The Story of Us [BL]

Edward finished arranging the filing cabinet and crossed that job off the list that seemed to be a mile long. What was he doing with his life?

He should be at university with people his age, having fun and going to lots of parties. Instead of that he was stuck doing an internship at his father’s publishing company.

It was only his first week and he wanted out.

All he had done was make tea, make even more tea, get sent to Starbucks and tidy things. He hadn’t even got close to anything related to publishing.

The office staff seemed to just see him as a tea boy and it was getting on his nerves. He had a mind to tell them their boss was his father to see if he would get any better treatment. Not that he would really, his father would cut off his pocket money if he did that.

He had been sent on the internship because his father had decreed he needed to have the experience of having a real job instead of spending a year at university drinking and partying.

“Edward!” his supervisor shouted. “I know you’ve finished with the filing cabinet. Go and make tea.”

“I made it an hour ago,” he replied. “Do you really need more?”

His supervisor, a middle aged man called Greg leaned over the desk next to him.

“Edward, you’re the intern not me. I give the instructions. Go and make tea for the whole office.”

Edward halfheartedly went to the office kitchenette and filled the kettle to the maximum capacity. The office of Smythe Publishing seemed to run on hourly doses of tea and the occasional coffee.

He automatically filled up a tray with the correct amount of mugs and put a teabag into each one. The idea of spitting in Greg’s cup was tempting, but he felt that Greg would know he had done it.

“Your tea,” he said the woman at the first desk and picked up her previous cup which she hadn’t even drunk from yet.

“Thanks Edward,” she said without looking up.

He moved onto the next desk which was his favourite. Stephen was a few years older than him and actually talked to him. Edward had developed a small crush on him over the week.

“It will stop after this week,” Stephen whispered. “The new intern always make tea and then they move onto proper tasks.”

Edward gave him a thumbs up and went to the next person. Greg was the last person and seemed like he had been waiting for him.

“I’m worried that you’re going to lose it and fling a mug at someone’s head so I’m going to give you a special task,” his supervisor said.

Edward stood with close attention. Finally he was going to get to do something that wasn’t tidying or make tea. The gloomy office seemed to brighten magically.

“One of our popular authors doesn’t believe in sending electronic copies of his work so someone has to go to his apartment at every deadline and pick up the paper drafts. I’m sending you today.”

He picked up a sheet of paper off his desk and scrawled an address.

“Ring the bell and say you’re from Smythe Publishing, he should answer then. Remind him that it’s a deadline and bring back any paper drafts he gives you.”

Edward saw a flaw in that.

“What if he doesn’t have anything to hand in?”

A muscle twitched in Greg’s cheek.

“Tell him I sent you.”

The intern was beginning to have a suspicion this author wasn’t the most reliable at handing in drafts for deadlines.

Edward took the piece of paper. Greg had written a name on it. It wasn’t one Edward recognised as a famous author, but there were lots of authors for different genres under Smythe Publishing.

Flynn George.

It was definitely a name that looked like it would be at home on a book cover. Maybe a romantic author? Then again Greg had definitely indicated the author was male.

Edward looked up the address on the computer he had been allotted and saw it wasn’t too far a distance. He could get a bus and only have to walk for a few minutes.

“The deadline is at 4 this afternoon so get moving,” Greg called out. “I’ll reimburse you for the bus fare. Get moving.”

Edward put on his coat and picked up his backpack. Greg handed him an empty plastic folder and patted his backpack.

“Put the paper drafts in here and keep it in your bag. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

***

Flynn George if that was his real name lived at a pretty nice place. Naturally as the son of the owner of a popular publishing house, Edward lived somewhere much upper class, but he could appreciate other places.

He pressed the buzzer for the apartment Greg had specified and waited for a response. Eventually the speaker crackled to life and he heard a voice.

“Who is it? Actually I don’t care, go away.”

“I’m from Smythe Publishing,” Edward said loudly and clearly so there was no room for mishearing.

“Come up,” was the brief answer.

