A/N: Sigh. Back to this one because the doldrums continue. So i'm going to work on a story that I can actually work up the energy to write on, which just happens to be this one right now. -DL
Chapter 2
Drew walked up to the catering table, greeting Jarrod easily. Over the last few weeks, he’d managed to get his feelings(somewhat) under control. He didn’t moon over Jarrod anymore, at least not visibly…and they’d become friends. They talked every time he came to get something to eat, and he now knew that Jarrod was originally from Kansas, that he’d come to L.A. after his parents kicked him out when they’d discovered that he was gay, and that he’d met his boyfriend Steve in a little café that he’d been working at, just a little over a year ago. They’d been together ever since, and Steve worked as a bartender at a popular gay bar and dance club.
In turn, Drew had told Jarrod about growing up in Illinois, dreaming of becoming an actor, and moving to L.A. to try and make it when he was twenty. He’d done his share of waiting tables too, and they’d commiserated over how hard a job it could be. He’d also told Jarrod about his first part, a commercial for men’s aftershave. Other small roles had followed, and he’d slowly built up his resume working in television. His biggest part so far before this movie had been a supporting role in a TV show that had only lasted for one season. He was hoping that doing this movie would be a step up for his career, and that he’d get bigger offers if it did well.
The one thing he hadn’t mentioned to Jarrod was the fact that he was gay, too. Drew very seldom let that little fact slip out; he wasn’t at a point in his career where he could afford to have gossip about his sexual preferences spreading throughout the industry. And Jarrod seemed like a nice guy, but all he had to do was let slip to his co-workers at the catering company that Drew was gay, and they in turn would probably mention it casually to some of the people they made food for on movie sets and the sets of television shows, and it would spread like wildfire…gossip moved faster than light in this town. His career might be over before it had really gotten off the ground, because people were still reluctant to cast gay actors in anything but gay roles, and there simply weren’t that many of those in Hollywood. He needed to be able to play straight until he could make it, and then he could reveal his sexuality without worrying that it would shut him out of prime roles.
He hated to have to hide who he was, but that was the way that Hollywood still worked. Drew had to work within the system, much as it sometimes irritated and frustrated him. He wasn’t ashamed to be gay; he never had been, not even in high school when he’d first realized he was attracted to other guys. But he wanted to be an actor. He’d never wanted to be anything else. So he had to go along with keeping his sexuality a secret for now, and that meant not saying anything even to a friend like Jarrod. Because they were only casual friends, and he didn’t know whether he could trust Jarrod to keep it a secret.
“Hey, Jarrod. Good morning,” he said with a smile.
The way those beautiful eyes brightened at the sight of him made his traitorous cock stir and his stomach clench, just like they always did. Those were two parts of himself that he couldn’t quite control. “Hi, Drew. Good morning,” he said, but his smile lacked a lot of its usual cheer.
He studied Jarrod’s face. “Is there something wrong?” he asked quietly, so that nobody else could hear the question.
Jarrod’s shoulders slumped. His eyes dropped, and he looked miserable. “Umm, it’s nothing,” he said, when it clearly wasn’t nothing.
Drew frowned at him. “Jarrod, come on. You can tell me about it, whatever it is. We’re friends, right?”
Those beautiful eyes rose to his face, searching it. Jarrod nodded. “Yes,” he replied. “We’re friends.”
“Then you can tell me what’s wrong. You know I’ll listen,” Drew told him.
A long sigh. “Yes. And I really do need somebody to talk to…it’s about…Steve.”
“Your boyfriend?” Drew asked as casually as he could. “What about him?”
Jarrod bit at his lower lip and fidgeted a bit. “Well, I think he might be…cheating on me…” he half-whispered, miserly flashing over his face.
Drew concealed his first reaction to this statement, which was a flash of pure hope. “What makes you think that?” he asked aloud.
“I was in our bathroom last night, looking in the drawers for a band-aid because I’d cut my finger…” he lifted his hand to display a bandage wrapped around his index finger, “And I picked up the box of…condoms…” he glanced anxiously at Drew. “Is it okay to talk about this?” he asked, clearly worried that a heterosexual like Drew might be offended or disgusted.
