Behind The Limelight 04: A Different Kind Of Spice

Ashton wiped the sweat off of his forehead as he ran on the treadmill. He had been working out for the past hour without a break. His last conversation with Ryker was still on his mind, and that was all he could think about.

It had been three days since then, but it seemed like the incident was etched in his brain now. He didn’t know how to get it out, so all he could do was distract himself. Or at least try to do that. Nothing was working, though. His stupid mind would replay his interaction with Ryker over and over again the moment he was alone with his thoughts.

They hadn’t spoken since then. Not that that was too surprising. He wasn’t expecting Ryker to reach out after how it went in that meeting room. After all, he did beg him to leave and for the first time, Ryker actually did.

At the same time, what Erick said to them was also circling around his head like a ghost haunting him. He needed to work on making things better with Ryker, not worse. Well, better was a near impossible task, but at least…bearable.

How was he supposed to do that now, though? Ashton sighed as he turned off the machine. He was exhausted, both physically and mentally. He knew he had to reach out to Ryker. He had to somehow keep his ego aside and do it. All he had to do was drop him a text. It was so simple, yet it had been three days and he couldn’t do it.

He did type the message several times. He had gotten close to pressing send a few times too, but he just couldn’t go through with it.

Erick gave them one month. And time was already starting to run out. As each day passed, Ashton grew more and more worried.

It wad finally day five, when Malcolm had enough of Ashton’s childish bullshit. He snatched the phone from his client’s hands, before pressing the send button himself. Ashton was irritated. But internally, he was a little grateful too. Thought he would never admit that. Not even in his wildest dreams.

He folded his arms in front of his chest, glaring at Malcolm. The agent just rolled his eyes, not at all caring about Ashton’s tantrums and attitude. He was a man with a job, and he had to get it done in any way whatsoever.

Ashton kept checking his phone every few minutes, grabbing it at the sound of every notification, then putting it down with a sigh when he saw that it was somebody else, and not the person he was expecting. Ashton was growing more and more impatient with every passing hour, and after four hours he had enough.

He picked up his phone, calling Ryker before he could think twice about his actions and change his mind. Ryker picked up on the third ring, and Ashton cursed internally. He didn’t even know what he was going to say.

“Hello?”

“Hi,” Ashton muttered.

“Ash,” Ryker stated. The surprise was clear in his voice.

“Yeah, it’s me,” Ashton replied. He paused for a moment, and when Ryker didn’t say anything, he continued. “We, uh, we need to—”

“I was just about to reply to your message,” Ryker cut him off. “When are you free? Tonight works for me, unless you are not ready.”

Ashton bit the inside of his cheek. Ryker was poking at him again, but Ashton had to keep his cool this time. He closed his eyes, inhaling deeply before speaking again.

“Sure. Tonight works,” Ashton answered, keeping his tone as calm and collected as possible.

“Okay?” Ryker said, though it came off as a question. “I’ll see you in…”

“A couple hours?”

“Okay. Alright. Cool,” Ryker replied.

“Right, uh—”

“Bye.”

“Yeah, bye,” Ashton mumbled.

That was awkward. Painfully awkward. And that made Ashton wonder how awkward it would be when he actually goes to Ryker’s place. He hadn’t spent time alone with him in ages, not unless you count the meeting room and the night at the award show. But that was all for barely a few minutes, and this was going to be…

“Goddamnit, out of every single actor in the entire world…why the fuck did it have to be him?” Ashton said to himself.

Ashton took a shower, did his skin care and dressed up in jeans and a baby pink button up. He spent fifteen minutes trying to tame his wild hair, before spraying on his favorite cologne and calling his driver.

Ashton tapped his foot rapidly as he stared out the window of his SUV, watching the surroundings. Ryker had texted him the address, and it seemed like he had moved from his old house. It was about fifteen minutes away, but it felt like much longer until his driver finally got to security gate.

Ashton rolled down his window, and the guard recognized him immediately. It seemed like Ryker had already told him about the guest, so he was buzzed in without wasting any time.

Ashton got out of his car when they were at the front door of Ryker’s house. He furrowed his brows at the rather humble sized estate. Ashton’s place was a mansion compared to it. But Ryker’s was much smaller, even smaller than his old house.

