Spark & Stone - Ch. 24

Chapter Twenty-Four - Publicity Stunt

Aidan could tell something was not quite right from the moment he set foot into the office. A couple of gossipers by the water cooler threw him strange looks while another guy quickly averted his eyes the moment he looked at him. What could have happened to warrant such a peculiar welcome from his colleagues, when, usually, they totally ignored his existence?

He didn't have time to ponder over the change in atmosphere, as the door to the big kahuna's office opened, and his much straight-laced assistant stuck her head out, scouting the perimeter and setting her eyes on Aidan.

"Aidan," she gestured for him to come closer.

He looked around and noticed how everyone was busy pretending to be working so that they did not blatantly stare. Squaring his shoulders, he walked over to his boss's assistant.

"He wants to talk to you," she said, emphasizing the first word as if there was no other 'he' she could ever mention in her life and expected the other employees to share the same feeling.

Aidan nodded shortly and followed her inside. Was the evaluation starting or something? He had expected something else, although he had never been through one of those. That might explain the strange looks.

"Spark!" His boss boomed, the moment he set foot inside.

The man wasn't big on introductions, and, in a way, Aidan was thankful for that. It brought any unpleasantness his boss wanted to bestow upon his underlings faster, and Aidan wanted to be over with so that he could return to his tasks for the day.

"Explain!" His boss added, and threw a newspaper on the desk, turned toward Aidan so that he could read the title.

Ah, so, in the end, word had gotten to his boss. Aidan was surprised only that it had taken so long. Apparently, there weren't making paparazzi like they had used to; for weeks, he had been going out in public with Heathcliff, and no one, so far, had said anything, not even online. He had teased Heathcliff over his no longer being the trashy media's darling.

Heathcliff had shrugged and smiled, saying that he was more than happy that he was left alone. Also, he had mentioned that his follower base was continually growing, so he had no reason to worry about his fame.

Aidan had expected something to transpire online first, and it was a bit strange to see a real paper publication caring so much about what a fitness guru slash influencer did in his spare time and who he was dating.

So, in a way, he was prepared. He had rehearsed this in his head numerous times, so his answer to his boss's question was direct and short. "Publicity stunt, sir."

The man looked at him over his thick-rimmed glasses, the corners of his mouth pulled down as he had just had half a grapefruit for breakfast and nothing else. "I didn't think you'd be up for such a thing."

Aidan shrugged. "It is the 21st century, sir. No one's as hung up on strict delimitations of sexual orientation anymore."

"Are you dating Heathcliff Stone?" His boss questioned, placing his hands on his desk and leaning forward, to stare at Aidan. He was standing, and he hadn't invited Aidan to take a seat, either.

"No, sir. I know well where my loyalties stand. I asked Heathcliff if he would be okay with this, and he said yes. I believe him 'dating'," he made the air quotes to emphasize his words, "works better with a family-friendly image than his usual, let's call them, indiscretions."

He could not believe he could lie like this, but there he was, standing in front of his boss, and lying through his teeth. He did have Heathcliff to blame for that. That man could convince him of anything, including that this was some great idea. Now, he really didn't know how his boss would take it. One thing was sure; he could not admit he was gay because his boss would pull him off the contract, ruining all his work, and, what was more important, his relationship with Heathcliff. How they would continue after the contract was fulfilled, he would just worry about it later.

"Very intelligent," his boss relaxed and pushed himself back to take a seat in his chair. "I looked at this picture," he tapped the newspaper's front page, showing Heathcliff holding Aidan's hand and seemingly deep in conversation as they were walking down the street somewhere, "and I almost thought it was real."

Aidan pretended to take a closer look at the newspaper. "It's not photoshopped, sir."

"I wasn't talking about that type of real," his boss said right away and scrutinized Aidan's face with sharp eyes. "I thought you would be put off by doing such a thing. Holding a man's hand, on the street, in broad daylight."

Aidan pursed his lips, feeling a small laugh coming up, completely uninvited. "It's nothing, sir. My generation is not that rigid in its views on sexuality. Holding someone's hand is just that, and nothing else."

"Good, good," his boss seemed to ponder over something, leaning back into his chair, and looking for a second at the ceiling, "as long as you're not disgusted by this, I suppose it's all for the best."

