PROLOGUE

WARNING: This story contains explicit scenes from two gorgeous men. If you are not into that, you may leave. Thank you.

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/ad172cd153908cae3e2b188ab612c0bbf80ae1ed/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f635a572d7a6669314b4a395557413d3d2d3438363036323437332e3137306537383432396166306436373937303436393835333239362e6a7067)

THE CUSTOMERS INSIDE THE café were talking over each other, almost making it impossible for me to concentrate on the document that I was reading on my tablet.

    “You seem busy,” someone asks amidst the growing noise that’s accompanied by the sound of rain that’s coming from outside. I take my eyes off the screen to look back at the owner of the voice, Todd Cooper, who was sitting across from me wearing his favorite jersey jacket. He was bored, I could tell, and I could also tell that he was starting to get impatient.

     “I’ll just go over this one last time and then we can go,” I assure him, looking back at the document again. I already worked on this document all night, but I was asked to thoroughly edit it before handing it over to my boss, that’s why I have to make sure it’s perfect. After all, I just got promoted so I didn’t want to mess up.

     I wanted to finish this as soon as possible because I didn’t want Todd to wait any longer, but then I heard him sigh and mumble something underneath his breath, which I wasn’t able to understand. When I still didn’t bother to entertain him, Todd takes out his phone instead. At least now he has something better to do while he waits.

     While double-checking the document, Todd starts tapping his fingernails on the table. I tried to ignore him, but the tapping sound became louder and louder, making me look back at him in irritation.

     “Do you mind?” I ask.

     Todd ignores me as his eyes were still glued to the screen of his phone. He was making it pretty obvious that he was growing impatient, so I take a deep breath and finally put my tablet away.

     “I’m sorry. Work has been piling up and I—”

     “Should I just go? Since you’re so busy and all,” he quickly says, hiding his phone and suddenly standing from his seat. He then checks his watch, almost like he was now in a hurry to leave.

     I take another deep breath to calm myself as I grab his arm. “Todd, please…” I call out, trying to make him sit back down again, but Todd pulls his arm away from me and looks back at me with an annoyed expression on his face. “What now?” he asks, and the way he just pushed my hand away made me feel pathetic somehow. In the past, he’d never done something like this despite how angry he was.

     “You know, I’ve already noticed this before but…” I pause and stare at the cup of coffee and the slice of cheesecake on top of the table that Todd barely even touched before asking, “Have I done something wrong? If I have then can you please tell me so I’d know?”

    The question must have confused Todd a little because he didn’t react to it when he first heard it. When I thought that he was going to ignore what I said, Todd suddenly sighs and massages his temple, visibly showing me how much he just wanted to leave. “You’re making a big deal out of this again. You’re busy, aren’t you? So what else am I going to do?” He asks, looking even more annoyed.

     “M-Making a big deal out of this? Are you serious right now?” I ask back, and Todd jeers at me, almost like he found my question stupid.

     “See, you don’t even know, and do you know why you don’t know? It’s because you’re always so busy with your job like nothing else matters in the world,” he then fires back, confusing me even more.

     Where on earth is this all even coming from? We were fine when we left the apartment earlier.

     “Why are you acting like this? You’re my boyfriend, aren’t you? You’re the one that has to fully understand that I’m trying my best to balance my job and my time with you. If you think what I’m doing is not enough then tell me,” I say, and all Todd does is laugh at my statement instead like I said something funny.

     “Oh, was I still your boyfriend? I didn’t know that because I thought you were in a relationship with your fucking job!” Todd suddenly erupts, making the people at the café stop what they were doing to look back at us.

    The noisy café earlier became quiet, so I cleared my throat and grabbed ahold of Todd’s arm again to calm him down. “Sit down, you’re making a scene,” I say with a softer tone, but this only made Todd laugh even more.

     “Oh right, I forgot, you don’t like it when I embarrass you,” Todd says, pulling his arm away from me again before walking out of the café.

     I curse and immediately follow him outside the rain, leaving my things behind.

     “Todd!” I call out, but Todd continued to walk away from me.

     “Goddamn it Todd! Stop acting so childish!”

     Todd finally stops walking as he turns back around to face me. “Childish? So you’re going to make it look like it’s all my fault again?”

     “Yes! That’s exactly it!” I quickly tell him, and this angered him even more.

     “This is why I can’t fucking take this anymore!” He says, his voice louder than before. “You’re always busy and I try to understand it, I really do, but when are you going to understand how I feel, huh Day? When are you going to put yourself in my shoes?”

     “What are you talking about? Do you think you’re the only one who’s trying here? I’m trying to spend every hour I can with you because I know that I can’t always be free for you. I know I’ve been busy, but that’s called being an adult, Todd. I have a fucking job that I recently got promoted to, so what am I supposed to do?!”

     “Wow, blaming your shortcomings on your job again, so typical,” Todd says with a sarcastic tone, surprising me because I never thought he’d think that way. “All you talk about is your job. All you talk about is your oh-so-perfect life, your promotions, your every fucking achievement. Ever since we graduated from college, you forgot to have fun. You never had time for anything else. You never had any time for me!”

     “Are you seriously getting mad at me for working hard and thinking about my future; for our future? Do you seriously think I’m working my butt off just for my own sake?! Do you seriously think I’m neglecting you?!”

     “That’s exactly what you’re doing!” He shouts back, his face so close I could feel his breath on my skin. His ears were red, the veins on his neck were showing, and it was all because he was mad at me for something we could have easily talked about in a more civil manner.

     Both of us were now soaking wet as the rain grew stronger on us. I tried to be calm, but I finally got fed up too. I angrily push him off me and let all my frustrations out, not even thinking about the words that started coming out of my mouth.

     “I’m fucking tired too! If you actually tried getting a fucking job then maybe I wouldn’t be so busy, and maybe I wouldn’t have to carry both of us all the time! My job is what’s feeding us, Todd, it’s what’s putting a roof on top of our heads. It’s more important than me fucking babying you all the goddamn time!” I shout back, my anger matching his.

     “You’re being fuckin’ insensitive right now,” he replies like everything I just said was a joke to him. “When you were just starting I had to work two jobs for us too so why are you acting like a martyr now, huh Day?” He asks back.

     “Do you even…are you—” I couldn’t even think of anything else to say anymore, and for a moment I just wanted to break down and cry. But as I tried to keep myself together, Todd finally said something that made everything inside me come crashing down.

     “When I was busy with my job I still tried to make us work, but it feels like you can’t even do the same. What is it Day, are you fucking your boss, is that it?” he asks, and the question felt so degrading that without even thinking about it, I slapped him.

     My hands trembled and the adrenaline finally disappeared soon after that. I looked around and noticed that the people who were walking down the pavement were already giving us weird looks. When I realized what I had just done, I looked back at Todd, and the pained expression on his face made me take a step back.

    “Todd I—”

    “Let’s stop this,” Todd suddenly says, almost making my heart stop beating for a second.

     “W-What?” I asked, clenching my fist so it wouldn’t tremble anymore.

     “Let’s break up,” he finally says, and everything stopped in an instant.

     Let’s

     Break

     Up.

     The words echo inside my head. We were standing on the pavement, people walking past us, some even bumping into me, but for a second, I felt like I was alone with him.

     Let’s break up. Words I knew he’d eventually say but was just too afraid to admit.

     When did I start thinking that he’d say such a thing? When I felt how cold he was starting to become? When he stopped texting me if I already ate my lunch? When I told him I love him and he hesitated before answering me back? All those instances and it was all because I didn’t have time for him anymore?

     Did I ruin this relationship like what he said?

     Did I ruin this for us?

     Is this really all…my fault?

     “Okay,” I answer, probably too fast because Todd had a surprised look on his face when he heard me say it. He must have thought that I’d already been thinking about ending this relationship and I was just waiting for him to say it first.

     “I should have known,” Todd says with a low chuckle. He then pulls out the ring that’s on his finger before handing it over to me. “I’m packing my things so I could leave your apartment as soon as I can. Sorry for being a burden.”

     “Todd, wait—”

     “I hope you have an exciting life. Goodbye Day.”

     I clench the ring as I watch Todd walk away from me. I couldn’t even tell if I was crying or if it was just because of the rain. “Six years,” I say as Todd slowly disappears in front of me. “Six fucking years and you break up with me because of something like this?”

     People continue to stare at me as I look at the ring that’s in my hand. And as I look at it, the tears that I didn’t want to fall finally stream down my cheeks. I’m such a fool. To think that I still expected that we’d be okay despite how we’ve both changed. I should have known it would end this way. Now, what do I get? A ring, and the embarrassment of going back to the café because I left my bag inside.

     “ This is all my fault, “ I say, clenching my aching chest.

     I take a deep breath and shamelessly walk back to the café, completely soaked from the rain. As I expected, everyone stole glances at me. The bartenders rush over and offered me a towel, but I was too embarrassed so I ended up declining the offer and apologized for wetting the floor instead.

     When I got back to my table, I was surprised to see that a man wearing a suit was already sitting on the seat where my bag was. I excused myself, but as I was about to take my bag, the man suddenly says, “Here.”

     I turn my head and saw him handing me his handkerchief. I didn’t want to take it, but I took it anyway and awkwardly say, “T-Thank you.”

     Please don’t talk to me or ask me anything, I’m begging you. I am not in the mood to be entertaining anyone right now.

     “You don’t need that guy. Slacking off won’t pay the bills, and eventually, he’ll start realizing that you were right about thinking about your future, and then he’ll regret that right now you wouldn’t be in his,” he tells me out of the blue.

     I would have honestly been comforted with such words, but the man had a mischievous grin on his face, almost like he was purposely making me not want to trust him.

     “I…I need to go.”

     I grabbed my bag and was ready to take off, but then the man says, “I’ve been watching you, Mr. Dane Andrew McCartney.”

     My feet stopped and my eyes widened from shock as I slowly look back at the creepy man in a suit. “H-How did you—”

     “You’re a perfect employee and a responsible man, but maybe Mr. Cooper had a point. Maybe you’re too focused on your career,” he says, contradicting the comforting words that he just told me a minute ago.

     “I don’t need advice from a stranger, so if you excuse me…” I was about to leave him there, but then he hands me a black card with gold lining.“What is this?” I ask as I inspect the suspicious card. The card didn’t look like an ordinary card at all, and engraved on it were the words Companion’s Association, and a logo of some sort of wolf .

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     I’ve never heard of this association before, and that says a lot especially since I work as a magazine and newspaper editor who has met different people in different industries. If he was trying to scam me, then he’s very brave to be doing that in the middle of a café that’s filled with spectators.

     “It’s time for you to start thinking about yourself Mr. McCartney. It’s time for you to experience that exciting life, just like what Mr. Todd Cooper said,” the man tells me.

     I was about to give him the card and his handkerchief back, but something suddenly fell from the handkerchief. I looked down and saw that it was a piece of paper, so I kneeled on the floor and took the paper to check it. On the paper was a letter that read:

Dane Andrew McCartney,

Follow the address written on the back and your life will change forever.

The Companions will be waiting for you.

• C.A

     I looked at the back and saw the address that was mentioned in the letter. I stood up to ask the man why he knew my name and what this association was about, but when I looked back at where he was supposed to be sitting, I was surprised to see that he was already gone.

    “S-Sir?” I confusingly ask, looking around the café to check if he was still there, but to no avail, I couldn’t find a single trace of him, and the people in the cafe acted like they didn’t see him either.

     I look back at the card again before massaging my temple. Today hasn’t been the best, and meeting a complete stranger who knows who I am isn’t helping the situation at all. But if I weigh down the events that led me to stand in the middle of this café with my puffy red eyes, then maybe receiving this unknown card might not be a bad thing after all.

     Maybe, just maybe…

     It might give me the chance to experience the exciting life my ex-boyfriend said I abandoned.

END

NOTE: Chapters with [m] on the Chapter Title are chapters with

intimate scenes

.  You might find it useful in the future *wink

*wink ;)

Chapters with .5 are chapters that aren’t entirely connected to the main storyline but they might answer some of your questions and might help you understand some things. These chapters usually happened in the past.

AND you may follow me on Instagram and Twitter to get updates about myself, my books, and the new books that I’ll be publishing: wickedauthor_n

Dear You,

Hello, my dear BONERS! 

Damn, it’s been so long since I’ve said that.

It’s almost been five years since I wrote this story, which was my first published book on Wattpad, and since then, a lot of things have happened. I became a star, and then a Wattpad Creator, and now, after all those years, I have finally decided to remaster this book!

Yes, 

SIT, STAY, ROLL OVER has undergone major editing, so to those who are only reading this book for the first time, this is not the original version from five years ago anymore.

But before we begin, I would like to be real with everyone. This has no flattery words or anything, just me sharing with you everything I feel about the book that has made me the writer that I am today.

I know a lot of you are probably sad that the old version is gone now, but one of the reasons why I wanted to change this is not only because I want to finally be able to tell the story of how I’ve really envisioned it, but because it had aspects that were untimely, and I received a ton of negative reviews and comments from it because of how badly it was written.

Five years ago I wrote SSRO carelessly, and to be honest, I continued the book because a lot was mostly just enjoying the mature scenes, which somehow disheartened me most of the time. I’ve been vocal about this before, and I was devastated when readers would always demand sex scenes from me. As a beginner BXB/BL writer on Wattpad, I felt like that was the only reason why people read my books.

At that time I wanted to solely please the readers, so that’s what I did. The general plot was half-assed, so the book for me lost a lot of potential. Now, I’m retelling the story as someone who has grown to understand what I really want to write and put out. I want to polish the plot more and to be able to write the scenes that I could have changed or could have added. Of course, I am a mature author for a reason, so there will still be [m] chapters, but now I intend to write it in a way that will genuinely convey emotions, anger, confusion, and passion, and not just the goal to make you all horny.

I understand some of your frustrations, especially my old readers, as the new version will never be the same again, but I hope you can happily give me this moment to redeem what I feel was something that was not my best work.

Thank you always for supporting this book in the past, the present, and hopefully in the future. I will continue to work hard to improve myself and my work so that I can be an author you guys will be proud of.

This is for the new readers, and especially my old ones.

Welcome back, and enjoy SSRO [Remastered].

Yours Truly,

• Author N

PS: Hope you enjoyed the trailer at the Prologue!

(1) A New Day

🐾

I FIXED MY NECKTIE and took a deep breath before knocking on the door in front of me. “Boss, it’s Day,” I say out loud so the person inside could hear.

     “Come in,” a female voice answers, and I finally opened the door, stepping inside my boss’s office which was full of documents and magazines. If I didn’t know that this was her office, I would have thought that this was a storage room instead.

     “Sorry to disturb you Ms. Valentina, but I just wanted to inform you that I’m heading back first. My team is already working on the finishing touches. We’ll be done with the new issue tomorrow, and I promise that I’ll send you the final draft as soon as possible,” I explained as Ms. Valentina, our editor-in-chief, was busy typing something down on her computer.

     Without removing her eyes from the computer screen, she tells me, “I received the first draft so I’m expecting to see the final version in my email tomorrow, no extensions. Just make sure it’s not as pathetic as the last one you sent.”

    I rolled my eyes at her comment but dare not to say anything against it. “I’ll make sure of it,” I say with a fake smile before heading out of her office. As soon as I closed the door behind me, I closed my eyes and massaged my temple. 

     “ You can do it Day. This has been your dream job since you were young. You can do it, “ I whisper under my breath, mentally toughening myself up before opening my eyes back.

     I put on a fake smile as I head back to our office where my team was.

     “Sir McCartney, good work today,” one of the photo editors says as he cleans his desk.

     “You too,” I reply, walking back to my own desk so I could get ready to leave. While I was shoving my laptop back inside my bag, my work friend, Jane Roberts who’s also an editor, approaches me and suddenly drapes her arm around my shoulder.

     “Hey team leader, we’re heading to a bar and getting a couple of drinks. You should come,” she says, and I remove her arm away from me and replied, “We’re still not done with the final draft though.”

     “Oh come on, it’s just a couple of drinks. And besides, we’re just finishing things up with the new issue. We’ve been working on this magazine for weeks. Lighten up a little,” she says, and I sighed and grabbed my bag so I could leave.

     “I’m sorry, I have to look through the issue again to make sure it’s perfect. I promise to come with you guys next time,” I say, and Jane sighs and just pats my shoulder before heading back to where the others were. She probably already knew what my answer was.

     Without looking back at them, I went straight to the parking lot and got inside my car. As I practically dump my bag on the passenger seat, I rested my head on the steering wheel and took a deep breath.

     “Congratulations McCartney, you successfully had another exciting day.”

     My name is D ane A ndrew McCartne y, but my very few friends call me Day . I’m a 26-year-old editor who’s also the team leader of the Magazine Division in EXRay Media, a magazine that shows exclusive insights into the lives of famous and well-known people.

     While I work for a magazine that talks about other people’s exciting lives, I suffer the complete opposite.

     I’m a workaholic, which was the exact reason why Todd Cooper—my college sweetheart—broke up with me a month ago at a café we usually go to when we were still together. And because of that, I have not visited that store ever since.

     When the two of us broke up, I was angry and in denial. I was mad at Todd, and for a while, I just wanted to punch him in the gut and scream at him like a maniac. But after drowning myself in buckets of ice cream and bottles of gin, I later realized that I contributed to our downfall.

     I accepted the fact that I was wrong, and in the relationship, I wasn’t able to work things out like how I thought I did.

     Living alone in the apartment that used to be lively made me realize how much I relied on Todd too. Whenever I was burned out or when I’m just in a terrible mood because of my boss, Todd would be there to comfort me. He was a terrible cook, but he’d order food for us so that when I get home we’d eat together. He would even cuddle me in bed whenever I get nightmares. Those little things are what I miss the most.

    I didn’t have time for him. I was too focused on my career that I forgot to be there for him like before. I just wasn’t the Day that I was used to being, and I guess that version of me was the person that Todd was in love with.

    Looking back, if I was in his position, I’d dump my ass too.

     “I’m home,” I announced as I close the door behind me.

     “Fuck, this has become a terrible habit,” I tell myself as I am once again reminded that Todd already moved out a month ago and no one will be greeting me back anymore.

     Well, to be fair, Todd was my boyfriend for six years. We met in college because we happened to be roommates. At first, I avoided him because he was a playboy who’d fuck around with anyone. He was just the type I hated the most.

     He was an achiever in college, and believe it or not, was the captain of our college’s football team. Yes, for a while I was the main character of a cliché rom-com movie. He wanted to reach for the stars, and his ambition eventually made me fall in love with him.

     We got together after a while, and until now I don’t know how that happened. We were a bit open with our relationship, except for his Christian parents who believed that gays will burn in hell. We then secretly moved in together after college, and I guess things didn’t work out for Todd. His dream to become a football star just didn’t happen.

    The two of us tried to make things work. He started working different jobs while I was an intern in one of the companies of my dreams, which is the company I now work at. For a while we were happy, and we were even planning our future together. I guess things just…

     Wait, why the fuck am I thinking about Todd anyway? He’s the one who broke up with me. He was the one who said the words “ let’s break up “ and just left. I shouldn’t be thinking about the past when he’s probably out there enjoying his exciting single life.

     “Why am I so pathetic?” I ask myself as I lump my pathetic body on the couch. I then looked at the wall and realized that I didn’t have a t.v anymore too because Todd bought it, so he had every right to take it.

     “I’m such a mess that I can’t even buy a new television,” I said before standing from the couch to remove my coat. I then walked to the fridge and pulled out a can of beer. As I was chugging down the alcohol, I noticed the only painting that I had in my apartment. It was a painting of an old man reading a newspaper. Like, how is this possible? How come even the painting in my apartment is boring too?!

     I chugged down my beer and massaged my temple in frustration.

     “Maybe I should have joined Jane and the others after all.”

    After finishing up my first beer, I took out another can, and then another, and another, and another. I didn’t realize how drunk I already was when I walked toward the fridge, and for some reason, I can no longer open it.

     “This darn fridge! O-Open up! Give me more beer!” I shouted like the refrigerator was an enemy.

    After one forceful tug, the fridge swings open, making me lose my balance and fall to the floor. I groan in pain as I massage my aching ass. After trying my absolute best to stand back up, I realize that the fridge was now empty.

    “Oh no, I’m all out,” I say as I stumble back to the living room to get my wallet so I could buy more at a convenience store. But as I was about to reach out for my keys, I accidentally push a dirty fishbowl instead. The fishbowl shatters, and I immediately moved away from it, afraid I’d get cut.

     I cursed and tried not to step on the glass, but as I looked at the scattered shards on the floor, I spot a piece of paper and an unusual black and gold card. It was probably hidden inside that empty fishbowl.

    I squatted down and reached out for the card. Blowing the little shards away, I placed the card close to my face because I couldn’t quite read the letters anymore because of how drunk I was. 

     “C-companions…association,” I tried to say.

     “Where the fuck did I get this?” I then ask, staring at the expensive-looking card. After trying to get my brain to function, I eventually remembered that creepy guy at the café who tried to comfort me by giving me his handkerchief with a letter. I then picked up the paper on the floor, and there I saw the address that was mentioned in the letter.

    “W-wait a minute,” I say after a hiccup. “This address…” Before I could finish my sentence, I stood back up and grabbed my coat. Without thinking about it, I went out of my apartment, holding onto the card as if my life depended on it.

    In a blink of an eye, I was already walking down the pavement in my drunkard state. I’m an idiot for following the address, but everyone turns into an idiot at one point in their lives, right?

     “I’ll show you, Todd, I’m not a boring workaholic at all. I k-know how to have fun too,” I convince myself as I try my best to walk straight without falling.

     It was already 1:05 AM so no one was on the streets anymore. I could literally get mugged and I wouldn’t even blame them because based on the state that I am in now, I’m practically begging for it.

     “Wait, I have a car!” I suddenly shouted like I won the lottery. “H-how can I forget,” I tell myself as I started laughing because of how stupid I was. But as I was walking back to my apartment to get my car keys, someone suddenly honks at me.

     I stopped and looked at the car that was parked on my side. The driver pulls down his window, and then he looks back at me with a smile on his face.

     “N-No, I’m not a prostitute. Please be on your way,” I told him, but then the driver laughs, and I realized that the car was actually a taxicab.

     “Do you need a ride?” he asks, and when I got a closer look at the driver, I narrowed my eyes because, for some reason, he looked familiar. It feels like I’ve seen him somewhere, but I can’t put my finger on it.

     “Are you an actor? Have I interviewed you before?” I ask, and the driver laughs again.

     “No, I’m a taxi driver. I can drive you to your destination, so where do you want to go?” He asks, and I was hesitant at first, but I walked closer to him and gave him the paper with the address.

     “There. C-can you…bring me there?” I ask after another hiccup, and the driver takes the paper and reads it.

     “Oh, I know exactly where this place is so hop in. I’ll safely drive you there,” he says, and so I went to the passenger seat and got inside the cab without any question like the idiot that I am. “Here’s the card back. Don’t lose it, okay? It’s very important,” the driver then says as he hands me the card back.

     I took the card and hid it inside my pocket, and the man beside me finally drives off. I was still dizzy after all the alcohol I had drunk, so I closed my eyes and rested my head on the window, trying my best to keep my head from pounding.

     While I was resting on the side, I suddenly felt something cold touch my arm, so I flinched and immediately looked back at the taxi driver who was apparently handing me a bottle of water and a mysterious white pill.

     Is he fucking trying to drug me right now?

     “Here, drink this. It will be a long ride,” he says as he places the bottle on my lap. I then stare at the pill in his hand with great suspicion. “Don’t worry, it will ease the headache,” he then explains, probably because he saw me massaging my forehead earlier.

     “It’s for my headache?” I ask, my stupid drunk self thinking that this man was actually very kind for offering me such a thing.

     “Yes,” he says with a bright smile, glancing back and forth at me and at the road. Now I’m more afraid of whether or not we’ll die in a car accident than I was if I drank this mysterious pill.

     “Come on, drink it,” he insists.

     I gulped and continued to stare at the pill before finally taking it from his hand.

     “ Don’t do it Day, don’t drink it. “ My inner conscience tells me.

     But I drank it anyway.

     Yup, it’s official. I’m a fucking idiot. A completely fucking idiot.

     “T-Thank you,” I say, taking a sip of the water from the bottle before putting it on the side.

     I looked out of the window and stared at the building that we were passing by, but the longer I looked, the more my vision became blurry. I thought it was because I was still drunk, but then my heart started to beat faster, and my barely conscious inner instinct finally kicked in.

     “I-I’m sorry but…c-can you…stop the car,” I try to say, closing my eyes and massaging it.

     “I’m sorry Mr. McCartney, I can’t stop the car now,” the driver then says, surprising me because I wasn’t expecting him to know my name like that.

     “The Companions have been waiting for you sir, so please, rest well,” he says, and before I could even give a reply, everything finally started to turn black, and I eventually ended up fainting.

…

I opened my eyes and gasped for air, almost like I just had a bad dream. With my head throbbing like crazy, I slowly sat up from the bed that I was on and tried to assess the situation. For a second I thought that I was still back in my apartment, but when I looked around, I realized that I was actually in a completely different room, almost like a fancy hotel.

     “Where the hell am I?” I ask, trying to remember the events that led me to this place. But when everything that happened last night finally sank in, my mouth instantly widened from shock, and I immediately got up from the bed in complete panic.

     “Shit! I was kidnapped!” I shouted. “I’m so stupid! How am I so stupid?!”

     They’re going to kill me. They’re going to sell my organs to the black market for cheap until there’s nothing left, or even worse, they’re going to let me live and turn me into a sex slave! Oh god, I fucked up so bad!

     “Day you bastard! What the hell is wrong with you?!” I angrily ask myself before running to the door. I turned the doorknob, and as I expected, it was locked. I wanted to hit my head on the door and just accept my fate because it was my fault anyway, but then I remembered the card from last night, so I quickly went through my pockets, and surprisingly enough, the card was still there.

     “You…you’re the culprit!” I shout at the card, almost like I’ve finally lost my mind.

    I was about to throw the card away because of anger, but then, like the gods just wanted me to rot in hell, the door behind me opened, revealing a large man wearing a familiar suit.

     I quickly moved away from the door and grabbed a pillow to use as a weapon. But as the man got closer, I realized that he was actually holding a tray of bread and a cup of coffee.

     “It looks like you’re already awake. Good morning Mr. McCartney,” the man says before placing the tray on top of a small table. “I heard you prefer your coffee sweet so I added two cubes of sugar.”

     “Who are you? What the hell is this place?!” I ask, ignoring the fact that he even knows how many cubes of sugar I want in my coffee.

     “Alright, you have to calm down first. Drop the…pillow…before you hurt yourself,” he says as he takes a step closer, but I immediately back away until I was inches away from the wall. When the man realized that I wasn’t letting go of this pillow, he takes a deep breath and tried to calm me down by giving me a reassuring smile. “There’s no need for you to panic. You wanted to go to the Companion’s Association, right? Well, you’re here. The taxi driver from last night dropped you off.”

     “Wait, what?” I ask in shock. “I’m…here?” I then add, slowly putting the pillow down so I could show him the card.

    “Yes, you’re here. The driver said you fell asleep, so we had to carry you. We then saw that you had a VIP card with you, so of course, it was only natural that we make sure you’re well accommodated. I hope you like your room,” he says with a smile, confusing me even more.

     So this was a VIP card? But for what? What’s the card for?

     “If that was the case then why did you lock the door? Huh?” I then ask, and the man chuckles and walks towards the door before saying, “The doors are just a little rusted, but they’re not locked. And it’s actually pull, not push,” he says before demonstrating how to properly open the door, almost making me slap myself for being stupid.

     “So…you’re not going to…sell my organs?” I then ask, making the man laugh this time.

     “Heaven’s no, why on earth would we do that?” He asks back, and I finally dropped my guard and sat on the bed since I felt like my legs were going to give in on me because of how scared I was.

     “Then can you tell me what this place is? A man who was wearing the same uniform as you gave me the card and told me to come here. I wasn’t really thinking straight since I was drunk, but I ended up bringing myself here,” I told him, and the man nodded his head like he completely understood my situation.

     “It’s hard for me to explain to you in full detail, so why don’t you just see it for yourself instead?” He asks as he opens the door wide. “You can head downstairs. Look for Christine and show her your card, she’ll know what to do next.”

     I looked at him suspiciously but nodded my head anyway. If these people are really a bunch of good guys then I got lucky, but if these people are planning something, then it’s best if I get out of this room first. I’d rather fight for my life outside than be locked in a four-cornered bedroom.

     “Alright then, where should I go?” I ask, standing from the bed and walking closer to the door. If this man does anything, I’m just gonna run for it.

     “Just head to the end of the hall and turn right. You’ll see a staircase there that will lead you to a metal door. You’ll find Christine, she’ll tell you everything you need to know,” he explains, and I gulped and nodded my head in understanding.

     “Okay, then I’m off,” I say, looking back at the man for one last time before finally heading out of the room.

     As soon as I got out, I took a deep breath and instantly started running like I was in a marathon. I don’t know if that man chased after me, but I didn’t have time to turn around and risk tripping. For now, I just have to run.

     “Mom and dad in heaven, if you’re hearing me, please give god a good word and tell him that homos aren’t evil. Thank you!” I shout as I finally reached the metal door that the man mentioned. I quickly grabbed the doorknob and pushed the door open. I was ready to shout for help, but as soon as I saw where I was, I immediately stopped.

     “W-wait a minute…this…this is a pet store!” I say in complete shock.

     The place was huge. There were different kinds of fish, cats, dogs, hamsters, and even birds. It was a literal jungle.

     “What in the world is this place, a luxury pet store? Is this where Bill Gates buys his dog food for Oreo and Nilla?” I ask in disbelief as I look around this humongous store. I continued walking around until I finally got to the entrance where the cash register could be found. The girl who was attending it instantly notices me as a cheerful bright smile appears on her face.

     “Hi! Welcome to the Companions!” She greets me in such a jolly way that I suddenly had flashbacks of my time in summer camp where everyone was just so happy all the time.

     “Are you Christine?” I ask as I approached her.

     “Well, yes I am, so how may I help you, sir? Are you interested in adopting a rabbit, a cat, or maybe a hamster? Or are you more into critters like tarantulas and geckos? We have it all here! Just let me know what you’re looking for,” she tells me, and for a second I almost asked for an actual tarantula.

     Damn, this girl definitely knows how to sales talk.

     “No, actually…” I pause and pull out the card before showing it to her. When she saw the card, Christine suddenly gasped and looked back at me with complete shock.

     “Oh my, you’re Mr. McCartney!” She shouts, startling me. “I sincerely apologize sir. No one informed me that you were already here,” she then says.

     So she was expecting me all along?

     “You don’t have to apologize, I came here unexpectedly too. And to be honest with you, I have no idea what I’m doing. The man upstairs told me that you’ll be able to explain things to me,” I say, and Christine widely smiles, like explaining things was the most exciting part of her job.

     “Well Mr. McCartney, since you are in possession of such a rare card, you are given an opportunity to adopt a companion!” Christine says as if it was the biggest honor that a man like me was ever going to get.

     “I’m sorry, but what? Do you mean I—”

     “A dog, sir McCartney,” Christine then clarifies. “In honor of the Companions, you are given a rare opportunity to adopt one of our association’s most well-trained dogs.” 

TO BE CONTINUED

(2) Companions Association

🐾

“A DOG, SIR MCCARTNEY,” Christine clarifies.“In honor of the Companions, you are given a rare opportunity to adopt one of our association’s most well-trained dogs,” she says, and for a moment I was floored.

     All this time, all that sketchy activity and the fancy room were all for adopting a dog? What on earth is this place? It’s so extra that all I could do was laugh my pants off until Christine ended up looking at me with concern.

     “Sir, are you alright?” She asks, and I took a deep breath and finally calmed down.

     “No wonder why the letter told me that my life was going to change, and it was all because I was adopting a dog,” I say as I wiped the tears off my face. “So how much is it? Is there anything I need to do? Will I be giving you my ID?” I ask her, and the girl shook her head and just pointed at the card that was on the counter.

     “As the card you have is very special and rare, the dog will be yours for free. You only have to sign a couple of paperwork,” Christine explains, which was a surprise for me. Why would a random stranger in a café give me such a card? This must have cost a fortune.

     “Alright, then I’ll take it. Who doesn’t want to adopt a cute little dog, right?” I say, and Christine starts clapping happily before stepping out of the counter.

     “Well then, please follow me so I could introduce you to the dogs,” Christine then says as she leads me to a different room. The room that we went to was just a plain room painted white. There were dozens of cages too, and the dogs inside were all barking in my direction.

     Okay, these aren’t cute little dogs at all.

     “Here are our dogs. All of them are well-trained and have been treated very well by us. There are young and old dogs, but they all deserve a loving new home,” Christine says as the two of us got closer to the cages.

     Okay, they’re pretty cute. Maybe a little aggressive, but still cute.

     “So…do I just pick?” I ask, and Christine laughs like I just said something funny.

     “Mr. McCartney, you don’t get to pick the dogs. The dogs pick you,” she says, and just like that, a buzzer was heard, and all the cages automatically opened, almost making me run for my dear life. Why didn’t she tell me anything about this beforehand? I could literally piss in my pants right now and I might never recover from the embarrassment.

     “The one who will approach you will be yours, Mr. McCartney, so good luck,” Christine says with a smile before stepping away from me.

     My entire body froze as I watch the dogs come out of their cages one at a time. There were different kinds of dogs in the room. There was a German Shepherd, a Labrador Retriever, a Poodle, Beagle, Shih Tzu, Greyhound, and even Bulldogs. I’ve always wanted a dog, but when I was a kid, I was very sickly, so now that I can actually adopt one, my inner child couldn’t contain himself.

     A smile started to appear on my face and my body finally loosened up. As the dogs started to run in my direction, I opened my arms wide so they could approach me, but like I was some kind of unwanted chew toy, the dogs started running past me like I didn’t exist.

     “Seriously? Even dogs don’t like me?” I ask in shock, and then I spot Christine laughing at me since she witnessed firsthand that not one dog was interested in this Dane McCartney at all.

     “Christine, I don’t think they—” As I was about to tell her that I don’t think I’ll be able to adopt any dog, I suddenly heard this big-ass Siberian Husky growling from his cage. The dog slowly walked out, and when he spotted me, the look on his eyes unconsciously made me gulp in terror because I thought he was going to eat me.

     “Oh look, he likes you!” Christine excitedly says.

     “Are you crazy?! This dog does not like me. I think he fucking wants to devour me,” I corrected her.

     The dog got closer, and when he was only a few inches away from where I was, he started growling even more.

     “O-Okay boy, calm down. I’m a friend, not an enemy,” I say as I slowly took a step back. The Husky obviously doesn’t listen, and he was already in his attacking stance. So out of complete panic, I covered myself with my arms for protection and instinctively closed my eyes before shouting, “Sit!”

     I waited for a bite or maybe even a scratch at least, but nothing happened after that. What’s more, the growling stopped. I slowly opened my eyes back and saw the dumbfounded look on Christine’s face. I then looked back at the husky, and to my surprise…he was actually sitting down, just like what I commanded.

     “No way, Hunter actually listened to you?” Christine asked as she approached me.

     “Wait, Hunter? That’s a pretty nice name.”

     I looked back at the dog whose name was actually Hunter. He wasn’t growling anymore, but he was still staring back at me with his terrifyingly beautiful blue eyes. I gulped and went down on one leg to level him. When it looked like he wasn’t going to bite me, I showed him my hand. Hunter smelled my hand for a while before licking it, and so I finally reached out to pat his head, and in an instant, his tail started waggling, surprising Christine even more.

     “I guess you were right Christine. This dog does seem to love me,” I say with a bright smile as I continued to pet Hunter.

     Christine was about to touch my shoulder, but then Hunter suddenly started growling again, immediately making Christine take a step back. “I can’t believe it. Hunter actually chose you. That never happened before,” she says, and I looked back at Hunter and smiled at him.

     “I guess it’s just meant to be,” I say, and hunter moves closer to lick my face.

     Christine chuckles at our interaction since Hunter and I looked like we’ve known each other for a while now.

     “Well then Mr. McCartney, it looks like you finally found your companion.”

 …

“And just sign here and we’ll be good to go,” Christine says, handing me one last paper which I happily signed.

     Hunter—the Siberian Husky—was obediently waiting for me at the side. Out of all the dogs that I met earlier, he was the only dog who approached me. At first, he seemed a bit aggressive, but if you pet him enough, you’ll see his cute side too.

     “By the way, can you share with me where he first came from? Or how old he—”

     “The list of things he’ll need to eat, and the medicine he has to take, can all be found here,” Christine interrupts as she hands me an envelope filled with papers that contained everything that Hunter needed, solidifying the fact that he’s a very high maintenance dog.

     “For now, a package will be sent to you, which will contain everything he’ll need. Hunter is a little older than most of the dogs here so he needs more care and attention. He has a hard time sleeping alone, and like most, he’s scared of thunder and lightning. That’s why I hope you don’t leave him alone during such times,” Christine explains, and I nod my head in complete understanding.

     “I know this might be a lot, but know that despite all that, Hunter will surely protect you. No doubt about it,” Christine then says with a genuine smile.

     I looked down at Hunter to smile at him too, but when I looked back, he seemed to be glaring at me, or is it just his eyes? I’m not even sure.

     “And one last thing Mr. McCartney…” I thought Christine was going to give me another list of things that Hunter would need once he starts living with me, but then the usual smile on Christine’s face suddenly changed into a more serious one.

     “You are to keep the Companion’s Association a secret. Failure to do so means you have broken your contract, and we will forcefully take Hunter away from your care. Is that understood?” Christine asks, and I gulped and tell her, “Understood.”

    “Good,” she replies, her expression changing back to her bubbly self.

     How on earth could this woman change her expression that quickly?!

     “Well then, I guess everything is set. You may now take Hunter home, Mr. McCartney,” Christine says before hiding the papers I signed inside a vault.

     I took the envelope that contained everything that Hunter needed before grabbing his leash. As soon as I grabbed hold of it, Hunter automatically stood up. “Well then, thank you Christine, and thank you to whoever gave me this card. I don’t know if that was some sort of new way of advertising something, but this really means a lot,” I sincerely tell her, especially since I’m still quite devastated by my break up with Todd, and adopting a dog might just make me less depressed.

     Hey, you can’t blame me. That was six years of my life wasted. At least let me just mourn a little longer.

     “Of course Mr. McCartney. After all, the Companion’s main goal is to make the lonely feel…wanted.”

     Make the lonely feel wanted.

     “Alright, goodbye then!” I say, and Christine waved goodbye at me and at Hunter.

     When I got out of the pet store, I turned back and realized that the store looked completely normal from the outside. And looking at it more, it feels like I…

     “Wait a damn minute,” I tell myself as I turned my head to look at the building across the street. And lo and behold, the café where Todd broke up with me was right there. “I can’t fucking believe it. So this shop was just across the street all this time? How did I not notice it?” I ask myself before looking back at Hunter.

     “Lucky for you, this is actually pretty close to my apartment. We can walk right back,” I tell him, patting his head again before finally walking home. I guess that taxi ride from last night was completely useless. I could have easily just walked my way here if I wanted to.

     Anyway, let’s talk about that contract that I just signed.

     Unlike some of you, I actually read the contract word for word so I wouldn’t end up getting scammed. Thankfully, nothing was sketchy about the contract as it was all talking about Hunter’s well-being. It mentioned that an employee from the association will visit me every end of the month to check on Hunter’s condition, or if he’s still fit to stay with me. It also mentioned that I can’t openly talk about the association, just like what Christine told me earlier.

     I am obligated to take good care of him, which means I can’t neglect him, overfeed him, or underfeed him, and I can’t ask anyone to take care of him on my behalf. It’s stated that it’s better for him to be alone in my apartment than to be with people he doesn’t know.

     I’ll have my first warning if I end up messing it up. For the second warning, Hunter will be temporarily taken away from me, almost like a suspension. And if I messed up the third time…well, it’s goodbye Hunter.

     That association did look a little over the top, so I guess these dogs are really special to the point where they’ll go to such lengths just to take care of them.

     “Day?” Someone suddenly called out, interrupting my train of thought.

     Hunter and I stopped walking as the owner of the voice got closer.

     “Day, is that you?” he asks again, and my body freezes in an instant. I tried my best to stay calm as I clenched on Hunter’s leash. After taking a deep breath, I turned around to face him. I got ready to greet the stranger , but as soon as the two of us were facing each other, Hunter started barking.

     “Whoa!” Todd shouted, quickly backing off since Hunter was only inches away from biting him. I pulled Hunter from Todd and tried to calm him down. “Hey, it’s alright, Todd’s a friend. See, he’s not doing anything bad.”

    I don’t know if this dog is just a genius or if he really could understand me, but he stopped barking and eventually calmed down as I instructed him to do.

     “You bought a dog?” Todd asks as he looked at Hunter who continued to growl at him.

     I held onto Hunter’s leash even tighter before answering him, “Adopted…but yeah, I did, just this morning.”

     “Well, that’s great. You’ve always wanted a dog, but I was unfortunately allergic to it. I guess you can finally do things you’ve always wanted to do before,” he says, awkwardly scratching the back of his head like he wasn’t the one who came up to me first.

     The two of us became quiet after that, and the awkward tension grew even more. I seriously didn’t expect to see Todd. We haven’t seen each other for a month now so the timing is completely off. Maybe I should have just pretended like I didn’t hear him.

     “How are you?” Both of us asked at the same time.

     Todd chuckles at the tiny mishap, almost making me look away from him because I didn’t want to admit that I missed seeing him smile like that.

     “Sorry, you go first,” he says.

     “W-Well, I’ve been great actually. Things have been great, but I haven’t bought a television yet so that’s that,” I say, and this time, both of us laughed.

     “For someone who works for a magazine, it’s a surprise that you haven’t. But I guess watching t.v was never really your thing. You always end up falling asleep when we’re watching something—” Todd pauses when he saw the expression on my face, so he looked away from me and whispered the word, “ together. “

    I cleared my throat and forced myself not to feel sad about it. It wouldn’t do me any good if I show him how miserable I’ve been since our split.

     “Anyway, h-how are…you? how’s it been?” I asked before clearing my throat, and Todd looked back at me and gave me an awkward laugh.

     You know, why are we even torturing ourselves like this? It would have been perfectly fine if you just ignored me. I would have completely understood that instead of us now trying to look for a way to not make this as awkward as it already is.

     “I’m doing great, surprisingly. I got a job and I’m good. What you said that day hit me hard, and I guess I’m trying to be more of an adult now.” He answers, and for a second I had this thought that if he could easily do that within a month, then why wasn’t he able to do it when we were still together?

     “That’s great. I’m really happy for you,” I tell him, hoping it wouldn’t sound too forced.

     The two of us became quiet again. I couldn’t look straight back at him anymore, so all I could do was look away, clenching on Hunter’s leash as Hunter moved closer to me, his body pressing against my leg like he was protecting me.

     “I’m sorry,” I heard Todd suddenly say, making me look back at him with surprise. “I was…I was just…” as Todd was trying to think of the right words to say, Hunter went in front of me and suddenly started barking at Todd again, but compared to earlier, it was louder and more aggressive.

     People were already looking at me, judging me because I couldn’t keep my dog calm, so I quickly pulled Hunter away and patted him. “Hey Hunter, it’s fine. We’re leaving,” I say, glancing back at Todd and nodding my head towards him as a form of farewell.

     As soon as my back turned against him, a tear quickly falls from my eyes. My heart starts to ache, but I couldn’t be more proud of myself. I didn’t cry in front of him. I didn’t want to cry in front of him. I didn’t want him to see how broken I still am while he looked like he finally moved on and is trying to improve what I thought was hopeless when we were still together.

     But when I looked over my shoulder, my world completely shattered because as my tears continued to stream down my cheeks, I caught a glimpse of the tears that streamed out of Todd’s eyes too, and that little hope that we still had a chance greatly disappointed me.

     “Let’s go home, Hunter.”

TO BE CONTINUED

(3) That Little Spice

🐾

“WELCOME TO YOUR NEW home. It’s not as extravagant as you might expect, but it’s better than being in a cage, right?” I tell Hunter—my new dog—as I closed the door behind us. I was about to remove his leash for him, but then I noticed the glass shards on the floor and the scattered empty cans of beer in the living room. I completely forgot that I went on to drink my worries away last night, which was the reason why I’m now bringing a dog home out of the blue.

     “Sorry, just wait right here,” I say as I tied the leash on the doorknob first, immediately cleaning up the mess like Hunter was some kind of guest.

     Hunter quietly sat in front of the door and just looked around the area, probably familiarising himself with his new territory.

     When everything was cleaned up, I wiped the sweat on my forehead and finally removed his leash. Right after, I kneeled in front of him and removed his leash for him. The moment he got out of his leash, Hunter immediately ran and started sniffing every single thing in my apartment.

    While Hunter was busy ‘touring’ his new home, I took the documents that I got from the association and hid them in one of my storage cabinets. While I was doing so, someone suddenly knocks on my door. I hurriedly closed the drawers and ran to the door to open it, but as soon as I opened the door, I was surprised to see that no one was there.

    “What in the…” I looked around the hall yet no one could be found, but when I was about to step out, I suddenly kicked something. It was a box that had a familiar logo.

     “Wait, was this the package that Christine mentioned? That was fast,” I say as I grabbed the box and brought it inside. I went to the living room and placed the heavy box on top of the table so I could open it. Inside the box were all sorts of dog supplies. There were some dog food, medicine, shampoo, bowls, chew toys, and other items that would help a first-time dog owner like me.

     I took everything out so I could arrange them, but at the bottom of the box, I was surprised to see the black and gold card from the association. I thought I didn’t need it anymore, but the fact that they gave it back to me might mean that I’d still need it in the future, so I guess I’ll hide it for now.

     “Hunter! Look at this! The association gifted you with so many things!” I shout as I rummage through the cute clothes that were inside the box too. I then saw a red collar that has a paw print on it, so I immediately took it out of the box so I could put it on Hunter.

     “Hunter? Where are you?” I asked as I looked around the apartment. When I arrived at my bedroom, I finally saw Hunter rubbing his entire body on my bed.

     “Looks like he found his territory,” I told myself as I approached him.

     Hunter looks at me, and I smiled at him and showed him the collar. I thought he was going to be okay with it, but then Hunter started barking, almost like he was telling me that he didn’t like it.

     “You don’t want to wear it?” I ask, and Hunter just continued barking.

     I sighed and went back to the box in the living room to put the collar away. I guess he didn’t like the collar. Maybe I should buy something else? Maybe the color red was too much for him.

     “That’s a lot of new stuff. I guess it’s better since the apartment felt empty when Todd left,” I say as I sat on the couch, instantly making me see the empty wall where the television was supposed to be.

     During times like these, I’d usually be sitting on the floor, working on an article, while Todd sat behind me on the couch. I’d lean my head on his thighs and sometimes fall asleep, and whenever I wake up, I’d be lying on the couch, his arms around me while he continued watching his favorite football game.

     That short memory made me tear up in an instant.

     “ I fucking hate you, Todd, “ I whisper to myself as I pull my legs toward me so I could bury my face against my knees. After I while I looked up and saw Hunter now standing in front of me. He stares at me, his tail wagging, and then he moved closer and started licking the tears off my cheeks, making me giggle.

     I patted the empty space beside me on the couch, and Hunter jumped on it, lying down as I scratch his head. “From now on, I’ll be taking good care of you, okay? I’m going to be your loving daddy Dane, and I’ll spoil you rotten, so let’s make great memories together, okay?” I say with a soft smile, and Hunter looks at me and licks my cheeks again.

     “You’re quite the licker aren’t you?” I tell him before giving him a quick kiss. I then notice the magazine on the center table, so I grabbed it and showed it to Hunter.

     “Hey look, this is what daddy does for a living. I’m one of the main editors of this magazine and I—” I paused in an instant when I remembered something crucially important. “Fuck! I was supposed to send the final draft to my boss today!” I shout, immediately pushing the doggy items aside, grabbing my laptop and placing it on the table as I sat on the floor.

     I immediately opened the laptop and saw multiple emails from my team. I almost hit my head with the chew toy, but I tried to calm myself down as I started working on the final touches on the draft like I was supposed to do last night.

     While I was doing my work, Hunter got off the couch and suddenly sat on my lap, blocking the entire screen of my laptop.

     “Hunter! You’re way too big to be a lap dog!” I complained as I tried to lift him off me, but just before I could even do so, Hunter suddenly growled, making me flinch in an instant. “F-Fine, just…just don’t distract me while I’m working,” I say, pushing down his fluffy fur so I could see the screen on my laptop better.

    Hunter thankfully doesn’t make a huge fuss as he eventually rests his head on my shoulder instead. I got to do my work in peace, and at the same time, him sitting on my lap felt so nice because it seemed like I was hugging a teddy bear.

     I got to finish my work on time, and when I sent the draft to Ms. Valentina, she commented and said that it was, “ pretty good.“ I practically screamed in happiness because she rarely praises me like that. Looks like life is starting to be in my favor.

     “We did it, Hunter!” I happily say, tightly hugging Hunter before removing him off my lap so I could stand. I stretched my body and looked at my watch to check the time. “Looks like I have to get ready.”

     I took the dog food and the bowls from the table, filling them up with food and water before placing them on the floor so Hunter would have something to eat later. I also placed a rug near the laundry area so he would have somewhere to pee and poo.

     Hunter approached me, his tail wagging as he took a sniff of his food. Despite how old Christine said he was, Hunter still has a cute side that I just can’t get enough of.

     “Since I’m not allowed to leave you to anyone, you have to stay here for a while. Don’t worry, I’ll leave the AC on and leave my bedroom open so you could sleep in my bed,” I tell Hunter, acting as if he could understand me.

     Surprisingly enough, Hunter started whimpering, lying on the floor and giving me these cute puppy dog eyes that almost made me explode. “Okay, I’m not gonna lie. That’s fucking adorable,” I say as I kneeled down to pet him. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon. I just need to head somewhere for an interview, and then I’ll be back. I’ll also buy you a better collar, okay?”

     Hunter whimpers as an answer, and I smiled and continued petting him. But when I looked back at my watch, I quickly stood up again and hurriedly ran to my bedroom.

     “Shit! I seriously need to get ready.”

     I chose the clothes I was going to wear and ran into the shower to clean off the dirt I’d accumulated from last night’s strange adventure. After washing myself clean, I went out of the shower and almost got a heart attack when I saw Hunter sitting right across from me, staring at me with his cold eyes.

     “Hunter! What are you doing here?!”

     For some reason, I felt extremely shy as I grabbed my towel to cover myself up.

     “Well, no point in arguing with a dog,” I say, and Hunter tilted his head to the side. “Can you really sense that I’m leaving you?” I ask before heading back to my room to get changed.

     Hunter practically followed me everywhere. When I was changing clothes, when I was putting on my shoes, and when I even grabbed a quick snack from the fridge. He was just following me around like a kid.

     “I have 40 minutes before the meeting so I think I still have time to grab a coffee,” I say, putting my laptop inside my bag and grabbing my car keys.

     “Hunter! Daddy’s leaving now, okay? I’ll see you when I get back,” I say as I walked to the exit. Hunter doesn’t make any sound so I was about to open the door, but when I looked back at him, I saw him peeing on the leg of my couch instead, instantly making my eyes wide from shock.

     “N-No! Hunter!” I practically shout, running to him as he looked at me like he didn’t do anything. “You’re supposed to pee on the rug. I already put potty spray on it too so you’d know where to do it. Aren’t you supposed to be well-trained?” I say with a sigh before taking a mop to clean up.

     After putting away the mop and properly wiping the pee off, I showed Hunter the rug and told him, “Here. You’re supposed to potty here, okay?

     Hunter walked closer to the rug and sniffs it, making me assume that he finally knows where to properly do the deed. But as I walked towards the front door again, Hunter suddenly shits on the carpet this time.

     “Hunter!” I scolded, and Hunter looked at me again, his tail wagging like he was enjoying tormenting me like this.

     I went back to the kitchen to get the mop and some tissues. I quickly cleaned his poo, threw the tissue away, and literally tossed the mop back into the cabinet because I already wasted too much. “Great, now I already have 30 minutes left. Now I can’t grab coffee anymore,” I complain, looking back at Hunter with a pout. “Hunter, I’m begging you, stop fucking with me!”

     I practically ran to the door and got out of my apartment before Hunter could do anything again. But just as I was about to head to the elevator, Hunter started barking this time.

     “You got to be kidding me.”

     I was supposed to ignore him, but then Martha, the old lady who lives next door, got out of her apartment and looked at me with great annoyance. “Mr. McCartney! Would you mind shutting your new dog up?!” She angrily says.

     “I’m sorry. He’s just having a little tantrum. I’m sure he’ll quiet down and—” Before I could even finish my sentence, Martha cuts me off and shouted again, “No! People here are trying to relax! If you don’t want us to complain about your loud pet, then you better keep that dog quiet!”

     I took a deep breath and apologized as Martha went back to her apartment, slamming her door shut.

     “Well, no one said it was gonna be fucking easy,” I say as I went back inside my apartment. The moment I got back, I saw Hunter waiting for me near the entrance. He then stopped barking, his tail wagging in excitement. “You monster,” I say, sighing in defeat as I took his leash, instantly making Hunter start jumping around and howling.

     “Happy now?” I ask as I placed the leash around him. “If this is the little spice that I need in my life, I might just end up burning my tongue.”

     And so I went on to interview one of our clients, Hunter right beside me the whole time like the good boy that he is.

     The beginning was a bit of a mess, but eventually, I got a hang of things. Early in the morning, Hunter and I would go on a jog and then eat breakfast together. Before leaving work, I’d give him one of his toys and he’d chew on it the whole time. He didn’t make tantrums anymore whenever I have to leave, except for the first two days that I was with him. My boss had to scold me a couple of times for bringing him to the office, and I guess Hunter saw how devastated I was so he eventually decided to just let me go to work in peace.

     During lunch, I’d drive back to my apartment to eat with him. I’d usually just buy food out and then we’d eat together, but sometimes I’d cook for him too. Others might think it’s a huge hassle, but for me it’s fine. Hunter is all I have after all. He became my emotional support dog after what happened with Todd and me.

     Hunter is a smart and lovely pet, and can sometimes be playful too, but like what Christine said, he has a hard time sleeping at night.

     I bought him a bed and tried making him sleep outside my bedroom, but I’d notice that he’d walk around the apartment instead, or hide under the table, so I just decided to let him sleep with me. I’d usually cuddle him at night until he falls asleep, which is a win-win for me too since it feels like I’m cuddling a huge teddy bear.

     About two weeks have passed after my encounter with the association, and my life, in general, has been bearable thanks to him. Dogs are a wonder and a literal gift from god. I’m practically in love with him now.

     “I hope hunter doesn’t eat the magazines again. I already placed them on the shelves. I don’t know how he’s reaching it,” I say as I pulled out my keys from my pocket so I could open the door.

     When it was finally open, I went inside and turned the lights on, the apartment looked like a mess because of all the doggy items that have now invaded my once boring apartment.

    “Hunter! I’m home!” I shouted as I walked to the living room. “I bought some meat. We can eat this together.”

     I placed my bag on the couch and removed my coat. But as I was undoing my necktie, a shiver runs down my spine when a low voice suddenly replied, “Welcome home, daddy.”

TO BE CONTINUED

(3.5) Just Another Lazy Day

NOTE: This is a .5 chapter, which means that it is a shorter chapter that can be from a different POV, it could have happened in the past, or is usually not connected ( but is related ) to the main storyline. This was already mentioned in the prologue so don’t worry, you’re not skipping a chapter. You may or may not read this part. It’s up to you.

🐾

THE LIGHT COMING FROM outside my bedroom window was directly shining on my face as I opened my eyes. Something warm and fluffy was cuddled up to me, so when I looked at my side, I immediately smiled and petted him.

     Hunter slowly looks at me, showing me his beautiful blue eyes that almost made me feel like I was looking at the sea.

     “ Good morning Hunter ,“ I whisper, hugging him tightly like a teddy bear before pulling away from him so I could stand from the bed.

     Ever since my split with Todd, my weird encounter with that creepy guy in a suit who gave me the card, and my unforgettable experience with the Companion’s Association who’s actually a ’ Get a dog for free ’ kind of association, my life has been less boring than before.

     The apartment has become a mess, which was something that would usually bother me, but at the same time, felt comforting because I knew that someone else was finally living with me too. It’s now dominated by dog-related items, so Hunter basically owns my apartment now.

     “The weather looks good. It’s a perfect time to go on a jog,” I say, staring out the window before looking back at Hunter. “Hey buddy, wake up, we’re going on our morning jog,” I then tell him.

     Hunter, who was sleeping again, opens his eyes and looks at me for the second time, but he doesn’t stand like he usually does and starts whimpering instead.

     “Hey, is everything alright? Are you sick?” I ask, checking his nose if it’s wet. When it looked like Hunter was fine, I smiled and nodded my head in understanding. “Look like you just don’t want to go out. That’s alright, it’s my day off anyway so we could just enjoy this lazy morning together,” I say, patting his head like usual, and Hunter licks my hand like he was thanking me.

     “I’ll make our breakfast instead. You can enjoy your nap.”

     I lowered the AC a little and went out of my bedroom to head to the kitchen, but then I spot the paper bag in the living room. I furrowed my brows in confusion, but then I remembered what it actually was for, so I quickly went to the paper bag and opened it up. As soon as I saw what was inside, a smile immediately appeared on my face. 

     It was a black leather material that had the words Hunter engraved on it and a silver buckle. I had it custom-made so it took a while to arrive here. I also wanted to add a bell on it, but I imagined Hunter not getting some sleep and so he’d just silently walk around the apartment with that thing on. I’d rather not hear a bell in the middle of the night, it would be fuckin’ scary.

     “This was a bit more expensive than a regular collar, but I guess it’s fine. I have money to spend anyway.”

     I walked back to the bedroom where Hunter was. I approached the bed and sat on the edge of it before gently putting the collar on him, adjusting it so it wouldn’t be too tight on him. “ There ,“ I whisper, and Hunter instantly opened his eyes, almost making me flinch.

     “Oops, sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you,” I tell him, and Hunter yawned and slowly stood up. I think he felt the unfamiliar object around his neck because he started reaching out to it. It looked like he was trying to remove it too.

     “No, I bought it for you,” I say, standing from the bed and carrying him up with all my strength as we went to the bathroom mirror so he could see it for himself. “See? Do you like it? I had it custom-made for you,” I tell him.

     Hunter stares at his reflection for a moment, and then he suddenly licked my face, and I’m only going to assume that it’s because he thanked me for it.

     “Looks like you do,” I say, finally letting go of him. “Well, since you’re up now then let me make us breakfast.”

     I was about to head to the kitchen, but then Hunter bit my shirt and starts pulling me back to the bedroom, surprising me. “W-What are you doing?” I ask, and Hunter lets go and run back to the bedroom. I chuckled and followed behind him, and when I got there, I saw him lying on the bed again.

     “You still want to go back to sleep?” I ask him, and Hunter barked as an answer.

     “If that’s what you want then I’ll just eat on my own,” I say, but Hunter suddenly ran towards me, biting on my shirt and pulling me again towards the bed.

     “Aright! I’ll join you, okay? Calm down boy,” I say, and Hunter happily runs back to the bed, his tail wagging as if he’s waiting for me. I laughed at the way he was acting and went back to the bed as he wanted, and Hunter automatically snuggled beside me, almost making me die from his cuteness.

     “I’m spoiling you too much aren’t I?” I ask, and Hunter licks my face, agreeing to my statement a hundred percent.

     Well, I guess I’ll just have to get used to these lazy days from now on.

END

(4) Unexpected Welcome

🐾

“WELCOME HOME, DADDY,” A low voice greets from behind me, and my entire body froze in an instant.

     “How was work? Did your boss say something mean again?” The stranger asks next, and my heart practically dropped. I couldn’t turn around to face him; I was too scared.

     “ This isn’t real. This isn’t fucking real. I’m just tired, that’s all, “ I tried to convince myself, but I couldn’t deny the strong presence he had. I could feel him standing right behind me, and all I could do was glance at the phone I placed on the table. If I move now, will he do something? I have to call 911 somehow.

     “ I’ll just need to grab my phone. As soon as I grab it, I’ll run. “

     I took a deep breath and swallowed the lump in my throat. I got ready to move, but then the stranger suddenly got closer, and before I could do anything, he wraps his strong arms around my waist and suddenly hugged me from behind. “ I missed you. I thought you weren’t coming back, “ he whispers in my ear, his hot breath making my entire body shiver. He then moves his face closer to me and suddenly licked the nape of my neck, making me gasp.

     I thought I was going to cry. Is this my karma for what happened to Todd? And where the hell is Hunter? Please tell me he didn’t do anything to him. Please, I won’t be able to forgive myself if something happened to him.

     “Daddy, you should get changed now,” he then says, finally letting go. As soon as he removed his arms from me, my entire body moved in instinct as I grabbed my phone and immediately turned around to face him.

     “Who the hell are—” As I was about to shout at the intruder so my neighbors could at least hear me, my mouth practically stopped on its own when I finally saw what he looked like.

     The man was tall, maybe around 6 ft. His black hair was wet, his body was chiseled, and his eyes…my god his eyes…they were as blue as the ocean. He looked so familiar that I was left speechless. It felt like I’d already seen him somewhere. I’ve seen and even interviewed dozens of actors, singers, and idols. But this man was on another level. I was completely starstruck. I can’t believe he’s even real. I can’t…

     Wait a damn minute. Dane, what on earth are you thinking right now?! This is not the time to experience Stockholm Syndrome. I can’t just drop my guard down just because this man looks drop-dead gorgeous. That’s just crazy.

     And besides, he’s a pervert. Look at him, he’s wearing Hunter’s collar, and he’s even naked. Like, look at his cock just dangling there and…

     “You’re naked!” I shouted, finally realizing that he was, in fact, naked.

     “Oh, sorry. The clothes from the association obviously wouldn’t fit me anymore, but if you’re uncomfortable, I can wear a towel,” he casually says, and all I could do was look back at him with complete horror.

     I have a stranger in my house. I have a NAKED stranger in my house.

     “Are you okay?” He then asks, walking back to me again.

     Before he could come closer, I quickly grabbed an umbrella from the rack and pointed it toward him like it was a weapon. “Who are you? What the fuck are you doing in my apartment?!” I angrily asked him.

     The man was surprisingly calm. His expression doesn’t even change. “Daddy, you have to calm down.”

     “Don’t call me that! Who the fuck are you?! How did you get in?!” I asked again as I continued to threaten him with the umbrella. Of course, I know that this wouldn’t really help me. This man is huge, if he attacks me now, I won’t stand a chance. I just have to stall him for a while until I get the perfect timing to call the cops.

     “Alright, let me explain. Just calm down and put the umbrella down. You’re going to hurt yourself with it,” he says, and I swear to you, I almost gasped because of this asshole’s audacity. Just because I’m going to lose to you, it doesn’t mean I still won’t fight you.

     “Y-You know what, I don’t need an explanation. Get the fuck out of my apartment or I’ll call the cops. Do it now while I’m asking you nicely,” I dare tell him, and the man’s intimidating eyes softened.

     I thought he was going to leave like I told him to, but then the man grabs the umbrella with no effort and throws it far enough for me to not be able to reach it.

     My eyes widened from shock, but thanks to the adrenaline, I was finally able to dial 911. “Hello?! There’s a stranger in my house. I need—” But before I could say more, the man goes to me and quickly snatches my phone away, ending the call.

     I was about to try to run off, but he grabs my arm and pushes me against the wall, cornering me so I wouldn’t be able to escape.

     My entire body starts shaking as the man stares at me with his familiar eyes. He then lifts his other hand, immediately making me close my eyes because I thought he was going to hurt me. But as I was waiting for the impact, a soft hand gently touches my cheeks instead.

     “ I’m sorry, “ he whispers, making me open my eyes back to look at him.

     “I didn’t mean to scare you. Dadd…no…Day. I shouldn’t have scared you like this. Now look at you, you’re trembling at the sight of me,” he says with a sad expression before finally letting go. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m never going to hurt you,” he then says, emphasizing the word ‘never’.

     “How do you know my name?” was the only question I could think of as the man continued to stare at me.

    “Why wouldn’t I know the name of the man who adopted me?” he then reveals.

     For a second I was confused, but as I continued to look at him, my heart started to beat faster. A crazy idea went through my head, but I tried to ignore it. It was just impossible.

     “T-This can’t be,” I say in disbelief. “H-Hunter?” I then ask, and the naked man smiles at me, his dimples showing as he did so.

     “That’s right. I’m your companion, Hunter. Like come on, look at me. You can’t possibly forget who I am, right?” he asks, making me gulp. I stare at his familiar face, but then my eyes slowly go down to his chiseled chest and down to his possibly large—

     “No!” I shouted, pushing the man away from me before I start thinking of anything indecent. What on earth is even wrong with me? With the situation that I am in now, the size of a stranger’s dick is the last thing I should be worried about.

    “No, my companion is a dog. You sir are a grown-ass man,” I say, which should be the most obvious thing in the world right now.

    “Well you’re right, but since we already know each other enough, it’s natural that I show my real self to you now,” the man who claims to be Hunter stated.

     “Do you know how fucking crazy you sound right now? Are you even alright? Are you a drug addict or something?” I hysterically ask him, and the naked man just laughed, like my question was the funniest thing in the world to him.

     “Well, not as crazy as you not knowing who I am. We’ve known each other for so long. Can’t believe you weren’t able to recognize me.”

     “We’ve only known each other for two weeks! And I was with a fucking dog! How on earth was I supposed to know anything?!” I ask, now holding onto the head of my sofa so I wouldn’t end up falling because of how confused I was. I take a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. This man doesn’t want to talk rationally with me, so I have to kick him out of my apartment now before he does something.

     “You know what, you should sit down first. After all, you had a photo shoot with that boy group you hated so much, right?” he then asks, making me look back at him with shock.

     Wait, don’t tell me…

     Is he a fucking stalker?

     I should have known this man was bad news. A naked man literally appeared inside my apartment. Why did I hesitate for even a second? Why did I almost believe that he was really Hunter? Have I gone crazy myself?

     “Get out,” I say with a much more commanding voice this time, making him look back at me. The atmosphere around the man—who could possibly be my stalker—suddenly changed. A minute ago he was calm and warm, but now he looked almost cold and intimidating, just like…

     “ A Siberian Husky, “ I whisper as I swallow the lump in my throat, but I held my ground and tried my best not to be fazed by him.

     “Get out of my apartment. This is my final warning. If you don’t, I’ll kick the wall so hard it would alert my neighbors. If you don’t want any trouble, I suggest you do as I tell you.”

     The man stares at me with his cold blue eyes, and then, like his dominating presence wasn’t enough, he suddenly growled, showing me his sharp fangs.

     The hair on my skin instantly stood up, and I couldn’t help but take a step back. I thought he was going to pounce on me, but surprisingly enough, he doesn’t. He looks at me, and his expression softens in an instant. “Is this your final decision?” He then asks me.

     Despite how sure I felt, the question made me pause for a second. I almost told him that I wanted to change my mind, but I clenched my fist and answered, “Yes.”

     The man takes a deep breath and doesn’t say anything anymore. He looks at me for one last time and then finally walks towards the door. He grabs the doorknob and was about to open it, but as I caught a glimpse of his perfectly firm bottom, I realized something crucial.

     He’s fucking naked.

     “Wait!” I shouted, stopping him in an instant because I didn’t want my neighbors to see a naked man walk out of my room. To top it all off, he’s even wearing my dog’s collar. What will they think of me? What if news spread that an editor in EXRay Media invited a man over and made him walk out butt naked? It will definitely ruin me!

     “You can’t go out yet. Let me just get some clothes. You won’t fit mine, but I think a…f-friend of mine…left some of his clothes here,” I say as I was about to run to my bedroom so I take some of the clothes that Todd left behind.

     But just before I could reach the door, the man suddenly says, “I am not wearing your ex-boyfriend’s clothes. I’d rather be naked,” he says, shocking me even more. So he knows Todd too? Is this guy really my stalker, or is he seriously my dog, Hunter, who just magically turned into a human, questioning everything I know about science and logical thinking?

     “Fine. At least wear my bathrobe,” I tell him, running to the bathroom and taking the robe. I don’t really care if he’s going to be walking around the city wearing a bathrobe, but it’s better than being naked.

    “Here,” I say as I hand the robe over to him. The man wears it and finally covers himself. When he was all dressed up, he looks back at me and asks me again, “Are you sure you want me to leave?”

     “Yes,” I answer him.

     The man nods his head in understanding and finally opens the door. But before stepping out, he looks back at me for one last time before saying, “Don’t forget to eat dinner and make sure to check the expiration dates again or you’ll upset your stomach like last time. And when you’re finished with your work, make sure you don’t fall asleep in the living room; I wouldn’t be there to wake you up anymore. And please…live happily, okay?”

     My mind went blank as it tries to fathom how this complete stranger was able to know even the smallest details of my daily life, details that even a stalker shouldn’t be able to know.

     “ W-Wait… “ I called out, but my voice was probably too soft for him to hear because the man finally heads out of my apartment and shuts the door in front of me.

    That scene reminded me of Todd all of a sudden. It reminded me of how I quietly just stared at him leave, hoping he’d look back at me just for one last time so I could beg him to stay.

     I was reminded of such a painful memory, but somehow…

     Somehow…

     This felt more painful than that.

…

“I’m sorry sir, the CCTV cameras yesterday were unexpectedly down. We don’t know if someone took your dog or not,” one of the guards in our apartment complex tells me, making me curse in anger.

    “The cameras just conveniently had to be down,” I say, scratching my head in irritation. “Thank you for your time,” I tell the guard instead before walking to the elevator so I could head back to my apartment.

    I couldn’t sleep properly last night because of what happened, and at the same time, I was worried about Hunter, AKA my dog, and not the naked man who claims to be my dog. Of course, I’d think about him from time to time, but I didn’t want to get distracted by that. I have to think of my dog first. Who knows where he is right now? He could be starving, or even worse, he could be getting abused. I have to find him.

     “Should I go to the police station later?” I ask myself as I continued to walk to the elevator.

     A couple of people were waiting as well so I stood at the back, deciding to just ride the next one. But as the elevator door opened, the people in front of me suddenly screamed and moved away from the elevator, surprising me.

    The crowd stared at whatever was in the elevator. My curiosity got the best of me, so I pushed everyone away to look inside too. But as soon as I stood in front of the elevator, my mouth instantly dropped.

    It was the man from last night. He was lying on the floor, all curled up while wearing the bathrobe that I gave him.

    “Is that a drunkard? Someone should call the guards,” one of the tenants suggested.

     Someone was about to run to the guards, but for some reason, my instincts told me to run to him.

     “Wait! He’s my friend!” I shouted, running inside the elevator and blocking the man from everyone’s view. “Y-you see…we partied last night and he got really drunk. I’ll bring him back to my apartment so you don’t have to call the guards.”

     The crowd of people started talking amongst each other, but before anyone could question my story, I immediately clicked the button to my floor, automatically closing the elevator door. As soon as it was closed, I quickly looked back at the man and kneeled in front of him as I shook his body.

     “Sir…sir, wake up,” I call out, and the man slowly opens his eyes, revealing his blue eyes that felt so intimidating yet protective at the same time.

    “D-Dane?” He calls out, slowly sitting up from the floor as he rubbed his eyes.

     “What on earth are you doing here? Why the hell did you sleep inside the elevator?” I finally asked him, and the man looked at me and suddenly smiled instead of answering my question. His bright smile left me flustered, so I quickly stood up and looked away from him.

     “This was a bad idea after all. I should have just ignored him,” I tell myself, slowly regretting my decision to save him. Maybe I should have just let them call the guards after all.

     “I only fell asleep a couple of minutes ago,” he suddenly tells me. “I was walking around the park where we usually go for our jog, but the people looked at me weirdly so I had to leave. I went back here and had to hide from the guards so I hid in the elevator, and then I just fell asleep.”

     It’s official, this man is crazy.

     “Then why go back here? Why didn’t you go home?” I ask as I looked back at him through his reflection in the mirror.

     The strange man looks directly at me, and without even batting an eye, he replies, “The only home I have is here…with you.”

    A normal person should have felt uncomfortable after hearing someone declare such a thing. You might even start running away. But for some reason, those words…

    There’s something about this man that feels comforting. And despite how ridiculous it sounds, I can’t deny that I strongly feel that he really is who he claims himself to be.

     “ I’m seriously losing my mind,“ I say as the elevator door finally opened.

    I took a deep breath and stepped out of the elevator. But just as I was about to walk away from this man, I looked over my shoulder and said, “Aren’t you coming? You look like a lost puppy. It would be too cruel to leave you now.”

     The man was surprised for a second, but then this irritatingly bright smile appears on his face as he runs toward me, almost making him look like he was a dog who was happily wagging his tail.

     Is this man really telling the truth? Who knows?

     Am I going to regret this decision? Probably.

     Will he ever try to kill me if he got the chance? Maybe.

     But will this be the beginning of that exciting life I’ve been desperately trying to get?

     You know what…

     I’ll never know if I don’t try it out, right? 

TO BE CONTINUED

(5) Get Used To It

🐾

“DO YOU WANT SOME coffee?” I ask as I walk to the kitchen while this stranger awkwardly stood in the middle of the living room, not even sure what he’s supposed to do inside the apartment he probably broke into yesterday.

     “I don’t drink coffee,” he answered, instantly making me stop grabbing a mug.

     Alright, then, no coffee.

     “Juice?”

     “No thank you.”

     “Tea?”

     “No.”

     “Then what do you want me to serve you? Dog food?” I jokingly ask, but this man looks back at me like I was an idiot as he says, “I’m not a dog.”

     “ Wow, he actually said something normal for once, “ I whisper to myself as I grab a glass and poured some milk in it instead. “Here,” I say as I placed the glass on top of the island counter. “I don’t have anything else, so if you don’t like milk, you can just grab a glass of water.”

     The man stares at the glass of milk and doesn’t complain anymore as he finally drinks it with no question. While he was drinking it, I leaned on the counter and asked him, “What’s your name stranger?”

     The man puts the glass down and wipes his milk-stained lips before answering, “Hunter. My name’s Hunter.”

     “Oh come on, you can stop with the ’ I’m Hunter the dog ’ prank. I’m not calling the cops on you anymore so you can just tell me the truth,” I reassured him, but the man furrowed his brows like he was confused by what I was talking about.

     “But…my name really is Hunter,” he says, and I take a deep breath and walked in front of him so he could fully understand what I’m trying to tell him.

     “Look, we’re going to talk about where you hid my dog later, but for now you gotta tell me who you really are. If you need a place to crash, then I’ll let you stay here. If you’re looking for a job, I’ll help you, but you gotta be honest with me,” I tell him, and the man nods his head like he fully understood what I mean.

     “You want me to be honest right?” He asks, and I nod my head as a reply.

     “Alright, let me be honest then. I met you at the association during the choosing session with Ms. Christine. When I met you, you were afraid of me and tried to run away from me, but when I saw you, I knew that you were going to be the man that I was going to protect for the rest of my life, and no amount of papers and chains will change that fact,” he seriously tells me, and all I could do was look at him with complete shock.

     This guy is being dead serious. Even a stalker wouldn’t be able to know that. There’s just no way.

     “I don’t care if you believe me or not, but please, let me continue to protect you. I’ll do everything to gain your trust. I promise to be a good boy, just please don’t kick me out again,” he continued with such a desperate expression that I couldn’t help but cover my mouth in disbelief.

     He’s not lying.

     He’s not fucking lying.

     What on earth is the Companion’s Association?

     “H-Hunter?” I call out, my voice shaking as I said it.

     The man who claims to be Hunter gave out a sad smile as he replied, “Welcome home.”

     As soon as he said those words, a tear suddenly falls from my eyes. I didn’t even know why I was crying, but before I could even think of the right answer, Hunter grabs my arm and pulls me in for a tight embrace. My entire body relaxes in an instant. His warmth felt familiar that I couldn’t help but rest my head on his shoulders, finally putting my guard down completely.

     My head couldn’t fathom the idea that my dog just became human, but my heart feels otherwise. This could all still be a lie in the end, but if I believe him now then I won’t lose much. But if I don’t believe him now, then I might lose everything, and that’s a risk I’m not willing to take.

     For now, let me believe this possible lie. I’ll face the consequences later.

    “I should be the one saying that, idiot,” I reply, gently pushing him away and patting his head like what I’d usually do to Hunter.

     “A-Alright, this is a bit awkward, but give me just a little time to, you know, get used to…this,” I say, stepping away from him as I pointed to his supposed god-like human form, which is still insane if I’m being honest.

     “This?” He suddenly asks, looking down at himself. “You mean my body?” He then questions, and for some reason, that made my cheeks burn.

     “Do you not like it, daddy?” He then asks further, and I immediately looked away from him, grabbing his now empty glass of milk so I could wash it for him.

     While washing the dishes, I cleared my throat and told him, “You know, you gotta explain to me what happened. Like, how did you turn into a human? Did people experiment on you? Is this some sort of magic?”

     I was already expecting him to be prepared for such questions, but when I turned back around, I saw a worried expression on his face, making me furrow my brows in confusion. “What’s wrong?” I ask, and Hunter suddenly looks away from me and says, “I’m not allowed to say anything about my past or the association. I hope you can understand.”

     “Well I can, but at least look at me,” I say as I grab his arm so he could face me, but then Hunter closed his eyes, confusing me even more.

     “Alright, you’re being ridiculous,” I say as I walked back to the living room so I could take a seat on the sofa. “I won’t ask anything anymore if you’re going to act like that all the time. And with the number of papers the Companion’s Association made me sign, I’m assuming things are too confidential so I should just keep quiet about it, right?”

     As soon as I said that, Hunter runs to me and sat beside me on the sofa with a bright smile. “Thank you,” he says, and I took a deep breath before smiling at him again.

     Hunter continues to stare at me like how he’d usually do when he was in his other form, but then I remembered that this man is literally still wearing my bathrobe.

     “I have to buy you some new clothes,” I say, quickly standing from the sofa and grabbing my car keys. “I’m going out for a while so I could buy you some clothes. You should stay here and—”

     “No,” Hunter quickly interrupts. “I am not staying here alone again.”

     “But you can’t wear anything out. I’m not letting you walk around with me while wearing a bathrobe,” I tell him.

     Hunter becomes quiet for a while, but then he suddenly pouts and crosses his arms before mumbling something. I didn’t quite hear it at first so I moved closer to him. Hunter then looks at me with complete irritation as he finally says, “I’ll wear that Toad’s clothes.”

     “You mean Todd?”

     “I don’t fucking care. Just give me the clothes so we could burn them later,” he fires back, making me laugh.

     “Looks like I really have spoiled you,” I said as I walked to the bedroom, Hunter following right behind me. I went down to the floor and pulled a box from under the bed. The box was filled with Todd’s clothes that I bought for him in the past. He didn’t want to bring it with him, and I didn’t force him to bring it. I haven’t had the time to properly throw it away so I just left it under my bed.

     “Let’s see…you’re still bigger than Todd, but there’s a couple of garments here that I think will fit you,” I say as I pulled out an oversized shirt and some sweatpants. “Here, wear this for now,” I tell him as I handed the clothes to Hunter.

    Hunter takes the clothes and sniffs them like they smelled horrible, even though it wasn’t.

     “Will that do?” I then ask him, but Hunter ignores me as he continued to glare at the clothes like it was his mortal enemy.

     “You know what, you can glare or even punch the clothes for all I care, but if you’re still not done changing within five minutes, I’m leaving you,” I say as I was about to leave the room, but then Hunter suddenly dropped the bathrobe he’s wearing, leaving him completely naked in front of me again.

    I gulped as I unconsciously stared at him. He was still wearing the black leather collar that I gave him last time, and since he ‘got bigger,’ the collar ended up looking like a chocker instead.

     “ Stay focused you pervert, “ my inner conscience suddenly says, instantly making me look away from him before I end up seeing more of him.

     “Please change in the bathroom,” I say, my cheeks completely burning because of how flustered I was.

    “Why?” He asks with such a low voice that it honestly sent actual chills down my spine.

     “W-well, it’s weird,” I replied, still not daring to look back at him.

     I thought Hunter was going to follow me like the good boy that he is, but instead, he walks closer to me and grabs hold of my chin, turning my head so I could look back at him again.

     “ What’s wrong daddy? Do you not like the view? “

     Ah shit.

     This is dangerous.

     “J-just change already!” I shouted, pushing Hunter away with all my strength before running out of the bedroom, slamming the door shut so Hunter wouldn’t be able to follow me.

     I leaned on the door and took a deep breath before slowly looking down at my pants, a visible bulge peeking its way out, reminding myself that I have not used them ever since my boyfriend left me. Even my hand wasn’t getting it hard, but that?

    That was very dangerous indeed.

…

“You can pick the clothes that you want. Don’t worry about it,” I tell Hunter as the two of us were walking down the shopping district that was about 20 minutes away from my apartment. We had to ride the bus all the way here because for some reason, Hunter doesn’t want to ride in the car with me, and it’s not like I’m a terrible driver. I guess it’s just something that he doesn’t find comfortable, considering how the dog version of him didn’t particularly like riding inside a car either.

     “I guess for now we should buy some clothes you can wear at home,” I then say as I looked back at Hunter, but as soon as he looks back at me, I immediately looked away from him.

    It’s official, I can’t look him straight in the eye without feeling guilty. The fact that I got a boner because of him just feels so wrong and embarrassing at the same time.

     “A-anyway, do you have a particular brand that you like? Or maybe a—”

     “I know a place,” Hunter suddenly says, removing his hand from his pocket so he could grab my arm and drag me across the pavement where clothing stores were lined up beside each other.

     I let Hunter drag me for a while, but as we turned to a dead end, Hunter stops and shows me a fancy-looking store that was called Your Company.

     “Your Company?” I said as I read the glowing sign.

     I didn’t know there was a store here, and by the looks of it, the clothes seem quite expensive. I’m not short on money right now, but I don’t think I have the luxury to waste thousands of dollars on clothes alone.

     “H-Hunter, are you sure this is the place?” I ask, and Hunter looks back at me with a smile before nodding my head.

     I was hesitant at first, and Hunter probably saw my expression too, so this handsome being suddenly pouts at me and says, “Do you want me to look somewhere else, daddy?”

     My eyes immediately widened from shock as I looked around the area, making sure no one was able to hear him. “ Hunter, don’t call me that, especially in public. People will think I’m your sugar daddy or something, “ I whisper, making Hunter furrow his brows like he was confused by what I said.

     I mean, he’s staying in my apartment rent-free, I’m feeding him with no charge, I’m buying him clothes, and he’s even wearing the collar that I gave him because I can’t seem to get him to remove it. Does that actually make me a sugar daddy? Like, a perverted sugar daddy?!

     “Alright! We’ll buy your clothes here, just please stop calling me that when we’re outside,” I say, and Hunter suddenly smirks and me and whispers, “ Only when we’re outside? “

     The question left me flustered, so I immediately turned away from him and ran inside the store, making Hunter chuckle behind me.

    The store looked expensive. It was the kind of store where you’d buy one expensive suit for your ex’s wedding and later regret it because you realize you just wasted money on someone who most likely didn’t even look at you for as long as 30 seconds.

     Don’t worry, I’ve never done that before. Not yet though.

     “Hi, sir! Welcome to Your Company. I’m Wilson, and I’ll be assisting you today,” the salesperson, who called himself Wilson, greets me with a wide smile as soon as I got inside the shop. I don’t know why, but his jolliness reminds me of Christine back at the association.

     Do people really like their jobs this much?

     “Nice to meet you, Wilson. I’m actually with someone,” I say as Hunter enters the store as well, and the man’s face instantly brightens as if he knew him, or maybe it’s just because he’s handsome. At this point, I can’t really differentiate it anymore.

     “Oh I see, so you’re choosing for your companion,” he suddenly says, making me look back at him with shock. “Well with a man like this, any clothes would look good on him,” Wilson then adds, pretending like he didn’t just say something strange. Wait, could this shop be related to the association? Have they always been around like this?

     “Uhm, yeah, I agree,” I replied, trying to still act normal. “But for now, just give me three casuals, two smart casuals, and one formal, just in case.

     “That is noted. But for the formal wear, what style of suit would you prefer?” he then asks.

     “Italian, two buttons.”

     “Alright sir, then let me just borrow him for a minute. You may take a seat or look around the shop if you like,” Wilson said, and Hunter looks at me first, like he was asking for my permission.

     “Go on, follow the nice gentleman,” I awkwardly say, and Hunter nods his head and finally follows behind Wilson so he could pick the right clothes for him.

     While Hunter and Wilson were busy doing their own thing, I decided to look around the store, checking the clothes that were perfectly lined up just in case I find something that I might like for myself.

     I spot this beautiful grey shirt and removed it from the rack. I then walked in front of a mirror and placed the shirt in front of me to check if it would look good. “It’s not bad,” I tell myself before checking the price, which I should have checked first because as soon as I saw how many digits they were, my jaw immediately dropped.

     “ Holy shit, that is fucking expensive, “ I whisper to myself before quickly putting the shirt back.

     Thanks to that surprise, I ended up thinking if I should tell Hunter to look for a different store instead, but when I saw how happy he looked while Wilson showed him different clothes, I couldn’t help but just sigh.

     “ I really am a sugar daddy now, “ I tell myself in disbelief before heading to one of the sofas so I could take a seat.

     I watched as Hunter was checking each clothes that Wilson was suggesting to him. He looked so focused and concentrated that I couldn’t help but admire his sexy—I mean handsome— expression.

     Hunter looked like a model, so I couldn’t help but stare at him. To be honest, I still can’t grasp the idea of Hunter just magically turning into this oh-so-perfectly-handsome man overnight. Of course, I wanted to know more about it, but Hunter looked so spooked. As much as I want to dig deeper into this mystery, I’m also scared as I might just end up digging my grave instead.

     “Day, how do I look?” Hunter suddenly asks, snapping me back to my senses.

    I looked up and saw Hunter wearing this black suit that automatically made me gulp just by the mere sight of him.

     “This is a sample for the formal attire, but Wilson said he can add more details to it. What do you think?” Hunter asks, Wilson standing behind him with a smile like he was proud of what he was able to create.

     I continued to stare at him with complete awe, and before I could literally start drooling, I cleared my throat and told him, “You look…amazing. Just choose whatever you like, don’t worry about it.”

     Hunter smiles and looks back at Wilson and nods his head at him.

     “Alright, then I’ll just get some sample fabric and buttons so you could pick one for yourself,” Wilson says before heading inside a different room.

     While Wilson was gone, Hunter suddenly walked toward me and then kneels in front of me so I could level him. “Do you really like it?” He asks, grabbing my hand and squeezing it.

     I was about to tell him that I better like it considering how much I’m paying for it, but I brushed that rude response away and said instead, “I told you. You look amazing.”

    Hunter smiles at me again, and then he lifts my hand towards his lips and suddenly kisses it. And the fact that he was even wearing his suit on made this feel like he was propo—

     “Sir, here are the samples,” Wilson says, ruining the moment as he appeared out of nowhere.

     I quickly pulled my hand away from Hunter as he stood up from the floor so he could join Wilson again. As his back was now away from me, I couldn’t help but touch my chest which was now beating faster than usual. This man seriously likes to play with me. What happened to the sweet and cute Hunter that I was with for two weeks?

     “Do you want to change the color of the suit?” I overheard Wilson ask.

    “No, my owner loved the black one,” Hunter then replies, immediately making me look back at him like he was crazy.

     Did this man just refer to me as his literal owner? Has he gone mad?!

     “Excuse me, I just want to—”

     “He has good taste then. The color suits your complexion better. I can tell by the collar you’re wearing,” Wilson then replies before I could even defend myself.

     Are they seriously having this kind of conversation right now? And am I the only one freaking out about it?

     “Alright, looks like we’re done. Let me bring the clothes you picked to the counter,” Wilson stated as he carried the mountain of clothes to the counter so he could properly bag them.

     I massaged my temple and took a deep breath before standing from my seat so I could join them. Wilson started scanning the clothes while Hunter stood beside me. He then grabs my waist and pulls me closer to him as he whispers, “ Thank you, daddy. “

     His hot breath sent a cold shiver down my spine as I quickly pushed him away from me.

     When Wilson was finally finished scanning the clothes, I took my wallet out of my coat’s pocket and looked at the price on the screen. I already prepared for the worse, but as soon as I saw the five digits, I almost dropped my wallet in shock.

     “Cash or card sir?” Wilson asks with a bright smile.

     I looked at the screen again to check if I saw it wrong or not, but after double-checking, I sighed in defeat and finally answered, “Card.” I was about to take my credit card out so I could finally pay for all this, but then Wilson suddenly looks at me and adds, “What color is your card, sir?”

     “Color? What do you mean?” I confusingly ask because I’m well aware that people don’t usually ask what color your card would be.

     “Your Companion’s Association card sir. Is it blue and grey, red and silver, or black and gold?” Wilson finally asks, and I kid you not, I ended up covering my mouth in shock even though I already had a hunch that this might be connected.

     “You seem surprised. Your Company is the main clothing line of the association. Where else are you supposed to buy clothes for your companion?” Wilson then asks.

     “Well, I don’t know, every clothing store that exists?” I sarcastically asked back, but before I could even confuse myself even more, Hunter suddenly stops me and pulls me away from the counter.

    “Here you go. It’s black and gold, the VIP card,” Hunter tells him, and to my surprise, he pulls out the card that I used when I adopted him in the pet store. He then hands it over to Wilson, and Wilson just casually accepts the card and swipes it on the scanner.

     “Where did you get that?” I asked Hunter.

     “You left it at home,” he says like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

     “Looks like it’s all set. here you go sir,” Wilson says as he hands me back the card, leaving me dumbfounded.

     After packing everything up, Hunter takes all the bags for me and guides me out of the store.

    “Thank you for stopping by Mr. McCartney! Hope to see you again soon!” Wilson suddenly shouts as Hunter and I finally got out of the store.

     I was still in a state of shock even though we already got out, so Hunter looks back at me and snaps his fingers, finally helping me return to my normal state.

     “W-What just happened?” I asked. “Did I just pay all that using that card? That card that I’ve been leaving around the apartment like it was nothing? Did it contain money all along?” I ask as I looked back at Hunter, but instead of answering any of my questions, this man leans and kisses my forehead. “Thank you for buying me these clothes,” he says with a soft voice, instantly calming me down.

    “I technically didn’t though, but you’re welcome,” I tell him, feeling good that I got to save money, but at the same time, feeling bad that I didn’t buy him anything on my own. It doesn’t feel genuine somehow.

     “Oh come here,” he suddenly says, grabbing my hand and pulling me close to him. “Thank you for shopping with me. I mean it,” he tells me, his face so close that I was about to push him away again. But just as I was about to do so, Hunter holds onto me even tighter, leaning closer until we were only inches away from each other. “You can’t keep on looking away forever you know?” He says with such a low voice.

     “I’m not used to it yet,” I honestly tell him, and Hunter smirks at me before saying, “Well…get used to it.”  

TO BE CONTINUED

(6) Rainy Days

🐾

“I’LL CLEAN THIS UP, you should get ready for bed,” I tell Hunter, grabbing the plates on the table so I could wash them.

     We just finished eating dinner after a long day of shopping. Since I was too bummed out that I wasn’t really able to buy him anything, I ended up buying other things for him instead, like a towel, a toothbrush, and other personal items that he might need. We even went out to buy groceries. As a dog, I always knew that Hunter liked eating meat, but apparently, this version of him likes it too because he ended up buying tons of it.

     “ I should double check on my email again before heading to work tomorrow, “ I tell myself as I continued washing the dishes. But as I was scrubbing the plate with the new sponge I bought earlier, Hunter suddenly appears behind me and tightly hugs me from the back, almost making me let go of the plate.

    H-Hunter, didn’t I tell you to get ready for bed?“ I ask, almost making me slap myself because I was sounding like a literal dad now.

     Hunter doesn’t let go and hugs me tighter instead, leaning his face so close to mine that my entire body was slowly reacting. I tried to shake him off, but Hunter moves close to my ears and suddenly whispered, “ But daddy, I need to take a bath. “

     I was finally able to push Hunter away as my chest was beating extremely fast. “Then fuckin’ take a bath!” I shouted in complete panic, making Hunter tilt his head to the side like he was confused by what I said.

     The two of us looked back at each other in silence, but when I finally realized why he was waiting for me, I immediately started to shake my head in disapproval. “Fuck no,” I tell him. “You are not a dog anymore, which means you can take a bath on your own. And it looked like you were able to take a bath by yourself perfectly fine yesterday, so what’s the problem with that?”

     “But you were the one who washed me yesterday.”

     Oh shit, I did, didn’t I?

     But he was a freakin’ dog! Why does he keep ignoring that fact?

     “No, you can take a bath by yourself,” I decided, turning back so I could continue washing the dishes.

     “But daddy, you’re always the one who washes me,” he then says, his voice softer than usual, making all the hair on my skin stand.

     “Please, I’m begging you, for the safety of my precious gay heart, please stop calling me daddy,” I say as I finished washing the last plate. But then my eyes widened when I realized that I actually said that out loud. Inner conscience! how could you betray me like this?!

     “You don’t want me to call you that anymore?” Hunter suddenly says, making me slowly turn my head in his direction. When I was now facing him, I was surprised to see that Hunter was looking back at me with a more serious expression now, making me gulp as his cold blue eyes intensively watches me.

     “W-Well, you know, it’s a bit strange,” I answer, and Hunter walks closer to me and asks back, “Strange how?”

     “It’s just…you’re…bigger than me,” I end up saying.

     Hunter smirks and glances at his own body before looking back at mine, “So it’s based on the built?”

     “N-Not entirely, but…it’s just…” Before I could even think of the right words to say next, Hunter was finally standing right in front of me. He places both hands on the counter behind me, locking me in between his arms. With his eyes staring directly at mine, Hunter licks his lips and whispers in my ear, “ If that’s the case, then you’re supposed to be calling me daddy instead, right? “

     “Alright! I surrender! I’ll wash you!” I shout in defeat, my heart beating fast as Hunter finally moves away from me, showing me his victorious smile.

     “I’ll be waiting,” he says, winking at me before hurriedly going to the bathroom. As soon as he was gone, I dropped to the floor and grabbed hold of my chest. “ That was way too close, “ I tell myself, relaxing my body before standing back up again.

     A couple of minutes later, I finally went to the bathroom after calming myself down. Hunter was already in the bathtub, and by the looks of it, he was just comfortably sitting there naked while waiting for me. If it wasn’t for the bubbles, I could have seen everything.

     If I’m being completely honest, doesn’t this feel like fucking porn right now? This kind of scene happens before the two actors start getting down and dirty.

     “Dane, what are you waiting for?” Hunter then asks, making me flinch.

     “You know, I think this is a terrible idea,” I say, and Hunter just looks me dead in the eye like he was disappointed, so I immediately laughed and got closer to him. “Oh come on, I was just testing you! I was checking if you were feeling uncomfortable or not,” I tell him, and Hunter automatically starts smiling again.

     If you ask me, I’m living the best time of my life right now. Bathing a naked man that looks like an actual god is practically on my bucket list, but at the same time, I don’t want Hunter to see me as a fucking slut. And I just broke up with someone. That’s kind of unfair for Hunter and for Todd.

     “Alright, I’ll be washing you now,” I say, rolling my sleeves up before taking a stool and sitting behind Hunter.

     I stared at him from behind, but then I realized that he actually had a huge scar on his back, just near his rib area. I was surprised because I didn’t even notice it before. I wanted to ask what happened, but I felt like this wasn’t the right time to bring it up, so I took the bottle of shampoo and started washing Hunter’s hair instead.

     The room was quiet, and Hunter even closed his eyes as I continued washing him. For some reason, this was more relaxing than I expected. I guess I was just thinking too much into this after all.

     “Hey Hunter, I’ve been wondering but…do you want to do anything? Do you want to study or work? Because, you know, as a dog it was fine, but with what you are now, I don’t think it’s good that I let you just stay in my apartment all day,” I tell him, and Hunter opens his eyes and suddenly reaches out to grab hold of my soapy hand,

     “But that’s what I want to do,” he tells him. “I want to always be there for you. I want to protect you, wake you up in the morning, and greet you at the front door after a long day’s work. That’s what I want to do,” he then reveals, making my heart drop for a quick second.

     “Are you sure?” That almost sounds like you want to be my house-husband or something.

     “Yes. But if you’re worried, I could do chores too. I’ll clean the apartment, buy the groceries, and even cook for us. How’s that sound? Sounds like a deal right?” He then asks.

     “ You’re living the life my boy, “ my inner conscience suddenly says, immediately making me clear my throat so I could ignore it. “W-Well, if that’s what you want then I can’t stop you. But if there’s ever a time that you want to do something, then let me know. I’ll try my best to help you,” I genuinely tell him, but then Hunter quickly turns back to me, his face glowing for some reason.

     “Really?” He excitedly asks.

     “Yes, really.”

     “Then I need help with something right now,” he then says, making me furrow my brows in confusion.

     “What is it that you want?” I ask, and Hunter grabs the loofah and hands it over to me. “Can you wash my body too?” he says with such innocence in his eyes that I ended up grabbing the sponge and nodding my head with a smile on my face. Hunter turns back around and waited for me, so I positioned the loofah on his back but quickly stopped when I remembered his scar.

     “You can touch it,” Hunter suddenly tells me. He probably noticed that I hesitated.

     “Are you sure?” I ask him.

     “It doesn’t hurt anymore,” he answers instead, and I gulped and finally started scrubbing his back, doing it ever-so-gently even though Hunter already told me that it doesn’t hurt anymore. After that, Hunter showed me his left arm next, so I started scrubbing that as well, and then the other arm. Then he points at his chest, so I ended up scrubbing it too, trying my best to get my mind out of the gutter so I don’t end up thinking of anything inappropriate.

     You gotta concentrate Day. You’re just helping him take a bath. That’s all. You can’t think of anything else.

    “You can scrub that too,” Hunter suddenly says, making me snap back to my senses as I looked back at Hunter.

     “Scrub what?” I ask, but then Hunter looks down, making me look down as well. The water was still filled with bubbles so I didn’t quite understand what he meant in an instant, but as the bubbles slowly starts to evaporate, my eyes widened from shock when I was welcomed with something long.

     I quickly pulled my hand away from Hunter, but Hunter grabs my hand before I could even do anything, “What’s wrong, Dane? I thought you’d do anything for me?” Hunter asks in his low voice, making me gulp as I try to wash this growing temptation away.

     “ Oh, you’ve done it now Dane. Good luck, “ my inner conscience tells me as I slowly looked back at Hunter again.

     “You can use your hand. It’s going to hurt if you use the bath sponge,” Hunter then tells me, almost making me open my mouth wide because I couldn’t believe that he was casually saying that to me.

     “Do you even know what you’re asking me to do right now?” I ask him, making sure he’s not just messing with me.

     Hunter, who was holding onto my hand, suddenly places it near his lips before giving it a gentle kiss. “I’d be really happy if you could do it for me,” he tells me with such a sweet smile, and all my logical reasoning instantly goes down the drain as I automatically dropped the loofah so I could clean his lower area with no hesitation.

     “Alright, just…stay quiet,” I say as I slowly reached out to scrub him there with my soapy hand with no hesitation.

     It’s official. I’m a pervert.

     “I’m going to do it now,” I say first before finally touching him. His cock was warm, and just by feeling its shape, I could tell that it was long too.

     “ I’m touching a man’s dick. I’m touching a man’s big fucking dick right now, “ I repeatedly told myself, making sure I wasn’t dreaming. I moved my hand upward and downward, making Hunter close his eyes. After scrubbing him, I reached out to touch his balls this time, but as soon as I squeezed into it, Hunter suddenly growls and moans under his breath, “ Ah shit, that’s fucking good. “

     I quickly let go of him and ended up stumbling back, panting heavily like I just committed a crime.

     “Dane, are you okay?” Hunter asked, quickly looking back at me. He was about to help me out, but I stood up by myself and told him, “I’m done. Just rinse yourself off and go to bed,” I say before running out of the bathroom.

     As soon as I was outside, I grabbed my chest and took a deep breath.

     What on earth was I thinking? I just did something like that to someone I barely know. I must be losing my mind.

     “I’m hopeless. I’ll never be able to look Hunter in the eye anymore,” I say, regretting what I did in an instant. But as I was trying to calm myself down, my phone suddenly starts ringing. I quickly went to the kitchen to wash and dry my hands before taking my phone that was on top of the dinner table. I thought it was someone from work, but to my surprise, it was actually a message from my ex-boyfriend, Todd Cooper.

     I’m surprised he still has my number.

     “ I’m sorry for messaging you like this, but I stupidly left one of my envelopes in the cabinet in the bedroom. Do you mind handing it over to me? I need it for work. Don’t worry, I’m at the convenience store outside your apartment now, “ the message read, making me sigh and massage my temple.

     “Todd, this is not the right time,” I say, contemplating if I should meet up with him or not. But after a while, I went to the bedroom and opened my cabinet. Underneath my clothes was the envelope that Todd mentioned. It contained some of his personal documents and certificate. I honestly didn’t want to meet him right now, but since he was already there, I just decided to go and get this over with.

    And so I took my coat and was about to head out of the bedroom, but then Hunter suddenly appears in front of me, startling me.

     “Hunter!” I say, and Hunter takes a deep breath and moves away from me like he was being cautious.

     “Dane, are you okay? Did I push you too much?” Hunter asks with a worried expression. He was wondering if I was mad at him, and I could tell that he was scared, so I sighed and reached out to touch his cheek. How on earth am I going to be mad at this man? And it’s not like he forced me to do it. I’m still a grown man after all, and I wanted to do it too. He didn’t have to look so troubled.

     “Don’t worry about me, okay? I was just flustered, that’s all,” I say, and Hunter reaches out to touch my hand that was touching him.

     “Are you sure?” He asks, and I smiled and nodded my head before pulling my hand away. When the awkwardness finally vanished between us, Hunter looked at my other hand and noticed the envelope that I was holding. “What’s that?” He asks me.

     “Hunter, I’m just going to hand this over to someone. You stay here and be a good boy, okay? I’ll be back as soon as I can,” I tell him, and Hunter’s expression instantly changed.

     Before he could ask me who I was meeting with, I quickly moved away from him and went out of the apartment so I could head to the convenience store where Todd was waiting. As soon as I got outside, I noticed that it was actually drizzling, so I ran to the store before the rain gets stronger. When I got there, I instantly saw Todd waiting at one of the tables, drinking his favorite soda while checking his phone.

     “Todd,” I called out, and Todd quickly looks back at me, the sight of him making me put on a sad smile.

     “Day,” he replies, standing from his seat and approaching me. He was about to grab me for a hug, but I stopped him and quickly handed him his brown envelope instead, startling him.

     “This is what you need, right?” I ask him with a blank expression, and Todd takes a deep breath and checks the content of the envelope before looking back at me. “It is. Thank you.”

     “Alright, then I’ll be going,” I say, but as I was about to turn away from him, Todd suddenly grabs my arm. I was about to push it off me, but then I noticed his hand; it was covered in yellow paint. “What happened to you?” I ask instead, and Todd slowly pulls his hand away from me and shows me a little smile.

     “I was painting the walls of the new apartment I’m renting,” he says, surprising me. “It’s smaller, and it’s not the best apartment in the world, but it’s enough.”

     “That’s good,” I genuinely say, which probably showed how happy I actually was for him because Todd ended up smiling even more.

    “But, are you painting your room yellow? Don’t you like blue more?” I then ask, and Todd looks down and puts his hands inside his pocket before saying, “You always know what I liked best.”

     His statement surprised me so I ended up looking away from him too. “ I don’t think I did, “ I whisper back before looking out of the window.

    Looks like it started to rain now. I should go back.

     “Look, Day, I wanted to—”

     “I’m glad you’re doing good Todd, but I have to go,” I quickly say, cutting him off before he says something that we’d both end up regretting.

     “Day, let’s talk,” he says anyway, making me shake my head to disagree with it.

     “No, we already talked. I can’t…I don’t want to go back to that heartache anymore. We already agreed to stay civil with each other. We agreed to just be friends, so if you excuse me,” I was about to push Todd away, but Todd was persistent, he wasn’t letting me go despite what I told him.

     “ If I told you what this hand was holding on to a couple of minutes ago, would you finally let go? “ I thought to myself as I successfully pulled my hand away from him.

     “Let’s not do this anymore. I need—”

     “What if I don’t want to be just friends?” He finally asks; a question that I was terrified to hear from him.

     “Todd, please don’t…”

     “What if I regretted everything? What if I realized that I was an asshole and that I was the problem? What if I admit that I fucking screwed up? What would you do then?” Todd continues to ask, about to grab my hand for the second time, but I quickly moved away from him, not giving him the chance to touch me again.

     “Todd, we’re not kids anymore to be wondering about the what ifs,” I seriously tell him, and Todd’s eyes suddenly start becoming hazy, like he was moments away from crying.

     “Day, I’m sorry. I thought I didn’t need you anymore, but I was wrong. I was so wrong.”

     “That’s enough,” I practically begged as the people in the convenience store started looking at us. I gulped and looked at Todd’s helpless expression. I couldn’t help but pity him, and for a moment I wanted to talk to him like how he wanted, but then, I suddenly heard a loud thunder, and in an instant, my eyes widened from shock.

     “H unter… “ I whispered under my breath, making Todd look back at me confusingly.

     “Day,” he calls out.

    I slowly moved away from Todd and told him, “Todd, I’m sorry, but I really need to go.”

     Without even waiting for his response, I turned away from Todd and ran out of the convenience store. The rain was now falling hard, but I still ran to the apartment even though I was already soaking wet.

     When I got back to the apartment, the receptionist was surprised to see my state. “Mr. McCartney?! Are you alright?” She shouted. She was about to offer me a towel, but I ignored her and ran straight to the elevator. But like fate was playing games with me, the guards didn’t allow me to enter the elevator because of how wet I was.

     “You got to be kidding me!” I shouted in anger, running to the stairs with no hesitation even though I was on the 14th floor. After all that running, I finally arrived at my apartment, panting heavily as I hurriedly pushed the door open.

     “H-Hunter!” I called out, catching my breath as I went straight to the bedroom, making me curse because he wasn’t there at all.

     The rain poured harder, and the sound of the thunder outside got closer.

    “Hunter! Where are you?!” I continued to shout, running to the bathroom this time, but he wasn’t there either.

     Wait, did he follow me outside?

     Oh no, that can’t be.

     I quickly took an umbrella and got ready to head out again, but just before I could grab the doorknob, I suddenly heard something from my storage room, so I dropped my umbrella and ran towards the sound.

    “Hunter?! Baby where are you? Daddy’s here!” I continued to shout as I finally opened the storage room.

     As soon as I opened the door, I couldn’t help but cover my mouth in shock. In that small room that was filled with boxes and disregarded items, Hunter was curled up on the floor. He was crying, his hands trembling while he covered his ears in complete fear.

     Hunter opened his eyes and saw me standing in front of him. Without saying anything, he grabs me and immediately wrapped his arms around me even though I was soaking wet. “W-where did you go? Why did you leave me?” Hunter asks, making a tear pour out of my eyes too.

    I hugged Hunter even tighter as he buried his face in my chest. “I’m so sorry baby. I’m so sorry. I’ll never leave you like that again. I promise.”

TO BE CONTINUED

(6.5) Yellow

🐾

I PLACED THE LAST box on the floor and looked around my new bedroom. It wasn’t much, but it was something. Day and I broke up a month ago, and so I had to move out because he owned the apartment, and it would be wrong of me to still stay there.

     During the first few weeks of my breakup with him, I had to live with my college friend who was nice enough to let me sleep on his couch. I then got a job as a receptionist at a modeling company, and after a month, I finally got to rent my own apartment.

     My new place was smaller, but for some reason, it still felt bigger now that I’m alone. To be honest, ever since our split, I realized how much of an asshole I was. I knew Day for the longest time. I knew how much he struggled when we were in college, especially since he didn’t have his parents anymore. Getting a job and earning money was Day’s top priority, and yet, I damned him for it.

     I didn’t appreciate him enough, and I wasn’t able to understand how tired he has been for always carrying my weight. I was the one who always complained, not Day. I ruined everything for us.

    “I shouldn’t be thinking of this anymore,” I tell myself as I walked towards an old red box that’s on top of an old couch. The moment I saw it, a sad smile instantly appeared on my face. I walked towards the box, taking a deep breath before finally opening it, revealing a wilted bouquet of sunflowers, a teddy bear…and a ring; a ring that had me working overtime for two months.

     These were from our fifth anniversary, and I remember every detail of the night we went out for dinner because that was the beginning of how I started feeling insecure about myself…

     “Did you like the food?” I asked the night we were out on a dinner date. I stared at Day who sat across from me, looking so fucking good in his suit. I couldn’t believe that I was dating such a man.

     “I love it, Todd. But are you sure it’s okay for us to eat in such a place? We could have just celebrated our anniversary like how we always do,” Day then told me, making me laugh because of how genuinely concerned he looked.

     “Oh come on, this is our 5th anniversary and I want to make the day special for us. Besides, I was able to earn a few extra dollars from my job. Let me spoil you a little,” I said to him, and Day’s face slowly turns red, making him throw the table napkin at me as the two of us giggled like teenagers.

     “By the way…” I reached out for my pocket and grabbed hold of the ring. 

     “I have something to tell you,” Day and I suddenly said in unison, quickly making me put the ring back inside my pocket.

     “Oh, you go first,” I immediately tell him.

     “Are you sure? You looked like you were—”

     “No, I insist. It wasn’t important anyway so you can go ahead. What was it?” I then asked him before awkwardly clearing my throat because of how nervous I felt.

     “Okay, don’t get shocked but…”

     “But?”

     “I got promoted! I’m one of the editors in EXRay Media now!” Day excitedly says, and for some reason, at that very moment, my world entirely stopped. I couldn’t say anything for a while, but after a couple of seconds, I snapped back out of it and immediately said, “W-wow Day, congratulations! I’m so proud of you. That’s really amazing.”

     “I can’t believe it happened too. I thought I was going to be a fact checker all my life, but our boss said she saw potential in me and finally gave me the position. I’ve been dreaming about becoming an editor since we graduated, and it’s finally happening,” Day excitedly says, and I couldn’t be prouder. I knew how much he wanted this, but why…why do I feel—

     “Now you don’t have to worry Todd,” Day then says, making me look back at him with furrowed brows. “You can quit your other job so you don’t have to tire yourself anymore.”

     “W-wait, what?” I asked, and Day grabs my hand and squeezes it tightly before looking at me with such a serious expression. “I want you to do what you really want to do. I don’t want to see you regret anything. I’ll support you as much as I can Todd and handle everything, so don’t worry about anything else, okay?”

     I couldn’t really answer Day that night. For some reason, I felt pathetic. I had the nerve to propose to him despite what I was. I was so confident to settle down with him, but I didn’t even have a stable job. I felt like a child; like a boy that my own boyfriend had to babysit. I felt like a complete failure, so ever since that night, I never proposed to him again because I was embarrassed, and at the same time, I was prideful.

     That was the start of it all. That’s when I just started feeling like shit that I ended up making Day’s life miserable too.

     Our sixth year in the relationship became rocky. We were fighting all the time, bickering at the smallest of things. I became cold and at times heartless. I was a complete bum, and I felt even more terrible because I was blaming it all on Day like the asshole that I was. I pushed my insecurities on him, and I let him go because I was scared that I was never going to be able to reach his level. I was a fool, and I deserve everything that happened.

     “Why did I let you go Day?” I ask myself as I take the ring out of the box, staring at it as our past memories started flashing before my eyes, making a tear fall.

     I wiped my cheeks and looked at the ring for one last time, but as I was about to put it back inside the box, the phone in my back pocket suddenly rings, startling me. I pulled my phone out and saw that the caller was Jason, my college friend who made me sleep on his couch for almost a month. “Hey, Jason, what’s up?” I answered.

     “ I’m here at the hardware store right now. You asked me to buy you paint for your new apartment right? “ He asks, making me remember that I did ask him about it yesterday.

     “Yeah, I remember. So what color did you pick?”

     “Well, there’s a dark blue one, and then one that’s a bit lighter, like sky-blue. What do you prefer?” Jason asks.

     I looked around the apartment to check what would look best, but when I spot the ring on the box again, I grabbed hold of my chest and told him, “Yellow.”

     Jason took a couple of seconds to answer me, almost like he was surprised to hear what I just said. “Yellow? You want yellow? But didn’t you like blue more? We were just talking about this the other day.”

     “It’s fine,” I answer, opening my hand to look at the ring again. I stared at it for a while, and then I clenched it in my palm and brought it close to my chest before adding, “Day likes yellow.”

