Page 48 of The Titan and the Trainer

He braced for Julian’s reaction, worried that it wouldn’t be befitting for the boyfriend of the Titan, who might consider it lewd or beneath him. But instead, Julian’s expression was one of intense, dark curiosity.

“The Vault,” Julian repeated, the name tasting like a secret. He leaned in closer. “Do you enjoy it, having people watch you?”

“It’s just a job,” Callum said. “I love to dance, and I'm good at it.”

Julian’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Do you... do anything else there? For money? With the clients?”

Callum looked him straight in the eye, voice firm. “No, I do not. Never. Some of the other guys do after a dance in a private room, that sort of thing, but I have never done that, Julian. And I never would. I’m just there to dance. I’ve never done anything but dance. If things start getting out of hand, I leave.”

Julian watched him for a moment, searching for any flicker of a lie, but already knew somehow that Callum would never lie to him. He relaxed, a small, predatory smile tugging at his lips. “Good, because the thought of anyone else touching you ... that would be a very bad problem for them to have.”

He kissed Callum, adding as an afterthought… “Maybe I could get a hot, sexy little leather-clad dance one day?” A look of eagerness on his face.

“Ha, as long as you stuff ten bucks in my shorts!” Callum proposed, with a laugh.

“I’ll stuff more than ten bucks in your shorts, any day!” Julian replied.

They cuddled as the city grew dark and silent.

Chapter 22 - Film Night

Fri. 24th - Sun. 26th Jan. 25

Friday 24th Jan. 25

Callum wished away his day on Friday. This included The Iron Works during the day and late night at The Vault. Both dragged because they had planned date number three at the penthouse on Saturday night, with a sleepover.

Jack had been in a bad mood all day at work, jibing at Callum at every opportunity he got, not able to see a way out of the issues with The Iron Works. This caused tension between them. Callum thought they could just continue as they were, facing each individual issue, but Jack was foretelling doom with Noah Cott, and forecasting that they would be out of business within months. It all got on Callum’s nerves, and he had to walk away before losing his cool with Jack.

***

Saturday 25th Jan. 25

Julian had offered the G-Wagon to pick Callum up, but he was late leaving the gym and barely showered and dressed before they arrived outside. It was a bit of a rush to get home, get ready, and go. He found himself wondering if Julian wouldn’t mind if he left some clothes at his. He would ask him later.

When he walked into the penthouse, Martha greeted him warmly and he saw Julian sitting at the Mac by the Banksy, but as soon as he walked in, he bounded over to him with a welcome kiss and a hug. Julian was wearing grey sweatpants and a loose T-shirt, informal for him. Callum liked it.

Martha cooked them Malaysian curry with fragrant rice and an Asian coleslaw that Callum particularly loved. She was a great cook, and Callum appreciated her efforts. He wasn’t hugely food-oriented but usually ate a healthy, macro-balanced diet. He hoped he wouldn’t put on weight. He liked his lean shape and wanted to maintain it. Callum thanked her profusely for the curry, and she told him there were lemon possets in the fridge for dessert, as she left them alone.

They chatted amiably at the table, Julian, as always, with his leg touching Callum’s, his hand on his knee much of the time. Callum had noticed how much more tactile Julian was becoming. Every time he looked at him, he still did a double take. He was so rugged and manly; he just couldn’t believe this was ‘his guy’.

After they loaded the dishwasher, Julian asked Callum what he wanted to do for the evening. “Err, I don’t know - what do couples do of an evening?” he replied.

“Do you want to watch a film?” asked Julian.

“Yes, but I noticed you don’t actually have a TV anywhere,” he said, looking around the penthouse.

“Seriously, you don’t think I have a TV. You know I love my films. How would I watch them?” He guided Callum to the sofa, pushing him down into the comfy seat, whilst he stood beside him. Julian grabbed the Panja box for the lounge, calling up a menu and making a big deal of pressing one button.

Several things happened at once. The lights dimmed, the windows darkened to black, and a noise came from above that Callum couldn’t identify. He looked at Julian, who just smiled back. “Voilà,” he said, arms wide, looking up.

Callum looked up and saw a curved shape breaking out of the ceiling, descending, along with several other circles, coming from behind, beside, and across the room. These came down in mechanical silence, and Callum realised that they were tall, elegant white speakers. Ah, some fancy concealed sound system. He smiled in glee. This was going to be good.

The curved shape, it soon became clear, was a huge panel of ultra-thin see-through LCD. It was almost like gauze, and he thought it probably weighed almost nothing. The descending shape stopped around a metre from the floor and the whole thing suddenly lit up, amazingly bright, yet see-through.

“This is my seven-metre TV,” Julian proudly declared.

“Julian, size isn’t everything…” Callum smirked… He pointed at the lump in Julian’s grey sweats. No chance of a small dick, big TV here. Oh, the irony. “Well, it certainly is impressive, I’ll give you that,” said Callum, giving Julian’s bulge a little stroke and cupping it with his hand.