Be My Companion

Julian

The following morning, I woke up with a stretch, my mind still trying to decipher the events of last night.

Finally, it felt like I had cracked Alexis, and we had started to form what I thought was an actual friendship. We joked, we laughed, and then we fell onto the couch together.

Okay. I tackled him onto the couch and we play fought for a bit.

And then suddenly, his walls were back up, the game of Questions and Alexis ended, and we went back to searching the house for the non-existent alcohol in silence.

I believed myself to be good at reading people. When my eyes were on the quarterback, it was my job to read where he was going so I could get the sack before he could pass the ball. And it wasn’t as easy as reading his body language; a flick of the index finger or a simple eye roll told me where he was thinking of going, his optional plan B, and even his plan C.

With all my expertise as one of the top defensive ends in the league, it pained me to admit that I couldn’t read Alexis at all. He was an ancient text in an ancient language.

I felt confused, and I felt frustrated. And when I felt frustrated, there was one thing I liked to do to relieve that frustration.

With a few swipes of my thumb on my phone, I had pulled up a porn video of two girls and a guy. I slowly started rubbing my body, tweaking my nipples, massaging my pecs, and slid my free hand down until I found my hardening bulge. My eyes focused on the Latina’s big ass, bent over as she sucked the guy’s cock, and soon I let my own cock out to stroke it.

I spat in my palm and began working my cock, pleasuring myself as I focused on the one girl’s big, round ass. As my eyes wandered along the curves of her butt, my subconscious thoughts of Alexis’s plump booty sprung into mind.

Oh fuck. My cock had gotten rock hard in my hand as I pictured him standing in that pair of red panties he wore the other night, the fabric sliding up his ass crack as he slowly bent over; his big, bronzed mounds of ass would jiggle as he shifted his weight between legs.

I shook my head and tried to focus on the women on the video right in front of me. The Latina’s ass would slowly turn into Alexis’s ass, and my hardened cock couldn’t take it any longer. I let out a muffled cry as I shot out one of the biggest loads of my life onto my chest and abs. I was almost panting as my cock continued to leak out drop after drop of cum until it had finished.

While I had enjoyed my release, I still felt as frustrated as ever. Did I really just masturbate over a man’s body?

I wiped myself down with a couple of tissues and quickly threw them into the bin before putting a pair of sweatpants on and leaving my bedroom. Frank was in the kitchen cooking breakfast, and as my eyes scanned across the room, I found Alexis sitting on the sofa reading a book.

He was wearing a lavender coloured sweatshirt that slid down one of his shoulders, and the longline design of it wrapped around his body like a nightie. He had one of his long legs stretched out, and the other crossed over it, bent at the knee.

“Morning Frank,” I greeted my chef with a warm smile. “Smells good.”

“I think you’ll really like this one, Jules,” he said with a grin.

On paper, Frank was an employee; but really, Frank felt like a family member. On top of cooking for me, he was also always there for me to seek advice when my father wasn’t available and he would never sugar coat it, which was what I really appreciated about him.

“You’ve never disappointed me thus far.” I turned my attention to Alexis who looked up at me and tried to keep my tone cool. “Morning, Alexis.”

“Good morning Julian,” he greeted me.

“What have you got planned for today?” I asked him casually.

He turned his attention back to his book. “That depends on what you have planned for today.”

I almost winced. I was promised that I wasn’t going to have a shadow, and so far, it felt like Alexis went everywhere I went.

“I had no real plans today,” I shrugged my shoulders. “I guess I could go to the beach.”

Alexis bit his lip, slid his bookmark into position, and closed his book. “What hobbies do you have, Julian?”

My eyes narrowed at him. “Hobbies?”

“Yes, hobbies, like bird watching, or using a metal detector to find coins.”

I pressed my lips together. “I mean, I like working out…”

“That’s a start,” Alexis pushed himself off the couch and he slowly sauntered towards me. “Anything else?”

This man whom I had only known for a few days had managed to make me question everything about my life so far more than anyone else in my life.

“Not really…”

“Hobbies can be a healthy outlet for you to express your creativity and maybe even find comfort in.” Alexis gave me a knowing look, and I knew exactly what he was trying to tell me.

“If you think it’s a good idea, Lex.”