Ashton adjusted his collar as he walked to the door and then knocked. It took about a minute before the door opened, and Ashton was once again surprised as he saw Ryker there, and not a valet or staff member. Ashton never opened his own door, so to him, this was weird.

“Come on in,” Ryker said, moving aside to make space for him.

Ashton walked in, looking around the inside of the house. He said nothing as Ryker asked the other actor to follow him. Ashton saw nobody inside but them, which was once again strange for him.

“Where’s your staff?” Ashton asked.

“I don’t really keep a staff anymore,” Ryker answered. “I have a couple hosuekeepers that come to clean but that’s about it. They don’t live here so they just work and leave.”

“Huh,” Ashton blinked in confusion. “What about food?”

“I cook my own food,” Ryker said.

“Since when can you cook?” Ashton still remembered the one time Ryker and he tried to bake cookies in high school and almost burned down the kitchen.

“I learned a lot over the past two years,” Ryker responded with a light shrug.

“I see,” Ashton muttered, not asking any further questions. He didn’t want Ryker thinking that he was actually interested in knowing about him. “So. What are we doing?”

“I was actually going to start preparing for dinner. Do you want to help me out?” Ryker asked.

“Help you out with…cooking?” Ashton repeated, saying it slowly to make sure he heard the other man right.

“Yes, Ash,” Ryker said with a soft sigh. “Don’t worry. I won’t make you do too much.”

“Alright, lead the way,” Ashton grunted.

Ashton followed Ryker to the kitchen, which was a decent size with modern equipment. Ashton looked around, feeling confused about everything there. He couldn’t remember the last time he stepped foot inside his kitchen. He loved his personal chef, so he didn’t need to.

It seemed like Ryker had already started, as there were ingredients on the counter. Ryker took out some vegetables from the refrigerator, before passing them to Ashton.

“Could you wash these, please?” Ryker asked.

Ashton nodded wordlessly as he walked over to the sink. He placed the vegetables down, staring at them for a minute before muttering ‘fuck it’. He stared washing them one by one, taking his time as he held each of them like they were some fragile artifacts made of glass.

Once he was done, Ryker started chopping the vegetables while Ashton just stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do.

The two didn’t talk as they worked,
Ryker would give Ashton small tasks here and there. It was either to wash something or pass him an ingredient or utensil. Or to stir whatever was in the pot. But most of the time he was just standing there watching the other man. That was when he took in Ryker’s appearance.

Unlike Ashton, he was dressed casually in a pair of grey sweatpants and a black tank top. Ashton could easily see the sides of his chest peeking out, and how his muscles flexed with every move. Even though Ashton was fit himself, he had to be for the sake of his job, he wasn’t built like Ryker. Ashton didn’t even realize he was staring until Ryker spoke up, breaking him away from his trance.

“Can you get the cumin powder from the top left shelf?” Ryker asked.

Ashton nodded wordlessly as he opened the cupboard. He stared in confusion at the various jars of spices and seasonings, having no clue whatsoever about which was the cumin powder.

“Uh, which one is it?” Ashton questioned.

“It’s the one— wait.”

Instead of describing it, Ryker walked up to the cupboard himself. He stood behind Ashton, so close that their bodies were almost touching. Ashton’s heart sped up as he felt Ryker’s warm breath at the back of his neck. Ryker kept one hand on the counter beside Ashton, sort of trapping him in.

Ashton didn’t dare move in the slightest, as Ryker stepped just a tad bit closer. Ryker raised his other arm, grabbing the condiment from the shelf. But instead of walking away, he stayed in that very position.

Ashton gulped, before shifting his feet a little and tilting his head back to look at the taller man. Ryker was already staring down at Ashton, and the proximity felt even more intimate as Ashton faced him.

There was no emotion on Ryker’s face, which did not help in the slightest to help Ashton figure out what the fuck was going on in his head. But his eyes and the way that he was looking at Ashton…

There was something in Ryker’s eyes, and it wasn’t hate.

“You’ll burn the food,” Ashton finally broke the silence, his voice just a whisper.

Ryker frowned slightly, before nodding and taking a step back. Ashton stood frozen where he was, but his eyes followed Ryker’s every move. A part of him misssed the warmth, a part that was buried deep within him.

***

not me writing and updating during my exams because I’m just that excited