"...unless Tao was under (1/1)

Chapter 11 “…unless Tao was under a spell?”             It was hot. Tao didn’t remember falling asleep this hot. Sweaty yes, but he hadn’t felt like he was going to suffocate with how thick the air was around him. He sat up in bed and held his head feeling dizzy. He needed water and some aspirin. They couldn’t have gone that hard last night that he would have to stay in bed. Certainly the American man had been kinkier than Tao had first taken him for, but it wasn’t anything that would make Tao leave. Had he taken a few more rounds while Tao was still asleep? His hips hurt. “Oh, you’re awake.” Tao looked up and blinked at the man as he walked out of a door near the closet. A rush of steam came out with him and Tao coughed then sniffed. “It’s hot.” The man approached the bed and sat on it leaning toward Tao. “I have a sauna function in my shower. It’s good for the skin after a night like we had.” He captured Tao’s lips and kissed him. Tao just sat there still trying to understand why you would need a sauna in April. “It’s, too hot. I need a drink.” The man leaned away frowning then stood and disappeared into the bathroom again. He came out carrying a glass of water and aspirin. Tao took them and down the pills then down all the water. His throat didn’t feel like it was going to close in on itself anymore. He lifted his hands to his hair and pushed it back hearing a clink from his left hand. The handcuffs the man had used last night were still stuck to his wrist. “Take this off,” Tao said holding his arm out. “I told you to take it off before I went to sleep.” The man pulled out a key from his dresser and put it in the lock. “You said to let you free.” Tao frowned. “Tell me when your shower’s not so steamy. I have to take a shower before I head home.” “I can drive you home,” the man offered. Tao threw the blankets off him and stood stretching out. “No, I have a meeting for work.” “Then I can take you to work. It’s not bad being seen with Julian Kang,” the man said and shot what was probably supposed to be a charming smile at Tao. It probably worked on women, but Tao just stared. “Who’s Julian Kang?” The man looked taken aback. “I am. Julian Kang, actor. I’ve had a few starring roles in movies recently.” “Must not have seen them,” Tao said and finished stretching.  The man, Julian, came up behind him and placed a hand on Tao’s waist. “I could show you some of them if you stayed a while.” Tao walked away and went on a search for his clothes. “Not interested.” “So this was just a one time thing?” Julian asked. Tao finished gathering his clothes and turned to the man. “If you were looking for more, your opening line probably shouldn’t have been ‘How about we get out of here’.” He headed to the bathroom without another word. It was still steamy, but Tao wanted to hurry up and get out of Julian Kang’s apartment. He didn’t like clingy guys. The thought brought up pictures of Yixing. Yixing was different, though. He was clingy from the beginning. He was a unicorn, too. Or a wizard, Tao was leaning more toward a wizard. How else would Yixing be able to plague his mind so much unless Tao was under a spell?   He had thought about him. Because he had come to the party, Tao had thought about him and that was the only reason he’d agreed to the handcuffs. Usually he just liked plain and simple sex with kinks that could be done without anything extra, like maybe the guy wanted to rim him or the other way around, or a certain position they were fascinated with. Hair pulling. But the moment he had stumbled into the actor’s apartment, Tao had started thinking about him. Maybe he should have done what he did in the shower. Yixing’s skin was still fresh against his. He could still hear the unicorn man’s moans against his ear as they moved together against the shower wall. Tao needed to think about something else. He was in a shower, someone else’s shower. Had Luhan gone home with Kai, or did he chicken out again? Tao came out of the bathroom only when the steam had finally gone down. He took a cold shower not wanting to chance anything and he didn’t think he could take any more humidity. Julian Kang was sitting on his bed watching television. He looked up at Tao almost hopefully. Tao just ruffled his hair with the towel and turned to the bedroom door that, if he remembered correctly, led to a small kitchen and living room area. “Are you really going to a meeting now?” he asked. Tao checked himself in the mirror. “It’s not for work, but I do have a meeting with my boss.” Julian scoffed. “You sleep with your boss?” Tao pulled out his phone. He had a text from Luhan. One text. He didn’t even have to read it to know his roommate had stayed