by Aidan Wayne
But first he needed to make the offer.
“CUT! AND that’s a wrap!”
The entire cast and crew burst into applause. Hailey jumped at Marcus for a hug, and he swung her around before setting her down again. “We did it!” she cried. “We’re done!”
He grinned at her. “Yup. Great job.”
“I am going to eat an entire thing of ice cream,” she enthused.
“Yeah? What flavor?”
“Chocolate chip.”
“Good choice,” he said wisely before turning to smile at Leo, who’d come barreling at him for a hug himself. “Hey!”
Leo grabbed him up tight. “We did it! Man, we did it!”
Marcus laughed and hugged back, exchanged hugs and celebratory congratulations with basically everyone on set. There was a lot of talking and laughing and eager conversations starting up about when and where to host the after party.
“I can’t believe it’s over,” Roger said from where he’d ended up at Marcus’s elbow. “This was such an amazing project.”
“And one of the longer ones you’ve ever worked on, right?”
“Oh yeah. This is over double what my last role was. I can’t wait to go back home.”
Back home. Right. “Missing Anita?”
“Of course. We talk every night and we’ve been FaceTiming and Skyping, but there’s nothing like actually being with the person you love, you know?”
“Yeah,” Marcus said with feeling. “I know.”
“Good job,” Billy said, coming up to him, expression proud. He held out Marcus’s phone. “Want to tell the world?”
Marcus took it. “I’ve got the go-ahead?” Billy nodded. “Awesome. Roger, you want to be in the shot?”
“Sure.”
Marcus slung an arm across Roger’s shoulders and took a selfie of them both grinning at the camera. A couple of hashtags later and it was trending on Twitter and Instagram. The next thing he used his phone for was a much more private party. Filming’s officially done! he sent to Taemin.
He got a reply back almost instantly, which was startling up until he remembered that Taemin had cancelled that night’s classes to ensure there were no complications with the window installation. That’s wonderful! Two things to celebrate today :)
Yeah! The windows look great, by the way.
I think so too. Would you like to do something to celebrate? Or are you going out with everyone?
That was a damn good question. Normally Marcus would be all for going out with everyone right now, especially since Taemin usually had evening classes at the same time. But he didn’t today. They would both have a full evening. And tomorrow was Thursday, so not even an early morning for Taemin. Could I come over? Maybe do our own little celebration? I could pick up dinner stuff.
That sounds wonderful. Come over whenever you want. I’ll be home.
Right, Marcus thought again. Home.
He’d been putting off bringing it up because he hadn’t wanted to push or sound like he was trying to get a commitment out of Taemin, but he—he had been living over at his apartment more often than not, especially in the last month. And he hadn’t enjoyed going “home” like that in years. He wanted to keep doing it. Or at least have the chance to do so.
He’d never ask Taemin if he could move in, but Marcus couldn’t help but maybe look into some real estate around the area. Close to Choi’s, in a nice neighborhood. Nothing huge, but a nicely sized house that would be good for two busy, active people.
Maybe… maybe more than two people, eventually. Though that was another conversation altogether.
Right now, Marcus just knew he loved his life and he loved Taemin, and he wanted more of the latter in the former. He worked in LA, but he also had money; he could afford to fly where he needed to be. His friends were mostly in the Hollywood scene, but they all traveled everywhere all the time. He was just as likely to see Leo again next week for lunch or in three months in New Zealand working on a new movie. Billy… was brilliant. If nothing else, he could work remote.
Marcus might have been mulling this over in his head for a while now.
TAEMIN KISSED Marcus hello and then stepped back to let him into his apartment. “Congratulations.” he said again, smiling up at him. “How does it feel?”
“Not real yet,” Marcus admitted. “Not until I meet with Billy tomorrow and we talk about what’s next.”
“Already planning, hm?”
Marcus stooped down to kiss him again. “You know it.”
“So what sorts of things will you be talking with Billy about tomorrow?” Taemin asked curiously after they’d both sat down at the table and served themselves. “Surely you don’t have something planned right away. Do you?”
Marcus shook his head. “Not in so many words. But uh… I do have some things to talk to him about in regards to our working relationship. Though that depends on something I wanted to talk to you about tonight, actually.”
Taemin nodded. “I’m all ears.”
“How… how would you feel about me staying in the area? For, uh, for a little more long-term.”
Taemin stared at him. “As in moving here? To Michigan?”
“Yeah. I—I’ve maybe been looking at properties. Houses. Obviously no pressure, but I… I really want to be closer to you. I’d be up for doing the long-distance thing of course, but—”
“What about California? Your work?”