END

(7) Soaking Wet [m]

🐾

“ I’M SO SORRY BABY. I’m so sorry. I’ll never leave you like that again. I promise,“ I tell him, and Hunter holds onto me even tighter, almost like he was afraid that I was going to disappear. I wrapped my arms around him, barely hugging his entire body because of his size, but I tried to calm him down regardless.

     “What took you so long?” He asks me with his voice trembling, making my heart shatter into a million pieces. How can someone who seems so tough and intimidating look so fragile?

     “You don’t have to worry, I’m here now. I won’t—” Just when I was about to finish my sentence, a loud thunder sound was suddenly heard from outside, making Hunter hold me even tighter to the point where I had to catch my breath.

     I let him be for a while, but when I felt like I could no longer endure his tight embrace, I patted his back and told him, “Hunter, let’s go to bed. You’ll feel better if you lie down. Don’t worry, I’ll be there with you.”

     Hunter doesn’t say anything, but he eventually lets go of me. I stood up and grabbed his hand, forcing him to stand as well. While holding his hand tightly, the two of us walked to the bedroom. But just before I could ask him to lie down, I realized that Hunter’s shirt was wet. I then looked at myself and almost cursed because I literally forgot that I was actually soaking wet thanks to the rain.

     “Wait, let me change first,” I say as I was about to let go of his hand, but Hunter refuses, squeezing my hand even tighter.

     “Hunter, we can’t go to bed like this. The sheets are going to get soaked and we’re going to get sick,” I explain to him, but Hunter still wouldn’t budge, so I sighed in defeat and just thought of a different solution.

     “Alright, I’ll just remove your shirt. Will that be okay?” I then ask him, and Hunter thankfully lets go of my hand and nods his head to agree to my suggestion. And so I pulled his shirt over his head, used it to wipe his body, and then threw it inside the laundry basket. I then led him to the bed, and Hunter lies down while I kneeled on the floor. I was still wet after all, and it would be troublesome if the sheets get soaked.

     “I’ll stay here until you fall asleep, I promise,” I reassure him, and Hunter doesn’t say anything and stares at me for a couple of seconds before closing his eyes.

     Hunter had a hard time sleeping, especially when there were still occasional lightning and thunder sounds outside. I didn’t know what to do, so I just grabbed his hand as he tried his best to fall asleep. I watched as Hunter twitches every time he would hear a sound. At this rate, he was never going to fall asleep. If only I had headphones then that would have greatly helped. Hunter just needs to hear something other than the storm outside.

      Wait, maybe I can do something about that after all.

     “You know, I hated the rain too,” I decided to share with him.

     Hunter slowly opens his eyes when he heard me speak, but I immediately covered his eyes again and told him, “No, just close your eyes and listen to my voice.”

     When Hunter didn’t try to complain, I took a deep breath and held onto his hand even tighter so I could continue my story, “For me, bad things happen when it rains. For starters, my ex-boyfriend broke up with me on a rainy day, and then there’s…” I pause and take a deep breath as I remember my parents. For a moment I thought it was a bad idea to talk about something so heavy, but when I looked at Hunter, he looked calmer now, so I just decided to continue.

     “I hated the rain so much that in the past, I’d lock myself in my room and force myself to sleep so when I woke up, it wouldn’t be raining anymore. But you know, I eventually started liking it,” I say as I rub my thumb on Hunter’s hand. “There are some good things about the rain too. Like my promotion, I got it when it was raining, and then I met someone from the association who gave me the card, and that was raining too. And besides, I also grew fond of the smell of the concrete floor whenever it gets wet by the rain.”

     I chuckle to myself and look back at Hunter. Hunter’s eyes weren’t twitching anymore, and his breathing was a lot calmer than earlier. He looked relaxed now that I automatically knew that he has fallen asleep.

     “ Thank goodness, “ I whisper as slowly pulled my hand away from him before standing on the floor.

     When it looked like he wasn’t going to wake up any time soon, I used that as an opportunity to change my clothes. Afterward, I looked back at Hunter who was now comfortably sleeping in the bed. I didn’t want to just sleep beside him and end up waking him up, so I decided to just get a futon so I could sleep on the floor instead.

     After setting up my temporary resting spot, I finally lay down and stared out of the window. It was still raining, but it wasn’t as heavy anymore. When I was confident that Hunter wasn’t going to wake up any time soon, I slowly closed my eyes and got ready to sleep, but just as I was about to doze off, I suddenly had this feeling that I should hold Hunter’s hand again. And so I reached out for Hunter’s warm hand on the bed and gently held onto it.

    I didn’t know if it would bother him, but then a smile appears on my face when I felt him gently squeeze it back.

…

I woke up the next day, the sunlight from outside the window perfectly shining on my face. I was about to sit up from the futon, but then I felt something…heavy. For a moment I thought I was paralyzed, but then I realized that someone was hugging me from behind, his strong arms wrapped around my waist.

     “Hunter!?” I shouted in shock.

     Hunter doesn’t say anything, but instead, he leans his face closer to me and suddenly kissed the nape of my neck, instantly sending chills down my spine.

     “ Why didn’t you sleep beside me last night? “ He suddenly whispers in my ear.

    I gulped and quickly removed Hunter’s arms from my waist, sitting up and looking back at him to answer, “I didn’t want to wake you.”

    Hunter sat up as well and looked back at me with his cold blue eyes. I was about to tell him that I should make us breakfast, but then I realized that his eyes were a bit red and it was surrounded by dark circles. I was surprised for a moment, but then I realized…“You didn’t get to sleep again, didn’t you?” I asked, and Hunter immediately looked away from me.

    I moved closer to him and held onto his chin, pulling it towards me so he could face me again. “You should have told me that you still couldn’t sleep last night. I could have—”

     “Good morning,” he says out of the blue, making me furrow my brows in confusion.

     “W-What?”

     “I said good morning. I think I haven’t said it to you yet,” he casually tells me like we weren’t just in a serious conversation a second ago.

     I quickly pull my hand away from him and shook my head in frustration. “N-no, I know what you’re trying to do. You’re making me brush this off again. Well, jokes on you because I’m not letting this go. Do you know you can get sick if you don’t have enough sleep?”

     “I’m fine,” he finally answers.

     “No, you’re not fine. you’re going back to bed,” I told him anyway.

     I got off the futon and grabbed Hunter’s hand so I could force him to get back to bed, but Hunter suddenly pulls my hand away from me and looks back at me with a serious expression. “Day, I told you, I’m fine. Just go and get ready. You still have to go to work right? You can just leave me here,” he insisted.

     I was about to scold him again, but then I remembered what happened last night. I remembered how he was left alone at the apartment, hiding inside the storage room like a trembling dog who had been abused by his past owner.

     As much as I wanted him to get the right amount of rest, I didn’t have to heart to tell him off anymore, so I went back to the futon and just wrapped my arms around him so I could give him a hug instead. Hunter was obviously surprised because he didn’t hug me back. He just sat there, his body stiff.

     “I don’t know what happened to you. I don’t know why you’re so afraid of the rain and why you have that painful scar on your back. I don’t know why you’re so cautious, and why at times you hold onto me like you’re afraid that I’ll disappear. I know nothing about you, but know that I will be here as long as you want me to, okay?” I sincerely tell him.

     Hunter was silent for a while, but he slowly wraps his arm around me and finally hugs me back.

    “ I’m sorry, “ he suddenly whispers, making me wonder what he was apologizing for. Was he saying sorry because he felt bad for troubling me last night, or because I got worried that he didn’t get enough sleep?

     “I’m really sorry,” he continues to say, and I gently pushed him away so I could directly look back at his eyes. 

     “It’s just you and me now, remember?” I say as I reached out to touch his cheek.

    Hunter looks back at me with his cold eyes, not saying a single word. He then takes my hand off his cheek and gently moves it close to his lips. This time, I didn’t pull away. I didn’t pull away as Hunter started to kiss each finger.

     “I am yours,” he suddenly tells me, making me gulp at such a bold statement.

     Hunter then grabs me by the waist and pulls me closer to him. My heart beats fast as he sniffs my neck, and when I felt his lips on me, I grabbed his shoulder, burying my nails on his back as the heat of his breath sent me into this unexplainable yearning.

     “Every part of me…” he says as his lips gently touch my skin, his hands tight around my waist. “Go ahead and take it.”

    I buried my nails in him even further as Hunter started licking the side of my neck, his hot and wet tongue tasting me, making me gasp for air.

     “But in return…” He continues, slowly pushing me away so I could lie down on the futon. When I was finally on my back, Hunter goes on top of me and grabs my hand. Without any warning, he guides it to his hard chest, slowly moving it for me as my hand caresses his body. When it was about to get lower, Hunter suddenly drops my hand and leans his face close to mine. He got so close that I thought he was about to kiss me, but then, Hunter moves to my ear instead and whispered, “ You’ll have to let me devour every part of you too .“

   My entire body shivers as his low voice practically echos inside my ear. I couldn’t move away from him, or rather, I didn’t want to move away. Hunter saw that I wasn’t pushing him off me this time, so he takes a deep breath and asks, “Will you give me that permission?”

     I continued to stare at his eyes, almost like I was under a spell. The way he just looked at me made me instantly forget everything that happened last night, so without even thinking about it, I nodded my head as a response.

    Hunter smirks and suddenly lowers his body on me, making me gasp as I felt his hard bulge pressing down on mine. I bite my lower lip, trying not to make a sound. Hunter must have liked how I reacted because he pushed himself harder against me.

    The room was completely silent, but then you could hear Hunter breathing heavily as he started rubbing himself against me. At first, it was slow, almost like he was trying to find the perfect spot to position himself. When he finally got the right angle, Hunter started dry humping me with no ounce of shame.

     I couldn’t take it anymore so I let out a moan. Hunter watches me, licking his lips as he realizes that I was enjoying it. I was so embarrassed, but I couldn’t look away. His eyes were locked on mine. He looked way too sexy on top of me.

     “I got so fucking c-crazy…when you rubbed my dick…l-last night Dane. I couldn’t stop thinking about you,” he manages to say, and I felt like I was the crazy one for feeling this good over something like this.

     It’s been a while since I had sex, but this, this felt better than any sex that I’ve experienced in the past.

     Hunter grabbed me by the waist again, and then he pulls it up so he could feel me more. With my back arched, I couldn’t help but moan louder. It felt amazing. I thought I was going to faint.

     “D-Dane…ah shit, Dane,” he continued to call out, rubbing himself on me harder and faster.

     My eyes roll backward as I clench on the sheets. I could even feel how wet my boxer now was.

     “Hunter…w-wait…” I tried to say, now covering my face with my hands because of how embarrassed I was. But Hunter didn’t stop. He takes my hand and intertwines it with mine, pushing it back on the bed so I’m forced to look back at his face. Hunter looked hungry, and being desired by him only excited me more. No one else has looked at me like that. No one has craved me as much as he does.

     I wanted more of him. I wanted to feel him deeper inside me.

     “ Take it off, “ I embarrassingly say, and Hunter slows down as a mischievous smirk appears on his face like he was amused by what he just heard.

    “You have to say please,” he then tells me, and so I quickly looked away, my face burning up because of how ashamed I felt.

     “ P-please… “ I say in a soft voice, and Hunter chuckles and pulls my hand close to his lips so he could gently kiss it.

     “ Please daddy, fuck me hard. Those are the words that I want to come out of your pretty little mouth. Can you do that Mr. McCartney?“ He then teases, and I immediately tried to pull my hand away, but Hunter couldn’t let go.

     Hunter waits for me to actually say it, and while waiting, he suddenly puts my middle finger in his mouth and starts sucking it, and while he was sucking it, his eyes were still locked on mine, obviously trying to seduce me.

     It went on for a couple more seconds, and the sensation was no longer bearable, so I finally mustered up the courage and said, “D-Daddy…please…please fuck me. I want it so much..”

     Hunter pulls my finger out of his mouth and grins in satisfaction. “That’s a good boy,” he says as he finally pulls my boxers off, revealing my erection. The cold atmosphere made me shiver, and I could even feel my hole throbbing. Hunter grabs my hand again, and with the finger that he was just sucking on earlier, Hunter suddenly positions that finger at my entrance and says, “Show daddy how you do it first.”

     I didn’t even know what was going on as Hunter slowly pushed my wet middle finger inside my hole, making my body tremble. I could feel my hole throbbing around my finger as Hunter pushes it deeper inside until I could no longer go any further.

    “ Move it, “ he commanded, and with the feeling of shame now getting thrown out of the window, I started fingering myself as Hunter watched closely. I’ve masturbated a couple of times, but the fact that someone was staring turned me on even more. 

     While Hunter continued to stare at me, he starts sucking his index finger and adjusted himself on top of me. While I was pleasuring myself, Hunter doesn’t even warn me and suddenly pushes his finger inside, making me moan even louder.

     “S-Shit…”

    “You’re so tight, Dane. Not used to having two fingers in?” He teases.

     Hunter matches my pace, pushing his fingers in while I did the same. The only difference now was that his finger was longer than mine, so every time he hits a good spot, my entire body trembles.

     “More…fuck, do it harder!” I now demanded, and Hunter moved his fingers even faster until cum starts shooting out of my dick. I moaned for one last time as my seed continues to leak out of me. When my body finally relaxed, I slowly pulled my finger out. I thought Hunter was going to do the same, but he leaves his finger in and slowly massages my inside, making the hair on my skin stand.

     “ H-Hunter… “

     “You want daddy to put in another finger?” He suddenly asks, but before he could even do such a thing, someone suddenly starts knocking on the door, startling both of us.

     Hunter stops and finally pulls away from me. I was about to say something, but I stopped when I saw the expression that he had on his face. He looked furious; I couldn’t say anything after that.

     “Stay,” he commands, leaning close and kissing my forehead before heading out of the bedroom.

     As the door closed, I lay my head back down on the futon, staring at the ceiling as I tried to catch my breath. I couldn’t believe what had just happened, but when everything finally sank in, I grabbed a pillow and covered my face in embarrassment.

     I just pleasured myself in front of Hunter.

     Hunter rubbed himself against me and just fingered the shit out of me.

     It felt so unreal. I was too caught up with the moment that I didn’t even think about anything anymore. I felt like I just had a one-night stand with a handsome man I met at a gay club, but this time, the guy actually stayed and didn’t run away.

     “ Shit, “ I curse at myself as I slowly sat up, letting my hole cool down a little after getting fucked by two different fingers at the same time.

     Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves down, I started cleaning myself up right after. I cleaned my finger and my cock, and then I changed my boxers. When I finally looked decent again, I went out of the room and looked for Hunter.

    “Hey, who was at the door?” I asked as I walked my way to the entrance. As soon as I got there, my feet instantly stopped. Hunter was standing in front of the door, glaring at the figure who was waiting outside. I couldn’t even say anything as I looked back at the two men in shock.

     “Todd…”

TO BE CONTINUED

(8) My Pick

🐾

TODD WAS STARING AT Hunter with surprise and confusion all mixed together in one weird expression. He must be wondering why a half-naked man answered the door for him, and why he was looking back at him like he was ready to kill him.

     “What’s going on? Who is he?” Todd finally asks.

     I walked beside Hunter and tried to act normal.

     Think Day, think. What else could Hunter possibly be rather than my pet dog?

     “He’s a new employee at our company,” I blurted out because for some reason, with all the creativity I have as an editor in a big magazine, that was the best thing I could think of. “He came from a different branch and arrived last night. He’s going to be working at the company for a while, so my boss suggested that he stays here,” I calmly explained so Todd wouldn’t know that I was only making it up.

     One thing about me is that Todd doesn’t know I’m a good liar. He never knew because he never caught me.

     “And you seriously think that I’ll believe that crap?” Todd suddenly asked with his right eyebrow raised.

     Okay, maybe he did know after all.

     “Believe what you want to believe,” Hunter suddenly butts in, surprising me because he wasn’t supposed to be talking. I was supposed to have everything covered for Pete’s sake.

     “Like what Mr. McCartney said, I’m a new employee at the company. I transferred to Italy six years ago and have been working there since. I’ve only been transferred back here so I haven’t settled in yet. I don’t know who you are, but if you feel uncomfortable seeing me here, then I can go,” Hunter explains in such a professional manner that I almost left my mouth wide open in shock.

     I can’t believe Hunter is helping me out here. He just perfectly made up a lie to fool my ex-boyfriend whom he seems to resent so much. He’s so good at lying that it’s even scaring me.

     “N-No, that’s not necessary. I apologize for sounding rude,” Todd then answers, looking flustered.

     I glanced at Hunter and noticed that he was no longer glaring at Todd. The lie somehow fooled him, but if Todd starts asking about the company, he’ll definitely get caught, especially when Todd knows a lot about my job since I always talk about it.

     “Uhm, Noah, you can use the bathroom now so we could head to the company,” I quickly say, emphasizing Hunter’s new name so he can catch on.

     Hunter glares at me, probably because he didn’t like the basic-ass name I made for him. But thankfully, he doesn’t say anything anymore and just nods his head, looking at Todd for one last time before going inside the bathroom.

     I looked back at Todd who was awkwardly just standing outside the very apartment we used to both live in. I didn’t really know what else to do, so I cleared my throat and ask him, “Would you like to come in?”

     “Thank you,” he says as he steps inside the apartment.

     I can’t believe I’m entertaining a guest just minutes after getting fingered by the man I happened to name Noah.

     “Where’s your new dog?” Todd suddenly asked while looking around the apartment.

     “Oh, he’s…at a friend’s house,” I lied again. “Unfortunately Noah’s allergic to dogs so I had to ask someone to take care of him for the time being.”

     “I see,” he says, putting his hand inside his pocket. He then spots the table where the television was supposed to be, and I could hear him chuckling a little, probably because he couldn’t believe that I still haven’t bought one for myself after our breakup.

     The two of us became awkwardly quiet, so I cleared my throat and told him, “So, what can I help you with?”

     “Oh yeah, I’m sorry for barging in here all of a sudden. I just wanted to see if you were alright because you suddenly ran off last night like something serious happened,” Todd explains, surprising me because I wasn’t expecting him to even think about such a thing.

     “I-Is that so,” I say, awkwardly scratching the back of my head.

     “I also wanted to talk about something important, but it seems like you’re a bit…occupied,” he then says, probably referring to Hunter.

     The two of us became quiet again, and so Todd clears his throat and tries to break the silence so both of us wouldn’t have to suffer from this awkward tension anymore. “I guess I’ll head out. I just really wanted to check on you. I’m sorry if I’m being a little weird. I guess I just—” Todd suddenly stops himself before he could finish whatever he was about to say.

     “Well, I appreciate the gesture,” I honestly tell him, and Todd smiles and nods his head.

     Todd doesn’t say anything anymore and finally walks towards the exit. I watched him leave for the second time, my heart aching again like before. The first time was when he moved out of the apartment, and I remembered crying as soon as the door slammed in front of me.

     Day, what the hell is wrong with you? You shouldn’t be feeling like this anymore. Who cares if you were madly and deeply in love with him for six years? It’s all over now. You’ve been single for almost two months, and to top it all off, you now have someone who seems to genuinely care about you.

     You shouldn’t be bothered by such a trivial thing anymore.

     “Hey…” I called out, instantly making Todd stop walking.

     Todd turns back around to look at me, and when our eyes found each other, I swallowed the lump in my throat and said, “About what you wanted to talk about…let’s talk about it some other time. Maybe grab a cup of coffee, just like old times.”

     Todd’s eyes turn hazy. He looked like he was about to cry, but I could tell that he tried his very best to keep it together.

     “I would love that,” he says, smiling at me before finally heading out of the apartment. As soon as the door closed, I reached out for my aching chest. I tried to act calm, but for some reason, I ended up laughing at myself instead. I didn’t know why, but I couldn’t stop laughing like I finally lost the little sanity that I had left.

     I’m a fucking joke. After everything that happened, after all the things that I went through when he broke up with me, I still couldn’t help but think of him.

     Did I use Hunter to temporarily forget about Todd? Did I use Hunter’s vulnerability to patch up how broken I felt? Have I really not gotten over him yet?

     “Dane,” a voice suddenly calls out, instantly making me stop laughing.

     I turned around and saw Hunter looking at me with an almost blank expression. I tried to act normal as I showed him a fake smile, hoping he wouldn’t notice how conflicted I felt.

     “Hey, sorry about what happened back there, I didn’t know he was going to visit. But thank you for backing me up. I would have completely blanked out if you weren’t—” Just as I was about to finish my sentence, Hunter suddenly grabs my hand, pulling me close to him and wrapping me around his arms.

    “H-Hunter?”

     “Cry,” he suddenly says, making me widen my eyes in shock.

     Hunter hugged me even tighter, burying my face in his chest as he told me, “You’re in pain, right? Then cry. I’m here…always.”

     I didn’t know why Hunter decided to say such a thing to me, but as soon as I heard his reassurance, tears instantly streamed down my eyes. I started crying like I was a lost kid, and the cries eventually ended up becoming loud sobs.

     When Todd and I broke up, I had no one to run to. I didn’t have close friends and family who I could console, and I didn’t even have someone who would hug me like this. I cried on my own, I went through that painful breakup on my own, and I tried to get it together on my own. I went to work, pretending like I was fine. No one ever asked me if I was okay, or asked me to cry because I’ve always stood fine by myself. I had to toughen up because when Todd and I broke up, I realized that he was the only one I had. When he left, I was left with no one.

     Hunter made me feel special. Despite not knowing anything about him, he made me feel safe. He made me feel like I can rely on him. He was someone I could be vulnerable with.

     I felt like he was someone I could love, but for now, with what I am at the moment…

     I just couldn’t.

     I thought I was fine, and I’m actually still completely broken. Hunter isn’t obliged to fix me. I don’t want to act like he is here to put the broken pieces back together. He told me that all of him was mine as long as I allowed him to give myself in return. But for me to be able to do that, I have to make myself whole first. Only then will I be able to give him everything.

…

“I’ll be back for lunch later, but if you get hungry, I left some money in the cabinet. There’s a convenience store just outside the building, you won’t miss it,” I tell Hunter as I wore my coat.

     Hunter walks toward me and stares at me. When I noticed him looking, I quickly looked away from him and cleared my throat, still a bit shy after crying in his arms for almost ten minutes just three days ago. It also doesn’t help that he finger-fucked me on the same day before my emotional breakdown over Todd. I should seriously get over it by now, but I just couldn’t.

     “A-Anyway, if someone knocks, pretend like you’re not home. It might be just another solicitor,” I then tell him as I grabbed my bag and car keys. I walked towards the door and wore my shoes this time. While I was tying my shoes, I looked back at Hunter again and continued to remind him, “And if the phone rings, just ignore it, okay?”

     Hunter chuckles and walks closer to me. “I know already, we’ve been through this a couple of times now. Just go before you end up getting late again,” Hunter says, reaching out to pat my head.

     My heart skips a beat at the gesture, so I quickly push his hand away and pretended like I wasn’t bothered by what he did. I was about to leave the apartment, but then I stopped and quickly looked back at Hunter when I realized something.

     “Do you want to work at the company?” I ask, surprising Hunter. “I know we were just making it up last time so Todd wouldn’t ask any questions, but if you work there for real, you won’t have to be alone here all the time, and you’ll even earn your own money. Of course, I’m not trying to force you or anything. These are good intentions too so I hope you don’t think badly about it,” I say, making sure he doesn’t get offended by it like Todd would.

     Hunter doesn’t say anything, but then he crosses his arms and suddenly chuckles.

     Wait, was that a yes or a no?

     “It’s amusing how you care about me this much,” he says, and I could literally feel my entire face burn up.

     “F-Fine, if you don’t want to then don’t,” I say, quickly turning away from him and grabbing the doorknob. I then pushed the door open and got ready to leave, but Hunter suddenly calls out for me, making me stop in an instant.

     “Daddy…” He calls out. “I’ll see you later, okay?” he finishes with a sweet smile, and I turned my head and smiled back at him before finally leaving the apartment.

     I didn’t know that a simple see you later would change my mood so much. I didn’t even notice that I had a smile on my face while I drove my way to the office. Even when I arrived at work, that stupid smile that Hunter gave me before I left still hogged up my head until I couldn’t think of anything else.

     “You seem to be in a good mood,” someone comments as I was entering the elevator. I turned around to see who it was, and as I had already guessed, it was Jane Roberts, one of the editors on my team.

     “Good morning team leader,” she greets as she stood beside me.

     “Good morning,” I reply, clicking on the floor that we were both going to.

     The elevator goes up, and I started massaging my shoulder blades, which have been stiff since I left the apartment. Jane looks back at me through the reflection on the elevator door and then asks, “Are you okay?”

     “Oh, yeah, I’m fine. I’ve just been sleeping at a futon for a few days now,” I casually answered. I didn’t really think much of it, but when I saw the confused expression on Jane’s face, I probably said something strange. Everyone at the office knows that I live alone now, so why on earth would I be sleeping in a futon?

     I can’t tell her that I’ve been sleeping on the floor because a man’s been sleeping on my bed. Of course Hunter doesn’t know that because I’ve been pretending to be very busy at night, and then when he falls asleep, I’d lie down on the futon. It’s still a bit awkward to sleep beside him after all.

     “ You’re seriously stupid Day, “ my inner conscious suddenly comments, immediately making me brush it off so Jane wouldn’t think of anything weird.

     “My bed was a bit old so I threw it away and bought a new one online. It hasn’t arrived yet,” I explained, and Jane nodded her head in understanding like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

     “Well, if you want to feel better, I know a massage place that you might like. Give it a try, your shoulders and back will feel much better afterwards,” Jane sweetly suggests, and I nodded my head at her as the two of us finally stepped out of the elevator.

     We got to the officer where the other members of my team were. They greeted me like usual as I walked my way to my own private office. When I got inside, I pulled out the things in my bag and started arranging my desk. While I was doing so, Jane knocks on the door, entering my office right after even though I haven’t really said anything yet.

     “Day, I forgot to mention when we were at the elevator earlier but the advertising department gave us a new project,” Jane says as she approaches me, holding an envelope. She hands me the envelope, and I immediately took it from her so I could check what it was.

     When I looked inside, I was surprised to see a poster that had the slogan “ Are you the new face of EXRay Media? If yes, then show us what you can do and head over now! “

     “The slogan is shit,” I comment, and Jane snatches the poster away from my hand and says, “The slogan’s not important right now. What’s important is what it implies.”

     “Well, based on that shitty poster, I’m guessing we’re looking for some sort of model to promote the company, is that correct?” I asked as I placed the envelope on top of my desk before taking a seat.

     “That’s correct.”

     “Then why on earth are we looking for a new face? We’ve featured the biggest stars in the world. Finding someone new to promote the company won’t help us,” I explained, and Jane nods her head in agreement.

     “That’s what I said too, but the chairman wanted to still go with it. It’s not just for EXRay Magazine, but for EXRay Media as a whole. The chairman is hoping to look for a refreshing face that when people see it, they’d want to check our company out,” Jane explains further.

     “Alright, then why did he give me this job?” I then ask, and Jane pushes the envelope closer to me. I took the envelope again, and to my surprise, it also contained pictures of different men with different looks and charms.

     “What the heck is this?” I asked as I stared at the pictures one by one.

     “You’ve been working in this company for four years now, and Ms. Valentina explained that you know people’s tastes more than anyone in the company, so she chose you as one of the head employees who will pick the final candidates,” Jane tells me, making me look back at her.

     “I guess I’m fine with that, but where the hell did you get these guys? These look like photos a stalker would take,” I seriously tell her before looking back at the photos again.

     “That’s because they are. Well, not really from stalkers, but from the photography department. They were asked to walk around the city and take pictures of potential candidates so the photos would come out as raw and real . These were the men who got picked.”

     “Is that even legal?”

     “Don’t worry, the scouts gave them the company’s business card after and told them about the audition. These men agreed to it,” Jane explains to me, and I sighed in relief because I’m not going to participate in anything that would potentially get me sued.

     I looked at the rest of the photos, staring at the men’s faces like I was assessing them. But as I reached the last photo, I almost dropped everything when I saw a familiar face.

    Jane saw my reaction, so she takes a peek to see who I was looking at. When she saw who it was, she points at it and suddenly says, “Oh, this was the photographer’s favorite. He said this man was insanely good-looking, and his sex appeal was out of this world. He couldn’t help but take a picture.”

     “T-This guy?” I asked, staring at the picture again to make sure I didn’t see it wrong.

     “Yeah, that guy. They gave him the company card too, and he told the photographer that he would be thrilled if we called him back. To be honest, he’s a great candidate. He looks fierce and intimidating, but for some reason, you just couldn’t look away, especially with that cold blue eyes of his,” Jane continues to say.

     “Did he now.”

     I couldn’t help but stare at the photo in complete shock. Without looking away from it, I asked Jane, “When’s the final selection?”

     “After you pick the candidates that you want, I’ll send the pictures over to the advertising director for the final screening. So maybe…this afternoon? We’ll probably call the candidates by then,” Jane tells me, and I dropped the photos and looked back at her seriously.

     “I can pick one, right?” I asked, and Jane nodded her head in reply.

     “Well yeah, that was the whole point.”

     I took my marker and placed an asterisk on the photo that was on the very top of my desk. Afterward, I placed the photos back inside the envelope and handed them over to Jane.

     “The picture with the asterisk…” I say, and Jane pulls out the said photo so she could look at it too.

     “That’s my pick. Make sure he comes at the selection.”

TO BE CONTINUED

(9) Elevator [m]

🐾

“IF YOU CAN EDIT this part by tomorrow that would be great. Let me check the design first before sending it to the art director, sounds good?” I instructed one of our magazine designers, and he nodded his head and looked back at the screen of his computer.

     I moved away from him and walked around the office, checking everyone’s work, but as I was about to check on one of the writers, Jane suddenly barges inside our office and runs toward me.

     “Day!” She shouts, stopping right in front of me and grabbing my shoulder. “The advertising director looked at the candidates, and guess what? He loved your pick!” Jane exclaimed, surprising me.

     “My pick? He chose him?” I asked again just to make sure, and Jane nods her head before letting go of me.

     “W-Wait, that’s great!” I happily say, trying my best not to smile so much from the sudden news. “When’s the final selection then? Will I be able to attend and be part of the judges?” I then ask.

     “No, Day, don’t you get it? The director himself liked your pick. There’s no more screening. He’s already chosen as the new face of EXRay Media,” Jane explains, and when I tell you that my mouth dropped, it literally dropped to the floor in shock. Okay, I’ve underestimated that man way too much. Hunter really is a Greek god sent from the heavens.

     “I…I don’t know what to say. It’s amazing news. I’m really glad the director liked him,” I say, feeling my face heat up a little because of how embarrassed I suddenly felt. I know I already told him about it, but the fact that he’s actually going to start working with me now is just making my heart race. I can’t help but feel excited.

     “And there’s another thing that you need to know,” Jane then adds, making me look back at her.

     “What? Did something else happen?” I ask, and Jane smiles and suddenly tells me, “He’s here.”

     My body freezes in an instant, and for a moment I thought I heard the wrong thing, so when Jane saw my reaction, she explains further herself, “We contacted him earlier and told him about the good news. We told him to come tomorrow, but then he said he’s free today, so he’s here now.”

     Before I could even say anything, my feet moved on their own and I started running out of the office. My heart was beating fast and I didn’t even know the exact reason why. Todd never visited me at the company, so somehow knowing that Hunter’s here made me feel so excited. I’ve always wanted someone to visit or see me in my workplace, especially since my job is a huge part of what I am.

     “I can’t believe he’s here. And where on earth did he even go for our photographers to steal a photo of him?” I ask myself as I got to the elevator. I click on the button, trying to think of where he could possibly be in the building, but as soon as the elevator door opened, a familiar figure welcomes me.

     It was Hunter.

     The two of us looked at each other in shock. He was about to step out of the elevator, but I quickly got inside and pushed him back. I clicked the button for the top floor and looked back at him. When our eyes met, the two of us started laughing.

     “Hey you,” he says, reaching out to touch my cheek.

     “You’re here,” I say with a smile, unable to properly express how happy I was to see him here. “I can’t believe my company reached out to you out of all the people in the city. I couldn’t believe it.”

     “I guess it’s destiny,” Hunter says with a smile. “And you wanted me to get a job right? So was I a good boy for getting chosen?” he then asks, making me gulp as he leans his face closer to mine.

     “W-well, you can say that,” I answer, and the smile on Hunter’s face eventually turns into a smirk. 

     “Then if that’s the case, should we continue what we left off the other day before your ex-boyfriend interrupted us?” He then asks, leaning even closer to kiss my cheek. My body reacts in an instant, so I unconsciously pushed him away. Soon after, we arrived at the 35th floor, and just in time, the elevator door opens, revealing an employee who was pushing a trolley that was filled with large boxes.

     “Oh, good afternoon sir McCartney,” he says when he recognizes me, and I smiled at him as he pushed the trolley inside the elevator. The elevator instantly got crowded so I was forced to push my body against Hunter who happily wrapped one of his arms around my waist.

     “I’m sorry if it’s a bit tight. Which floor are you two stopping at? I’m stepping out on the sixteenth,” the employee then asks, his back facing us.

     “Ground,” I answer, and he kindly clicks the button for us.

     The elevator starts to go down, but while waiting, Hunter’s hand suddenly snakes its way to my crotch, startling me. I wanted to stop him, but the trolley moves and pushes me even closer to Hunter, instantly making me feel his hard bulge on my ass.

     Hunter doesn’t say anything, but he pulls me closer and starts rubbing himself on me, almost making me moan. “ You like that? “ He whispers in my ear, and I bit my lips down so I wouldn’t be able to make a sound.

     I glanced at the unknowing employee, and then at the floor that we were already in. We were still ten floors away from the sixteenth level. If Hunter doesn’t finish fast, things will definitely get messy.

     “ You’ll make it quick…right? “ I whisper close to his ear as I leaned my face toward him. Hunter smirks, and then he suddenly grips my crotch, making me bite my lip down even harder.

     My god, this might become a weird kink if we continue further.

     Hunter starts massaging my crotch as I feel his hot breath on me. Thankfully the boxes were covering us so the employee isn’t able to see what we were doing. Hunter is aware of that too, so he uses that advantage to start licking my neck, his hot tongue making my body shiver. I tried my best not to make any sound as Hunter continues to touch me in all the good spots. I couldn’t hold it in any longer so I almost made a sound, but then, Hunter covers my mouth, and the elevator door opens soon after.

     Hunter slowly puts his hand away from me as the employee heads out of the elevator. I quickly moved away from Hunter and the two of us awkwardly stood there as the employee pulls the trolley out.

     The employee smiles at me as a farewell as the door finally closes. As soon as it was closed, I quickly looked back at Hunter and grabbed his collar. “This is your fault,” I say, pushing my body close to him. “Now I want you more. Give me more of you daddy.”

     “Shit,” he curses, and Hunter aggressively pulls me close to him and starts licking and kissing my neck and shoulders. Hunter grabs my ass and squeezes it before poking my entrance with his strong finger, making me moan.

     “Say that again. Call me daddy one more time,” Hunter starts to beg.

     I looked back at his eyes and the two of us stared at each other’s lips. But just as we were about to kiss, the elevator dings, and I quickly pushed Hunter in complete panic.

     “Mr. McCartney,” another employee greets, but this time, there were about ten of them. If I could remember correctly, these are from the newspaper division.

     “Just finished a meeting,” one of them says as all of them entered the elevator. I tried my best not to look at any of them because I knew they’d notice how flustered I was. But when they got inside, I was once again pushed back, pressing my back on Hunter for the second time.

     The employees weren’t looking at us as they started talking about what happened during their meeting. While everyone was preoccupied, I couldn’t endure how hot I was feeling. I was so horny that all my rational thinking just left my head, so I moved even closer to Hunter and slowly started grinding my ass on his manhood.

     But just before anyone could notice, Hunter leans close and suddenly bites my shoulder, instantly making me stop.

     “ Let’s keep it classy, Mr. Dane McCartney, “ he whispers, and the elevator finally stops and the door opens.

     My face was completely red from embarrassment after realizing what had just happened, so without even waiting for Hunter, I ran out of the elevator and got out of the building, holding onto my chest that wouldn’t calm down for some reason.

     “How embarrassing!” I tell myself, trying to fathom the fact that I was willing to grind my ass on Hunter in an elevator filled with people!

     “ Yup, you’ve seriously lost it, “ my inner conscience suddenly tells me, embarrassing me even more.

     “Dane!” A voice then calls out, and I turned around and saw Hunter looking back at me like he was amused by what happened. When I saw the look on his face, I immediately turned away from him and crossed my arms like a stubborn kid who wasn’t given candy after a successful doctor’s visit.

     “Hey, come on now, no need to be shy about it,” he says, but I still didn’t dare face him. One reason is that I was still embarrassed to the point where I could die, and two is because of what he said before we got off the elevator. Now I feel like a dog in heat.

     “You’re going to talk to the advertising director, right? Then head to his office first, and then we can talk right after,” I say as I was about to walk away from him, but then Hunter grabs me by the wrist and pulls me so I could look back at him.

    When I was finally facing him, Hunter takes a deep breath and tells me, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to tease you.”

     I was surprised by how quick he was at apologizing to me even though he was not really supposed to be saying sorry because of my stupid tantrums. If he’s going to be like that, then how am I going to continue pretending that I’m mad?

     “Please, don’t apologize. I’m to blame for it too because I acted so greedy and I got too embarrassed afterward,” I say, and Hunter’s expression instantly brightens. Without any warning, he grabs me and suddenly wraps his arms around me to give me a hug. The two of us were literally standing in the middle of the pavement just outside the company. People were looking at us, but Hunter didn’t really care. He was more concerned with the fact that I wasn’t really mad at him.

