[4] – Delirious

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Jeremy hissed angrily, glancing at his watch for the millionth time, pacing impatiently in front of the entrance to the Manchester Museum.

Rory wringed his hands nervously, watching helplessly as Jeremy tried to contact the other members of their team but to no avail. It was nearing ten thirty and none of the other employees had shown up. Rory could smell a rat in the air but he shrugged it off, knowing it was only going to ruin his mood.

Seriously, what the hell did they think they were doing? This was their job for Christ sake; they couldn’t just put it on the line because of their silly matchmaking schemes!

The exhibition was already well under way, other companies already trying to sell their work and get the artists to sell to or work for them.

Even though Rory knew Jeremy had every right to be angry – he was the boss after all – he couldn’t help but hope that the man would have felt just a little bit happy that he was alone with him. Rory squashed down the thought as soon as it came; reminding himself furiously that it was not the time to think about his crush.

He swallowed and said tentatively, “we might as well get on with it, Mr Walker, maybe they’ll show up later?” he suggested.

Jeremy sighed and shoved his phone back into his pocket, nodding at Rory, “we might as well.”

Rory managed a small smile and the two of them headed inside the Museum, climbing the steps to lead them to the room where the artists and other bidders and competitors were.

“I’m going to castrate them when I see them,” Jeremy growled under his breath, obviously referring to his missing employees and Rory couldn’t help laughing a bit at that and then clamping his lips shut, wondering if he should be amused when the boss was so evidently pissed.

To his surprise, Jeremy actually cracked a smile at him, the action sending Rory’s cheeks turning a fiery red before he quickly coughed and looked away, one hand nervously sifting through his hair. He inwardly groaned; oh trust me, Mr Walker, you’re not going to be the only one castrating people.

At first, he was incredibly aware of the other man’s presence beside him, finding that he was actually watching the way he was breathing and walking and in the end, feeling so stupid about it. It took a while but soon he was less aware of his boss and more absorbed in the paintings in front of him. His eyes were wide as he took in the drawings and paintings, the tell-tale throb of excitement thrumming through his veins at the sight of the majestic and not-so-majestic pieces of art hanging around in the room.

Jeremy felt his lips part a little at the look on Rory’s face as he finally relaxed and took in his surroundings. He felt that random bout of déjà vu hit him square in the chest and he heaved in a shaky breath, quickly tearing his gaze away before he did something truly stupid – like blurt how amazing Rory looked with his dark eyes so big and filled with wonder – like a kid on his first time in an amusement park.

Rory’s hands itched to reach for his phone – fudge, why didn’t he bring his camera? – to take photos of all the paintings on the wall. These were priceless pieces of art! Some of them reminded him of his own style while the others were inspiring him greatly. He thought of his art at home and flushed bright red, remembering that his private studio was filled to the brim with paintings of dream Jeremy.

So far, for the past weeks, he’d tried to separate the two, telling himself it was just an awful coincidence – he still saw a flash of Jeremy’s face in his mind’s eye but, thank God, he hadn’t had a vivid dream like the one he’d had the last time concerning Jeremy and “Club Fantasy.”

The quiet hum of the room brought Rory out of his thoughts and he started to focus on the people more, realizing that was exactly why he was even here.

“Annabelle Valentino,” Jeremy whispered and Rory nearly frigging moaned because Jeremy’s breath had washed down his over-sensitive neck when he’d leaned down to whisper.

Hiding back his involuntary shiver and forcing his blood not to overheat, he replied, “I don’t think I’ve heard of her before.”

“She’s the daughter to Gianni and Grayson Valentino.”

“The power couple?” Rory chuckled a bit, inconspicuously sliding a hand up to cover his neck, unable to bear the warm breath of Jeremy against his neck as the man breathed.

“Yeah, I heard that Gianni’s retiring and his daughter is taking over his art enterprise, although some people would like to think that she has no talent and is just stealing off of her father’s fame.”

“Ouch,” Rory said sympathetically and Jeremy chuckled a bit.

“Well, I don’t know if she has any talent to speak of.”

