Be My Companion

Alexis

To say I was horrified would be an understatement.

I just had the most incredible orgasm of my entire life thanks to Julian's body melting into mine, and just as he was about to fill me up with his love...

The look on Frank's face will haunt me for the rest of my life.

I collapsed onto my stomach and ran my hands through my hair. What was going to happen? Would Frank be another name to sell me out to the media? Was this the end of mine and Julian's forbidden affair? Was this the end of my career - again?

I buried my face into Julian's pillow. I couldn't bear to look at anyone right now.

"Lex?" Julian's sweet voice came from the heavens above.

I shook my head.

"We'll fix this. Just... don't leave."

With a sigh, I turned my head around and saw Julian slipping into a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. As soon as he noticed me looking at him, his eyes almost wilted as he pleaded with me.

"I won't let anything happen to you. Even if I never get to hold you in my arms ever again, Lex, I won't let anything happen to you," he promised me. "Let's fix this."

He threw my underwear and my t-shirt at me and stood patiently to the side as I got dressed. I joined him by his side and thought about holding his hand, mostly so he could transfer his confidence to me by his touch, but decided against it. Even though Julian had spent the past few days being inside of me, I didn't know if we had reached that level in our situationship yet.

Julian pushed the door open and I followed him into the kitchen area where Frank was dishing out food as if he had not just caught his employer fucking his new sober companion moments ago.

"Hey Frank," Julian said calmly.

Frank glanced over at us warily and offered a forced smile.

"I thought I'd dish it out for you," he replied.

"Look, Frank. It's probably best if we talk about what happened." The firm way in which Julian spoke almost shocked me.

After that experience, I only wanted to crawl under my covers and never come out; yet here he was facing it head on without a flicker of fear. I guess it's why he was such an asset to his team.

Frank's forced smile faltered and he almost looked defeated. I stayed behind Julian, almost cowering behind his towering frame. I let out a gasp when I felt Julian's strong hand feel down my wrist and hold my hand, squeezing it to comfort me.

"Julian, I'm really sorry I walked in on... you and Alexis," he said. "I really enjoy my job and I do appreciate the kindness and generosity you've given me for the past three years."

"What are you talking about Frank?"

Frank sighed. "Please don't fire me, Julian."

"What? I'm not going to fire you, Frank! I wouldn't do that." Julian took a step forward, dragging me behind him. "I just want to talk about the possible implications of what you witnessed."

Frank's eyes darted between Julian and me, and he let out a sigh. Finally, a true smile crossed his face.

"I thought you were going to fire me," he said, sounding relieved. "Look Julian. You know I love you like a son; in fact, you're the son I've never had. I don't care who you choose to love, just as long as you're happy."

I almost shuddered at the sound of the L word. Julian and I definitely weren't throwing that word around.

"I really appreciate that, Frank. Lex and I are..." Julian paused, and I felt his thumb rub soothing circles on the back of my hand. "Working through it. But we'd appreciate it if you kept this discreet, for both of our sakes."

"Of course. Absolutely."

Julian let go of my hand and closed the distance between himself and Frank. He pulled his chef in for a hug, which surprised the older gentleman.

"I'm very fortunate to have you," Julian said to him.

Frank returned the firm hug and patted his employer on his large back.

"I appreciate that," he said.

Frank turned to me and waved me over. I approached him and he gave me a quick hug of his own.

"You're a lucky man," he whispered in my ear. "Take care of him."

I looked over at Julian who furrowed his brow, silently asking me what Frank was saying. I pressed my lips together and hugged Frank back.

"Now both of you need to sit down and eat, otherwise my food is going to get cold," Frank instructed us.

---

Julian

Frank's breakfast was sensational, made all the more better by the fact that I could now touch or kiss Alexis however I wanted in front of Frank without worrying about getting caught.

Alexis and I ate breakfast in a comfortable silence, and Frank took our empty dishes away from us with a happy smile on his face.

"What are you two lovebirds up to today?" Frank asked innocently.

I caught the look of shock wash over Alexis's face which made me laugh.

"I have a meeting with a couple of my sponsors today," I answered him. "Then we might go do something fun later."

