Be My Companion

Alexis

I wasn't sure how I managed to sleep last night, even if it was just for a measly three hours. My mind was racing with thoughts of Julian's lips on mine, his tongue sliding into my mouth so seamlessly, his big hands holding onto my face like it was a delicate piece of art.

Did that really happen?

Letting out a sigh, I sat up in my bed, finally having given up on trying to fall back asleep, and stomped over to my desk. I booted my laptop up and opened my notes file on Julian Ambrose.

I stared at the white document in front of me and blinked. How was I meant to write yesterday's events down? 'My client took me on possibly one of the most romantic nights of my life and we ended up kissing because I'm extremely attracted to him?'

My career could be in ruins because of this. I'd already lost a career in my life, and I wasn't going to let it happen again.

Opting to leave out the drama of yesterday, I took down some very basic notes and hit Ctrl+S. I glanced down to check the time. 6:35am. A socially acceptable time to be awake.

I let out a yawn and dared to exit the safety of my bedroom. Frank hadn't arrived to start breakfast yet so I helped myself to a glass of orange juice and sat on the lounge, tucking my legs under me.

"Oh. Good morning Lex."

I didn't know how I expected to avoid the man I lived with and worked for.

I looked over my shoulder and saw Julian walk into the kitchen with an empty water bottle in hand. He was dressed in a pair of charcoal slim-fitting sweatpants and a black sleeveless hoodie; an outfit that proudly displayed all of his well-defined muscles.

"Good morning Julian."

He filled his bottle at the water dispenser in his giant fridge with his back towards me. I tried to turn my attention to my phone in my hand, but my eyes kept darting over to see what he was doing.

"I was going to go for a run around the block," he said nonchalantly. "Do you want to join?"

I wasn't sure if he was asking me as his sober companion, or as the man that he had kissed last night in a confusing moment of passion. Knowing that he had a fully functional gym inside the apartment with a treadmill suggested he was hoping for the latter.

"It's fine. You can go by yourself," the sober companion in me replied.

Julian simply nodded his head and jogged off to the front door. I held my breath until I heard the front door close, and when I was sure I was alone, I exhaled and collapsed onto the cushioning of the sofa.

I didn't know how I was going to get through my day.

---

Julian

I didn't know how I was going to get through my day.

As I stuck my headphones into my ears and made my way out of the building, I caught myself stopping just in front of the glass doors as I thought about Alexis, and the cryptic conversation I had with my sister last night.

"You never call me about someone," she said suspiciously. "She must be special if you're coming to me for advice."

Yes. 'She'.

"I don't know what I feel, Stel. My feelings are all over the place."

"Don't lead this poor girl down a rabbit hole if you can't commit to anything in the end," Estelle had said. "You need to take some time to figure out your feelings, Jules. But don't take too long, because no one will wait around forever, even if it is you."

Estelle was right, as she always was. I wasn't sure what was going on with this new identity crisis I was facing, and to try and figure out what was going on between Alexis and I when I didn't even know what was going on with me would be irresponsible.

Simply thinking about any version of 'Alexis and I' made me shiver. What would the Sharks think if they found out one of their top players was... well, whatever I was? What about my sponsors? Would my career go up in flames if people found out? Athletes that competed in the top sporting organisations like the NFL or NBA always came out after their retirement, and maybe there was a reason for that.

I started sprinting in an effort to distract myself from these whirring thoughts. I was getting way too ahead of myself. Alexis and I weren't a couple, and we weren't a thing. We simply shared a kiss in the heat of the moment.

With my arms swinging by my side, I sped around the corner and kept sprinting.

My blood was pumping. I had never run this fast in my life. The cold morning air whipped my face as I sprinted. My chest was almost heaving as I took quick, short breaths.

I came to a halt and placed my hands on my knees as I panted for air.

No matter how far I ran, or how fast I ran, all I could think about was him.

Him, with his beautiful honey blonde hair that usually sat on top of his head in a small bun, contrasting to his glowing bronzed skin. Him, with his laugh that would light up an entire room, even with thousands of people in it. Him, with the smile that would start in his full lips, and would rise up to meet his warm brown eyes.

“Fuck,” I mumbled to myself.

With a resolute nod, I began sprinting again.

 

When I walked back into the apartment, I found Alexis sitting on the kitchen counter, swinging his legs while chatting to Frank. Both of them turned to look at me upon entry, and only one of them seemed happy to see me.

