by Peter Styles
Maria was the first to speak, opening up a folder she had in front of her. “Well, we are still going through our clients’ inventories to get together that project we discussed before. However, we do have a morning photo we need to do. We’ve already selected what’s going to be used in the shot. It’ll be a clothing brand, a local coffee company, and one of those quirky home goods stores needs some representation. There’s a team downstairs, getting one of the sets ready,” she looked up to the both of them with a smile.
“Sounds good to me,” Lincoln nodded. He then launched into a series of questions, all of which bored Wyatt to death. Projected sales numbers, focus group studies the companies had done, comparisons between the one they were using and the top competitor, existing customer reviews, etc. The team answered each question with ease, all being extremely keen with the subject matter.
Wyatt really had no idea that so much math and research went into every single photo. He knew some was needed, but they went above and beyond any expectation Wyatt had. Being an outsider looking in, he couldn’t help but question for a second if that level of intense research was needed. It wasn’t like his audience was going to delve that much into the products. He figured fans, particularly the shopaholics, would see the post and, if they found an item cute or nifty, they would just follow the links to buy it. The more he listened to the group talk though, Wyatt realized it was more than that. Dual Lux, the company Jack Brannon worked for, was their company and they really did want to promote quality products. The last thing they wanted was backlash because of a faulty item. Because even though they weren’t exactly doing it for the good of the consumer like they tried to portray, they were trying to sell the brands to make a profit.
It gave him a newfound respect for Lincoln. While he had always known that Lincoln was dedicated to his job, and knew it was bound to be harder than it seemed, Wyatt was in awe of Lincoln’s knowledge and intrigue. Wyatt’s own job was primarily in the advertisement industry, and these kinds of meetings bored the ever living hell out of him. Lincoln was lively, responding quickly to questions and comments, and was impeccably focused. It was actually pretty attractive to see him in the zone.
As the discussion went on, there was a sudden knock on the door. A head popped in, a man with a shiny bald head and scruffy facial hair, “We’re just about ready downstairs,” he called over to them.
“Thanks,” Lincoln replied. “Guess that’s my cue,” he addressed his team before standing.
“Alright. We’ll be here compiling ideas for the lunch photo,” Diego nodded to him.
Lincoln grabbed Wyatt’s hand and headed out of the conference room. They made their way back downstairs and over to one of the doors along the far wall. As soon as they walked in, Wyatt recognized things from Jack Brannon’s Instagram. The large space was divided up into three small sets, with the rest of the room being taken up with storage and supplies. He could tell two of the sets had been used just a couple of days prior, remembering some of the furniture and décor being in the background of Jack’s Instagram. Seeing it set up more like a TV set really drove the message home that Jack Brannon was a fabrication. Everything about the character’s life was fake, but fans believed it to be real. It was seriously as if Lincoln was living inside of a television show instead of just acting in it.
They walked over to the third set. A couple of people were there, tinkering with the lighting fixtures. One noticed them approaching, the woman smiling at Lincoln, “Hey, Linc. Your outfit is hanging up in the dressing room.”
“Thanks,” he replied, before looking down at Wyatt. “Have a seat. I’ll be right back.”
Wyatt nodded, sitting down in one of the chairs that were next to the set. He watched with curious eyes as the two crew members finished adjusting the light and then started debating on the exact placement of the camera. It wasn’t long at all before Lincoln returned from the dressing room, wearing pajama bottoms and no shirt. “No wonder it took you no time,” Wyatt commented. His eyes kept getting distracted by Lincoln’s muscles, but he tried to push away any dark thoughts. “How are you advertising a clothing brand if you’re not even wearing a shirt?” he critiqued.
He shrugged, standing behind Wyatt’s chair to tower over him. Wyatt tilted his head back to look up at Lincoln, whose fingers combed through his new boyfriend’s hair, “It’s all about appeal and subtle placement. Their pajama line is what they want us to advertise. Wearing a shirt from a different company would draw attention away from them.”
“Oh yeah, cause those aren’t going to distract,” Wyatt said, his eyes focused on Lincoln’s abs.
He chuckled, “Well, I can’t help that.”