He wanted to laugh dryly. “Of course it’s okay, Jarrod. You can tell me anything.”
“Well, the condoms in the bathroom are the ones that Steve carries in his wallet sometimes, just in case we want to...you know…away from home. Like going to a hotel or something…” he added hurriedly, color swarming up into his cheeks.
Drew was fascinated and immensely attracted to that color. It meant that Jarrod sometimes liked to do naughty things in inappropriate places. Hotel room, yeah right! But he shook those feelings off for now. “Okay,” he said. “I got that.”
Jarrod sighed. “We have more in the bedroom that we use, so we don’t often get into that box in the bathroom. In fact, this was a new box, which should have been unopened, because Steve and I haven’t needed them for awhile…but it was. Opened, I mean. And there were some…missing. Eight of them, actually. I could see Steve taking a few without thinking to tell me, but he couldn’t fit eight condoms into his wallet! And the thing is…I saw him open his wallet last night to get some money out to tip our waiter at the restaurant we were at, and there…weren’t ANY in there!” he stopped talking, his face a picture of anguish.
Drew took in a long breath. He couldn’t quite believe that he was going to do this, but the truth was he hated to see Jarrod hurting. “Look, have you asked him about this?” he asked. “You really should talk to him, and get his side of the story. There might be some perfectly innocent explanation for why those condoms are gone,” he added, shaking his head at himself internally. The perfect opportunity to drive a wedge between Jarrod and his boyfriend, and he just couldn’t bring himself to do it!
“Do you think so?” Jarrod asked, hopefully.
“Yeah, I do,” Drew said, wanting to smack himself upside the head.
“Okay, I’ll ask him. Thank you, Drew,” Jarrod said, smiling at him.
“You’re welcome,” Drew said glumly. Damn it, did he always have to be the good guy?! It would be nice if he could be a borderline sociopath like so many of the people in Hollywood. Having scruples and morals kind of sucked sometimes…
The next day, Drew arrived on-set early. The director wanted a morning shot of the chase scene, where police would be right on the heels of his character, who was naked and bloody because it had been a full moon the night before. He yawned as he raked his fingers through his hair, stumbling over to the catering table to get as cup of coffee and some pastries. He needed to wake up.
He saw Jarrod giving a cup of steaming hot coffee to one of the crew, and felt his mouth water. The caterer looked as upbeat and happy as ever, which made Drew’s heart sink. He prepared himself for what was to come as he approached the table. “Good morning, Jarrod,” he said aloud.
“Oh, Drew! Good morning!” Jarrod cried, beaming at him.
“I take it your little problem is worked out?” Drew said softly to him.
Jarrod nodded. “Yeah! I talked to Steve last night, and he told me the whole story. Apparently he has a co-worker at the bar who’s having a hard time. This guy is a friend of Steve’s, and practically all of his paycheck is going to fix his car, which broke down. He’s so bad off that he couldn’t even afford to buy condoms, and he was afraid that he’d catch a disease because he likes to sleep around with guys he picks up at the bar. Steve told him he should just stop having sex, but he was afraid that the guy wouldn’t do that and he might get AIDS or something. So he gave him some of our condoms from the bathroom stash to tide him over until his next payday. That’s why there were so many missing. I was so relieved!” he added happily, his eyes alight.
“That’s great,” Drew said aloud, although internally he was trying not to groan over Jarrod’s innocent naiveté. That story sounded as fishy as a Boston wharf; he didn’t buy it for even one second. But what could he do? If Steve was cheating on Jarrod, he’d have to discover that fact for himself. And at least they were still using condoms, so Steve wouldn’t be giving Jarrod any diseases even if he was whoring around, which Drew suspected that he was. He’d have to keep his mouth shut, even if it made him feel frustrated and infuriated to have to do so. It made him mad that this wretched fucker Steve would cheat on someone as great as Jarrod. If Jarrod had been his, he’d have treasured him and he certainly would never, EVER play around on him!
