Scott stiffened at the gruff voice behind him. He turned, and another guy held his hand up for a high five from Thomas.
Thomas hesitated, then slapped his hand.
“I knew you two were a couple in real life,” he said. “You could sense how much you cared about each other through the screen.”
Scott scratched the back of his head. “Well, this is awkward…”
“Your videos are hot as hell. Can I buy you a drink?”
“Sure…” Thomas said with a smile. He pulled Scott towards him in a clear off-limits gesture. Scott heard Russell’s curse, but Thomas didn’t seem to notice.
Men and a few women kept approaching them through the night, leering at Scott and gazing at Thomas like they would lick his feet if he asked them to. Thomas started turning down drinks, and a few men asked for photographs, posing between them.
Thomas tolerated the pictures until one man put his hand on Scott’s arse, and Thomas threatened to pummel him into the floor below.
“Enjoying the attention?”
Russell had come over alone, which was a good sign. He’d had enough of waiting for Thomas to go to him and observing their fan club coming and going.
Thomas spun toward him. “Hey…”
“I’m surprised you don’t need a chair,” Russell remarked, looking Scott over.
Scott bristled. “Why would I need one?”
“After the whole fainting incident.” Russell bit his lip, halting his smirk. His words had been said to mock, and Scott hated the flash of humiliation he felt in his chest.
Everyone who’d mentioned the fainting had looked at him with lust, but not Russell.
“You’re looking a bit pale, even now…”
Scott opened his mouth, preparing to tell Russell to go fuck himself, but then he remembered why they were there, what he’d promised Thomas, how actually, despite the rage simmering in Scott’s guts, everything was going exactly to plan.
“I need to use the restroom,” Scott said.
“I’ll go with you –”
“I’m quite capable of going to the toilet on my own.”
Thomas looked unsure. “Ten minutes.”
“Ten minutes?”
“That’s how long until I come looking for you.”
In ten minutes, Thomas would’ve forgotten all about him. Scott smiled, leaning in to kiss Thomas on the cheek. Russell audibly ground his teeth.
“Back in ten,” Scott said, before leaving the room and making his way down one of the narrow corridors until he found a restroom. None of the cubicles looked the same; all the doors, seats and locks were different – one even had a carpeted floor.
Scott intended to wait a while, then spy on Thomas and Russell from afar to check everything was going well. He didn’t expect to be cornered by Lisa outside the restroom. She had her arms crossed beneath her breasts, and there were more notes poking out than earlier.
“Your boyfriend is looking for you.”
Scott checked the time on his phone. He’d taken exactly ten minutes, but Thomas could be over-the-top protective at times. It gave Scott butterflies, and his lips twitched with a fond smile.
“Thomas and I are just friends.”
Lisa narrowed her green eyes. “I wasn’t talking about Thomas.” She reached into her cleavage and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “He said you’d know him from this…”