“We’re ready for you,” the woman called to Lincoln.
Leaning over and pressing a kiss to Wyatt’s forehead, Lincoln then walked over to the set. The setting appeared to be a breakfast nook. The focus of the shot was a small round table with just two chairs. Lincoln strolled over and sat down. He talked to the photographers for a minute before they finally got started. They took several pictures of him drinking the coffee, smelling it and pouring it to accent the coffee press. Lincoln actually had a model level of control over his facial expression and the position of his body. He made the slightest adjustments each time the photographer said something. Lincoln stood at one point and grabbed a book down from a shelf in the background of the shot to use as a prop.
Lincoln was so serious about everything surrounding his job, not at all sarcastic or humored like he was when it was just him and Wyatt. He had such an intense focus, one that Wyatt was honestly jealous of. No wonder Lincoln was so successful. Watching him at work inspired Wyatt, wanting to have that same sort of drive and passion that Lincoln had. Though at the same time, he knew that Lincoln’s career really consumed his life. That was something Wyatt wasn’t envious of. Wyatt was fortunate enough to be able to set his own hours—which led him to only work enough to pay his bills and have some shopping money. He didn’t quite understand how Lincoln could do his job from morning to night six days a week and not want to blow his brains out.
As the shoot came to a close, Lincoln glanced over to Wyatt as he raised the coffee mug to take another sip. The moment their eyes locked, Wyatt prodded the inside of his cheek with his tongue, moving his hand in front of his face to make the obscene gesture for oral sex. Lincoln’s serious expression instantly shifted into a humored, glowing look as he let out a breathy laugh. Wyatt heard the quiet shutter of the camera rapidly taking pictures. “Hey, those were some great shots. I think we’re done here,” the bald photographer announced as he scrolled through the images on the camera.
Lincoln stood from the chair and walked off to the dressing room. After a couple of minutes, he emerged wearing a graphic tee and fitted light blue pants. When Lincoln moved over to Wyatt, Wyatt stood as well, and Lincoln wrapped an arm around him. “You’re so mature,” Lincoln commented sarcastically, mentioning Wyatt’s obscene gesture.
“You looked too serious. I had to try and change that,” Wyatt defended.
“Uh-huh,” Lincoln muttered, shaking his head slightly. He leaned in and gave Wyatt a soft kiss on the lips. As he pulled away, he whispered, “Don’t make jokes that your mouth can’t follow up.” A shiver raced down Wyatt’s spine at the sound of Lincoln’s sultry tone.
With flushed cheeks, Wyatt nodded at him, “Yes sir. You got it.”
Lincoln’s arm dropped from Wyatt’s waist, and he held his hand, “Let’s go see what’s next on the agenda.”
* * *
Wyatt was on edge throughout lunch. They were at a local bistro, sat in a private section so that they could take pictures of Lincoln without any disruptions. The two photographers and two of Lincoln’s associates were with them. His nerves were frayed due to dodging the camera as they took pictures. Wyatt didn’t want to be in any of the pictures if his associates weren’t okay with it. And since no one had addressed it, Wyatt spent the entirety of the meal avoiding the camera. When he couldn’t
avoid it, he made sure he wasn’t touching Lincoln at all.
He actually felt kind of bad that he had been so insistent on their relationship being public. It wasn’t like Wyatt wanted Lincoln to flaunt him all over social media, but rather he just wanted to be able to exist in Lincoln’s world without having to hide. Coming along with Lincoln that day made him realize there was more to it than that. There were several people involved in the company and, while none of them seemed to be homophobic, they still had to be okay with Wyatt in a sense. They were all depending on the sale of the products, and Lincoln broadcasting he was gay would change their audience and potentially affect their sales. Wyatt stood by the fact that he didn’t want to have to hide, as though he was Lincoln’s dirty little secret, but he knew he needed to be patient.
Of course though, Lincoln eventually caught on that Wyatt was removing himself from the shots. He grabbed Wyatt’s hand and brought it to his lips, kissing his knuckles. Wyatt’s cheeks burned, giving a nervous smile. “Lincoln,” Diego started from across the table. Lincoln reluctantly peeled his eyes away from Wyatt and looked over to his associate. “The supplies for the evening assignment have arrived at your apartment. You sure you don’t want Marcus to go with you?” Marcus, Wyatt had learned, was the photographer.