But of course, Jarrod WASN’T his. So he’d have to grit his teeth and pretend that he was happy over Jarrod’s news. “Could I have some coffee, Jarrod?” he asked. “I need to be awake for this scene we’re shooting soon.”
“Sure. And would you like some pastries? The strawberry and cream cheese danishes are wonderful,” Jarrod said temptingly as he picked up a cup and poured some steaming hot coffee into a cup for Drew.
“That would be great. I’ll take two of those,” Drew said. Sugar and caffeine; the greatest combination in the world.
Jarrod added just a touch of cream and two sugars, just like Drew liked it. He handed the cup over, then a plate with the danishes on it. Drew settled his ass against the edge of the table to sip at his coffee and eat the danishes, moodily staring off across the set. He hated the fact that he couldn’t say anything to Jarrod about his boyfriend; it sucked to know that Jarrod was with a guy who was probably cheating on him. And would probably remain with said guy for who knew how long…he sighed.
“Are you all right, Drew?” Jarrod asked him in concern.
He shook himself out of his funk. “Yeah, Jarrod. I’m fine. Just tired. I don’t like being up this early.” he added with a rueful smile.
Jarrod laughed. “I’m used to it. I get to work at six o’clock to get the food ready for the day. Steve complains sometimes because I wake him up when I get out of bed, and he works late most nights. Sometimes I wish I could get up later, but I really like this job otherwise. It’s fun.”
Drew nodded. He could understand that. Acting was fun for him, too. “Well, I’ve gotta go. Cid will be frothing at the mouth if I don’t show up on set soon. Thanks for the food, Jarrod. And I’m glad everything worked out,” he lied.
“Thanks, Drew. I’ll see you at lunch. I’ve got some tasty steak fajitas and chicken chimichangas today,” Jarrod told him.
“Sounds good. Bye,” he waved a hand at Jarrod and walked away, forcing himself not to look back over his shoulder. Time to go do his job, and hopefully forget about Jarrod for a little while in the process…
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Chapter 2
Drew walked up to the catering table, greeting Jarrod easily. Over the last few weeks, he’d managed to get his feelings(somewhat) under control. He didn’t moon over Jarrod anymore, at least not visibly…and they’d become friends. They talked every time he came to get something to eat, and he now knew that Jarrod was originally from Kansas, that he’d come to L.A. after his parents kicked him out when they’d discovered that he was gay, and that he’d met his boyfriend Steve in a little café that he’d been working at, just a little over a year ago. They’d been together ever since, and Steve worked as a bartender at a popular gay bar and dance club.
In turn, Drew had told Jarrod about growing up in Illinois, dreaming of becoming an actor, and moving to L.A. to try and make it when he was twenty. He’d done his share of waiting tables too, and they’d commiserated over how hard a job it could be. He’d also told Jarrod about his first part, a commercial for men’s aftershave. Other small roles had followed, and he’d slowly built up his resume working in television. His biggest part so far before this movie had been a supporting role in a TV show that had only lasted for one season. He was hoping that doing this movie would be a step up for his career, and that he’d get bigger offers if it did well.
The one thing he hadn’t mentioned to Jarrod was the fact that he was gay, too. Drew very seldom let that little fact slip out; he wasn’t at a point in his career where he could afford to have gossip about his sexual preferences spreading throughout the industry. And Jarrod seemed like a nice guy, but all he had to do was let slip to his co-workers at the catering company that Drew was gay, and they in turn would probably mention it casually to some of the people they made food for on movie sets and the sets of television shows, and it would spread like wildfire…gossip moved faster than light in this town. His career might be over before it had really gotten off the ground, because people were still reluctant to cast gay actors in anything but gay roles, and there simply weren’t that many of those in Hollywood. He needed to be able to play straight until he could make it, and then he could reveal his sexuality without worrying that it would shut him out of prime roles.
