Chapter 24
Zeke
I’d never had sake before tonight, but it’s good. Really good. And the little tiny cups you use to drink it make it hard to keep up with how much you’ve actually consumed. It feels like I’ve barely had any, but when my lips begin to tingle, I cut myself off.
Dinner passes at a relaxed pace. Talon and I talk about everything from our favorite dog breeds to our political views, all while staying connected from our thighs to our shoes.
When the bill comes, I don’t argue, but simply rest my chin on Talon’s shoulder.
“Thank you. This was wonderful.”
“The pleasure’s all mine,” he says, turning to kiss me right here in public.
When his card is returned, he holds my jacket open for me, places his hand at the small of my back, and guides me from the restaurant.
Despite loving theater, having a slight build and a face often described as pretty, and being a gay man, I’m not feminine, but I can’t help but feel like a fucking princess with Talon’s giant hand on me as he protectively claims me tonight.
After Derek, I never thought I’d want to be claimed again.
The idea was repulsive. But now I know: being claimed is nice; being controlled is not.
As Talon and I carefully start our descent down the icy stairs of the shopping center, I slip and grab hold of him. He chuckles and wraps his arm around my waist.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have ordered that third bottle of sake,” he teases, keeping a tight hold on me.
I’m enjoying the feel of being pressed against him like this when a familiar voice makes my blood run as cold as the night air around us.
“Thought you said nothing was going on between you two.”
Instinctively, I burrow further into Talon, trying to escape the sound clawing at my brain.
“Nothing was,” I say against my will. Years of being conditioned to answer Derek when he speaks make the comment spill from my lips.
Derek snorts, looking pointedly at Talon’s arm thrown protectively across my waist.
“Yeah, sure seems like it.”
“You’re not supposed to be within five hundred yards of him,” Talon says, stepping in front of me.
“Well, considering I can’t track his fucking phone anymore, how the hell am I supposed to know where he is?” Derek spits.
“I’ll tell you exactly where he is. He’s with me. Where he belongs,” Talon fires back.
I want to tell him to let it go, but I’m frozen in place. Coming out of survival mode has made me vulnerable, and being face-to-face with Derek again is short-circuiting my brain.
Thankfully, Talon’s ready to walk away.
“Come on, baby. Let’s go.”
Before we can take a step, though, Derek’s blocking our path. Looking at Talon with a sneer, he asks, “Does he bend over to pay rent for you, too?”
“Move,” Talon says through gritted teeth, and I know he’s barely able to keep the lid on his anger. If Derek were smarter, he’d sense it as well.
Talon is a lot bigger than Derek, but Derek has always thought he was invincible for some reason—guess it’s because people like me let him get away with it—and he keeps running his mouth, getting closer to me with every word.
“You’ll come running back to me soon, Buttercup.
You really think he won’t get tired of having to pay for your ass all the time?
Look at him and look at you. He’ll get tired of slumming it and kick you to the curb when the next best thing comes along.
And when you have nowhere else to turn, you know I’m always willing to give that ass what it n—”
Before I can even process the words, Talon’s fist connects with Derek’s face. The force of the punch is so hard that it knocks him off balance. Derek falls backwards, losing his footing on the icy stairs, and his head makes a sickening thud as he lands.
What’s worse is the trail of blood that begins seeping into the snow around his still form.
“Fuck!” Talon says, pulling his phone from his pocket.
I assume his first call is to 9-1-1, but then I hear him say, “I need you to come get Zeke. We’re at the Starlight Square shopping center.
I have something I need to take care of, and I don’t want him to be alone right now.
” Before I can ask any questions, Talon makes the call to 9-1-1, and once he hangs up with them, he pulls a card from his wallet and dials another number.
“Officer Michaels, this is Talon Devereaux. Can you meet me at the hospital?” He pauses and then says, “Zeke is fine, but we had a run-in with his ex, who now most likely has a severe concussion if not something worse and is bleeding.” Another pause, and then he says, “Because I punched him in the face.”
When Talon gets off the phone for the last time, I find my voice as he kneels in the snow, checking to make sure Derek is still breathing.
“Who did you call first?” I ask.
“Rebecca.”
Pulling out my phone, I send her a text while I talk to Talon.
“I’m not leaving you.”
“Zeke, you don’t need—”
“No, Talon. You don’t get to make this choice for me. I’m not leaving your side. There are no other witnesses. It’s your word against his, and it’s dangerous to underestimate his ability to manipulate a situation.”