Rory glanced up at Jeremy, only then realizing how tall his boss actually was and how close their faces were now that he bothered to look at him. He licked his lips and ignored that fact, raising an eyebrow instead and thankfully remembering what they were even talking about, forcing himself not to get lost in the sight of Jeremy’s lips so close to his, “But don’t you think it would be impossible to steal off someone’s fame? Especially in the art industry? Unless of course, she’s reselling his paintings and not making her own.”

“Or her dad could be giving her some new paintings as a means for her to make a career.”

“The man is over fifty years old and my God, Jeremy you sound like a reporter,” Rory laughed, teasing lightly and not even realizing that he’d just casually called his boss by his first name, “oh she’s definitely stealing off of her father’s fame, she has no talent whatsoever because she’s hot, sexy and blonde and only twenty-seven – so how can she possibly be that successful, it just has to be her father!” he mocked silently, his stomach flipping hard when Jeremy laughed out loud, leaning even closer to Rory.

Rory licked his lips again and unconsciously dropped his hand from his neck, his stomach clenching with desire as he imagined pressing his lips to his boss’s. He coughed and tore his gaze away, ignoring the heat of the body standing so very close to his.

“Well, Rory,” Jeremy teased, emphasizing on his name to remind Rory that he’d done the same thing and Rory felt his cheeks burn with an embarrassed blush, “I’ll take you for your word then.”

He started a bit when Jeremy’s hand slid into his elbow and a warm body was suddenly pressed warmly against him, leading him around the room.

“What do you think about Benedict Hale?” Jeremy whispered, his voice again washing over Rory’s sensitive neck.

This time, Rory couldn’t suppress his shiver and his voice was husky when he replied, “too lazy.”

“Whoa, that’s harsh,” Jeremy said in surprise.

God, Jeremy was trying so hard to ignore the fact that his breathing down Rory’s neck was causing a very sexual reaction from his employee, and instead of him to be decent and pull away, he was leaning in even closer, purposefully breathing down that long pale neck and enjoying the bright flush his action was causing to spread across the younger man’s skin and his delectable little shivers.

“Well,” Rory began huskily in response to his statement, “while most artists release new pieces of work every few weeks or so, Benedict releases one piece like once in a blue moon and have you even seen his art? They don’t look well-thought out at all – it’s like he just got out of bed and decided to paint some rubbish and sell it, disabusing his talent – because he does have talent.”

“It’s a shame, isn’t it?” Jeremy responded and he felt the lower part of his belly clench hard when Rory shivered again, the man unconsciously tilting his neck and fuck, Jeremy couldn’t resist leaning over and running his nose over the length of it, also allowing his lips to brush teasingly against the soft, firm skin.

Rory’s lips parted and the most beautiful gasp escaped his lips accompanied by a tell-tale shiver, his head leaning back further, giving Jeremy ready access. God dammit! Jeremy growled lowly under his breath and was about to grab Rory by the waist, slam him against the nearest surface and unceremoniously smash their lips together when a loud voice brought them out of their reverie.

“Is that what you think, Mr Crow?”

The shrill voice was like a hot knife slicing through butter and Jeremy and Rory jumped apart from each other like they’d been stung. Rory’s entire face took on a rosy hue and even Jeremy’s cheeks were tinged with an embarrassed pink.

Oh God, what the hell had gotten into him? He’d very nearly kissed his employee!

“Ah, Mr Walker,” the owner of the shrill voice said, although now her voice was soft and calm and not so shrill anymore, “are you here looking for artists or selling for your company?”

Jeremy blinked and felt his heart lurch when he realized that the owner of the voice was none other than Harry Goldberg, the woman staring him down. She was small with thick dark dreadlocks on her head and funny looking pale pink shaded glasses covering her eyes, dressed in a long striped shirt that nearly swept the floor and cream pants underneath.

“Miss Goldberg,” Jeremy said in soft but pleased surprise, happy that she already knew about his studio, “I’m actually looking for more artists,” he said sincerely.

“Yes, I thought as much,” she replied with a click of her tongue, “I do have my art in here somewhere – shall we see if my work is worthy enough of your studio?” she said and turned around, making her way through the crowd to where her art presumably was.