He hated to have to hide who he was, but that was the way that Hollywood still worked. Drew had to work within the system, much as it sometimes irritated and frustrated him. He wasn’t ashamed to be gay; he never had been, not even in high school when he’d first realized he was attracted to other guys. But he wanted to be an actor. He’d never wanted to be anything else. So he had to go along with keeping his sexuality a secret for now, and that meant not saying anything even to a friend like Jarrod. Because they were only casual friends, and he didn’t know whether he could trust Jarrod to keep it a secret.
“Hey, Jarrod. Good morning,” he said with a smile.
The way those beautiful eyes brightened at the sight of him made his traitorous cock stir and his stomach clench, just like they always did. Those were two parts of himself that he couldn’t quite control. “Hi, Drew. Good morning,” he said, but his smile lacked a lot of its usual cheer.
He studied Jarrod’s face. “Is there something wrong?” he asked quietly, so that nobody else could hear the question.
Jarrod’s shoulders slumped. His eyes dropped, and he looked miserable. “Umm, it’s nothing,” he said, when it clearly wasn’t nothing.
Drew frowned at him. “Jarrod, come on. You can tell me about it, whatever it is. We’re friends, right?”
Those beautiful eyes rose to his face, searching it. Jarrod nodded. “Yes,” he replied. “We’re friends.”
“Then you can tell me what’s wrong. You know I’ll listen,” Drew told him.
A long sigh. “Yes. And I really do need somebody to talk to…it’s about…Steve.”
“Your boyfriend?” Drew asked as casually as he could. “What about him?”
Jarrod bit at his lower lip and fidgeted a bit. “Well, I think he might be…cheating on me…” he half-whispered, miserly flashing over his face.
Drew concealed his first reaction to this statement, which was a flash of pure hope. “What makes you think that?” he asked aloud.
“I was in our bathroom last night, looking in the drawers for a band-aid because I’d cut my finger…” he lifted his hand to display a bandage wrapped around his index finger, “And I picked up the box of…condoms…” he glanced anxiously at Drew. “Is it okay to talk about this?” he asked, clearly worried that a heterosexual like Drew might be offended or disgusted.
He wanted to laugh dryly. “Of course it’s okay, Jarrod. You can tell me anything.”
“Well, the condoms in the bathroom are the ones that Steve carries in his wallet sometimes, just in case we want to...you know…away from home. Like going to a hotel or something…” he added hurriedly, color swarming up into his cheeks.
Drew was fascinated and immensely attracted to that color. It meant that Jarrod sometimes liked to do naughty things in inappropriate places. Hotel room, yeah right! But he shook those feelings off for now. “Okay,” he said. “I got that.”
Jarrod sighed. “We have more in the bedroom that we use, so we don’t often get into that box in the bathroom. In fact, this was a new box, which should have been unopened, because Steve and I haven’t needed them for awhile…but it was. Opened, I mean. And there were some…missing. Eight of them, actually. I could see Steve taking a few without thinking to tell me, but he couldn’t fit eight condoms into his wallet! And the thing is…I saw him open his wallet last night to get some money out to tip our waiter at the restaurant we were at, and there…weren’t ANY in there!” he stopped talking, his face a picture of anguish.
Drew took in a long breath. He couldn’t quite believe that he was going to do this, but the truth was he hated to see Jarrod hurting. “Look, have you asked him about this?” he asked. “You really should talk to him, and get his side of the story. There might be some perfectly innocent explanation for why those condoms are gone,” he added, shaking his head at himself internally. The perfect opportunity to drive a wedge between Jarrod and his boyfriend, and he just couldn’t bring himself to do it!
“Do you think so?” Jarrod asked, hopefully.
“Yeah, I do,” Drew said, wanting to smack himself upside the head.
“Okay, I’ll ask him. Thank you, Drew,” Jarrod said, smiling at him.
