17. Oli
17
OLI
I feel like I’m going to pass out the whole time I’m engaged in this horrific deception.
It doesn’t quite feel real, like I’m a character in some spy movie who’s been tasked with setting up a drop. You know that sense of unreality that sometimes comes along with anxiety, like you’re not the one in charge of your body? Like you’re seeing through someone else’s eyes?
Yeah. I’m feeling that hard.
Nikos told me this morning that he was going to record for a radio show, and that it would take him a few hours to get back. I told him that I had errands to run and that I would listen as I did them, and I felt so bad as he kissed me and then walked out of the door that I wanted to die.
I’m not going to listen, and I know it.
I grab a hoodie out of my closet and throw on jeans, fishing out an old baseball cap too. There’s no reason for me to be disguised, but I feel like it’s armour. Like if I’m dressed this way, I’m not the one who’s actually dropping a watch worth tens of thousands of dollars into the coffee cup I get from Costa along the way.
Drinking the coffee gives me instant heartburn. I dump the rest in the Thames.
Sorry fish.
The spot by the river where Nikos and I had sat was so special to me, and now Geoff has ruined it, just like he ruined our relationship and my heart. My stomach lurches as I shake the last dregs of the coffee out of the cup and then drop the watch into it, snapping the plastic lid on top.
When I glance around, I can’t see Geoff anywhere. I know he must be watching, though. He probably was following me the whole way here. The thought makes me hunch my shoulders as I turn back towards home. I’m constantly looking behind me as I walk, too wound up to take the tube. Fresh air usually does me good when I’m anxious, but not this time. My stomach just sinks further with every step I take.
It’s over, I remind myself. He got the sick revenge he wanted, and now he’s out of your life.
Geoff is the kind of man who just wants to be in control. He just wants to know that everyone is wrapped around his finance-bro finger. This is like a dog pissing on something to show ownership.
It’s the last time he’s going to do this to me. I have to believe that.
I stop into the hardware store after the half-hour walk home. It’s raining now, and only getting worse. A clock on the wall shows that Nikos’ radio program must have ended by now, but I can’t bring myself to text him. Not with what I’ve just done.
I pick up a roll of white tape, the kind that you use to section off stripes when painting. I disabled the security system last night, but I don’t trust Geoff to not find a way to get back in.
When I walk in my front door, the first thing I do after drying off is grab a chair from the kitchen. The tape held under one arm, I drag it to the first camera by the door. I stick tape over the lens, a small enough piece to be nearly unnoticeable this high up, but enough to cover the lens. I play Nikos’ interview through my AirPods while I work, and when he says the part about life giving him honey, my stomach swoops.
If only life had given me him to keep.
By the time there’s a knock at the door, I’m sweaty and my arms ache, but I’ve covered all the cameras. I take a moment to compose myself and greet Nikos. He steps in quickly and leans his weight back against the door, turning the deadbolt with one hand and grabbing the back of my neck with the other. He looks me up and down, and only when his eyes have finished traversing my body does he seem to relax.
‘How was your interview?’ I fist my hands into the soft cotton of his t-shirt. He’s soaked through.
‘It was ok.’
Is that all? Clearly he’s pissed off about something.
‘I heard what you said about honey.’ I shuffle on my feet. ‘It was… nice.’
He doesn’t answer me for a moment, and cold washes through me. Does he know? Did he come home to confront me about his watch? Did Geoff contact him too, God forbid?
I step back, out of his grip, wondering if he’s about to lay into me for stealing from him. ‘Nikos?’
He shakes his head, like he’s trying to snap himself out of something, and then he runs his hand through his hair. His shoulders relax, if marginally, and I relax too when he sighs. Maybe he’s just tired.
‘I’m glad you listened. Pack your bags,’ Nikos says after a heartbeat of silence. He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his tired eyes. ‘I have a surprise for you.’
‘I - What?’ I don’t know what’s going on, and for a horrible moment I once again think he caught me leaving his watch for Geoff. ‘What do you mean?’
Nikos runs a hand through his hair, and glances out the window for a moment, a shadow crossing his face. ‘I need to get away. Selina agrees. This was the last of my media engagements in London, and now I’ve got some time off. I want to spend it with you. I want to get away from the bustle of the city and spend some time just you and me. If you’re alright with that. Selina already checked with Megan and got you some time off as a personal favour.’
It isn’t as if I’ve used any of my vacation days. But as if summoned, my phone buzzes on the counter. It’s Megan.
Megan
I’m sooooo jealous!! Enjoy Greece! Don’t check your email or I’ll kill you! Love you xx
It’s followed by a load of emojis - palm tree, sunglasses, and then a series of extremely suggestively arranged vegetables.
