Chapter Seventeen
At just after six, there was a gentle knock at his bedroom door.
“Come in,” Luis said. He was sprawled on the bed on his phone.
Julien poked his head in. He was already dressed, hair in a sleek ponytail. “How was your day?” He asked.
“Good. Leisurely. I went out and saw the garden,” Luis said.
Julien smiled, “Oh, how did you find it?”
“Beautiful, like the rest of the place,” Luis put his phone away and moved to sit up.
“Karim will be glad to hear it. It’s a reimagining of the garden we had in France. An anniversary gift for our fifth year here,” Julien’s face softened at remembering it.
“He really loves you,” Luis said, and he hoped it didn’t sound too wistful.
“He does, as I do him.” Julien paused, then looked at Luis closely.
“Well, I just came to tell you that Karim’s starting on dinner, so it should be ready in about an hour.
I need to do some very riveting chore tasks, and was wondering if you’d like to join as company. I promise not to put you to work.”
Luis was already rising to his feet. “Oh yeah, I’ll come. And you could, uh, put me to work. I like being helpful.”
Julien gave him another assessing look. “Do you? Well come along then.”
They started upstairs going room to room. Some rooms needed curtains opened or windows cracked for fresh air. In the library, Julien directed Luis to a dust cloth and the right set of shelves while he tidied up the books and papers.
“I’m always surprised how messy things get despite it being just the two of us,” Julien said.
“I get that,” Luis said, working the cloth carefully around the shelving, making sure not to disturb the books. “There’s a lot to maintaining your own place though. Especially something as big as this.”
Julien hummed in agreement. “We tried a cleaning service a few times, but it never stuck. Karim hated having people in the house, and I never quite felt like they did a good enough job.”
Luis looked over his own work with sudden uncertainty. “Uh well, you’ll probably have issue with mine then too.”
But as he finished, he felt Julien’s presence behind him. Right behind him. A hand reached around Luis to slide over one of the dust-free shelves.
“No, I don’t think so,” Julien said, tone rich in Luis’s ear. “You take well to instructions.”
Luis swallowed around a lump. “Oh,” he said, because his brain had stalled.
“You’re doing a good job,” Julien said. Then he was stepping away, taking all that heat and presence with him.
Luis quietly sucked in a fresh breath, berating himself. All Julien had done was stand by him, and he was acting like a swooning maiden. Get it together.
“When you’re finished with the cloth, please drop it in the laundry basket in the hall,” Julien instructed.
“Okay,” Luis said, and got back to work.
They fell into a flow after that. Room after room Julien gave instructions, and Luis did his best to follow them. He must’ve done okay, because Julien’s pleased smile followed whenever they moved on to the next one.
Downstairs, there was laundry and sweeping, plant watering and mail collection. There was Julien’s guiding hand on the small of his back, his low, approving tone as he praised Luis for doing exactly as he was told.
Warm pleasure filled him up. It was nice, being able to help, being able to do something right. Luis hadn’t realized how badly he needed it.
When the smell of food began to waft through the house, Julien wrapped up their cleaning, guiding Luis first to the bathroom to wash his hands, and then to the dining room table.
Karim served biryani, Julien praised how helpful Luis had been with chores, and Luis tried not to melt down through his seat under Karim’s watchful, hungry gaze and Julien’s sweet, approving one.
After dinner, Julien suggested they go out to the garden.
“Luis browsed it earlier, but I believe a proper introduction is needed,” Julien said with a smile.
“Alright, just a sec,” Karim said as he picked up the dishes to take back to the kitchen.
They waited on him, Julien prodding Luis to finish his water while his gaze never left Luis’s face. Luis did his best not to squirm under the attention.
“Let me show you my prized possession,” Julien said when the three of them stepped outside. He gestured to a corner of the pergola that Luis had missed on his earlier venture.
Tucked there was a long-leafed hanging plant, all green with no flowers.
“It’s called the Queen of the Night,” Julien said. “And it blooms only one night a year.”
“Oh wow, really?” Luis stepped closer to look.
“We’ve missed the bloom the last two years,” Julien said with disappointment. “But I hope this year I’ll have better luck.”
“I told you I could install a camera so you don’t miss it,” Karim added.
“I know, darling,” Julien reached back for Karim’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “But that ruins the fun. There’s something magical about catching it in person.”
“I hope you do,” Luis said. “Are the blooms nice?”
“Oh yes, very fragrant white blooms. You’ll have noticed I have a thing for white flowers,” Julien said. “And Karim indulges me terribly.”
Karim grunted. “It’s not like flowers are hard to come by.”