Frank nodded his head with a smile. "I'll be sure to make a special dinner for you guys tonight."

I glanced over at Alexis who looked uncomfortable with the attention. As soon as he turned to me, I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Julian, I need to show you something."

Alexis stood up from his seat and began walking towards his bedroom. The oversized t-shirt he was wearing wasn't long enough to cover his ass, and his cheeks that were barely contained in his underwear bounced with each step he took. If he wanted to show me that beautiful ass of his again, I would be all for it.

I closed the door behind me and turned to see Alexis fold his arms and sigh.

I don't think he was going to show me that beautiful ass after all.

"Julian," he began. "This is becoming too much. I know I've said it a thousand times in the past week, but I don't think we should be working together anymore. Plus, this thing between us... I don't know what I’m doing; you don't know what you're doing. And now your chef knows about... whatever this is."

"I know, I know. And we will both take some time to figure things out, I promise, but don't let this deter you from the excellent job you've been doing as my sober companion thus far. I haven't had the urge to drink since you came into my life."

Alexis frowned at me. He didn't look convinced that we could make this work, so I did the one thing I thought would persuade him to stay with me.

I got down on my knees and shuffled towards him, looking up at him. I clasped my hands together and formed my lips into a pout.

"Don't leave," I begged him.

Alexis's eyes widened. "Julian, get up."

I shook my head. "Not until you promise me you won't leave. At least not now."

He pursed his lips at me and shifted his weight onto one foot, popping his hip in the process. It took an enormous ounce of willpower to not kiss up and down those bronzed legs of his.

"Okay fine, but I have conditions," he acquiesced.

I got up to my feet and nodded my head, eager to do anything he wanted to keep his reassuring presence around.

"Firstly, we keep a strictly professional relationship, which means no more kissing, touching, or funny business. At least until we figure out what's going on."

I sighed, but nodded my head in agreement. Maybe creating a healthy distance between us would let me sort through the fog floating around in my head.

“Second, any requests I have of you as your sober companion are open to discussion, but cannot be blindly ignored or argued. That disagreement we had about your date cannot happen again."

"Okay Lex."

"Finally..." Alexis looked up at me with a certain sadness in his brown eyes. "You can't call me 'baby' anymore."

I nodded. "How come?"

"Because I love it when you call me that," he whispered.

My gaze fell from his wilted eyes down to his luscious lips, and I wanted nothing more than to kiss them and turn that sexy pout into a smile.

Shit. Maybe keeping a healthy distance away from this human that sung a siren song specifically to me would be harder than I thought.

"Sure Lex."

With the sad expression still on his face, Alexis extended his hand for me. Considering I was making love to him only moments ago, it seemed odd that we had resorted to formal handshakes. I kept my face strong as I shook his hand, nodding my head at him.

"Do you need me to come with you to your meetings today?" Alexis asked me with a sniff.

I shook my head. "I'll be fine. These meetings don't usually go for long, and I doubt they're going to be offering me alcohol considering the circumstances."

Alexis nodded and turned to face away from me. Accepting that as my dismissal, I spun around and exited his bedroom, shutting the door behind me.

---

Alexis

After spending almost every waking hour with Julian by my side, it felt so strange to be without him. And given the new rules and boundaries we had set out in our companionship, I had walked around all day with my heart feeling as heavy as a grand piano.

It sucked. Not being able to kiss or embrace Julian the way I wanted to, or listen to my body as it called out for his touch, sucked. Even if it was necessary for my own growth, it sucked. So if I was going to wallow in my own self-pity when I was away from him, I was at least going to do it with people that I appreciated having in my life.

I walked into the cafe where I spotted Annie sitting in the corner. She stood up from her seat upon seeing me and waved me over excitedly.

"Alexis! I feel like I haven't seen you in forever!" She wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug.

"I know! It feels like a lifetime since I took on Julian's case."

I sat across from her and quickly began browsing the menu.

"I'm asking as your friend, and not as your employer. How is your case going?"

