Arin's Assistant.

Between Us Two

There was something primal in me, something that I couldn’t ignore. I was unsure what caused this feeling deep within my core, but I couldn’t ignore it.

I stood up, somewhat nervous for Arin to push me out of the office, but when I noticed he wasn’t in there I pouted.

Where in the hell could he be?

I heard laughing and yelling from the recording room. This was going to be tricky. I could let Dan figure out what was happening between Arin and me, but I needed Arin to get the hint.

I slowly walked into the room, not to make a single noise. Dan completely ruined my plan as soon as he looked at me.

“Hey! Arin’s assistant Miranda! Come help us with this. Arin and I are too dumb to figure it out.” With a hop, I jumped over the wires and glanced at the screen.

“Yeah,” Arin’s eyes softly greeted me and my heart throbbed painfully in my chest. He is so handsome, his face in person looked so different on screen.

Not that Arin wasn’t photogenic, but there was something about his demeanor and personality that made him the most attractive.

Arin clipped his mic onto my shirt and I pointed to the corner of the screen.

“Did you try to jump here and then double jump there?”

“No, I don’t think that would work.” Arin leaned into my chest to speak into the mic.

“Well, then why even ask me?” I clipped the microphone back onto Arin’s shirt and Dan laughed wistfully.

Arin groaned and did as I suggested, passing the level easily. Dan laughed louder.

“Yeah, I don’t think that’s going to work, Arin!” I arched my brow towards Arin and he pouted, his lips more than kissable.

“Next time on Game Grumps.” Arin tossed the controller down and stood up for Allie to help get the microphones off of them and for the rest of the crew to disband.

I was always terrible with names, and now that I was in Arin’s territory, I felt less confident.

While Arin and Dan wrapped up, and everyone talked amongst themselves, the room distracted me from my original purpose. My attention is drawn by the various trinkets and objects around the room.

I was often alone, so I learned how to entertain myself. My fingers trailed over random items that I’d never seen before. I was a few years younger than Arin, and some of these things happened before I was born.

My eyes focused on a Tamagotchi and I excitedly grabbed it. The digital animal was very well taken care of.

“Can I help you?” Arin’s voice crashed my train of thought and I nearly jumped out of my skin.

“Oh, no. Sorry.” I placed the small plastic technology back where it was and I cleared my throat.

“Did you need something, or did you just come to crash the recording session?” Arin brushed his hair back and pulled it into his normal updo.

“Stretching my legs. I’ve been working with finance and legal all day.” Arin’s warmth radiated off his body, and there was just a question that I couldn’t shake.

‘Why is he the way he is?’

Arin turned back to call Dan’s attention.

“Are you hungry?”

“Oh. I could eat a whole cow.” Dan’s hands rubbed his stomach and Arin turned back to me.

“Do you want to come with?” Arin never asked me to lunch, and part of me really wanted to go, but I just didn’t feel right.

“No, you guys deserve to have fun and relax.”

“Oh yeah, playing video games all afternoon is such a hard job.” The corner of Arin’s lips pulled into a soft smirk. My face fell hot, but it was noticeably warmer with the extra bodies.

“Suit yourself.” Dan walked up to Arin, his attention drawn to his phone. He placed his hand against Arin’s shoulder.

“Let’s go, Baby.” Arin and Dan walked together through the door, their laughs bounced off of each other and I thought for a moment.

Maybe this was all in my head, maybe I should just go back to my office and ignore the feelings that danced in my head.

Everyone else spoke amongst themselves as I walked through the group office. My work is more on my mind than Arin is at the moment.

With a legal pad in hand, I jotted down a few things that needed to be done. I drafted a few emails for the p*****n for the one-dollar tier, and the whit and sarcasm dripped from my pen.

A soft giggle was emitted into the air as I finished up this month’s email and moved on to the next email. My mind traveled a million miles per minute.

I pulled out my phone to see a message from Arin, a picture of him in the car with Dan. Should I respond? Maybe a simple lol, but it wasn’t a funny photo. It was a handsome one, and without thinking, I pressed down on the photo and saved it to my photo gallery before I went onto my calendar.

The video release dates and recording dates were shared with everyone, and considering I’m in charge of making Arin’s schedule, I wanted to make sure the p*****n was up to date.

The next month's email was more tricky, and my brain stalled. What would Dan and Arin say after they lost a dollar?

