Chapter 20 #2
I was about to argue when the door opened and a very handsome, tall, and slender man opened the door.
“Hi, you must be Camilo. I’m Henock.” He looked at Ayako and gave her a subtle, but very appreciative look, which she returned in kind. I cleared my throat and looked up at him.
“Hi, Henock, it’s nice to meet you. This is my friend Ayako.”
He extended his arms to take the chicken from me, but I shook my head and gestured for Ayako to say hello.
“Hi.” All of a sudden she was shy.
“Nice to meet you both, please come in.” He stepped aside to let us into the big study/den room right by the entrance. I hadn’t been in here much since Tom and I usually hung out upstairs when I came over.
It was a huge room with lots of gorgeous furniture in grays and dark blues.
I turned to Ayako and pointed at a huge painting on the far wall.
It had to be eight feet by ten and it was an explosion of color.
It was a street scene with lots of brown bodies in colorful clothing huddled together, walking along a wide street.
It was a little chaotic and vibrant. Blue and white vans, donkeys and motorcycles all fought for space on the road alongside the people in the image.
At this time of the day, with the sun rays slashing across the canvas, it seemed to come to life.
“Isn’t it amazing?” I asked her. Ayako took it in and nodded as we walked over to it to take a closer look. Henock came up with us and explained.
“This is a scene from Addis Ababa. Tom got it a few years ago when he came on a trip home with me. I have one from the same artist at my place.”
Ayako kept her eyes fixed on it and smiled. “It’s beautiful.”
Henock beamed at her. “Tom has amazing taste, and he’s always on the lookout for good art when we travel.
Well that and the art scene in Addis is pretty spectacular.
” He flashed us both with a million-dollar smile that I know had to be having an effect on Ayako.
“He’s gotten Sanjay and me into buying art as well.
We’re going to run out of wall space soon. ”
Ayako twisted her mouth to the side and I could tell she was working hard to keep from teasing him. I should’ve known better than to expect her to bite her tongue. “I don’t know about that, there’s a lot of space here.”
We all laughed as Henock got us moving again and introduced us to a few of the people in the room.
There had to be about twenty of them, all in their late thirties to early forties, and it was a very mixed crowd.
Tom’s friends were a very diverse group of people.
After, we walked further into the room where there was a huge sideboard laden with food.
“Servers are coming around with some snacks and the drinks are on the other side.” Henock gestured at a bar area where an actual bartender was mixing drinks for guests, and there were servers moving around the room carrying trays laden with food.
Ayako and I gave each other a look when we realized we were at a Thanksgiving dinner with an entire serving staff.
“They’ll bring out the meal at around four.
Tom is upstairs right now. I’ll go let him know you’re here. ”
He extended his hand to take the container Ayako was now holding.
“Is this your dinner offering?” he asked, giving her a cheeky smile.
He really was handsome. His eyes were chocolate brown and soulful with thick and incredibly long eyelashes.
He had a thin face with sharp features, and a smile which would be very hard to resist. Ayako looked like she was liking all of it.
I cleared my throat, trying to break the eye-fucking happening between those two, when I saw Tom.
God, he looked so good, and the smile on his face when he spotted me the warmth there, the unabashed affection, it lit up something inside me.
I ran my eyes over him as he made his way toward us.
Repressing sighs was a real struggle when Tom was around.
He was wearing another one of his cashmere sweaters, this one in a forest green.
He had on jeans that looked amazing on his long legs and Ferragamo loafers.
When I got to his face, our eyes locked and I felt that mildly sickening dip in my belly that only happened when Tom was close.
“Hey, you’re here,” he said, gathering me in his strong arms. Before I could respond he gave me a scorching kiss.
“Hi.” I knew I sounded breathless, but who could blame me?
He squeezed me tight again, then turned around to give Ayako a hug and kiss combo. “Ayako, thanks for coming. It’s good to see you again.”
“Thank you for letting me come to your fancy party. I approve of everything happening here right now.”
Tom chuckled at her giddy expression. “You’re most welcome.”
He looked at Henock then at me. “I see you’ve met the third member of our trio.”
“I have.”
Henock smiled at me and then lifted his arms, which were full of chicken.
“We’ve been getting acquainted, and I have some questions for Camilo.
I want to hear how it’s been for him putting up with you all these weeks.
Poor man.” He teased. “First I’m going to go put this upstairs.
Ayako you want to come up to put away your coat and bag? ”
She nodded with a little more enthusiasm than was warranted for what he’d suggested and hurried behind him.
I called after her, “Hey, speedy! Could you take my damn coat, too, since you’re already going up there?
” She stopped and extended her arm without looking back.
I shrugged it off and passed it to her before she walked away.
Tom and I stood there watching them leave. “How loose is Henock? Because this could end with people fucking in your coat closet,” I asked completely serious.