Edward pushed open the door to the apartment building and made his way up to the right floor. He knocked on the door with the correct number.

The door was opened a few moments later by the fittest man he had ever seen. Edward felt his mouth open slightly and his cheeks blush.

“I haven’t seen you before,” the man noted. “Intern?”

“...Yes, I am the intern,” Edward replied quickly.

Flynn George looked to be about five years older than him with wavy black hair, alluring brown eyes and perfect skin. Edward’s minor crush on Stephen was forgotten in an instance.

“Come in then,” the man said. “Do you know who I am?”

As he spoke he moved out of the way and Edward entered the apartment and brushed past him. Whatever aftershave the author was wearing needed to be on the market for everyone to know.

“Greg wrote your name as Flynn George. I’ve never actually heard of you before,” he admitted.

“I see. He never gives much away. Please call me Flynn.”

Flynn led the way a room filled with books.

“You can wait here. I haven’t actually finished yet. You can make yourself some tea.”

Flynn’s voice was nice and deep. Edward was quite enthralled.

He sat down on the sofa and started to look around the room. The interior was nice, Flynn must make a lot of money from his books, he decided. He must be a popular author which was strange as he had read most of the popular works published under the company excluding any female centric romance and anything overly erotic.

His phone started to ring and he saw it was Greg.

“I am at the apartment,” he confirmed immediately.

“Have you got the draft yet?” Greg asked.

“No, he said he hadn’t finished yet.”

There was a loud sign over the line and he had the feeling this had happened before.

“I knew he wasn’t working. He normally starts on the day of the deadline,” Greg groaned.

“Should I say something?”

“No, he normally managed to write thousands of words in a short space of time. Just wait and let me know when you’ve got it,” Greg instructed. “Let him know there will be words between us.”

He ended the call and Edward wondered what was going on. He walked out the room and into the hallway. There was a room that was obviously the kitchen and a few closed ones. For someone who had spent most of the day making tea, he was finding himself craving some so he went into the kitchen to make a cup for himself and one for the author.

He knocked on the door of the room labelled ‘office’ and was rewarded with an answer.

“Come in.”

Edward opened the door and held out the tea.

“Ah, I wouldn’t mind tea,” Flynn said. “Thanks.”

Edward walked forward and placed it on an empty spot on the desk. Greg was right about Flynn managing to write a lot in a short space of time. There was already a stack of handwritten paper and Flynn was filling a page as he spoke.

“I guess Greg isn’t happy with the delay,” Flynn said with a laugh.

“He said you would make the deadline in the end.”

Flynn smirked. “Of course. There’s no one else that reels off smut like I do.”

Edward’s eyes automatically moved to the page of text after hearing that and realised that Flynn did indeed write smut.

From the looks of it, it was gay smut.

A lot of gay smut.

Edward felt his face growing red and he stepped back. Flynn looked confused for a moment and then his face cleared.

“You really had no idea I wrote this. You’re very cute and honest.”

“I’ll wait in the other room,” Edward said awkwardly.

He was feeling like he’d had out of body experience. The author who was his new crush wrote very gay content that he’d liked the look of.

Edward sat back down on the sofa with his head in a daze. The previous year he had been in a car accident and whenever he was taken by surprise or was stressed his mind went blank for some reason and he hated it.

He picked up the first book on the nearest bookshelf to centre himself. On the cover was a topless rather sweaty man and the author was Flynn. It brought Edward’s mind back to reality.

The next hour was passed reading the book and he found that he was quite enjoying the book even if was really nothing but smut. At least the smut was well written.

Flynn knocked on the door and dumped a large stack of paper on the sofa next to him. Edward looked up and noticed Flynn was now wearing glasses and was staring at him intently.

“I didn’t realise it was you earlier- I had lost my glasses. Do you not like me anymore?” Flynn enquired.

To say Edward was confused was an understatement.

“I’ve never met you before,” he answered hesitantly.

“We know each other very well. I was sad to lose track of you. Did you never want to see me again?” Flynn asked. “You said you loved me.”