alexander //

“sure. just like you’re not full of yourself, either.” gwen liked that about alexander so she wasn’t saying it to be hateful - more just to tease them. “you’re hard to ignore.” it was true; they always showed up dressed to the nines in a way that made every eye pull towards them. if alexander was a shining beacon than gwen was their foil, a shadow going unnoticed by design. “you kind of have to have a good eye for your job, so it makes sense.” well, they didn’t have to, because gwen had had her fair share of mediocre photoshoots. but alexander was good at their job, so. “as long as i look passable i’m not worried about it. i was working, anyway.” she’d told anyone who asked that she was hades, but really she just felt most comfortable performing in concert black. “entertainment doesn’t get much notice.” gwen hadn’t had to schmooze all night and she’d loved it.

Tom ate the fry that was offered to him. It was probably the sweetest way someone had told them to shut up in a while. “I’ll definitely be cooking for you,” Tom confirmed glad that they now had the ability to prepare a little more for that next date. Even in his ridiculously small New York kitchen he’d still be able to impress. Tom was in no rush to get there though and Alexander was right– the fries were good. Tom was eager to be in the moment even though they could tell they were drifting away from the present conversation. They were happy Alexander couldn’t relate. Tom’s mind didn’t dwell on it much nor did they care to continue the conversation about overdoing it. Tom agreed even if they’d come to that conclusion the hard way. The party lifestyle wasn’t so easy to just say no to as Alexander was making it seem. 

Seattle was a much better subject. “I am, yeah. I grew up in Mercer Island which is like ten minutes from Seattle and then moved into the city after high school,” Tom explained though they doubted that Alexander knew much about the area. If they were back home they would be taking the lead a lot more. Especially hearing that the nearest botanical garden was two hours away. That was  not the kind of detour Tom wanted to take tonight. “Wherever you’d feel most comfortable,” Tom deferred again. They were used to winding up wherever the wind took them and Tom wasn’t picky. Their apartment was fastidiously clean and he had no problem inviting Alexander back to their sanctuary tonight if that’s what Alexander wanted. Tom was also more than willing to take a wildly overpriced Uber back home from Alexander’s if that was more convenient for them. They were accommodating to a fault. 

Pizza, clubs, distant botanical gardens all sounded like fine ideas… for a later date. Tom’s memory of Alexander lived in a very provocative corner of their mind. Alexander’d been on his mind more than a handful of times when Tom was in need of some late night… inspiration. Tom didn’t want to come off as brash but they both knew the next stop would involve shedding some clothes. They bonded over their sexual chemistry and exploring that further was clear on both of their minds; the teasing wasn’t going unnoticed by Tom. Especially not when they slipped their hands under the table and rested them on Alexander’s knees, which in hindsight wasn’t the smartest move because they instinctively inched their way up Alexander’s thighs as they spoke. “I’ll be honest I just want to get back to a room with you after this,” they admitted finally putting into words what they both were skirting around. His hands stopped mid thigh before they could go too far. If Tom wasn’t careful they’d end up slithering under the table here and this wasn’t somewhere he wanted to get kicked out for being indecent– he liked this bar. Tom went ahead a nudged Alexander’s legs together with a smirk as they tried to turn their attention to the food and drink before them that frankly wasn’t dwindling away fast enough. “Where’d you say you live again? You’re not here in Greenwich, right?” Tom asked before munching on a few fries. 

“Good,” they replied with a grin when Tom confirmed that they’d be cooking for them. They were excited to try Tom’s cooking. Not to say that they weren’t a good cook, but... they were awful in the kitchen. That’s what they get, they supposed, for having two parents who were both incredibly competent at cooking - and not just that, they enjoyed the act of cooking for others, so Alexander was rarely, if ever, involved in the act of cooking as anything more than an extra pair of hands, especially when their aunts came over, and the kitchen was abuzz with actual chefs. Taking another fry, they looked across the table at them, trying to ignore the way their heart was fluttering in their chest. So, yes, Tom had stuck around in their brain more than their usual one-time hookups stuck around, what about it?

Alexander had never been to Seattle, so they had no clue where Mercer Island was - they were taking Tom’s word as law when it came to everything about Seattle. “I assume you went to college in the city, then - why’d you leave? The Pacific Northwest is supposed to be a really cool place, just want a new adventure?” they asked, genuinely curious. They were glad that Tom had chosen to leave Seattle for whatever reason - after all, they would’ve never experienced what they did in the Met if it weren’t for Tom being there. Right time, right place, right second in history. They loved little perfect coincidences like that. When Tom deferred to them again, though, they had to shrug. So maybe they wanted their curiosity to be sated. “Let’s go to yours,” they suggested. If Tom really didn’t want them there, after all, they would’ve suggested going to Alexander’s. So they figured that it was a perfectly good time to see what Tom’s living space was like. There was time to do other things on other nights.

At Tom’s hand on their thigh, Alexander had to remind themself to breathe, which was strange - they’d never had to do that before. No one had ever made them breathless at just a touch to their thigh. Nodding at their words, Alexander tried not to make it obvious that they were speechless. “Yeah-- yeah, me too,” they stuttered, biting their lip and telling themself mentally to stop nodding, that they looked weird, and they didn’t want to scare him off now. Then, though, Tom pushed their legs together, which took them by surprise - did they really want him to behave in this moment? Trying to spread their legs again, they did their best to school their face to look as calm as possible “No, I’m in NoHo,” they answered. “And you’re in Chelsea. So we’re both close, but you’re closer, slightly, unless you’re on the very north end of Chelsea, which...” they stopped themself from rambling too much. “We’re going to yours because you kept deferring to me, and I said we’re going to yours.” There was that familiar bratty attitude of theirs reappearing. “It’ll be fun.”