"Why would I feel disgusted, sir?" Aidan asked, feeling a slight, sickening sensation in the pit of his stomach.

His boss waved. "As long as you're loyal to the company, nothing else matters. Are you loyal to the company, Spark?"

"Yes, completely," Aidan said with conviction that didn't come one ounce from the inside. "I thought it would work, and Heathcliff decided to play along. No one would suspect him of leading the same lifestyle as before now."

"Is he leading the same lifestyle as before, though?" his boss asked.

"I wouldn't know one hundred percent, sir. I do coach him almost every day in what he has to do to promote the product, but I can't possibly keep an eye on him twenty-four seven."

"The article says that, on occasion, a car was seen parked in front of Heathcliff Stone's house overnight. By the looks of it, it's your car. The company's car, actually, since we gave it to you to use it."

Aidan smiled thinly. He was getting good at this lying thing. "On occasion," he repeated his boss's choice of words, "I had to Uber home, as I had alcoholic drinks during the business dinners I shared with Heathcliff and some of his associates."

"Very mature of you," his boss admitted. "Keep it up, Spark. The numbers are looking up. And I'm glad that our office zero-tolerance policy toward any sort of homophobic behavior has such a good effect on you."

What zero tolerance policy? Aidan wondered. No one seemed one beer away from behaving like at a frat house hazing, but it wasn't like there had been specialized training or anything in that respect. Not that he cared for such things, but his boss's conviction that he was somehow the product of such corporate policies was rubbing him the wrong way. It was like his boss was still suspecting him of being some closeted homophobe that would instigate some gay bashing at any moment.

Maybe he wasn't gay-acting or whatever that was called, but he didn't believe in stereotypes. People who were flamboyant and fabulous had their thing and those who weren't had their thing. Aidan thought he was completely average in all respects, and couldn't understand what of his appearance or behavior would make his boss think he could have any homophobic inclinations.

"That's it, Spark." His boss surprised him by slamming his hands on the desk, as usual. Aidan was sure he would never get used to that, so he still felt startled each time the man did it. "Keep it up. I like your attitude. Don't let people tell you otherwise," he pointed a finger at him.

Aidan could not understand what his boss was trying to tell him with that. However, he nodded thoughtfully, as if he understood completely.

"Dismissed," his boss yelled at him as if Aidan was deaf.

He felt a sudden need to salute mockingly, but decided against it, eventually. So he just said goodbye and turned on his heels. He felt somewhat better that the cat was out of the bag.

He wasn't comfortable with lying, but he could understand why it served a good purpose, at the moment. Aidan had an unpleasant feeling he could not get rid of that his boss would not appreciate his being gay, even without all the Heathcliff Stone thing. The man was talking highly of zero tolerance policies and whatever, but somewhat, he seemed to be the one bothered by such things.

Aidan remembered how Heathcliff had pointed out that no one else from the company had ever interacted with him. If he were to think about it, it was pretty strange and did say something about the so-called zero-tolerance policy at The Healthy Shakers. Heathcliff Stone brought in a lot of money with the assiduous advertising he was putting in, yet not one of the higher-ups, let alone the big kahuna, had gone out of their way to meet the man who proved to be such a great asset for the company.

He shook his head as he stepped out of his boss's office.

"Gunning for that office on the corner?" someone talked next to him, taking him by surprise.

Aidan could not say he was surprised to see Penguin Pants by his side. "Why the obsession?" he asked. "And I'm not gunning for anything, FYI."

"Seriously? It looks to me like you're going out of your way to convince the boss that you would do anything," his colleague sneered. "Anything to get ahead, of course."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Aidan asked airily.

"You know very well what," Penguin Pants scoffed. "You would even stoop so low as to let people believe you're ... that, just so that you could rake in some profits."

"That?" Aidan smiled coldly as he turned toward his colleague. "I don't think I understand what you're getting at."

The young man's watery eyes darted sideways. "I won't spell it for you. I can't understand how you're not bothered by it. To expose yourself like that, with Heathcliff Stone," he added, his lips stretching like a frog's, in evident disgust.

"Ah, that." Aidan pretended to be struck by sudden understanding. "It's called being gay. You can say it. It's not a dirty word," he whispered as he leaned toward the other, and making him take a sudden step back.