“Morning Jules,” Frank greeted me with a smile. “Nice to see you get out there for a run.”

“Yeah” was all I could think of saying in response.

“Breakfast will be up soon.”

My phone buzzed in my pocket and I quickly fished it out. It was a text from Vanessa with a link to an article.

JUST WHO IS ALEXIS MENDES?

“Lex,” I said sternly, looking up at my sober companion.

Alexis turned his attention to me, and without a word, I simply handed him my phone. He glanced down at it and began scanning the article, a look of confusion on his face.

“What does it say?” I asked him.

“Essentially repeating what it said yesterday,” he said. “But I’m assuming ‘Julian’s rep’ means Vanessa, and she’s denied the lies in the story.”

“That’s good,” I said.

Alexis pursed his lips. “I did this for years. I can tell by the way they’ve laid this article out that they don’t believe a word Vanessa told them. They’ve put the truth at the bottom of this article in a tiny paragraph, and kept the lies about Hayden at the top.”

I shook my head in disappointment. Frank, whom was listening in on this conversation but pretending he wasn’t, frowned and placed his hand on Alexis’s shoulder.

“This isn’t over by a long shot,” Alexis said finally.

---

Alexis

I had never been in a situation where I wanted to stay away from someone, but at the same time craved their time and attention more than anything.

I knew I had to keep my distance from Julian where I could, especially if I wanted to keep our relationship as professional as possible. But seeing him entertain himself around the house, whether he was gaming in the entertainment room, or studying football tape in the lounge room, all I wanted was to sit with him and simply be with him.

By the time Frank had returned to cook lunch, I had managed to exchange zero words with Julian since breakfast. It gave me hope that maybe I could still be his sober companion and keep it professional, even if I was wildly attracted to him.

“Are you at the soup kitchen tonight?” Frank asked Julian.

“You know it,” Julian said, not taking his eyes off the TV.

My eyes darted between them, waiting for some sort of explanation. Frank noticed my confusion and chuckled.

“The last time Julian had one of his outbursts, he was forced to do community service at a soup kitchen,” Frank explained.

“Oh,” I said, surprise colouring my voice. “I’ll come with you, if you don’t mind.”

Julian paused his TV and turned to face me. “You don’t have to. There’s no alcohol there.”

“I know. I just want to come and help out.”

Julian shrugged his shoulders and turned his attention back to the TV. “Suit yourself, Lex.”

 

I rode with Julian on the way to the soup kitchen in silence. Thinking I was going to get dirty, I opted to wear an oversized grey sweatshirt and a pair of old faded blue jeans. Every chance I got to steal a glance at Julian, I could tell he had the same idea of dressing to get dirty, but even then, he still looked so handsome.

He was wearing a black t-shirt with a tiger design on it and a pair of khaki chino shorts that clung to the muscles in his thighs. He had a black and white baseball cap turned backwards on his head, flattening his brown curls.

God damn. How could he look so good dressed so casually?

We pulled up to the soup kitchen, and I followed Julian's broad frame into the building. An older gentleman turned to see us walk in, and he threw his hands up in the air in excitement.

"Julian! Always a pleasure to see you." The man's attention turned towards me. "And you brought a friend?"

Yes. A friend. That's all you are to him, I reminded myself.

"Joe, this is Alexis. He's going to be helping us today." Julian smiled proudly as he introduced me.

"Oh yes, I've read all about you in the news," Joe said. He leaned his head forward to whisper to me. "I don't believe a word those media scum say."

Not knowing what else to do, I thanked him for his words and followed him and Julian into the kitchen where several other volunteers were getting prepared. Julian threw on an apron and put on some gloves and I quickly followed suit.

"We get pretty busy here, so we appreciate the extra help," Joe told me.

"You're so welcome." I pointed at Julian, who was busy chatting with a couple of the other women that were clearly ogling him. "How many more hours does he have left on his sentencing here?"

Joe raised his eyebrows at me. "What do you mean? He finished his hours months ago. We just can't seem to get rid of him."

Joe excused himself to talk to other volunteers, while I turned to watch Julian seemingly with a new pair of eyes. I felt my heart beating even faster as I watched an almost tenderness touch upon his face as he helped to prepare the soup kitchen and joked around with the other volunteers.