@ALEXANDERKAUFMAN just uploaded a new picture

“𝑯𝑶𝑵𝑬𝑺𝑻𝑳𝒀?”  𝑨𝑫𝑶𝑵𝑰𝑺  𝑳𝑰𝑪𝑲𝑬𝑫  𝑯𝑰𝑺  𝑳𝑰𝑷𝑺.  “i  wanted  to  travel  the  world  and  talk  about  the  news  that  way,  you  know?  be  a  part  of  the  big  stories  …  even  the  little  ones.  i  never  really  wanted  to  be  stuck  behind  a  desk.”  he  really  didn’t,  and  it  was  weird  that  he  hadn’t  really  thought  about  it  until  now.  ugh.  “maybe  it’s  still  in  the  cards,  maybe  it  isn’t.  time  will  tell.”  he  nodded  as  he  took  another  sip  of  the  latte.  “it’s  good,  and  i  appreciate  you  thinking  of  me.”  adonis  wriggled  his  eyebrows  playfully.  “what  are  you  doing  with  the  rest  of  your  day?”

gwen would tell they had checked out. that was par for the course. “it’s not a problem if you like melty ice in your coffee.” she stated. as per usual, this argument was stalling their conversation. “i liked your fit for the gala, by the way. do you have a stylist or are you just blessed?” 

“The city’s been kind to me so far. I’ve been lucky,” Tom agreed. It was an understatement, really; Tom had talked with a friend about these feelings already and came to the same conclusion as Alexander had. Tom wasn’t sure what they’d done but it seemed like they’d gotten on the city’s good side without much trouble. Tonight was evident of that. Some sort of intervention had to take place for them to be sitting across from Alexander right now. It allowed Tom to be present in the moment. He could enjoy listening to Alexander express themself which was a welcomed surprise as they nibbled on fries. 

“I should’ve taken you out to dinner,” Tom apologized. They hadn’t exactly planned their night with Alexander. So much of the fun they’d had the first time was winging it in the moment and drinks were just a safe starting spot. There were lots of options that could follow after a couple drinks. Still, it would’ve been nice to have gotten a chance to spoil Alexander with a good meal. Food was it’s own love language for Tom and one learned from their own mother they had a good relationship with as well. Maybe Tom would get lucky enough to make Alexander a meal at some point to make up for it. “There’s no fun in blacking out,” Tom was adamant about that. It was why Tom’s drink was merely something that tasted good and alcohol content was no longer a driving factor. It was only a further good sign that Alexander shared a similar opinion with hopefully an entirely different experience than Tom’s to lead them to it. 

Tom was eager to drift the conversation away from work again. As tied up in Alexander as they felt they knew they still needed to refrain when it came to Masters. As much as they’d love to get acquainted with the equipment closet up there they didn’t want to risk their job. “This is where I wish I knew the city better,” Tom admitted with a small chuckle as they took a sip of their drink. “If we were in Seattle I would be taking you to the botanical garden by my apartment after this,” they explained. Truthfully Tom didn’t have even a clue how far they were from their place nor what they might come across the way on the way. Tom wasn’t even tethered to heading back to his place even. “But I don’t even know how to get back to my place from here. So I have to defer to you but you seem to have a special talent for finding good spots,’ Tom teased a little as they continued to brush Alexander’s leg with their own. They were all ears for Alexander’s ideas there. 

Alexander laughed at their words, leaning against their hand after propping their elbow up on the table. Reaching for another fry, they raised it up to Tom’s lips, trying to get them to stop overthinking things. “This isn’t, like, our first and last date,” they pointed out. “You can cook for me next time. Besides, these fries are really good, and I’m not going to eat them all on my own.” Once their hand was free, they popped another fry into their own mouth, washing it down with another sip of their drink. “I agree,” they commented. “I got blackout a few times in college, but, like... waking up with that headache and not remembering where you’d been, or-- or who you’d been with, or any of that? That sucks. I can’t believe people actually do it for fun. Like, it’s some people’s goal during a night out, which... weird.” They shrugged, one of their legs bouncing lightly under their table.

“So you’re from Seattle?” they asked - they weren’t sure if Tom had already mentioned that. If they had, well, Alexander could blame it on their own forgetfulness. They had a one track mind, and almost every single thought in their head had dissipated when Tom had spread their legs apart with their foot. They were still trying to carry on the conversation despite the fact that Tom was very obviously teasing them, even if Tom didn’t know that themself. “Yeah, I know my way around pretty well... would you want to go back to yours or mine after this, or would you want to go somewhere else?” They knew the city like the back of their hand, navigating it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. They just weren’t sure what Tom was looking for out of this outing of theirs. “The botanical garden here is in the Bronx, so it’s, like, two hours out of our way. Maybe some other time, though,” they suggested. They hadn’t been to the botanical garden since they were in college and they’d had a nature-based assignment, but it could be fun to go again after all these years.