Again, despite all his attempts, Fane neither flew away from him in a rage nor fell into his arms. Axel found himself at his wits end. He couldn't deal with closeness that was actually close, not just false connections that went skin-deep. "I don't want to find my footing," Axel murmured as his hands wandered lower to clench around the other man's hips. "I want to fall out of control."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Axel froze. Did he really just say that? The words hit too close to the truth. Just like before, when their dancing unnerved him, he found himself pushing Fane away from him, even though he'd been holding him close a second before. This was...not good though. It hadn't been good for a long time. Why did he convince himself that he could call Fane a dog and get what he wanted?

Axel sneered and shook his head. "But that won't happen so why are you still trying to dance with me like this? Stop pulling my strings like this or I'll really think I'm a dog!"

Fane felt a shiver run through him again. He really did like the way Axel held him far too much, and the sound of that stardom worthy voice speaking oh so softly for his ears alone. He needed to get out of there, and try to remain calm at all costs. Fane was so glad that his face rarely revealed what he truly felt, because in that moment he felt ready to do whatever Axel asked of him, previously stated rules notwithstanding.

But, all to suddenly he was being pushed away. The blond let it happen without protest, and faced Axel's sneering words unflinchingly. Fane knew there was more going on then he could see.

Without thinking overmuch about his actions, Fane stepped forward to place a gentle hand against the other man's cheek. "Alright, no more tonight." He let his thumb brush softly back and forth across skin he'd never thought in a million years he could touch. "But remember, neither of us is a dog, there are no leading strings ... and you have as much control over whatever kind of relationship we end up having as I am."

With those softly spoken words said, the manager turned away to leave. Silently, Fane cursed himself for ever having promised to dance with Axel. He'd know from the moment he'd met the rock star, just that morning, just how easily it would be for him to get all tangled up over him.

Axel pushed Fane's hand away with a sneer. Nevermind the way it sent a thrill through him. It got him what he wanted--finally some space between them. "Yeah. Whatever. Just get out until I'm ready to see you again," he scoffed back, just watching as the other man left. He didn't have any grand words to say after all, nor did he have any intentions of stopping him. Axel was the one who had pushed him out.

As soon as the door slammed shut, Axel collapsed back on his couch with a groan that could have woken corpses. "God fuck! What am I doing? That guy!" He groaned again, pressing a hand over his eyes until stars blossomed. And still the sensations that Fane gave him didn't go away. Not all bad ones or good ones. Just too many for him to properly handle. If it continued like this, would he be able to handle it? And yet, he felt no desire to run away. He'd started this game and Axel intended to see it through.

Fane walked back to his car, his mind filled with conflicting thoughts and emotions. Why had he let himself get trapped by his own words? Axel had looked so vulnerable and all the manager had wanted to do was help the rock star feel better. As a result, Fane was left with the conundrum of trying to figure out how to handle his attraction to one of his clients.

But that night had been an exceptional one, he reasoned. The chances of anything ever happening again between himself and Axel were pretty slim. Such thoughts reassured the man as he slid into his car and drove away, towards his own home. Really, there was nothing to worry about at all save trying to build up Obsessed With Your Obsession into the powerhouse band it could be.

In the week since Jayde unexpectedly met Harlan, he found himself with far too much time to think about what the other man said. It was a strange situation to find himself in considering his job. However, here he stood with his phone in his hand a burning desire to see one person. He needed to be with someone outside of his life, someone who wouldn't look at him with worry or fear. He knew he shouldn't need this...but he did.

Pulling up Harlan's contact, he sent a quick message.

'Do you still want to go on that date or whatever? I've got some coupons if you're free this afternoon'

It was perhaps harsh to ask someone on a date in such a manner, but Jayde had never been one to mince his words in the first place. Plush, this was Harlan's idea. Jayde just happened to be between breakthroughs and perhaps longing just a bit for human contact.

The garage was pleasantly full of things. Harlan was in the midst of cleaning one of his purchases from the weekend's haul when he head the pinging of his phone. The brown haired man picked it up, and nearly dropped it when he saw who the message was from and what it said. A giddy smile was on his face as he typed his answer.

[I]"Just text me where and when, and I'll be there! Oh, do I need to wear anything fancy?"[I]

Harlan could barely contain his excitement, and considered messaging Axel about the new development. Probably texting the rock star would have been a good idea anyway, considering they hadn't spoken too much since last week. He shook his head. Better to wait until after his first date with Jayde; which Harlan could only hope went well.

Jayde's smile widened a little more as he glanced down at the coupons he had. That and the idea of Harlan dressing up for him. How long had it been since he had a date out in the open with fancy clothes and dinner? Had he ever had such a thing? It wasn't what he would get now, but the fact that such a thing could happen made him relax a little more his apartment wall.

