Escort

III

A/N: Woo! Update! This goes up in a bit of a celebration for this book hitting 2k reads and "A Lot Like Fiction" surpassing 16k!! (I CAN'T BELIEVE IT, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH) You’ll notice that this chap has a more serious tone, and I’m sorry for that. If I want to make this even close to ‘realistic’ though, I have to take certain things into consideration and they need to be brought up in the fic. I can assure you the next chapter will have a more light-hearted tone! I dedicate this part to the loveliest, funniest, most adorable Clara (CoffeeNoFilter) because not only did she do a wonderful job editing this chapter (my commas are uncontrollable, sorry bae ;P) but she’s also one of my favourite Troyler writers with her fantastic fics “Drawn To You” and “What Lies Down This Road”! You should all go read both and give her some love, because she sure does deserve it!! Now, on with the show and please let me know what you think in the comments! I hope you enjoy :)

-

The hand under Tyler’s palm was warm. He could feel the whisper of a heartbeat through the soft skin as he squeezed it in what he hoped was a reassuring manner, letting his smile soften to increase the effect.

He hadn’t been lying when he used the word ‘vision’ to describe Troye. The man sitting by his side was gorgeous; his face delicate yet strong, the sharp jawline and high cheekbones framing full, pink lips, and the bluest eyes Tyler had ever seen. He’d learned quickly that he enjoyed having Troye’s full attention, especially when it meant he could stare into those eyes unhindered, like he was doing now.

But where Troye’s looks were the stuff of poetry, his personality was reserved – cautious to not let his guard down. Of course, it was not that surprising seeing as it seemed like Troye hadn’t been prepared to have someone from Tyler’s line of work as his date.

When elaborating to clue Troye in on his role as an escort, Tyler had automatically launched into the little speech he’d held countless of times before to convince a potential client to buy the additional services that the agency couldn’t advertise for legal reasons. The words had fallen effortlessly from his mouth, an air of confidence accompanying them like second nature. Pocketing extra cash from performing sexual services was usually something he aimed to do, provided that the guy he was with wasn’t a total creep. Tyler had met his fair share of those and, learning the hard way, he could now spot them from a mile away which gave him ample opportunity to dodge their attempts at further negotiations when the pre-agreed assignation was over. Of course, when Tyler had contacted Caspar after receiving the booking, they’d agreed for Tyler to spend the night and additional fees had been settled. What Caspar had failed to mention however, was Troye’s lack of involvement in the scheduling of their appointment.

A plate suddenly invaded Tyler’s line of sight, abruptly breaking his thoughts. He blinked, momentarily confused before he realized he’d been staring at the boy beside him for what was probably an awkwardly long time and that the entre was now being served. Tyler shifted his gaze to where he felt the hand underneath his pull away and when he looked back at Troye he found him fiddling with the napkin in his lap, another faint blush dusted over his cheeks. Troye cleared his throat discreetly and lifted his eyes to the food that had been placed in front of him, effectively ending their little moment by grabbing his cutlery and cutting into the tender veal.

Tyler felt his smile widen at how, quite frankly, adorable his “date” was. He grabbed his glass of deep red wine, sipping it while turning back to his own plate as well as his thoughts, once more drowning out the conversations around him.

Certainly, Troye’s stunned reaction earlier was quite understandable. Tyler was used to it. His occupation was, after all, one that carried a heavy stamp of taboo. But watching as realization dawned on Troye’s face, and seeing his tentative attitude toward him instantly change to caution, Tyler couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed.