Chapter 6 #2
“So did I,” Desmond said, fighting to sound cool instead of like a teenager with his first crush.
“Wanna do it again?” Javier asked with a leonine smile.
“Yes, please,” Desmond answered quickly.
They both laughed. Javier put his mug down and reached across the table for Desmond’s hand. He’d made the same gesture the night before, and Desmond had loved it.
“Just because the concert is over and you’re feeling better doesn’t mean this has to end,” Javier said.
“I was thinking the same thing,” Desmond confessed. “And I would like to see you again.” He slipped his fingers between Javier’s and stroked his thumb over the side of his hand. “I feel as though we barely dipped our toes in the waters of what might be possible between us.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Javier said.
For a few seconds, they just sat there, breakfast between them, grinning like lovesick fools, until Desmond said, “So is this the beginning of something?”
“Beginning?” Javier blinked deliberately. “Honey, we’ve been boyfriends for months now.”
Desmond laughed. “And so we have.” He let go of Javier’s hand so he could take up his fork and finish his breakfast. “So we have.”
They dragged things out as long as they could. Javier helped Desmond clean up after breakfast, then wiped down all the counters as if trying to make their last moments together go on forever. Desmond wouldn’t have been surprised if he offered to reorganize the kitchen cabinets.
“I really should go,” Javier said for the tenth time after the kitchen was clean.
“You have my number,” Desmond reminded him, feeling anxious and hopeful at the same time as he walked Javier down the hall to the front door. “Feel free to use it whenever you’d like.”
“Oh, I will, babydoll, I will,” Javier said, the tone of his voice dropping as they stood beside the door.
With his jacket draped over one arm, Javier reached for Desmond’s face, then stepped closer and brought his mouth slanting down over Desmond’s. It was a goodbye kiss, but it spoke of promise and passion in the future. It was perfect.
“Don’t work too hard,” Javier murmured as he pulled back. He stole one final, quick kiss, then sighed and took a large step back, reaching for the door handle.
“I could say the same for you,” Desmond said. He needed to clear his throat to dislodge the burr that had settled there. “Best of luck with your agency.”
Javier laughed, though there was a bitter edge to it. “We’re going to need all that luck and more,” he said.
They exchanged a few more goodbyes as Javier opened the door and stepped outside.
It was obvious that they were trying to prolong the moment as much as possible, which made Desmond laugh once they finally managed to drag themselves apart.
He waved as Javier walked off down the street, then sighed like a lovesick fool once he stepped back into the house and shut the door, leaning against it for a moment to mark the end of the dream.
Five seconds later, he cursed himself for not offering Javier a ride or even asking how he’d gotten to the Royal Albert Hall on Friday. He could have called up Hassan to take him home or he could have driven himself.
It was too late now, but at least he would have an opportunity to apologize the next time he and Javier met up.
And there would definitely be a next time.
Immediately on the heels of those thoughts, Desmond’s phone buzzed in his back pocket. He pulled it out, then smiled from ear to ear when he saw Javier’s text.
“We’re definitely doing this again. Soon.”
Unable to wipe the smile from his face as he headed back to the sunroom to check on his plants, Des replied with, “Absolutely. I’m free next weekend.”
He hit reply, then immediately panicked. Was it too soon to say that? Should he have drawn things out more? Was Javier going to think he was a needy succubus?
“Dammit, man,” he told himself, deliberately putting his phone on the table in the sunroom and reaching for the watering can. “You’re a partner in one of London’s most prestigious financial firms, not a teenager with a crush.”
His phone buzzed on the table, and he nearly dropped the watering can in his haste to grab it.
“I’m free next weekend, too,” Javier had replied. “I’ll see you then.”
Bubbles of joy fizzed in Desmond’s stomach. High-powered executive be damned. He’d been through enough in life to know what he wanted, and what he wanted was the gorgeous, bright model with a beautiful soul who had turned his world inside out with perfection over the last few days.
He sent Javier a single red heart emoji, then put his phone back on the table and resumed his plant check with a smile on his face.
Things would work out, he told himself. Two days, and already Javier had made him feel stronger.
He was far from out of the woods in terms of life problems he needed to deal with, but everything he’d just experienced over the weekend was like wind in his sails.
He only made it through one shelf of plants before his phone buzzed again. He felt that buzz in his chest, not to mention other parts of his anatomy. With a smile, he veered back toward the table—
His heart plummeted and his good feelings evaporated when he saw a text not from Javier, but from Matthew.
“I see your house guest has gone.”
Rage and fear struck Desmond together. He didn’t know which emotion was worse.
“How dare you—”
He stopped himself from replying and slammed his phone down on the table, forcing himself to take a deep breath and assess the situation before reacting.
Matthew knew Javier had been at the house all weekend.
He knew Javier had just left. That either meant that somehow his ex had cameras or other surveillance equipment in the house, which was impossible.
Des would have located anything like that when he’d redecorated.
Or else it meant that Matthew was nearby.
He left the sunroom and walked through to the snug at the front of the house. It felt ridiculous to peep through the curtains like some gossiping auntie in his own house, but if Matthew was somewhere nearby, Desmond didn’t want to give the man the satisfaction of knowing he was alarmed.
It took a minute of craning his neck and studying the street, but he finally noticed Matthew’s car parked half a dozen houses down. He didn’t want to think about how long the bastard had been there.
Shoulders bunched, Desmond stepped back from the window, then turned and headed through the house to his sunroom.
Matthew was emotionally manipulative and obsessive, but he’d never shown any signs of being violent.
In his mind, it was probably romantic to stalk his ex, or at least it would have been if he’d ever actually been in love.
Two days with Javier, and Desmond was beginning to see that his previous definition of love, which was probably Matthew’s as well, didn’t come close to what love could be.
Just because Desmond didn’t believe Matthew would physically hurt him didn’t mean it was okay for the man to threaten him. Fortunately, two could play at that game.
He grabbed his phone from the table and quickly typed out, “If you come any nearer to my house, I’ll call the police.” He hit send before he could talk himself out of it or make more excuses for Matthew’s behavior.
Almost right away, three dots appeared, and a few seconds later, Matthew replied with, “You wouldn’t do that. You’d be too embarrassed.”
Desmond huffed out a breath through his nose and almost started typing a reply. Anything he said would be pointless, though. Matthew still believed he had some sort of hold over him, and honestly, up until the last few days, he did.
“No more,” Desmond said, exiting out of messages and navigating to his contacts. He scrolled until he found Matthew’s name, then did what he should have done a long time ago, he blocked Matthew’s number.