"It's good," I said, trying to focus on the professional positives I've had during my time with Julian, and not on how good he made me feel when he made love to me in his bed. "We've had a couple of setbacks but nothing too big to be concerned about."

"Yes, I've seen all about it in the news recently." I didn't have to look up to picture the unimpressed frown Annie had on her face right now. "It's so terrible what the media are trying to do to you, Alexis."

I shrugged my shoulders. "It is what it is. Julian's publicist has been all over it though."

My phone began ringing and an unknown number popped up. The red silencing button tempted me, but just in case it had something to do with my client, I excused myself from my table and answered it.

"Alexis, it's Vanessa."

Think of the devil, and the devil may appear.

"Hi Vanessa. How are you?"

"Good." Vanessa sounded like a woman on a mission. "I gave you a timeline, now I need an answer."

My brows furrowed as I tried to figure out what she was talking about, until I realised she was asking me about the Entertainment Z interview. So many things had happened with Julian over the past 24 hours that I had almost completely forgotten about this proposition, which seemed to put me in between a rock and a hard place.

I looked over at Annie, whom I knew would give me good advice on whether or not I should pursue this interview. But really, the only opinion I cared about belonged to someone who wasn't next to me, guiding me through making this decision with that silent comfort and protection that only he could offer.

"I think it would be good for you to tell your side of the story and clear any confusion," Vanessa added.

"Sure," I said without much thought. "I'll do it."

"Good. I'll get in contact with them and let you know the details." Vanessa paused, and her no-nonsense voice disappeared and was replaced with a more human sound. "I really am trying to look out for both you and Julian, you know."

"I know."

Vanessa bid me farewell and hung up, while the weight of my decision suddenly hit me in the face. My chest began rising with each breath as I realised what I had done. After escaping the dirty world behind the camera, I was now being thrust in front of it.

Oh no. 

 

With Julian's home gym all to myself, I laid out a yoga mate on the floor and got onto all fours. With some calming spa music playing, I pressed up onto my toes and pushed back on my palms, curving my body in a downward dog stretch. I inhaled through my nose, and let out the deep breath through my mouth.

Connecting my breath with my movement, I began progressing through some more yoga stretches that I had learned through the years, allowing my mind and body to relax with this grounding form of exercise. In through the nose, stretch, out through the mouth, relax.

Even though I was in the home of the man I wanted but couldn't have, I had finally managed to find a sense of calm and serenity; something I didn't think was possible.

I stood up onto my feet and slowly bent forward, holding onto the back of my legs in a standing forward fold pose.

"Lex!"

In between my legs, I saw Julian walk past the open door to the gym, step backwards and turn to see me bent over in a stretch. I watched as his eyes unmistakably glided down to my ass on full display for him and further down my legs. With a look of lust in his gaze, I momentarily forgot that we had made an agreement earlier today and almost expected him to come and take what he wanted.

"Yes?" I said, clearing my throat.

Julian blinked before shaking his head to regather his thoughts. I brought my body back upright with a deep exhale and turned to face my handsome client.

"Why did you agree to do that interview?" he asked me in an almost threatening tone.

Because I was without you and left unsupervised, is what I wanted to say.

"Vanessa convinced me that it would be a good idea to tell my side of the story," I replied.

Julian shook his head. "I don't think it is, Lex."

"Well, it's too late now."

His brows furrowed, and he looked like he was about to explode.

"Julian, I'm going to need you to take a deep breath and calm down." I don't know if it was because I was in the middle of a very calming yoga session, or I just didn't want another repeat of our previous blow up, but I was determined to bring this big man down to earth. "What's done is done, and I have the proper training to come out of this interview as unscathed as possible."

Julian looked frustrated and folded his arms against his chest. I tiptoed over to him and did the one thing I knew would calm him down, and placed my hand on his forearm. He glanced down at the physical contact I had made and let out a breath. My touch seemed to immediately put him under a spell as the muscles in his face relaxed.

"I know you're smart, Lex, I'm not discounting that," he said, his voice noticeably lower than before. "Just knowing about your past, I want to protect you."

God damn, there were those butterflies again that seemed to flap about every time I had a private moment with Julian.