Jeremy and Rory instantly followed and he wanted to say; oh your work is more than worthy when Rory elbowed him in the ribs, and made a zipping motion over his lips, making Jeremy’s gaze helplessly drop to the pale pink pouty flesh, his hands clenching as he remembered how close he’d been to kissing those lips. Fuck.

Rory’s cheeks darkened as if he knew what Jeremy was thinking about and the older man’s fists tightened even more when his employee’s dark eyes dropped to his lips, his cheeks reddening even further at the helpless action.

“Ah, here we are,” Miss Goldberg spoke, again making them jump a little away from each other, blushing furiously and turning to glance at her works on the wall, “I also have my portfolio if that is important. You see, I’m also looking for a company to join, Mr Walker. I know potential when I see one. I don’t just want my art on a company’s walls – I also want to be able to share my talent.”

Rory knew that Jeremy was going to say yes without even glancing at the woman’s works so he quickly spoke up, “can we see your portfolio then?”

Oh fudge cupcakes, what the devil was he doing? He wasn’t the boss for heaven’s sake!

 Thankfully, Jeremy said nothing as Miss Goldberg picked up the thick portfolio, obviously done with a lot of thought and consideration and handed it over to Rory. Rory swallowed down his nervousness and ignored the man beside him, knowing that Jeremy was probably pissed that he was taking control when he was nothing but a frigging assistant in the studio. It was too late now though.

After glancing through her portfolio, Rory decided that she was indeed as great as the rumours said. She had obviously done her portfolio with a lot of care; it wasn’t too professional to be boring and also had a flare of her in it, making the portfolio more personal.

“Do you want to have a look?” Rory asked, not looking at Jeremy as he handed the portfolio over to him.

“Certainly.” Rory couldn’t quite place the tone in his voice and he felt dread creeping up his spine. What if he was ruining this entirely? Why couldn’t he have just shut his dang mouth and let his bloody boss handle it? There was a reason why he was the boss after all.

Fudge, he was really in for it now.

“I’m sorry, but your face is new to me. You are?” Miss Goldberg asked and Rory swallowed.

“Rory Lewis,” he replied, “I work for Mr Walker.”

“Right then, would you like to look at my art while Mr Walker is looking through my portfolio?” she asked with a mischievous smile and Rory frowned a little in confusion. Did he miss something? Or did she know that he was nothing but the lowly assistant of a kids’ tutor?

His thoughts were lost though as he looked up at the big piece in front of him. It was a very beautiful painting of a forest with golden light filtering through the trees, the colours nearly bursting out of the page, making the painting look surreal.

“Oh,” he said softly in surprise, honestly taken aback by its sheer splendour, “that’s a big one.”

“Mhm,” the woman grinned, obviously proud of the piece, “what do you think?”

Rory tilted his head and frowned, his breath puffing out, “do you like forests?”

Miss Goldberg giggled, “Funny question. Everyone immediately rushed to interpret the painting and you ask me that and no, I’m not particularly fond of forests.”

“So that’s it then,” Rory beamed, “you just painted a forest. I’m guessing inspiration hit at the most random of times and you were suddenly rushing to your studio to put it down,” Rory said with a fond smile on his face, his hand raising up as if to touch the painting but just hovering a little away from it. He was lost in his own thoughts, remembering how the vivid picture of something would have him rushing to his studio to quickly put it on paper before he lost the magic.

The silence was what brought Rory back and he turned to glance at Harry and Jeremy, who were staring at him like he’d grown two heads.

“Uh, right,” Miss Goldberg said, “I take it is to your liking then, Mr Walker?”

Jeremy nodded, “it’s a beautiful piece and your portfolio is splendid.”

“Thank you. I would love to have my art in your studio.”

“Have you ever considered working for Walker Design Studios?” Rory suddenly blurted and then wished the ground would open up and swallow him whole.

“No, not really,” she replied, a small frown on her face.

“Right then,” Rory mumbled, staring at the floor, “I’m…I think I need the bathroom.”

Jeremy watched him go, still at a loss of what to say. God, the pure passion in Rory’s eyes as he’d looked at Miss Goldberg’s painting was something he’d never seen in his life ever – even in Minnie, his most passionate artist. That passion ignited something in him and God, if he’d wanted Rory before, he positively ached for him now.