'It would be better if you didn't. I'll text you the address and...bring an old t-shirt You'll need it.'

Shaking his head, Jayde finally pushed away from his perch and grabbed his keys. It wouldn't be a long walk and he was sick of this empty shell of an apartment. What he needed now was a change of pace. Hopefully, it wouldn't bring disaster. Then again, would his enemies follow him to The Potter's Wheel?

An old t-shirt? Harlan decided to wear an old pair of jeans and a t-shirt he hated. It was one of those too loose things that got handed out at events sometimes, and this one had come from something he'd forgotten about attention. The young man was whistling as he left his house, sliding into his car with the brightest of smiles. It was going to be so hard to contain his excitement! He didn't want to scare Jayde off ... He would still need to work to contain himself somewhat.

When he pulled into the building's parking lot, Harlan found himself laughing a litte. The Potter's Wheel? What kind of date had Jayde come up with? It wasn't the type of thing he imagined the other man doing, but since he knew basically nothing about him ... Harlan shook his head and slipped out of his car with a smile on his face and a slight bounce to his steps as he made his way over to the doors, searching for Jayde with his eyes. Honestly, he was a little afraid the dark haired man had decided that he preferred their old arrangement, or that it was better to just drop what he had with Harlan because it was getting too complicated.

Harlan was already there when Jayde strolled into the building. As someone used to walking through the city, he tended to arrive last, but it kept his mind and his body sharp. Nothing happened in the city without his notice. So, he knew immediately by Harlan's car that the other waited for him. Shrugging off his jacket as he slipped inside, he walked over, offering the other man a small smile. "I don't know what you had in mind for a date but my coworker had some coupons and it seemed nice." Flourishing the tiny slips of paper, he breathed in deep. There was an earthiness to the air that soothed Jayde. Besides, he'd always been good at tasks requiring his hands.

Harlan wandering around the gift shop with fascination for a while, and thought about perhaps keeping an eye out for pottery the next time he went out looking for things for his online store. Some of the pieces he saw on display were beautiful. Jayde found him when he'd wandered closer to the workshops, and he turned to face the dark haired man with an unrestrained smile.

"This is going to be fun, and I'm glad you let me know to wear something old. Otherwise, I might have shown up in something way too fancy for this kind of thing." He reached out to take one of the coupons, and blushed when his fingers brushed against Jayde's. It wasn't like they hadn't been intimate, explored every bit of each other, but it felt like they were starting all over. In the background, the sound of a potter's wheel turning about echoed the rhythm of Harlan's heart. It was a calming sound, and helped quell at least some of his nervousness.

"It would have suited you either way," Jayde said, offhand. In a tank top and greyed out camo pants, he looked relaxed as well, though his hair was as carefully styled as usual. Still, there was an ease to his expression and his motions as he paid for their 'couples class.' He didn't notice it himself, but it was there in his less guarded eyes and the looser line of his lips.

Once the lesson had been arranged, he gestured Harlan toward an empty wheel. Despite not having done pottery before, Jayde ran his hand along the machine's surface like something old and familiar. The dust, the soothing colors, there was nothing like it. "You know I..."

A voice cut through before Jayde could finish the soft words. "Hello there and welcome to The Potter's Wheel. Is this your first time here?" Jayde snatched his hand away from the wheel, his eyes going cold even as he offered a polite smile to the young, ginger-haired woman who approached them.

"Yes. You, Harlan?"

Harlan couldn't help running his eyes over Jayde, fascinated by the very idea of seeing the other man outside of their usual rendezvous. It felt like the dark haired man was a little more relaxed, in the new environment. For his part, Harlan felt nervous, uncertain. He wondered if Jayde would actually like him, once they truly got to know each other. Would it all work out? Honestly, Harlan was less interested the class, and more interested in Jayde himself. Though he supposed once things actually started that would change.

He was surprised when Jayde paid for them both. It was a nice gesture, and made him feel like they were truly on a real date. The potter's wheel, simple thought it seemed, looked quite complicated to Harlan. He felt nervous about it, wondered if he might end up getting his hands hurt. Then Jayde was speaking, ever so softly ... but never finished his sentence.

Harlan towards the woman who had interrupted, and smiled a little even if he was frustrated. "Same. I've got to admit I'm nervous." About more than one thing, but he wasn't going to say that aloud. Instead, he shifted closer to Jayde as the woman began to explain how they were going to proceed, and paying particular attention to the safety measures she mentioned. They were working with something mechanical and unfamiliar after all.