     “A-alright, that’s enough,” I say as I try to push him away, but Hunter wouldn’t budge. I thought he was just innocently hugging me, but then he leans close to my ear and whispered, “ You didn’t have to be embarrassed. Seeing you want me too just turns me on so fucking much .“

     The hair on my skin stand in shock as I finally pushed Hunter away from me. Hunter chuckles at my reaction while I hold onto my ear, feeling as though it was burning.

     “S-Seriously, you say and do the strangest of things. It’s leaving me flustered all the time,” I honestly tell him. “Anyway, we unconsciously went back to the ground floor. It would look strange if I go up with you again so go to the 11th floor on your own. You’ll find the advertising director’s office there. You’re meeting up with him, right?”

     “Yeah, but how about you?” He then asks.

     “I’m ending my shift in a couple of hours. If you finish up first, you can visit our office on the 9th floor. I’ll show you around if you want,” I tell him, and Hunter smiles and nods his head before finally heading back inside.

     As soon as he was gone, I took a deep breath and held onto my chest. I unconsciously looked down at my pants and sighed in relief when I realized that it finally calmed down.

     I looked at my watch and walked back inside the building as well. I was about to head towards the elevator, but I immediately stopped myself as I got consumed by this unbearable feeling of shame.

     “You know what, I think I can use the exercise,” I say as I decided to take the stairs instead, knowing that even if days, weeks, or even months go by, the elevator will never be the same again.

…

“And this is our cover artist, Lee.” I introduce, and Hunter smiles at Lee before looking back at everyone else on my team.

     Hunter just finished talking to the advertising director, and so he visited the office like I told him. Everyone on my team started fawning over him, glad that he was picked as the new face of our company. Everyone was also excited to work with him so I’m glad things are working out in the end.

     Of course, Hunter introduced himself as Noah, or to be exact, Noah Price. I’m surprised that he finally embraced the name, but I’m even more surprised that he got this job out of all the candidates that were chosen. But I won’t lie and say that I’m not happy that it’s him.

     “By the way, why are you wearing a dog collar, is that a trend these days?” One of my teammates asked.

     “How tall are you?”

     “Noah, you got a girlfriend or boyfriend?” Jane suddenly asks next while everyone was surrounding him.

     The question somehow startled me, but before Hunter could even answer, I quickly went in between them and said, “Well, look at the time. Looks like Noah’s still busy and he has to head out first, right Noah?”

     Noah was surprised, but he smiles at everyone again and said, “Oh yeah, that’s right. Thank you for reminding me, Mr. McCartney.”

     “No problem,” I say, and Hunter started bidding his farewell to everyone on the team. Everyone was obviously bummed out that he had to leave, but they eventually let Hunter go after a while. While Hunter was walking towards the door, he looks at me and mouthed the words “ I’ll wait downstairs. “

     When he was finally gone, I cleared my throat and tried to act cool, pretending like I wasn’t happy that someone was waiting for me outside after a long day of work.

     “W-Well, since the model has now left, I think it’s high time we wrap things up here as well,” I announced, and everyone sighed in relief. “We’ll be working on Noah’s photoshoot soon and then add him to the next issue. I’ll be talking to Ms. Victoria and the other department heads first, and then I’ll meet up with you afterward. Sounds good?”

     “Copy that boss,” someone says, and I smiled and waved goodbye at them.

     “Alright, head back home safely. I’ll see you tomorrow,” I finished before heading back to my private room. I quickly took my things and ran out of the office as fast as I could, even ignoring Jane who was calling out for me.

     I went straight to the lobby and got out of the building. I was expecting to see Hunter there, but to my surprise, he was nowhere to be found.

     “Huh, where did he go?” I asked, looking around to check the area. I didn’t know where he was so I was about to call for him, but then someone suddenly taps my shoulder, immediately putting a smile on my face. I quickly turned around, expecting to see Hunter there, but when I saw who it was, the smile on my face instantly vanishes.

     It was one of the guys in the marketing department.

    “Mr. McCartney, right? You’re the team leader at the Magazine Division,” he says, unsure of what his name was so I just nodded my head as a response instead of answering him.

     “So, what are you still doing here? You waiting for a woman?” He then asks, so I looked at him seriously and corrected him, “A man. I’m waiting for a man.”

     The guy looked confused, but then a smirk appears on his face as he points at someone behind me. “You mean that man?” he asks, and I quickly turned back around and saw Hunter walking towards me, both hands inside his pocket.

     “His man,” Hunter suddenly says as he stops beside me so he could drape his arm around my shoulder. “You got a problem with that?” he then asks, and the guy chuckles and shakes his head as a response.

     “I was just asking. No need to be so possessive big guy,” he says, finally making Hunter loosen his grip on my shoulder.

     “Guess I better get going. Don’t want to ruin your night,” he then adds before patting Hunter’s shoulder and finally walking away. For a second I almost stopped him because I wanted to explain that we weren’t what he thought we were. Hunter just got a job at the company, and I don’t want people to start rumors about him. But I guess I could just deny it when that guy decides to say anything so I just let him go.

     “This is one of the reasons why I wanted to start working in your company too,” Hunter suddenly says, making me look back at him.

     “What do you mean?”

     “You’re too sexy. People keep on hitting on you but you don’t notice,” Hunter then explains, almost making me laugh out loud because of how ridiculous that sounded.

     “Me? Sexy? Please…” I was about to push Hunter’s hand away from my shoulder, but he wouldn’t let me go as we started walking away from the building.

     “Believe me, you’re sexy. Especially when you’re horny,” he adds, making me nudge his side this time.

     Hunter laughs at my reaction, but then he looks back at me and asks, “So, where did you park your car?”

     “Oh, it’s at the parking lot in the building, but we can just ride the bus. You don’t like riding the car, right?” I then ask him, and Hunter’s face instantly softened.

     “Anyway, I have a lot of questions to ask you, but for now, I want to know what the director told you. Is he looking for an ID? Or maybe some legal documents. I think I can ask someone to help with that, and maybe even help you open up a bank account. Wait, I have to buy you a phone too just in case, and maybe even new clothes.”

    “Whoa there daddy, slow down,” Hunter suddenly says, making me stop throwing out words at such a fast pace. “If you’re really curious, he just asked me to sign some papers. He asked me a couple of questions, and then he asked me to return tomorrow because the chairman wanted to speak with me,” Hunter explains.

     “The chairman? You mean chairman Orlando? Really? I rarely see him myself and you’re going to personally have a meeting with him? Not gonna lie, I feel kinda jealous. The chairman is the founder of EXRay Media after all, and I’ve been in love with their magazines since I was young,” I tell him, and Hunter suddenly had a bitter look on his face, almost like he didn’t like how I was praising the chairman.

     I didn’t know why he reacted like that, so I just decided to change the subject.

     “By the way, why did you agree to accept this? You told me earlier that you’re fine without a job so I don’t want you to force yourself just because I suggested it,” I tell him, and Hunter sighs and stops walking so he could look back at me with a serious expression.

     “Isn’t it already obvious?”

     “What is?”

     Hunter chuckles at my answer and reaches out to tuck my hair behind my ear. “I want to do a lot of things for you, and doing that doesn’t mean I’m forcing myself. I’ll never do anything that would hurt you or bother you either. Besides, I love doing things with you,” he explains, making my cheeks feel hot again.

     I can’t believe this man could say all that with such a straight face.

     “You love doing things with me?” I repeated, and Hunter nods his head in reply.

     “E-Even that little thing we did at the elevator?” I shyly asked him next.

     Hunter smirks at my question, and then he grabs my hand and gently kisses it, his eyes intensely looking back at mine before saying, “Especially that little thing we did at the elevator.”

TO BE CONTINUED

(10) Whispers

🐾

TODAY WAS MY DAY off, but for the first time since I met Hunter, I was alone at the apartment with nothing to do. Hunter went to my company to meet the chairman, which I was still jealous about. I told him that I could go with him, but Hunter insisted that I stay here and enjoy my day off.

     As you may already know, I’m not the type to enjoy myself. I don’t have friends to go out with, nor any family to visit, so during my days off, all I do is work.

     Earlier, I attended an online meeting with the department heads. I wasn’t really required to, but since I didn’t have anything else to do, I attended it anyway.

     Thanks to our new face and endorser, Mr. Noah Price, the company planned a ton of projects for him. I’m honestly surprised that Hunter’s willing to participate despite being so secretive with me, but if that’s what he wants to do, then I won’t stop him.

     “I already reviewed the drafts and checked the cover. I guess that’s it for today,” I tell myself as I closed my laptop. I then looked at my watch and realized that it was already 6:34 PM and Hunter still hasn’t gone back. Wait, did something happen to him? Should I have really gone out with him as I told him earlier?

     No, Day, you gotta relax. This is Hunter we’re talking about. He might have been some kind of dog a few weeks ago, but he’s a grown-ass man now. I’m pretty sure he’s fine.

     “I should just go to the grocery store and buy some ingredients for our dinner,” I tell myself instead, standing from the floor and taking my coat so I could get ready to head out.

     One of the reasons why I decided to buy this specific apartment is because it’s in the center of the city, which means that it’s close to places like the hospital, restaurants, and grocery stores. So I left my car keys at home and walked my way to the groceries.

     Since it was a weekday, the store wasn’t as crowded as usual. I should be able to buy all the things I need in peace and head back home.

     “Day?” A voice calls out just as soon as I said that. Apparently, the world just finds pleasure in proving me wrong.

     I took a deep breath, gripped the basket that I was holding, and turned to look at the person who called me. For a moment I thought it would be someone from the company who also had the same day off as I do, but when I turned back around, my eyes instantly widened in shock.

     “Todd!?”

     Todd Cooper, the last person I want to see, approaches me with a shy smile. “Looks like we keep bumping into each other,” he says, stopping right in front of me.

     “Well, it’s a small city after all,” I answer while awkwardly scratching the back of my head. How should I excuse myself? Do I just say that I’m in a hurry and I can’t talk to him right now? Why does he keep on talking to me anyway? He’s the one who broke up with me.

     “You preparing dinner?” He asks, and I nod my head as an answer.

      If I don’t say anything, Todd would probably sense that I’m not in the mood to be conversing with anyone right now, but this mother fucker continues to talk anyway, grabbing every chance he could get to milk this dying conversation.

     “You making dinner for that Noah guy too?” He then asks, surprising me this time because I wasn’t expecting him to open it up.

     “And why do you care?” I then ask him, sounding a little too rude than I intended to.

     Todd looked flustered and embarrassed, so I sighed and tried to correct myself as I tell him, “I’m not sure what time he’s coming home, but I just wanted to cook dinner for us as a kind gesture.”

     “Oh, I see,” he says before clearing his throat. He then looks around the store before looking back at me. “Want to shop together?” He asks, and this time, it was my turn to look flustered. Todd must have seen my reaction, so he quickly adds, “No malice or anything. It was just a friendly invitation. Since we’re already shopping in the same grocery store anyway, it would be less awkward to do it together than bump into each other in every aisle.”

     For a moment I wanted to refuse him, but I felt like there wouldn’t be anything wrong if we did shop together. It’s just groceries, and it’s not like we planned to go together. And besides, he has a point, the grocery store isn’t relatively large, we’ll just bump into each other and make the situation more awkward.

     “Well, I guess you’re right. Let’s go,” I say, and Todd smiles and nods his head, and the two of us started shopping together like old times.

     It was a strange feeling to be with Todd again like this. We always went to the grocery store together, and at that time I felt like I could do this until we got older, but now it was different. Of course, it still hurt whenever I think about all those years we spent, but I think I’m finding my peace a little every passing day.

     And one of the reasons for that is because of Hunter.

     Of course, I can’t say anything yet when Hunter and I have only been together for barely a month, and just before that too, Todd and I broke up. But what I can say is that Hunter makes me feel happy and safe. Being with him makes me feel like I can fix myself better than I could have if I was alone.

     “That would be 34 dollars,” the cashier said when we were about to check out our groceries after going through the store for at least 20 minutes.

     I got ready to pull out my wallet, but then Todd suddenly touches my shoulder and handed the cashier his own card instead. “It’s on me,” he says, leaving me dumbfounded because I always paid for our groceries in the past.  

     “Are you sure?” I ask as the cashier takes his card to scan it.

     “Yeah, it’s fine. Compared to all the shit I put you through, 34 dollars wouldn’t even suffice,” he casually says, and I just laughed it off, trying not to make a big deal out of it.

     When we got our grocery bags, Todd and I went out and got ready to part ways.

     “Thanks for agreeing to join me Day. This was nice,” Todd says, and I nodded my head and smile at him, glad we were able to hang out in a friendly manner. I guess this was the most civil thing the two of us have ever done together. It brings me back to when we were in college.

     “Well, I had a great time too, even though we literally just bought things at a supermarket,” I managed to joke, and the two of us started laughing.

     “Maybe next time we can hang out somewhere else. Just another friendly get-together. You can even ask Noah to join if he wants to. I acted a little rude and I want to make it up for him,” he then says, and I smiled and nodded my head to agree to it.

     As I was about to bid Todd a farewell, Todd’s expression suddenly changed. I furrowed my brows in confusion because I didn’t know what was going on, but when I turned around, I was surprised to see that someone was approaching us.

     It was Hunter.

     “N-Noah, what are you doing here?” I ask, making sure I don’t slip and accidentally call him by his real name.

     Hunter looked annoyed, but instead of answering me, he looks back at Todd and tells him. “What do you think you’re doing?”

     Todd and I were both surprised. Hunter looked pissed for some reason, and I knew Todd enough to know that he was not going to back down if someone tries to start a fight with him, so I immediately went in between them and quickly said, “My apologies, but we’ll head back first. Thanks again for the groceries, Todd.”

     Todd was about to say something, but I quickly grabbed Hunter’s hand and pulled him away from the scene.

     The two of us didn’t exchange words until we arrived back at the apartment. Hunter went inside first, and then I followed. I placed the grocery bags in the kitchen, and soon after that, I approached Hunter and told him, “Hunter, what was that about? Todd didn’t do anything wrong. We were just talking.”

     “It didn’t look like you were just talking,” he says, surprising me.

     “Are you serious right now? We just happened to see each other at the grocery store. It’s not like we did anything wrong,” I defended, and Hunter ended up looking pissed. He looked so intimidating that I couldn’t help but take a step back from him.

      “Let me remind you Dane that the guy you were happily laughing with is the same guy who broke up with you and didn’t care about what you felt. You were literally crying over him the other day, and now you’re giving him a chance?” Hunter then says, and somehow, I couldn’t help but be annoyed.

     Where is this all coming from? Why is Hunter so pissed all of a sudden? He just went to talk to the chairman, didn’t he? Did something bad happen? Is that why he’s putting his anger out on me? 

     “Who fucking told you that I was giving him a chance? As I said, we were just talking,” I insisted, but Hunter looked like he wasn’t buying it at all.

     “Believe me, Dane, I know that type of man, and I know what he’s trying to do. Don’t act so ignorant, you’re not a teenager in love,” Hunter continues to say in such a cruel manner, leaving me speechless.

     When Hunter saw my reaction, he takes a deep breath and walks back to the bedroom. I took a deep breath as well and clenched my fist. I wasn’t going to let him just run away from me like that after saying such a thing, so I followed him to the room and gave him a piece of my mind.

     “Alright Hunter, you win. Fine, I’ll never talk to him again. Is that what you want me to say?” I ask him while he was unbuttoning his shirt.

     Hunter, whose back was facing me, doesn’t even look at me as he says, “That’s not the point.”

     “Then what’s the fucking point?! You can’t just suddenly start acting like a douchebag when I’ve done nothing wrong. We’re not even an official couple yet!” I now shouted at him, letting off some steam like how I intended to.

     Hunter becomes quiet, and his silence finally calmed me down. He then turns back to face me, his pained expression making me look away from him.

     “Do you know why you’re still so happy to be with him, Dane? Do you know why you can easily forget how shitty he made you feel as if nothing happened? Do you know why you can still laugh with him despite how broken he left you?” Hunter asks, moving closer to me so I could be forced to look at him.

     Without saying anything back, Hunter points at my chest and tells me, “It’s because he’s still there. It’s because even if you deny it, and even if you pretend like everything’s fine, something inside you is hoping that maybe you can get back together again.”

     The moment Hunter said those words to me, it felt like someone threw a bucket of alcohol on my open wound. I wanted to tell Hunter that he was wrong to think that way, but I couldn’t even open my mouth, and it felt terrible to feel that way because it somehow proved that he was right.

     “And what? You’re going to tell me you just want to stay friends now? Don’t be delusional. Exes who stay friends are either hoping to get back together or they were never in love to begin with, and believe me, Dane, it’s not the latter part,” Hunter continues to say.

     I swallowed the lump in my throat and still tried to speak up, but Hunter’s words pierced right through me that I just couldn’t. I wanted to act like he was wrong, but then I felt tears stream down my eyes. I reached out and wiped the tears off my cheeks. Hunter saw it, so he takes a deep breath and sits on the edge of the bed while staring at the floor.

     “You keep on finding ways to get hurt when you’re already so broken, and it angers me so much that you won’t even allow me to mend it.”

     “But it’s not your job to fix me, Hunter. It’s my job to fix me,” I finally say, and Hunter looks back at me again, my heart aching in an instant when I saw the tears in his own eyes too.

     “What am I doing for you then?” He asks, his voice shaking. “Am I a rebound? A sex toy? Am I not enough?”

     “No,” I quickly answer, but Hunter wipes his tears away and stood up from the bed instead. Before taking his leave, he looks back at me for one last time before saying, “I’ll sleep on the couch.”

     Hunter turns away and finally leaves the room. I was about to follow him, but I stopped and touched my chest which was now beating extremely fast. I couldn’t help but let the tears stream down my eyes. This scene was so familiar that all I could do was sit on the bed and cry.

     Was Hunter right? Was I still in love with Todd?

     It pisses me off that I couldn’t even answer my own questions, almost like I was unsure about it myself. But is this even fair? Todd and I were together for six years. I know I should try my best to avoid him while I find myself, but I just…

     Wait, why am I thinking of excuses now?

     “ Fuck, “ I curse under my breath, massaging my temple as tears continued to fall from my eyes.

     I hurt him.

     I hurt Hunter.

     I’ve led him on a couple of times and have made him feel that I wanted him too. I’ve cried in his arms, asked for his comfort, and yet I just casually went back to Todd, pretending like we could be friends when both of us know damn well that we can’t, especially when we’ve only broken up a little over a month.

     “ I’m so stupid, “ I whisper to myself as I stared at the door. Hunter was just right outside, probably thinking about what happened between us too. I wanted to go out and talk to him in a calmer manner; to be able to talk about what we really felt, but I didn’t move.

     Today made me realize a lot of things. I have to first understand what I really want and what I’m willing to let go of because I know for a fact that I can’t hold on to both, and only a fool will choose to walk down a thorny path for the second time.

…

The next day came a little bit too fast. I woke up in bed, the sun shining on me as usual. I didn’t know if I should just lie down all day and hide from Hunter, but I remembered that I had to go to work, so I was forced to stand from the bed to get ready.

     I scratched my eyes and got up, walking towards the door and grabbing the doorknob. But before I could even open it, I took a deep breath and prepared myself.

     “I’m just going to explain myself, and then I’m going to apologize. You can do this Dane,” I say as I finally opened the door. I was about to start speaking, but when I got outside, I was surprised to see that Hunter was actually still sleeping on the sofa.

     I walked toward him and squatted on his side so I could have a better look at his face. After that, I reached out to touch his cheek, but before my fingers could even get close, a hand suddenly stops me.

     Hunter grips my wrist as his eyes slowly open, revealing his cold blue gaze. When he saw that I was in front of him, Hunter quickly lets go of me and sat up.

     “Good morning,” I say, and Hunter looked away from me and stared at his hands instead.

     I sighed and got ready to apologize for what happened, but before I could even open my mouth, Hunter beat me to it. “I’m sorry,” he says first. “About what happened last night…I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said such things to you. I didn’t have the right to dictate what you should and shouldn’t feel. I used my anger against you and this is what it got me.”

     “Hunter…”

     “I wasn’t supposed to make you cry,” he then tells me, finally looking back at me. “I wasn’t supposed to be like him. I wasn’t supposed to hurt you.”

     “And you didn’t,” I quickly say, grabbing his hands to calm him down. “I know how hard you’re trying. I know you’re making sure that I’m happy, so know that you’ve done nothing wrong. I should be the one who should apologize. I got too careless. In my mind, I thought that everything was fine now because you were here, but little did I know that I unconsciously saw you as a backup. I saw you as someone I could run to if things with Todd never end up working, and I’m such an asshole for that.”

     “That’s not true,” Hunter says, but I shook my head to disagree with it.

     “But I want to make things right. I want to be more honest with you Hunter. I seriously want to try…us. I know it’s too fast, but we can make things work. We can start slow, and then we can—” Before I could even finish my sentence, Hunter grabs my arm and pulls me in for a hug.

     I was startled at first, but I took a deep breath and hugged him back too, patting his back to comfort him.

    “Thank you,” he says, hugging me even tighter.

     I couldn’t help but smile as I felt Hunter’s warmth on me. I didn’t know it was this easy. I didn’t know that such things could be resolved by putting each other’s pride down and actually trying to talk things through. Todd and I never got to master this type of communication, which could be the reason why we just fell apart so quickly.

     “Alright, we should get ready. I’ll make us breakfast.”

     Since I got to work things out with Hunter, I went to work feeling much better than I was before. I was more actualized and relaxed. Finally being able to speak my mind and say what I really feel has made me a better person, and hopefully a better partner to Hunter in the future.

     I just hope this continues to work out for a long time until I can finally admit with confidence what I truly feel about him.

     “You’ve been at your office all day and you’re still busy?” Hunter asked when I got back from the company a couple of hours ago.

     The two of us got back to our usual dynamic, so things in the apartment mellowed down again. Of course, that doesn’t mean that I’m just magically going to stop being a workaholic. That’s one of my toxic traits that I don’t think I’ll be able to let go of.

     “I’m sorry, let me just finish this,” I say as I was sitting on the floor in the living room, staring at the laptop screen in front of me.

     “Hey, don’t apologize, it’s fine. You can finish up, I’ll wash the dishes,” Hunter says, and I thanked him and continued to read the email on my laptop. I stared at my screen for a while, but then my eyes started to feel heavy. It’s probably because I wasn’t able to sleep properly because of our fight last night, or maybe because I just got really tired from work.

     “I’m having my photo shoot tomorrow right? Do I need to prepare anything?” Hunter suddenly asked from inside the kitchen while he continued washing the dishes.

     I immediately opened my eyes and snapped back to my senses as I answered, “No it’s fine, I’ll handle everything.”

     Hunter doesn’t say anything anymore so I looked back at my screen again to finish the email that I was reading. But as I was staring at the words and hearing the faucet running from a distance, my eyes became even heavier than earlier, and after a while, my head slowly falls, and I finally fell asleep on the table.

     Everything was dark and peaceful for a while as I drove myself to sleep. I didn’t know how long it took, but then large hands grab a hold of me, and before I knew it, I was already a couple of inches above the ground.

     “ You fell asleep on the floor again, “ I heard Hunter say, making me realize that he was actually carrying me.

     I didn’t open my eyes and tried to fall back to sleep as Hunter gently placed me on the bed. I thought he was going to leave me alone right after, but then Hunter sits on the edge of the bed and reaches out to gently touch my cheek.

     “I’m still really sorry about what happened last night Day, I really am,” Hunter suddenly says in a tone that almost sounded like a whisper. I wanted to open my eyes so he could see that I was already awake, but I pretended to be asleep instead, curious as to what Hunter would say next.

     “I know that I shouldn’t have acted that way, but I got so mad when I saw you with Todd when you’ve only been with him for six years.”

     Only for six years? What is he talking about?

     “I got so mad because…I’ve been with you longer than that,” Hunter suddenly reveals, and my entire body freezes in an instant.

     What did he just say? What is he even talking about all of a sudden? Have I met Hunter before? Or is he talking about his other form?

     “I know it’s not going to be easy, but I really want you to forget about him as soon as possible because I don’t have much time left.” Hunter started brushing my hair and became quiet. I thought he was finally done talking, but then he leans towards me and suddenly leaves a soft kiss on my forehead.

     For a second I finally thought that he was going to leave the room, but this time, Hunter leans close to my ear. I didn’t know what he was going to do, but all of the hair on my skin stood up when he suddenly whispered, “ I hope you heard that loud and clear…my lovely sunshine. “

     I couldn’t move a single muscle in my body, but after a while, I finally opened my eyes and sat back up. I looked around and saw that Hunter was nowhere to be found, making me confused about whether or not I really heard all that or if I was only dreaming.

     Because if that was a dream, something is definitely wrong.

     Despite what I know about Hunter, those words sounded real, and for a moment I felt like I had already heard those exact same words once, words that were spoken on a gloomy and rainy day like before.

TO BE CONTINUED

(10.5) Bad Company

🐾

“ GOOD MORNING MR. PRICE, it’s a pleasure to see you again,“ the receptionist greeted me when I got back to EXRay Media’s main office where Dane usually works.

     I was asked to return to the office as per the chairman’s request. Dane’s day off is today too so it’s a lot more convenient for me since I won’t be able to see him here. I’m meeting the chairman after all, and I don’t want Dane to be here when I speak to him.

     “He’s on the 30th floor. He’s been waiting for you since earlier,” the receptionist says, and I nodded my head and thanked her before heading to the 30th floor to finally meet this chairman.

     When I got out of the elevator, I walked straight to the chairman’s office, instantly knowing the way even though no one told me the specific directions. When I got there, I took a deep breath and prepared myself, knowing full well that the man waiting inside isn’t going to be the best company. After fixing my shirt, I finally entered the office without knocking. Inside the office was the ever-so-famous Herbert Orlando, better known as chairman Herbert, the founder of the well-known entertainment and publishing company, EXRay Media.

     Mr. Orlando was reading a magazine when I got there, but when I closed the door behind me, the chairman puts his magazine down to look directly at me with his intimidating brown eyes.

     “Weren’t you trained to knock…Hunter?” he asks, and the way he looked at me automatically made me feel irritated.

     “It’s Noah Price,” I corrected, but Herbert ignores me and says instead, “You’re late. Do you know what time it is?”

     “I arrived, didn’t I? I still had to go to the companions association to talk to Johnson. You know that my actions are limited. I have to make sure I’m not going to get caught,” I answer, and even though he didn’t invite me, I sat on the chair in front of him and crossed my legs. Herbert then looks back at me and stares at me from head to toe.

     “Anyway, congratulations big guy, that outrageous plan of yours actually worked. What now?” he then asks.

     “Give me more time,” I answer, and Herbert sighed, massaging his temple to ease himself from the frustration that I was bringing him.

     “Time…all you ask for is time, yet you’re wasting it. I’m giving you all the help and the resources you need, but time? I can’t give you any more of that.”

     “Please Herbert, Dane’s still—”

     “In love with someone else?” He quickly says, cutting me off.

     Herbert saw my reaction so he adjusts himself in his seat and looks at me seriously. “Mr. Todd Cooper; I’ve seen him once. Charming and prideful, yet he’s been beside Day for such a long time. They might have broken up, but Todd was a very important person to him, especially since he was there when Dane’s uncle died. No matter how broken someone has left you, they’ll still be willing to pick up the pieces for them.”

     “That’s not going to happen. Dane wants to move on, I can see it. And it doesn’t matter if Todd’s been with him for all those years because I’ve been with Dane longer,” I quickly reminded him.

     “Yet where were you in all those? Huh, Hunter?” Herbert then fires back, instantly making me shut my mouth. “Let me remind you, Mr. Noah Price, that Dane doesn’t know all that. All he knows is that when he was at his lowest, Mr. Cooper was beside him, not you,”

     The truth pierced right through me, but I didn’t say anything. I knew he was right, and knowing such a fact angered me even more. Herbert then takes a deep breath and massages his temple again, staring at my face with an expression that showed that he pitied me, even for a little bit.

     “Look, I did what I can do. Now you’re the new face of my company. What else do you want me to do? What else are you planning?” He asks, and I shook my head and told him, “You did enough. Just do your part and I’ll handle the rest.”

     Herbert chuckles, probably amused that I was bossing him around like this.

     “You’re lucky I’m close with your boss because if I wasn’t, I wouldn’t even be entertaining you right now,” he truthfully states, and I just stood up from my seat and ignored his comment.

     I turned around and got ready to leave, but then Herbert tells me, “You can’t do this Hunter. Even if you’re the most handsome boy in the world, or if your dick is as long as a 12-inch ruler, you won’t make someone fall in love that quickly. Everyone in the association already said it. Day will see you as nothing more than a pet.”

     I wanted to ignore him, but his last statement finally made me snap, so I quickly turned back to him, and without any warning, I grabbed him by the collar and pulled him off his chair so he could face me.

     “Don’t speak as if you know him,” I warned.

     “I know you’re trying your best, throwing out all the possibilities that will help you, but Dane got broken into pieces ever since that day, and Todd Cooper was the only one who was there for him. You’re too late Hunter. You were always too late.”

     I clenched Herbert’s collar even tighter, almost making him choke.

     “It doesn’t matter. What matters is I have a chance now, and I’m not gonna let go of him anymore. I’m going to make things right for Dane and for him. As long as I am alive, his Will & Testament will be followed,” I tell him, and Herbert reaches out for my hand, trying to push it away.

     “H-He was a close f-friend of mine too. When you were gone…I…r-reached out and gave him a c-comfortable life,” Herbert struggles to say, and I finally let go of him.

     Herbert drops and quickly catches his breath. I then clenched my fist and got ready to swing, but just when my knuckles were inches away from him, I immediately stopped myself.

    “You can’t do that,” he says while fixing his collar.

     I growled and looked away from him. “I know,” I answer as I walked toward the exit and got ready to leave, but as I grabbed the doorknob, Herbert tells me, “They’re watching you, Hunter.”

     “I know.”

     “And you can’t protect Dane forever.”

    I opened the door and looked over my shoulder, staring at Herbert for one last time. “I will…and you or the association can’t stop me.”

     I slammed the door shut and hurriedly left the building. As soon as I got out, my mood changed in an instant as I was excited to see Dane who was waiting for me at home. The conversation with Herbert left a bad taste in my mouth, so I desperately wanted to see Dane so I could be reassured that I still had a chance.

     But as I was heading my way home, I saw a familiar man standing outside a grocery store, laughing with someone who instantly made my blood boil.

     “Dane doesn’t know that. All he knows is that when he was at his lowest, Mr. Cooper was beside him, not you,”

    My anger got the best of me, and so I barged toward Dane, unsure of what my actions would lead me next.

END

(11) Wash It Away [m]

🐾

I WOKE UP THE next day, the sunlight from outside the window directly shining on my face like usual, making it my unofficial alarm clock. I sat up, yawning as I looked around the room, checking if someone was there with me. But as I was about to get off the bed, I suddenly remembered something that happened before I fell asleep.

     “ I hope you heard that loud and clear…my lovely sunshine, “ Hunter whispered in my ear last night.

     For a while, I thought it was just a dream, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was real. Hunter really whispered those words to me.

     “I know it’s not going to be easy, but I really want you to forget about him as soon as possible because I don’t have much time left.”

     I finally got up from the bed and walked out of my room. Hunter wasn’t in the living room, but when I got to the kitchen, I saw him cooking our breakfast, almost like he didn’t just say anything strange to me last night.

     “Hunter?” I call out, and Hunter, who was even wearing an apron, turns and looks back at me, a smile implanted on his face the moment he saw me. “Oh, good morning daddy,” he says, and I walked towards him to check what he was cooking.

     “Pancakes?” I ask, and Hunter nods his head and went back to cooking the cakes so they wouldn’t accidentally burn. I stared at him for a couple of seconds, hoping he’ll say something about last night. When it looked like he wasn’t going to open it up, I moved closer to him and said, “Hunter, about last night—”

     “Do you want some coffee?” He suddenly asks, turning the stove off and walking towards the cupboards to make me some coffee.

     “No, Hunter, last night you—”

     “Wait, maybe I should just make you some tea. We’re going to be busy today and I don’t want you to drink any caffeine for now,” he says next, obviously avoiding my question.

     “Hunter, please, listen to me,” I say in a louder tone this time, but Hunter continues to ignore my plea. His back was facing me, but I could hear him sigh like he was trying to act calm. But when he looked back at me, a smile was now on his face, and Hunter hands me the mug that now had tea in it.

     “Drink that up while I finish the pancakes,” he says, turning back to the stove so he could ignore me again. A part of me just wanted to let it go, but another part of me got fed up with how he was acting, so I put the tea down, grabbed Hunter’s arm, and forcefully turned his body so he could face me.

     “Listen to me goddamn in!” I shouted, and the expression on Hunter’s face finally became serious.

     Hunter takes a deep breath and removed the apron that he was wearing. “You fell asleep on the sofa last night so I carried you to the bedroom.”

     “What?”

     “You’re asking what happened last night, right? Well, you fell asleep again, so I carried you,” he explains further, now making me furrow my brows in confusion. So was that really just a dream? Did Hunter really not say anything last night?

     “But you said something about knowing me longer than Todd, and then you didn’t have much time…” As I try to recall what had happened when I was half awake last night, Hunter reaches out to touch my cheek, looking at me like he was worried about how I was acting. He then leans close to my ear and whispers, “ I said no such things. “

     Hunter pats my head right after and turns back to the counter so he could take the pancakes off the pan. “Do you want honey or chocolate syrup?” He asks, bringing the freshly made pancakes to the dining table.

     “Daddy, let’s eat,” he then says, but I didn’t move from where I was standing. I was still confused by what happened. I couldn’t understand if I was being delusional, or if Hunter was being secretive again. I felt like something was completely wrong.

     When Hunter saw that I wasn’t moving, he walks back to me and grabs my arm, guiding me to the table and pulling the chair out for me so I could sit down. He then hands me the tea he made, and then a clean plate with a fork and a breadknife. Right after, he drizzled some honey on my pancakes before pushing the plate toward me.

     I stared at the plate before looking back at Hunter. The two of us didn’t say anything, but after a few more seconds of silence, Hunter aggressively puts the bottle of honey down, making me flinch.

     “Eat,” he commands, and the way he said it instantly sent chills down my spine. When he realized that I was frightened, Hunter’s expression changed, and he laughs and tells me instead, “You have to eat something Day. Especially when you look so tired.”

     Hunter was about to reach out for me again, but I moved away from him, the smile on his face instantly dropping.

     “Hunter…” I call out, and Hunter clears his throat and grabbed a pancake for himself before asking, “What is it?”

     I stared down at my plate for a couple of seconds, thinking about everything he has said to me in the past. I knew that the moment I got Hunter, I knew that my life would change, and I knew that if I really wanted him to be a part of my life, I had to ignore things and keep a lot of questions to myself. For a time I thought it was fine, but if I wanted him to really be a part of me, I have to at least know one thing.

     “Can I trust you,” I finally ask him.

     Hunter doesn’t say anything for a while as I stare at his cold blue eyes. I thought he was going to brush me off again, but then he grabs hold of my hand and tells me, “You can.”

     I gulped and squeezed Hunter’s hand before letting go. I then grabbed my fork and took a bite of the pancake, chewing on it before looking back at Hunter with a small smile. “It’s good,” I say, and Hunter sighs like he was relieved about something.

     “I’m glad,” he replies, and the two of us started eating breakfast, pretending like whatever happened before never really happened at all.

     “I received an email from the Photography Department last night. You’re going to have your photoshoot today so they sent me the address of the location. The shoot will start at 10:30, so we’ll be there by 9 so they could do your hair and makeup,” I tell him so the mood around us could finally change, and thankfully Hunter nods his head in understanding.

     “So it means you’re coming with me?” He asks.

     “Of course, I’m there to accompany you. You’re going to be the front cover of the next issue, so I need to be around you so I’d know what to write on your featured page. We’re going to have an interview too, but we’ll talk about that some other time,” I explained.

     I have to be there for my job, but at the same time, I have to look after Hunter. The head of the photography department is known to be a complete douchebag. I don’t want him to say anything stupid, especially when Hunter’s around.

     “Anyway, let’s finish our breakfast and take a bath first. It would be bad if we both end up getting late,” I then tell him as I start finishing the food on my plate. But as I was about to take the last bite, Hunter looks at me and suddenly asks, “Shall we take one together?”

     The question almost made me choke, but I quickly took a sip from my tea and looked back at Hunter, hoping I didn’t just interpret that question wrong.

     “I’m sorry but did you mean—”

     “A bath, let’s take it together,” he repeats so casually that it made my jaw drop.

     “You said you need to be around me for the next issue, right? Then let me show you something that might help you know me a lot better,” Hunter then says, his aura making me gulp.

     I wanted to say no to him. I can’t be confused on the first one and then horny on the next, it would be foolish. But as Hunter continued to stare back at me with his blue eyes, I realized at that moment that Hunter knew exactly what he was doing to me, and I knew that he was well aware of how I’m going to respond.

     “Sure.”

…

Hunter and I were now in the bathroom. I don’t know why I agreed to this, but I was already inside before I could even realize it, which, to be fair, is not something I regret. After that mind-games that Hunter gave me last night, I deserve something like this.

     “Are you cold?” Hunter suddenly asks as he approaches me, and I shook my head in answer, trying not to make any eye contact with him.

     Hunter doesn’t say anything after that, but without removing his eyes from mine, he takes off his shirt and pants, leaving only his underwear. Right after, he turns away from me, showing me the scar on his back that instantly made my heart start racing.

     “Can you please remove it for me?” He asks, and I looked up and saw the collar on his neck, the same collar that I gave him during his first week with me. I took a deep breath and reached out to finally remove it for him. As soon as I pulled it off him, Hunter turns back around and takes the collar from my hand so he could place it on the counter just beside the sink.

