Chapter 3
"Dammit!" Sebastian snarled, frantically trying to wipe up the spilled coffee on his desk before it ruined any more paperwork.
"What happened now?" Hunter asked from the doorway, having heard Sebastian's colorful exclamation from his office next door.
"What does it look like?" Sebastian snapped, dropping sodden kleenex into the trash can.
Raising an eyebrow at this friend's misplaced anger, Hunter replied, "It looks like something's eating at you and it sure as hell isn't spilt coffee."
Sighing, Sebastian rubbed his forehead, and indicated a paper on the edge of his desk with a coffee stain now drying in the corner. Moving forward, Hunter caught a glimpse of the logo on the top of the invitation, and retreated to the couch Sebastian had pushed up against the wall by the door. "Ah, the official invite to this year's gala," he acknowledged as he settled into the couch. He frowned. "Why do you have the more comfortable couch?" he demanded, trying to pull Sebastian's thoughts away from the gala which always caused his friend distress.
"Because you were caught sleeping on yours in the middle of the day by your father," Sebastian replied absent-mindedly, retrieving the invitation from its place. "I hate this stupid thing and every year I'm forced to go. Father can't understand why I haven't settled down and been steadily dating. He sees this as an opportunity to pawn me off as some prize to some of his friends and their offsprings in the hopes of 'taming' me and marrying me off. You'd think I was some sort of debutant the way he acts."
"So beat him at his own game," Hunter suggested with a shrug. "If you haven't noticed I always bring the same girl to these things, and she isn't my 'steady' girlfriend. I know just the thing."
"What?" Sebastian asked wearily, knowing that some of Hunter's ideas didn't always bode well for him; he had seen his fair-share of principal offices, dean offices, and an evening in a police cell from some of Hunters ideas.
The other man smirked. "I use an escort service for these things," he admitted. "Always the know how to maneuver and work in our society. It keeps my father off my back from trying to marry me off, and I have a good time. They even throw in some perks at the end to push away the loneliness."
"What?" Sebastian hissed, gaze glancing out into the hallway to ensure no one overheard his friend. "I'm not using an escort service, Hunt. I can find my own date."
Hunter just clucked his tongue. "Let me take care of this, my friend. They come with a back story and everything. Your dad will be happy you're finally 'settling' down, and at the end some of that tension you've been supporting since you haven't been laid regularly after you broke up with Franklin will be gone." Before Sebastian could protest, Hunter grinned and bound from the room, cell phone already up to his ear.
"B, we've got a booking for tomorrow night," Santana said as she settled into the armchair across from Blaine whose books were scattered across their coffee table as he wrote a paper.
"Oh?" he looked up over the rims of his glances at her, eyebrow raised in question.
"Yup, Hunter called about that gala he takes me to every year and indicated his friend, his gay friend needs a companion for the night as well."
Blaine frowned, letting his memory rush back to the gala Santana was talking about. He took a deep breath and paled. "Wait, is this the gala to benefit the Children's Hospital?" he choked, trying to get his panic to subside.
She frowned, eyeing him wearily. "Yeah, why?" She stopped and her eyes widened suddenly in realization. "Oh shit," she breathed. "What are the odds they'll be there?"
"Pretty good," he moaned, rubbing at his eyes under his glasses. "I'll be back on the radar and forced home."
"Blaine you're twenty-one, they can't force you to come home. You're an adult," she tried to soothe, understanding now why this would be a big deal.
"Technically, I won't be twenty-one for another two months," he replied sourly. "And they'll make sure I come home."
"Okay, we'll deal with them if we need to, B. No point in getting worked up for no reason. Besides, you haven't touched any of your money since you essentially ran away; maybe they won't recognize you."
"I hope you're right," he sighed, turning back to his paper. Santana bit her lip and silently hoped so too.
"Santana," Hunter greeted as he approached the two escorts in front of their building. He dropped a kiss on her cheek before turning to Blaine, eyes widening as he took in the well-dressed man before him. "You did as promised," he murmured quietly to his own 'date'. She smirked in response. He turned to Sebastian as the other man exited the car. "Might I introduce my good friend - "
"Bas," Blaine breathed, eyes widening as he took in the man who seemed to have been haunting him since their chance encounter in the night club almost two weeks ago. Sebastian's own eyes widened in recognition.