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Armie Hammer was one of the top performers at Guadagnino Corporation. He was well liked by his colleagues and known to be a go-getter. Armie liked his colleagues, but he also appreciated having time aside for his personal life. He already spends a significant part of his day with them, he didn’t need to spend off hours or weekends with them too. So whenever his colleagues invited him to grab a drink after work, or for a round of golf over the weekend, he always found excuses. Well to be frank, he only had one excuse - “I have plans with my boyfriend” he would say. And it worked so well. They never forced him to forgo his plans or followed-up with intrusive questions.
The end of the year was nearing which meant it was time for Guadagnino Corporation’s New Year’s Eve celebration. This year was stressful for many of his colleagues including Armie. However, it all wasn’t for nothing. Their company’s performance exceeded their annual projections and hit record sales. Now was the time to celebrate their success. Their CEO Mr. Luca Guadagnino wanted to let all his employees know how grateful he was for their dedication and hard work. He announced a lavish party to show his gratitude and also lift everyone’s spirits up. The party was going to be hosted in a premier art museum in the city. It was going to be closed off to the general public for that night. All employees were encouraged to dress to impress and bring their significant others. The theme of the party was ‘casino night’ and the money raised would be donated to a charity of their choice. There would be appetizers, drinks, music, photo booth, casino tables, etc. Many of his colleagues were counting down days to that night.
Armie hadn't paid much attention to the party until one day when Luca casually remarked that he was looking forward to finally meeting Armie’s boyfriend. Armie panicked and immediately blurted his go to excuse - “Well unfortunately I made plans with my boyfriend”. Luca responded with, “What’s better than attending an all expense paid exclusive event in the heart of the city?”. Armie completely blanked. Until that point, he never got a follow-up to his usual statement. All he could muster was a gentle smile. Well, he was in big trouble now.
Armie spent the entire week following that conversation thinking about a potential boyfriend who could accompany him to the party. He could ask his good friends Nick or Tyler, but that would mean he’d be the butt of their jokes for eternity. No, he didn’t need that. He decided to pick up a casual acquaintance so they both can just enjoy the party and not worry about any repercussions afterwards. If something did go wrong, he could just avoid that person going forward. This damn holiday party was turning out to be such a stressful event after all!
During the weekend, Armie went down to the common laundry room of the apartment complex where he lived. It was there that he laid his eyes on this cute young boy with curly hair, airpods in his ears, humming to rap music while folding his laundry. Armie knew him. The boy’s name was Timmy. He lived on the same floor as Armie, two doors down the hallway. They always exchanged pleasantries when they crossed each other in the hallways. He was the kind of guy who held doors for others or checked on their neighbors if he noticed their mail piling up. Armie had brief but friendly conversations with him whenever they ran into each other in the mailroom or the apartment gym. You can say that they were “casual acquaintances”. A light bulb went off in Armie’s head and he started to wonder how to approach that subject to Timmy.
Timmy saw that Armie was staring at him. He immediately pulled out his airpods and said, “Sorry man, I didn’t notice you were here! Did you say something?”
Armie was caught off guard, “No, I didn’t say anything. How’s your weekend going on?”
“Well it’s not that interesting. I’ve been putting off doing my laundry for two weeks now so this is what I have to deal with!”, Timmy said, pointing to a huge pile of clothes next to him. Armie couldn’t help but laugh at this dork. Then Timmy asked, “Well its holiday season, are you doing anything special for New Years?”. Hmm, Armie didn’t even have to try. The ball rolled into his court just like that. The universe sure was working in his favor. “Our company is hosting our annual holiday party at the art museum in the city, so I’m going to be there. What about you?”. Timmy shrugged and said, “I usually spend that time of the year with my parents and my sister but they all went to Paris this year. I was supposed to fly out and join them. Unfortunately something came up at work and I am unable to take time off at work this year so I don’t have anything exciting planned”. Armie felt a little sad for the guy but he’d be lying if he said that he wasn’t thrilled about this news a little bit. He said, “Why don’t you join me for our company’s party? It’ll be fun. Worst case, you get free dinner and booze!” Timmy smiled and said, “Do you mean, join you as your date?”. Armie nodded and added, “We don’t have to do anything that makes you uncomfortable. Enjoy the party, have a nice time and then come back. I’d understand if you say no though.” Nevertheless, Armie silently hoped that Timmy would say yes. Timmy said. “Why would I say no? That sounds exciting!”. Armie was ecstatic. They exchanged phone numbers to coordinate for the party.
They texted each other a couple of times after that and their easy camaraderie made Armie feel that they’d have a blast at the party.