     Afterward, Hunter then removes his underwear, finally revealing his naked body that I have seen a couple of times now, yet I am still breathless every time I see it.

     Hunter was about to help me remove my clothes too, but I immediately stopped him and said, “I’ll do it. You can take a shower first.”

     Hunter doesn’t complain and nods in reply before heading to the shower like I instructed him to do. He turns the shower on, and the heat instantly fogs up the glass, making me unable to see him inside.

     I took that as an opportunity to start stripping because I didn’t want Hunter to look at me while I did so. When I was now fully naked like he was, I took a deep breath and walked towards the shower. I didn’t want to go inside, but then the glass door suddenly opens, and a hand pulls me into the cramped shower area.

“H-Hunter!” I complained, chills creeping down my spine as the water showered over my body. I scratched my eyes and wiped the water away before looking back at Hunter, but as soon as I saw him in front of me, I realized that Hunter was actually staring at me from head to toe.

     “ How sexy, “ he whispers under his breath, making my face turn completely red.

    “What, you haven’t seen a naked body before?” I ask, trying to act unfazed as I turned away from him. I then tilted my head up and started washing my face and hair, but Hunter suddenly turned the water off as I was doing so.

     “Hey, why did you—”

     “Let me clean your back Dane,” he says, grabbing the soap and scrubbing my back, instantly making my entire body stiff.

     “ Relax ,“ he whispers, and surprisingly enough, my body did.

     “You were really working hard last night so you ended up falling asleep in the living room again. Did you do your best to finish all your work so you could accompany me today?” Hunter suddenly asks, and the question surprised me because I didn’t expect him to realize that.

     “Don’t be so full of yourself,” I lied, but Hunter just chuckles and starts scrubbing my side as he says, “That makes me really happy; to know you’re working hard for my sake.”

     Hunter slides his hand on my shoulder this time, the soap making it slippery. He then turns my body around so I could face him again, and when I was now looking at him, Hunter starts scrubbing my chest this time.

     “Your skin is so soft,” he comments, and my face heats up to the point where I thought I’d faint.

     “And the way it turns red like that…how lucky am I to have seen it all,” he then says right after, embarrassing me even more.

     “ P-please stop saying such things, “ I tell him, and Hunter chuckles and starts scrubbing my arms.

     “By the way, we haven’t been going out for a jog recently. We should do it when you’re free,” he then says, making me sigh in relief because he successfully changed the conversation into something more normal.

     “That would be great, but I’ve been getting some exercise recently because I’ve been using the stairs ever since that day,” I then replied, and I knew at that moment that I have instantly ruined what was supposed to be a normal conversation because a grin instantly appeared on Hunter’s face when he heard me say that.

     “That day? What do you mean?” He teasingly asks even though he already knows full well what I was talking about.

    “I m-mean…the elevator gave us so many memories. Like the time I found you sleeping on it while wearing my bathrobe, and the time when—”

     “You pressed your ass against my crotch and pushed yourself even deeper to the point where you couldn’t even control your moans. That too right?” He teases, and I didn’t even notice that his soapy hand got lower until I felt him grab my cock.

     My body shivers and I instantly lean against Hunter, pressing my head against his hard chest as I bit on my lip so I wouldn’t accidentally make a sound.

     “What’s wrong? Are you not going to let me hear my favorite sound? Or do you prefer we had an audience,” he asks, pressing on my cock even harder. I finally released a moan as I looked back at Hunter who now had such hunger in his eyes. “You seem eager now,” he says with a smirk.

     “I can say the same thing,” I reply as I was now panting heavily.

     Hunter seductively licks his lips before releasing his hold on me. “We can’t do anything drastic because I don’t want you to get late for work, so we’ll do this instead,” he then says. I didn’t know what Hunter meant by that, but to my surprise, he suddenly grabs his cock and mine, and then he starts rubbing them against each other, instantly making a moan escape from my mouth, the sound echoing around the bathroom in an instant.

     “S-Shit…that feels fucking good,” he says as I could feel his hot breath on me while our hard cocks continued to rub against each other.

     Hunter then pushes me so my back can press on the cold glass, the contact making me shiver. When something was now supporting me, Hunter starts rubbing our members together even faster, the soap making it easier for the both of us.

     “Hunter, no more,” I try to say when I feel that my legs were going to give in on me any second now.

     “Call me daddy first. Come on baby, say it,” he then demands, gripping our cocks even harder as I try my best to keep myself from falling.

    “Hunter, I can’t. I’m about to—”

     “Say it first,” he insisted.

     Both of us were panting heavily now, our bodies close to each other so we could fit inside the shower. But as I was about to give up on his request, I quickly draped my arms around his neck and whispered close to his ear, “ Rub it faster daddy . Please. “

     As soon as I said those embarrassing words, Hunter cursed under his breath. He starts rubbing our cocks together even faster, and just a couple of seconds later, my entire body shivers and cum shoots out, staining Hunter’s hand.

     My leg finally weakens, but Hunter quickly grabs my waist and supports me. Soon after, he turns the shower on, washing away the soap and the cum off our bodies.

     The bathroom was filled with the sound coming from the shower and from our heavy breathing. With my hands still around his neck, Hunter leans close and gently kisses my cheek, and that alone made me feel even better than what we just did.

     “I think we’ll be late,” I say, and Hunter gives out a low chuckle and removes the hair on my face before saying, “Then let them fucking wait.”

• END -

A/N:

Hi…

• Your Author

(12) Private Photo

🐾

“THEY’RE HERE!” SOMEONE ANNOUNCED

  as soon as we arrived at the photoshoot location at least twenty minutes late because Hunter had to release some tension first before we left the apartment. After all, I didn’t want him to arrive with a boner. It would have definitely been scandalous.

     “ I can’t believe you forced me to remove my collar, “ Hunter whispers to me, making me sigh because he has been complaining about that ever since we left.

     “ What did you want me to do? Tell them you had some sort of kink? “ I answer back as Hunter and I finally stop in front of the staff who has been waiting for us to arrive.

     “Sorry, we’re late. It was a bit difficult to grab a cab,” I explain as I gently push Hunter toward the makeup team.

     “It’s fine,” one of them says before looking at Hunter. “Shall we head to the tent and get you ready?” She then asks, and Hunter nods his head and followed them so he could finally get ready for the shoot. As soon as Hunter was taken, I sighed in relief and turned to join the other staff, but just as I was about to do so, a man appears in front of me, and a frown instantly appears on my face.

     “Mr. Peters!” I say, startled to see him.

     “Good morning Mr. McCartney. I’m surprised you’re late. It’s not like you,” he comments, and I faked a smile as I explained, “Well, you see I was-” But before I could even finish my sentence, Mr. Peter raises a hand, instantly making me stop. And now I remember why I hated this man. Not only is he arrogant just because he became the head of the photography department, but he also makes unnecessary comments too.

     Mr. Peters is two years my senior, so when I first started working in the company, I ended up working for him a couple of times. He was the type to act like he was a friendly guy that everyone in the office liked, but in fact, everyone just finds him obnoxious. He would also bother the girls, slap my ass for fun, and would even publicly humiliate me by asking questions about my sexuality, telling me things like I dressed like a man even though I obviously am still one. Just because I’m gay, doesn’t mean I have to wear glitter. For someone who works in the entertainment industry, this guy is really out here living in the 60s.

     “Don’t worry, I should be the one to apologize. I know you’re busy, but I still chose such an inconvenient location,” he says, and I just faked a smile, telling him it was fine since it was my fault that we were late.

     “By the way, I was surprised to see that you came with Mr. Noah Price. I didn’t know you were already acquainted with him,” Mr. Peters then says, making me take a deep breath because I wasn’t expecting him to bring it up.

     “Oh, no, we just met at the company. Ms. Valentina asked me to take care of him for the project so I’m just doing my job,” I explained.

     “Really? But that’s not what I heard from someone at the advertising department,” Mr. Peters then revealed, making me remember that employee who I met outside the company when Hunter first got the job.

     “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but as someone who works for the company, I don’t think it’s wise for you to be engaging in rumors that might potentially damage the image of our new model,” I seriously explain to him with the most professional voice I could make.

     Mr. Peters became flustered, but he laughs it off and suddenly hits my shoulder like we were the best of friends.

     “Oh come on now Mr. McCartney, I was just joking around,” he says, even though I know that he’s only saying that now because I called him out for it. “Anyway, I’ll leave you first and check on the set. When Mr. Noah is done with his makeup and wardrobe, I’ll introduce you two to the photographer.”

     I was about to say something to Mr. Peters, but he pats my shoulder again and finally leaves, so I joined the other staff and checked the set.

     The theme for today’s shoot is chic yet ragged that somehow screams desirable bachelor. We’re still working on what we should really call it, but that’s what they’re planning to do. That’s why we’re also in this warehouse studio to fit the theme. The warehouse has a lot of rooms and areas where you could freely shoot, so it’s very convenient for us.

     “Maybe lessen the lighting inside to make it just a little bit dimmer. I think that would look better,” I tell one of the staff who was fixing the lights. I was looking around to check if there was anything else to add or remove, but then a woman rushes to my side while wearing a headphone with a mic.

     “Can I help you?” I ask as I turned to look at her.

     “Mr. Price would like to see you,” she then says and the woman brought me to the tent where Hunter was supposed to get his hair, makeup, and wardrobe done.

     Hunter was sitting on a chair in front of a mirror, but as soon as he saw me walk in, he immediately stood from his seat, giving me a full view of what he was wearing.

     “Good lord, what on earth is that,” I say in shock as I stare at Hunter from head to toe. Hunter was wearing this open black trench coat jacket that’s made of somewhat nylon material, partnered with these dark grey pants and fishnet stockings that peaked through his abdomen.

     “Do you like it, Day?” He asks with a smile.

     “D-do I like it?” I ask back, but before answering him, I looked at the staff who were still inside and kindly asked them to step out for a minute. When they finally left the tent, I got closer to Hunter and looked back at him again. “You look…wow…I don’t even know what to say,” I honestly commented, making Hunter chuckle.

     “I’m glad you like it,” he says, reaching out to grab me by the waist. But just before he could even pull me towards him, someone suddenly barges inside the tent, startling both of us.

     “There’s our new model!” Someone says, and his voice alone made me roll my eyes in annoyance while Hunter lets go of me. Mr. Peters enters the room with a smile, and walking behind him is probably the photographer who he promised to introduce to us.

     “Wow, you look absolutely amazing,” he tells him. “I’m Richard Peters by the way, but everyone else calls me Mr. Peters. I’m the boss of the photography department.” He then introduces himself before showing Hunter his hand. Hunter doesn’t say anything and shakes it, but after a couple of seconds, Hunter didn’t let go of him, and I could tell that his grip was starting to hurt based on Mr. Peters’ reaction.

     “O-Okay big guy, that’s…enough,” the boss then says, and Hunter finally lets go of him.

     I tried my best not to chuckle as Mr. Peters cleared his throat and tried his best to act cool. “You have a strong grip,” he manages to say before awkwardly laughing. When he realized that no one was laughing with him, he then gestures at the man who was standing beside him and finally introduces him to us.

     “A-Anyway, let me introduce to you Timothy Brady, he’s one of the best photographers in our department,” Mr. Peters says, and Hunter and I shook his hand, but less aggressive this time.

     “It’s nice meeting you guys. I’ve only been assigned to advertisements and billboards so magazine shoots are a bit new to me. But with Noah as the model, I think the photos would turn out great,” Timothy says, making Hunter smile.

     “Thank you,” Hunter replies, and the photographer, Timothy, nods his head to acknowledge it.

     “Looks like we’re all set,” Mr. Peters then says as he drapes his arm around my shoulder, and that action alone changed the expression on Hunter’s face. “For the shoot, I envisioned something like Keanu Reeves in his movies the Matrix and John Wick.”

     “The Matrix and John Wick?” I asked in confusion as I slowly pushed his arm off me before Hunter does it for him with that glare of his.

     “That’s right. I want him to look like an action star with a fierce gaze. I want women to start dropping their underwear when they see him. I want the gays to swoon and the lesbians to question their sexuality. That’s the type of shoot that I want,” he says with such a serious expression that my jaw literally dropped to the floor.

      He did not just seriously say all that with such a straight face.

    “Are you serious?” I ask, and Mr. Peters nods his head to confirm it.

     “You got to be fucking kid-”

     [ 3 0 M I N U T E S L A T E R ]

      “-ding…he wasn’t kidding at all, that bastard was serious,” I say as I stared at Hunter who was now posing in front of the camera while Timothy took shots of him.

    When Mr. Peters told us about the vibe he was going for, I thought he was being ridiculous, but when I started watching Hunter, I couldn’t help but be impressed. He knew exactly what to do, and he follows the photographer’s instructions without breaking a sweat. At first, I was worried that Hunter might end up looking awkward on camera, but he looks spectacular!

     “He’s doing great,” Mr. Peters suddenly says, walking towards me with a prod look on his face. “He’s surprisingly a natural,” he adds, and for the first time, I nodded my head to agree with him.

     “By the way, you’ll write a feature about him, right? How’s that going?” He then asks, crossing his arms as the two of us continued to watch Hunter work like a pro.

     “I’ve had some ideas on what to write, but I’m still trying to think of what I can do to make him more appealing to the readers. Other than what you said, about that action star thing, we’re still going with the desirable bachelor, so maybe I’ll focus on his hobbies or just things he likes to do in his spare time,” I explain, making me pause as soon as I said it because I realized that I don’t even know any of his hobbies.

     Looks like I really do have to interview him.

     “Wait, is this already for the next issue?” Mr. Peter then asks.

     “It seems like. Ms. Valentina wants to put it out as soon as possible. We already worked on the outline and the designs, so we’re only waiting for his photos.”

      “Hmm, that’s too sudden,” he then says while Hunter runs to the tent to change into a different attire. “We should at least release some teasers first. And besides, if that fails then the person to blame would be-”

     “No one,” I quickly say. “It won’t fail, and I’m confident about it. All we have to do is do our part. And besides, Noah’s going to be shooting for a promotional video next week. It will be released on the same day as the magazine. You should have faith in him and our team, Mr. Peters.”

     Mr. Peters was surprised by what I said, but before he could even answer back, Hunter suddenly jogs towards us while wearing a suit. He then grabs me by the waist and pulls me away from Mr. Peters all of a sudden.

     “N-Noah!” I say, startled by him. “What are you doing?” I then ask, but Hunter wouldn’t let go of me.

      Hunter looks at Mr. Peters and suddenly glares at him. The poor thing flinched, but he takes a deep breath and just chuckles to himself. “Your next shoot will start in two minutes. You should get ready,” Mr. Peters says instead before walking away from us. As soon as he was gone, Hunter finally lets go of me. “What happened? Did he say anything weird?” he asks.

     “No, don’t worry,” I say before looking back at Hunter’s new getup. “Well look at you. You look like a groom whose bride ran away,” I teased, making Hunter laugh.

     “Hopefully my future groom won’t,” he suddenly answers back, and for some reason, his little comment made my entire face burn up. I knew that he was just joking around, but it felt like an indirect proposal for some reason.

     “Anyway, I’m a little nervous,” he then says, and I cleared my throat and tried to compose myself.

     “Why, you look amazing?” I say to him as I reach out to remove one more button from his shirt. “But if you’re really nervous, just imagine that I’m the only one watching. That always helped me when I was a kid.”

     “Is that so?” he asks, and I nodded my head before pulling out my handkerchief so I could wipe the sweat off of his forehead. But as I was doing so, Hunter suddenly grabs my wrist to stop me. “But you’re exactly the reason why I’m nervous. I don’t care about anyone else. The only person who can make me feel like this is you,” Hunter says with such a serious expression that I couldn’t help but chuckle. I’m kinda getting used to his sweet talk now.

     “Mr. Price! Let’s head to the next location,” Timothy, the photographer, now calls out.

     “You should go,” I tell him.

     Hunter looks around the area, and when he realized that no one was watching, he suddenly leans close and gives me a quick kiss on the cheek, instantly making my entire body freeze. “ I’ll make you proud daddy, “ he whispers before finally running back to his shoot.

     I stood in the middle of the warehouse in complete shock, reaching out to touch the cheek that he just kissed. I can’t believe that with everything else we’ve done, a kiss on the cheek is making me feel a lot more bothered.

     Have Hunter’s lips always been this soft?

     Will I be able to know if he kisses me on the lips next time?

…

“And that’s a wrap! Thank you, guys!” Timothy announced, and everyone started clapping, thankful to all the staff for making the shoot successful.

     The photo shoot was finally over, and it lasted for at least five hours. Hunter went on to shoot at different locations in this warehouse studio, but I wasn’t able to check everything else because I decided to start writing the draft for the feature page instead of wasting time. When everyone was now packing things up, I walked toward the photographer and congratulated him for a job well done.

     “You worked hard,” I told him, and Timothy, who was checking the photos, smiles at me and replied, “It was easier than I expected. Noah is a natural, and I can’t wait to work with him on his future projects.”

     “I’m glad to hear that,” I say, sounding like a proud parent. “By the way, where is he?” I then ask.

     “He’s in the tent changing. But while you wait for him, do you want to see some of the photos?” Timothy then asks me, and I might have acted way too excited about it because he ended up smiling at my reaction. “Well, I didn’t really do much because it seemed like the camera is obsessed with him,” he then explains, showing me the screen of his camera so he could show me some of the shots.

     I’m not exactly sure why, but a tear almost fell from my eyes when I looked at the photos. Hunter did a great job, and the fact that he did his best because of me made my heart flutter even more. How did I even deserve such a man?

     “He’s a masterpiece, isn’t he?” Timothy asks, my eyes still glued on the camera screen.

     “He is,” I answered.

     “When this comes out, people will definitely love him.”

     “I know.”

     “But will that be okay with you?” Timothy suddenly asks next, immediately making me turn my head to look back at him with shock.

     “What are you talking about?” I ask back, and Timothy pulls his camera away from me and took a deep breath.

     “I saw how you look at him, and during the shoot, he was only looking at you. And when you left, the atmosphere around him suddenly shifted and he kept asking me if we were already finished or not,” Timothy explained, and I instantly felt so embarrassed that I wanted the ground to just eat me whole.

     I didn’t know what to say. Hunter and I weren’t really a thing, but we weren’t just friends either. My relationship with him is still a little complicated and I don’t even know how to describe it.

     “Hey, you look troubled. Don’t worry, I’m not the type to stick my nose in other people’s business, so rest assured, I won’t tell,” Timothy then says when he noticed the expression on my face.

     “T-Thank you,” I say instead, and Timothy smiles and nods his head as we walked towards a table that was filled with different equipment.

     Timothy starts putting his camera inside a bag, and while he was doing so, he tells me, “By the way, during the shoot earlier, we tried doing something more steamy. I thought it would fit the concept, but when Noah saw the photos, he insisted that we exclude it from the collection.”

     I furrowed my brows in confusion, unsure of why he would suddenly say that to me. “Something steamy? What are you talking about?” I asked, and Timothy excitedly smiles and grabs something from the table.

     “A staff printed this earlier, and then Noah signed it. He told us to give this to you,” he then explains before handing me the photo.

     I didn’t really know what to expect, but when I saw the photo, my cheeks instantly burned up.

     It was a picture of him naked while hiding behind a white curtain, barely covering his private part.

     Timothy grinned after seeing my reaction, almost like he and Hunter had planned this from the beginning. “Noah wants to give that to you. He said you can keep it as some sort of…private photo.”

     “T-Thank you,” I awkwardly answer.

     I stared at the photo for one last time before finally looking away from it. But as I was about to hide it so no one else could see it, Timothy suddenly remembered something and told me, “Oh yeah, he wrote something at the back too. I think you’ll like it.”

     Timothy smiles at me for one last time before patting my shoulder and walking away. When he was already gone, I quickly turned the picture around to check. When I saw the note, my eyes widened, and I immediately dropped to the floor from complete embarrassment.

     “You fucking idiot.”

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/6eeec058b4425d3a90c01362ceb18281a69f0699/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f466d61446c346573584b415261413d3d2d3530313933313237392e313735313664373961623533656539663930393534333830373432302e6a7067)

TO BE CONTINUED

(13) I Dare You

WARNING: 

This chapter contains a scene depicting sexual assault. Read at your own risk.

🐾

“MR. MCCARTNEY, NOAH IS already waiting inside the van. You can join him there while we pack the equipment,”

one of the staff said, and I nodded my head and thanked him. After the photoshoot, everyone decided to have a dinner party at a restaurant close by. Hunter didn’t want to go and insisted to head back home with me instead, but I told him that it would be rude if we don’t join them especially when he’s the main event of this project.

     When I got to the van, I slide the door open, revealing Hunter who was now wearing his casual clothes. When he saw that it was me, he quickly grabs my hand and says, “Close the door, hurry!”

     “A-alright, calm down,” I say, closing the door behind me and sitting beside Hunter who looked tired after all the work he did. I wanted to reconsider if we should really just head back home so he could rest, but then Hunter pulls me close and wraps his arms around me.

     “I missed you,” he suddenly says, and his words feel so comforting that I didn’t even make a fuss anymore as I comfortably sat on his lap with my head resting on his shoulder.

     “Why on earth would you miss me when we’ve been together all day,” I tell him, and Hunter chuckles and starts caressing my back.

     “By the way, are you okay with the van? I requested it because I know you don’t like riding in a car,” I then ask him. Hunter must have been surprised that I even considered such a thing because he didn’t say anything for a while, but then he starts patting my head, almost like he was thanking me.

     “It’s fine, it’s like a mini-bus anyway,” he answers, glad that he feels that way.

     The two of us didn’t say anything anymore, and his warmth felt so comforting that I couldn’t help but close my eyes so I could relax a little.

     “You know, I hated that guy. That guy named Richard Peters,” Hunter tells me all of a sudden, making me open my eyes back to look at him.

     “Mr. Peters? You two barely even talked, how can you suddenly hate him?” I asked Hunter even though I hated Mr. Peters myself.

     “I don’t know, he just gives me that kind of vibe. The way he acts and speaks is irritating,” he explains, and to be honest, I couldn’t help but agree with him because I totally feel the same way. Looks like Mr. Peters just oozes out this “I’m a douche” pheromone .

     “By the way, how was I? Did I make you proud?” He asks like a cute kid, so I smiled and pinched his nose, and told him, “You killed it.”

     Hunter chuckles and moves close to me, rubbing his nose on mine before I pressed my forehead on his.

     “ You looked great, “ I whisper to him.

     “ And the picture? “ He whispers back.

     I pulled away from him and pretended like I didn’t know what he was talking about even though the picture he mentioned is just tucked inside the pocket of my coat. “What picture?” I teased, and Hunter drapes his arms around me and explains, “You know, the picture that had a little note at the back.”

     “Oh, that picture. I don’t know, it was pretty—”

     “Sexy?” Hunter finishes with such a low voice, and the way he said it just unintentionally sent a shiver down my spine. He had no right to sound as hot as that.

     “Well, i-it was kind of…”

     “Or was it not sexy enough little pup? Should I have shown a little more skin?” He then asks, and now it was obvious that he was teasing me because of how I reacted.

     “P-please don’t call me…that,” I say, and Hunter suddenly leans close to me. I thought he was going to give me a kiss, but instead, he moves closer and bites my lower lip, making me widen my eyes in shock. “How about now?” Is daddy sexy enough for you now?“ he asks again, but this time, his voice was more intimidating; more superior. I couldn’t help but gulp at the way he was trying to dominate me.

     My entire body felt hot, and Hunter started to move his hand around my body, testing if I was going to react or not. When he saw that I wasn’t pushing him away, Hunter takes my hand and makes me hold his crotch. “ Do you want to see the sexiest part of daddy’s body instead? “ He whispers in my ear, the hair on my skin standing as soon as I felt his hot breath on me.

     “ If you want to see it, then why not give your pretty little mouth a taste, “ he continued to whisper, and as soon as I heard him say that, I instantly got brought back to reality. I snapped back to my senses and pulled my hand away from him. Just in time, the door at the front opens, and I immediately moved away from Hunter as the driver took a seat.

     “Looks like everyone’s ready sir McCartney, shall we go?” the driver asks, looking back at us through the rearview mirror.

     I cleared my throat and tried my best to stay calm as I answered, “Yeah, let’s go.”

     The driver nods his head and drives off. I then looked back at Hunter who was trying his best not to laugh. “ Fuck you, “ I mouthed to him, and Hunter sticks out his tongue like a kid before looking away from me, so I looked away from him too in complete annoyance.

     “ Oh my god, I can’t believe he was asking me to give him a blow job…in a company van! And what’s even crazier, I almost went down on my knees and just shoved it in my mouth like a total freak! “ I say to myself as I tried to calm my heart which was beating hard. But it seemed like my heart wasn’t the only thing that was hard because when I looked down between my thighs, I realized that I now had a bulge on my pants.

     For the first time since I bought a car, I was praying that there would be heavy traffic because there is no way in hell I’m getting out of this van in this condition.

…

“Looks like everyone’s here,” Mr. Peters announces when we arrived at the restaurant where we were going to have dinner. The staff gathered around at the parking lot so one of them could count how many of us were there. While they were very busy finalizing the number, Mr. Peters then approaches us with a smile. This man just doesn’t get tired now, does he?

     “Noah my boy, I’m glad you decided to join us,” Mr. Peters says, and the look on Hunter’s face visibly showed that he was not thrilled by the fact that Mr. Peters is talking to him. “I’d like to congratulate you on your outstanding performance today. You did a great job.”

     “Thanks,” Hunter quickly replies with zero sincerity, making Mr. Peters awkwardly laugh.

     “Well, alcohol tastes better after a long day’s work, so you can relax and let loose. We’ll get to know each other and have a few drinks, it will be fun. And besides, the female staff are dying to get to know you better. It’s your time to show them your charm,” Mr. Peters says with a wink, making me glare at him for some reason.

     “Mr. Peters, the room is ready. We can go inside now,” one of the staff said, and all of us finally entered the restaurant.

     While Mr. Peters ordered for us, Hunter and I looked for a table where we could sit. But while we were doing so, a table that was occupied by the younger staff, that are mostly interns, called out for ‘Noah’ and asked him to join them. Hunter was about to decline the offer, but I patted his back and encouraged him to mingle with them. “Go have fun,” I tell him, but Hunter looked like he didn’t want to, so I just pushed him and mouthed the words, “ Enjoy yourself.“

     Hunter pouted like a stubborn kid, but he followed my order anyway as he joined the staff. Since this is Hunter’s new job, I wanted him to know everyone better. It’s very important that he interacts with the people in his workplace. After all, as a workaholic, work etiquette is very important to me, and I want Hunter to enjoy his stay at EXRay Media as much as possible.

     “Mr. McCartney!” Someone suddenly called out, and I turned and saw the photographer, Timothy, waving at me so I could sit at his table. Timothy was alone, so I gladly joined him, sitting across from him so we’d be able to talk properly.

    “Good evening Mr. McCartney,” Timothy says, making me notice that he already got a hold of a can of beer. “You’re starting early,” I then commented, and Timothy chuckled before taking a sip of his drink.

     “You alright with him being there?” Timothy asks instead, gesturing at the table where Hunter was in. I turned around and saw Hunter laughing with the people at the table who were mostly women. I’m honestly glad that he’s able to laugh and enjoy himself like that, but I guess Timothy could tell that it feels a little…iffy. Maybe I should have asked him to sit with me after all.

     Wait Day, no, that’s a little too possessive. You can’t always be with him 24/7. Todd might have dumped you because you didn’t have enough time for him, but Hunter might leave you because you’re being too clingy.

     “It’s fine, and besides, I think you misinterpreted something. Noah and I aren’t…you know…like that. We’re just really close friends, and that picture was him teasing me,” I try to explain to him because Hunter and I haven’t verbally said that we genuinely like each other, and we haven’t talked about what we really are since Hunter keeps on keeping things a secret most of the time.

     “Is that so?” Timothy asks, taking another sip of his beer. “Then I apologize if I’ve unintentionally made you feel uncomfortable,” he then says, and I chuckled and shook my head, telling him that he was fine.

     “Well then, since Mr. Price is quite busy, would it be okay with you if I entertain you instead?” He then asks.

     I glanced at Hunter for one last time before looking back at Timothy. “That would be great,” I say, and the two of us started to casually have a normal conversation.

     The food eventually arrived, and while the two of us started eating, Timothy started asking me questions about my relationship with Noah, probably confused why two very close friends would give each other sexy pictures that had strange notes written on the back as a practical joke.

     “So, where did you two meet?” Timothy first asks.

     “The pet shop,” I answered, which felt like a lie but was actually the truth. “I was adopting a dog and I met him there.”

     “Is that so? What kind of dog? I’m a dog lover myself,” he then tells me, but I just laughed it off and took a bite of my food, trying to change the subject.

     “I thought you were going to entertain me, not interrogate me,” I tell him instead, making Timothy chuckle.

     “Sorry, I was just genuinely curious,” he then replies before taking a sip of his beer. “It’s been a while since I’ve been in these kinds of events. After work, I just head straight home.”

     “Why so?”

     “Well, my wife and I recently divorced. I mean my ex-wife,” he answers before refilling his now empty glass. “We didn’t work out. We argued all the time, we couldn’t decide on anything, and it was just…it exhausted both of us,” Timothy explains, chugging down the beer that he just recently filled.

     “I’m sorry to hear that,” I genuinely tell him. “But we have some sort of a similar situation. My ex-boyfriend and I broke up about two months ago, but I think our breakup was for the best. We were both miserable anyway even if you try to pretend that we’re fine. Things just happen I guess.”

    “Let’s cheer to that then,” Timothy says with a smirk, lifting his glass and showing it to me. I chuckled and took my glass as well. “To our exes,” I say, and the two of us clink our glasses together before taking a sip of it.

    After drinking half of the glass, I glanced back at Hunter who was happily talking to the staff. I couldn’t help but smile at him, glad that he was having fun, but then the woman beside him suddenly draped her hand around his arm. I thought Hunter was going to pull his arm away, but to my surprise, he didn’t.

     I don’t know why but I ended up grabbing my glass again and finishing it till its last drop. I really should have just asked him to sit with me after all.

     “Want another glass?” Timothy asks, and I nodded my head as he opened another bottle of beer for me. 

     Timothy and I continued talking about our job and our exes, and how we rarely got to see each other at work. I was surprisingly having a great time despite my growing jealousy, especially when one of the staff started dancing on top of the table, making everyone cheer. It’s been a while since I’ve let loose like this. I guess Mr. Peters did something right for once.

     “It’s annoying how these celebrities think they’re so high-end when they just got to where they are now because they fucked their producers. Like, sit down, stop acting like you own the world,” Timothy shares, and honestly, I couldn’t even process what he was saying anymore because of how drunk I already was.

     It’s been about an hour and a half and I’ve drank at least six bottles of beer. I think I’ve enjoyed myself too much that I didn’t even notice. Timothy on the other hand looked fine even though he had already drunk twice the amount that I have. His alcohol tolerance was god tier.

    “I think I need to…r-restroom,” I try to say, forcing myself to stand from my seat. When I was now on my feet, I instantly felt dizzy so I ended up losing my balance. Hunter, who was still entertaining the people at his table, sees me and quickly stood up as well, but before he could do anything, Timothy got up and suddenly grabbed me by the waist.

     “You okay?” He asks.

     I quickly pushed Timothy’s hand off me before glancing at Hunter who didn’t seem to like what Timothy did. “You think you can go by yourself? Let me come with you,” Timothy then offered, but I shook my head and took a step away from him.

     “I’ll come with him,” Hunter suddenly announces, surprising me. He was about to leave his table to assist me, but then Mr. Peters arrived and forced him to sit back down. “Hey now Noah, where do you think you’re going? The girls will be sad if you leave,” Mr. Peters tells him.

     Hunter was about to say something, but I took a deep breath and said, “I’m not a kid. I’ll just head to the restroom by myself.”

     I turned around and finally walked to the toilet by myself, stumbling a little because I was still a bit dizzy. Thankfully, I was able to arrive at the restroom in one piece. I practically dragged myself to the sink so I could wash my face, but as soon as I lifted my head, I flinched when I saw Timothy standing behind me through the reflection in the mirror.

     “Jesus, what the hell are you doing here?” I asked in shock, almost sobering me up in an instant.

     “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you, I was just going to take a piss too,” he says as he walked towards the toilet.

    I took a deep breath and stared at him before turning the faucet off. While Timothy was still peeing on the third cubicle, I went to the one on the very end and peed there myself. I unzipped my pants and relieved myself. The feeling of the alcohol leaving my body felt good that I couldn’t help but close my eyes in relief. But as I continued peeing, I suddenly felt a warm figure standing just a couple of inches behind me.

     I quickly opened my eyes and was about to turn around, but then Timothy, who was now standing right behind me, covered my mouth and suddenly pushed me against the wall, surprising me.

     “ Hmm !“ I tried to say, but no words could come out.

     Timothy was too strong for me that I couldn’t even push him off me.

     “You know, you’ve been glancing at Noah the entire night even though I’ve been trying my best to entertain you,” Timothy says, leaning close and sniffing my neck. I couldn’t believe this was happening. Why on earth did Timothy suddenly turn like this? I couldn’t even move my body because of how scared I felt. I didn’t know what to do.

     “What? You got horny when you saw that picture? Don’t worry, I can help you out,” he says while he pressed his body against me.

     “You like men, right? Then it will be fine. I haven’t had gay sex yet, but I’ve been sexually deprived since my divorce so you’ll have to do. Thankfully you have a pretty face,” he then adds, grabbing my cock this time.

     “N-No!” I was finally able to say. “Let go of me you fucking bastard! Let go!” I continued to shout, hoping someone could hear us even though the music from outside was too loud.

     “Hey, be quiet,” he says in a panic as he grabs my necktie and forces it inside my mouth so I wouldn’t be able to make a sound. He then pushed my face against the wall while his other hand was holding onto my wrists. “You’re like my wife, always so loud,” he suddenly tells me. “Don’t worry, I’ll make it quick.”

     Timothy pulls my pants down, and as soon as he did so, a tear finally falls from my eyes. I couldn’t do anything; my body felt so weak.

     “Shit, this is turning me on even more,” he continues to say, leaning close and kissing the nape of my neck, my ears, and then my cheeks. More tears poured out of my eyes as I felt his hard bulge on me, but before he could force himself inside me, the door to the restroom suddenly opens.

     “Guys! What’s taking so long?! Noah’s starting to get—” The person who went inside, Mr. Peters, immediately stopped himself when he saw what was happening. He looked at the two of us, his face completely mortified.

     “T-Timothy?!” he shouts in disbelief. “What the fuck are you doing?! Let go of him!”

     Mr. Peters immediately ran to where we were and grabbed Timothy’s arm to pull me away from him, but Timothy, who was obviously bigger than him, and Mr. Peters who was also very much drunk, got pushed so hard that he ended up falling to the ground.

     “Shut up Richard, we’re just playing around. You know, right? This bitch is fucking gay, he enjoys these kinds of things so get the fuck out and leave us be,” Timothy disgustingly tells him.

    Mr. Peters looked horrified, and when he looked at me, I practically begged for his help. I wanted him to do something.

     “S-Sorry…” Mr. Peters suddenly said instead, and my heart completely shattered in an instant. He stood up from the ground and ran out, and for a moment I thought that it was over. Men are shit, I should have known that. But when Mr. Peters got out of the restroom, I couldn’t help but sigh in relief when he suddenly shouted, “NOAH! DAY’S IN TROUBLE!”

     “You asshole!” Timothy angrily shouted as he quickly lets go of me, making me drop to the floor. Timothy zips his pants back up and was about to run out of the restroom, but he was too late because standing right outside was none other than Hunter.

     Mr. Peters, who was also standing outside, couldn’t believe how fast Hunter ran to the scene. “That was fucking quick,” he says, and Hunter then looks back at him and pats his shoulder as a form of thanks.

     “Tell everyone to leave. I’ll handle everything here,” he then tells him, and Mr. Peters nods his head and quickly ran away from the scene, knowing full well that things were going to get messy.

     As soon as he was gone, Hunter went inside the restroom and slammed the door shut, locking it so no one could get out. He looked around the restroom to check what had happened, but when he saw me, his expression completely changed.

     “What the fuck did you do to him?!” Hunter angrily shouted, running towards Timothy and punching him in the gut without a second thought. “How dare you touch him! You’re fucking dead you piece of shit, you’re fucking dead!” He continued to shout, punching Timothy who didn’t even have the chance to block a single punch.

     I gathered all my strength to stand, pulling my necktie out of my mouth and wearing my pants back as I slowly walked towards Hunter. “T-that’s enough…” I tried to say, but Hunter wasn’t listening.

     Hunter continued to punch him again and again until Timothy started to cough blood, his hands and knees now on the floor. For the first time as I watched Hunter, I felt terrified.

     “P-Please…I’m sorry…please s-stop,” Timothy tries to say as blood dripped from his mouth. I thought Hunter was finally going to let him go, but to my surprise, Hunter pulls him up, slams his body on the wall, and suddenly grabs Timothy by the neck, choking him.

     Timothy tried to push Hunter away, scratching Hunter’s hand that was around his neck, but Hunter didn’t budge.

     “H-Help…me,” Timothy struggles to say.

     I couldn’t watch anymore as I ran to Hunter, pulling his shirt so he could let go of him, but Hunter still didn’t move. “Hunter! Please stop it now! You’re going to kill him!” I finally shouted at him as tears started to stream down from my eyes.

     When Hunter heard me crying, his expression softened and he finally lets go of the photographer, instantly making him drop to the floor. I stared at Hunter’s back, biting my lip as I waited for him to look at me, but Hunter never did. Instead, he punched the wall so hard that his knuckles ended up bleeding.

    “Fuck!” He shouted in frustration before looking back at Timothy who was still gasping for air.

