Kiss Me At Midnight
Aiden hates parties. Especially parties that make attendees wear a dress shirt. He also hates parties filled to the brim with happy Instagram Influencers and their happy partners, who are also happy getting toasted on their happy party champagne and about to ring in the new year in approximately three happy hours.
The only reason Aiden agreed to come to this shindig is because of Jesse, and by extension because of Jesse’s boyfriend, Luke. Their YouTube channel has taken off as fast as their relationship.
Aiden used to tease Jesse every chance he could about Jesse’s second-hand Influencer fame when he was dating his ex-girlfriend Sheila, who made her career out of make-up tutorials on the internet and perfecting the art of the selfie. Aiden never liked Sheila much, but Jesse has changed a lot since he started dating Luke, and Aiden’s thrilled for him.
The event itself is low-key by industry standards, but Jesse and Luke still rented out a hall and filled it with several hundred people. Aiden doesn’t understand how they know this many people. He thinks most of it is Sheila’s influence more than their own, but who knows. As long as Jesse shows up to his job at the music studio happy and with coffee, Aiden couldn’t care less about their “Instafame”.
They really did a number, though. The theme is like a winter wonderland, the entire place decked out in silver and white as opposed to the traditional gold and black that Aiden’s seen at other New Years events in previous years.
He remembers Jesse agonizing about it for weeks, coming into the studio with a permanent furrow on his brow, and voice clipped with stress. That is until Luke would show up, and they’d disappear into the bathroom for about a half-hour, and then Jesse would return relaxed and humming.
Aiden can take a few educated guesses about what goes down during their little toilet rendezvous. He and Jesse had a short-lived thing a while back that was great for Aiden’s sex life, but terrible for his work life. Jesse and Aiden share the same level of emotional intensity, passion and heart, and while that’s great for creativity, and fantastic for fucking, it’s a disaster elsewhere. So they broke it off as quick as it started, and have been close friends since.
Someone passing around a tray of drinks walks by and Aiden takes the proffered beverage. The young lady serving is dressed in a short silver cocktail dress that glitters brilliantly off the bright backlight. Her long blonde hair flows down her back in wavy rivulets, and Aiden spends far too much time watching the way her legs move as she shimmies up to a smiling couple who gladly take another round. The couple wrap their arms around each other and sip from their drinks, giggling and kissing sloppily.
Aiden rolls his eyes and finds somewhere else to stand.
“There you are!” someone yells behind Aiden as he’s making his way toward one of the short tables filled with food. Aiden stiffens before slowly doing a half turn and then relaxes when he sees that it’s Jesse.
Even in the dim lighting Jesse’s all sex and swagger. The black slacks and black dress shirt hug his frame, showing off every bit of his body. He’s rolled the sleeves up, and pushed them above the elbow, and his smile is happy. Aiden smiles and waves, nodding his head to the table of food.
“What do you think of the party?” Jesse asks, leaning close over the loud pumping music. Aiden levels a narrowed stare and Jesse tilts back with a laugh, clapping a hand on Aiden’s shoulder. “I thought you would say that.”
“I didn’t say anything,” Aiden grumbles in response, picking up a plate and assessing his options.
“Your face said it all, dude.” Jesse shifts on his hip, running a hand through his hair. “I know this stuff is ridiculous but, you know how it goes.”
“It’s good for business,” Aiden agrees, reaching for a tiny sandwich that doesn’t look obnoxiously uppity. He sniffs it with caution and finally gives it an approving nod. “I understand why you guys do this shit.”
“And I know how much you hate it.”
When Aiden shrugs again, Jesse bumps his shoulder with him. “Didn’t bring a date?”
This time Aiden scoffs a laugh. “Are you serious? You know how it is in this town. LA sucks. You yourself had to literally ask your best friend to be your fake boyfriend for Sheila’s wedding!”
A wild grin spreads over Jesse’s face. “Yeah, and look at me now.”
Aiden scoffs again. “Whatever, dude, you looked like a kicked puppy for almost a week when shit went tits up.”
Nearly a year before, when Sheila married her husband Ross, she and Jesse came to an agreement that, in order to assuage the fanbase they had spent the better part of their relationship together building, Jesse should bring a date to her wedding. After months of trying to find someone, literally anyone, and most of them turning out to be the typical snobby actor type, too young, or too crazy, Jesse took desperate measures by asking Luke to be his fake boyfriend.
In the end it did work out, and they eventually recognized that they both had it hard for each other; a fact that was obvious from space. Now they work really well together, and Luke always brings him donuts from that awesome bakery he loves whenever he’s blowing Jesse for some afternoon or evening delight. He can’t fault the man for that.
“Yeah, according to sources you were beside yourself,” Luke says, wrapping an arm around Jesse’s waist. “Apparently you didn’t get out of bed for days.”
“According to Annelise you didn’t shower for most of that time,” Jesse counters.
“It’s true,” Luke says, eyes widened with faux innocence. “It’s a miracle I was able to keep liquids down.”
“I have a few liquids you can keep down,” Jesse jokes, brushing the tip of his nose against Luke’s jaw.
Aiden clears his throat, breaking them out of their moment. Luke blinks and then smiles blinding-bright, and yells, “Aiden! So good to see you!”
“Dude, you totally saw me before,” Aiden says around a mouthful of sandwich.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Luke replies with a sly grin.
Before Aiden can respond the DJ is calling for Jesse and Luke to come up to the front, saying something about speaking to the audience and thanking everyone for attending their spectacular event. A spotlight starts roving over the floor, looking for the party in question, and Aiden carefully slips out of view.
Luke laces his fingers with Jesse, widens his eyes, and mouths, “Showtime!” Jesse tilts his head back and laughs, stealing a kiss before they make their way to the stage on the other side of the hall.
After the perfunctory hellos, and the obligatory name-dropping of the PR company responsible for the event tonight, the party really starts up. Couples begin to infiltrate the dance floor, drinks sloshing everywhere, laughter and screams filling the whole hall. The body heat makes Aiden’s shirt stick uncomfortably against his skin, and he grabs another drink from a server, and heads to the balcony for some fresh air.
He’s immediately greeted with a cool breeze. Aiden closes his eyes to revel in how the bite of the air feels against his skin. The music thrums through the concrete to the balcony, and the doors rattle from the bass of the DJ inside. Jesse chose a great act, someone that they’ve worked before at the studio who’s a mixture of Tiesto and Steve Aoki before the whole Ibiza deal became his wheelhouse. He loves house music, and usually prefers to listen to it, but right now the nearly packed balcony, the high pitched laughter, and the click of heels is getting on Aiden’s nerves.