Chapter 5 - Promises #2
Adathan sat up. “I won’t disappoint you.”
William hoped he wouldn’t put too much pressure on himself. Maybe he should have thought this through before giving Adathan an order.
A knock on the door cut his worries short. William motioned for Adathan to stay in bed as he went to let the hotel staff in.
The impeccably dressed man got to work with impressive efficiency and, in no more than five minutes, had eliminated all evidence of Adathan’s unsatisfactory fine motor skills.
He left with the trolley of dirty dishes and William’s sweater—along with some of the tension that had settled into the room.
William barely had time to go to the bathroom before there was another knock on the door. He stepped into the corridor and rolled in a new trolley, this one loaded with enough carbs to put them both in a food coma.
“Champagne?” He looked over his shoulder, pleased to find Adathan taking a seat at the table of his own volition.
“Of course,” Adathan said with a flourish of his hand. “We can’t really celebrate without champagne now, can we?” His half-lidded eyes crinkled at the corners, sparkling with quiet assurance as he held William’s gaze.
William’s brain lagged. He hadn’t expected Adathan’s demeanor to shift so drastically.
A slow, self-satisfied smile grew across Adathan’s lips, making William all too aware of the heat creeping up the back of his own neck.
It’s all fake, he reminded himself as he poured them both some champagne. Adathan was pretending to be someone else—someone William’s body reacted to, apparently.
He placed the bottle back in the bucket of ice and grabbed two sets of utensils and cloth napkins. The hotel staff had, unsurprisingly, provided eight. William didn’t even know that many people he’d like to have dessert with.
“Do you need help?” Adathan asked.
William lifted the metal lids from two plates, the aromas of caramelized nuts and rich chocolate making his mouth water as he uncovered three bite-sized pecan tartlets and a lava cake. “Nope.”
“Good. Because I had no intention of offering.”
William blinked, snorting in surprise. He glanced at Adathan, then broke eye contact so fast it was almost embarrassing. He set the plates on the table a little too hard and grabbed two more—cheesecake and macarons—trying to act normal before his body gave him away.
There were still more plates in the trolley, but the table was getting crowded, so William took a seat.
“To your victory,” Adathan said, raising his champagne flute for a toast.
William did the same. “To your graduation.” He took a sip and closed his eyes as the effervescent liquid glided across his tongue, leaving in its wake notes of citrus and hazelnut.
He had no idea champagne could be so smooth and creamy.
To be fair, all he’d ever drunk was cheap sparkling wine from the grocery store.
Adathan hummed pensively as he studied the selection of desserts. “Everything looks so delicious. I don’t know where to begin.”
“I say we try the lava cake first. If we’re lucky, it’ll still be warm.”
Adathan pointed his spoon at him. “Clever.”
“They don’t call me a genius for nothing,” William joked tentatively.
Adathan’s smile turned mischievous. “Who’s they? Your mom?”
William gasped, his face alternating between shock and amusement at Adathan’s quip. “That’s it”—he snatched the plate—“no cake for you.”
“Aww,” Adathan uttered with a pout. “But—but—I’ve never had lava cake before.”
“Never?”
Adathan shook his head, his big puppy eyes going straight to William’s heart.
William dropped the act and slid the plate back to the center of the table. “You’ve gotta try this.”
Adathan also dropped the act—the mock-act?—and carefully plunged his spoon into the cake, releasing a molten river of chocolate. He scooped some up and brought the spoon to his mouth, but the cake slipped before it reached his lips, landing on the table with a soft plop.
Shit.
William mentally kicked himself for not realizing it’d be difficult for Adathan to eat with his injured, non-dominant hand. “Here,” he said as he offered his own bite.
Adathan stared at his dropped cake for a second too long before opening his mouth wide.
William’s heart squeezed in embarrassment—it hadn’t been his intention to spoon-feed him. He had no desire to tell Adathan he’d assumed wrong, though, so he closed the remaining distance to his mouth, hiding his discomfort.
Adathan pressed his lips against William’s spoon and hummed as he sucked it clean. He held William’s gaze as he pulled away, his tongue peeking out and languidly traveling across his lips.
William urgently took a bite, the moist, decadent cake nearly distracting him from the heat that had once again crept up his neck. He grabbed his napkin and wiped the table, erasing all evidence of Adathan’s clumsiness.
“Verdict?” William asked.
“Out of this world!”
William slid the cheesecake closer to Adathan, reducing the distance between the food and his mouth to prevent further incidents. He couldn’t care less that Adathan didn’t have the dexterity of a master pianist, but it was obviously something Adathan was worried about—understandably.
“Is it your first time drinking alcohol?” William asked, gauging whether he should give Adathan a refill.
“No. They gave us wine four times a year.”
“Four times a year?”
Adathan took a bite of cheesecake. “Mm-hmm. Every quarter.”
William’s brow furrowed. “Why?”
Adathan scooped a bit of cheesecake and aimed it at William’s mouth. William cringed as he stared at the approaching, slightly trembling spoon.
It was entirely William’s fault. Adathan was merely mirroring his behavior. William would have to be more mindful of what he did from now on.
He leaned forward and accepted Adathan’s offering. The cheesecake was smooth and rich, and just sweet enough to balance the tangy taste of cream cheese. The graham cracker crust and blueberry coulis complemented the cake perfectly. William would remember this for years.
Adathan beamed as he pulled his spoon out of William’s mouth. “To entertain the investors.”
William nearly spat out his bite. “What?”
Adathan chuckled. “I’m kidding.”
William hated that he couldn’t tell whether Adathan was lying. His “person” behavioral mode seemed to have him telling risky jokes, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t a trace of truth behind them. Could it be Adathan’s way of expressing his trauma?
Did Adathan even have a mom?
Adathan gulped down his champagne and slid his empty glass toward William. “It was our reward for having been good.”
“Wine was your reward for having been good?” William echoed with disgust.
Adathan nodded as he took a bite of macaron. “Among other things.”
William wanted to know what Adathan meant, but he was sure he wouldn’t be able to stay calm if he asked.
On one hand, Adathan deserved to spend the rest of the night without having to deal with his anger, but on the other hand, William didn’t like how convenient it would be for him to bury his head in the sand.
He reached for a macaron, watching his hand move as if it belonged to someone else.
Was he being selfish? Or was it exactly what Adathan needed?
This dilemma was all too familiar to him.
He’d faced the same while supporting Oliver during his convalescence.
Even today, William wasn’t always certain whether he should prompt Oliver to talk about his accident or keep his mind off it.
It’s you who gave me the will to keep living.
William took a bite of macaron, barely registering the taste as a lump grew in his throat. All that time he’d been convinced he wasn’t doing enough for Oliver. And yet . . .
William looked up, and in Adathan’s relaxed smile, he found his answer.