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Whoever said that California was always warm had never lived in Texas. And those same people were never out after dark in painted-on jeans that were more shreds than fabric (and which were the most difficult article of clothing Will had ever had to put on) and a threadbare t-shirt that probably could have ripped off of him with a stiff breeze.
As freezing as he was, though, Will was grateful not to be Drew. On top of the shortest shorts ever made and a billowy tank top that surely wasn’t supposed to be cut so low, she had to stand around in the most unpleasant heels Will had ever seen. She’d probably lost feeling in her toes long before the cold set in.
Will had zoned out about twenty minutes into Drew’s complaints about her client on the previous night, and was beginning to pray that either a car would pull up or a cop would drive by and give them all excuse to head home for the night - not that the shitty apartment that Will and Drew shared was any better than standing on a street corner in the cold.
Still, when a nice - old, clean - car stuttered to a stop at the curb, a part of Will wished it would’ve been a cop, instead. He and Drew had gotten pretty good at acting couply and assuring the officers that they weren’t doing anything illicit, all while giving anybody else nearby plenty of time to scatter before Will promised that they’d be on their way. Maybe they wouldn’t be making any money that night, but at the same time, neither of them would have to flirt with whatever geezer was driving that car and show him a good time, either.
Drew, bless her heart - and Will meant that both genuinely, and in the most southern way possible - always insisted that Will scope out the cars first. Back when he’d first started, he had wanted to get a look at the guy and try to make sure he wasn’t packing heat - the murderous kind, anyway - to keep his friends safe. Now, though, they all knew that the chances of somebody combing the streets in search of a male prostitute were slim to none, so they gave Will every chance he could get to make some cash. Normally, Will appreciated the gesture, but now he just wanted to go to bed.
He couldn’t argue with Drew when the car pulled up, because if they waited too long, then the guy was just going to drive off without anybody, so Will dragged his feet for the first few steps before rolling his shoulders back, plastering a smile on his face, and leaning in through the open window of the old car.
What he saw on the other side almost had him stumbling back. Where he had expected to see a wrinkly old man wearing too much of the worst aftershave ever created was a guy about Will’s age - high cheekbones, dark hair pulled back into a stubby ponytail at the base of his neck, pale olive complexion, and cupid’s bow lips that were turned down into a pout as he glared down at the phone in his hands.
“Hey there,” Will said, trying to dial the charm up to eleven. “New to the city? I’d be happy to show you around.”
The man glanced up at him - perfectly sculpted eyebrows that made Will wonder whether or not they were naturally that perfect, a light dusting of freckles across a snub nose, and eyes that appeared almost bottomless in the low light - and his expression flickered before turning neutral. “I’m not interested in--”
“No problem,” Will said quickly, trying to ignore the feeling deep in his core that he refused to acknowledge as disappointment. “If you’re not into me, I have a few friends that might be more your type--”
“No,” the man cut in, his dark eyes widening almost fearfully as he glanced over his shoulder and out the backseat window where Drew and the others were still gathered. “I just meant-- I can’t get a signal for some reason. I just need directions.”
Will’s face fell. “Ten bucks.”
The man frowned. “I didn’t even say where I was going.”
“Fifteen.”
He huffed. “Can you direct me to the Lotus hotel?”
“Sure!” Will said with his best customer service smile. “Twenty bucks.”
“Whatever,” he grumbled, and Will half expected to get his head taken off when the man drove off, but instead, he heard the click of the car door unlocking. “Get in, you can show me the way.”
Will grinned as he reached for the handle and climbed in, quickly rolling up the window before holding his hands in front of the closest heating vent. Sure, it wasn’t as much money as he would’ve gotten if he could actually turn a trick, but twenty dollars was twenty dollars, plus he got to warm up in the car for a little while.
“Alright,” Will said once he settled back in his seat and buckled up, “go to that light up there, and make a left.”
He nodded, put the car in gear, and took off.
And the car jerked, and stuttered, and finally, after a mumbled curse from the driver, moved smoothly.
Until the transmission started to whir, and he had to shift again, and the process started all over. Will was amazed they made it through the light before it turned red, though he was even more surprised that they didn’t stall in the middle of the intersection.
Will winced, and tried to think through his words carefully before he spoke again. “So, cheekbones,” he started, leaning one elbow on the center console, which gave him a great vantage point from which to watch the other’s ears turn red, “do you, uh, have a name?”
He glanced at Will out of the corner of his eye and answered, “Nico.”