Penguin Pants frowned. Aidan sighed deeply. He had never thought he would be in the closet or forced there, as times were. But it looked like some people had plenty of problems with others, still, even if not so out in the open as it must have been back in the days.

"I wasn't talking about that. I don't have a problem with that," the young man hurried to say. "It's about your attitude. Can't you compete fairly? What should I do now?" he sneered, and his shifty eyes began making rounds again. "Throw myself at Heathcliff Stone, too?"

Aidan knew he should keep silent. But the words flew out of his mouth before he could control himself. "I don't think that would work. The man has standards."

Penguin Pants made a small surprised sound, and his jaw went slack, as his eyes grew wide. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'll let you figure that out on your own." Aidan patted his colleague's shoulder and walked away, feeling a tiny bit good about himself.

***

"Hey," Heathcliff welcomed him, the moment he came in.

Aidan even had a key now, so it truly was like coming home. Heathcliff had given him the key as a casual gesture, but he had been able to tell that the man watched him closely to gauge his reaction.

He walked over to Heathcliff and kissed him until they were both breathless.

"Hmm, not that I'm complaining," Heathcliff said while watching him with hooded eyes, "but what's this for? I might end up ruining dinner." He gestured toward the cutting board filled with various vegetables.

Aidan snickered. "You could never ruin dinner even if you were blindfolded and had an arm tied up. Or both."

"Are you dodging the question, Spark?" Heathcliff teased him, but his eyes were smiling.

"Not really," Aidan leaned toward his lover again and pretended to kiss him again, but pulled back just in time to dodge him, and snatched a slice of cucumber from Heathcliff's cutting board. "I'm happy to be home, that's all."

"And it's just eight thirty," Heathcliff commented. "Are you planning to spoil me?"

Aidan laughed, and this time, he came to embrace Heathcliff from behind. "Today, I lied to my boss that we're - quote - dating - unquote. Apparently, your new proclivities finally grabbed the attention of some trashy magazine, and he knows. I'm telling you; I had, like, the strangest conversation with my boss. For some reason, he thought I would be incapable of pretending to be your gay lover. He was one breath away from accusing me of internalized homophobia, and it's not the first time when he does that. I pulled it off, eventually. I can't believe I lied so nonchalantly. But I think you would have been proud of me. Not that I like being a liar." Aidan could feel Heathcliff tensing a little in his arms. "Are you okay?"

"Your boss might have some issues," Heathcliff replied. "Could you tell him that I'd like to meet him?"

"I could, but are you sure you want to? That man is a toad." Aidan shivered theatrically to make a point.

"A toad with internalized homophobia," Heathcliff said.

"Seriously? He lectured me on the office having a zero-tolerance policy towards the slightest homophobia manifestations. Although he did act kind of weird."

"Hmm." Heathcliff began cutting the ingredients for dinner, and Aidan let go.

"And I did sense a strange vibe coming off him," Aidan said.

"Trust your gut, Aidan. I think you did very well not to be out at work."

"Wow. You sound so serious."

"I am. How hungry are you?"

"Not that hungry," Aidan said playfully.

"Good. It's going to take a while."

Ouch. Something was wrong, and his good spirits from earlier were starting to evaporate. "I'll just go change and take a shower," he said quickly.

"Yeah, do that."

Aidan took a bit longer than needed, busy putting his mind in order. Why was Heathcliff so annoyed? If he were to meet his boss, he would be beyond annoyed. But Heathcliff wanted to meet the man, and that meant that Aidan had to make it happen.

In a way, he understood what was happening. Aidan had gotten the impression, too, that his boss had some issues and was projecting them on others. Yet, how could Heathcliff be sure of that, just based on some second-hand information? Maybe he knew something, and he didn't want to tell Aidan.

For some reason, he felt like a child who could not understand his parents getting upset over grownups stuff. Aidan hated that feeling. He was trying to be mature and everything, but it was not like experience could be accumulated overnight. There was no possible way for him to rush time, and he didn't want to do that anyway.

The water was slushing down his back, and he was so lost in thought that he didn't hear the door to the bathroom opening. So he was pretty much startled when strong arms caught him from behind and a muscular body he knew so well glued to his.