I suppose there’s a very clear upside to the flirtation going between Megan and Selina. I’m not going to say no to free vacation days, not when the thought of Geoff trailing me makes me want to run away.
‘Ok.’ I step forward into Nikos’ arms, and the moment I bury my head in the crook of his neck, I relax. I feel him relax too, like he was nervous I would say no. ‘Let’s do it, then. What do I have to pack? When do we leave?’
Nikos holds me close. ‘There’s a jet waiting for us at Heathrow whenever we’re ready. And pack clothes for warm weather.’
‘Oh?’ I can’t get over the fact he’s just said he has a jet waiting for us. A fucking private jet. ‘Where are we going?’
He pulls back and kisses me on the forehead, and now there’s a genuine smile on his face. I give a little shudder at the feeling of our bodies pressing together,
‘What better getaway for an Adonis than going to Greece?’
Rollercoasters have never been my thing, and it’s even worse when my emotions are what’s going for a ride. I was barely thinking when I shoved clothes into my suitcase at random and found my passport in the safe. Now I’m cradled in the soft leather seat of a private jet, after having been taken directly onto the tarmac in a black SUV.
To the few people that saw us embarking, we’re childhood friends, or actor and publicist... the lies are getting hard to keep up with. But I can’t feel a way about it, after what I’ve done to Nikos.
Going from the anxiety of last night, to the tension of dropping off the watch, to the high of being whisked away on a private jet by an actual movie star...my heart can’t take it.
What is my life?
Nikos is sitting across from me, running his finger around the rim of the glass of whiskey that the flight attendant had given him before we took off. I’m nursing a diet Sprite, which I couldn’t believe they had on a plane. But I guess when you’re rich, you get anything and everything you want.
Nikos has shed some of the tension that he’d been carrying in London. I don’t know if it’s being officially away from prying eyes, or if it’s getting out of London and away from his obligations. But it hits me that I’ve not seen him this comfortable except when we were alone together in bed. There were worry lines around his eyes that aren’t there anymore.
‘You don’t like the spotlight, do you?’
The question slips out of my mouth without my permission, and I wince because it’s not like we know each other well enough for me to get that personal. But Nikos just makes a thoughtful sound and shakes his head.
‘I hate it, actually.’ He licks his lips. ‘I’d always rather be spending time by myself, or with my few close friends. To be honest, I’m pretty shy in crowds. They make me nervous.’
‘Wow.’ I can’t help but run my foot up and down the back of his calf. ‘You would never know.’
He gives me a crooked half-smile. ‘Actor, right?’
‘How’d you get into it, then? Acting?’ He’s not tensing up, and he’s not deflecting, so maybe he’s alright with me asking prying questions. ‘If you’re an introvert who’s not into the spotlight?’
Nikos take as sip of his drink, the ice clinking against the glass. ‘I was scouted, first as a model. I’d moved to America as soon as I was eighteen, I needed - wanted - to get out of Greece. There...there wasn’t much there for me anymore. So I was in New York, working as a barista because I didn’t really know what else to do. An agent stopped by for coffee and slipped me her card.’
I nodded. ‘And it spiralled from there?’
Nikos slumps down in his seat so our knees are touching. He hooks an ankle around mine, like he’s trying to keep me close. ‘Pretty much. The money was great, so I fell into it. Modelling gigs turned into acting jobs when my agent realised I could play a part. And the roles got bigger and bigger. It was hard to say no to the money, even if I really didn’t like the fame. It felt nice, actually, to put my acting talent to good use.’
I hum. It makes sense. ‘You liked the job, but every job has its downsides.’
‘Which is why I usually need a getaway after big press junkets.’ His smile is soft. I feel like I could drown in his eyes. ‘Thank you for coming with me.’
The way he’s looking at me melts from soft to hot. Maybe it’s the alcohol he’s drinking, or the way he opened up to me. But I can tell that there’s desire in his gaze.
‘They’re going to leave us alone,’ he says. ‘I asked them for privacy. If we get hungry, I’ll go back and ask for food. But for now, it’s just us.’
My mouth is dry. I take a deep breath, trying to tame the arousal building at the base of my spine.
‘Have you ever fucked in a plane?’
The way Nikos says it is so bare, so rough, that I can’t help myself. I whine.
I narrow my eyes on him, reading the nuances of his expressions. I see the stress in the lines across his forehead, and beside his honey-gold eyes, but Nikos does well to hide the root cause. ‘I get the impression, from the confidence you just asked that question with, that you’re already a proud member of the mile-high club?’
‘Not yet.’
‘Not yet?’ I retort.