Will grinned, and started walking his fingers down Nico’s arm until he reached for the gear shift again, startling Will back. “Well, Nico, I’m-- Fuck!” Nico shifted again, the entire car shaking and causing Will’s elbow to slip off the console. “Sorry - I’m Will. You know you’re destroying this car, right?”
Nico huffed again, and Will worried that, if he didn’t learn how to shut his mouth, he might get kicked to the curb without his money. “Can you drive a stick?”
…But how could he turn down such a golden opportunity like that, in his line of work?
“I can ride one, too,” he answered, leaning in again with a smirk. “Are you interested?”
Rather than responding, Nico slammed on the brakes and whipped the wheel to the side, pulling into the closest available parking spot on the side of the road.
Will winced again. “Sorry, uh. Too much?”
Nico pulled up the parking brake, and unlocked the doors. “You’re driving.”
“Wait, really?” Will struggled with his seatbelt, and barely managed to jump out of the car before Nico reached his door. He felt almost giddy as he sat down behind the driver’s seat - he’d had to sell his car over a year ago just to afford rent, and he’d missed driving. He shot Nico a grin and told him, “Buckle up, darlin’, ‘cause you’re about to go for the ride of your life.” He dropped the parking brake, put the car in gear, but couldn’t stop himself from leaning toward Nico with a wink and adding, “Maybe twice in one night.”
Nico snorted. “You’ve made that joke twice, now.”
Will pulled back out onto the road. “Who says they’re jokes?”
“How do you know how to drive this thing, anyway?” Nico asked. “I didn’t think anybody under the age of fifty still drove a stick.”
“I grew up on a farm,” Will answered with a shrug. “The tractors we had all had automatic transmissions, so those weren’t too different from driving a car.”
“Are there farms around San Francisco?” Nico asked.
“Why, are you looking to get into the cattle business?” Will teased. “Nah, I’m from Texas. Moved out here a few years ago. What about you?”
Nico didn’t answer right away. “What about me?”
“Where are you from?”
Another pause. “Here and there.”
Will smiled. “Alright, I get it. Don’t want to give out too much information to the stranger you let drive your car. I mean, I kind of don’t get it, but… You know. Anyway, here we are.”
“You can take it up to the valet,” Nico instructed, and Will almost did a double take. Nice car, fucking gigantic hotel, and splurging on valet? Who was this guy?
They both got out, and Will passed the keys off to the valet - silently praying that the guy actually knew what he was doing as he took Will’s place in the car, not that it would be Will’s problem much longer - and then he followed Nico up to the sidewalk.
For a few awkward seconds, Will simply stared at Nico expectantly before Nico reached for his wallet. “How much did I owe you, again?”
“Thirty bucks.”
He was probably imagining it, but Will thought he saw the corner of Nico’s perfect little mouth quirk up. When he glanced up at Will though, those lips were back in a pout, and he had one eyebrow raised. “I thought it was twenty.”
Will shrugged. “You must have misheard.”
Nico opened up his wallet and quickly peeked inside before telling him, “Looks like I don’t have thirty--”
“Fifty’s fine.”
“--so why don’t you come upstairs with me, and I’ll get the exact amount for you?”
Will felt every nerve in his body begin to thrum. It almost felt too good to be true - had he actually managed to seduce Nico, this beautiful stranger who could afford anyone he wanted? Maybe he should jack up his prices, see how much he could get out of the night before he was kicked to the curb. Maybe he could even splurge on a cab to get home, instead of having to walk all the way across town in the middle of the night!
Before he could let his jaw drop open in surprise, though, Will plastered on his most charming smile, and said, “Lead the way, then.”
Will tried to be a bit more gentlemanly as they made their way inside, though there wasn’t much more that he could do other than holding open doors for Nico. They bypassed the reception desk without so much as a nod from Nico in their direction, though Will caught the few receptionists behind the counter staring at Will with mixed expressions of shock and distaste, so he did his best not to look at anybody other than Nico for the rest of their walk to the elevator.
While they were moving, Will couldn’t look Nico over much more than when he’d been driving, though standing rather than sitting beside him gave Will the chance to notice that Nico was almost a full head shorter than him. The bright lights of the lobby also gave Will a better appreciation for the bottomless darkness of his eyes, and allowed him to notice the wavy texture of Nico’s hair, even as it was pulled back.