---

 Alexis

The way Julian shifted between calling me Alexis and keeping me at arm’s length, just to shift to Lex when he needed me as a friend was kind of endearing. Just the way he said Lex was just so…

I shook my head. I didn’t need to imagine Julian like that again, not after last night’s debacle.

I was almost breaking my one cardinal rule of blurring the line between client and companion. Sure, I guess I was attracted to him. Any human would be. But I wasn’t going to let his hunky looks or his dorkish charm break that down.

I was a professional. I was great at my work. And I was going to get Julian to where he needed to be.

“Let’s try something new today, then,” I decided.

“I think that’s a great idea,” Frank added from the kitchen.

Julian turned to his chef and flashed him a thumbs up before turning his attention back to me.

“Any suggestions?” he asked me.

I shrugged my shoulders. “This is your time we’re using. You should pick it.”

Julian ran his hand through his hair, which made his bare pec stretch up. I trained my eyes to stay on his face, and not trail down the ridiculous muscularity of his body.

“I can’t think of anything.”

“Breakfast is ready,” Frank announced.

“Okay,” I declared. “Leave this with me and I’ll have an idea after breakfast.”

 

It felt a bit cruel to keep this a secret from Julian, especially since this was his time we were using, but I knew he wouldn’t jump at the idea if I told him. So I sat in his passenger seat, directing him through traffic, while he drove completely oblivious to where we were going and what we were doing.

Something about sitting next to Julian in his flashy car gave me a sense of familiarity that I couldn’t quite explain. I looked over at him, and the way that he sat back against his seat with one hand on his knee and one on the steering wheel just looked so cool and smooth.

I told him to dress for exercise, and so he put on a Sharks training compression long sleeve top that really accentuated every single defined muscle in his upper body and a pair of black running shorts that clung to his thick thighs. I pressed my lips together to suppress my laughter. He was going to look so out of place where we were going.

“Can you give me a hint?” he asked, a half-smile sitting on his face.

“No. Just drive.”

“Jesus. So bossy.” Julian smirked but gave up the argument.

We pulled into a carpark and I led him around the corner of the building to our destination.

“Ta da!” I held my arms up, gesturing towards a salsa dance studio.

Julian looked up at the studio, and then back at me. His eyes shifted between the two once again, and he simply shook his head.

“No, no, no way.”

“Yes way! You don’t have to enjoy it or even come back after today. We’re just going to throw things at the wall and see what sticks.”

Julian frowned at me.

“I’ve seen how you move out on the football field. You would be surprised to see how easily that footwork translates onto the dancefloor.”

“And how would you know?”

“I’ve been dancing since I was 8,” I replied.

Before he could question me more about my past, I got behind him and started pushing him with my palms towards the dance studio. I felt like I was trying to move a mac truck, but finally Julian relented and he willingly walked into the dance studio.

“If you hate this, just remember that I gave you the option to pick something first,” I reminded him.

We walked into the studio together and approached the reception table, where a young woman looked up at Julian and a look of shock crossed her face. She didn’t even notice me standing next to him, so I leaned against the reception counter and smiled at her.

“We booked into a class under Julian Ambrose.”

The receptionist looked at me and almost looked confused as to why I was standing there. She cleared her throat and turned her attention back to her computer screen, clicking a few times with purpose.

Julian shuffled around nervously next to me. I felt my first natural instinct was to reach out, stroke his arm, and tell him only with a look that he was going to be fine, but in my efforts to leave the line unblurred, I kept my arms by my side.

“You’ll be in Maria’s class today,” the receptionist said, looking up directly past me at Julian. “Also if I can just quickly say, I am a big fan of yours Julian. Can I get a picture with you?”

Julian nodded his head and quickly posed for a photo with the eager receptionist before she led us to one of the dance halls in the building. As soon as she was out of earshot, Julian leaned towards me with a smirk.

“You’re in the presence of a star, Lex,” he said.

I rolled my eyes. “To some people, maybe.”

Julian clutched his stomach as if I had just stabbed him. “You know how to really hurt a guy, don’t you?”

I lightly whacked his arm to get himself together as a short woman wearing a black t-shirt, skirt and heels walked towards us with a smile.

“Julian Ambrose! When I saw your name on my list for today, I was sure I was being pranked.” Unlike the receptionist, however, she paid the same amount of attention to me. “And you must be Alexis Mendes. Very nice to have you both join us for our class today. I’m Maria and I’ll be taking your class today. Come on in. We’re just about to start.”