“I’m sure. The man deserves a break once in a while,” Lincoln nodded.
“Very well. Just be sure to send in your material as soon as you possibly can. We’re hoping to post it this evening.”
“Better get started then,” Lincoln nodded, wiping his mouth with a cloth napkin before standing. They all migrated out of the restaurant, Lincoln never dropping Wyatt’s hand. It really impressed him that Lincoln was really so open about his sexuality. He hadn’t been shy at all about showing him affection in front of his coworkers. It wasn’t that Wyatt thought he would be ashamed of it, but rather hesitant.
Walking outside, they split from the group headed to Lincoln’s car. “What was that all about?” Lincoln asked, once they were away from the others. When Wyatt gave him a coy look, Lincoln persisted, “You wouldn’t sit still the entire meal, and wouldn’t let yourself even accidentally brush against me. I thought you were afraid of me hiding you away.”
Wyatt looked away out of embarrassment, “I was on my soap box before.”
“Oh?”
He lightly chewed his lip as he tried to organize his thoughts and feelings into words. “I was selfish before. I didn’t really think about any of it more than you hiding the fact you’re gay. You tried to explain it to me, and I heard what you said, but I didn’t listen. Now that I’ve seen your work and everything… I get where you were coming from. And from where I wasn’t sure how your associates felt about me being in the pictures, I wanted to be respectful of that. I know that what you do affects all of them as well, so I’m willing to be patient and just hang back.”
Lincoln stopped him outside of their car, putting his hands on his shoulders to turn Wyatt toward him. “They already know everything. I talked to them last night after you fell asleep. All of them are in full support of me being more open about our relationship. They know what a burden it would be for us to have to sneak around. Some even speculate it could help our sales. I should have told you before, but,” his lips pulled into a smirk, “I kind of wanted to see how you would react…”
Wyatt’s jaw dropped, playfully slapping his arm, “You jerk. Don’t play with me like that.” Even as he said it though, he was grinning ear to ear.
“I’m sorry,” Lincoln apologized, chuckling as he did. “It is good to know that you were trying to be respectful of my career,” he said, his hands dropping to Wyatt’s hips.
“Well, of course I was,” Wyatt muttered. “I didn’t want to cause a scene by hugging all over you while the cameras were out if you hadn’t talked to them about it.” Lincoln leaned in and kissed him, Wyatt’s heart fluttering in his chest. Lincoln’s little trick had truly proven that Wyatt cared about Lincoln. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have cared at all about whether or not he made a scene. Wyatt pulled back from the kiss, looking up at him with a playful grin, “Was this my surprise?”
Lincoln scoffed, “My surprises are far better than that. We just haven’t gotten to it yet.”
“Really?”
Lincoln winked and then opened the passenger door for him.
Chapter 10: Made for Two
By the time they approached Lincoln’s apartment door, Wyatt was dying to know what the surprise was. He had talked Lincoln’s ear off on the way over with questions, but Lincoln stonewalled him. When would they get to it? Where would it be? Wyatt even hypothesized that there wasn’t even a surprise and that Lincoln just wanted to keep him guessing. Still, Lincoln didn’t comment.
They walked into the apartment, and Wyatt noticed a backdrop and lights set up around the couch. Wyatt stepped closer, noticing there was a video camera set up on the coffee table, and a large box on the ground next to it. “Is your assignment a Youtube video?”
“It is,” he said, as he shut and locked the door.
“Do you want me to hang out in the bedroom or something while you film?” he asked, not sure how Lincoln felt about someone watching him record himself talking. Wyatt knew it would make him uncomfortable.
“Actually, I was hoping I could get your help with it,” Lincoln proposed, pacing over to the couch and sitting down.
“Oh really? Okay, what can I do to help?” Wyatt asked. Lincoln then patted the spot on the couch next to him. Wyatt raised a brow, “You want me to be in it?”
