HIDE

EPISODE 29 - AWAKWARD MOMEMNT.

They slept off, entangled in each other's touch.

By the time Brandon returned from his walk along the lakeshore, he was resolved to act like last night’s embarrassing incident hadn’t happened.

Brandon had been relieved to find Wilson gone when he woke up in the morning, but now it felt like the longer he put their confrontation off, the worse it would be. It was time to man up and face the music. He could hardly avoid his boss all day long, every day. Besides, he was somewhat curious about how the talks were going.

It was easy to find where everyone was—he only had to follow the noise. Around ten people were lounging by the pool in various states of undress, mostly men but a few women too. They all were clearly buzzed,

laughing and chattering, their eyes a little glassy. Apparently, “business negotiations in an informal setting” involved lots of booze and weed and not much business.

Rich people always knew how to make it sound like they were working hard all the time. They were simply having fun and this was practically a vacation and yet, they called it a business trip. So much for a business trip.

Brandon’s gaze was immediately drawn to his boss.

Wilson was stretched out in a lounge chair, his big body seemingly relaxed, but his dark eyes were as alert and sharp as ever as he nursed his beer. His pale blue shirt was unbuttoned, but otherwise, he was mostly dressed. The nearest lounge chair was occupied by Aldo Massimo, who had Jacob in his lap. Jacob was laughing about something and combing his hair through Aldo's hair, while Aldo looked at Jacob with a small, soft smile on his face. He was the only one besides Jacob who seemed completely sober.

Wilson’s gaze found Brandon’s, his expression unreadable before he motioned with his head slightly. Come here.

Brandon hesitated, wondering what he expected him to do, exactly. All the chairs were occupied. Was he supposed to stand there awkwardly while

Brandon draped his entire sexy body all over his chair? The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became. If Wilson had not insinuated that they were together, he would not feel so awkward and out of his comfort zone now. It pissed him off that the asshole looked so relaxed and arrogant, while Brandon was anything but. Maybe it was time to push Wilson out of his comfort zone for once.

Glancing back at Jacob, who was half-sprawled on top of Aldo,

Brandon smiled. Potentially it was a crazy idea, but what the hell, was not that what Wilson had brought him here for?

With new determination, Brandon strode towards his boss, smiling. His smile probably looked a little deranged, judging by the sudden unease that appeared in Wilson’s body language. Yep, he was so doing it.

Brandon plopped down onto Wilson’s lap and looped his arms around his neck. “Hey there, handsome.” So, he had totally stolen the line from Wilson’s booty calls; f**k her!

Wilson stared at him blankly, his body tense under him.

Brandon smiled wider. “I missed you,” he said, loudly enough for Aldo and Jacob to hear. “What have you been up to?” Without waiting for a response, he pressed his mouth against Wilson’s firm lips, barely suppressing a laugh. f**k, this was hilarious. Why hadn't he thought of this sooner?

He felt the Wilson stiffen even further before an arm suddenly wrapped around him and pulled him closer. And then Wilson was kissing him. Kissing him. For real.

Brandon’s mind went utterly blank, unable to comprehend what was happening. The kiss was thought-wrecking, it was weakening—Brandon felt like the joke was now on him and not Wilson. He had never been kissed like that, with such control and forcefulness. It made him feel shaky and unsure, out of control and unbalanced. Wilson’s mouth was so damn confident, he even kissed with arrogance, the d**k, his tongue pushing into Brandon’s mouth as if he owned it. It pissed Brandon off—it pissed him off that he was allowing it, meekly accepting the kisses and just gasping, overwhelmed and confused, as his cute ass of a boss plundered his mouth with domineering, bruising kisses.

When Wilson finally let his mouth go, Brandon could only blink foolishly at him, winded, his thoughts in chaos. He licked his lips. They felt sensitive and tender—his whole chin did from Wilson’s harsh grip.

The asshole smiled and said, “I missed you, too, cutie.”

Brandon glared at him.

***

So. That was apparently a thing now. A new game they had been playing the entire afternoon.

Brandon wondered intensively how they had come to this. This being the fact that he was sprawled in Wilson’s lap, eating strawberries out of his boss’s hands.

But he was determined not to lose, no matter how weirded out he was by the entire situation. After all, he was doing this for the sake of the company and not for Wilson, he encouraged himself. Right? This was not for his own interest in any way at all.

Brandon smiled at Wilson and licked his fingers as he accepted the strawberry into his mouth. Wilson's dark eyes watched it—watched his mouth—a little too parted for that to be just an act.

The asshole was probably imagining stuffing his c**k into his mouth.

Brandon was aware that Wilson was aroused—it would have been hard to miss, considering that Brandon was in his goddamn lap—but the bastard was always somewhat horny, so Brandon didn’t take it personally.

Wilson leaned in and captured his mouth again. Ugh, not again. Brandon’s eyelids slipped shut, no matter how hard he fought to keep them open. f**k, it was unbearable, being kissed by this hot—overwhelming, wrong, and just too much. It left Brandon feeling shaky and meek, like a stranger. No matter how many times he told himself that he would take control over the kiss, he could never quite do it, just opening his mouth passively and letting himself be kissed within an inch of his life.