It was finally the time for the holiday party. Armie texted Timmy that he’d wait downstairs in their apartment lobby at 7PM. He took extra time going through his wardrobe, trying to coordinate a nice outfit. He usually doesn’t give much thought to what he wears but he was a bit excited for today. He cared about what Timmy thought. He wore a dark blazer with aquamarine stripes over a white shirt and teamed it up with navy blue slacks. He was anxiously waiting in the lobby wondering why he was acting so nervous. It was then that he caught sight of Timmy walking downstairs. Timmy was wearing a royal blue blazer over a black t-shirt and paired it up with matching slacks. With his curls styled to perfection, and a big smile on his face, he looked stunning. Until that moment, Armie only saw Timmy in shorts, usually teamed up with a baggy hoodie. That look was not something he expected! He had to look away to collect himself. He was now looking forward to showing off Timmy to his colleagues. Timmy noticed that Armie was eyeing him. He was glad that the extra time he spent in selecting his outfit and taming his curls was paying off. They both greeted each other after which Armie booked an Uber and they took off to the party.
Timmy and Armie arrived at the location, checked in their coats and walked towards the open area where there were already a few people chatting away with each other. The space was decorated with lights all over and the music playing in the background enhanced the overall ambience. The waiter carried finger foods and drinks in trays and Armie grabbed drinks for him and Timmy. As they clinked their glasses, he heard a familiar voice. He turned around to find Luca and he introduced the men to each other. Luca wrapped up Timmy in a tight hug and told him how glad he was to finally meet him. Armie felt a little pang of guilt thinking about how genuinely Luca liked them both. By then, more of his colleagues surrounded them and one of them asked how they met and how they fell in love with each other. Armie admonished himself. He should have expected this basic question. Of all the things he was worried about, this should have been an easy guess. What an idiot he was! He opened his mouth but words failed to come out. Timmy started speaking and he said, “We lived in the same apartment building and Armie was always nice to me and everyone around him. He was playful with our neighbors’ kids and helped our elderly upstairs neighbor carry groceries all the time. He wasn’t bad to look at either.” Everyone around them started laughing at that point. He then looked towards Armie, tapped on his chest with his palm and said, “Honestly, who wouldn’t fall in love with this guy right here!”. Armie couldn’t help but wonder how Timmy knew all of this. He couldn’t stop himself from blushing furiously. Though he told himself that Timmy was just playing his part of a fake boyfriend too well, he still couldn’t help but feel elated at the thought that Timmy knew so much about him and talked about him in such a loving manner.
They downed a few more drinks, and both of them were in high spirits by that point. Timmy and Armie walked towards the area where the casino tables were set up. The environment around them was boisterous. Everyone around them was having animated conversations, swayed to the music, and generally enjoyed being unrestrained. Timmy pointed towards the craps table and said, “Gosh, I have such bad luck with those!”. Without much thought, Armie dragged him to the table, picked up the dice in his hands and held his fist in front of Timmy’s face. Timmy blew for good luck and then called out “8!”. Surely enough, the dice land on 8! Timmy jumped into Armie’s arms, screaming with joy! Armie doesn’t know about Timmy, but he sure as hell was not pretending anymore. He was genuinely enjoying the night out with him.
Then they found a photobooth in the corner and Timmy pulled Armie towards it. There were a lot of props such as oversized glasses, gaudy hats, witty signs such as ‘You had me at open bar’, ‘I’m sexy and I know it’, etc. lying on a table outside. They both grabbed a few of those and stepped inside to get started. The tight space meant that they had to sit really close to each other, not that either of them minded. They put on those props, made funny faces, and took plenty of pictures. Armie was delighted to have a physical proof of that wonderful night.
As more time passed and it started to get closer to midnight, they noticed that the lights around them were dimmed and other couples around them faced each other, hugging and wrapping arms around each other. The countdown to midnight started... 10, 9, 8….. and Armie turned to Timmy wondering how Timmy would feel about kissing him at midnight. He proceeds to say, “is it okay if..." and Timmy says “yes” before Armie could finish his sentence. They kissed when the clock struck 12 and everyone around them yelled “Happy New Year!”. If Armie slowly moved his fingers up to the back of Timmy’s neck and dug into his luscious curls, it wasn’t because he tried to feel how good those curls felt against his fingers. He was only trying to angle his face better. That was strictly pretense. If Timmy then slid his tongue into Armie’s mouth, he wasn’t trying to taste Armie’s mouth. He just didn’t want Armie’s colleagues to find out that they were a fake couple. When they finally pulled apart, neither of them was able to say anything. Armie finally broke the silence and said, “Well I think that looked believable right?”. Timmy frowned and said, “I don’t know man, I think they need to be convinced a bit more”. As soon as Armie registered what Timmy said, he engulfed him in his arms and smashed their mouths together.