Lincoln reached over into the box and dug around for a moment, then pulled something out. It was a packet of knitted cobalt blue mittens that had two individual mittens and then one that looked like one giant mitten but with two holes in it. Couple Mittens? “I have to have someone to review these products with,” Lincoln smiled.
“Oh my God,” Wyatt laughed, moving over to the couch and sitting down. “Is this really how you want to broadcast that you’re gay? By reviewing products for couples?”
“What better way?” Lincoln grinned. “These are all the goods from our clients’ brands. They’ve wanted reviews done on them, but we had been putting it off for a while. I originally planned to do it with Maria, but they all loved the idea of bringing you in for it. I promised you I wasn’t going to keep you in the dark, and I’m not going to. This way it’s clear we’re a couple and not just doing some sort of publicity stunt.”
Wyatt’s heart soared. Lincoln seriously was a man of his word. He couldn’t believe that Lincoln was ready to be so bold and make a video of the both of them when just yesterday he would have probably taken a bullet over opting to do that. “Is this the surprise?” he asked.
Lincoln nodded. “I thought this would show you that I’m serious about making this work.”
“Well, you thought right,” Wyatt smiled, grasping Lincoln’s hand. “I know this is really big for you…”
He gave a modest shrug, placing the mittens back in the box. “I know it’s the right thing to do. You were right, I was putting my own life and happiness on hold for this modeling thing. Even though I didn’t realize it, it was making me miserable. So this is a chance for me to be happy. Make the best of both worlds. I have you to thank for that… I was stubbor and, if you hadn’t come along to pull me out of it, I probably would have stayed miserable. It almost feels as though I woke up from a daze I had been living in. One where nothing mattered but protecting my career, not even myself. But worrying over you, feeling like I was never going to see you again… It woke me up.”
Wyatt stared at Lincoln with glossy eyes, his pulse racing through his veins at a mile a minute. “That was beautiful, Linc,” he spoke lowly, to keep his voice from cracking. Wyatt was overwhelmed by his own emotions because of Lincoln’s words. He had been so real and honest with him, it really took Wyatt’s breath away. There had been a very noticeable change in Lincoln, but he hadn’t known exactly what it was. It was hard for Wyatt to believe that he chan
ged Lincoln’s perspective; after all, Lincoln certainly was a stubborn man. Even if it was hard to believe though, he believed it since Lincoln had spoken with such sincerity.
With his chest swelled by emotion, Wyatt moved to give Lincoln a passionate kiss. Lincoln eagerly kissed him back, his free hand reaching to rest on Wyatt’s cheek. Tension rose between them, the kiss intensified within seconds. His tongue slipped passed Wyatt’s lips and caressed his tongue. Already, Wyatt was losing his willpower to remain abstinent. Moving closer to Lincoln, Wyatt lifted the hem of Lincoln’s shirt and ran his hand over his abs. Lincoln pulled back from the kiss, “Easy. We have a video to do,” he purred to Wyatt.
“You’re right,” Wyatt nodded, clearing his throat and running a hand through his hair. “I’ve never done a video or anything before… What do I do?” he asked, trying to refocus his thoughts on the task at hand rather than Lincoln’s body.
“Just act natural, really. I’ll introduce us, then we just review the products one by one. Keep in mind, these are products we are trying to sell, not make fun of. Some small critiques are fine, it makes the video believable, but they can’t be anything detrimental. They should still want to buy the item,” Lincoln explained as he tried to discretely adjust his crotch, having gotten aroused by their intense kissing. “It’s fine to laugh and joke around. People like that. Don’t take it too seriously, but keep it positive. Also, don’t forget to call me Jack. If you call me Linc, we’ll have to redo the shot. Oh, and try to look through the camera, not at it.”
“Sounds simple enough, so maybe I won’t even mess it up,” Wyatt chuckled.
“Don’t worry about it being in one take. We can pause whenever we need. Then I’ll send the video to the guys, and they will edit it and publish it. They’ll take anything out they don’t like or deem inappropriate.” Lincoln then reached back into the box and fished out a shirt. It was a lavender shirt with the Dual Lux logo on it. “Put this on, and we can get started,” he informed Wyatt, tossing it to him.