But his nonchalance wasn’t fooling anyone.
“Let me show you the rest,” Julien said, arm wrapping around Luis to lead him back toward the garden. “I have a few more rare ones, which were, in fact, hard to come by. But Karim is nothing if not dedicated.”
For the next half an hour Julien toured him through the flowers, pausing only when he lacked information that Karim dutifully filled in. The whole time Karim did his best to seem aloof, but every time Julien turned to him, he gave the man exactly what he asked for.
By the time they returned to the living room, Luis’s heart felt like mush in his chest. God, what would it be like to be loved like that?
“He really is a jack of all trades,” Julien was saying about Karim as they sat. “Karim even dabbled in music at one point.”
“Oh?” Luis asked. “What instrument?”
“Guitar,” Karim supplied, but he seemed a little guarded about it. “But not–not anything serious.”
Luis sat forward, curious. “What’d you play on?”
“A Fender Stratocaster,” Karim said.
“Oh! I have a Fender Acoustasonic,” Luis said excitedly. “I looked at the Stratocasters through. Might get one in the future, but currently I like the range of the Acoustasonic.” He was talking too fast now.
“I’m uh, not familiar with that one,” Karim admitted. “I dabbled in the ‘70s.”
Oh. Right. Sometimes Luis forgot their history stretched… further back than the years on their faces.
“How long have you been playing?” Karim asked.
“Since I was a kid,” Luis said. “One of the neighborhood kids got a guitar one year and let me mess with it. I fell in love immediately.”
“You good?” Karim asked. Luis could tell he wasn’t trying to be a dick, that was just the way he talked, but Julien still gave him a look.
“I’m decent,” Luis said, forcing the words out. “I can play a lot of stuff.”
Karim looked at him shrewdly, “AC/DC?”
A laugh burst out of Luis, surprised.
“What?” Karim groused. “They’re one of the best rock bands to ever exist.”
“No, yeah, I know. I agree,” Luis said, trying to squash his own smile. “I just didn’t expect it from you. Didn’t know you were an ‘80s classic rock fan. But yeah, I can do AC/DC.”
Karim stared at him a moment longer, then turned back to his phone. “Alright, cool.”
Julien had a small smile on his lips looking between the two of them. “I’m less up on current music,” Julien said. “But maybe you’ll play for us sometime?”
Luis flushed at the idea. “Oh, uh. Maybe,” he stumbled awkwardly. He’d only ever played in front of Cassie before.
“If you’re comfortable,” Julien said, then seemed to pick up on Luis’s discomfort, because he changed the subject. “So, I think cards are not on the menu tonight, but what about a movie?”
Karim perked up from his phone. “Can we watch something fun?”
Luis laughed as Julien shot him a look. “We’re not watching another spy movie,” Julien said.
“But you liked the last one!” Then to Luis, “He pretends he only likes these pretentious arthouse films, but he kept bringing up Duotrop V for like a week after we watched it.”
“I just found the practical stunts interesting,” Julien said in defense.
“I’d love to watch something,” Luis said, before the bickering could get any further.
They ended up in a secondary living room that had been designed like a theater. A large, crescent shaped couch sat against one wall, with twin cabinets of oddities lining the sides. The room had a dark, patterned wallpaper, and the windows were covered in heavy, cloth curtains to keep all light out
When the overhead lights came on, Luis was able to see some of the items in the cabinets. There were coins, statues, crystals, and at least one dagger on a display inside.
“I like to get paintings or books from places we travel,” Julien said, with a nod to the cabinets, “Karim likes to get trinkets.”
“They’re not trinkets,” Karim grumbled. He’d walked to the sofa to get the remote. “They’re just as much art as your paintings.”
“I know, mon c?ur, I didn’t mean it like that,” Julien said, gliding closer until he could drop a kiss on Karim’s cheek.
“It’s cool,” Luis said, browsing the cases. “I’m more of a trinkets person. I have a matchbook collection from places me and Cassie have gone.”
Karim made a gruff sound, but Luis could tell he was pleased by the admission. “Easier to store too, we’re running out of wall space for paintings. Julien might even have to take down some of the naked angels soon.”
“Bite your tongue,” Julien said with a laugh as he took a seat on the couch. “We’ll just make another gallery wall, make more space.”
“You and the gallery walls,” Karim griped.
“Now,” Julien said, ignoring that comment. “What’re we watching?” He grabbed a tablet and unlocked it. “Maybe Luis should choose?” Julien said, offering the tablet up. Luis left the cabinets and came to the couch. They’d each taken an end, so Luis was forced to sit in the middle.