.

You blinked. "What?"

I nodded. "This is my first time... with another guy."

"Oh my God," you said, removing your hands from behind my neck. You put them up to your face and stared at me. "This makes so much sense."

"What does?"

"I've been wondering what's going on with you. One minute you seem so into me and the next it's like you cringe at my touch. I thought it was something I was doing, maybe I was coming on too strong-"

"It's not you," I said quickly. "I think... I'm still getting used to all this."

"It's okay. We don't have to do anything you don't want to. We don't have to rush it. And if you just want to be friends, that's cool too."

You took my hand and gave me a small smile. "You're a really good person, Colin. I'm grateful that I got to meet the real you, not the one that's on-screen."

I smiled. God, you were just so fucking perfect. It tortured me that I was deceiving you, that I was pretending to be gay...

But was I pretending? I had to admit, that kiss felt pretty real. I had done it out of pure instinct. Not because I felt I had to, but because I wanted to. And I had enjoyed it, truly I had. At least if my semi-hardon was any indication.

I wished that I could go somewhere to clear my head, to sort through all of the things that I was feeling.

"Do you want to stay for dinner?" you asked me suddenly. "I was going to make shrimp tacos up at the house tonight, and I thought if you didn't need to be back or anything, maybe you could stay overnight."

You put your hands up in a gesture of peace. "I promise I won't try anything. We can just talk, get to know each other a little better."

I smiled. "I'd like to get to know you better, Zach."

That much was true.

We got back up to the house shortly before sunset. We both changed out of our swimsuits into shorts, then you poured us each a glass of wine as we sat on your back porch overlooking the bay. I could smell the salt of the seawater wafting in through the breeze, my body in a state of warm relaxation from a day in the sun.

"How long have you owned this place?" I asked you.

"We bought it a few years ago but we used to rent it back when my dad was just a Senator. We'd spend a week down here every summer, my siblings and my parents and I."

You chuckled. "It's funny, I used to hate coming here."

"Really?" I asked. "This place is like a paradise."

You nodded. "You're right. But when you're a kid who just wants to play video games all day and gets sunburnt indoors at night, you don't typically love the beach."

You sipped your wine and pulled your legs up onto your chair, looking out across the bay. "I did like getting to see my dad though. It was hard not having him here most of the time."

"Didn't he come home on the weekends and stuff? I mean, I thought I'd read that. They said he would commute a lot." I said.

You raised an eyebrow at me. "You know, it's not exactly fair that you get to know all this stuff about me."

"You've seen me naked," I laughed.

You grinned. "Almost naked. The modesty garments, remember?"

You sighed. "But yeah, I mean, he would come home most weekends to Rhode Island. But it's not like I got any alone time with him. There was always someone's soccer game to go to, or a dinner, or he'd wanna spend time with my mom. I never really felt like he and I had something to ourselves. But here at the beach each summer, we used to go fishing. Everyone else in my family hated it, but my dad and I would get up at 6 am and go every morning."

"I wouldn't have taken you for a fisherman," I said, smirking.

You looked at me. "I'm not. I never liked it. I just wanted something that was for us. And he liked fishing, and no one else did, so..."

You smiled, shrugging slightly. I could see your shirt slipping down over your shoulder, revealing your smooth skin. Not for the first time that day, I felt myself wanting to reach out and touch you.

You finished your wine glass and set it down on the table. "What do you say we get started on dinner?" you asked, putting your hand on my knee. "I'm gonna need you as my sous-chef."

I deveined the shrimp while you sliced the limes and got together the rest of the ingredients. You cooked the shrimp on a cast iron skillet while the tortillas warmed in the oven. By the time everything came out, I was practically salivating from the smell.

Those shrimp tacos were the best I think I'd ever had in my life. We sat at the table, just the two of us, eating the tacos with some chips and salsa.

"Okay, so I have to ask," you said as you dipped your chip into the verde salsa and brought it to your mouth with a crunch. "What do you like in a guy?"

I coughed, my mouth full of shrimp taco. "I don't know," I said, grabbing a napkin and wiping my mouth. "I've never really thought about it."

You raised an eyebrow. "How have you never thought about it? Just because you've never been with another guy doesn't mean you've never LOOKED at another guy."

"Well, what do you like in guys?" I asked.

You pursed your lips. "Wouldn't you like to know?" you asked, winking.

You thought for a moment. "I like your arms. I remember there was this scene in Chasing Emory where you had just finished boxing and you had this sweat dripping down your bicep. God, I wanted to just lick it off."

I pulled my sleeve up and flexed, grinning at you.

You laughed, clapping your hands together. "There's the money shot!" you said.

I put my arm down, still smiling. I watched as you took another bite of chips and salsa, trying not to let it drip into your lap.

"I like your hair," I said suddenly.

You raised your eyebrows, grinning. "Yeah?"

I nodded. "I like how wavy it is. And I like your beard, it suits you. Really, you've got a great style."

"You are a very sweet man, Colin Baker," you said, smiling at me. "Now, how about we continue our fiesta theme with a margarita?"

After we cleaned up, we moved over to the couch in the living room, sipping our margaritas. There were no Secret Service agents inside the room for once, although I'm sure they were lurking right outside the door.

You looked so cozy in your short shorts as you curled up on the couch next to me. Your legs looked so soft, just a little bit of hair on your calves leading up to your milky white thighs. I wanted to reach out and stroke your leg as we talked.

Should I? What would that mean?

"Okay, so I have to ask," you said, putting your hand on my arm. "What IS the one thing you wish I would ask you?"

I stared at you, my heart pounding in my chest. I knew instantly what I wanted you to ask me. I just wasn't sure if I had the courage to say it out loud.

You raised an eyebrow. "Time's running out, Colin."

I knocked back the last of my margarita and set it on the table.

"I wish you would ask me to kiss you."

The look on your face made me want to jump across the couch and kiss you right then and there. You looked so surprised, flattered, and excited all at the same time.

You were silent for a moment as you stared at me. What you were thinking, I can't imagine. But then...

"Will you kiss me?" you asked.

Before the words were even fully out of your mouth, I was on you. I covered your body with mine, my hands finally getting to glide along your smooth, soft legs. I kissed you hungrily, the passion rising in me like it would tear right through me.