“Danny boy, will you go with me?” Casey asked, his eyelashes fluttering.
Daniel’s face scrunched up. He hadn’t gone out for fun in such a long time he wasn’t sure he remembered how to let loose. But it was quite literally his first Friday not working in memory. “Shouldn’t Brody be going as your date? You two are supposed to be dating according to social media.”
“All my coworkers know that’s just for show. And there’s a strict no phones policy at all studio events, so it’s not like anyone is going to post photos of me with other men.”
“I’ll go if Daniel goes,” Brody said, eyes still on the game.
“What? Why?” The spontaneous trip packing excluded, he was never especially close with Brody. Definitely not close enough for him to enact such a weird buddy system for a porn studio birthday party.
Sure, they sat around the living room and chatted on a weekly basis and Daniel allowed Brody to pull him into a cuddle. But Brody was a touchy guy. Daniel assumed it was because hedid mostly solo scenes for his cam site and was a tiny bit touched starved because of it.
Occasionally, Daniel would join in on a card or board game his three roommates were playing. Even less often, he would go out to a club or bar with them. Those outings usually ended with Brody and Casey dancing while Arlo played on his phone and Daniel dropped business cards for the Lillian.
But they weren’tfriends. Were they?
Brody shrugged. “It seems like you could use a night out, and I’m not above peer pressure.”
“I’ll go,” Arlo said as he set down his controller. “Can I wear a skirt?”
“Sure, man. There’s not really a dress code.”
“Thank fuck, I did not want to put on pants again. Will there be food?”
“Yeah, and it’s usually pretty good. We hire the same company to do all our events, and they haven’t disappointed yet.”
“Why does it seem like I need a night out?” Daniel asked, talking over the continued discussion.
Brody sent him an incredulous look. “You’re reading an art history textbook and sighing every five minutes.”
Daniel hugged the book to his chest. “This isn’t a textbook. And it’s about architecture, not art history. And I haven’t been sighing.” Hemighthave let out a few louder than usual breaths every time his mind wandered back to his conversation the day before with Lucinda. But they weren’t sighs. Just regular breathing. Normal human functions. Certainly not a manifestation of his annoyance at being dismissed from his job while trying very hard to not think about his bank account.
“If you say so.” Brody stood up, stretched, then slapped the side of Daniel’s thigh. “Come on, you’re going with us. It’ll be fun.”
Daniel doubted that.
Unfortunately, the event was fun.
He was hoping it would be horribly boring or nauseatingly over the top. At least then Daniel would have an excuse to bow out and head home early. Stepping into the rented hotel’s ballroom, all he wanted was to turn around, burrow deep into the blankets on his bed, and read more of Jensen’s book. He was just over halfway through and had started keeping notes on his phone of things he found interesting so he could start up conversations with Jensen.
Jensen had been unusually quiet that day, probably due to the backlog of work waiting for him, and Daniel used that time to digest more. He couldn’t wait to call Jensen and ask if he thought the more current move from maximalism to minimalism mirrored the change from art nouveau to art deco. And somehow discovering a love of architecture through a veritable textbook was a gayer way to spend his night than drinking with a dozen queer porn stars.
Daniel breathed out a quiet laugh and shook his head. Here he was, ignoring all the conversations happening around him to stand by the bar and think about his boyfriend’s obsession. Ten years ago, he would have been in the middle of the party, jumping around from group to group and gorging himself on the lively atmosphere.
Hell, a year ago he might have been trying to plug the Lillian with any of the guests and background employees of Casey’s company. Now he was more than happy to lean against the end of the bar, sip at his drink, and watch the antics unfold with a slight smile on his face.
Even if part of him still wanted to rush back home, the booming laughter and slideshow of ridiculous behind-the-scenes photos kept Daniel rooted to his spot. Plus, he didn’t want to miss the personalized awards that would be given out to all the employees at the end of the night, along with the studio statistics of things like premature cum shots, loads taken, and number of scenes ruined for various reasons.
Daniel hated to admit it, but Brody was right about the party being fun.
“Is this spot taken?”
The question pulled Daniel from his silent vigil. A woman stood next to him, gesturing to the open length of marble with her drink. She was dressed more formally than most of the attendees, in a pair of black slacks and a silky button-down.
“Be my guest.” He gave her unassuming makeup and air of strict professionalism another look. “Though, I might be your guest.”
She smiled and let out a tinkling, polite laugh. “Not quite. Janelle Butler. I’m the director of Butler Events.”
He shifted his drink to shake her hand. “Daniel. I’m just here so my friend didn’t have to come alone.”
