11. DARK PLACES

It's crazy how a few kisses changed Julian's entire outlook on his brooding, constant mood swinging, yet overall alluring boss.

A hell of a lot had changed since Julian first arrived at Aiden's house; some good changes, some not so much.

And as much as Julian would rather not be crushing on his currently unattainable boss that's secretly having a sexual identity crisis, Julian was only human at the end of the day. He couldn't help how he felt inside about Aiden, and Aiden couldn't shake the undeniable attraction that he felt towards Julian.

It's been days since they kissed for the first time and Julian had been trying to give his boss space, trying to let Aiden breathe as he worked to figure himself out – whatever that meant. It'd been easier said than done, however, because sometimes when things get too tough for Aiden, instead of responding rationally, he immediately turns to the bottle for answers. He knows he'll get nothing solved this way, but at least he's not forced to face his problems if he's blacked out drunk.

"Terrance Price, the private investigator that I've been talking to for the past few days, will be here in about fifteen minutes to meet with you."

Julian, back in professional mode after his most recent slipup, stood at the entrance of Aiden's bar with a melancholic expression as he watched Aiden tilt his head back to consume a shot of something he definitely didn't need.

A small part of him felt like this, Aiden's painfully slow spiral downhill, was all his fault. Julian blamed himself for nearly everything. Ever since the two of them kissed, Aiden's become much more reckless and even more short-tempered. And this time, whenever he gets so intoxicated that he can hardly walk, instead of being flirty or playful with Julian, he's quiet and standoffish, giving him the cold shoulder as if he couldn't stand him.

"I'll be downstairs if you need me," Julian mumbled before taking his leave.

After he was gone, Aiden relaxed in his seat at the bar and poured himself another drink, feeling like a total asshole. He'd been desperately trying to chase away the new and complex feelings that'd been pestering him ever since he royally fucked up and kissed his bodyguard a few nights ago. He's been doing everything in his power to expel the memories of that night from his brain, but to no avail, they remained.

How could I have been so careless? I can't believe I kissed another man... and liked it. Holy fuck, I really liked it. A lot. Too much. Way too much.

Aiden took another shot.

He was in a dark place right now, a dark place where he was irritated and angry with himself because nothing seemed to make sense anymore; nothing about relationships, love, lust, or his sexual preferences. Aiden had thought he knew what he wanted, knew what he liked when it comes to fooling around with the opposite sex, but now... after having had just a small taste of Julian McAndrew, Aiden isn't so sure about what – or who – he prefers anymore.

And he has the charming, brown-eyed muscle man downstairs to thank for his current emotional and mental breakdown.

Aiden's been deeply lost in himself ever since his lips touched Julian's, so lost that whenever he wasn't busy sulking alone in his bar or bedroom, he was busy replaying that hot kiss over in his head. He was incredibly wasted that night, but he still remembers everything.

And the questions have yet to cease from popping into his head: why did he like kissing Julian so much? Why did he want to do it again and again? Why did he feel so damn drawn towards Julian McAndrew when all his life he's only ever been attracted to women (or so he thought)? Have these feelings always been inside of him, lying dormant? Or had it simply taken Julian to be the one that made Aiden wake up and see the light?

Aiden took another shot.

Could he actually be gay? Maybe bisexual? Possibly bi-curious?

Not in the mood to try and label himself, Aiden took another shot, hoping to become numb sooner rather than later because he hated feeling like this. He hated feeling stuck and confused. It was insanely frustrating because he seemed to come up with more questions for himself instead of actual answers. Having to even consider the thought that he might be anything other than heterosexual was enough to frighten him to the core.

It wasn't because he had a thing against gays, or possibly being gay himself; rather, he was scared because he's never been put in a position like this before. He's never once questioned his sexuality before. Julian had come into his life and turned shit upside down, rocking his entire world without warning, in such a short amount of time that Aiden had barely been able to keep up with himself. He didn't know how to go about cleaning up the mess that'd been made; a mess that never would have happened had he kept his lips to himself. 

You can't deny it, Aiden's subconscious taunted him. You like him. You want to be with him. He gave you the best kiss that you've ever had... can you imagine how wonderful it'll feel to have him give you something more than that?

Aiden took another shot.

Then his phone buzzed in his pocket. It was a couple of texts from Julian.

The texts read:

Julian: Can you come downstairs, please? Price is here.

"Time for business," Aiden mumbled after he heard the front door slam shut from downstairs.

He slid his phone back into his pocket before going to meet the man that would hopefully be able to track down his stalker and blackmailer - Clarissa Bollinger. Shamefully, Aiden's been too wrapped up in his puzzling feelings towards Julian that, until now, Clarissa hasn't even been on his mind as much as she previously had been.