I know our new agreement stated no more kissing, touching or funny business. But maybe an innocent hug among friends was fine. Or maybe not.

I stood there awkwardly with my hand on Julian's arm, not knowing what to do next or what to say. He had his head bowed and, even though he was taller than me by about six inches, he was still looking up at me through his thick, dark lashes.

"I'll be fine," I reiterated. "I promise. You can come with me to this silly little interview if you want."

"There's no way I'd let you go by yourself," he said, a hint of a cheeky grin washing over his face.

Seeing a dash of happiness in his expression again, I regrettably pulled my hand away from him and let it hang limply by my side.

"I'm going to get back to my yoga now," I said. "We can talk about this after if you want."

Julian simply nodded and took a step backwards as I returned to my yoga mat. After a couple of yoga stretches, I saw that he was still in the room and was leaning against the wall, watching me.

"Is there something I can do for you?" I asked him.

Julian grinned and shook his head. "I'm just enjoying the view."

I bit my tongue to try and hide the smile that was bursting to come out and failed.

"Clearly you appreciate me enjoying the view." He poked out his tongue.

"Julian," I said, my attempts to conceal my smile becoming futile. "Get out."

---

Julian

It seemed like the days flew by with this new agreement in place. Alexis would accompany me to events, important meetings, and any Sharks related matters, but he clearly meant it when he said that our relationship was going to be strictly professional. Those fleeting moments where a spark would ignite between us became few and far in between, and I began to wonder if the chemistry that I felt between us had started to become one-sided.

I knew my feelings for him hadn't dwindled; in fact, if anything, I thought they had become stronger. Every time Alexis innocently sat next to me, all I could sense was him; the smell of him; the taste of him; the touch of him. Each time he would laugh, or flick his hair out of his face, or would bite that bottom lip of his, all I could think about was making love to him and appreciating his body the way it deserved.

At the same time, I had not sifted through any of my unidentified feelings or emotions at all. One moment, I would come to the conclusion that we were better off strictly as platonic friends and client/companion so that both of our careers could thrive, but then that smile - that smile - would throw a spanner in the works, and suddenly I'd be contemplating a future of holding him in public, and bracing the shitstorm that we'd both face in the eyes of the public.

I wasn't ready to give up my career. But I wasn't ready to give up Alexis either.

Alexis sat next to me in the passenger seat of my car as I drove him to the location of his interview with Entertainment Z. He had his hands resting in his lap and his eyes were covered in the big black sunglasses he had on, but I could tell that he was nervous by the way he'd chew on the corner of his bottom lip, or the way he would twiddle his thumbs.

God, I just wanted to reach out and hold his hand and tell him that everything was going to be alright.

"Are you okay, Lex?" I asked him, breaking the silence.

"Yes, I'm fine." He didn't sound convincing at all, but I dropped the subject.

We drove the rest of the way in a nice silence, bar the pop playlist he had put on. As I turned into the parking lot for The Corcoran Hotel, Alexis's lip chewing had returned and his thumbs were spinning even faster than usual.

Fuck. To hell with it.

I reached over and placed my hand over his which had an immediate effect on him. I half expected him to push me off, but instead he looked over at me and attempted a smile.

"You'll be okay," I said in my most calm voice. "I'll be here with you every step of the way, alright? You don't have to answer anything you don't want to."

Alexis nodded his head and hooked his thumb around mine. I wanted to lean over and press my lips against that weak smile of his and savour the taste of him once more. Instead, I let go of his hands and pushed my door open once I found a parking spot.

With my hands in my pockets - so I could resist the urge to reach out and hold Alexis's hand - I followed him into the building where a camera crew were already waiting for him in the lobby. A woman in a red skirt suit looked over her shoulder at us and her eyes lit up.

"Just in time," she said. "I'm happy to see you accepted our interview request, Mr. Mendes. I'm Sabrina Purman and I'll be conducting your interview today. Let's get you mic'd up."

"You're going to need two mics," I said, stepping in front of Alexis in a protective stance. "I'm sitting with him for this interview."

Sabrina looked up at me, and then back to Alexis. "Sorry Julian. This interview was for Alexis to offer his own rebuttal for the allegations against him. We can always interview you later."