A sound slipped out of his throat when Wilson pulled away. It was not a whine but a protest. He hated Wilson, and he hated the horrible kisses that made him feel like a different person altogether.

“You kiss terribly,” Wilson murmured before gripping his chin harder and kissing him again.

“Must you criticise everything that has to do with me? It is not as if you are quite the expert yourself,” Brandon said when he was allowed to breathe again. He hated how shaky his voice sounded, how hard it was to concentrate on anything but Wilson’s face.

He was not even sure if the other people were watching them—if they were still even there. The rest of the world just seemed fuzzy around the edges, distant and bizarre, Wilson’s already tanned face the only thing in focus, those black, intense eyes holding him in some weird spell.

Someone coughed slightly.

Brandon blinked and dragged his eyes away from Wilson. It took him a moment to focus his gaze on Jacob, who was looking at them with a knowing little smile.

“The dinner is ready,” Jacob said. “Everyone is already hanging out at the beach patio. Let us go. Or do you need a moment?”

Realizing what he was implying, Brandon flushed and scrambled off Wilson’s lap. No, they definitely did not need a moment, thank you very much.

He felt more relaxed when he saw Wilson get up and follow them.

Brandon walked faster, catching up to Jacob and walking side by side with him. His body felt too warm, his nape prickling with awareness. His lips were tingling and sore from all the

kissing, and he pursed them, trying to get rid of the feeling of Wilson’s mouth on them. It did not work

“So,” Jacob said, breaking the silence. “How long have you been together? Not too long, right?”

Brandon looked at the guy, unsure what to say. Wilson was on the phone, speaking in a low voice behind them, so he was no help.

“What makes you think so?” he said evasively, hoping to avoid a direct answer. He didn’t want to contradict whatever Wilson had told them while Brandon was on a walk.

Jacob grinned, looking so damn pretty and youthful that Brandon had an uncomfortable thought that he might be compelled. But surely Aldo had good eyes to secure such a beauty.

“It is just obvious that you are still at the ‘pondering stage,' when everything is still new and exciting and a little weird. You are trying to figure out if this was an abomination or very much what you both need. What others would think, and the rest.” Jacob’s expression turned wistful. “I remember that—I remember getting shivery and tingly from Aldo’s every touch.”

“And now you don’t?” Brandon said, trying to shift the conversation to a less uncomfortable topic.

Jacob smiled a little. “Oh, I absolutely do. But now it feels weird when he is not touching me. I have just moved on from the sacred phase to the ‘he is my home’ phase. You will get there, too.”

Brandon almost laughed at that. Jacob was horrible at reading people. “So you’ve been together for a while?” Brandon said, steering the conversation back toward Jacob. “You are not… You are not actually all that young, then?” he said, getting out what has been pricking his mind.

Chuckling, Jacob shook his head. “I am pretty confident that I am older than you are, love. Do not let my baby face fool you. Aldo and I have been together for years.”

Before Brandon could say anything, they reached the beautiful patio on the lakefront. Dinner was being served there, and the other guests were already helping themselves to the delicious food.

Brandon’s stomach growled, very loudly—he had not eaten anything besides a few strawberries since the morning. He flushed in embarrassment, but Jacob gave him an understanding look.

“I know, I could eat everything on the right now.”

Aldo smiled, pulling his lover into the seat next to him. “You know you should explore when it comes to food. Especially, the animals. Most of them are tasty, and you would be missing out on a lot of delicious meat.”

“Do not be gross, Massi,” Jacob said, pulling a face, which only made Aldo laugh. “You know how I feel about those poor and helpless animals.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Brandon sat down too and started filling his plate. He studiously ignored it when he felt Wilson take the empty seat beside him.

“Pass me the stew bowl,” Wilson said.

Brandon passed him the stew bowl without looking at him. He stabbed a piece of chicken on his plate and put it in his mouth. Chewed.

Wilson shifted beside him. Brandon poured himself some juice. Drank it.

Wilson sighed. “Stop being awkward,” he said quietly, just for Brandon’s ears.

“I am not doing anything,” Brandon said, still not looking at him.

“I didn’t think a few kisses would finally shut you up.”

A few kisses? More like dozens of kisses.

“Oh what, you would have done it months ago?” Brandon said sarcastically.

“Here you are,” Brandon said, sounding satisfied, the prick. It confirmed Brandon’s old suspicion that Wilson found his bitching entertaining, and it was the only reason he tolerated it.

“It was your idea,” Brandon murmured. “To infuriate me? I guess you have started ageing at your own game.”

Yeah, do not remind me. He hated that it always turned out that way: Brandon always thought he could finally outplay his boss, get the upper hand, but Wilson always managed to adapt superbly and turn the tables. Even now, he

looked completely at ease already, as if Brandon had not taken him unawares by initiating kissing him in front of everyone. Was this man made of stone, or, he was simply an emotionless bastard who would never accept defeat? Or. . .