Behind The Limelight 39: Arm Wrestling An Angel

“I want to talk to her,” Ashton stated, catching Ryker completely off-guard.

“Are you sure?” Ryker asked. “I think we both know by now how…just how she is.”

“You mean how terrible and manipulative?” Ashton scoffed as he paced around the other actor’s trailer. “Don’t worry, I do not give a fuck about what she says to me anymore.”

“Then why do you want to talk to her?” Ryker questioned. “What do you want to say?”

“I’ll know when I see her,” Ashton answered, making Ryker sigh.

“I’m not stopping you or telling you what to do but just…just think about it, yeah?” Ryker spoke. “Take some time and let it all sink in before you go yelling at her.”

“Fine,” Ashton muttered as he sat down next to Ryker on the couch. “Can I say I’m sorry again?”

“Say sorry one more time and I’ll have you lay down on my lap and spank you till your ass is red,” Ryker warned. Ashton tilted his head to face the dark haired man, his eyes wide in shock and his cheeks blushing a soft pink.

“Is that supposed to scare me or turn me on?” Ashton shot back. Ryker chuckled lightly, before winking at the other man.

“Maybe a bit of both.”

Ashton parted his lips to say something back, but they were disturbed by a knock on the door. Ryker sighed in annoyance, before asking who it was. It turned out to be a crew member that was calling Ryker for his next shot. Ryker pecked Ashton’s lips one last time, before leaving. He really did not want to, but he had to. Ashton reassured him a hundred times that he would be fine, and he would only be a few feet away. With that, Ryker left his trailer.

Ashton was in half a mind to go confront his mother, but he knew that Ryker was right. He needed time to process all the information that he had learned, plus he did not want to cause a scene in public. Besides…maybe his mother did not even deserve Ashton talking to her after all the shit she had pulled.

Ashton’s mind drifted to Cora. If Rebecca had been hounding him so much, then he could not even begin to imagine how she must have been treating that poor woman. Ashton grabbed his phone, opening his chat with his mother where she had sent him Cora’s number. Without thinking too much, Ashton dialled her number.

The phone rang for a few times, Ashton’s heartbeat racing just a tad bit faster with each ring. Until someone finally picked up.

“Hello?” Said a tired voice.

“Hi,” Ashton replied, suddenly wondering what to even say. “Is this Cora?”

“Yes, who am I speaking to?” She asked.

“Yeah, uh, Cora, this is Ashton,” the actor introduced himself. “Ashton Archer.”

“Ashton…” Cora’s voice trailed off. “It’s been years, wow. How have you— wait, please don’t tell me your mother put you up to this. I swear, Ashton I’ve told her a million times to stop contacting me and if you’re going to—”

“Hey no, no, calm down please,” Ashton interrupted, sensing her panic. “I’m not calling you to talk to you on my mother’s behalf. Quite frankly, I’ve had enough of her myself and can’t even breathe the same air as that wretched woman.”

“Then why are you calling me?” Cora questioned, still sounding hesitant and suspicious. Ashton didn’t blame her for it one bit, though.

“Look, I just…Honestly? I don’t know,” Ashton sighed softly. “I don’t know what happened with you and…my dad. I really hope that you’re okay and it was consensual and—”

“It was.”

“Okay,” Ashton exhaled in relief. “That’s good to know. Anyway, I can understand why you don’t want to sign an NDA—”

“She wants me to never tell my unborn son who his father is!” Cora exclaimed, clearly emotional. “How can I do that? Hide it from him his whole life for some…for some money? I’m not going to blackmail your family or go to the media. Trust me, please. I don’t care for it. I actually…I actually cared for him. Your father. But I cannot hide this from my son, Ash. You have to understand.”

“I understand,” Ashton said softly. “It’s going to be a boy?”

“Yeah. I found out last week.”

“That’s amazing,” Ashton smiled. “He’s…he’s my half-brother, huh?”

“He is.”

“Look, Cora,” Ashton paused. “I called to tell you that whatever you decide to do…I will support you. Whatever help you need, I am by your side, yeah? This little guy is my brother and if it’s okay with you then I’d like to be a part of his life. If you ever need anything. And I mean anything, please don’t hesitate to ask me.”

“Are you…are you serious?” Cora asked. “You really want that?”

“I do,” Ashton stated, his voice confident. “I really do.”

“Okay.”

Ashton spent a few more minutes talking to Cora, catching up with her and asking about the baby. The more he talked to her, the more excited he grew about the prospect of having a baby brother. Albeit Ashton would be…almost twenty six years older than him. But still.