Despite his unfamiliarity with the potter's wheel, Jayde grasped the concept quickly so he spent much the of explanation watching Harlan who appeared to be listening with far more intent. Thankfully, the demonstration wasn't long and they soon had their hands in the clay, just getting a feel for it with the young woman's guidance. As someone who learned with his hands, Jayde relaxed a little further at the cool feeling of the clay. "Should I give a try first or do you want to get your hands dirty?" he asked Harlan with a small, teasing smile.

It was apparent that they wouldn't get the hang of this immediately but neither of them would learn before starting. And, of course, there was still the crown jewel of the 'couples class'--working on a large piece with both their hands on the clay together. Cliche, romantic, and hopefully enough to cure Harlan's need for a date and Jayde's lack of human contact.

The clay had a texture unlike anything he'd felt beneath his fingers. Harlan knew he would be finding clay beneath his fingernails for a while to come yet, and kept picking up pieces to play around with. He rolled some around in the palm of his hand, playdough. He nearly dropped it though when Jayde talked, and felt heat sweep across his cheeks as he blushed. "Sure, I'll give it a try."

The woman told him to grab a good amount of clay, and settled him down at the wheel with water nearby. She instructed him to wet his hands, and to just have fun figuring out how the wheel worked, and how the movement of his hands would shape the clay. Of course everything went wrong almost immediately. Harlan tried to do exactly as shown, his hands were strong from playing the guitar so maybe he applied too much pressure ... Why else would clay have flown everywhere, landing mostly on him?

He spluttered a bit; his shoulders slumped. Then he looked at Jayde, even as the woman was reassuring him that accidents were bound to happen when learning a new skill. "Well, I made abstract clay art I guess." Harlan smiled a bit, and then started laughed when he really looked down at the mess he'd made of himself.

Although Jayde watched the proceedings with curiosity, he couldn't stop the brief chuckle that escaped when Harlan first put the clay on the wheel. In a single second, the ball of clay became a slush around their work area, some of it even splattering onto his arm. After wiping it off onto the smocks they'd been given, he tapped the back of Harlan's hand. "I think you have too much aggression. I think she moved her hands a little bit more like..." Pushing the other man's hand into position, Jayde imitated what he'd seen the young woman do, although the wheel wasn't running at this point.

The woman bit back a laugh as she saw it. "Yes, yes, that's right, but make sure to keep the pressure even with each hand and don't try to force it. It's about working with the clay. Ah...would you like to try it together?"

Jayde hummed in agreement as they got a new wad a clay, wet and ready on the wheel. Seated opposite from Harlan, he looked the other man in the eyes. "Are you ready to try it?"

Harlan had to fight hard not to be distracted by Jayde's touch. "I play guitar, so I'm used to putting pressure on the strings. This looks like it takes a bit more ... finesse." Once the new ball of clay was on the machine. the young man took a deep breath and tried to calm his too fast beating heart. Before saying anything about being ready, he stretched his hands out to where they would be when they started. Slowly, he practiced the movements for a couple minutes.

The woman smiled at him encouragingly. "That's exactly right. Now about giving it another try, as a team this time?"

Eyes locking with Jayde's, Harlan finally gave a nod. "Yeah, I guess I'm about ready as I'll ever be. And you?" His hands were poised near the clay, waiting to help shape a piece with the other man's help.

Jayde raised an eyebrow in curiosity when Harlan mentioned playing guitar. It was true that he knew nothing about the other man other than what he could pick up from inside a hotel room but he found the fact rather intriguing. Maybe later he would ask more questions, but the clay was other his hands, telling him this wasn't the time. "I'm ready."

As soon as the wheel started to move again, his let his hands spread out, his thumbs dipping into the center to give the clay shape even as his and Harlan's fingers continued to brush. There was something familiar about this, his entire body attuned to his intuition. Whenever the clay moved too hard, he reacted to keep it stable, moving as if they were one being. "It's like a fist fight," he murmured, his eyes on the clay rather than his surroundings. "You can feel the push and pull. Learn to move with the motion."

It wasn't a particularly deep observation but perhaps under other circumstances, he would have kept it to himself. He would have kept himself far more guarded.

At first, Harlan hesitated to put his hands to the clay. Then, his foot started tapping and the rhythm of the spinning wheel pulled him in. His fingers kept brushing against Jayde's, but he concentrated on that sound instead. Beneath his hands, and Jayde's, something was being shaped. Eyes furrowed with concentration, Harlan kept tapping his foot and was startled to hear Jayde mention fist fights. Then he smiled, calming himself.

"And I guess dancing must be a little like that too, not that I do more than dance at clubs sometimes." He could think of something else which required a certain give and take, but didn't want to mention it in front of the instructor. Besides, it was very difficult not to think of the times he'd spent with Jayde in hotels, since it was all they'd shared before that very day.