‘Come here, Honey.’ Nikos sets his glass down on a nearby table and opens his arms to me. I practically launch myself across the space between us and climb him like a tree. ‘Would you like me to fuck you?’
I’m needy, and clingy, and I know it. But right now, all I want is for Nikos to claim me. I want him to use me. I want to be his.
‘I want you to fuck my throat.’ My voice is breathy and high, and my head is spinning. All the blood in my body has rushed downward, and I’m painfully hard. The idea of stripping down completely when the air stewardess is sitting in the cockpit unnerves me. But discreet blowjobs...yes, that I can do.
‘I’d never say no to that mouth. So, if you’re so certain,’ he says, licking his lips, ‘get down on your knees.’
He spreads his thighs apart on the wide leather seat, and when I look down I can see the outline of his hardening length through his jeans. I almost drool at the way they’re stretching across his muscular thighs. I scramble back off of his lap and my knees hit the plush carpet of the jet. My knuckles graze the hard ridges of Nikos’ abs as I unbutton his jeans and pull down the zipper.
Nikos winds his fingers into my hair as I take in the way his cock is straining against the fabric of his briefs. There’s already a damp spot on the cotton where he’s leaking, and the breath punches out of me when I realise that I did that. I’m the one who got a movie star hard and aching.
‘Go on.’ His voice is rough, and his hips tilt up, like he can’t wait to have my mouth on him. ‘Show me how good you can be for me. Show me how deep you can take me, Honey.’
I try to say something but it’s just an incoherent moan when it leaves my lips. I abandon any hope of speech and instead bend forward to mouth at his cock, the heat of it against my lips making my stomach clench. It’s been a while since I blew a guy this big - who am I kidding, I’ve never had a cock this size in my mouth.
But I’m nothing if not dedicated.
I slide the waistband of Nikos’ briefs down to expose his length, and as soon as I do, his hands push me down. I take his crown between my lips and flick my tongue out, tasting him. He’s leaking and when I run my tongue over his slit, he arches his hips up and moans.
‘God, Honey.’
His accent comes out so much more when he’s aroused, like he’s losing control. I want to be the one to give him that - to allow him to get rid of the shell that he’s built around himself to survive being in the public eye. I want to make him feel like he can be himself. Just Adonis. Just free.
I take a breath and draw him further into my mouth, relaxing my throat and jaw and digging my fingers into his thighs. Every time the muscles there jump, every time I hear him pant, it encourages me to keep going.
‘Honey.’ He’s saying my name like it’s a prayer. Like I’m the one who’s a god.
I manage to keep from gagging as he hits the back of my throat, filling me up, using me. He stays still, so I draw back, licking my way up his shaft, my tongue tracing the thick veins running along the underside of his cock. His hands tighten in my hair, just on the edge of pain, and I give myself over to him. He pushes my head back down until my throat is flexing around him, my eyes watering and spit coating my chin.
I’m a filthy mess, but I don’t care.
I start up a rhythm, working his cock, one hand moving to the base because even when I try I can’t fit it all in my mouth. The noises Nikos is making are so hot I think that it wouldn’t take much for me to come. I could get off on the way I’m making Nikos pant.
‘Honey, I’m - '
I can tell that Nikos is close by the way his cock is twitching and his thighs are tensing, and I hum as I lower my mouth back down over him. The slight vibration sends him over the edge, his cock pulsing as he shoots cum down my throat.
He pulls me off his cock before he’s finished, coating my chin like he owns me. Like I’m property.
I swipe a hand across my face, Nikos’ come coating my palm, and then stare him in the eye as I lick myself clean.
‘You’re a menace, Honey,’ Nikos pants, his hands tightening around my waist.
I’m whining and practically crying I’m so eager to come, and all it takes is Nikos hauling me up and grinding a palm against my length before I’m shuddering through an orgasm that feels like it lasts a lifetime. I swear that I black out a bit, sagging against Nikos.
I cry out as I come, not even worrying about the air stewardess hearing.
I wouldn’t mind if everyone in the whole world knew that I belonged to Nikos Ridge.
Turns out, my moan wasn’t so muffled. Just as I get back to my feet, a pretty face pops around the door to the cockpit. ‘Did you require something, Mr Ridge?’
‘No, no,’ he replies, pushing distance between us, reminding me to play the part of dirty secret, instead of open lover. ‘I’m rather satisfied at the moment.’
I offer her a weak smile, hoping she doesn’t see the smudge of his cum still on my chin or the wet spot darkening my trousers. She nods, sweeps her eyes over us, and disappears. The moment the door closes, we burst into a fit of giggles, like naughty schoolboys.
I let myself laugh, even if it hurts to remember that us, this–it's nothing more than a lie.