Had they been alone in the elevator, Will might have forgone any further examination and simply tried to seduce Nico further, though this place was apparently so ridiculous that they could afford an attendant who hit the button for the penthouse when Nico requested it, and also gave Will a disapproving onceover without being asked. Again, Will let his eyes fall to Nico instead.
Dress shoes and slacks, a white button-down and a plain black tie, almost as though he’d come fresh from a board meeting despite the late hour of the day. The only thing off about the ensemble was the addition of a black leather jacket rather than a sport coat, which made Will wonder whether Nico might’ve been more comfortable on a motorcycle that night rather than confined to a car he didn’t know how to drive. Maybe there was a story there that Will might be able to extract from him at some point during the night.
When the elevator opened at the top floor, Nico led the way out, meaning that he didn’t see the nasty look Will shot the attendant before following. The penthouse was closed off by a door, though Nico quickly swiped a keycard to allow him access to the room - the suite.
“Oh, wow,” Will couldn’t help but comment, his eyes finally drawing away from Nico to take in the sight of the room and the view out the dozens of windows.
“Make yourself at home,” Nico told him as he shed his jacket and hung it by the door, then started across the room toward the kitchen - his own kitchen!
Will continued to wander about - there was a grand dining table between the kitchen and living area, and a quick glance down a hallway suggested the bedroom and bathroom were a short distance away. “What does a handsome man like yourself do to be able to afford a place like this?” he called over his shoulder as he stepped toward a pair of French doors that would have led him out onto a balcony had he wanted to brave the cold for even a moment longer.
“I’m the CFO of DOA Records, a recording studio in LA,” Nico answered as he approached a corded phone on the kitchen counter. “Are you hungry?”
Will turned toward him with a grin, and stepped closer so that he could lean his elbows on the island between them. “You know you don’t have to buy me dinner first,” he said lowly, “or wait until the third date to start fooling around.”
Nico didn’t seem affected by his words, and simply picked up the small book that had been resting beside the phone - a room service menu, if Will had to guess. “Just thought I’d offer.”
Will studied Nico for a second, and then stepped back. Clearly he was going to have to work a little bit harder, even though it had felt like he was so close to getting Nico to break. He wasn’t running to find any extra cash, after all, so clearly he wanted to keep Will around for a little while longer. Maybe if Will took a more…physical approach, in his own way…
He crossed to the living room and draped himself across an armchair, stretching his neck out on one arm with a knee hooked over the other, his legs spread wide and inviting. Another glance back at Nico showed that he had yet to look up from his menu. Maybe he was hungry, or maybe Will just needed to call attention to himself.
“I’ve heard strawberries are some kind of aphrodisiac,” Will called out, and had to suppress a grin when Nico’s eyes snapped toward him and scanned his pose across the chair. Will didn’t miss the way his lips had parted briefly, and the way his entire body seemed to momentarily tense. A massage might be in order, or maybe… “You look like you could use something to help you loosen up a bit, too. How do you feel about champagne?”
Nico’s face remained neutral as he set the menu aside and reached for the phone, calmly and quietly ordering strawberries and a bottle of champagne to be sent up to the room right away, and while he had his back turned, Will didn’t bother trying to hide his grin. He was going to drink champagne! He was going to eat some fresh fucking fruit for once, and he was going to get paid for it!
And speaking of--
After hanging up, Nico made his way to the living area and took a seat in the chair beside Will’s - the same side where Will’s head was resting on the arm, meaning that Will had to (gracefully) scramble to change his position so that he could keep his eyes on his target.
“You know,” Will began slowly, “you still haven’t paid me for earlier.”
Nico raised an eyebrow. “I know. I might as well pay you for everything all at once, right?”
Will’s heart might’ve skipped a beat. “Oh?”
Nico straightened up in his seat, his hands resting palms-down on the arms of his own chair, as though he was trying to command a room from his seat. He must have killed during business meetings, but Will briefly wondered if Nico knew that all he had to do was say the words, and Will would be kneeling at his feet. “Let’s talk business.”
Will put both feet back on the ground, perking up at Nico’s words and leaning closer in anticipation. “One of your strengths, I’d bet.”
Nico turned his head toward Will, and caught his chin with his hand before drumming his fingers along his jawline. “How much do you charge?”
“Depends.” Will pushed himself to his feet, and in one smooth movement, he was leaning over Nico’s chair, one hand braced on the backrest and one knee dipping into the cushion beside Nico’s thigh.
“On what?” Nico’s hand fell back to the armrest, and he tipped his chin up to meet Will’s gaze, unwavering.
