“Remind me again why are we doing this?” Nikki looked at the crowd of reflectors surrounding her, the lights that towered above them, and finally at the man sitting across from her, in clear distress.

Aidan looked up from his phone and at Nikki, whose chair he was leaning against. “Because we need to up our social media game, and in order to do that we need good visual content.”

“I get that, but why the hell do I need to fake laugh over a danish with Jacob of all people? No offense Jacob.”

“None taken.”

“Because Jacob is a liberal arts student and not an aspiring model–” though with his elegantly angular features, round black eyes, and the freckles that dusted his dark skin he might as well have been. “So we can pay him what we would for an hour of waiting plus tips and still save a ton on this photoshoot. No offense Jacob.”

Jacob simply shrugged. “As long as I get to take home some leftovers of the new stuff. It looks insane.”

Aidan smiled and nodded in agreement. Ben truly outdid himself with the new items he developed to add to the menu, which were not only beautiful, but tasted amazing as well. They were the first, and easier subjects of the photoshoot they arranged. The second one, which they were currently tackling, was a bit more complicated.

It was actually Chris who suggested marketing Park’s as a date spot to try and bring in more customers. As always, his logic was annoyingly flawless. Think about it, he told him over eggs and toast one morning. Coffee is a low-risk, low-investment option for a first date, and a casual, time-efficient and still cute one for couples who have been together for a while. And aren’t pretty pastries the perfect date food? Sweet, aesthetically pleasing, not too heavy and don’t have any garlic or onion in them so they’re great for kissing too. Not to mention, you can splurge and still pay far less than you would at a restaurant. It’s your perfect target audience. From there, the only thing they had left to figure out was how to advertise it correctly.

Aidan glanced across the room, where Chris was chatting to probably one of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen. Her full lips moved softly as she gave him some sort of explanation while showing him something on the display screen of her camera, her emerald eyes shining as she looked up at him. Chris nodded in enthusiasm before laughing at a comment he couldn’t quite make out from this far away.

 It’s a personal favor, Chris’ explanation as to why she agreed to do this for free rang in his ears as he watched him lightly place his hand on the small of her back while pointing something out in their setup. Sara shook her head, tucking a strand of honey blond hair behind her ear before leaning closer to him and motioning at different parts of it.

He shouldn’t have felt irritated. Chris clearly knew what he was doing, and according to him, so did Sara. Was he truly such a control freak that he couldn’t stand the thought of being left out of whatever conversation they were having? 

“Alright guys I think we’re done!” Sara called cheerfully, giving a small thumbs up. “Let’s move to the next one, shall we? Chris?”

Aidan watched in confusion as he nodded once more and stepped over the cables that slithered across the floor, right into the booth Sara began preparing as their next set. 

“Yeah, okay, good. And um…” Sara looked around with a contemplative pout. “Ben, Right? Would you mind?”

Now he was even more confused. Sara did ask them if they would be willing to appear in the shots should it be necessary, but Aidan figured it was more as extras, to make it look more real. As it happened, neither Ben nor any of their staff members were in the habit of sliding into booths next to their friends who didn’t even work there and were only supposed to be around because they knew the photographer. And said friends should have certainly not been in the habit of casually draping an arm over said staff member’s shoulder and pulling him in closer.

“Perfect,” Sara beamed as she took a step back. Was it? “Just stay there while we quickly fix the lighting, okay?”

She mounted her camera on a tripod and quickly looked through the lens, before she began moving and adjusting the different stands with the assistance of Jacob, who seemed particularly eager to follow her instructions and absorb every small piece of information and knowledge she bestowed upon him.

Across from them, Ben was still casually leaning into Chris’ side, who was still very much hugging him. Aidan could only hear bits and pieces of their conversation, a bout of laughter that rolled towards him here and there, and a name or place he knew. But he could clearly see every little part of it: the way Ben rested his hand on Chris’ knee as he looked up at him, the way Chris smiled back wide enough to make his dimples show. Just how close they were.

An ugly, all too familiar feeling, slinked into Aidan’s chest. He swallowed down the acidic taste in his mouth, which for some reason was so much more sour than usual, just as Sara took one last look at the set and nodded approvingly.

“I think we’re good to go. So let’s start with a few simple poses, okay?”

For the next ten minutes or so, she instructed and directed, telling them things like “great, now put your hand on his Chris,” or, “scoot a little closer Ben, and turn your head a little towards me”.  She demonstrated, then moved to gently adjust them, molding their bodies with the lightest touch of her fingers. And all along, she photographed. Picture after picture, from different distances and angles, throughout the subtle shifts and the bigger ones, and even in between them. Yet somehow, every time she looked at her camera, the crinkle between her brows became deeper. Enough so that Aidan was not the only one who noticed it.

“Is everything okay?” Chris finally turned his attention to her. Whether it was because her directing conditioned him or he was genuinely worried, his own brows seemed to be trying to connect as well.

“It’s just… are you sure you’re okay with this?” She turned to look at Ben. “You look a little… uncomfortable.”

“Oh.” His gaze dropped. “No, I am. I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright. It’s just that… well, it makes the whole thing look too… stiff. Not really like a date that’s about to go well,” she shrugged apologetically.