I shook my head. "He's my sober companion. He's no person of interest outside of that. If you want to interview him, then you have to interview me as well."

I watched as Sabrina's eyes darted between us and, when she finally realised that she wasn't going to win this battle, agreed to our conditions.

"Set up a second mic for Julian Ambrose as well," she told her crew. 

 

I took my seat next to Alexis and waited for Sabrina and her crew to finish the last minute preparations for this interview. Vanessa had arrived and stood off to the side, watching us with the steely gaze that only she could muster.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Alexis's nervous thumbs twiddling, but under the light and the watchful eye of about six or seven crew members, I knew the worst thing I could do was reach out and hold him. Even if it's what I really wanted to do.

"Anything you want to ask me before we begin?" Sabrina questioned us.

I shook my head and, after a brief moment of hesitation, Alexis shook his head as well.

"Great."

The producer counted us in, and the neutral expression on Sabrina's face was so quickly replaced with a bright, professional smile that I almost blinked and missed it.

"Good evening California! I'm Sabrina Purman, and tonight I am joined by two men who have seen their fair share of attention in the media lately. Sitting with me today is OC Sharks defensive end Julian Ambrose, and his new sober companion Alexis Mendes. Welcome, gentlemen."

"Hello" Alexis and I both said in unison.

"So Alexis," Sabrina said, turning her full attention to him. "You were hired to be Julian's sober companion after a string of bad behaviour landed him in some hot water." Even though she was talking about me, the way she didn't pay any mind to me made it seem like I wasn't even in the room. "Tell me about that."

Alexis sat upright and flicked his hair behind his ear. "Julian and his team reached out to my employer in search of a sober companion to help get Julian's life and career back on track, and my employer recommended me for the job. My role is to assist in the sobriety of my client by offering them support in any way I can, and I can confidently say that during the time that I've worked with Julian, he's made leaps and bounds in his recovery."

"That's great to hear." Sabrina lowered her brow at Alexis. "Someone who works such an admirable role would often fly under the radar, but you, Alexis Mendes, have popped up in the news after it was found out that there were allegations against you back in your home country."

"All of which are very untrue," I interjected.

Alexis shot me a look, and I sunk back into my seat. Sabrina raised her eyebrow at me, and turned back to my sober companion.

"Would you care to tell the country about your side of the story?" she asked him.

"Sure. I would like to start by saying that all of those allegations are deeply untrue, like my client stated. I was the victim of multiple counts of sexual harassment at the hands of my former employer, who then leveraged his power against me and flipped the story around to make it seem like he was the victim."

Sabrina nodded her head. "Of course, but then your ex-fiance also provided commentary and backed the allegations made against you."

Alexis didn't flinch or seem the slightest bit phased by her questioning. "Money talks, Sabrina. Money covered my former employer's actions; money turned his own unwanted advances against me; money barred me from the industry back home in Australia; and money has made my ex-fiance spew lies about someone he once cared for."

I could tell by the look in Sabrina's face that she was expecting Alexis to bow down and roll over for her. She didn't know who she was messing with. If Alexis wouldn't back down to me, he wouldn't back down to anyone.

"There were also additional allegations made by your ex-fiance that you were unfaithful to him during your relationship together and also that you had your own battles with alcohol, which calls your new career into question. What is your response to that?"

Once again, Sabrina's eye glinted with a sadistic sense of pride at the idea of taking Alexis down. But through my peripherals, I could see that Alexis's bravery didn't waiver in the slightest.

"All false. Charlie is spinning his own web of lies to try and tarnish my name, and I can't imagine why he is doing this. I was never unfaithful to Charlie during our relationship, and I will swear on that until the day I die. As far as these alleged battles of alcohol are concerned, I used to enjoy a glass of wine every now and then, but I haven't had a sip of alcohol in over five years. To try and discredit not only my personal growth, but also my career, is ridiculous."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Vanessa watching us with her arms folded across her chest, and she looked relieved that Alexis was walking all over Sabrina in this interview.

I smirked. Alexis had nothing to be worried about.