A smirk danced across Will’s lips, but he didn’t dare stop it - not when he was so close he could practically taste his prize. “On what you want.”
Nico’s head tilted just slightly to the side, and Will’s gaze dropped to his neck. God, he wanted his lips and teeth and tongue all over that marble skin--
“Do you charge by the hour?”
Will slid onto the chair, and let himself rest comfortably on Nico’s lap. “A full hour of anything you want?” he asked as his hand slid down the back of the chair to grace Nico’s shoulder, his other hand rising up to tug gently on Nico’s tie while Will leaned forward to whisper directly into Nico’s ear, “Are you sure you can handle that?”
Nico didn’t answer, didn’t even move - just kept his palms infuriatingly pressed to the arms of the chair.
“One hour,” Will said, tracing the shell of Nico’s ear with his nose, “is a hundred.”
He let himself sink further into the chair, pressing his hips down more intently, and he nosed along the side of Nico’s neck. Fuck, he even smelled amazing - like he was fresh out of the shower, even if the bags under his eyes suggested that he’d been out and about since early in the day.
“And how much for the whole night?”
Will froze, his eyes snapping open. He couldn’t have heard that right. What-- What could Nico have actually said, that just sounded like the whole night? The… The full bright, or-- Or-- Fuck.
“The whole night?” Will repeated, unable to stop himself from reeling back to meet Nico’s eyes, and-- Holy shit, he was serious. That, or he had one hell of a poker face. Fuck, Will didn’t have a rate for the whole night, because nobody had ever asked for that before! He was lucky to ever get somebody for a full hour, let alone a quickie in a parked car or in an alley somewhere. “That’s, uh--” Say a number, any number! “Five hundred.”
Nico raised an eyebrow. “Five hundred?”
Will almost felt angered by his response. “What, you can afford valet parking and a penthouse suite, but can’t spare an extra five hundred?”
“That’s not what I said,” Nico replied. “I just thought-- It’s at least eight hours until sunrise. I would’ve guessed you’d charge closer to a thousand.”
Will blinked. Was Nico trying to…upsell? Shouldn’t he be lowballing? “Did I say five hundred? I meant nine hundred.”
Nico’s lips quirked up again, and the sight almost had Will’s breath catching. “Are you sure about that?”
Will frowned. “Yes, I’m sure. Nine hundred for the night.” He wrapped Nico’s tie around his fist and tugged him closer until their noses bumped. “I just have one rule.” Will then raised his index finger in the space between them, pressing against Will’s lips, though he could feel the softness of Nico’s lips when they briefly brushed against Will’s skin. He whispered, “I don’t kiss on the lips.”
He felt a puff of air against his face, and a second later, he realized that Nico had laughed, those soft lips pressing against Will’s finger for a short moment. Will thought he might have short circuited for a second, and he almost regretted mentioning his rule at all, but then Nico replied, “What a coincidence. Neither do I.”
Will didn’t have a chance to react or respond before there was a knock on the door and a call of room service before the door was being opened from the outside. Will barely managed to scramble off of Nico’s lap and put a respectable amount of space in between them before the hotel employee wheeled the cart into the room. Nico rose gracefully from his chair and pulled out a tip for the man, then took the champagne - ice bucket and all - and the bowl of strawberries off the cart.
The man left with the cart, and the door locked behind him once he was gone. Will watched as Nico placed the bowl and bucket on the coffee table nearby, and fished two empty flutes from inside the ice bucket. He set them aside before reaching for the bottle, and raised an eyebrow at Will once more as he asked, “Champagne?”
Will simply nodded his head, and as Nico began to pour them each a drink, Will blurted, “I’ll need half up front. Just so I know you have it.” He winced at his own tactlessness - obviously Nico had the money if he was staying in a place like this - and averted his gaze when Nico raised an eyebrow at him.
He set down the bottle and fished his wallet out of his pocket. A second later, Nico was stepping toward Will and holding out a thin wad of cash that, under closer inspection, was five hundred dollars. Will felt like he might pass out at the sight, but then Nico was handing him a glass of champagne, and Will had to stuff the money into one of the tiny pockets in his pants in order to take the drink. He couldn’t restrain himself from downing it all right then and there.
Nico had gone to sit on the couch, his own seemingly untouched glass of champagne left on the coffee table in front of him. Will snapped himself out of his stupor and rounded the coffee table, pouring himself another glass and sliding the bowl of strawberries closer to Nico before he dropped down onto the couch beside him, slinging his legs over Nico’s lap. He set aside his glass in favor of plucking a strawberry from the bowl, and turned to hold it up to Nico’s lips. Nico’s eyebrow slid up once more, though Will thought he saw Nico’s lips quirk up again before they parted to take a bite.