"Hm, I don't enjoy dancing so I'm not sure about that. I'm sure you have some sense of rhythm though." Jayde smiled the faintest bit. He didn't know Harlan well, but listening to him tap his foot as they finally got the hang of the clay made that statement seem very believable. He found himself watching the other man, curious. Did Harlan really have romantic feelings for him, even with all the mystery he'd placed around his life? It was just so strange.

When the conversation lulled into an awkward silence and the clay pot had started to grow squat with a wide hole in the middle, the young instructor cleared her throat. "Um...you should try to build it higher..."

Jayde snapped his gaze to the side, suddenly on guard at the interruption. It left his arm muscles tensing and the clay tilting dangerously to the side. In another second, it would probably be splattered around them once again.

Even the faintest of smiles from Jayde, purposefully directed at him, sent Harlan's heart fluttering. The brown haired man couldn't help but smile in return, while doing his best to try and make some contribution to shaping the clay beneath their hands. He surely got at least a little bit distracted from the task at hand, enough that their instructor felt like she had to speak up.

He was surprised by the sudden tension in Jayde. Harlan could feel it beneath his hands as he reached out to cover Jayde's with his own, in an attempt to guide their creation back up an into a more proper shape. It mattered to him, so much, to have a competed piece at the end of their date. He knew it was cheesy, goofy even, but to have a physical representation of their wobbly imperfect beginnings felt so right.

Even Jayde expected himself to snatch his hands away when Harlan laid his over them. However, he found some of the tension sliding away again. He'd grown tense in the first place because his thoughts took him to some unguarded, dangerous place. The woman brought him back to reality, reminding him that they...that he was not alone. And yet, just one look in Harlan's eyes had the same lull washing over him. Was it worth it though?

After he recovered the clay, Jayde carefully started to guide both their hands up the clay's surface into something more suited to a pot. "Thank you, Harlan. I just got distracted for a second." Turning his gaze back to their attendee, he raised one of his eyebrows. "How high should we build this? I'm afraid that it will topple if we do this for much longer." One or the other them would lose their focus. And perhaps, Jayde was better suited for clandestine meetings at night after all.

The young instructor guided them through the process, while Harlan tried not to think too much about just how wonderful it was to be spending time with Jayde. He had a smile plastered on his face, and he didn't even care that it probably looked a bit silly. It was also a wonderful feeling to think that the ball of clay they had begun with had turned into something entirely different. It had transformed beneath their combined hands into a pot!

"Wonderful!" They instructor was all smiles. She probably felt relieved that the pair had managed to make something during their class. "Now just initial your piece, and then I'll put it in the back with the other pieces that will need firing, which should happen sometime this week."

Harlan leaned away from the pottery wheel as it came to a slow stop and stretched. "So that was different, and fun. But man, do I need a shower!" The young man tugged at a piece of clay stuck in his hair with a rueful smile.

Jayde nodded as he sat back in his own seat. It felt like a spell broke between them once the wheel stopped spinning. That comfortable bubble created by their hands ended with the finishing of the pot. "You are a bit messy," he mused, a half smile on his face even as he moved back, folding up the smock with military precision. "I wouldn't mind doing this again sometime though that show does sound nice." He had drying clay up to his elbows as well but he'd otherwise managed to keep most of the material off of himself besides a few globs on his pants. However, that wasn't the only thought he had when Harlan mentioned a shower.

Once they had signed their pot and washed their arms off in the large metal sinks, they walked back out into the dying sunshine of early evening. It left Jayde stretching, his eyes darting over the streets on instinct. Seemed fine. "So...do you have plans after this?"

Harlan slipped his smock off with impatience, and folded it up without being overly neat about it. His eyes kept wandering to Jayde, even as he washed dried clay from his hands. There were some splotches of it on his face too, on his pants and somehow on his shirt. Harlan had no idea how that had happened! He was still trying to puzzle it out as they walked outside. The sky was beautiful; Harlan took a moment to stare up at it before turning to Jayde with a michevious grin. "I don't have any plans at all. Did you have something in mind?" A spark of interest lit Harlan's eyes, and he deliberately let his gaze rove over the other man with obvious hunger.

Jayde flicked his eyes over Harlan, his lips quirking up just the slightest bit more. "I did, if you're interested. The dating thing is nice and all but no one said we had to give up on our usual arrangement, right?" He knew his eyes sparked with the same hunger he saw on Harlan's face, even as a thrill of excitement went through him. He might have relaxed in a way he found entirely foreign earlier but nothing bit the hole that being together filled inside of him. The touch of another body so close, the sound of a voice in his ear...he always longed for that kind of cure to his loneliness.

Offering one hand, he moved to pull Harlan down the street. "In fact, I think there's a hotel just a street over..."