‘Hello dear [fan name],

We were going to pay you back, no seriously! What happened was, that Dan really wanted a plastic dinosaur and we were a dollar short. Maybe we’ll get you back next month.’

As I worked on various emails and then scanned them in with my phone, someone touched my back and so I jumped up from the chair I had been sitting in.

“Woah, calm down. It’s just me.” Arin placed a Baja blast in front of my face and pulled a chair out in front of me. The break room was beyond quiet, it was unnaturally quiet.

“Thanks.”

The silence was a bit louder than I wanted it to be, but luckily Arin spoke up again.

“Are those the emails for the p*****n?” He shoved a cheesy Gordita crunch into his mouth and nearly fit the whole thing in there.

“Yeah. I’m almost done with the rest of the year’s emails.” Arin picked up a straw from the bag in front of him and opened it up to slip it into my drink for me.

Naturally, I could feel my face heat up and I coughed to hide my face from view. I picked up my drink and kept my head down until I could feel the temperature even out on my face.

“That’s some good work. Did you speak with the manufacturers about the limited underwear merch?” I flipped my notepad to an earlier page that had a design idea on it for the line.

“I did, and they are super nice. They sent a sample of their different underwear styles.”

“Sweet. Where are they?” He reached back into the bag and pulled out nacho fries and the cheese sauce that came along with them.

“Want some?” He flipped the fries around and I waved them off.

“They are in your office, but didn’t Dan want chicken?”

“He did, but I convinced him to go to Taco Bell instead. Did they send both men and women?” I nodded my head in understanding, we shared a bathroom on this side of the building and I knew this wouldn’t end well for those who had to deal with this meal decision.

“I didn’t open the box, I figured that would be something you and Dan would want to do together.” Arin smiled, his hair mainly pulled away from his face aside from a few pieces.

His smile warmed my heart, and I couldn’t stop myself from smiling back.

“Yeah, I totally want Dan to try on the panties and tell me how comfortable they are.” He laughed, the vibrations rattled me a bit, but I was now cursed with a mental image of Dan in women’s underwear.

“Thank you for that cursed image.” I took another sip from my cup and watched Arin inhale his fries.

“That’s a 'you problem',” While Arin could be an asshole, he’s really mellowed out over the past few weeks.

His energy just felt different and I couldn’t put my finger on it.

“I guess it is.” Arin smashed the bag and the trash inside of it before he tried to toss it into the garbage bin.

It hit the rim before it bounced off. My snickers cause Arin to toss me an unamused glare.

“What? You’re white, basketball is not your thing.”

“Fine, let me try again. If I do it, you owe me.” I agreed with a nod. Arin stood back over where he was sitting and tossed the crushed bowl bag over my head. Somehow, it magically made it into the bin.

“Suck on that!” I crossed my arms over my chest and pouted in defeat.

“Whatever.” I grabbed my legal pad and drank before Arin and I walked over to our workspace. I walked over to my desk and decided to go back to work as Arin opened up the box of sample underwear.

“Holy s**t, this is a lot.” Arin grabbed a fist full of fabric and noticed a neon pink thong that he picked up with his free hand.

“Would you ever wear something like this, Miranda?” I turned my gaze from the screen and my mouth hung open from the delicate lace in Arin’s hand.

“I don’t think I’d have the confidence to.”

“What? What do you mean no confidence? It’s just underwear.” I shook my head and got up from my chair.

“No, that’s underwear you wear when you are trying to impress the person you’re going to fuck.” I took the neon lace in between my fingers and sighed. I could never wear something this cute.

“Would you wear something like this for me?” His voice was much softer, and he stepped closer to me, the space between us almost non-existent.

“It wouldn’t look good.” I handed the panties back to him and he shook his head slowly with his brows furrowed.

“What do you mean? These would be so sexy on you.” I walked over to the box and looked through the different types.

I pulled out more Lacey ones, some that had really nice details, others that looked more comfortable, and others that provided support.

“You’ve never seen me fully naked, you don’t know that.” I separated different ones and then moved on to the men’s. “These are cute.” I pulled out short boxer briefs and showed them to Arin.

“Would you wear these for me?’ Arin’s face turned red as he rubbed his facial hair.

“I have a dad bod,” he rubbed his stomach and I couldn’t help but let out a laugh. I guess Arin did tell me that he had a few insecurities.

Maybe we weren’t too different.

“I’ll wear this one,” I picked the pink fabric from his grasp. “If you wear these.” I replaced it with the boxers I had in my hand.