Nico’s lips closed around the tip of Will’s thumb as he bit off the end of the strawberry, and his tongue swiped out to collect the juice gathered on his lips. For a second, Will forgot which one of them was the hooker, and when it hit him, he realized, holy fucking shit, I’m getting paid for this.
Will slammed his champagne, and managed to pour himself more without leaving Nico’s lap, and without spilling a drop - he was pretty proud of himself for that. He grabbed another strawberry, for himself this time, and before taking a bite of it, he asked, “So, what brought you to San Francisco?”
“Business,” Nico answered simply.
Will grinned. “That wasn’t really intended to have a business or pleasure kind of an answer, though I suppose, thanks to me, it’s turned into a bit of both, hasn’t it?” He started to play with the tiny ponytail at the base of Nico’s neck and leaned closer to his ear as if preparing to share a secret. “And speaking of pleasure, you know you’re allowed to touch me, right? Anywhere you want.”
Nico didn’t move right away, but after a second or two, Will felt a light pressure against his shin, and he almost laughed - but maybe he could blame that on so much champagne on an empty stomach.
Will leaned back and met Nico’s eyes. “Have you ever done this before?”
“Hired a prostitute?” Nico asked, and rolled his eyes. “No, I can’t say that I have.”
Will was kind of thinking more along the lines of touched another person, anywhere, ever, but he wasn’t sure that was a very polite thing to say, so he bit his tongue. “We’ll work on it,” Will assured him. “Maybe you just need a little more loosening up.” He leaned away to reach for both of their glasses, and would have tumbled right off the couch if Nico hadn’t caught him around the waist. When Will straightened back up and offered Nico his glass, he grinned and said, “Now we’re talking.” He downed his own glass once more, and looked at Nico expectantly when he still had yet to drink. “How d’you expect to loosen up if you won’t even drink?”
“It’s not exactly easy to loosen up when you know you have back to back meetings, all day every day for the next week,” Nico pointed out, though he eventually gave in and took a sip from his flute before passing it back to Will to set on the table again.
Will reached for another strawberry while he was there, pulled off the leaves at the top, and popped the whole thing in his mouth. “What kind of meetings do music producers even have?”
Nico’s fingers started playing with the hem of Will’s shirt, almost like a nervous twitch, and it made Will want to melt. “I’m not exactly the producer, you know.”
“Nope,” Will replied, popping the p as he tipped his head to rest against Nico’s shoulder. He was starting to feel warm and buzzy from the alcohol, and Nico made for a pretty good pillow. Will kind of wished they could just sit like this and talk and not have to do anything else, though he knew it was only a matter of time before his client started getting demanding, making sure he got his money’s worth out of Will. Still, he was going to try to enjoy this while it lasted. “No idea what CFO even means.”
“It means I’ve turned into a boring guy in a suit,” Nico grumbled, and his thumb started tracing lines against Will’s shin. “What brought you to California?” he asked after a moment, his voice lighter, almost making him sound…interested in hearing the answer, rather than just asking out of politeness.
“UCLA,” Will said, and unconsciously tucked himself further into Nico’s side, letting his eyes slip shut. If he couldn’t see anything, then maybe he could pretend that he couldn’t be seen either. “I was supposed to be a doctor, but they kicked me out when I couldn’t pay tuition.”
“That’s horrible!” Nico exclaimed, and Will flinched, pulling himself away.
“I don’t like talking about me,” he said quickly, desperate to change the subject. “Let’s talk more about you.”
Nico frowned. “And what if I don’t like talking about myself, either?”
Will forced himself to grin, pushed himself back into character, and replied, “Then why don’t we just not talk at all?” He wrapped a hand around Nico’s tie for something to hold on to, and started pressing his lips in a trail along the side of Nico’s neck. His teeth scraped lightly against Nico’s earlobe before he was gently pushed back by Nico’s hand on his shoulder.
“I, uh--” He cleared his throat, his eyes nervously flickering around the room before settling back on Will. “I actually have a few things that I need to have straightened out by tomorrow morning.”
Will frowned. “But I thought--”
“It shouldn’t take long,” he cut in, “so if you wouldn’t mind, um. Waiting in the bedroom?”
