The Eccentric and Feral

Chapter 1

Jasper Hayes Novak.

The owner of the business card Evan was currently holding.

A photographer, huh? Did they usually have cards like this?

It wouldn't be right to leave it lying on the sticky club floor. That was Evan's only reason for picking it up, of course. It couldn't be because of the one who usually stood in that spot, right?

The one who always brought him back to reality when he was escaping his job and indulging in what this place had to offer. Maybe 'brought back to reality' wasn't exactly it, but that's what it felt like.

He stood out significantly among the other clubgoers. He never danced or anything like that. Just stood there. Observing.

Wearing that long jacket over a dark blue shirt, while his dark and longer-than-average hair framed his face.

Speaking of; why was a person matching that exact description walking in his direction?

Below blinding lights, the man's eyes swept the area. Was he searching for something? Oh right, a certain someone's card still lingered in Evan's hand.

The man glanced at it before their eyes slowly met. He was still standing a fair bit away, but the smile that parted his lips was both visible and alluring. There was a hint of recognition on his face. Their eye contact only lasted a few seconds, before the stranger turned his back to him.

Brought out of his temporary daze, Evan clutched the business card. Why was he leaving again? Wasn't he going to get the item back he lost?

A sudden hand on his shoulder made him freeze up, as he looked to his right for the culprit. Blonde, a bit shorter than him, and clearly up to something.

"That guy is definitely... interesting. Not bad though."

A soft, but weirdly endearing voice.

Had these two ...?

Seeing the blonde's gaze drift further down, Evan shoved the card into his pocket. Whoever he was; it could wait. Evan's reason for being here was just to get some cute guy's attention after all. And that goal had officially been accomplished.

"Not bad, huh? We'll see if I can compare, then."

"Ooh, now we're talking."

He ran his hand down Evan's arm, making him shiver.

It was going to be a good night...

It was quiet. Too quiet. Evan's one-man office, in all its extravagance, never did quite enough to make up for the endless amount of tasks he had to deal with.

Everything was blurry. All he could feel was his boss watching his every move.

On the large mahogany desk in front of him stood a laptop, its screen glaring in his direction. The calendar was packed as usual, but he knew it wouldn't take long before someone pestered him to add more to it.

That kind of despair was enough to force his mind toward better things—anything that was more tolerable than this. Like good memories of the only place he really felt at home. And no, that wasn't his top-floor apartment, as hard as he had to work for that one. No... the place he had a chance to get a glimpse of 'him'.

Digging through his pocket, he pulled the card out. Maybe he should take a small break and look at the website on it...

Artist biography, availability, client information, etc. Oh, and a link to his portfolio. Evan enjoyed the purple and green colors that were used for its smooth layout. A shame those didn't carry over to the page that opened up in front of him. Jasper's portfolio. The site was filled with images of men. Every single one looked different from the others. Interesting angles and all kinds of compositions. Sometimes there were multiple guys in one photo and other times there were tools involved. Often; both.