Moments later Lithe sat across from Ashley at the back of a museum cafe sipping coffee from an antique teacup.
"It's always wonderful to see you Lithe," said Ashley sexily.
Licking his plump, juicy lips and smiling like he meant it.
Seeing such an action that would have made him swoon pre Zen, now made him cringe.
He used to fantasize all the time about Ashley wrapping those sexy lips around his, ahem.
Lithe shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
Now the way Ashley was staring at him, he did not like it.
Inwardly Lithe blushed, had his face given away his inner thoughts.
His feelings for Ash became even more conflicted.
Ash was looking at him like he was icing on a cupcake and he wanted to lick Lithe off.
It was obvious that despite his words Ash was attracted to him and still expected Lithe to engage in conversation.
So Lithe admitted grudgingly, "it's always lovely to see you my friend."
Ashley reached for Lithe's hand.
Lithe shifted his hand deliberately while avoiding eye contact too.
Ash pretended like he didn't notice and continued talking animatedly.
Trying to get Lithe to relax and warm up to Ash like he normally did in the past.
Still Lithe tried his best to keep the conversation flowing while appearing cheerful.
The whole time Lithe sat there anxiety flooded his brains and his thoughts were a hot mess.
Didn't Ash hint over the phone that he had been looking forward to catching up with Lithe all morning?
Yet now that he was alone with Lithe there was a long stretch of silence between them.
So much for wanting to reconnect, talk about awkward.
Agreeing to come on this date was a waste of time, what exactly was there to talk about?
They were clearly drifting apart but neither of them were ready to admit it yet.
Lithe hadn't seen or heard from him in weeks.
The last time he glimpsed Ash was on an advertisement banner for Mecca Watches at the local shopping mall.
Recalling the moment still made Lithe's stomach clench from the butterflies he felt at the time.
Lithe, despite his better judgment, had followed Ashley's modeling career over the past year.
It would be hard to ignore him in their line of work.
Since Lithe glimpsed pictures of Ash regularly as the official model for the Maximillian clothing line.
He had even heard a rumor from Estella that Ash had recently signed an exclusive contract for his own reality show.
What a flex, Ash, that smooth talking bastard, oozed sex and charisma from his pores.
Even now he was effortlessly turning the heads of both sexes in the restaurant.
He remembered before today's phone call the last time he had spoken to Ash.
His briefs had been around his ankle.
Under The Influence had been playing on the radio.
At the worst possible moment, just when he was on the brink of feeling it coming.
Ash dropped a bomb.
He had changed his mind about taking their relationship to the next level and just wanted to be friends with Lithe.
Ashley would be leaving on an early flight the next morning and he was wondering if Lithe could water his plants while he was gone.
Then Ashley hung up not even waiting for a response from Lithe, he just expected that Lithe would never turn him down.
Crushing Lithe's already dwindling self confidence and instantly killing his orgasm.
To this day the bitter sting of rejection lingered and resentment flared in his eyes.
So, why was he meeting up with Ash, you ask?
Lately, Lithe had been feeling stressed and now that he had the additional burden of dealing with Zen.
He couldn't help but look forward to a break from the demands of his exhausting schedule.
Worse, he didn't want to spend his free time alone either.
"Let's go for a walk in the nearby park," suggested Ashley.
Lithe didn't mind since the sun was going down and the park was less crowded at this time.
Somehow Ashley started talking about himself again.
Droning on about his career and his future plans.
He barely asked him any questions but Lithe didn't mind since the only thing on his mind was another man.
"My goals are what keeps me going or my work schedule would drive me crazy. Where do you see yourself five or even ten years from now, I hope I'll be accepting an academy award for best actor," mused Ash. "How about you Lithe?"
Lithe said dreamily, "I want to move back home to Vallance, hopefully get married to someone who already has kids. I've always wanted a family to call my own."
"I'll never return to Vallance. I hate it there, Allerdyce is my home now."
Unwittingly Ash sealed his fate with that statement.
Lithe wasn't going to argue with him or try to change his mind.
They were simply too different, he finally accepted that they were better off as friends.
It was finally time to let the dream of marrying Ash die.
Before they knew it, night had come but Ashley wasn't ready to end the evening there.
"I got an invitation for two to attend a private party, my date called and canceled at the last minute. The party should start shortly, why don't you come with me?" pleaded Ash.
Lithe tried to turn down the invitation but Ash stubbornly refused to take no for an answer.
Unconsciously sniffed his underarm. Why was he smelling vanilla so strongly, when his deodorant was lavender scented, so odd.
"Fine… I'll come with you but I need to go home and change. I've been wearing this outfit since morning," said Lithe.
"Do you want to embarrass me," said Ash.
Seeing Lithe's face darken, Ash tried hastily to fix his statement.
"If you go home and change it will make us both late, so just get ready at my place," demanded Ash.
Lithe wasn't about to let the matter drop, "are you saying my appearance embarasses you?"
"..."
Lithe rolled his eyes, "You're lucky I already agreed to go with you for old times sake."
Ash smiled devilishly, "you won't regret tonight. You are going to love the outfit I bought for you."