“I’ll be contacting you and visiting your company soon, Mr Walker,” Harry said, bringing him out of his thoughts.

“Right,” Jeremy replied with a smile, “you’re a wonderful artist, Miss Goldberg and I hope my side of the scale weighs just right.”

The woman laughed a little and waved, beginning to pack up her stuff, a silent dismissal. Jeremy walked away from her towards the men’s toilets and waited outside the corridor for Rory, wondering if he was okay.

I’ve totally ruined it, Rory thought as he stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirrors. Seriously Rory, could you not have shut your mouth or was it so hard?

He swallowed, ready to face the wrath of his boss as he left the bathroom. He spotted Jeremy beside the bathrooms, looking out to the hall and he swallowed and walked up to him, blurting out immediately, “I’m sorry.”

Jeremy glanced at him in surprise and then amusement washed over his features, “sorry for what?”

Rory shifted uncomfortably, “I know you’re the boss and I shouldn’t have just taken over like that, God, what if I’ve ruined it?”

“Then I’ll just have to punish you,” Jeremy said sultrily and Rory’s eyes grew wide.

Oh my God, did Jeremy – Mr Walker, just flirt with him? Rory’s lips parted and his gaze helplessly dropped to Jeremy’s full strawberry red lips, a soft sound leaving his lips when Jeremy moved closer, making Rory take an instinctive step backwards. This continued until Rory was pressed against the wall, his boss bearing down on him.

“M-Mr Walker,” Rory stuttered nervously, his palms rising up to press against the hard chest in front of him, fingers curling in his shirt and Rory didn’t even know if he was about to push the man away or force him closer.

Jeremy was ignoring all the warning bells going off in his head, saying ‘screw it’ to rationality as his head lowered and of course, the bathroom door slammed open, sending the two men jumping away from each other.

Rationality came slamming back into Jeremy’s head and he flushed in embarrassment, cursing himself as his body traitorously responded to the sight of Rory’s sensual blush warming his cheeks.

At that moment, Jeremy wanted to ask him out.

Fancy having a cup of coffee after this?

It was there, right at the tip of his tongue but he chickened out, swallowing instead, “I guess we should head back.”

“Yeah,” Rory replied his voice soft and breathy and fuck, Jeremy had to clench his hands into fists to keep from following his earlier instinct to slam Rory against the nearest surface and abuse his mouth with a bruising kiss, goddamn.

The remainder of the day was filled with unresolved sexual tension, both men brimming with it. Rory kept licking his lips and tried to keep his mind off anything sexual and involving his boss because he really did not need to get aroused right now. And beside him, Jeremy was having the same problem.

When it was finally over, they both heaved in huge breaths of relief, heading outside together. It was still bright and sunny as they exited the Museum and Jeremy nodded at Rory. They hovered at the entrance, both reluctant to let the day end even though they were happy for the open space which had alleviated the sexual tension somewhat.

“Thanks for showing up today,” Jeremy said, smiling softly.

“It was important anyway,” Rory said offhandedly, waving his hand in the air to emphasize his point, shuffling his feet. Both of them still made no move to separate.

Jeremy grinned, “Whatever you say. I’ll see you on Monday, then?”

“See you on Monday,” Rory agreed, grinning, “oh and don’t be too harsh on the others.”

“Oh they’ll regret not turning up – I will deal with them accordingly.”

Rory shivered at his commanding tone and then shook his head and waved, finally forcing his feet to move, leading him down the steps and towards the busy road, “see you later, then.”

“Safe journey home.”

Rory nodded and forced himself to not look back. And even though nothing had really happened, Rory couldn’t help but feel extremely happy. He could feel his emotions bubbling in his chest, making him feel choked up. God, Jeremy was attracted to him, Jeremy liked him. He actually bloody giggled at that, his hands curling into his chest like a girl head over heels in a Disney movie.

*~*~*

“You know it’s pointless, right?” Maxwell said when he noticed the absolutely dreamy look Rory was giving Jeremy from across the club.

