15. Chapter 15
Chapter fifteen
Dane
A hell of a lot of the day’s filming involved not getting to stare at Aras, which was pretty unacceptable as far as Dane was concerned. Even after that intense session in the hotel room, he’d dreamed of Aras in every conceivable position—and a few that only worked because it was a dream and they were fucking in zero gravity—and had to tip housekeeping extra for the mess he left in the sheets. In spite of blowing his load with the real thing, he’d had a wet dream about Aras like he was fourteen again, and he was stuck adjusting and readjusting the lights while the contractors added a fresh coat of primer to the walls. Like they even needed it. All new construction, all freshly done.
He had to push that aside. This was still a job, not a dating service. Since he’d ordered an extra large Diamond Emperor Ojin model to celebrate getting sucked off by his crush, he needed to keep up the income. American audiences hadn’t really caught on to Watchers of the Seven Shrines, so any merch he wanted from it had to be imported, and usually with pretty steep fees tacked on, since anyone who was ordering a model kit like that was obviously pretty invested. It wasn’t one of the truly massive, five-hundred dollar models, but it was a 1:60 scale and usually went for two-hundred-fifty.
He’d paid more.
If only the job was more interesting than literally watching paint dry. It would make it a lot easier. But he knew that, once they had some B-roll collected, he’d probably get moved to something else. And it couldn’t possibly be less interesting.
“All right. I think we’re good.” As if on cue, Vince whirled his finger through the air. Wrapping up. Dane still waited for Kyle to give him the nod, but it came soon after and Dane turned off his lights and started to pack them up. Not all the way, but enough the rig could be moved safely to the next shooting location.
“Vince, Kyle.” Eliza pushed to the forefront, clasping her hands and smiling. “Everything went well?”
Vince nodded. “About to head outside. Want to make sure I get some good shots of the yard work before it gets too far along. Good to get it when it’s all ugly exposed dirt and whatnot.”
“Of course.” She gestured to Dane. “I have been sent to borrow a lighting grip. Apparently Jake and Aras and Evander have some secret project and they want his input.” She nodded to Kyle. “Unless you can’t spare him right now. They can adjust their workflow to another project for a while.”
Kyle glanced outside, then pulled out his phone and looked over the screen. Then he nodded. “Should be good. Sunshiny day, so we won’t need a ton of lighting right now. If we get a sudden rash of clouds, I might have to come retrieve him.” He shrugged to Dane. “You good helping out? Pretty sure it’s not anything you’re getting paid for.”
“We’re all here to make the house great for Caroline. If they think I can help, may as well chip in.” Which was bullshit, but it sure sounded nicer than “I want to bone the electrician and it excites me when I get to look at him more.”
Kyle nodded, then turned around and clipped outside. One of the other grips—either Sandra or Sarah, they looked exceptionally similar, especially when he could only see the back of the person’s head—grabbed Dane’s lights. Then he was there alone with Eliza pointing him down the hall. “Not sure on the specifics, but I think Evander wants to make this a display room for her glass collection, so they’re trying to work something out.”
Dane nodded as they walked down the hallway toward the spare bedroom, the air scented with the chemical nose of drying primer. “I mentioned to Aras that I have some display shelves for my own collectibles. If I had to guess, they think I can offer some advice or whatever.”
“Well, advice or whatever is pretty valuable.” It wasn’t as if he was going to get lost on the way, but she still walked him all the way to the door of the spare room. “I’ll leave you to it, but come flag me down if Aras gets too…difficult. He seems to be in peak form today.”
“I can hear you, Eliza.” Aras stuck his head around the corner to look at her, his typical frown plastered in place. “And I don’t appreciate that characterization. I’m not in peak form. I’m being an asshole.”
“Diplomacy.” Eliza nodded. “Try not to bite the boy’s head off.”
Dane was pretty certain he and Eliza were about the same age—hell, most everyone on the crew was probably in their thirties—but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he tried to take in Aras. Why was he in such a terrible mood that everyone noticed—including Aras himself? Was it down to the two of them? Had something gone wrong that Dane didn’t pick up on? As far as he was concerned, their night had been great. Maybe not what either of them had exactly planned, but it had been good…hadn’t it? Maybe it went too far for what Aras wanted, not professional enough.
Or maybe it’s just me .
Aras nodded to him. “Finally letting me get to what I want. Not like they need my input elsewhere, but these chucklefucks felt like other things mattered.”
“You don’t need to act so sweet.” Jake slapped an arm around Aras’s shoulders and pulled him into a side hug, grinning like crazy. “Making up a pet name for me.”
“I was mostly talking about Evander.” He shrugged out from under Jake’s arm, then stepped aside, gesturing Dane inside. “Tight fit, so hopefully you won’t mind.”
As Dane walked in, Aras’s fingers brushed against the small of his back, and the worries melted from Dane like a stick of butter on hot asphalt. It was a waste of time to jump to conclusions. He knew what happened was good. He knew it had been enjoyable. And frankly, when was Aras ever in a good mood?
Right after cumming, If memory serves.