Above The Line

Chapter Twenty-Two

However, that didn't happen. Instead, Alfred took a few more steps forward until he stood right before the artist, his expression dripping pure awe as his eyes continued to take in every detail of the outfit.

"Blimey," the actor exclaimed breathily, which threw the artist off to no end. But before Arthur could find any suitable reaction, Alfred continued, "Have you looked in the mirror yet?"

Arthur shook his head, and in reply, Alfred spun him around so that he came face to face with the large full body mirror that was at the end of the walkway. At first, Arthur didn't even recognize himself, and when he did, he had to resist the strong urge to rub his eyes.

Alfred was right. This outfit was an incredible fit on Arthur. The jacket was cut at just the right length, and it was tight enough around the waist that it showed off Arthur's slim figure. The hemming of the shirt made it so that the folds fell perfectly when it was tucked into Arthur's pants. And the pants... oh the pants. Alfred was very glad that Arthur's body hid Alfred's own reflection in the mirror, because the actor's eyes were almost permanently glued to that ass. He had to bite his own lip to keep from making any noise.

"Wow, do I have great taste or what?" Alfred finally said smugly, once the initial awe had worn off. As he walked around Arthur to examine the outfit completely from all angles, Alfred heard one of the women who worked there whistle in appreciation before walking away to put clothes back on their racks. She did it quietly enough that it was probably only meant for her ears, but Alfred, and surely Arthur, had heard anyway. And that made Alfred grin.

"You'll get this, right?"

"Yeah..." Arthur replied absentmindedly, his eyes still transfixed upon his reflection within the mirror. "Of course..."

What Arthur did with makeup, Alfred had done with these clothes. Little did the artist know that a lot of it was influenced by Alfred's overbearing fashion consultant, but Alfred had conveniently left out that little detail. What could he say? He liked being the object of Arthur's admiration, even if it was for skills he didn't really possess. Hollywood was a dog-eat-dog world.

"All right," Alfred grinned, clapping Arthur on the back. "You go and change out of those, and then we can call it a day." The actor winked and added, "Until the party, that is."

Arthur groaned. He had somehow momentarily forgotten about that. Still, the shopping was basically done, so hopefully the worst was already over with... Oh, who was he kidding? This was Hollywood they were talking about. The parties for sure would be the worst of it. But at least he'd look great as he suffered.

The artist receded back to the changing room with a chuckling sigh, at least in a much better mood than he had been in mere minutes ago. Although he still had a Hollywood party to look forward to, for the moment, Arthur was surprisingly content. Alfred had that effect on people; his exuberance and happiness was contagious. Perhaps it was exactly what Arthur needed in a friend.

Wait-friend? Nah. Who needed friends? All Hollywood people needed were connections; thus, all friendships were superficial, at best, and Arthur didn't want to disguise any of those. He'd call them like they were, meaning that Alfred was nothing more than another stepping-stone in his career. And as a policy, one ought not to get too close to people whom one was using for ulterior gains.

The actor banished the thought from his mind as he proceeded to change. As he folded the last of the Express clothing, ready to take them out for purchase, the Briton chanced to take a glance at the price tag. Jesus, no wonder these clothes fit and felt so well; they might as well have been made out of gold threads considering their costs.

Arthur sighed. If it had been just him, he never would get these. A regular burgundy shirt, no matter how nice it felt, should never cost that much. There were much better places to spend one's money, like, say, Maybelline. But he couldn't deny that these really did look good, and if he wanted to compete on the level of Alfred Jones, then they might have even been a necessity.