     Timothy looked at Hunter’s eyes, and in an instant, he felt complete fear. He couldn’t move, and he couldn’t look away. And at that moment, that very moment, he thought that he was going to die.

     “ P-Please spare me, “ Timothy begs, but Hunter didn’t listen to him.

     As blood dripped from his hand, Hunter grabbed Timothy by the collar for one last time and practically growled at him. “Fucking touch him again…” he says in such a low voice that it made Timothy gulp in terror.

     Hunter tightened his grip on Timothy until his face was now close to his. He looked straight at him, and with the very little sympathy he had left for this man, he continued, “I fucking dare you.”

TO BE CONTINUED

(14) Where Else [m]

🐾 

HUNTER FINALLY LETS GO of

Timothy’s collar, dropping him helplessly on the floor like a sack. Timothy desperately crawls away from him even though he wasn’t moving from his spot anymore.

     “Get out,” Hunter says. “Get out of my sight before I rip you to fucking shreds!” He then shouts at Timothy, and Timothy, who could barely even stand, practically dragged himself out of the restroom in complete terror.

     As soon as I door shuts and the two of us were left alone, I looked at Hunter with tears in my eyes, but Hunter immediately turned his head away from me, almost like he was ashamed. So I tightly squeezed his trembling hand to calm him down. “ It’s okay now, “ I whisper to him.

     Hunter swallows the lump in his throat and slowly looks at me, his cold blue eyes almost hazy and unfamiliar.

     “It’s okay,” I repeated.

     Hunter then takes a deep breath and reaches out to gently touch my cheek. I closed my eyes and placed my hand above his, feeling his warmth that instantly comforted me. When Timothy’s hands were all over me, I felt disgusted with myself, but with Hunter, I felt safe. I always felt safe when he touches me.

     “I could have killed him,” he tells me.

     “I know,” I answered.

     “I would have fucking killed him for you.”

     “I know.”

    Hunter pulls me closer to him and buries his face on my shoulder. I could still feel his hands trembling, so I draped my arms around him and hugged him tightly. For a moment it was quiet, but then, the silence was filled with Hunter’s painful sobs.

     “I-I’m sorry…” he says to me this time, and a tear finally falls from my eyes.

     “N-No, it wasn’t your fault babe. It wasn’t you’re fault,” I tell him, trying to act strong, but my tears wouldn’t let me. They continued to pour as I was finally reminded of how Timothy pushed me against the wall and defiled me. 

     I leaned my face closer to Hunter and gently kissed his head as the tears continued to stream down my cheeks. Hunter grabs hold of me and starts hugging me even tighter, almost like he was afraid to let go of me.

     “I’m sorry,” he tells me again. “I’m so sorry.”

     I couldn’t say a thing as I let Hunter hold me tight. I continuously told myself that Hunter was now here beside me; that everything was fine, but as our tears fell to the ground and as our sobs echoed in the restroom, I knew…I knew that it absolutely wasn’t.

…

The restaurant was a bit far and it was already too late to catch the bus, so Hunter and I went to a nearby motel and decided to stay there for the night. I walked inside the room first, Hunter following behind me, shutting the door as soon as we got in. The room was small, but it was clean. It was better than waiting for a cab all night.

     “Hunter,” I called out, and Hunter immediately looked at me, checking if I was alright.

     “What is it? Is there something wrong? Are you hurt anywhere?” he asks, but when he looked at me, an image of Timothy suddenly appears on my face instead.

     “ You know, right? This bitch is fucking gay, he enjoys these kinds of things,“ I suddenly remembered him say, and the thought of it immediately made me look away from Hunter.

     I walked towards the bed and removed my coat, but then Hunter rushes to my side and helped me instead. “You should take a bath first so you could rest,” he tells me.

     I didn’t say anything, so Hunter grabbed my cheeks and looked at my face again. He looks at me closely, and then he finally notices the wound on the side of my lips. I didn’t notice it earlier, but I probably got it when Timothy was forcing my necktie in my mouth.

    Hunter doesn’t even ask me if it hurt as he runs to the bathroom to get a clean cloth. After that, he heads back to me and gently dabs the wet cloth on the wound.

     “You should take care of yours first,” I say as I looked down at his knuckles.

     Hunter ignores me and continues the dab the cloth on the side of my mouth. Afterward, he takes a deep breath and tells me, “Do you want to take a bath now?”

     I honestly didn’t want to, but I could still smell Timothy on my body so I immediately nodded my head as an answer. But right after that, I leaned close to Hunter and draped my arms around his neck so I could smell his scent instead. Hunter doesn’t push me away, and then he lifts me up and carries me to the bathroom.

     As he carried me inside, he gently puts me on the counter so I could sit on it. He then starts undoing the buttons of my shirt and then pulls down my pants until I was completely naked.

     “Wait here,” he says as he turns the faucet on to fill the tub.While waiting, I hugged myself and tried my best to forget what had happened, but I suddenly felt Timothy’s body against me, and my entire body shivered. I shouldn’t be able to feel like this, but maybe because I’m still drunk that my mind is in a knot.

    “Hunter…” I quickly called out like I was lost kid.

     “Just a little longer baby,” he answers, checking the temperature of the water before turning the faucet off. “It’s okay now, come here,” he then says, showing me his hand.

     I grabbed his hand and got off the counter so I could sit inside the tub. The temperature of the water was just right, so I instantly felt relieved. Hunter doesn’t say anything as he rolls his sleeves up. Afterward, he sat on the side of the tub and took the soap so he could wash me with it. While he was cleaning the dirt off me, Hunter takes a deep breath and tells me, “I want to protect you, Dane, that was the main reason why I took the job at your company. I wanted to make sure that no one would hurt you again, yet I—”

     Hunter stopped, putting the soap down and taking a deep breath. “I couldn’t do it,” he continued.

    “It was my fault,” I quickly tell him. “I was too careless. I shouldn’t have forced you to come to that dinner party. I shouldn’t have asked you to sit with the other staff. I shouldn’t have made you leave my side…”

    I didn’t mean to, but tears started streaming down my eyes again, and Hunter didn’t even hesitate as he grabs me for a hug, comforting me this time.

    “Don’t think about it anymore, okay?” He asks, looking back to wipe the tears off my face. “Now let me clean you up so you could rest.”

     Hunter gives me a reassuring smile even though I knew that he was trying his best to fake it. Right after, he bathed me until every inch of me was clean, and then he wiped me dry and made me wear the robe in the cabinet so I could finally lie in bed.

     “How are you feeling? You feel a little better now?” He asks as he sat on the edge of the bed, checking on me again.

    I nodded my head in response, so Hunter sighed in relief and gently touched my cheek again. “Good, then go to sleep.” Hunter was about to stand from the bed, but I immediately grabbed hold of his arm, stopping him.

     “What is it?” He asks as he looks back at me.

     “Hold me, please,” I say, and I could tell that Hunter was surprised because he couldn’t give me an immediate response.

     “Please.”

     “No,” he surprisingly answers. “You have to rest.”

     Hunter was about to pull his hand away from me, but I tightly held onto his hand again, not letting him go. “I can still feel him; his touch. Even if you wash it away I still feel dirty, so please, make it go away. Hold me until I forget.”

     Hunter gritted his teeth and finally lost all reason as he went on top of me. His actions felt aggressive, but he was still so gentle that I couldn’t help but gulp.

     “Where did he touch you?” He asks, and I could see the anger in his eyes as he asked me that question.

     “Here,” I answer, pointing at my neck, and Hunter immediately leans towards it, kissing it with no hesitation, his soft lips and hot tongue making me grip on the sheets in complete pleasure.

     “Where else?” He asks soon after while his soft lips were still touching my skin.

     “Here,” I answered next, pointing at my cheeks this time.

     So as Hunter continued to shower kisses on my neck, his lips traveled to the next area that I pointed at, making him start kissing my cheeks as well. I closed my eyes as I felt his warmth against me. Hunter’s kisses felt so gentle that my body relaxed in an instant. He made me feel so good that I could barely remember what had happened earlier.

     “ Where else? “ Hunters ask, his voice lower than before.

     I opened my eyes back and was instantly welcomed by Hunter’s hungry eyes. He was mad, but at the same time, I knew that he wanted me. He wanted every piece of me and I was willing to give it all to him with no hesitation.

    “There was nothing else,” I truthfully tell him, reaching out to touch the lips that have touched almost every part of my body. “But I want more. I want more of you Hunter,” I say, and Hunter practically growls, showing me his fangs.

     “Do you know what you’re saying?” He asks, probably wondering if I’m only saying this because I’m still drunk, or because I’m still too caught up with what happened earlier.

    “I know. Every last word,” I reassure him.

     Hunter stares at me for a second, and the room instantly falls silent. But as the moonlight from outside our motel room shone down on us, Hunter suddenly grabs a fistful of my hair and finally presses his lips on mine, devouring me like a beast.

    He lowers his body on me until I could feel him pressing himself against me. His lips were gentle at first, but as I slightly open them, Hunter immediately slides his tongue inside, his taste a mix of strawberry and alcohol.

     I draped my arms around his neck as our tongues continue to battle, but he was much more aggressive, almost like he’s been waiting to taste me for such a long time.

     “ Wait… “ I whisper as I try to catch my breath.

     “ Not enough… “

     Hunter presses his lips on me again just seconds after I pulled away from him. It felt so intense that I could already feel my saliva oozing out of the side of my mouth.

     After a few more seconds, Hunter finally moved away from me. The two of us stared at each other, panting heavily like we just ran a marathon.

     “You’re hard now,” I tell him since I could feel his hard bulge against me. I thought Hunter and I were finally going to do it, but Hunter removes my arms around his neck instead and sat up, wiping his lips with the back of his hand before telling me, “This is where we end this session. Anything further than this is out of the question.”

     “No,” I stubbornly say, making Hunter give out a small smile.

     “Dane, I appreciate your enthusiasm, and I would fuck you so hard right here and right now if I could. But you just went through something terrible, and I know you think I’m the perfect solution to make you forget about it, but I’m not. You’re also still very much drunk, and I would prefer if you rest,” he says, reaching out to wipe my lips this time.

     “But daddy, I promise I’m going to be a good little pup and—”

     “That’s not going to work on me right now,” he sternly says as he finally moves away from me. Hunter stood from the bed and tucked me in so I could finally go to bed, almost like we didn’t just make out a couple of seconds ago.

     “You’re really going to leave me hanging like this?” I asked him.

     Hunter chuckles and sits on the edge of the bed. Instead of answering my questions, he leans close and suddenly kisses me on the lips again. As I said, we were literally making out just a couple of seconds ago, but why the hell did that surprise kiss make me feel more embarrassed?

     Is it because he’s never kissed me on the lips until now?

     “You’re going to regret this when you wake up tomorrow, “ he whispers as he gently moves my hair away from my face.

     When he saw that I was no longer forcing him to hold me, he takes a deep breath and shows me a serious look on his face.

    “I’m not fucking a drunk version of you,” he tells me while gently touching my lower lip. “But after you clear your head, and when you’re all sobered up…I’ll fuck you so hard until all your bad memories go away, and all you’ll ever remember is how fucking amazing I was that night.”

TO BE CONTINUED

(15) Secret Codes

🐾

I WOKE UP THE next day with an intense headache. I had to massage my temple and take a deep breath before I could even have enough strength to pull myself so I could sit up. The room was slightly dark, but I could tell that it was already morning thanks to the light peeking through the curtains.

    I looked around the room and realized where I was. We were at a motel after what happened last night. But what even happened last night? If I remember…

    “ You like men, right? Then it will be fine. I haven’t had gay sex yet, but I’ve been sexually deprived since my divorce so you’ll have to do. Thankfully you have a pretty face ,“ I suddenly remember Timothy saying, and my entire body starts fuming.

    Last night I was completely drunk and defenseless, but now that I’m fully rested, my fear was instantly consumed by anger.

     “That mother fucker. How dare he assault me like that?!” I angrily say, looking around to find my phone so I could call my lawyer. “I’m gonna put that guy’s sorry ass in jail. He’s gonna pay for what he’s done. If he thinks I’m just going to cry and hide in fear then he’s dead wrong. My name is fucking—”

     “Day?” Someone suddenly calls out while I was talking to myself, still searching for my phone so I could search for my lawyer’s name in my contacts.

     “Day, how are you feeling?”

     Hunter, who came from the bathroom, walks out wearing only a towel, instantly making me stop whatever I was doing.

     “You look better,” he says with a small smile, walking towards the window to open the curtains. Light instantly shines through, and I immediately squinted my eyes to adjust to the lights.

     When I finally got used to it, I opened my eyes back and realized that there was actually food in the small dining area on the side of the room. Hunter walks towards the table and takes a mug before handing it over to me. “Here, drink this. It will help you feel better,” he tells me.

     I looked at what was in the mug and realized that it was tea, so I cupped the mug in my hands and took a sip. It took me a couple more sips, but my head slowly started to feel a lot better after a while.

     While I was finishing the tea, Hunter stares at me and sat on the edge of the bed. He then reaches out to brush my hair back for me, making me smile at him.

     “You feeling better now?” He asks.

     “Yes.”

     “That’s good.”

     Hunter stares at me for one last time before standing back up to remove the towel that’s covering him. He wasn’t facing me so I could only see his back area, but even so, I looked away and just finished the tea so I could distract myself.

     When Hunter was now wearing his clothes from last night, he walks towards the table of food and sat down. “Come here and let’s eat,” he says, and so I nodded my head and stood from the bed so I could join him.

     I sat across from him and placed the empty mug on the side before looking at the table. When I saw what was on top of it, I realized that most of the food served was food to help someone’s hangover. I was touched that he woke up early just to buy me all these, but then I saw a small box on the side. I opened it up and was surprised to see that it was actually a slice of cheesecake.

     “Cheesecake…t-that’s my favorite,” I say, trying not to get emotional over a piece of pastry.

     “I just saw some at the coffee shop. I’m glad you actually like it,” Hunter says, and I looked at him and smiled, making Hunter smile back at me too.

    “Then let’s eat.”

     “Thank you for the food,” I answer, grabbing the fork and taking a bite of the cheesecake. The flavor calmed me down in an instant, and every bad thing that happened last night practically disappeared. Eating cheesecakes really help me keep my emotions in check, and I don’t even know why.

     “I can’t believe Timothy would do such a thing,” I finally say, opening up the subject because Hunter looked like he was trying to avoid asking me about it for my sake. “He ruined his career, but there’s nothing I can do. I’m going to make sure he—”

     “I’ve already handled it,” Hunter suddenly tells me, not even looking at me as he was eating his meal.

     “What are you talking about?” I ask, putting my spoon down to look at him.

     When Hunter noticed that I got quiet, he takes a deep breath and finally looks back at me. “I called someone, and they’ll handle everything so there’s nothing for you to worry about. I’ll make sure you’ll never cross paths with that animal again.”

     I wanted to say something, or maybe even question him about this, but Hunter looked so serious, and for a moment I saw him clenching his fork, so I just took a deep breath and nodded my head instead.

     “If that’s the case then I trust you,” I tell him. “But if I was a hundred percent sober last night, things wouldn’t have escalated that way. I would have definitely sucker punched the shit out of him to the point where his entire life starts flashing in his eyes.”

    I wasn’t really trying to be funny, but Hunter chuckles and nods his head, not sure if he was making fun of me or because he knew I’d actually do it. “You would have definitely done that babe,” Hunter casually says before taking a sip of his warm milk.

     “Of course, I would! I’m not some weak ass—” before I could even finish my sentence, I suddenly realized the last word that Hunter just uttered. And as soon as I remembered what it was, I accidentally choked on air, making Hunter look back at me in shock.

     “Are you okay?” he asks, genuinely concerned.

     I was about to explain to him that I was alright, but then I caught a glimpse of his lips, and just like that, images of what happened to us last night started flashing in front of me, reality slapping me on the face.

     “ But daddy, I promise I’m going to be a good little pup ,“ I remember telling Hunter last night, and my soul instantly leaves my body as it tries to escape from this growing shame.

     Oh

     My

     Fucking

     God.

     I’ve officially lost it. Even in my drunk state, I’m just a horny mess. Yes, I’m still traumatized after what happened with Timothy, and I’m aware that I might have just used my desire as some sort of coping mechanism, but did I seriously just beg Hunter to fuck me after everything that happened to me last night?

    Can the earth just swallow me whole right now?!

    “You just remembered, didn’t you?” Hunter suddenly asks, and I quickly looked away from him in complete embarrassment. He chuckles, but then he stands from his seat and leans toward me. He grabs my chin so I could face him again, and without any warning, he gently presses his lips on mine, and my entire body freezes.

     “I told you you’d regret it the next day,” he teases, pinching my nose this time before sitting back down. “I can’t believe you really called yourself a little pup last night. If I wasn’t able to control myself, I might have fucked you then and there.”

     “W-Wait, what do you mean? Are you telling me that we…w-we didn’t have…”

     “Sex?” Hunter finishes, making my entire face heat up as if I was some kind of virgin.

     My silence was apparently a yes, so Hunter looked directly into my eyes and asks me, “What do you think?”

     I gulped and tried to check if my ass felt weird or not. I moved a little in my seat but I didn’t feel anything strange. I could also walk properly earlier so there are only two explanations for this. One, Hunter and I didn’t do it, or two, Hunter’s dick just magically shrunk last night and so I wasn’t able to feel a goddamn thing.

     “ Yup, that makes perfect sense Day, good job, “ my inner conscience sarcastically says, finally making me brush the second explanation away.

     “We didn’t,” Hunter answered when he realized how I was desperately trying to remember if we really did it or not. “But since you’re now sobered up, how about we continue what we left off?” Hunter jokingly asks with a mischievous grin, making me grab my glass of water and finish it all up in one go.

     Right after, I place the glass down and wipe my mouth with the back of my hand before finishing the food on my plate so I wouldn’t have to talk about that embarrassing night any longer. While I was eating, I noticed Hunter staring at me again. I thought he was going to tease me, but when I glanced back at him, I realized that he was smiling, like he was glad that I was feeling better now after what happened.

     “Thank you for taking care of me last night,” I sincerely tell him, and Hunter must have been caught off guard because he looked startled when he heard me say it.

     “I don’t know what I would have done if you weren’t there with me, so thank you, Hunter,” I continue to say, reaching out for his hand and squeezing it. “And about the magazine project, I’ll take the blame for it. I’ll tell everyone that I can’t continue anymore so you could just—”

     “I’m going to quit,” Hunter suddenly tells me, and this was my turn to be caught off guard.

     It was actually expected, and I was about to tell him the same thing, but I didn’t know Hunter would say it first. I guess we were both thinking that it would be best if we don’t continue this project anymore.

     “I’m going to quit and take the blame for whatever happens next, but not until we finish this,” Hunter then says, making me look back at him with shock.

     “What? But how about the—”

      “I know how important this project is to you, so I’m going to push through until the very end of it. Even though I don’t like the idea that a perverted asshole took my photos, I don’t want the entire staff to suffer because of him, especially you, so we’ll finish this project and we’ll make everyone know that Dane Anderson McCartney helped with the best magazine issue EXRay Media has ever released,” Hunter tells me with great determination.

     I couldn’t say anything. No one has been this considerate to me before, even Todd. Whenever it’s about my work, people just assume that I’ll be able to handle everything that would happen. They call me a workaholic, someone who chooses their job over everything else, or someone who’s way too ambitious for their own good, but they don’t know how much I love what I do. This job is everything to me. For me, this isn’t even a job but a lifestyle I chose to pursue.

     No one understood me more than him. He understood my wants and my needs, and he understood the importance of my job in my life. I don’t deserve him at all.

     “You’re exaggerating way too much,” I say as a tear stream down my eyes, and Hunter just smiles, assuring me that everything will be alright.

     “Are you sure about this? What if you get tired? That was only the first shoot, we’re still going to work more. And then there are interviews, and other stuff too,” I explained while wiping the tears off my face.

     “As long as I’m with you, it’s fine,” he answers. “And besides, you’re the sexiest when you’re working,” he then comments, and once again, I ended up choking on air because of what he said.

     I was about to pretend like I didn’t hear him and just continue eating, but then, with a low voice, Hunter tells me, “Let’s take a break first. Come and sit on daddy’s lap, little pup.”

     My entire body freezes from what he said, and when I looked back at him, I couldn’t help but gulp as Hunter’s eyes stare back at me with great intensity. The two of us became quiet, but then I stood from my seat and did what I was told. I walked towards Hunter and touched his shoulders. Right after that, I sat on his lap, my body facing his. Since I was only wearing a bathrobe, my lower body instantly gets exposed, but I didn’t really mind it at all.

     “ Kiss me, “ he then whispers, and I instantly remember my lips touching his last night. His sweet taste and hot breath made me crave him again, so without any hesitation, I leaned close to him and did what I was told.

     I press my lips against him, but then, Hunter forces his tongue inside mine, surprising me. But soon after, I adjusted to him, and our tongues eventually started touching each other, almost like they were wrestling inside.

     Hunter wraps his arms around my waist, and then he pulls away from me and suddenly whispers in my ear, “ Seven. “

     The number came out of nowhere so I was left flustered, but before I could even ask him about it, Hunter pulls me in and kisses me again, making sure I keep my mouth shut. After a while, Hunter stops kissing my lips and removes the robe from my shoulder so he could kiss that too. He then moves to kiss my collarbone, and while he was doing so, he whispers again, “ Two. “

     Right after that, his lips travel to my neck, and eventually my ear. And before he could finally move away from me, he whispers the last number. “ Eight. “

    I was panting heavily as I stared at Hunter with great confusion. He doesn’t say anything to me or even explain what that all meant, but instead, he lifted me off him so he could stand from his seat. “Alright, just finish eating your food. I’ll check us out so we could leave soon after,” he then says, grabbing the room key and heading out.

     As soon as he was gone, I slowly sat back down and stared at the food in front of me.

     728

     What on earth was that? Some kind of secret code?

     (7) G (2) B (8) H ? Is that a thing? Does that even make any sense? Was I supposed to do something about that, maybe like g o b ack h ome?

      What did that all mean? Why would Hunter suddenly whisper all that to me? And why on earth was he so secretive, almost like he was making sure that no one else would be able to hear it in a motel room where I’m certain there’s only the two of us?

…

“We should head back home first so we could change clothes, and then we can go to the grocery store to buy ingredients for later’s dinner. I’ll cook,” Hunter says as we were both waiting at the bus stop.

     I didn’t really answer Hunter since my mind was still very much occupied by what happened earlier. Before checking out from the motel, my mind was completely blank from the numbers that he whispered to me. I could help but feel uneasy about it, and for some reason, I’m so afraid of asking Hunter what it meant.

     Ever since Hunter transformed into what he is today, it’s been made clear to me that there are things that I’m not allowed to know. Hunter has been very secretive, but I’ve brushed it off and acted like everything was fine as long as Hunter gets to stay by my side. But is this the right thing to do? Should I just be ignorant all my life for my own selfishness?

     “Day,” Hunter calls out, making me flinch.

     “Are you alright?” He then asks, and I faked a smile and nodded my head, hoping that Hunter wouldn’t notice the lie.

     “Are you sure?” He continues to ask.

    I played with the hem of my shirt and swallowed the lump in my throat, trying to decide if it was even alright for me to open this up.

     “Hunter, about the—”

     “Hunter?” A female voice suddenly calls out, making me stop in an instant. Hunter looked surprised too, but he tried to ignore whoever called for him as he grabs my hand and pulls me close. I was just as surprised as him because I never expected to hear someone else say that name before.

     “Hunter, is that really you?” The feminine voice continues to say, and Hunter squeezes my hand even harder as if he was afraid to be seen by whoever was calling for him. But before I could turn around to see who it was, Hunter lets go of my hand and finally faces the woman instead.

     Hunter had a serious, almost terrifying, look on his face, but as soon as he turned around, he suddenly smiles. I quickly turned around as well, not expecting much, but when I saw who it was, I couldn’t help but be surprised. It was an older woman who wore expensive-looking clothes and jewelry. She also had such a strong perfume scent that it almost made me sneeze.

     “My gosh! It is you!” She excitedly says, moving close to grab Hunter’s arm. But before Hunter could even move, I unconsciously pull him towards me. For a second, my head was suddenly filled with the thought, “ I’m not allowing you to touch him. “ When did I start acting so possessive?

     “Oh, I’m sorry, but who are you?” The woman asks when she notices me holding onto Hunter’s arm tightly.

     I was about to answer her, but Hunter cleared his throat and answered for me instead. “I’m sorry ma’am, but I don’t know who you are,” he says while still smiling at her.

     The situation confused me. The woman obviously knows who he is, and judging from his reaction, Hunter knows her too. But the question now is, where did they even meet? Does she know what Hunter is? And why is Hunter lying?

     “Hunter, what are you talking about? We’ve been—” Just as the woman was about to finish her sentence, she suddenly stopped herself and covered her mouth in shock, almost like she realized something important. She glances at me and gulps before looking back at Hunter with a panicked expression. “I-I’m so sorry, I mistook you for someone else,” she nervously says, confusing me even more.

    “Madam Fiona, we need to go,” another voice says, startling me.

     A tall dark man with strong features approaches the woman in front of us. He touches her shoulder, confused as to why she looked so surprised, so he turns to look at us, and in an instant, his eyes fall on Hunter.

     The man looked surprised for a quick second, but he immediately composed himself as he said, “Is there a problem here, sir?”

     Hunter, who was still smiling at them, shakes his head and answers, “No, there’s no problem at all.”

     I thought that was that, but then Hunter’s smile finally disappears and turns into a serious expression as he adds, “But you should watch over your master better and do your job well because I might get confused as to who’s really wearing the leash.”

     The man angrily looks at Hunter, clenching his fist like he was trying not to throw a punch. The two of them just stared at each other, and for a second, I thought I heard the other man…growl. Before things could get any worse, the bus finally arrives, making Hunter grab my hand again so we could finally leave the scene. “Let’s go,” he tells me, pulling my hand so we could go inside the bus.

     When we got in, Hunter and I sat at the back. I looked out of the window again and stared at the man who was still glaring at us. The man had jet-black eyes, and he stood in a way that seemed protective and alert. He was fierce yet sophisticated, and for a moment, he resembled a Doberman Pinscher; a dog, just like Hunter was.

     “Day,” Hunter suddenly calls out, finally making me look away from the man standing outside the bus.

     “Don’t worry about what happened, okay?” He asks me, and I gulped and nodded my head as the bus starts driving off.

     I looked out of the window again. I don’t know why, but I suddenly remembered the number 728. I felt like Hunter wasn’t just saying all that just to confuse me. I felt like he was trying to give me a hint, something that he was willing to risk for my sake.

     Hunter always looked cautious, as if he was trying not to get caught by someone. For a moment I wanted to pretend that I was still drunk and everything was just a figment of my imagination.

     But I knew that that was no longer the issue, and I knew that this was something that I’m definitely not supposed to brush off anymore.

TO BE CONTINUED

(16) Lies

🐾

IT’S BEEN TWO WEEKS since the incident with Timothy, as well as the secret code gimmick that Hunter did with me at the motel. I tried to open it up with him several times, but Hunter was just way too good at dodging it. I wanted to talk about the time when the woman recognized him too, but Hunter would also brush it off.

    I’m not stupid, with just one look I could tell that they knew each other from the Companion’s Association. She probably had that card too and met Hunter at the pet shop. I know that at least, but after thinking about it, I realized one thing.

     Was she Hunter’s previous owner? If so, why are they no longer together? Did she break the contract? Did something happen? Will Hunter be taken away from me too if I ask too many questions?

     All this time I’ve lived in this fantasy with no worry. I pretended like Hunter was this perfect man who came to my life unexpectedly, but the truth is, this wasn’t entirely unexpected at all.

     Hunter, as painful of a fact it may seem, is supposed to be my pet. He’s here to protect me, like what he always says. It never occurred to me that all this will eventually end, that Hunter will one day leave my side. For a moment I thought he’d be with me forever. I thought we’d live happily, maybe get married, and even adopt a kid, but no, this is the reality of things. How could I have been so stupid?

     Hunter never told me he liked me. He never talked about what we really were. He always showered me with sweet words and touched me in places that made me feel like I’m on cloud nine. He was too good to be true.

     “You should watch over your master better and do your job well because I might get confused as to who’s really wearing the leash,” these were the exact words that he said to that man we met at the bus stop. I don’t know why, but when I heard him say that, I felt something ache in my chest.

     How could I forget that I signed a fucking contract, and Hunter’s probably just doing all this for me because of that same reason.

     This isn’t about love at all. This was his job.

     All this time, he was just doing all this as a member of the Companion’s Association, an association that strives on the motto, “ Make the lonely feel wanted .“

     “Mr. McCartney?” a voice calls out, making me remove my eyes from the screen of my laptop. I looked up and saw Jane standing in front of my desk, handing me a folder.

     “You okay team leader? You seem tired,” she asks, and I faked a smile and grab the folder in her hand instead before saying, “What’s this?”

     “That’s the final cover for next week’s issue. What do you think?” Jane asks, and I opened the folder and was instantly welcomed by a picture of Hunter’s intense eyes staring back at me.

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/4df8b6d97fc218694bacf8cd4782f6f726c1a498/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f696773534e4c6b686f58307965413d3d2d313237363735383530392e313731643931383436373833333633353334353731323037333735352e6a7067)

     I reached out and touched the picture, staring back at it as if I was staring at the real thing. Jane had to clear her throat so I could look away from him. I almost lost in a trance there.

    “Seems like you love it,” she teases, and I just chuckled and handed the folder back to her.

    “It looks great. We’ll finalize everything else tomorrow. If you need anything else, just message me,” I say, looking at my watch and standing from my seat before taking my bag and my car keys.

     Jane was surprised for a second, but then she glances at my calendar and realizes something, so she takes a deep breath and gives out a sad smile. “It’s your uncle’s death anniversary today,” she says, and I smiled back at her, appreciating the fact that she remembered that.

     “Yeah, it’s been eight years,” I say, and Jane pats my shoulder and doesn’t say anything anymore.

     I got out of the office and went to my car right after so I could head to the cemetery.

     Today, as Jane mentioned, is my uncle’s death anniversary. As you may already know, my parents died when I was young. I barely remember anything about them, especially since I was a sickly kid, but my uncle took me when no one else did. He helped me become who I am today, and he’s actually the very reason why I really wanted to work in EXRay Media.

     Growing up, I was homeschooled for half of my life because of how weak I was. But I was entertained by the magazines that my uncle had in our house, and that was the EXRay Magazine. My uncle noticed that I enjoyed reading them, so he would buy me an issue every month and we’d even look through them together. I grew up dreaming that I’ll one day become an editor for that magazine, so when my uncle died, I did my best to make my dream a reality.

     This was the only thing that reminded me of him, that’s why my job is important to me.

     “ Looks like we’re here, “ I say as I park my car on the side, looking at the passenger seat to take a bouquet of white roses that I bought earlier.

     I grabbed the roses and walked out of the car. The clouds were starting to get dark so I quickly walked my way to where my uncle is before it starts raining. I also don’t want to leave Hunter in the apartment again in this weather.

      After a few more steps, I finally arrived at the grave that had the words “ Hael Luis McCartney “ engraved on it. I was about to put the bouquet down, but as I got closer, I notice a yellow flower on top of his grave, making me pause. I went down on one knee and took the flower, realizing that it was freshly picked because the leaves and the stem were all over the place. It was obviously not from a flower shop.

     “Who gave this to you uncle?” I ask as I put the flower down. “Now my roses look underwhelming,” I add as I put the bouquet down as well.

     I touched my uncle’s grave and tried my best not to tear up. It’s already been eight years, yet the fact that you’re no longer here still remains.

     When I heard that you died in an accident, I thought my entire world ended. You were all the family that I had, so when you left, I was completely lost. But only one person stood by my side, and that was Todd. Maybe that was the reason why I couldn’t let him go so easily because when everything fell apart, he was there to make sure I didn’t crumble.

     “Todd and I…” I finally say before swallowing the lump in my throat. “Todd and I broke up, uncle,” I tell him, almost like he was just sitting right in front of me.

     “I remember talking about him all the time that I think you even got tired of it, but we just…we just didn’t work out. And that’s what you always said, right? Things don’t always work out, and that’s fine,” I continue to tell him, trying to smile even though tears were already forming in my eyes.

     “But I did meet someone,” I then say. “His name is Hunter, and he’s been very good to me. He’s been taking care of me well and has stood by my side for a while now. He’s important to me uncle, but I’m unsure at times. I’m scared, scared that the more I fall deeper, I’d only get disappointed.”

     Uncle, is it alright for me to fall in love with a man I know nothing about? Is it alright for me to fall in love with someone who might only be doing his job for the sake of the association?

     Can I really trust Hunter?

     “Day?” A voice calls out, immediately making me wipe the tears away from my cheeks. I stood up and turned around to face the man who called out to me. To my surprise, it was actually my ex-boyfriend, Todd Cooper.

     “Todd?” I ask in shock, and then I noticed the flowers that he was holding, and for a moment, my heart skipped a beat.

     Todd doesn’t say anything and went to my uncle first before putting the flowers on top of his grave. He looked at my uncle for a couple of minutes, and after that, he takes a deep breath and finally looks back at me. “I’m sorry if I came here like this,” he says, and I immediately shook my head.

     “N-No, there’s no reason for you to apologize. In fact, I want to thank you for remembering, and for even bringing flowers,” I tell him, and Todd gives out a small smile before nodding his head.

     I always went here with Todd every year during my uncle’s death anniversary. It feels strange to see him here again, now that we’re no longer together.

     “I just came to apologize to your uncle,” Todd suddenly says, but before I could even say anything, he looks back at his grave and says, “I’ve only seen him a couple of times when we were first-year students in college. He was a nice man and was pretty cool too. I know how important he was to you, and how important you were to him.”

     “Todd, I—”

     “You always brought me here and even introduced me to him, so for that, I want to thank you Day. I know we’re no longer what we were before, but thank you for trusting me with something so important to you,” Todd sincerely says.

     The wind blows on us, and in an instant, a tear falls from my eyes. Todd was surprised, but I quickly looked away and wiped them.

     “Thank you too,” I say, and the two of us looked at each other for a couple of seconds before looking away. I cleared my throat and stared at the sky. It was darker than earlier now, so I have to leave and head home to make sure Hunter’s alright.

     “Looks like I have to go,” I tell him, and Todd nods his head to answer.

     “It’s nice meeting you again Day. I’ll see you around,” he then says, but as I was about to take my leave, I took a deep breath and looked back at Todd before saying, “It’s about to rain. I’ll drive you home if you want.”

    Todd wasn’t expecting my offer, but he quickly nods his head and approaches me. “I would appreciate it. Thank you.”

     The two of us went to the car so I could drive him to his apartment, but as I was driving, it started to drizzle. The rain wasn’t strong yet, but I couldn’t help but curse. If I drop Todd off at his place, would I be too late? Will it start raining hard if I don’t go home now?

     “Day, you look troubled. If you want, you could just drop me off here,” Todd—who was sitting beside me on the passenger seat—says, probably noticing the worried look on my face.

     I wanted to tell him that it was okay, but I couldn’t wait anymore so I said instead, “Will it be alright if we head to my apartment first? I’m worried that it starts raining hard and I’m not back there yet. I left someone at home who doesn’t like the rain. I have to be there just in case.”

     “Day, it’s fine. Like I said, you can just drop me here,” Todd kept on saying.

     I wanted to agree to his suggestion, but looking at how dark the sky was now, I didn’t want to just leave Todd in this kind of weather. It would be too cruel, especially since he took the time to even visit uncle even though we’re no longer together.

     “’Don’t worry about it. You can wait at the apartment until the rain stops. It’s troublesome to commute in this weather,” I insisted, and Todd sighs and finally nods his head to agree to it.

     So I immediately changed route and drove back to the apartment as fast as I could. While I was driving, Todd looks back at me and suddenly asks, “That someone you left at home…it’s that guy you called Noah, right?”

     The question made me grip the steering wheel. I didn’t answer Todd, and thankfully, he didn’t ask about it any further until we finally arrive at the apartment. Just in time, it started raining when we got there. Todd quietly followed behind me as I hurriedly pulled out the keys to open the door. As soon as the door opened, I rushed inside and looked around the room to check if Hunter was home.

     I was about to call out for his name, but soon after, Hunter walks out of my bedroom, making me sigh in relief. Thank god it’s just regular rain. If there were lightning and thunder, it would have been a bigger problem.

     “Dane, welcome home,” he says, walking towards me to give me a kiss, but before he could even do so, he stops when he noticed Todd standing behind me. “Mr. Cooper,” he then says, his face now serious.

     “Good afternoon, Mr. Noah,” Todd greets back, and the two ended up staring at each other, almost seconds away from throwing punches.

     “I’ll make some tea!” I quickly say to change the atmosphere. I asked Todd to take a seat in the living room while Hunter just accompanied him there. While the two practically didn’t say anything to each other, I went to the kitchen and started boiling water in the kettle to get the tea ready.

     “ Was it really a good idea to invite Todd over? “ I ask myself as I was about to throw the empty pack of sugar in the bin. But as I was about to do so, I suddenly noticed something in the trash.

    The trash was filled with crumpled paper, but as I got closer, I noticed something peculiar. It was a petal…a yellow petal.

     My brows furrow in confusion, but then, right at that moment, I remembered the flower at my uncle’s grave. My head couldn’t quite wrap it up, but then my chest started to beat fast.

     “Dane, can I help you with something?” A voice suddenly says, and I turned around and saw Hunter walking towards the kitchen with a smile on his face.

     I stared at him without saying anything, trying to understand what this meant. Was this a coincidence, or am I trying to fool myself again like how I’ve fooled myself all this time?

    “Where did you go today?” I finally ask him.

