The Bodyguard | LGBT x CEO (Excerpt)

25. Talk Of The Town

"Do you love him?" Cassie blurted out, catching Aiden off guard. "Okay, maybe it's too much to be asking something like that," she laughed after taking in his dumbfounded expression. "How about this, are you at least serious about him? Because if you're just fucking around with him, I'll have no other choice but to kick your ass. He cares for you way too much to have you break his heart."

"And I care for him twice as hard," Aiden replied defensively. "This isn't some gay experimental phase for me, Cassie. What Julian and I have, how he makes me feel, I'm taking everything seriously. Hell, if I'm being honest with you, this is technically my first real relationship."

"Say what now?" Cassie muttered in shock. "Are you really telling me that you've never been in a long-term committed relationship with anyone before?" Aiden nodded. Cassie's eyes widened in surprise. "Well, shit. That's certainly interesting to know."

"Is it my turn to put you in the hot seat now?" Aiden questioned. Cassie shrugged. "Julian told me once that I wasn't his type. Obviously, he's since changed his mind, but I want to know from you since you're close to him and everything... do you see us lasting? Sometimes opposites attract but sometimes they don't. I mean, I just come with so much baggage that I'm afraid one day it's going to be too much for him to handle."

"Julian is one tough cookie, Aiden. If he cares for you as much as he says he does, he will fight for you no matter what." Cassie smiled at Aiden reassuringly. "It's true that you are his complete opposite, but I'd like to think that you two even each other out which is why you fit together so perfectly. What you lack, Julian has it within him, and vice versa. Even though you may be opposites, you still somehow fit together. It's mind-boggling when you sit and think about it."

"Then let's stop thinking about it." Julian entered the living room with big bags of food in his hands. "Who's hungry?"

Cassie screamed, gripping her chest as her pulse shot up to the roof. "You scared the hell out of me! I didn't hear the front door open or shut. How'd you sneak in here like that?"

"Because I have skills." Julian winked at her.

"How long have you been standing over here?" Aiden got up to help Julian with the bags. "And exactly how much of that conversation did you hear?"

"I'll never tell." Julian smiled at Aiden as they entered the kitchen. "Sorry it took me so long to get back. There was a really bad wreck on the highway and traffic was a bitch to maneuver through. I thought I'd never make it home."

"No worries." Cassie joined them in the kitchen. "I knew you were okay. Your boyfriend, on the other hand, was ready to call in a freakin' search team for your ass. He was so worried about you. It was super cute, though! So cute that I'd say you have him whipped already, Jules."

Aiden rolled his eyes. "Don't forget that I can still throw your ass out of here at any moment. You're a guest here, remember?"

"Aw! Were you really that worried about me, babe?" Julian teased Aiden, hooking a finger into the waistband of Aiden's pants, pulling him in close. "Tell me how much," Julian whispered when they were face to face. "I want to know."

"I'd rather show you then tell you," Aiden leaned in to whisper in Julian's ear, later kissing him on the neck. "Don't start something if you don't plan on finishing it," Aiden warned his bodyguard. "You know I hate that shit."

"Whatever's being started can I watch?" Cassie joked. "Maybe also capture some footage? Promise I'll never sell it."

"Can you give us a minute?" Julian laughed, making her scram. "I have a surprise planned for us," Julian said to Aiden after Cassie left the kitchen. "With Cassie being here and after everything that went down with your father and Kyle, I figured that we should take a little getaway. No cell phones, no friends, and no family to bother us. It'll be just you and me. And don't get mad but I kinda already booked us a room at the Pennyroyal Hotel for three nights. It's located a couple miles outside of town in a beautiful secluded little area."