“I’m sorry I think I’m just… not very good at this. It’s kinda weird to act like that when it’s not with Leah. Sorry.”

“Do you realize you just apologized three times in less than a minute?” Chris chuckled. “For things you shouldn’t apologize for, like loving your girlfriend?”

“I’m… sorry.”

There was a short pause before both Chris and Sara burst into a rolling, too synchronized laughter. His dimples returned with a vengeance, her eyes crinkled over the rosy apples of her cheeks. Even Ben chuckled softly.

“There’s nothing to apologize for,” Sara finally said once they calmed down, throwing a warm, knowing smile in Chris’ direction. Weirdly, it made Aidan feel particularly cold. “We’ll just have to find a different solution. Hmm… Aidan?”

“What?” He realized a moment too late that his reply might have been a tad too curt, though if Sara noticed it she didn’t say anything. 

“Would you do it?”

“Do what?”

What right on earth did she have to look confused when he was the one tackled with the enigmatic questions?

“The pictures,” she said slowly. “Could you do them instead of Ben?”

Oh. A sudden heat rushed to his cheeks. Definitely because he was embarrassed by how slow he’s been and not at all because at that very moment he locked eyes with Chris.

“You don’t have to.” Why was he fake smiling? Did he not know his disappointment was screaming at him from across the room? “We can-”

“I’ll do it.”

Aidan barely noticed the words that came out of his mouth. He barely noticed anything. Ice turned into numbness as he quickly changed places with Ben, sliding into the booth right next to Chris who still looked at him with an expression he couldn’t decipher.

“Are you sure?” He asked quietly. “Because we can find another solution. You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”

“I’m sure.” Why wouldn’t he be? He was the one who asked his employees to be a part of this photoshoot. The least he could do was set an example and do the same when he was asked to. There was only one person in the room who had no reason to stand in front of the camera, and it wasn’t him. “But if you don’t want to do this I can ask someone else.”

Chris looked at him for a moment before shaking his head. “No, it’s alright. I’ll do it.”

“Great!” Sara grinned, either ignoring or completely oblivious to the strange tension that swirled between them. “Let’s try that last pose again. Chris, could you put your arm around him?”

Obediently, he followed, wrapping an arm that was somehow both feather light and heavier than his favorite blanket around his shoulders.

“A little closer together.”

On instinct, Aidan scooted over just a little, turning his upper body sidewise to face Chris. His hand found purchase – only for stability – right on top of his thigh.

“Good.” Somewhere in the background, he could hear the camera clicking. “Now Aidan, look up at him.”

He did, and he almost wished he didn’t. It’s been a while since he saw Chris from this up close. He forgot just how soft and vibrant the blue of his eyes was, constantly shifting under the lights like fresh, living water. Full lips smiled at him, shockingly rosy against the pale canvas of his skin. Aidan watched them as they parted, allowing a warm breath to roll over his skin.

“You’re grinding your teeth,” he murmured, swiping his thumb over his jaw. His fingers that came to rest right under his chin were so easy to lean into.

“There-” his smile widened. He was looking into an ocean, the purest of blue, twinkling with the golden reflection of a million stars shining above it. “Much better.”

He was wrong. He wasn’t numb at all. He was hot. Scorching. His entire body was engulfed in flames, or maybe it was actually made of them, but he didn’t care. It was horrible, uncomfortable in a way that caused his heart to beat loudly in his chest, that made him want to run away and hide forever, yet at the same time it was the most wonderful high. A sort of inferno he was glad to descend into, through all nine of its circles.

“Could you kiss him?”

Aidan stretched his neck a little higher. Why was it that even sitting he had to make an effort to reach him? He wasn’t even that much taller. His left hand, the one not on Chris’ leg, softly curled into the fabric of his shirt. His eyelids grew heavier, and the strange buzzing in his head intensified with every passing second. It wanted– no, demanded. Tempted. Urged. Aidan swallowed and parted his lips, an answer he wasn’t sure would find its way out on time hanging on their edge–

“No.”

Aidan blinked in confusion, eyes fully open again. Why was he suddenly cold? He tried focusing his attention on that magic that had him captivated not seconds ago, yet all he could see was Chris’ profile, decisively looking at Sara.

“I think it’s better if we don’t do that.”

There was a moment of silence, a long look exchanged between them, before Sara smiled again.

“Alright. In that case I think we have… more than everything we need. It’s a wrap.”

And just like that, the room burst into spontaneous, light applause that quickly rolled into bubbling conversations and laughter. On the other side of the room, Nikki snagged a red velvet cupcake from the so-far off limits tray. Jacob, who seemed to have forgotten all about them, began helping Sara fold her equipment, visibly thrilled by the option of having a longer, undisrupted conversation with her. And as for Chris…

Aidan’s neck felt like a rusty hinge as he slowly turned his head to look at him. He was smiling again, kindly, softly, but his eyes weren’t right. They were looking past him, at something he couldn’t see.

“You did good,” he told him. “You’re on the right track Aidan. You’re going to make it work.”

He wanted to believe him. So much. This was what he worried about, what he wanted to succeed more than anything else in the world, and there was Chris, telling him he was well on his way there.

So why the hell did it feel like all he wanted to do was cry?