Brendon was suddenly certain that over the past fifteen minutes his brain had short circuited and was making decisions that were supported by, what- one spontaneous night? He was no stranger at all to these types of situations- he woke up beside a usual stranger, declothed, with only hazy memories of the night previous and no passion or attraction left in his blood from whatever he and that stranger had shared in a single evening. There were people who gave him their number- he never gave them his- and those who expected him to actually call, but though he had broken his fair share of hearts in his turbulent romantic history (if you could call it that), most people who engaged with in that way knew what they were in for, and they didn’t care. Those were the people who turned him off anything serious- those who, though he was considerably attractive, only found his fame and household name appealing, those who could tell their friends that they slept with Brendon Blake, and those that thought they could sell that story even though such similar tales cropped up so often that not even the trashiest magazine would buy them. After those, when the person tended to walk about before he even got the chance to tell them to leave, he felt vulnerable, worthless. But he had thick skin- or he was good at faking it.

He figured this was different because they’d made a little bit of an actual connection, both a working one and even the beginnings of a close friendship. His brain, unused to such experiences and relationships, had misinterpreted what should have been a meaningless night into something more because it had nothing to compare to. Last night [i]had[/i] been meaningless. Brendon just didn’t want to go to bed alone, and yes, he still thought Ryan was gorgeous. But it wasn’t like he actually [i]liked[/i] him. Coming to that conclusion, he exhaled, relieved, and having successfully severed the potential of emotional ties with physical intimacy, he found himself a lot more comfortable in this situation. So he flirted, but Ryan didn’t seem to get or appreciate it, so he shrugged his shoulders up and down, before immediately trying again. See, once Brendon thought he was no longer in danger of making himself even slightly vulnerable, all former misgivings and caution went out of the window- he was even considering stepping over his line of not sleeping with the same person twice, because... Well. Ryan was both available and Brendon was still watching replays whenever he blinked, half annoying and distracting him, half making him want to get back into bed beside him like Ryan had suggested just now.

[i]Anytime.[/i] Brendon smirked, liking the sound of that. Then, in the same heartbeat, he cut immediately to professionalism, reminding Ryan of his calendar and an event on it that could be regarded as sensitive considering their current situation. He noticed Ryan’s expression change and his lips part, but couldn’t see the problem; raising an eyebrow, he waited for a moment to see if his assistant had anything to say. After a few moments, he cleared his throat and turned back to the mirror again, frustrated with his disobedient hair. [i]You’re right. Y’know, I could cancel if you’re more interested in sticking around.[/i] Brendon folded his arms loosely across his chest and turned in Ryan’s direction, interested. [b]”Only if you’re still up for that round two,”[/b] He said in a low, playful tone, before turning back to the mirror. [b]”Nah, seriously. I’m thinking about it. Why bother go out, see another person and have to go through the whole date process to get laid, when I have better and easier options?”[/b] Indirect, but obvious. Brendon wasn’t very tactful sometimes.

An example of this came again pretty soon when Ryan suggested they go steady and Brendon misinterpreted that as asking to be a little more adventurous. It was obvious what dominated Brendon’s mind most of the time. This was why he played along so readily, even impressed by what he thought to be stepping away from the vanilla cutout that Brendon had kind of seen him to be. [i]Yeah, you know, whatever.[/i] [b]”Don’t get all fuckin’ shy on me now, baby. Bit late for that, right?”[/b] [i]Glad we’re on the same page.[/i] Nodding with evident enthusiasm, he watched, disappointed but not surprised, as Ryan began to get dressed again and stand up from the edge of the bed. Since he was apparently getting ready to leave anyway, leading Brendon to believe Ryan wasn’t going to take up his offer for round two, he decided to take that opportunity and get the errands run that he needed completing. Most important- the suit. It was black velvet, printed appliqué flower design- white shirt, no tie. He tried it on once and felt in love with it. Ryan better be careful with it.

[i]Sure, of course.[/i] Brendon had given up on his endeavour to fix his bedhead in the bedroom mirror, and was about to head into the bathroom to style it properly, but Ryan was approaching and he tried not to tense, just watching incredulously as Ryan actually reached out and smoothed a strand of Brendon’s hair back into place. He didn’t have time to step out of the way and just raised his eyebrows immediately, as if to ask him what the hell he was doing. That was too gentle for his liking. Because he was feeling generous, he chose to not immediately yell at him, and just tilted his head. [b]”Please don’t do that again. You either pull it, or don’t touch it. No inbetween,”[/b] He pointed out, serious, but the corner of his mouth curving up into a smile to save the mood. He at least had the courtesy then to hear whatever he was going to say next. 

[i]A suit on the first date. Seems like a pretty big deal.[/i] [b]”We’re going to some fancy restaurant,”[/b] Brendon responded quickly, not liking the height difference and adoring it at the same time as he had to look up to meet his eyes. [b]”And for your information, it’s a very fucking nice suit. And you get the privilege of seeing me in it first, if you so wish.”[/b] Of course he did. [i]What are you gonna do?[/i] [b]”Like I just said. Restaurant- remember that one where you yelled at me for spending $25 on a sandwich from the lunch menu? Yeah.”[/b] He paused and grinned then, thoughts wondering. [b]”Then, hopefully, the lucky girl will get lucky, just like you did. Don’t worry, don’t get jealous. There’s enough of me to go around, has been for years.”[/b]