Chapter 16 Damian
DAMIAN
I’m on cloud nine. Cloud ten. Maybe I’m just in heaven?
I’ve floated through my lectures, not taking in a word, even managing to zone out so badly that I wake up in a third-year psych class.
All I can think about is Kit. My Kit. His shy smile, his perfect lips, and the way his tight ass felt around my cock.
Last night was the best of my life, and not because of the sex.
Kit loves me back! And everything is brighter because of it.
I’m home before Kit tonight. He’s hired out a rehearsal space to prepare for his choreography practical…
dance… study thing? I never know what to call it.
But whatever he’s doing, it’s getting graded soon, and he woke up at three A.M. this morning, struck by inspiration for some floor work that just had to be added.
Now, while I might be starting my evening without Kit, I’m going to use my time alone wisely.
I’m going to draw him a steaming bath, order in some sushi, and Google how to give a kickass back massage.
He’ll need to be taken care of after all that stretching and limbering, after all.
And if my hands creep down a bit further than they should, I’m sure neither of us will complain.
I chuck my puffer jacket in our cloakroom under the stairs, kick off my trainers, and run to my room to get started. I’m in such a hurry that I fail to notice the warm yellow light spilling into the hallway from my dad’s study.
“Damian.” His deep voice catches me as I pass Kit’s room. “Come in here for a moment.”
I check the time on my phone. Dad’s never home this early. What’s he doing back? I push past the heavy door to see what he wants. Hopefully, this will only be a quick chat, because I can’t remember where Kit keeps those fancy bath salts he likes, and I want to find them before he gets here.
“Hey, Dad. You’re back early,” I say, picking through the pens in his stationery pot. He still uses the terracotta monstrosity I made for him in junior school.
“Sit down, Damian.” His tone stops me dead. He nods to the chair in front of his desk, and I quickly drop onto the firm leather as I’m told.
His steel grey brows are furrowed, his fingers steepled against his pursed lips as he stares at me from behind his desk. A dark sense of foreboding creeps over me.
I’ve never been called into Dad’s office before.
I’ve always been a good kid. He’s never had to scold me or raise his voice to keep me in line.
In fact, I would go as far as to say Dad doesn’t have it in him.
I can count on one hand the number of times we’ve had to have words.
That’s how I know something is very wrong.
My blood runs cold.
There’s only one thing I’ve been doing that he might disapprove of.
Does he know? Has he found out what Kit and I have been doing behind his back?
Fuck, what if he has? We always knew we’d have to tell our parents eventually, but not for a while, not until we had enough time behind us to prove to them that this is real.
My pulse kicks up so violently that the adrenaline starts to sting in my veins. What if he stops us from seeing each other? Forbids it? I wouldn’t cope. I need Kit. I need him more than I need anything else.
“What’s wrong, Dad?” I ask quietly, barely managing to keep my voice level. “You look as if someone’s died.”
“No, nothing’s wrong,” he reassures me, even when his expression says the opposite. “I just wanted to talk about your future. You’re a young man now, Damian. You’re not a child anymore.”
I blow out a juddery breath, relief washing over me. He’s not found out about Kit and me. We’re safe. Kit’s safe.
“Sure, what do you want to talk about? My course is going well, and I’m still on track for a first. Oh, and thanks for setting me up with Stalk.
I reckon I can wrangle an internship with him over the summer.
You know,” I laugh, collapsing back in Dad’s ridiculously uncomfortable chair.
“You had me worried there for a second. You look so serious.”
“Well, this is serious, son. I’m concerned about your outlook. When I was your age, I was already out in the world, making my mark and finding my own way.”
“I know,” I say, nodding along. I’ve heard the speech. He’s a self-made man, given blood, sweat and tears for everything we have, etcetera, etcetera. And I’m grateful. I just don’t have time for a reprise when Kit’ll be home in less than an hour.
Dad watches me closely, rubbing his fingertips over his chin while he considers his next words. “Damian, I think the time’s come for you to do the same.”
My brows crease, mirroring Dad’s exactly as I work out what he’s trying to say.
“What do you mean? Do you want me to look for a job? Try to get an internship with Stalk sooner?”
“No, son. I think it’s time we cut the apron strings,” he says firmly.
“You’ve had everything handed to you on a plate, and now, you expect everything to just land in your lap.
And I know it’s my fault. I wanted you to have the start in life that I had to work so hard for.
But maybe you’ve had it too easy. You’ve never had to graft. ”
I don’t know what to say. I can only blink, dumbfounded as my father berates me for the first time in my life. I’ve always done everything I’m told, everything he’s ever asked of me, so I’m not exactly sure how to react.
“Take the gala at The Lancaster, for example. You’d rather spend all your time with Kit than work the room.
When I was your age, I’d have been fighting for every introduction I could get.
And you? You didn’t even lift a finger, and you were connected with the most powerful man in London within minutes.
You don’t understand how lucky you are. Damian, I’m not always going to be here to push you in the right direction.
You need to be able to make your own way, starting now. ”
“Dad… I… ?” I’m still speechless. My head’s working overtime to tease out what he’s really trying to say. In the end, I figure it’s just easier to ask him outright. “What do you want me to do?”
“As of today, you’re an adult. I’ll still be here for you, but you’re to try things on your own first. Now, I’m not a heartless bastard.
I’ve deposited some money into your bank account to get you started.
It’s enough for a good deposit on a flat and to get yourself set up in London.
I want you to find an internship as soon as you can, and when you do, I’ll add an allowance to the account so that you don’t have to work around your degree.
“This will be good for you, Damian. It’ll make a man out of you,” he says resolutely. Perhaps if he says it enough, I’ll start to believe it.
I feel shellshocked. I thought I was already an adult, but boy, was I wrong. My childhood just ended, just like that.
“Okay, I’ll start looking for places tonight,” I say shakily.
“No, son. The time to start proving yourself is now. My father turfed me out the second I left school, and it’s time I did the same to you. Tonight, I want you to take what you need from your room and show me you can figure things out on your own.”
“You’re kicking me out?” I croak.
“I know you’ll make it, Damian,” he says, opening his laptop. “Go on, get out of here and make me proud.”
“But… But what about Kit?” My panic reaches new heights. My stepbrother’s only a few months younger than me. Is he about to be chucked out, too?
My dad’s cold eyes snap to mine. “Kit isn’t your concern, Damian. I will be looking after him from now on. You’d better get going if you want to find somewhere to stay tonight. Be gone in the next half hour, or I might rethink my generosity.”
The cruelty in his words knocks me from my chair, and I scramble from the room as fast as my legs will take me.
Tears prickle at my lashes, threatening to spill with every hurried step I take.
I stumble unseeingly into my room and pack an overnight bag on autopilot, cramming an array of useless things into my backpack before fleeing the house and driving into the night.
My only thoughts are of Kit and how he’ll take this. All I want to do is pick up the phone to him and sob, pour out my broken heart so that he can help me pick up the pieces. But no, I can’t break the news to him now, not when he’s about to get in his car and drive home.
Instead, I call the only other person in my life I trust. At first, I think I’m going to be sent to voicemail, every passing unanswered ring another stab to my chest. Then, Jasper answers, and his calm, familiar voice goes some way to settling the panic in my chest.
“Hey, mate. What’s up? It’s not like you to actually call,” he says, clearly through a mouthful of food.
“Jasper,” I say, my voice cracking. “Jasper, I… I think my dad just kicked me out.”