Little Bit Of Both

Chapter 23

   "What was that about?", Elijah asks, quickly falling in step behind me. He was waiting by the door when I came out. "Is she mad? I mean, I looked it up. Actors have sex on set all the time, and they're never thrown off or anything. And it isn't like we're in any scandals.

Right. Totally not in any scandals. Totally never have been.

"It was just a misunderstanding. Or, really a reflection. You have to understand that when you're with me, you're going to get looks. I have a reputation", I explain, headed towards the front entrance of the studio. Elijah's feet stop, and I glance back at him to see him frowning at me. "Look, Elijah", I sigh, taking his hand and pulling him to me.

  "I hate when you say stuff like that", he mumbles, his bottom lip jutting out. I smile a little, brushing my thumb over his bottom lip. "I don't care about your scandals. Only you". He wraps his arms around my neck and I pull him close, pressing my body against his.

I think for a moment, letting my fingers trail through Elijah's hair. "I know you don't, but everyone is afraid I'll hurt you. Or I'll ruin the movie, by hurting you. I'm not going to, I really really f*ck with you", I say softly and Elijah looks at me with his big eyes. "You're right, it doesn't matter".

He smiled, nodding with acceptance before I lead him to my car. The rest of our day is spent out, shopping and going to the library. It was risky business, being so out with Elijah. We weren't into PDA, so our arms hung down by our waists and we didn't act romantic.

No one suspected a thing. Though they should have, as I took Elijah back into a changing room and made him call me daddy.

I drop Elijah off as soon as we're finished, his manager constantly texting him and asking him where he is. I reach for the door handle of my car when my phone rings sharply. I frown, answering it.

  "Bro. Check the news, my man", I hear my friend Damien say. Damien was a pro football player. All 7 feet of him. We'd met at a party and connected by the lack of f*cks we each have to give. "You and that Elijah boy are everywhere".

I silently groan, pulling up Twitter and scrolling through. It didn't take long to find it. It was a headline that read "Another quest line for Malachi?", with the picture showing me leading Elijah into the changing room.

Alright, so maybe they did suspect something.

"I talked to Elijah about it. I don't think he's going to flip out or anything. Thanks for the warning", I tell him. We talk for a second, and I tense when I hear the last thing he says.

"You don't want it to end up like last time. You're still paying for that", he says, his voice low and deep. Enough to send a sharp panic through me.