Marcus shrugged. “The world is pretty flat when it comes to the film industry. People fly from all over for auditions and to work on movies and stuff. I don’t mind being one of those people. We’d honestly probably end up doing the long-distance thing anyway, at least some of the time, as I got new projects to work on. I’d just… I’d just really like to have you to come home to.”
“Me too,” Taemin said. “I mean, I’ve been thinking about it. I’ve wanted to broach the topic with you, but I wasn’t sure how to do it.”
Marcus took a breath. “Yeah?”
Taemin nodded. “Of course. I love you. I love having you in my life. And I’d love it if you stayed in the area. I, um, I wanted to offer my apartment.”
Marcus’s eyes went wide. “You mean it?”
“You’ve essentially been living here a month already. We fit well in each other’s space. I know it’s on the minimalist side, though, and if you wanted your own place, especially as we navigated what comes next—”
“I love your apartment,” Marcus said. “And being in it. I just couldn’t ask that you let me stay.”
Taemin smiled. “You’re not asking, I’m offering. For you to move in with me.”
“Then yes,” Marcus said fervently. “Absolutely, yes.”
“I LOOK ridiculous,” Taemin grumbled from their hotel’s en suite living room. “I haven’t worn a suit in years.”
“A dobok is basically a suit,” Marcus said absentmindedly as he did his tie in the mirror.
“Those are not even remotely similar to the same thing.”
Marcus laughed and smoothed down his tie before ducking into the living room to see Taemin fully dressed in the dark green suit they’d decided on. It took Marcus’s breath away.
“What?” Taemin said, looking down at himself. “I knew it. I knew I looked silly—”
“You look gorgeous,” Marcus said, stepping closer until he could take Taemin’s hand, press a kiss to his knuckles. “I’m the luckiest man in the world.”
“Second luckiest,” Taemin murmured, before pulling him down for a more thorough kiss.
They ended up having to check themselves over in the mirrors again to make sure they weren’t too rumpled. Then they left their hotel room and made their way to the waiting limo.
Taemin reached for Marcus’s hand again once they were inside. “I’m nervous. I’ve never even been to an opening night at the movies, much less a film premiere.”
“I know it’ll seem overwhelming, but it’s really not so bad. It’ll be loud, but I’ll be with you. People will s
top us for pictures and we’ll smile. We might be asked questions and we’ll answer them. If you’re really uncomfortable, just let me know and I’ll make sure we keep walking until we’re done.”
“Okay. Okay, I can do that.”
“Just pretend you’re on a mat instead of on a carpet.” Marcus smiled. “It’s all about presence. And you certainly have plenty of that.”
Taemin rolled his eyes. “I’m not about to shout at your fans in Korean.”
Marcus laughed. “Maybe just give them your disappointed look. You know, the one that makes your students wish you were giving them push-ups to do.”
“Somehow I don’t think that will be very effective against a large crowd of your screaming fans.”
“At least they pretty much love you now,” Marcus said, squeezing Taemin’s hand. “Half my interviews are about me not being good enough for you. Especially after the Twitter thread about you and Kids Kicking Cancer that went viral a couple months ago.”
“Yes,” Taemin said blandly. “Because that’s what matters to me most. Social media.”
“I love you,” Marcus said, full of affection.
Taemin turned to peck him on the cheek. “I love you too.”
They arrived at the venue and their driver stopped the car. “Ready?” Marcus asked.
“Ready.”
Marcus opened the door. The onslaught of noise was sharp and sudden but nothing he wasn’t used to. And he was excited beyond measure to be sharing this part of himself with the love of his life. He stood, then turned and held out a hand for Taemin, who took it.
Showtime.
AIDAN WAYNE lives with altogether too many houseplants on the seventh floor of an apartment building, and though the building has an elevator, Aidan refuses to acknowledge its existence. They’ve been in constant motion since before they were born (pity Aidan’s mom)—and being born didn’t change anything. When not moving Aidan is usually writing, so things tend to balance out. They usually stick with contemporary romance (both adult and YA), but some soft sci-fi/fantasy has been known to sneak in as well, and they primarily write character-driven stories with happy endings. Because, dammit, queer people deserve happy endings too.
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Twitter: @aidanwayne
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By Aidan Wayne
Hitting the Mark
Published by Harmony Ink Press
Showers, Flowers, and Fangs
Published by DREAMSPINNER PRESS
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
Published by
DREAMSPINNER PRESS
5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886 USA
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Hitting the Mark
© 2019 Aidan Wayne
Cover Art
© 2019 Kanaxa
Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.
All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA, or www.dreamspinnerpress.com.
Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-1-64405-149-8
Digital ISBN: 978-1-64405-143-6
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018963157
Digital published May 2019
v. 1.0
Printed in the United States of America