Chapter 9 #2
In front of the Alexandria Heights building Eddie pulls in on his motorcycle.
It’s a sturdy machine, sleek black leather seats and a wide frame.
He turns the engine off and steps off the bike, fiddles with the keys in his hand and presses a rune attached to the keyring.
The bike glows and shrinks where it’s parked, down to the size of a toy model.
Magic made parking in the city easy, no tickets for him.
He pulls off his helmet, his hair sticking to his forehead, and ruffles his wavy dark locks with his fingers.
He tucks his helmet under his arm, picks up the shrunken bike, the engine quick cooling for easy pickup, and walks into the building to head to the front desk.
“Good afternoon, my name is Edmund Seung-LaLune. I’m here for an apartment showing at noon. I believe Jackson Nocturne is expecting me, here’s my I.D.”
Eddie hands Steven his driver’s license. The older gentleman takes the I.D. and gives it a once over, scanning it under the desk to check its validity. “Good afternoon to you, Mr. LaLune. Mr. Nocturne has been expecting you, yes. Just a moment I’ll ring up and get you cleared to go.”
Steven picks up the phone and calls up the penthouse. A timid voice comes through the other line, it rings through the air, Eddie’s ears latch on to the sound. “Hello, Steven?”
“Ah. Mr. Al-Najim, is this a bad time?”
“No, no. Jackson is just busy at the moment, but if it’s the next applicant he said to just let them up. I’ll show them around.”
“Very well. It’s a Mr. LaLune, I’ll send him up.” Steven hangs the phone up and gestures to the elevator. “They’re expecting you, sir. Have a good afternoon.”
“Thank you, good sir, you as well.”
Eddie is greeted at the penthouse door by a bashful man with tan skin and a head of messy brown curls.
Small glasses and light stubble frame his soft face, silver eyes glowing behind the frames.
The man is wearing gray sweats, bunny slippers and a black graphic tee of a rabbit sitting on a crescent moon.
He stands about half a foot shorter than Eddie, who has to tilt his head down to meet the man’s gaze.
“Hello, I’m here about the room. I’m Edmund and I assume you must be Mr. Al-Najim. Nice to meet you.” He offers his hand and the man in front of him shakes it, his hand small in Eddies. The palm has a light roughness, but the skin on the back is soft to the touch.
“I’m Hakeem Al-Najim, yeah. I got the first of the rooms, hope you didn’t have your heart set on the middle room.
” Eddie’s lip quirks up at the corner as Hakeem moves to the side to let him in.
“Jackson is just upstairs cleaning up, we had a small spill. Can I offer you anything? Coffee, tea, water? I don’t think we have any juice, I haven’t gone shopping yet. ”
Hakeem goes into host mode when meeting new people. He’d been trained to be a good host and guest from a young age, it runs in his blood more than magic.
“Thank you, but I’m okay. Do you mind if I take my jacket off and put down my helmet?”
Hakeem points to the kitchen island and Edmund places his things down.
Under his leather biker jacket is a form fitting black shirt, it hugs the muscles on his arm and the curves of a strong chest(Are those piercings?
!) and stomach. Denim jeans hug thick thighs and a muscled ass.
Hakeem turns his head before he stares for too long, thankful Eddie didn’t seem to notice.
Hakeem takes Eddie on a quick tour of the apartment ending up on the terrace, you could never tell magic had run wild out here. Eddie leans on the railing to look out towards the view of the city, over at Wychwood Park. Hakeem joins by his side and they both breathe in the crisp winter air.
“Thanks for the tour, the place looks amazing. The view is better than I ever expected, truly breathtaking. Hopefully Jackson is done soon, I’m eager to meet him and see if I can get the room.
” The light covers Edmund’s face in a soft glow, the light breeze tousling his dark hair, a soft smile making his dark blue eyes shine in the light.
Hakeem is definitely staring too much, but he can’t take his eyes off the gorgeous man in front of him.
Two beautiful roommates would definitely be a plot out of his romance books, he might need to take a break from them for a while.
“It’ll probably be another minute at most, shall we head back in and see if he’s come down?”
Eddie takes another breath in and turns his head slightly to Hakeem, “Do you mind if I stay out here for another second? The cool air feels good since I run hot. Plus if I don’t get the room this might be my last chance to take in this view.”
Hakeem draws his light jacket he threw on closer to himself and looks out at the view of Wychwood Park. “It is amazing out here, do you mind if I enjoy the view with you?”