“Deal.” I smiled and walked my way to the restroom. The lights flicked on and my reflection in the mirror made me feel more self-conscious.

I slowly removed my clothes and thanked myself for wearing a nude bra today.

I slipped off my pants and underwear before I pulled the new pair on. I grimaced at how I looked but decided to just deal with it. Arin obviously wanted to see me in this.

I turned and exhaled a deep breath before I turned the knob and walked out. My eyes were shut tightly as I stepped into the light.

“Wow.” Arin’s voice was low once more, his presence appeared closer and I felt his hands on my waist as he pulled me closer. His fingertips brushed against the bottom of my stomach, and I resisted the urge to pull away.

“You’re not grossed out?” His hand trailed up from my belly button to my chin, to lift it up.

“Open your eyes.” I did as I was told and looked up into his eyes. His facial features were normally so sharp, but this close, everything seemed softer. His breath on my lips made my face flush.

“Can I kiss you?” He got closer and I nodded shyly. His lips connected to mine as he pulled me closer. His facial hair felt rough against my skin, but something about it felt so familiar.

He pulled back and I ran my fingers against the stubble on his face.

“You look so god damn amazing.” He pulled me over to the couch and I straddled his thighs as I sat on his lap.

“You’re sweet when you want to be,” I whispered. Arin wrapped his arms around my waist and leaned in to kiss me again.

The kiss turned into a slow make-out session as his tongue poked at my bottom lip, and I opened up to let him in.

He tasted like his lunch, but I didn’t mind it. I ran my fingers through his hair as we kissed passionately.

I had never been kissed so delicately before, almost as if Arin was scared to be rough with me. His lips trailed down my neck and across my collarbone.

“So soft.” He muttered, barely loud enough to hear.

“It’s been so long since I’ve held someone like this.” He admitted, his face red once more. He looked to embarrassed and it was genuinely cute.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been held like this.” I pushed some of his hair behind his ear and kissed his cheek, my nose rubbed against his as I went from kissing his cheek to his lips again.

“Can we just stay like this then?” He rubbed my back and I laid my head down on his shoulder.

“As long as you like.” He sighed contently and tightened the hold he had on me.

“I don’t know if I could ever get used to having someone as beautiful as you in my life. I’ve never met anyone like you.” His words made me blush wildly, and I lightly pushed him.

“You flatter me too much.” I tried to push it off, but Arin wouldn’t let it slide.

“I'm serious. You’re way too pretty to be seen with someone like me.” I frowned and shook my head as I pressed my forehead to his.

“No, that’s not true.”

“Yes is it, I’m a dirty old man at best. Everyone knows it. Dan and Ross point out the gross stuff I do all the time. I mean, did you not see how sweaty I was yesterday?” I laid my hands on his cheeks and squished them until his lips pursed out and he looked like a fish.

“Arin, I’m just as gross. During my really bad depressive period, I barely showered or brushed my teeth. I smelled like weed and sweat constantly. I don’t judge anyone by their appearance or how they just naturally are.” Arin’s expression changed and he looked at me with a serious gaze.

“Are you okay now?” I smiled weakly.

“I’m better than before.” Arin pulled me for a deep kiss, my breath hitched in my throat and he laid me down on the couch.

“If you feel yourself getting bad again, will you talk to me?” Arin looked concerned and I couldn’t blame him, I knew he took mental health and depression seriously.

“I will try, but don’t worry about me.”

“Too late. I care about you too much now.” His admission made my heart skip a beat in my chest. His expression didn’t change and I pulled him in this time for a kiss. We kissed until we had to pull away for air, only to return our lips to each others. Tongues fought against each other before we became steady in our patterns.

We learned each other’s natural groove and lay there kissing for what felt like hours before someone knocked on the door.

“Arin, we need to start the next recording session,” Dan called out. Arin groaned and sat up on the couch.

“Be right there. I’m jacking it right now.” He spoke calmly before Dan replied.

“WITHOUT ME?!” It took everything in me to not laugh. Arin got up and quickly got dressed before he leaned back down to me to plant a kiss on my forehead.

“See you later?” He asked with a sweet smile. I nodded and reached out to give his hand a squeeze before I got up to make a B-line for the bathroom for my clothes.

The office door opened and Dan made comments about how rude it was for Arin to Jack off without inviting him before the two men left with the door wide open.

If only Dan knew what was really going on, but what was going on?

What was happening between Arin and I? And was it going to end up okay?