“Yeah I know,” Rory replied and he felt a painful pang in his chest. So he’d been working in Club Fantasy for a few weeks now and it was obvious to nearly everyone in the club that he was crushing hard on Jeremy, one of the bad boys. Said crush was currently at the counter with Grayson, both of them laughing and wiping down the glasses or filling up drinks for waiting customers.

Rory sighed at the way his heart skipped when Jeremy glanced his way and he flushed bright red, quickly turning his gaze away. One thing he hated about his crush was the fact that it was one-sided.

Jeremy was obviously a player – as Rory had come to painfully realize; there was hardly a night when Jeremy didn’t pick up someone from the club to take home and each time, it felt like someone was ripping a chunk of his heart out. Yeah, just put it on Rory to be crushing on the unavailable.

He turned to Maxwell, “I’m going to go check on the VIP room, see if they need any help.”

Maxwell nodded sympathetically at him and Rory ignored the pitiful look, heading out of the main room to the stairs that would lead upstairs to the VIP room. He remained there all night, forcing himself not to think about Jeremy and the fact that he was probably ogling someone on the dance floor right now, ready to take them home.

The night went by in a blur and he sighed happily when it was over, helping the rest clean up the place. He was sure Jeremy and Grayson were gone by now – they normally disappeared after picking up someone for the night.

“Goodnight Dee, Maxwell,” he called out and they waved back at him.

He stuck his hands in his pockets and made his way outside, walking towards the taxi park. He heard footsteps behind him and he turned around, his eyes widening in surprise at the sight of Jeremy behind him.

“Hey,” Jeremy whispered in a voice hot enough to melt chocolate at twenty paces as he curled his fingers through Rory’s, pushing him against the hood of the nearest car and pushing his body hard against Rory’s, “are you going home alone?”

Rory swallowed, feeling his heart quicken at the feel of Jeremy pressed so intimately against him; he could practically feel his heart, the heat and hardness driving Rory crazy with want.

“I…” he began, his voice thick, betraying his desire.

“I can make tonight good for you,” Jeremy whispered hoarsely, leaning down so that his breath fanned Rory’s lips, “we can make it good for each other.”

Yeah, except the fact that you don’t even LIKE me.

That thought doused the arousal out of him and Rory blinked, gently but firmly removing his hands from Jeremy and pushing the taller man away from him.

“Sorry, but I’d rather enjoy a cup of tea and a book.”

Jeremy frowned a little, “I KNOW you like me, so why are you being difficult?”

Rory wanted to cry and scream. His emotions bubbled up like a volcano and he struggled to hold them back, knowing that Jeremy would only think he was ‘lame’ or ‘silly’ for wanting FEELINGS involved in an act of just sex. He hadn’t told any of the club members that he had sickle cell anaemia and the doctors said he might die any second because he didn’t want their pity, but how he felt like flinging it in Jeremy’s face, wondering if that would change everything, if just maybe, Jeremy might care a little.

Instead, he swallowed all the emotion back down and raised a calm eyebrow up at Jeremy, the action hiding the fact that he was a mess inside, “Unlike you Jeremy, I don’t just stick my dick in any willing hole – I actually like knowing the PERSON attached to the hole. Stop asking me to sleep with you because it’s not going to work, okay? Goodnight.”

He stalked away from him, breathing heavily.

There, he’d ruined all the chances of ever getting with Jeremy. Why couldn’t he just have said yes? What if he died right in this moment? He would regret it, wouldn’t he? The stress was just too much for him and he collapsed when he got home, struggling to breathe. He was able to call his doctor before he passed out on his couch.

*~*~*

Rory gasped himself awake, sweating profusely. He ran his hands over his body as if to make sure there were no hospital tubes attached to him before sinking back into his mattress.

It was another of those dreams again. This time, he was a bit frightened. What the hell was going on? What the hell did these dreams even mean?

Don’t think about it, Rory.

Rory closed his eyes and thought about the real Jeremy, not the dream one, trying to remember what had happened today and how Jeremy had tried to kiss him, remembered Jeremy flirting with him and a small smile found its way to his lips as he fell asleep again, this time dreaming of his boss and a secret romance.