Eddie gives Hakeem a kind smile and turns back to the view ahead. “Not at all, I’d appreciate the company actually.” They spend another minute outside before heading back in. Neither one notices the other move the slightest bit closer.
* * *
Meanwhile, Jackson rinses off the coffee, letting the hot water wash away the stress of the morning.
He has no idea what his magic wants from him.
Hakeem says it could be subconscious, but what could come from having coffee poured over his head in front of his new roommate.
Edmund should have arrived by now, he hopes Hakeem was fine showing him around.
After he gets the smell of coffee out of his hair and skin, he wallows in the warmth of the water for another minute before stepping out of the shower.
He tosses on a plush bathrobe and dries his hair off, hoping to get dressed fast and greet Edmund.
He heads over to the dresser when the shadows in the room begin to tremble, the door seeming to open at his back.
“Fucking hell, what now? Wasn’t once enough today?
” He sighs, shoulders slumping. Jackson holds his robe close tighter and goes to shut his door, he doesn’t need to give anyone a show today.
A burst of shadow erupts as his back, forcing Jackson out of the room, slamming him into the railing of the second floor. “WHAT. THE ACTUAL. FUCK?!”
Jackson grips the railing firmly and straightens up.
Brows furrowed, lips turned up into a snarl over extended fangs, his green eyes turning a deep scarlet.
As he lets himself calm down, he realizes Hakeem is staring up at him besides a tall, broad man with dark hair and soft, deep blue eyes.
Edmund Seung-LaLune, son of a longtime family friend, meeting him for the first time with nothing but a bathrobe on.
Fan-fucking-tastic.
Hakeem’s face warms as heat crawls up his neck, Eddie’s eyes widen and his lips pull into a tight line; this is very awkward.
Jackson clears his throat, willing his breathing to even out, eyes turning back to their usual forest green. “Good afternoon, gentlemen. Excuse the outburst. I’ll be with you both shortly. If you’ll excuse me.”
As Jackson turns on his heels to head back into his room, he notices a stir of shadows in the corner of his eye.
He scoffs and rolls his eyes, nothing can be worse than this, an angry outburst half naked.
He feels a tug at his robe and turns his head to see tendrils of shadow tug at the material, what is it trying to do?
He goes to bat the magic away, so he can just get changed and get this day over with, before more tendrils wrap around him and tear the bathrobe off.
The world slows as the bathrobe falls off Jackson’s frame, Eddie and Hakeem don’t turn away fast enough.
Hakeem’s eyes settle on his slender yet strong shoulders, a hairless chest that catches the light.
Eddie turns his head as fast as he can, averting his gaze in hopes to avert further awkwardness.
He still catches the glimpse of chiseled abs and a small trail of dark hairs under Jackson’s navel.
Jackson grabs the robe and slams the door to his room behind him, all the shadows recede and settle. He was wrong, this day is the absolute worst.
* * *
Hakeem groans and flutters his eyes open. He finds Edmund’s face hovering over his own, way too close. He realizes he’s wrapped in Edmund’s arms. “You okay there, bud? You kinda fainted. Never seen that happen in real life.”
Hakeem fainted, that’s a thing that happened, and Edmund caught him. His arms are strong and his hands are gentle where he holds onto Hakeem’s shoulders. The light at his back frames him in a soft glow in contrast to the hard muscles lining his arms, his scent warm and musky.
Hakeem’s eyes widen as he remembers what happened, Jackson! “I’m sorry Edmund, this has been an embarrassing turn of events. I didn’t think I’d faint but thank you for catching me. I assume that’s what happened, I don’t feel any pain in the back of my head.”
Eddie offers an amused grim and helps the smaller man to his feet. “Yeah it was kinda sudden, but that’s the gist of it. Are you okay to stand on your own?”
“Yes, thanks again. I should go check on Jackson, wait here a moment, okay?”
Edmund gives Hakeem a small nod as he walks up the stairs.
Hakeem pauses at Jackson’s door, a hand outstretched to knock.
What would he say to him? Lie and say he saw nothing?
Not bring it up? What was the right move here?
Should he just leave him alone and tell Edmund to leave for now?
Nothing sounds right. He steels his resolve and gives the door a few light knocks.
“Jackson? Are you alright?” he asks, voice gentle. “Are you hurt? I can tell Edmund to head out for now and I can give you the apartment for a couple hours. I can take a walk while you take a chance to settle.”
* * *