Your Skin On Mine (bxb)

Chapter Six: A Persona

Hey :) Apologies for the super late update. I don't know what is was about this chapter but it was kinda hard to write. Plus I made it ridiculously long and had to split it. Other than that, as you can see, I changed the book name and soon I'll be changing the cover. I hope you like it.

That's enough of me rambling now.

I hope you enjoy the chapter :)

What's wrong with you?"

Since Ian arrived back at the living room, the two had been eating their cold breakfast on the sofa, awkwardly far apart, and in complete silence. Callum desperately wanted to turn on the TV in an attempt to eradicate the awkward tension between them, but no matter where he glanced, he couldn't spot the remote and felt far too uncomfortable to break the silence and ask.

What made matters infinitely worse was Ian's unrelenting gaze. Every time Callum glanced to the side briefly- which was far more often then he'd like to admit- Ian was already staring him down. However, on those rare occasions when Callum would glance to his side to see that Ian wasn't looking at him and instead had his attention on his plate, Ian would almost instantly look up as if he always had an extra pair of eyes on Callum.

The fact that Ian was sat cross-legged and facing him the entire time, not even attempting to hide his stare, only elevated Callum's stress levels.

And all of those were the reasons why Callum all but sprang out of his seat after Ian abruptly asked that question.

"What?" Callum never knew that his voice could show so many conflicting emotions at once. "What do you mean?"

"Why are you so..." Ian squinted, "confusing?"

"What do you mean 'confusing'?"

Ian sighed, taking a bite of his breakfast, "like... what do you want? You haven't asked for any of my... 'services' so why are you still here?" he twirled his fork and gestured it at Callum as he spoke.

"I wanted to eat the breakfast I made?" It was originally supposed to be a statement, but it ended up coming out as more of a question.

Ian glared in response. Callum assumed it was a glare, at least, the look wasn't very different from the other man's usual naturally cold expression.

Callum chuckled somewhat nervously, running a hand through his hair. "I just want to talk to you."

"You do realise I'm a sex worker, not a therapist, right? There's a significant difference between the two professions. I'm not sure you've noticed that yet."

Callum laughed properly this time, his nerves already melting away faster than an ice cube near an open flame. "I have noticed that, but I'm not thinking about that right now."

"So, you're just going to pretend that I'm your therapist, now?"

"No," he couldn't help but laugh again, "I mean I'm not thinking about your job, I'm just thinking about you like an everyday, normal person. Not someone who' doing a job."

Ian seemed to freeze before he looked Callum in the eyes again. The brunet couldn't decipher the message behind the look, and he couldn't figure out if he was supposed to.

"...Just two normal people?"

"Arguably normal, but yeah," Callum smiled, "just two people having a conversation."

Ian swallowed subtly and Callum watched his Adam's apple bob slightly. "...Okay." Ian's voice was quiet, yet it still held the cold undertone. Though it was combined with something else that Callum couldn't pick out.