Promise » [cashton] √

1.2

[9th of July - Boston]

Since he'd walked in on Luke and Ashton, the idea of inviting the younger man for a drink had become quickly forgotten; he felt like if he got even half a sip of alcohol under his belt, he'd start asking questions he probably wasn't entitled to the answers to. Which seemed awkward at best. That was why he was getting a drink alone at the hotel bar.

Well, at least that was the intention. As he stepped around the corner into the bar, he spotted Luke alone, nursing a drink in a short glass. Calum made to turn and leave, but Luke had already made eye contact with him and beckoned him over; he held back a sigh and continued to the bar, taking a seat beside Luke.

"You weren't going to pretend you hadn't seen me and go back to your room, were you?" Luke laughed, the sort of smile on his face that told Calum nothing he said would convince the older man otherwise.

So he laughed, "I just wasn't sure I wanted to deal with the awkwardness," he confessed; Luke was easy to be honest with; maybe it was the way they tittered on innuendo or the fact that Luke was the only other person he considered somewhat similar to himself.

"Yeah, Ash told me," he chuckled, "you would have had to have guessed it doesn't embarrass me the way it embarrasses him," he sipped his drink, and Calum looked up to see if he could flag the bartender down.

He hummed his agreement as the bartender made eye contact and came over, "can I just grab whatever your cheapest IPA is," he asked, then once he'd paid and had the beer in his hand, he turned to Luke, "so you still doing kissing practice?" he laughed sipping his beer, it was underwhelming, but that's what you got when you were cheap.

Thankfully Luke laughed, "Why? You jealous?" he asked, and his voice was full of thinly veiled flirtation.

Calum grinned, "yeah, no one ever asks me for kissing practice," he paused for half a minute before adding, "what if I asked you to teach me to kiss?"

Luke and he were turned toward each other, not so much so that their knees were touching but enough that they were moving away from friendliness, "I'd say I'm pretty sure you've already had plenty of practice," he said it slow, eyes warm and inviting.

He laughed, licking his lip as he much less subtly took in Luke's appearance, knowing he would easily recognise the hungry eyes searching him, "I might have had a practice or two," maybe they were doing this? He probably should get confirmation from Sierra that they had the arrangement he thought they did. As much fun as it was to wank over Luke in his dark bunk, something in his gut told him he might not be able to go through with it. Maybe if it were the three of them, Calum hadn't slept with a couple in a long time; it could be fun, especially if they'd done it before. Would that excitement be worth risking his friendship with Ashton?

So he changed tone, "I was honestly just surprised because, you know, you're married. And Michael's whole deal, he even chipped me the first week because I said you were hot," it hadn't come across as sexless as he'd wanted it to, all of him was still very tempted by Luke's line of stubble and soft blonde hair, one of his long legs had extended so his foot could rest on Calum's footrest instead of his own.

"You have mentioned before how hot I am," Luke smiled devilishly, and Calum had to refrain from melting into a puddle, "but I've already told you, Sierra and I know how to get what we want," he'd finished his drink and was running a condensation covered hand across the back of his neck.

"Oh no, I thought you being married would be what stopped Ashton," he clarified, eyes caught on the hand Luke dipped back in the leftover ice and brought to rub down the side of his throat. Calum could tell the older man knew he had him captivated, but there wasn't a thing he could do to stop the dopey look he knew was taking his face. Calum was better than this, smoother; he did the reeling in, he didn't get reeled. "I also thought he would have, you know, at least- kissed someone before. You know, at a party, normal teenager stuff," he was trying to distract himself; it felt like Luke was a few moments away from pressing a hand on his thigh, and he'd be gone then.

Luke shrugged, nodding as the bartender gestured, asking if Luke wanted another. "He wasn't really a normal teenager, though, was he? Up until a few years ago, his parents still came on tour with us; they were in charge of everything," Luke rolled his eyes, "drove Sierra mad,"

"Oh," was all Calum had to say, it sounded silly, but he hadn't really thought about Ashton's parents other than that they were religious.

The older man sipped his drink, having forgotten his teasing for a moment, "pretty common with Disney Channel stars, super involved mummy and daddies," he rolled his eyes, and Calum thought they must have been bad if Luke were willing to talk like this with someone he hardly knew. Then again, he wasn't sure how many drinks he'd had before Calum arrived.

"He was on Disney Channel?" Calum asked, forgetting his decision to pretend he knew more about Ashton and his music than he did.

Luke laughed easily, "you're a funny guy," he sighed, "yeah, he was on a few shows for a while before Si or I ever met him. I'm honestly surprised you didn't realise he's- I don't know; he's got a vibe about him that makes him seem like he's been doing this for decades,"

Calum hummed, "learn something new every day," not letting the shock he felt colour his face. It did explain things about Ashton that had puzzled Calum. There was more to his well-put-together demeanour than he gave him credit for.

He swirled the last of his beer in his glass, feeling Luke watching him. Calum desperately wanted to look bored; he needed to leave; another beer as strong as the one he'd just had, and he'd all but climb onto Luke's lap and offer something obscene.

"I should head off; I have photos I'm putting off editing," he said, standing from his stool, not realising he was boxed in by Luke's leg that still rested on the bottom of his stool.

Luke smiled at him, mischief in his eyes as he leant forward, "you could put them off a little longer," he offered, his hand reaching for the back of the abandoned stool, drawing himself closer to Calum. "Si's with Ashton tonight, doing interview prep," he told him, eyes watching for an answer in Calum's face.

Calum brought himself closer, smelling the musky sweetness of Luke's cologne, but he persisted, making sure he was close enough to talk into Luke's ear, "maybe another night, when I've had a chance to talk to your wife," his lips were so close they almost grazed the older man's ear.

"Make sure you talk to her before the next hotel stay," Luke told him and pressed a cheeky kiss just in front of Calum's ear, then dropped his arm and leg, letting Calum make his way back to the elevator.

He knew there was no way he was going to ask Sierra, allowed or not, it felt like it would change something in his and Ashton's friendship, but he couldn't quite discern what. He didn't think the younger man would judge him (too harshly); he must have had an idea about Luke and Sierra. But something was holding him back. Maybe he knew if he slept with Luke, he probably wouldn't tour with them again. That was if he was even invited. He decided not to think about it anymore, choosing instead to edit photos in his bed to the sound of Seinfeld reruns.

I don't think Calum realised just how similar he and Luke are... predictions?