“Sure,” Will whispered, blinking a few times in surprise before he scrambled to rise from Nico’s lap. He stumbled when he first got to his feet, squeezing his eyes shut as he realized that the champagne had hit a lot harder than he’d been expecting in such a short amount of time. Nico followed him up, helping him steady himself before pointing him toward the bedroom, and they went their separate ways.
He ducked into the bathroom along the way, intending just to splash some water on his face and maybe get a few swallows of water straight from the tap, but after he’d patted his face dry on the hand towel, he spotted a few unopened boxes of shitty hotel bar soap on the edge of the counter. Surely Nico wouldn’t miss them, and even if he did, he could always just call the front desk for more.
He slipped two boxes into the pocket that was already half full of cash, and then snagged a tiny bottle of shampoo for good measure. He’d have taken the conditioner, too, but he didn’t think he could sneak both into the pockets of his too-tight jeans.
He turned to leave the bathroom, but as soon as he stepped into the doorway, he found Nico standing in the hall with his arms crossed. “If you’re doing drugs of any kind in here, then the deal’s off.”
“No! No drugs, I swear,” Will said quickly, showing his hands for proof. “I don’t do drugs, I just--”
“Empty your pockets,” Nico demanded, and Will felt his shoulders slump.
His face was burning as he reached into his pockets and brought out the soap, refusing to lift his gaze even after he heard Nico’s whispered, oh, uh, sorry. “Yeah, I’ll just--” Will brushed past Nico and started further down the hall. “Wait here.”
He left the door open even as he kicked off his shoes and stripped out of his pants and socks, leaving him just in a t-shirt and boyshorts - the only things he could wear that wouldn’t be visible with all of the rips in his jeans. He stuffed the stolen soaps into his shoes and double checked that his money was still in his pants pocket before he tucked his things aside.
He paced the room for a few minutes while he waited for Nico to turn up. Even if he felt like he blew his chances with anything decent that night, it was going to be nice just to spend a night in a hotel room that didn’t smell like mold. The carpet was soft beneath his feet, the bed looked freshly cleaned, and there were no uncomfortably placed mirrors anywhere in the room.
After five minutes of pacing, Will sat down on the edge of the bed. Another few minutes later, he laid down, letting himself get comfortable. The comforter was like a cloud, and Will had a feeling the sheets were going to be softer than anything he’d ever touched. The mattress was definitely nicer than any he’d been on since he’d started this line of work, and might have actually been the best one he’d ever laid on.
It was no surprise, really, that as soon as his head hit the pillow and his eyes slid shut, he fell asleep.
Will woke up warm, and comfortable, and without any glaring sunlight or shouting neighbors to disturb his sleep. That all tipped him off to the fact that he definitely hadn’t fallen asleep at home.
He was wide awake in an instant, ignoring the dull ache in the back of his head that told him he drank too much last night as he quickly glanced around the room. The door had been closed at some point during the night, but other than that, the place seemed undisturbed. The sheets were even still tucked in on the other side of the bed, and the pillows untouched.
Fuck, Will was going to have to give the money back for falling asleep on the job. He was probably going to find his pockets emptied out when he went to put on his pants. Fuck, after all that, he was going to have to go home empty handed.
He was surprised to find all five hundred dollars still folded up when he finally grabbed his pants, and even still had the soaps tucked into his shoes. He got dressed in a hurry, figuring that maybe he’d be able to sneak out without having to give the money back, or without having the cops called on him for scamming Nico out of so much money.
The bathroom door was wide open when he walked past, and the penthouse was silent aside from the sound of Will’s footsteps. He’d been left totally alone.
Will thought about making a run for it, but at the same time… Nico had said something about back to back meetings all day, right? So he probably wouldn’t be back until late. Which meant that Will could probably risk enjoying the luxurious apartment for a little while longer.
He went to check the fridge for food, but it was empty aside from the half-empty bottle of champagne from the night before. His stomach rumbled at the thought of last night’s strawberries, but they weren’t in the fridge, and they hadn’t been left out on the coffee table, either. He figured Nico must have eaten them - or at least he hoped Nico hadn’t thrown them out. He wasn’t quite desperate enough to dig through the garbage, though.
He thought about ordering room service, but worried about whether or not Nico would get notified of a charge to his card, so he went to the couch to watch TV for a short while. He hadn’t had a TV since leaving Texas, so while he wouldn’t be able to pick up on any shows he’d left off on, it might be nice to just sit there and relax.