"Mr. Price, it's nice to finally meet you in person." Aiden, although buzzed, was professional with his greeting towards Terrance. He shook the man's hand and even cared enough to smile. "Let's go into the parlor room and chat, shall we?"

"Yes, after you."

Julian trailed quietly behind the two men, making sure to keep his distance from Aiden. And at the last moment, he opted to sit on the same couch as Terrance given that it appeared Aiden wanted nothing to do with him currently. 

"Mr. Price has been in this line of work for over fifteen years. There's no better P.I. than him. If he can't find Clarissa, no one can."

"Thanks, Mr. McAndrew. You're far too kind." Price smiled at Julian, giving him a friendly pat on the knee. The gesture didn't go unnoticed by Aiden. "Thanks to Mr. McAndrew, I'm fully informed of your situation, Mr. Grayson. And while I'd be happy to give you the rundown of what all I do when trying to catch a perp, I'd rather not bore you to death."

Price and Julian laughed. Aiden, on the other hand, found nothing funny. Instead, he felt angry... or was it jealousy at how well Julian and his guest seemed to be getting along? Just how often had they conversed on the phone with one another? Aiden didn't know what to think, but he definitely had no right to get jealous over someone that he couldn't even admit his feelings for.

"Anyway, I saw the two guards parked outside in their cars positioned in front of the gate," Price continued, speaking to Aiden. "It's good that you're beefing up your security, but you might want to also consider placing a man in the backyard. Even though you have the security cameras, one can never be too cautious these days."

"I'll take that into consideration, though I highly doubt that anyone, let alone a small woman, could actually manage to climb over the high ass fence that's set up around the property," Aiden replied. "It's nearly impossible."

"No disrespect, Mr. Grayson, but you really shouldn't underestimate Ms. Bollinger," Price said. "When desperate, you'd be surprised at the things that a woman can do, at the lengths that they'll go when seeking revenge. I've seen a lot of crazy shit in my line of work over the years, and it's made me learn to never judge a book by its cover."

Aiden, suddenly aggravated and completely over this introductory meeting, stood up to leave.

"I have some other important business to attend to, so I'll be on my way, but it was nice meeting you, Mr. Price. Please keep me updated on your investigation. Night or day, call me the moment you get a lead."

Aiden went back upstairs to the bar, picking up where he left off, but before he could pour himself another drink, his cell phone rang.

Aiden answered it with attitude. "What is it?"

Kyle chuckled. "I guess I'll keep this short since you're clearly in a pissy mood."

"Whatever, Kyle. Just get on with it. What do you want? I'm busy."

"The Worldstar Event is tonight. Everyone who's anyone will be there," Kyle said. "I booked you a spot for it about three months ago. I honestly let it slip my mind, but they just called and reminded me of your reservation, so now I'm calling and reminding you."

"You do know that there's still a psycho bitch out there that's after me, right? Or has that slipped your mind as well?"

"No, actually. I've been talking to Julian and he's been keeping me and Thomas updated on your situation. I'm glad you upped your security and hired a private investigator. It's nice to see you finally take initiative for once. Besides, now that Little Town's story is dying out, I figured you might want to get out of the house and do something. You know, jump back into the scene and all that. Get back to being your normal old self," Kyle paused. "Plus, above all, it'd be in your best interest if you keep up appearances, Aiden. You're the face of a multi-billion-dollar business, remember? People will expect you to be there tonight."

"Let me get this shit straight – you want me to go out there tonight to smile and play pretend like I'm not currently being stalked and blackmailed, all for the sake of keeping up appearances for Grayson Ent.?" Aiden asked in disbelief. "Wow, Kyle. And here I thought Thomas was the heartless one. He's been grooming you well, I see. You're almost like him now."

"Aiden. Stop."

"I won't be surprised if he pulls some strings to have you officially replace me one day. I bet you'd love that, wouldn't you?"

"Aiden, I didn't mean—"

"No, fuck it! I'll go if it's really such a big fucking deal to everyone. Who cares if my life might potentially be in danger? I have to keep up appearances despite being hunted by a madwoman!" Aiden was flooded with so much rage that his hands were starting to shake. "Just know that if something happens to me tonight, you'll have no one to blame but yourself, Kyle."

Aiden hung up the phone and poured himself another drink. He was irked that his brother didn't seem to give two shits about his well-being tonight which was odd because just a few days ago, Kyle was ordering him to not leave his house due to Little Town's story.

To make matters worse, Aiden was livid after discovering that Julian has been reporting everything about Clarissa and their situation back to Kyle and Thomas, keeping them in the loop of his business without his permission. 

Fuck them all. I don't need any of them. I'm better off alone.

The night hasn't even begun but Aiden was already over it.

. . . .

This is only an excerpt. The full book can be read on Ream Stories for free. Link in bio.

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