Julian and I joined the rest of our classmates who followed the receptionist’s lead and stared at Julian with starry eyes. I almost snorted out loud watching them. Surely I wasn’t the only one in this country that didn’t care about gridiron or the people that played it.

“Do either of you have dance experience?”

I raised my hand. “I’ve done jazz and hip hop since I was a child, and have taken a couple of ballroom classes for fun.”

Maria nodded her head and turned her attention to Julian, who simply shook his head.

“Great. We might do things a little differently to the classes you’ve done, Alexis. We don’t pair people based on their gender; we simply match a ‘leader’ and a ‘follower’, so if you can discuss amongst yourselves which role you would prefer, we can get started.”

My eyes widened and my lips parted as I realised I was being paired with Julian. Looking around the room where people were already with their couples, I should’ve realised it earlier. My plan to pair him off with an attractive woman just so I could stand back and watch had backfired big time.

---

Julian

Alexis almost looked uncomfortable as he slowly stepped closer towards me, his eyes never leaving the floor.

“Just so we’re clear, I’m leading and you’re following,” I whispered in his ear.

He broke out of his trance on the floor and looked up at me, his eyes narrowing into thin slits.

“Don’t you think I should lead because I have the experience?” he asked.

I grinned and shook my head. “You don’t trust me?”

He pursed those full, round lips of his, and finally relented.

Being partnered with another man wasn’t what I had in mind for my first salsa dancing lesson, but I wasn’t one of those guys who thought any interaction with someone of the same sex was gay. Estelle trained that ‘toxic masculinity’ out of me very quickly. Plus, if I was going to be paired with another man, a part of me enjoyed that it was Alexis.

“Okay class. Everyone get into position. And remember, the leader places their hand on their partner’s waist, and the follower will place their hand on their partner’s shoulder.” Something told me that the last basic instruction was included solely for me.

Alexis let out a sigh before gingerly placing his hand on my shoulder. He held his free hand up in the air, his palm facing towards me.

“Okay, so just like…” I placed my hand firmly on the dip of his waist and clasped my other hand over his.

“The most important thing about salsa is listening to the beat and feeling the music,” Maria instructed. “What I want for you and your partner to do is to step together on the spot to the music and really get a feel of that salsa rhythm.”

A piece of music came on and after shaking off the initial nerves, Alexis and I began to step to the beat. Once we started feeling comfortable, Maria took us through the steps of a basic salsa, and I found myself picking it up a lot better than I thought I was going to.

“You know,” Alexis said in between steps, “you’re pretty good at this. For a big, beefy gridiron player.”

I smirked and suddenly dipped him, even though the dance didn’t require a dip. My hand was on the small of his back as he yelped in surprise. When I pulled his body back up, his warm blonde whipped around.

“One day I’m going to have you calling it football like the rest of us,” I said.

“Is that so?” He threw his head back and laughed.

His laugh made me feel warm inside. It wasn’t a performative laugh, like I’ve heard him do before. It was a deep, unadulterated laugh that emanated from his soul, which made his chocolate brown eyes light up like stars in the night sky.

“Now,” Maria announced, a bit louder than usual, “let’s put it all together and let’s dance the salsa!”

The other couples in the class began moving, their bodies twisting and gyrating to the beat of the music.

Alexis looked up into my eyes and he smiled. “I’m following your lead, leader.”

I cleared my throat and placed my hand on his waist, capturing his other hand inside my grip. I counted myself in, and we began moving around the room like everyone else. Alexis kept up with me, matching my pace step-by-step, and we found ourselves moving in a tandem rhythm.

Once the class was over, everyone applauded our instructor and broke off to gather their things. A few of our classmates approached me, kindly asking for photos.

“So,” Alexis said after taking a swig of water from his bottle, “what did you think?”

“Truthfully, I enjoyed it,” I admitted as I rolled up my sleeves. “I don’t know if this is what I’m going to make my weekly hobby, but if you ever wanted to come back here, I’ll come with you.”

Alexis beamed at me and placed his hand on my bare forearm. His touch set my skin on fire, and I looked down to where our bodies connected with a sense of fear. And a little excitement.

“I have to say I’m pleasantly surprised that you didn’t have any issue being paired up with me,” he said. “You could definitely say I was judging a book by its cover, but I imagined a big hotshot football player would jump ship at the idea of having a same sex dance partner.”