When he sat down, though, he noticed a folded-up piece of paper on the coffee table. It hadn’t been sealed shut, so Will figured there was no harm in taking a peek inside - and when he did, he froze.
There was a hand-written note that said, Will, please stick around. I’ll be back with breakfast. - Nico.
And folded up in the paper were four one-hundred dollar bills - the rest of what Will was owed for a full night of anything Nico wanted. But surely he couldn’t have wanted Will to get tipsy, overshare, and pass out in his bed all night, right? He probably only wanted Will to stick around so that he could get his money’s worth in between meetings.
Will could take the money and run. What were the chances that Nico would be able to track him down, after all?
But he’d promised breakfast. And he’d paid Will for doing nothing at all. Maybe it would be worth it to stick around, just to hear him out.
He needed to call Drew.
His phone was dead, so he went back into the bedroom in search of a charger. Once he found one, he had to wait a few minutes before his phone had enough juice to turn back on, but once it did, he wasted no time in calling.
She didn’t answer - probably still asleep, or maybe even still with a client like he was (he would have to check the tracking app they all used on each other in case of emergencies) - so he left a voicemail. “Hey, Drew, it’s Will. Just wanted to let you know I’m alive. I had a…really weird night, and I guess it’s not over yet, but I’ll text you when I’m on my way home. Let me know you’re okay too, alright? Bye.”
He left his phone on the nightstand to charge, and started looking around for something to do to kill time, when he walked by the open door of the bathroom once more - the biggest bathroom he’d ever seen. With a shower stall separate from the bathtub. A long, deep tub, that even someone as tall as himself could fit into - one that probably even had jets.
The bathroom had its own sound system, hooked up to some old radio that was mounted in the wall. Once Will found a good station and cranked up the tunes, he knew he wouldn’t be leaving that room for a while.
He hadn’t had a bubble bath in years.
He’d let himself soak and relax for a little while, the jets kneading away at his tense muscles. He refreshed the cooling water three or four times, and sang along with whatever words he thought he knew as the music blared around him. He barely heard the knock on the open bathroom door, but his head snapped toward the sound. Nico was standing in the doorway in another plain suit, the beginnings of a smile on his face.
“I was worried you were going to leave while I was gone,” Nico called out to him over the music, “and that somebody was murdering a raccoon in here.”
Will pouted and reached toward the radio to lower the volume. “I’ll have you know that I’m a great singer. The acoustics in here are ruining it.”
Nico actually grinned, and Will wondered if he’d somehow hit his head and drowned in the tub - maybe this was heaven. “I’m sure that’s what it is,” he replied. “You should come out soon. Breakfast should be here in a few minutes.”
“Be right out,” Will replied, suddenly feeling a bit breathless. He didn’t even get a chance to tease Nico by inviting him to soak with him, or halfway rise out of the tub while Nico watched, because by the time his brain started functioning again, Nico was already gone.
He quickly dried off with a towel while the tub drained and wrapped himself in the softest bathrobe on earth. For a second, Will debated whether or not to at least put his underwear back on before leaving the room, but if Nico came back to get his money’s worth, then that would just be one more barrier between them, so Will decided against it. Still, he made sure the robe was securely closed, and even tied the sash in a bow just to let Nico feel like he was unwrapping a present when he unwrapped Will.
He could hear the room service cart being wheeled out the front door as he rounded the corner, and found Nico sitting at the head of the long dining table where one of the two places had been set. Rather than joining Nico in the other chair, Will stepped right beside him and leaned against the table at Nico’s elbow. Nico seemed to be doing his best to ignore Will’s proximity to him, and was cutting a bite off of his omelet when Will reached over and placed a finger under Nico’s chin, turning his head toward him. “Where did you run off to so early this morning?”
“I told you,” Nico replied, “I have a lot of meetings this week.”
Will hummed. “Right, of course. You seem awfully stressed out about that. Very tense. Sorry I wasn’t able to help you out with that last night, but that mattress was like sleeping on a cloud. Not that I would have minded you waking me up, of course,” Will added with a shrug and a smirk, “and I’m never one to argue against morning sex.”
Nico seemed amused, but amusement wasn’t really what Will was trying to inspire. “There’s plenty of food if you’d like to join me,” was all he said in response. Will tried not to show his frustration as he sat down in the nearby chair, and he also tried not to shovel food into his mouth as if he hadn’t eaten in days.