with Kai and smiled to himself. He felt kind of proud of the older man. “Slept. He wasn’t my boss then.” (✪㉨✪)              Tao stopped by a clothing store on his way to Ace’s. He had the thought that he could have just bought clothes at Ace’s as it was a clothing company, but nothing in stock was really what he felt like wearing and Kris would probably already be waiting in the lobby. He dressed casual, but obvious that he had some taste. Kris would probably look like a runway model. He didn’t know what casual was since moving to New York. The cab dropped him off at the coffee shop. He had gotten it after the quick shopping trip and left his old clothes inside. He had more clubbing clothes that could get him a better lay than he had last night. Tao got a coffee, fixed with all the sugar and fat there could be, and crossed the road to Ace’s. The other receptionist was there. She wasn’t as pretty as the one that had Tao’s number, but younger. Tao had thought she was an intern, but she looked like she hated the job while taking it too seriously at the same time. She pulled out her clipboard and looked at Tao. “You’re not scheduled this Saturday. You got two Saturdays off in a role.” Tao held his coffee cup up to her. “I have over time today. I’m meeting the boss.” She made a face. “You’re going on a date?” Tao raised a brow. Homophobic? Or just jealous she wasn’t pretty enough to get a gay man’s attention? “You know your boss is engaged to a man, right? And yeah, we’re going on a date. Isn’t that what friends do?” Tao took a sip of his drink and reveled in the agony of wanting to quite that crossed the receptionist face. He really liked the weekday girl better. The elevator doors dinged open and Tao turned to see Kris walk out dressed a little bit more down than usual. He looked straight, which Tao supposed was a good thing because it meant more girls would flock to Ace’s even if Kris was married to a man. Kris adjusted the sleeves of his sports jacket then looked up finally seeing Tao there. “Oh, you already got coffee.” Tao shook the cup at him. “What, were you going to buy me one?” “Well, this is for your birthday after all. I won’t be here for it and we’ll be busy every other week for the next few months.” Tao swirled the straw around in his drink mixing the whipped cream in with the coffee. “You don’t always have to take me out for my birthday.” Kris reached a hand out and ruffled Tao’s hair. “You’re like my little brother. I give you enough crap the rest of the year; I can spoil you for one day.” Tao’s heart swelled and deflated at the same time. He had gotten use to it for the past decade he had known Kris. “Alright, then spoil me already.” They went outside to stand on the sidewalk. A car rolled up at Kris’ feet, sleek and black with a tuxedo wearing driver in the front. “Did you finally get a personal car?” Tao asked as he moved to get in. “No, I rented it for today.” Tao looked around and started to mess with the controls finding the separator between the front seats and the back seats and left it up. “You should just get a car. You’ll be too famous to walk around by yourself soon.” Kris swatted at his hands to keep him from touching anything else. “I don’t want to waste money.” Tao sat back and crossed his arms. “You should think about Minseok then. He’s going to get harassed walking around all by himself after he marries you. There are tons of girls and men with crushes on you.” Kris laughed. “Minseok already knows. He doesn’t want a personal driver either. “ “What are we doing today?” Tao asked and looked out the window. They passed by the vendor on the corner that sold knock off brand name bags and he rolled down his window to flick him off. He caught Kris scolding him in the reflection of the window as he rolled it back up. “Shopping.” “Gucci?” Tao asked hopefully reaching a finger out and poking Kris reflection. Kris sighed. “If that’s what you want, but you can’t max out my card like you did last time. I’m actually having to start to worry about my bank accounts because of you and your ‘emergency’ spending barrages.” Tao laughed, but it was only to cover up the flashes of Yixing’s face that went across his mind. He had needed those shopping sprees. They stopped at a mall and Tao rushed inside. He had forgotten about it, his Kris Day. Since they had been young, they had always spent one day close to Tao’s birthday together and Kris would buy him whatever he liked until he ran out of money. Tao had never been particularly thoughtful of Kris’ pocket, he had been a bit of a brat, actually, when Kris would tell him the money was all gone, but then he would take Tao to watch fireflies at the stream behind Kris’ apartment complex or they