My eyes widened in shock, and as soon as Alexis noticed my expression, I saw a look of horror spread across his face.

“I’m shocked. Did you just say football?” I teased.

Alexis laughed and playfully whacked me on my shoulder.

“My sister taught me all about toxic masculinity. She would’ve been disappointed if I reacted any differently. Besides, I thought we made pretty good dance partners.”

A certain twinkle sparkled in his eye and he nodded his head, accepting my answer as gospel.

“You’re a lot deeper than you think you are, you know,” he said finally.

---

Alexis

I booted my laptop up and sat at the desk that Julian provided me in my bedroom. I pulled up my notes on the case and began to think of what I could write. Each day, I had to write down my observations on my client, and if I saw any changes in their behaviour or demeanour, whether they were good or bad.

My notes were always professional and tidy. Black and white, no room for error or misinterpretation.

As I thought about my day with Julian, my mind drifted to the confident way he held his posture as he led me around the dancefloor with ease; or the smirk on his face when he knew he was about to do something cheeky just to get under my skin; or the way he spoke with a certain reverence when talking about his family.

The cursor on my notes document blinked at me, prompting me to type anything, but my mind could not come up with any professional and tidy thought whatsoever.

I closed my laptop lid and ventured out into the apartment where Julian was sitting on the couch, animatedly talking with his phone pointed at him. He was dressed in a fine tailored white shirt with a thin black tie and a pair of black cuffed pants. He looked over at me and his eyes lit up.

“I’ll introduce you to Lex,” he said.

He waved me over with his free hand and I tiptoed across the floor to join him. I bent over and looked into his phone screen where an older man whose familiar handsome face suggested he was Julian’s father greeted me.

“Lex, this is my dad. Dad, this is Lex.”

“Hello Mr. Ambrose, it’s very nice to meet you,” I said with a friendly wave.

“Nice to see you too, Lex. I trust you’re taking good care of my dim-witted son.”

Julian frowned at his father’s comment, which only made him laugh.

“Doing my best, but he’s already on a path to bigger and better things, I can assure you that.”

“We know how good of a man our son is. We just need him to see that.”

Julian looked almost sheepish as his father made that statement. I placed my hand on his shoulder and nodded my head.

“We’re on our way,” I said finally.

“I’ll let you two get back to it,” his father said. “Goodnight son. Goodnight Lex.”

We bid our farewell to Julian’s father before he hung up the video call.

“What are you so dressed up for?” I asked him, poking at his shoulder playfully.

“I have a date tonight,” he said casually.

I nodded my head. “Okay. Where are we going?”

Julian frowned and stood up from the sofa, his back towards me. “I’m going out to Divo’s for dinner. I’m not too sure what you’re doing tonight though.”

“Julian.” I crossed my arms against my chest, shaking my head.

It looked like he was going to ignore me, but he finally turned around and faced me, his expression looking as impatient as I felt.

“You know I have to go with you,” I said.

“Just leave me alone for this one date!” he exclaimed. “You follow me everywhere I go, but let me just have this one thing.”

I raised my eyebrows at him, challenging him to a battle there was no way he could win. “Let you go on a run around the block by yourself? Sure. Let you go to a restaurant where alcohol is happily served and I know you have deep pockets? I don’t think so.”

“I went dancing for you today! What more do you want from me?”

“Honest communication, maybe?” I stepped closer to him, but he didn’t back down. “If you had told me about this date earlier, we could’ve worked something out and we wouldn’t be having this heated discussion right now. Either you bring me along with you, or you cancel it.”

Julian scoffed at me and shook his head. “Who do you think you are? My mother?”

“I am your sober companion that is doing everything I can to repair the career that you’ve apparently worked so hard for but seemingly don’t care if you destroy.” My words came out with a lot more venom that I had intended. “I am doing what I am paid to do, and that is to support you in your journey to sobriety, just like I told your father. Maybe in a few weeks, you going out on a date by yourself would pass, but that shit is not sliding with me right now.”

Julian’s jaw tensed with his anger. He had almost six inches on me and at least 70lbs on me, but I was not intimidated by this man.

“Fuck!” he shouted.