Will tried to make smalltalk by asking about Nico’s meetings and his job in general, but Nico only gave vague responses that either meant he wasn’t interested in sharing, or legally wasn’t able to. After they’d both eaten their fill, Nico started to clean up the plates, gathering them on a tray to make it easier for room service to pick up later. Will tried to help, but Nico insisted it wasn’t necessary, so Will simply leaned against the table a few chairs over while Nico took the tray out to the hallway. When he returned, he stood directly in front of Will, nervously twisting a ring on his finger - on his right hand, not that Will hadn’t had to deal with the moral dilemma of helping somebody cheat on their spouse in the past.
“I have a proposition for you,” Nico said, and Will felt himself grin. Finally, they were getting somewhere!
“Oh, darlin’,” Will replied, dropping his voice low as he reached out for Nico’s tie to pull him closer, and Will pushed himself up to sit on the edge of the table. “You never have to proposition me for sex. I say we do it right here.”
He caught Nico’s hips between his thighs before he laid back across the table, stretching his arms out above his head all while gazing up at Nico with as much heat as he could muster. He arched his back, letting the robe fall open across his chest, and when Nico still didn’t move, he hooked a leg around Nico’s back to knock him forward. He caught himself with his hands on either side of Will’s chest as his face steadily turned a solid red, which Will counted as a win.
“That’s not--” Nico stuttered, trying to push himself back, though Will’s leg was still wrapped around his waist. “This isn’t really what I meant--”
Will propped himself up on his elbows, putting him and Nico practically nose to nose. “Oh, no? Then what were you thinking? I mean, the bed would definitely be more comfortable, but I’m down with--”
“No, not that--” Nico tried again, but his face was growing darker, and he was pointedly looking anywhere but at Will. That was certainly interesting - maybe Will hadn’t been too far off with his thoughts last night that maybe Nico really hadn’t ever been intimate with someone. “Would you mind, uh-- Can we have this conversation while both parties are fully dressed?”
Will tugged on the knot of Nico’s tie, loosening it slightly as he pressed his lips to Nico’s jaw once, twice, then said lowly in his ear, “I’d prefer if we were both undressed, actually.”
“Will,” Nico said as sternly as he could manage, and tugged himself back as far as he could. He met Will’s surprised gaze with an almost pained one of his own, and said, “please?”
Normally, Will loved to hear a man beg, but this…wasn’t right. This wasn’t supposed to happen - they weren’t supposed to turn down his advances, not after paying him so much! They were supposed to throw him around and use him as they pleased and kick him out when they were finished with him. This…this vulnerability wasn’t right - none of this was right!
Will dropped his character in a second, releasing his hold on Nico and allowing him to move back as far as he wanted to. He sat up and hopped off the table, pulling his robe closed again while keeping his eyes locked on the ground. “Sorry, I--” he started, but he didn’t actually know what he was supposed to say. Nothing like this had ever happened before. “I’ll get dressed.”
He practically ran from the room, slamming the bathroom door shut behind him and pressing his back to the door. He desperately wanted to call Drew again to see if she had any sort of advice for this kind of situation, but he had no way of knowing whether or not she would actually answer. And besides, his phone was still plugged in in the other room.
He had no choice but to get dressed and return to the living room, praying to any deity that would listen that he wouldn’t have to return the money Nico had already given him. He knew it was going to happen, though - the vibe of the entire penthouse had changed to an uncomfortable sort of tension that Will didn’t know how to deal with. Sexual tension - that was nothing. He made his living off of sexual tension, he thrived in it. But what was he supposed to do if Nico didn’t even want to sleep with him? What was he even doing there?
He sat down on one of the armchairs in the living room with his head ducked and his hands folded in his lap, almost as though he was in trouble, while Nico paced the room in front of him. His skin had returned to a normal color, though Will feared that if he twisted that ring on his finger with any more force, his whole finger would pop off.
Then, Nico started talking. So fast and sort of mumbled that Will only caught every other word at best. He threw in some sort of business jargon, something about a company retreat, something about last night being the most at peace Nico had felt in months and wishing it could continue while he was in town, and--
Then it clicked.
“You want me to be your escort?”
Nico stopped in his tracks, his eyes darting around the room for another second or two before they landed on Will. “Um, yeah,” he answered quietly. “I think I do.”
Will hesitated. There was a lot to consider with a job like that, such as payment, responsibilities, and the fact that Will didn’t know the first thing about being an escort. “For the whole week?”
“I’ll give you ten thousand dollars.”
Suddenly, there wasn’t much to think about at all.
“Yes, please.”