After reminding Cora to call him whenever she needed him, and to keep texting him updates, he finally hung up.

Ashton was feeling a lot lighter after the phone call. He frankly didn’t give a shit about his mother anymore. He didn’t care about talking to her or confronting her, she didn’t deserve his time. All he wanted to do was go back home with Ryker and get some much needed sleep in his arms.

Of course, after his dinner with Malcolm that he had almost forgotten about.

Ashton got back to work after passing some more time in Ryker’s trailer, until it was his shoot. He smiled at Ryker as his eyes landed on him, a geniune and warm smile that Ryker returned.

Ashton was on the make-up chair, with Tabitha once again in between the two men as they all got ready. Ashton and Ryker kept passing each other looks, but neither of them said anything. Once the artists were done, leaving only the three actors alone, Tabitha finally spoke up.

“So what’s going on with you two today?” She asked. Ashton glanced at Ryker once again, before shrugging. Tabitha looked at Ryker, who did the same action as Ashton, making the actress frown. “Fine, don’t tell me.”

“There’s nothing to tell,” Ryker said.

“Uh huh,” Tabitha muttered. “Obviously. I’m blind and stupid, right?”

“Whatever do you mean by that,” Ashton retorted with a smirk, and Tabby rolled her eyes at him.

“Fuck you both, at least make me the godmother of one of your children,” and with that, she stood up and left the two men alone.

They turned to face each other, their expressions blank for a few solid seconds, before they both burst out laughing.

It was late by the time they were done, Ashton asked one of the crew members to check and make sure his mother had left, and turns out she had done that quite shortly after her conversation with Ryker. Ryker was dropping Ashton to the restaurant where he was supposed to meet Malcolm, so both the men got into the car.

“So, I made a playlist—”

“I’m not listening to My Chemical Romance, Ash.”

“What is wrong with MCR!?” Ashton gasped, feeling offended. “How dare you!”

“Nothing is wrong with them!” Ryker groaned. “I just want to listen to something soothing. Can’t we play Hozier or something?”

“I have beef with Hozier,” Ashton muttered, grumpily folding his arms in front of his chest.

“How the fuck do you have beef with Hozier? He’s an angel!” Ryker chuckled.

“Yeah well, we were at a party once and we were arm wrestling and he beat me,” Ashton said. “I don’t like him anymore.”

“How old are you, again?”

“Oh shut up,” Ashton grunted. “How was I supposed to know the man’s got some serious strength!”

“Alright, fine, I’ll play a podcast then,” Ryker said with a grin.

“No!” Ashton retorted. “Fine! Hozier it is but I swear to god the next time I see that man I’m challenging him to a duel again.”

“A…duel?” Ryker blinked. “Okay. You do you. I’ll be on the bleachers cheering…for Hozier, of course.”

“I hate you,” Ashton muttered.

“Nah, you love me,” Ryker teased.

“Maybe a little, so what?” Ashton shot back, startling Ryker. He glanced at Ashton, only momentarily as he was driving. Ashton shrugged nonchalantly at his shock. “What?”

“You just said…”

“I said nothing. Shut up,” Ashton cut him off.

“Ash…”

“Okay, on a serious note, my thoughts and emotions are a mess right now. I need time to sort it out. I don’t know what I’m feeling, but I do know that I feel something for you. Something strong.” Ashton admitted.

“Stronger than Hozier’s upper body strength?”

“Shut up,” Ashton mumbled. “Besides, shouldn’t we like, I don’t know, go on a date or something?”

“You want to go on a date with me?” Ryker questioned, once again surprised.

“Sure, if you want to.”

“I do.” Ryker nodded eagerly.

“Okay,” Ashton said. “Back to what we should play—”

“Have you realized we spend more time arguing about what we should play in the car than actually playing anything?” Ryker thought out loud.

“That wouldn’t be the case if you weren’t such an indecisive idiot,” Ashton retorted.

“Me?” Ryker scoffed. “I’m indecisive? Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror?”

“I have, actually. And it’s a very handsome image, I must say,” Ashton said.

“Like Donkey from Shrek.”

“Are you saying Donkey is not handsome?” Ashton challenged. “He had a dragon whipped for him, okay? If that’s not a win then I don’t know what is.”

“Wanna re-watch Shrek tonight after you come back from your dinner?” Ryker asked.

“Sure.”

“Cool.”

***

just like my partner can’t go 24 hours without spilling anything…these two can’t go 24 hours without arguing