He began unbuttoning his shirt and he angrily ripped it open, popping a few buttons out of place in his efforts. He tossed it onto the floor and looked over at me, his eyes burning. The muscles in his bare torso seemed to be flexing.

“I’ll stay locked up in this apartment forever then. Does that make you happy?”

Even though my entire body felt like it was shaking, I pointed my index finger at him to show him that I was not backing down. “Grow up, Julian! And don’t you dare speak to me like that ever again. Do you understand me?”

His cocky, brave façade disappeared, and before I could hear him form any semblance of a reply, I turned on my toes and marched straight back to my bedroom.

---

Julian

I knew something like this would happen. I expected something like this would happen.

A small part of me hoped for some compassion and a little understanding. I’m a man in the prime of his life, and I need to go out and meet women and hopefully bring them back home to bag. A small part of me figured Alexis would understand this need for intimacy, and he would let it slide.

But deep down I knew that this was going to happen. And I let it happen.

And now I was standing in my living room, shirtless, panting for air after my heated argument with my new housemate whom I had previously jacked off to, looking like an absolute fool.

I let out a cry of frustration. I was angry that I’d have to bail on my date, sure, but I was pissed off with myself that I had upset Alexis that much. He was right. He was simply doing his job to the best of his ability, and I had to understand where his intentions came from, whether I agreed with them or not.

I kicked my shoes off and quietly walked across the floor towards Alexis’s bedroom.

I couldn’t lose him now. We had a rough start as it was, and even if I disagreed with some of the requirements of his job title, he was probably the best sober companion I could ever find. And if he quit, I don’t think I’d be able to connect with another sober companion as well as I connected with him. And I was definitely not going to fucking rehab.

I lightly rapped my knuckles on his door and waited in silence. When I didn’t immediately get a response, I knocked again and called out his name, trying to make my voice sound as soft as possible so he knew I came in peace.

The door slowly swung open and he appeared on the other side, looking exhausted from the explosive conversation we just had.

“I’m sorry, Lex,” I apologised.

He simply nodded his head at me.

“I’m really sorry,” I repeated myself. “I was just thinking of myself and what I wanted, and I didn’t take into consideration your role in my life or your feelings for that matter. I fucked up. Can we call a truce for now? Please?”

I held out a hand for him, and he looked down at the gesture with an ounce of trepidation. His eyes trailed up my bare arm and then his gaze met mine.

“You can’t do that to me ever again, okay?” his voice sounded almost fractured.

“I promise.”

“For this companionship to work, we need to work as a team, okay? No more lies or secrets.”

“I understand.”

The muscles in Alexis’s face relaxed, and he swatted my arm away to wrap his arms around me in a hug. I rested my chin on top of his head and returned the hug, inhaling the sweet scent of him; a mix of his shampoo, and his natural intoxicating smell.

The feel of his body pressed up against mine sent a tingling sensation down my spine that I couldn’t describe, or explain.

“I’m sorry I raised my voice at you,” I heard him say. “We both need to work on our communication skills.”

“We can do it as a team,” I said finally.

My phone started to vibrate in my pocket, and I released my hold around Alexis’s body to answer it.

“Go for bro,” I answered.

“Where are you?” Vanessa said sharply.

“At home.”

“Good. I’ll be up there in a second.”

Vanessa quickly hung up the phone call, while Alexis looked up at me with a half-smirk on his face.

“I can’t believe you answer your phone like that,” he said.

I hit Alexis with a double bicep flex and laughed. “Go for bro, Lex.”

The doorbell rang and I jogged over to open it. Vanessa stood on the other side of the threshold with her hands on her hips, and it amazed me how she could look up at me with her five-foot frame but still command me with a look.

“What’s up, Ness?”

“I’m not here to see you,” she said.

She push past me and approached Alexis, who seemed surprised by my publicist’s intentions. I followed closely behind Vanessa, matching her two steps with my one.

“I knew I should’ve done a background check,” she began.

“Is something wrong?” Alexis asked.

Vanessa tapped her thumb on her phone screen and held it out in Alexis’s face. “Care to explain this?”

Alexis looked at her phone screen, and the colour from his face drained.

“Ness, what’s going on?” I said.

Vanessa pulled her phone away from Alexis and handed it to me. I took the device off her and looked at the news headline staring up at me.

From Disgraced Journalist to Sober Companion: the Truth About Julian Ambrose’s New Friend Alexis Mendes.