Playboy billionaire Aiden Grayson is being blackmailed and when he meets his handsome new bodyguard, Julian, he's slowly overcome by feelings he can't deny.
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Aiden Grayson is a child of privi...
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19. SAME PAGE
Aiden has yet to mutter a word to Julian ever since ending their petty fight from earlier in the morning.
He was being his usual stubborn self, whereas Julian was trying his hardest to get his obstinate boss to open up. Nevertheless, the almost forty-five-minute drive to Jeremy Pine's house, Clarissa's ex, was set to be filled with an uncomfortable and incredibly awkward silence that Julian would soon break.
"So, Cassie, the best friend that I told you about, her birthday is coming up," Julian said, ignoring the fact that Aiden was ignoring him. "I was wondering if I could take a few days off to visit her in New York. You always go on and on about me needing to take time off to visit with my family and friends. I guess I'm asking for it now."
"Do whatever you want, Julian. I don't care." Aiden lied, continuing to stare out of the passenger's seat window. "You don't have to ask my permission to visit with your friends."
"Thank God I finally got you to say something." Julian smiled, sighing in relief. "Cassie doesn't have a birthday coming up, and with everything that's going on right now, I'd never leave you alone at a time like this." Julian glanced over at Aiden, his expression was blank, but his pulse was going wild at Julian's admission. "I was lying about the birthday party thing. I was just trying to get you to talk to me. I hate it when we argue over stupid shit."
"So do I," Aiden sighed, letting his guard down. "It just really pissed me off when Kyle showed up and you acted like it'd be no big deal if he caught us in bed together. I get that you're openly gay, but I'm not. I'm not ready for my family to learn about that part of me, and I thought you understood that."
"I do," Julian said. "I really do, but it's just..."
"No, let me finish," Aiden said, calmly. "Please know that I don't want you to go back in the closet for me, Julian. I don't want you to hide who you are from people by any means. But, at the same time, you have to respect me and my limits." Julian nodded. Aiden continued. "You have to understand that I'll be a little jumpy when you and my family are under the same roof or are in the same room. I thought that I wouldn't give a shit about all of that, but when Kyle showed up while we were in bed together, reality hit me, and I realized that I'm just not ready to come out. And if that's going to be a problem for you, we should probably end whatever this is that we have going on because, at the end of the day, I honestly don't want to hurt you."
"Oh, Grayson..." Julian blushed, smiling again.
The two men had finally reached their destination: Jeremy Pine's house. Julian parked two houses down from Jeremy's and then removed his seat belt and leaned across the armrest to kiss Aiden.
"You put on this 'fuck the world' act when really deep down inside you're nothing but a softy," Julian muttered against his lips.
Aiden chuckled while Julian continued to kiss his face and neck. The tinted windows on the car protected them from being caught by nosy, wandering eyes; however, for once, Aiden actually wasn't in the mood to fool around.