would walk on the beach and make sand castles under the moonlight. Just like with the money, Tao hadn’t been thoughtful of why Kris did those things, but they didn’t have to worry about money now. And Tao didn’t have to worry about why. He knew why. “I need a new wallet,” Tao announced when they walked into the Gucci store. “What do you need a wallet for, you don’t even carry your own money around,” Kris said shoving Tao to the side playfully. Tao glared at him then grinned. “I have to have something to carry your debit card in, and your credit card, and maybe I can charm my way into getting Minseok to give me your third card.” Tao went to the display case and looked over the rows and rows of ridiculously priced wallets. “It’s not like he’ll use it unless you make him. The only thing he buys without thinking is food.” “He does have good taste in food,” Kris said and went over to the watch selection next to the wallets. “Why don’t you get something for your boyfriend,” Kris said. “What boyfriend,” Tao said and pointed to a wallet waving the guy texting behind a pillar to get it out. “Didn’t you spend the night with him?” Kris asked. Tao fingered through the wallet then handed it back to the guy and pointed to another. “No, that was just a one night thing.” “Then who’s the guy that keeps bringing you and Luhan lunch?” Tao immediately rejected the next wallet. “My charity case.” “You don’t like charity. How about this one?” he pointed to a chestnut colored wallet. The guy pulled it out. “It looks good on resumes.” “Are you quitting?” Kris teased and looked through the wallet before handing it to Tao. “No, I’m going to be head.” Tao took the wallet. The inside was a chocolate color and the pockets were still rough. “Is this a new brand?” “Yes, we just got the shipment in a couple days ago.” Tao put the wallet down on the top of the glass case and tapped it. He was always fond of the newer styles. The guy took it and rung it up.  “You’re smarter than I thought, Zitao,” Kris said and moved back to the watches. Tao tapped the top of the glass case, waiting. “I would hope so, Yifan.”  (✪㉨✪)             Tao’s stomach was full with buttered lobster and two large slices of devil’s food cake and his veins were wired with the extra large frappuccino the had convince Kris to get him while they wondered around the mall. The three bags of clothing and knick knacks he had filled on Kris’ credit card were heavy on his fat burning body and he just wanted to curl up in a corner and sleep. Kris had offered to drop him off at the apartment before he went back to Ace’s to finish up some stuff he didn’t want to do the next day because the next day was tuxedo fitting with Minseok, but Tao had decided he didn’t want to go home. He wanted to work on his portfolio. Walking around with Kris at the mall, he had found if not talking to his boss or ogling expensive clothes, the only thing that kept him from thinking about Yixing was thinking about his portfolio. He still had the unicorn theme, but he sort of liked where the designs forming in his head were going. He just needed another way of describing them. “I could have at least dropped you off at your apartment so you could drop your bags off. I could have said hi to Luhan, I haven’t seen him in a while,” Kris said as they walked out of the taxi and toward the doors of Ace’s. Tao scoffed. “He works for you and lives with me, how is it you two can go months without more than see each other across a room? Besides, Luhan probably wouldn’t have been there.” “Why not?” Kris asked opening the door. “Well, he either is there and is crying his eyes out and, trust me, you don’t want to be there for that, or he’s still letting his new boyfriend fuck his brains out.” Tao walked through the door and went to the elevator, using his foot to push the up button. “He had sex? The last rumor I heard, he was still a ‘slutty’ virgin. Who’s the boyfriend?” Tao laughed and put one of his bags down handing the other to Kris so he could pull his phone out. “That’s a horrible way to describe him. And the boyfriend is someone you should probably give him a lecture over.” “Is it Sehun again?” Kris asked. “Kai,” Tao said smiling seeing that Luhan was on a date with Kai and wasn’t in the apartment crying because Kai kicked him out after getting his ass eating up all of Yixing’s cake. “The new model you put him in charge of.” “Doesn’t he know it’s never a good idea to date your client?” Kris sighed and handed Tao back his bag before getting off. “I have business on this floor. You had fun right?” Kris’ face looked a bit worried, his usual features softened like Tao was use to him looking at him. Like an older brother. He closed his eyes for a second