As much as the media was wrong about me and my past, they were very wrong about Julian Ambrose. In my initial googling of my new client, I read all the stories about his alcohol-fuelled brawls and his apparent bad boy behaviour off the field, but watching this humble and sensitive man get ready to volunteer to feed the homeless in his own time, I felt like I was looking at a completely different man.

The Julian I knew considered his words and spoke them with a specific care. He was kind, passionate, cheeky as all hell, and he was fiercely protective of the ones that he loved.

And I think...

I think I was falling for him.

---

Julian

As one of the top players in the NFL, donating to charities or other good causes was easy because I had the means to do so, and I had done it many times before. But there was something different about actually getting your hands dirty and giving back to the community by volunteering, and it resonated with me in a way I couldn't quite explain.

Coming to help out at Joe's soup kitchen every Wednesday night where possible had become a staple part of my life, and it reminded me of how fortunate I was that I was living my dream.

Some familiar faces came through the kitchen and lined up, eagerly holding their plates out. Every now and then, I'd steal a glance at Alexis and see his face light up as he dished out food to the homeless and engage in friendly conversations with them.

The way the light emanating from the ceiling above his head would bounce off his face radiated that alluring beauty of his; it almost made me feel giddy. He'd whip the strands of hair that fell down his face aside, and would almost throw his head back with laughter anytime someone said something remotely funny to him.

"He's a natural," Joe said to me, nodding towards Alexis.

"Yeah," I said, "he really is."

Joe smiled at me knowingly, as if he was aware of something that I wasn't. I cleared my throat and turned my attention back to dishing up food for the homeless.

A couple of hours later, Alexis and I took our aprons off and washed our hands. Joe came around to say goodbye to the volunteers, and he leaned in for a friendly hug.

"Thank you for everything, Jules," he said.

"All good, bro."

Joe looked up at me and winked. "He's good for you."

I looked over at Alexis and swallowed. "Yeah, he's a very good sober companion."

Joe simply nodded and patted me on the shoulder.

I re-joined Alexis and we walked back to my car together. With Joe's suspicious behaviour, I wondered if I had given off a gay energy to him and he could sense it. Or maybe he could feel the chemistry between Alexis and myself that I could feel.

Alexis sat down in the passenger seat next to me and closed the door. "I really enjoyed that a lot, Julian. Thank you for bringing me along with you."

"No problem."

I drove home suddenly very conscious of how I acted and behaved around Alexis, and wondered if anyone that had seen us could see there was something between us.

Something. I didn't know what that something was, but I was at least willing to acknowledge that it was there.

We walked back into the apartment together and Alexis quickly excused himself to take a shower. I sat on the stool by the kitchen counter and drank a glass of lemon water in silence. My thoughts drifted to Alexis in the shower, and I closed my eyes and imagined him squeezing the water out of his blonde hair, with droplets trickling down his back and over the mounds of his ass cheeks.

I know Estelle told me to figure out what I was feeling before I even dared to approach him with anything, and while I didn't even know what or whom I was anymore, one thing I knew for certain was that I wanted to kiss Alexis again. And, well, I wanted to praise and appreciate that beautiful body of his.

Alexis emerged with a thin blue t-shirt and yellow pyjama boxer shorts on, rubbing his wet hair with a towel.

"Lex," I said simply.

"Yeah?"

I stood up slowly from my stool, my eyes never leaving his. I started to approach him, my heart beating faster with each step. The confused smile on his face slowly disappeared, and he dropped the towel on the floor.

In a matter of seconds, I had cupped his face in my hands and pressed my lips against his. He weaved his arms through mine and wrapped them around my neck, holding me close as we passionately embraced each other. My tongue slipped into his mouth, and a soft moan escaped his lips as he welcomed me.

I knew what we were doing was forbidden. My career could potentially be on the line, as well as his. But right now, I was simply a man, standing in awe of another man, wanting to show him what I felt, and what I desired.

My hands slid down his shoulders, down the curve of his waist, and I sucked in a breath when I gripped his firm ass. Alexis let out a soft cry and he bit my bottom lip suggestively.

"Julian..." he whispered.

"I know," I whispered back.

I did what I thought of doing ever since I caught that glimpse of him in the bathroom, and I squeezed his cheeks. He stood up on his toes to give me easier access to his ass, and I responded by squeezing again.

“What are you doing?” he whispered.

I bent down to place my hands on the back of his thighs and pulled him up off his feet in one swift movement.

“I’m taking to you to bed, Lex.”