"I'm sorry I was a jerk," Heathcliff whispered into his ear. "I hate hypocrites, that's all. And it's not your fault."

"Thanks, I guess," Aidan breathed out. "For not being mad at me, I mean."

"How could I be mad at you? You're too nice," Heathcliff continued to talk into his ear while moving his arms down on Aidan's flanks. "So nice everywhere."

Aidan grunted as Heathcliff found quick purchase in his cock and began stroking it with expert moves. Being touched like that was so familiar now, but it still brought him to his knees.

"I'm not a kid," he tried to revolt, "please, don't treat me like one."

His breath was coming in short, raspy, and he could not control his body.

"I wouldn't dream of doing that. I want you so much right now. Can I?"

"You don't have to ask," Aidan murmured, bucking his hips into Heathcliff's crotch.

It felt so good to have Heathcliff slide his cock through his buttcheeks slowly. It was pure torture to be teased like that, but he didn't want to hurry, either.

"Let me get you ready a little," Heathcliff said and nuzzled his neck, making him shiver even under the calming waterfall of the shower.

Heathcliff was on his knees fast, grabbing his buttocks and licking his hole. "Don't worry; I'll use something better. I just want to do this a little."

"Please, do it." Aidan bucked his ass back shamelessly, crying out his pleasure as Heathcliff proceeded to rim him thoroughly.

He had no idea about nerve endings or the chemistry behind what he was experiencing at the moment, but he knew one thing. It wasn't only because of the technique, but also because of the man doing it, that he felt like that. There was no way he would give up on Heathcliff. He had no experience with anything, but he had to compensate with desire and enthusiasm, which he had plenty.

Heathcliff stood up, and Aidan hung his head low, breathing in and out, a bit overcome with what he felt. Smooth fingers pressed against his opening, lubricating the entrance slowly, with languorous moves. Heathcliff was occasionally hooking his fingers inside him, making Aidan arch his back and curse softly. That kind of stimulation still felt too sharp, too much, and he wanted something else more.

"Heath, please," he keened.

Heathcliff's low chuckle sent small shivers up his spine. It was scary in a way to be so honest with someone else and lay in front of him the effect he had. Aidan felt he was too young to worry so much, but he had never been in this kind of situation, had no basis of comparison, and he wanted to know, for sure, that it wasn't just him who felt that way.

He turned and looked Heathcliff in the eyes. The man appeared to be a little disconcerted by his sudden move. Without a word, Aidan closed the distance between them, grabbing Heathcliff hard and kissing him firmly on the lips. He reveled in the sensation of exploring his partner's mouth with his tongue and appreciated the non-combat attitude Heathcliff assumed for the moment.

For once, he was the initiator, the one who crossed the distance between them. Not that Heathcliff wasn't always appreciative of his tendencies to dominate and do what he wanted. But right now, Aidan knew that those moments were too rare to count as the necessary weight to strike a balance in their relationship.

Heathcliff moved only so that he could be the one with his back against the wall. Aidan knew he was being guided into admitting to the overwhelming strength of his desires, but he could not mind it. After all, Heathcliff had been nothing but a gentle teacher, in all things sex-related.

Aidan glued their bodies together, enjoying the friction between their hardening cocks. All this time, he did not - could not - let go of Heathcliff's mouth. Heathcliff continued to encourage him, by touching him lightly and using his tongue to caress his in turn.

He felt victorious like that. Heathcliff allowed him all these liberties, and Aidan had a strange sort of intuition telling him that his partner was not usually so generous with such things. He was making a meal out of kissing Heathcliff, and they were soon both panting with unbarred arousal.

Heathcliff could no longer stand it, as it seemed. He grabbed Aidan hard, stopping the kiss, and looking at him. "I want you."

It was a simple admission, and Aidan was not willing to let any of them wait any longer. He nodded quickly and turned, allowing Heathcliff to steady him and align his ass for swift penetration.

The sensation was, at first, almost too much, knocking the wind out of him, making everything stop. So Aidan took the reins once more, and he was the first to move, accommodating his lover's cock, enjoying the sensation of being stretched and hit right where he knew it was so good that he could forget about everything and everyone else in the whole world.