then smiled softly. “Yeah, thanks Yifan ge.” The doors started to close and when the elevator lift started up again, he leaned back and took a deep breath. He loved the one day a year he got solely with Kris, but since he was seventeen, they had left a bitter taste in his mouth afterwards. He got to his floor and walked out of the elevator still struggling with the three full bags. He dropped them by the door and immediately went to his drawing desk, pulling out the old sketches to reevaluate them. The girl’s dress was too long and the designs were too obvious. He’d have to transfer it to the computer to get the right amount of fade he wanted with the pink-gray leopard print and he needed to lower the neck. A talk with one of the directors in the sewing department could help him with the details of how that would work. The guy’s shirt was all wrong. Tao crumbled it up and started anew, starting with something princely and European. Unicorns. Well, if that’s what he had said, he could go with it for now and change it up when he had something to make more bull crap of. He removed the sleeves and put slits in it then pulled out a chestnut color. He had two that was a start. Tao jumped when he felt a hand land on his shoulder. He had gotten two more sketched out, lost deeply in his work he hadn’t noticed someone enter his office. He swirled around to see Baekhyun there. “What are you doing at Ace’s?” Tao asked. Baekhyun smirked at him. “One of the other designers has been working on a jewelry line. They got their main pieces in and called me. I am the best hand model there is around here.” He waved his hands at Tao and Tao caught sight of a silver and diamond bracelet-ring combination. “You’re going to return that, right? I’m not going to let you still from Kris,” Tao said pointing to it. Baekhyun frowned and covered his hand up. “I was only going to barrow it. “How many karats?” Tao asked. Baekhyun made a face then started to unclip the jewelry. “Too many.” He dropped it in his hand and Tao walked out to put it back in the photo shoot studio. Baekhyun followed him into the elevator.  “So, I didn’t see you around earlier,” Baekhyun commented. “Someone took me on a birthday date,” Tao answered. “Oh, isn’t your birthday next month? We’re the same month, right?” Tao nodded. “They couldn’t do it any time closer so we went today.” “Oooh, is that what all those bags were at your door? I saw Gucci.” Tao sighed. “It was the boss.” Baekhyun grinned at Tao. “Sleeping with the boss now? Wait, isn’t he getting married?” “We’re just friends,” Tao said and stepped out of the elevator once on the right floor. Baekhyun followed after him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. “You’re never ‘just friends’ with anyone. Take me for instance.” Tao glanced Baekhyun up and down then raised a brow. “When did I ever say we were friends?” Baekhyun smacked the back of his head a littler harder than lightly. “We’re friends. The only person I could think, of that you’re ‘just friends’ with is your roommate, but that’s because he’s still a virgin.” Tao walked into the studio and dropped the jewel on a random table that hadn’t been cleaned yet then started back out, walking along the hall. The shutters were open on the windows and Tao stopped to look out them. It was late already. He’d head home. “He lost it since last night to our new model.” “That’s not all that surprising,” Baekhyun said. “But good for him, I saw some proofs of a photo shoot you guys just did hanging up. Is he the darker skinned Asian, or the one with a really pretty horse face?” Tao paused. Yixing. “The darker one.” Baekhyun hummed and looked out the window as well. “Oh, hey, that guy looks like the hot ring leader from the circus we went to.” “The one that caught on fire?” Tao asked and looked across to where Baekhyun was pointing. In front of the coffee shop across from Ace’s stood a man in green. Tao really couldn’t make out his features. “He wouldn’t be here. I’m going home anyways.” Baekhyun knocked shoulders with Tao. “How about you come over to my apartment instead.” “I’m not in the mood for sex,” Tao said. “I’m not in the mood for it either, I’ve had horrible luck with my partners the past two weeks, I just need someone to cuddle with, eat ice cream, and cry over movies.” “We’re not teenage girls, Baekhyun,” Tao said moving to the elevator. “Fine, then we’ll jack off to horrible gay porn and see who can cum the fastest while drinking beer and eating chicken wings.” Baekhyun got onto the elevator and pressed Tao’s floor. The doors started to close and Tao glared at them. “Ice cream sounds better.” ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Thanks for comments and subscriptions