“I’m sorry,” Talon says. “For losing my temper and for putting you in this position.” In the distance, sirens wail.
Ah, the joys of a small town. “I’m terrified of messing this up, or having it taken away, but I also know I can’t smother you and expect you to stay,” he confesses as he carefully cradles Derek’s head, using his jacket to staunch the flow of blood.
Honestly, it’s more than Derek deserves.
A few minutes later, my ex is loaded into the ambulance, and Talon and I follow in the Range Rover. We’re greeted by Officer Michaels as we enter the emergency room.
“I have to admit, I hoped I’d never see either of you again.”
Talon nods.
“With all due respect, I feel the same. I’m happy to give a statement, pay for his medical treatment, whatever needs to be done,” Talon says.
Part of me is angry that he would make such an offer until I remember the words he said to me earlier.
‘While I would help anyone in your situation, I wouldn’t move into a hospital room for just anyone. I wouldn’t offer my own home to just anyone. And I certainly wouldn’t risk upsetting my parents and potentially creating problems for my company for just anyone. I’d only do those things for you.’
I can’t hold Talon’s compassionate nature against him, so instead, I squeeze his hand to let him know I’m here and I support him, even if it’s not quite how I’d have chosen to handle things.
“It was an accident,” Talon adds.
Officer Michaels raises a brow.
“Punching him in the face was an accident?” he repeats with skepticism.
“Oh, no,” Talon clarifies. “Punching him in the face was on purpose. His fall was an accident. I didn’t expect him to lose his balance.”
“Mmm,” Officer Michaels hums.
Talon and I give our official statements to Officer Michaels, who then disappears through the doors that lead toward the patient rooms.
Unsure what to do next, Talon and I take seats in the waiting room for news of Derek’s condition. Talon’s leg bounces with nerves the entire time.
“Hey, it’s going to be okay,” I tell him, even though I have no clue if that’s true.
He smiles, but it’s drawn tight, and I can’t help but wonder if he’s already regretting this thing between us.
Our path has been anything but conventional.
Not that I’d even know what conventional is, but I doubt most relationships start by thinking your boss is a straight waiter who rescues you after being beaten to a bloody pulp, only to discover that he might be a little gay for you and moves you into his million-dollar home.
But hey, what the hell? Nothing in my life has been normal. Why should my relationships be any different?
“How are you holding up?” he asks.
“I’m fine; just worried about you. Worried about us. This is a lot for a new relationship,” I tell him, attempting to communicate well.
“We’re going to be okay,” he says confidently. “Come here.” Talon puts his arm across the back of my shoulders, pulling me into his side, where I stay until Officer Michaels makes another appearance.
“Well, Mr. Palmer was ready to file all kinds of charges until I showed him the pictures I still have on my phone from my last trip to this emergency room. I reminded him that he violated that protective order the second he opened his mouth and took a step toward you, Zeke. I also may have let it slip that if he didn’t press charges, his ambulance ride and ER visit would be covered, but if he went a different route, I’d personally see to it that his bill, along with your surgical one, found its way to him. ”
Talon smiles and shakes the man’s hand.
“Thank you. I promise, you’ll get no more trouble out of us,” Talon says.
“I think it’s safe to say Mr. Palmer won’t be causing any more trouble, either. It’s been my experience that when the dogs with the loudest bark finally get bitten, they tend to go quiet,” he says reassuringly. “You two enjoy your night.”
Talon leaves his information with the nurse to make sure he receives the bill, and when we get back in his SUV, it’s almost eleven. It’s been a brutal night of highs and lows, but it seems my chapter with Derek is finally closed, and I couldn’t be happier about that.
“I want a redo,” Talon says, breaking the silence.
“What?”
“A redo. On our first date. Where I punch no one. And no cops are called. And you get the special treatment you deserve without a run-in with your shitty ex and without your current boyfriend going apeshit,” he clarifies.
“Boyfriend?” I ask. We hadn’t really defined things, and I didn’t want to presume.
Talon scrubs a hand across the back of his neck and gives a nervous laugh.
“Did I fuck that up, too? I mean, I’m happy to ask formally. I just figured, you know, with sleeping in the same bed and coming on you twice now, that it kind of made us a thing. Unless it’s too soon,” he adds quickly. “I’m not so great at casual hookups, but I can try. I just need to know—”
“Talon, I’d be honored to be your boyfriend,” I say, putting him out of his misery.
“Yeah?” he asks with a smile and a sigh of relief.
“Yeah.”