---

Alexis

Even with all the media training in the world, nothing was stronger than speaking your own truth, regardless if people chose to listen to it or not. Sabrina was trying to challenge me at every opportunity, and she clearly had a plan coming into this interview that she was going to take me down, but my truth spoke louder than any false allegation made by her, Charlie, or anyone else for that matter. And judging by the look on her face, she was pissed that she was losing.

Sabrina wrinkled her nose in defeat, and turned her attention towards Julian. I almost let out a sigh of relief seeing that she had finally given up her onslaught of me.

"I would love to get your opinion on this, Julian. What do you have to say about all these allegations?"

“They're garbage, obviously. But if I'm being completely honest, I don't think that's the story here. The story here is that Alexis is my sober companion, and that's all he is. He didn't choose to be in the spotlight, and he didn't choose this career path with the intent of being a celebrity. The story here is that the media are unfairly targeting him and trying to dig up dirt on him because he's associated with me." Sabrina opened her mouth to respond but Julian instantly cut her off. "Whether or not that is an indirect attempt at me or not is beside the point. He's been hired to do one job, and he is doing that job very well. That is all you need to know about him."

Julian's natural instinct kicked in and he held his arm in front of me in a defensive stance.

"Not once have you reached out to my personal chef, or my housekeeper, or anyone else on my team. So what makes my sober companion different?"

Julian was on fire, and not a single word that Sabrina Purman could speak would put that fire out.

"Ask him about his daily role as my live-in sober companion. Ask him about how he thinks I'm progressing. But don't ask him about his personal life when you have no right to."

I glanced over at Julian and the stern look on his face made me feel that familiar warmth inside of me. That feeling of being totally encapsulated in his protection; that undeniable feeling of being completely safe and secure with him. That feeling I cherished so much whenever I was around Julian Ambrose.

"Do you have anything else you want to ask him or myself?" Julian finished.

Sabrina seemed shocked by the sudden turn in conversation, and after she was unable to form any words, Julian stood up from his seat.

"In that case, this interview is done. Thank you for your time Sabrina."

Julian began removing his mic and motioned for me to follow suit. The crew around us seemed confused as to what to do, their heads bobbing around looking for any kind of direction. Not knowing else what to do, I thanked Sabrina for her time and complied with Julian's request, removing the mic from my person as quickly as possible.

"There you have it," Sabrina said, her voice shaky. "I'm Sabrina Purman with Entertainment Z."

As soon as the cameraman had called cut, Julian walked off the set with his head held high. I trailed closely behind him and joined him and Vanessa in a hushed conversation away from the camera crew.

"You know people will try to spin that you lost your temper and stormed off the set, right?" Vanessa said, looking at Julian.

"I don't care. I didn't want Lex to do this interview in the first place. This whole thing was an ambush."

Vanessa pursed her lips. "I don't like how you did it, Jules, but I agree with the sentiment." She turned her attention to me and her lips curled back into a smile. "How are you feeling? I thought you did a great job."

"I feel fine," I said.

"You shouldn't have had to go through that in the first place, Lex." Even though his voice wasn't raised, I could tell that Julian was still angry.

"Hey," I said, intentionally keeping my voice soft. "I'm fine. Look at me. I'm fine."

Subconsciously, I reached out and touched his bare forearm in an attempt to simmer him down. Before I even realised what I had done, Vanessa had looked at the contact I had initiated and her eyes slowly drew back up to my face.

"Sabrina doesn't look happy that you hijacked her interview, Jules," she said, her penetrating gaze never leaving me. "I will deal with that later. In the meantime, Alexis, I need a private word with you."

Julian understood his cue to leave and excused himself to the bathroom. Vanessa watched him walk away and as soon as he was out of earshot, she turned to me, her expression indecipherable.

"You know how I told you before that you need to be completely open and honest with me so I can protect my client's career to the best of my ability?" Vanessa asked me.

I nodded.

"Good. So you'll understand that I expect complete honesty when I ask you this." Vanessa paused, and it seemed like my heartbeat had increased tenfold since the beginning of this conversation. "How long have you had feelings for Julian?"