“You’re welcome,” Drew said glumly. Damn it, did he always have to be the good guy?! It would be nice if he could be a borderline sociopath like so many of the people in Hollywood. Having scruples and morals kind of sucked sometimes…
The next day, Drew arrived on-set early. The director wanted a morning shot of the chase scene, where police would be right on the heels of his character, who was naked and bloody because it had been a full moon the night before. He yawned as he raked his fingers through his hair, stumbling over to the catering table to get as cup of coffee and some pastries. He needed to wake up.
He saw Jarrod giving a cup of steaming hot coffee to one of the crew, and felt his mouth water. The caterer looked as upbeat and happy as ever, which made Drew’s heart sink. He prepared himself for what was to come as he approached the table. “Good morning, Jarrod,” he said aloud.
“Oh, Drew! Good morning!” Jarrod cried, beaming at him.
“I take it your little problem is worked out?” Drew said softly to him.
Jarrod nodded. “Yeah! I talked to Steve last night, and he told me the whole story. Apparently he has a co-worker at the bar who’s having a hard time. This guy is a friend of Steve’s, and practically all of his paycheck is going to fix his car, which broke down. He’s so bad off that he couldn’t even afford to buy condoms, and he was afraid that he’d catch a disease because he likes to sleep around with guys he picks up at the bar. Steve told him he should just stop having sex, but he was afraid that the guy wouldn’t do that and he might get AIDS or something. So he gave him some of our condoms from the bathroom stash to tide him over until his next payday. That’s why there were so many missing. I was so relieved!” he added happily, his eyes alight.
“That’s great,” Drew said aloud, although internally he was trying not to groan over Jarrod’s innocent naiveté. That story sounded as fishy as a Boston wharf; he didn’t buy it for even one second. But what could he do? If Steve was cheating on Jarrod, he’d have to discover that fact for himself. And at least they were still using condoms, so Steve wouldn’t be giving Jarrod any diseases even if he was whoring around, which Drew suspected that he was. He’d have to keep his mouth shut, even if it made him feel frustrated and infuriated to have to do so. It made him mad that this wretched fucker Steve would cheat on someone as great as Jarrod. If Jarrod had been his, he’d have treasured him and he certainly would never, EVER play around on him!
But of course, Jarrod WASN’T his. So he’d have to grit his teeth and pretend that he was happy over Jarrod’s news. “Could I have some coffee, Jarrod?” he asked. “I need to be awake for this scene we’re shooting soon.”
“Sure. And would you like some pastries? The strawberry and cream cheese danishes are wonderful,” Jarrod said temptingly as he picked up a cup and poured some steaming hot coffee into a cup for Drew.
“That would be great. I’ll take two of those,” Drew said. Sugar and caffeine; the greatest combination in the world.
Jarrod added just a touch of cream and two sugars, just like Drew liked it. He handed the cup over, then a plate with the danishes on it. Drew settled his ass against the edge of the table to sip at his coffee and eat the danishes, moodily staring off across the set. He hated the fact that he couldn’t say anything to Jarrod about his boyfriend; it sucked to know that Jarrod was with a guy who was probably cheating on him. And would probably remain with said guy for who knew how long…he sighed.
“Are you all right, Drew?” Jarrod asked him in concern.
He shook himself out of his funk. “Yeah, Jarrod. I’m fine. Just tired. I don’t like being up this early.” he added with a rueful smile.
Jarrod laughed. “I’m used to it. I get to work at six o’clock to get the food ready for the day. Steve complains sometimes because I wake him up when I get out of bed, and he works late most nights. Sometimes I wish I could get up later, but I really like this job otherwise. It’s fun.”
Drew nodded. He could understand that. Acting was fun for him, too. “Well, I’ve gotta go. Cid will be frothing at the mouth if I don’t show up on set soon. Thanks for the food, Jarrod. And I’m glad everything worked out,” he lied.
“Thanks, Drew. I’ll see you at lunch. I’ve got some tasty steak fajitas and chicken chimichangas today,” Jarrod told him.
“Sounds good. Bye,” he waved a hand at Jarrod and walked away, forcing himself not to look back over his shoulder. Time to go do his job, and hopefully forget about Jarrod for a little while in the process…
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