     Hunter approaches me and scratches the back of his head before answering, “Nowhere. I stayed here all day.”

     No, that’s a lie.

     Why are there petals in the trash?

     Where did you get those flowers?

     Do you know who my uncle is?

     Why can’t I ask you those questions? Is it because I know that you’re only going to brush it off again like you always have? Is it because I know you’re going to pretend like I’m just seeing things? Is it so wrong for me to seek out the truth?

     “Dane, are you okay?” Hunter asks. He was about to grab a hold of me, but I quickly pushed his hand away and took a step back, surprising him.

     “Dane—”

     “Who the fuck are you?” I finally asked him, and Hunter paused and stared at me, probably wondering why I’m suddenly acting like this.

     “Dane, what are you talking about?” He asks, trying to walk closer to me again, but I showed him my hand so he could stop. I didn’t know anymore. My mind was completely blank. I don’t even know if I should trust him.

     “Y-you…I’ve kept quiet all this time. I’ve kept everything to myself because you told me to trust you, but this…t-this isn’t right anymore. The secrets you’re keeping are scaring me,” I tell him, trying my best not to start crying.

     “Dane, calm down, okay? I don’t know what’s going on with you but we’ll talk this out,” Hunter tells me, but I didn’t want to believe him anymore. I’ve tried everything so we could talk, but he has brushed me off all this time. I don’t even know what to feel anymore.

     “You went to my uncle’s grave, didn’t you?” I asked him, and the look on his face confirmed that my speculations were right. He really was the one who left that flower in his grave.

     “How do you know him when I haven’t even mentioned him to you? Why did you visit him? What were those numbers you whispered? What did you mean when you said you knew me longer than Todd did?!” I ask, my voice now louder than earlier.

     “Dane, please, you have to—”

     “No! You can’t brush this off again! This isn’t even about me anymore Hunter. This involves someone who has taken care of me since I was a child. You can’t just pretend like it’s nothing,” I desperately tell him.

     Hunter tries to think of what to say next, but then, Todd suddenly appears and looks at us, probably surprised why I was shouting. “What’s going on here?” He asks, but then Hunter angrily looks back at him and says, “This doesn’t involve you, leave.”

     Todd was surprised, but then he looks at me and sees my state, so instead of listening to Hunter’s demand, he pulls me away from Hunter and tells him, “No, I don’t know who the fuck you are, and I’ve known Day for years. I’m not leaving when he’s looking like this.”

     “I don’t care, just leave us alone!” Hunter then shouts, pushing Todd away. Todd finally got mad and was about to throw a punch, but I immediately stopped him and looked back at Hunter.

     “You’ve told me so many times that you’re going to protect me, but right now I feel so unsafe with you. But I want to trust you again Hunter, so just tell me anything, anything , and I’ll continue living like a fool for as long as you want me to.”

     Hunter opens his mouth and was about to say something, but then he clenches his fist and whispers, “ I can’t .“

     I laughed at myself as a tear finally streamed down my face. I should have known that he was going to say that. I really am an idiot.

     “Todd, let’s go. I’ll drive you to your apartment,” I say instead, walking towards the living room to take my car keys, but Hunter followed me and immediately grabbed my arm to stop me.

     “Dane, I’m sorry,” he says, but I quickly pushed his hand away from me. “I don’t need another one of your sorry’s Hunter. What I need is your truth, but it seems like you can’t even give me that.”

     “I told you, I want to protect you,” Hunter insists, but I still couldn’t understand what that even means.

     “Protect me from what Hunter?! From the Compan—” Before I could even finish the words Companion’s Association,

Hunter suddenly grabs me and forces his lips on me, making me widen my eyes in shock. So I quickly pushed Hunter off me and slapped him, wiping my lips with the back of my hand in complete anger mixed with confusion and fear.

     “What the fuck is wrong with you?!” I angrily shout, but Hunter just touched his cheek and gulped.

     “Dane, I’m sorry.”

     “I don’t know anymore. J-Just…give me time to think,” I tell him instead.

     Hunter wanted to say something, but I quickly grabbed Todd’s hand this time and pulled him out of the apartment. Hunter continued to call out to me, but I ignored him as I let the tears pour out of my eyes. I didn’t want to turn around because I knew that if I did…

     I’d definitely stay.

TO BE CONTINUED

(17) Aggressive Kisses

🐾

“WHO WAS THAT WOMAN?” I once asked Hunter when we happened to stumble upon an older woman who obviously knew who he was at the bus stop. Hunter tried to ignore me, but I grabbed his arm and forced him to look my way.

     “ I don’t know, “ he answered me.

     “ But he called your name, Hunter. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone call you by that name before. And for a while, people have known you as Noah. “

     “ Don’t think about it too much Day. It’s nothing, “ Hunter continues to tell me. “ I know you’re still tired after what happened so do you want something to eat? I can cook something for you. “

     Over and over again I’ve tried to ask Hunter about that woman and that man who looked like he knew him from top to bottom, but Hunter has continuously ignored my questions, dodging them like it was some kind of sport. Of course, I’ve tried to keep quiet. I trusted Hunter, he would never hide something that could potentially hurt me, right?

     “Day!” Someone suddenly calls out, making me flinch. I then blinked and realized that the stoplight has now turned green, so I stepped on the gas and continued driving. It was already raining hard, and Todd, who was sitting in the passenger seat, wouldn’t stop looking at me as if he was dying to know what happened earlier.

     “Day, that Noah guy isn’t really an employee in your company, isn’t he? After all, he wouldn’t kiss you if he was just that,” Todd finally asks. I stared at the road in front of me and tried to ignore Todd’s question, but Todd wouldn’t let it go as he continued, “I know I’m not the right person to be asking you this, but shouldn’t you be—”

     “I told you, I’m fine, so stop asking unnecessary questions so I could drop you off,” I told him as I made a right turn.

     Todd stares at me and takes a deep breath before massaging his temple. “Fine? Day, you haven’t even asked me where I live, so where on earth are you going to drop me? You’ve been driving around your street for ten minutes now.”

    As soon as I heard him say that, I immediately stopped the car in realization.

     “ Fuck, “ I cursed under my breath as I parked the car on the side so I could finally stop driving. How did I not even realize that?

     “Day, tell me honestly. Who was that guy? You told me his name is Noah, and then you start calling him Hunter. What on earth is even going on?” Todd asks, and I take a deep breath and pressed my forehead against the steering wheel, closing my eyes so I could get a grip.

     “I’m not in the mood to be interrogated by an ex-boyfriend,” I honestly tell him, making Todd sigh.

     “Look, I’m just concerned okay? It might not look like it to you, but I still—”

     “Don’t finish that sentence,” I quickly say, lifting my head up to look back at him. “I don’t want to hear it. I’m already confused and frustrated as it is. I don’t need you to add up to it.”

     Todd was surprised by what I said, and for a moment, he looked hurt. “That’s not fair now, is it?” He tells me, and this time, it was my turn to look away from him.

     “Day, I’m concerned about you, and I genuinely still care about you more than anyone. You told me before that we can talk again, right? Then let’s talk. Let me tell you what I feel,” Todd says, practically begging.

     “We can’t,” I answer, and Todd laughs like he heard the funniest joke of his life.

     “We can’t? Why, is it because of that Hunter guy? You can’t even tell me who he is!” Todd exclaims, making me clench my fist in frustration.

     “Fine, if you’re really not gonna give me a chance anymore then tell me who he is. Is he your boyfriend? Are you in love with him?” Todd then asks.

     “It’s complicated,” I answered, and Todd chuckles this time.

     “Complicated? Why, is it because of me? Am I making it hard for you?”

     “It’s not all about you, Todd.”

     “For fuck’s sake then tell me!” Todd says with a much louder tone. “We’re not kids anymore Day, you said it yourself. You know that I’m still in love with you, and you know that I’ve been trying to make things right with you, yet you’re not pushing me away. You keep making me feel like maybe I have a chance, but I don’t even fucking know anymore.”

     Todd looked so desperate, and he seemed to be moments away from crying, so I took a deep breath and finally decided to tell him everything I’d kept from him after what happened between us.

     “Fine, you’re right. You’re making it fucking complicated for me!” I shouted at him in complete frustration as the rain continued to pour outside the car that we were in.

     “Todd, you were everything to me. My entire world revolved around you, so when you broke things off, I was completely lost. I had nothing, no family to run to and no home to head back to, so when you left I became empty,” I honestly tell him, and the tears that I’ve kept all this time finally fall from my eyes as I tell Todd everything that I went through after our breakup.

     “In my head, I thought I wasn’t enough. I thought that I’ve ruined it for us, that I was a joke, that I was such a terrible person for being so ambitious that I ended up making you feel neglected. Because of what happened I thought that I’ll never be able to love again. Every night I cried, hoping one day the pain would just go away, but it doesn’t. The longer I sleep alone in the bed we used to lay in, the pain just keeps on growing, and it fucking hurt so much “ I continue to say as more tears poured out of my eyes.

     Todd started to tear up too. He reaches out and touched my cheek, and this time, I didn’t push him away. “I’m sorry,” he says. “I’m so sorry.”

     “No, it wasn’t your fault at all,” I then tell him. “Maybe you were right. Maybe I did ruin it for us. Maybe I let us fall apart because of how obsessed I was with my job. Maybe I was just…” I paused and tried my best not to cry even more. Saying all this out loud was harder than I had expected.

     The two of us sat there in silence as the rain grew harder on us. But as my tears finally calmed down, Todd wipes the tears from my face and suddenly says, “Day, will you allow me to make things right?”

     “W-What?”

     “Let’s start over,” he finally says, and those words were the exact same words that I’d desperately wanted to hear before. During the first week of our breakup, I prayed that Todd would call to tell me that exact line because I knew that if he did, I’d immediately say yes.

     But why…

     Why do I feel nothing now?

     “I promise to change Day. I’ll be a better man and prove to you that I can still stay by your side like before,” Todd tells me, and before I could even react, his lips were already on mine. His kiss was familiar. For six years, I’ve felt it touch me numerous times. It was sweet and gentle, just like how he does it. For a moment I was about to give in, but then I remembered something that finally made me push Todd away.

     “ I am yours. Every part of me…go ahead and take it, “ Hunter once told me, and my mind was once again filled with memories of Hunter.

     “Todd…” I was about to tell him that this was all wrong, but Todd grabs me again and kisses me for the second time.

     “ I love you… “ he whispers in between kisses. “I still really do love you.”

    Todd continued to kiss me, but when he realized that I wasn’t answering him back, his kisses started to become more aggressive, almost like he was getting mad. “Day, I love you,” Todd says again before pushing his lips even deeper. But as Todd was about to stick his tongue inside me, I finally got the strength to forcefully push him away.

     Todd’s eyes widened from shock, but after a couple of seconds, he finally calmed down. The two of us became quiet, but as the rain continues to pour on us, I took a deep breath and finally answered him. “I don’t…” I say. “I don’t love you anymore.”

     Saying those words out loud made the tears pour out of my eyes even more. It felt like I was letting go of something that has been dear to me for years, but at the same time, it didn’t feel painful. Instead, it felt reassuring; it felt like a fog has been lifted. After everything that I told Todd, things have finally cleared up. The reason why I’m so conflicted isn’t because of him at all. It’s not because I’m broken, or because I feel like no one will ever love me as he did.

     The answer has been in front of me all this time.

     The one I love is Hunter.

     I love him.

     I love him to the point where I’m willing to act like a fool. I love him to the point where I can stay ignorant forever as long as he stays by my side. I love him, and that’s why I’m so fucking terrified of his secrets. I’m so scared of finding out that after all this…

     He might not love me the way that I do.

     “I’m sorry, Todd. I loved you, I fucking did. But time has passed and I’ve moved on without even realizing it. We can’t start over anymore,” I tell him, and Todd looked so hurt that I had to keep myself together so I wouldn’t end up changing my mind.

     “Please, Day…”

     I reached out to Todd and wiped the tears on his cheek like he always did to me. “This is enough Todd, this is enough. I will forever be thankful for the memories we shared together. During my darkest times, you were there for me and I will never be able to repay you for that. But you let me go Todd, and I’m no longer willing to run back to you.”

     Todd takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, reaching out to touch my hand that was holding onto him, almost like he was trying to hold onto me for one last time.

     “You asked if we can start over…but our love story is over. It’s my turn to let you go,” I finally say, pulling my hand away from Todd. Todd opens his eyes back. I thought he was going to say something more, but instead, he gives me a sad smile, and I knew at that moment that Todd has finally accepted defeat.

     This was officially the end of us. This was the closure that both of us needed to hear.

     “I became an asshole, but I always hated it when I made you cry,” Todd says, pulling out his handkerchief from his pocket and handing it over to me. I hesitated at first, but I grabbed it and used it to wipe my tears. And as soon as I took it, Todd suddenly pulls me close and embraces me.

     “Noah…Hunter…whoever that man is…” Todd pauses and hugs me even tighter like this was the last time. “Just make sure he’s fucking worth it,” he finishes before finally letting go of me.

     “I gave it my last shot,” he then says.

     “I know.”

     “I’m sorry for hurting you up till now Day, but more than anything, I want you to be happy,” Todd says, leaning close to kiss me on the forehead. Before I could even say anything back, Todd suddenly opens the door and headed out of the car, surprising me.

     I was about to follow him out, but Todd leans towards the window and waved goodbye. Despite the rain, Todd gives me a big smile, the same smile that I fell in love with when I first saw him at the dormitory; that mischievous smile that always made me laugh whenever I felt down. It was bittersweet, but it felt right.

     “Now go and find your happiness Day!” he shouts, the rain falling down on his face, covering the tears that he desperately tried to hide.

     “Thank you…for everything.”

TO BE CONTINUED

(17.5) The Interview

🐾 

I WAS AT MY office, sitting in front of my desk, bouncing my leg up and down because of how nervous I felt. I couldn’t remove my eyes from my computer screen, but then, Bianca—one of our junior writers—suddenly touches my shoulder, making me flinch.

     “Mr. McCartney, shall we begin?” She asks.

     I took a deep breath and adjusted my necktie before finally removing my eyes from the screen. Sitting in front of me was a gorgeous-looking man who was wearing a simple black shirt and plain jeans, yet he still managed to make it look breathtaking.

     “Good morning…Mr. Noah Price,” I greeted, and Noah, who I’m more familiar with as Hunter, smirked and leans his back on the chair before placing his feet on top of his knee.

     “Good morning,” he says back, and the way he said it made me gulp.

     I tried to stay calm as I looked around the office. Sitting beside me were Bianca and Jane, and then there was another guy from the photography department who was taking pictures for the interview’s documentation.

     Another group adjusted the light, and then, when everything was now set, I looked at Jane and nodded my head toward her, giving her the go signal that she can now begin.

     Jane clears her throat and looks down at the notebook that she was holding before saying, “To begin this interview, can we ask that you introduce yourself first.”

     Hunter adjusts himself in his seat and nods his head before he can start introducing himself. “My name is Noah Price, I’m thirty-two years old, and I was born on the 12th of August,” he says, surprising me since I didn’t know if that was his actual birthday or not.

     Wait, how have I not asked him anything about himself yet? Isn’t that supposed to be like basic knowledge? We’re literally living together and I don’t know anything about him.

     “Alright. Can you give us your height and weight?” Jane asks next.

     “I’m 179 cm tall, and about 73 kg in weight.”

     “How about hobbies? Do you have any?”

     “I like to work out, so I enjoy going on a jog every morning. But recently, I’ve been busy with other… physical… activities,” Hunter suddenly answers before glancing at me, almost making me choke on air.

     “Interesting,” Jane calmly says as she writes everything down. “How about modeling? Have you been interested in that?”

     “To be honest this is my first modeling job, but I’m enjoying it so far. I’ve grown to be comfortable in front of a camera, and I’ve also enjoyed the stares,” he says, and then he looks back at us and winks, instantly making Bianca and the others hide a smile.

     “Okay, now let’s talk about the things you do in your past time. What makes you relatable to others?” Jane asks next.

     “Relatable to others? I’m not sure. With a face and body like this, do you think people will get to relate to me?” Hunter manages to joke, making everyone in the room laugh.

     Wow, he’s actually a natural at this. It seems like he really knows how to keep the crowd going. He’s always with me so I’ve never really noticed his social skills.

    “But on a serious note, I just like to stay at home most of the time like everyone else. I love cooking, cleaning the house, and even the laundry. It’s surprisingly very relaxing to me, all out therapeutic,” he answers, which was something that surprised Jane and the others. I guess Hunter doesn’t look the type to be enjoying household chores.

     “I don’t know if that makes you relatable or if it only made you harder to reach,” Jane comments, making Hunter laugh this time.

     The interview went on for a couple more minutes, and I could tell that Hunter was thankfully enjoying himself. He answered the questions with ease, and we ended things on a good note. If Hunter was a real celebrity, he’d definitely be a fan favorite with that personality of his.

     “And that’s a wrap. Thanks, Noah, you can take a break,” Jane says, approaching Hunter and shaking his hand. Afterward, Jane approaches me and pats me on the shoulder. “Good job today team leader. Want to grab lunch with us?”

     “No, it’s fine. I’ll stay here,” I answer, and Jane nods her head in understanding, almost like she already expected what my answer would be.

     “Anyway, I’m still surprised that Timothy suddenly quit, but the new photographer is just as good so the overall vibe of the photos doesn’t look too different from each other,” Jane then says, and all I could do was nod my head to agree with her.

     No one really knows about what happened between Timothy and me except for Mr. Peters, but thankfully Timothy left before things could become messy. I asked Hunter if he had something to do with it, but he just shrugged his shoulder and told me to not worry about anything, so I just let it go.

     “Looks like we’re heading out. See you later,” Jane then says, smiling at me and heading out of the room.

     The rest of the employees in my office left as well, leaving Hunter and me alone inside the room. As soon as the door closed, Hunter walks towards me and pulls me off my seat, making me chuckle.

     “Was I a good boy today daddy?” He asks, taking a seat on my chair before pulling me in so I could sit on his lap.

     “You’re a crazy idiot,” I tell him, making him chuckle.

     “But I’m your idiot,” he answers, suddenly leaning close to kiss me on the lips.

     “W-Wait, Hunter, someone might see,” I say, a bit nervous that someone might suddenly barge inside the office.

     “Don’t worry, they’re already out to grab lunch, so while we’re alone, let me eat mine too,” he then says, leaning close and finally pressing his lips on mine.

     I didn’t respond to his touch because I was still nervous, but after a while, I finally gave in and started kissing him back, pushing my tongue inside his mouth to taste him better. After a while, I finally pulled away so I could catch my breath. “ Let’s stop for now, “ I say in a soft voice as my entire cheeks turn red.

     “Okay,” Hunter answers, wrapping his arms around my waist and giving me a quick peck on the lips.

     The office was now silent since everyone else left to eat, so I took the opportunity to take a quick nap. I’ve been working on this project for days and I think I haven’t slept properly since.

     “Is your birthday really on the 12th of August, or was that something you just made up?” I asked, wrapping my arms around Hunter’s neck and resting my head on his shoulder.

     Hunter starts caressing my head to help me relax, and while he was doing so, he answered, “That was real. My birthday really is on August 12.”

     “That’s good to know,” I answer, my eyes slowly feeling heavy as Hunter continued to touch my head.

     “Shall we celebrate it when it comes?”

     “I’d love that,” I say, yawning as I finally closed my eyes. “ Mine is on April 21… “

     “I know, “ I suddenly heard Hunter whisper, but before I could even ask how he was able to know that, I ended up falling asleep, not a bit worried about anyone finding us because I knew that whatever happens, Hunter would be there to protect me no matter what.

END

(18) Cheesecakes

🐾

  I ARRIVED BACK AT the apartment, practically running inside to look for Hunter who I idiotically decided to leave on such a rainy day like today because I let my emotions get the best of me.

     “Hunter! Where are you!” I shouted, checking all the rooms to see if he was there, but Hunter was nowhere to be found. He wasn’t under the bed, inside the cabinets, or even in the storage room like last time. “Oh no, am I too late? Did the association find out that I was asking too many questions and just took him away?” I ask myself in a state of panic.

     Without even thinking about it, I ran back down to the lobby where one of the guards was stationed. I was panting heavily since my stupid self thought running down the stairs would be faster than using the elevator.

     “Sir, did you see a man head out earlier? The guy I’m always with,” I say, and the guard touches his chin and thinks about it for a while before widening his eyes in realization.

     “Ah! That good-looking guy? Yeah, I saw him just a couple of minutes ago. He didn’t have an umbrella or anything. He just ran out and—” Before the guard could even finish his sentence, I ran out of the apartment. The strong rain fell down on me, instantly making me soaked, but I didn’t care at all. I ran and ran, looking around the area, hoping to find him.

     “Why did it have to rain today?! And why did you run out when you know the weather’s already like this?!” I angrily shout as I head inside the convenience store, hoping to see him there. The customers and the cashier were shocked to see me, but when I realized that Hunter wasn’t there, I quickly ran back out.

     I went to the grocery store, the park, and the other places where we go too, but I couldn’t fucking find him,

     “Hunter!” I called out as I continued to run around the city like a madman.

     When I still couldn’t find him, I decided to head to the pet shop where the Companion’s Association is. But as I was running in the park, I caught a glimpse of this tall man wearing the same color shirt that Hunter was wearing before I left, so I ran towards him and started calling out for him.

     “Hunter! Wait!” I shouted, practically begging for him to turn around, but as I kept on running, my feet suddenly got caught by the uneven pavement on the ground, making me stumble and sprain my ankle.

     “F-fuck!” I shouted, mostly because of frustration rather than pain.

     I grabbed onto the light post, the pain in my ankle making things even harder for me. But I took a deep breath until I could finally stand on both feet, biting on my lower lip and sucking it up.

     “H-Hunter!” I shouted again, practically dragging my injured foot as I continued to walk around the area.

     This is my karma. I should have just kept quiet. I should have just trusted Hunter and waited for him until he was ready to tell me everything. I can’t believe how selfish I am.

     Uncle, I don’t know how you and Hunter are related, but please…please let me speak to him. Please let me tell him how I really feel. Please tell him that all this time, when he was so worried that I might end up falling back to Todd, I was slowly and gradually falling toward his direction.

     The way he takes care of me, how he always thinks about my feelings first, and how he’s willing to do everything to protect me; all these things were things that should have already made me realize it. Hunter was never good with words. Yeah, he kept things quiet most of the time, but he showed everything in his actions, his kisses, and even the way he just stares at me as if I’m the most important thing to him.

     I always had this growing fear inside me as I fell deeper, but now it’s all clear. Hunter…he…

     “ Dane?! “ A voice suddenly calls out, surprising me.

     “ Dane! I’m sorry! Please come back! “

     My heart starts racing in an instant, and I immediately stopped and looked around, my vision a bit hazy because of the rain. “H-Hunter…” I softly say, wiping my eyes to see better. But as I stood in the middle of the park, I suddenly heard a loud thunder sound that even made me flinch, and that instantly reminded me of Hunter.

     “Oh no…Hunter! Hunter where are you!?”

     Despite my injury, I started running around the park as the rain grew stronger. My ankle was hurting like crazy, but I didn’t even care anymore. What’s important is I find Hunter before something bad happens to him.

     “Please Hunter…please stay—” Just when I was about to give up, I suddenly saw a man standing outside a familiar coffee shop. It was the coffee shop where Todd and I broke up. Out of all the places in the city, this was the last place I thought I’d find him.

     “Hunter!” I called out, and Hunter, who was hugging himself, turns his head and finally faces me.

     The two of us stood there without saying or doing anything, but when thunder could suddenly be heard in the background, my feet finally moved by themselves as I ran to where he was.

     Hunter was trembling, probably because of the cold, or probably because he was terrified. But despite that, he ran towards me anyway until I was within his reach.=Without any hesitation, he grabs my arm and pulls me in for a tight embrace. And as soon as his arms wrapped around me, tears in my eyes started to stream as hard as the rain did.

     “Hunter! Why did you decide to run off like that?!” I angrily ask him instead, hugging Hunter even tighter so he would stop trembling so much. “You know damn well how scared you are of the rain. What would I do if something happened to you? Huh?!”

     “I-I wanted to hide, just like I always did, but when I saw you leave with Todd…I just—” Before Hunter could even finish his sentence, I pulled away from him and grabbed hold of both of his cheeks. Without any warning, I leaned close and kissed him on the lips.

     Hunter was surprised, but after a while, he finally kisses me back. It felt like we were both desperate to hold each other again.

     When Hunter pulled away from my lips, he embraces me even tighter and tells me, “I’ll break all the rules, I don’t care anymore. I’ll tell you everything you want to know, just please…please don’t leave me. Don’t go back to Todd.”

     I stared at his cold blue eyes that were already red because of too much crying. Hunter looked like he was anxious, especially since I haven’t said anything yet. We could still hear the rain, but I took a deep breath and held onto Hunter’s hand to squeeze it, showing him that everything was going to be alright and that I’m now here with him.

     When Hunter looked like he was going to cry again, I reached out and touched his cheek before finally saying, “I am madly, truly, and deeply in love with you…Hunter.”

     “W-What?”

     “It doesn’t matter anymore. Fuck everything else. I love you, Hunter. I might be unsure at times, or maybe even anxious, but I want to be with you. I’m the happiest whenever I’m by your side, so if you’re only doing this because it’s your job then I’ll make you fall in love with me for real,” I seriously tell him.

     I was so embarrassed to say all that out loud, but I didn’t really care anymore. All I care about is what Hunter would say, but when I looked back at him, Hunter remained silent. I reached out to give him a quick kiss, nervously laughing because he hasn’t said anything yet. “H-Hunter, this is the part where you say something back to me.”

     Hunter continues to remain silent, but then he looks down at his feet, and right after that, he started crying, surprising me even more.

     “Hunter! Did I say something wrong? Is the rain scaring you?” I asked him, trying not to panic. I shouldn’t have confessed my feelings in this kind of weather, but then Hunter looks at me and wipes his tears before pressing his forehead on mine.

     “Say that again,” he softly says, and my nervousness instantly turned into a relieved smile.

     “I love you,” I tell him.

     “Say it again.”

     “I love you.”

     “Again,” he says for the third time, and I pulled Hunter for a kiss before saying, “I love you, you idiot.”

     The rain finally stops at the perfect moment, and so Hunter pulls me close and finally whispers, “ I love you too Dane. You don’t have any idea how long I’ve waited for you to say that. “

     His statement surprised me, but before I could even say anything, we suddenly heard clapping sounds. I furrowed my brows in confusion, but when I looked to my right, I suddenly remembered that we were standing just outside the café I usually go to, and all the customers who were inside were clapping their hands at us and even cheering. They probably thought we were shooting some kind of commercial because of how dramatic we were.

     My entire face heats up in embarrassment as I quickly hid myself in Hunter’s chest. “ Why didn’t you tell me there were people watching? “ I ask, and Hunter could only laugh.

     “Well, I didn’t want to ruin your moment,” He answers, and I pushed him away and angrily punched his shoulder.

     The rain completely stops, and I immediately pulled Hunter away from the onlookers while Hunter idiotically waved goodbye at them. When we were finally out from the public’s eye, I stopped and glanced at my aching ankle. Of course, Hunter instantly noticed that so he quickly asked, “Are you hurt?”

     “Oh, I just sprained my ankle, that’s all,” I say, surprising him.

     “Sprained your ankle? How?!” He asks, and I just awkwardly laughed and scratched the back of my head before saying, “I was chasing after you but then I suddenly stumbled upon an uneven concrete and slipped.”

     Hunter suddenly flicks my forehead and says, “Who’s the idiot now?”

     “Hey! That hurts!” I whined, and Hunter just quickly kisses it before turning around, bending his knees, and saying, “Hop on.”

     The eyes widened from shock, and for a moment I was genuinely touched, but I couldn’t help but stomach the further embarrassment of being piggybacked by someone like Hunter, so instead, I answered, “It’s fine. I can still walk.”

     “Hop on or I’ll carry you like a sack of potatoes,” he then commands, and so without any hesitation, I draped my arms around his neck and hopped in his back. Hunter stands and effortlessly carries me. While he walked back to our apartment, I rested my chin on his shoulder and said, “I know it was wrong for me to just run off with Todd earlier instead of talking to you, but Todd and I finally ended everything and found our closure.”

     Hunter doesn’t say anything, but I knew that he was listening to me.

     “I thought that the reason why I couldn’t fully love you is because I needed to fix my broken self first, but that wasn’t the case. The truth is, I just didn’t trust myself to love anyone anymore. But you…you made me feel sure. Though I was scared that you might not love me back, talking to Todd finally made me understand that this love is something I’m willing to risk,” I explain, and Hunter remained silent.

     He continued walking while I rested my head on his back. But after a while, Hunter finally knew what to say. “I know how important Todd was to you,” he says first, and that surprised me because I wasn’t expecting him to even open that up.

     “For you to be able to say all this now makes me the happiest man in the world, but it still wouldn’t change the fact that Todd was a very important person in your life, especially since he was with you during the time you were at your lowest,” Hunter explains further, and my eyes instantly widened because I realized that Hunter was finally going to address the things he told me before; about how he knew me longer than Todd, and why he knew about my uncle.

     “When we meet again, I’ll buy you cheesecakes. My uncle always bought me cheesecakes whenever I got hurt,” Hunter suddenly tells me, and my heart completely dropped.

     “W-What did you just say?” I asked, and Hunter takes a deep breath and turns his head to face me.

     “You said those exact same words to me when we accidentally bumped into each other,” Hunter reveals, making me widen my mouth in shock.

     “I remember you wearing this sky-blue polo shirt that was too big for you, and you looked like you didn’t have enough sleep either. To be honest, I remember every detail of that encounter as if it all happened yesterday…”

[DAY’S FIRST DAY IN COLLEGE]

     It was my first day in university, and because I didn’t know what would happen to me there, I practically brought my entire bedroom, which was something that my uncle got mad about but he can’t say anything now since everything’s already in the box.

     “Alright, you can do this,” I tell myself as I picked up three boxes at a time, making it impossible for me to see what’s in front of me.

     My uncle just dropped me off a couple of hours ago so no one’s here to help me carry all these to my new dormitory. I haven’t met my roommate yet, but I asked around and heard that he’s some kind of star athlete. I’m not really the type to make friends with such a guy, but I’m just hoping we don’t end up killing each other before this semester ends.

     “Hey! Watch it asshole!” Someone in front of me suddenly shouts.

     “S-Sorry sir,” I politely say, carefully navigating the path so I wouldn’t accidentally bump into anyone. But as I took a big step, I didn’t realize that someone was rushing towards me, making the two of us clash with each other.

     My boxes fall from my hands, and the man curses in frustration. I was about to grab my things, but then I realized that the man I bumped into actually fell on the floor, his elbows bruised since he fell backward.

     “Oh no, I’m sorry!” I say in a panic, hoping and praying this isn’t a professor in one of my classes.

     “It’s okay,” he answers, his voice so low it almost made me gulp.

     “Are you sure? You’re hurt,” I tell him, reaching my hand out so I could help him stand, but the man ignores my offer and stood on his own, brushing off the dirt and acting like he didn’t just get hurt.

     “I told you, it’s fine. Just watch where you’re fucking going next time,” he answers, adjusting his dark glasses before I could even see what his eyes look like.

     Alright, maybe he’s a little mad.

     “Well, if you don’t want my help then at least let me treat you to some cheesecake. I heard there’s a café near the campus that serves the best slice. We can check it out if you want,” I kindly say, but the man looks back at me like I was some kind of idiot.

     “Cheesecakes?” He asks, and I nodded my head and smiled.

     “What are you, six?” He rudely asks next, making me gasp in shock.

     “Excuse me, sir, you’re never too old to enjoy sweet treats. When a person stops enjoying desserts, it means they stopped enjoying life,” I explained to him, and this time, he looked like he was about to laugh at me.

     “People who stopped enjoying desserts didn’t stop enjoying life, they just got diabetes,” he then sarcastically answers, almost making me hit him.

     “Anyway, I’m in a hurry. You can enjoy that slice of cake with someone else,” he tells me before finally walking away.

     I quickly turned to him and placed both of my hands on my waist, surprised to have met someone like that on the first day. But as I watched the man walk away from me, I take a deep breath and shouted, “I don’t care if you get diabetes! When we meet again, I’ll buy you cheesecakes! My uncle always bought me cheesecakes whenever I got hurt…so next time, we’ll definitely share a slice! That’s a promise!”

[END OF FLASHBACK]

     “You shouted it so loudly that the other college kids were looking at you weirdly. To be honest, I laughed too, but I almost did stop. At that very moment, a slice of cheesecake seemed really tasty,” Hunter shares, and my mouth was still wide from shock because I couldn’t believe that something like that actually happened.

     I’ve met Hunter before, and I knocked him off because of the large boxes that I was carrying!

     “ Such a great first impression Day. You’ve outdone yourself this time, “ my inner conscience suddenly says, making me hide my head in his back because of complete embarrassment.

     “So was that the reason why you bought a slice of cheesecake at the motel? Because you knew that it would make me feel better?” I ask him, and Hunter smiles and nods his head, making me smile too. Looks like he knows me more than I know him.

     “I bet you thought that that wimpy teenager was such a loser,” I say, and Hunter chuckled and nodded his head, making me hit him.

     Hunter laughs even more, but after calming down, he takes a deep breath and says, “At that time I was nervous because it was the first time I got to stand close to you. And if I’m being honest, loving you never even crossed my mind. I just wanted to protect you.”

     “That part…you haven’t explained that part yet. How do you know my uncle?” I finally ask him. “Based on everything you’ve said so far, you’ve known me way before we bumped into each other at the university. And during that time, my uncle, he…”

     “He died a couple of months after our quick encounter, right?” Hunter finishes for me, and I was once again surprised. So he really does know my uncle.

     “I’m sorry if I can’t say everything to you yet, but I promise, just give me a little more time and I’ll tell you everything,” Hunter tells me, his voice sounding desperate.

     When we walked past a store, I saw the sad expression on his face in the reflection on the window. I couldn’t help but hug him even tighter. “Hunter, you don’t have to force yourself to tell me. I can wait,” I reassured him, but Hunter doesn’t say anything.

     For a moment I thought that this conversation is finally the end of that, but then, Hunter stops walking. He was silent for a while, but after a couple of seconds, he tells me, “Dane, I’m a man who has lived most of his life watching you from a distance, protecting you from any harm that might come your way. I’ve watched you fall in love with someone else, I’ve watched you grow into the man that you are now, and I’ve watched you achieve all of your dreams–”

     Hunter stopped, but then, with his voice shaking, he finally decided to say, “But despite all that, I’m still the man…your uncle never wanted you to meet.”

TO BE CONTINUED

(19) Inside [m]

🐾

HUNTER’S WORDS ECHOED inside my head. I couldn’t quite comprehend what he meant when he said he was the man my uncle never wanted me to meet. What did that even mean? Is Hunter in some shady business? Is he some sort of criminal?

     “So you really do know my uncle,” I say, holding onto Hunter even tighter so I wouldn’t fall off him.

     “I did, for a long time actually. Your uncle, he was…” Hunter tried to explain everything to me, and I could see that he was really trying, but he started walking and didn’t continue anymore.

     “Hunter, he was what?” I asked, hoping to know more about their relationship.

     “You already know too much,” he tells me instead, almost making me drop my mouth in shock. I literally almost started strangling him because of how much of a tease he is. This isn’t some kind of novel. I don’t need another cliffhanger.

     “How do I already know too much when I recently just found out we’re somehow connected to each other?” I ask, shaking his body so he could say more, but Hunter wasn’t budging. It seems like it will take a while before we could talk about this again. Well, it doesn’t really matter. As long as we can talk this slow, we’ll make things work. I trust him.

     “Let’s not talk about this anymore. After all, I’m really happy right now daddy, so let’s just treasure this moment for now,” he says instead, making me smile and lean my head on his back again.

     “I already told you not to call me that in public,” I say, and Hunter chuckles as he continued walking back to our apartment.

     “Shall I call you little pup instead then?”

     “Please don’t,” I quickly replied, making Hunter laugh even more.

     When we were finally closer to our dear home, Hunter suddenly requests, “Before we get back, can you tell me you love me again?”

     “Seriously? Saying it so much feels so embarrassing,” I replied, and Hunter pouted like a kid.

     When we finally arrived at our apartment complex, the guards were surprised to see our wet state. I thought Hunter was going to put me down now, but he looked at the guards and told them, “He injured his ankle. May we use the elevator?”

     The guards looked reluctant, but they sighed and just nodded their heads to agree to it even though we were soaking wet. The people in line for the elevator moved away from us, probably because they didn’t want to stick close to us and get wet themselves, so we got inside the elevator for ourselves. As soon as the door closed, I saw the sad expression on Hunter’s face through his reflection, so I sighed and leaned close to kiss him on the cheek before whispering, “ I love you. “

     Hunter’s eyes widened in surprise, but then it eventually turned into a wide smile. “I love you too,” he replies, and my heart starts beating fast again. Looks like I’ll never get used to that even if he ends up saying it to me every day.

     “Oh babe, by the way…”

     “What?”

     Hunter paused for a couple of seconds before saying, “Your hard dick is hitting my back.”

     My eyes widened from shock, and I immediately hit his back in embarrassment mixed with annoyance. “Why do you always have to ruin the moment for us? Can we at least have a time where we’re not completely horny for each other like dogs?”

     “Well, it’s not my dick that’s erect here,” Hunter continues to tease, and before I could say anything back, the elevator door finally opens. He walked to where our apartment is. He was about to ask me where the keys are, but then he noticed that the door was actually open. Looks like I forgot to close it when I ran off earlier.

     “Seriously Dane?” Hunter asks in disbelief, and I tried to brush it off as Hunter and I went inside.

     Hunter gently puts me down so I could sit on the sofa, and then he started looking around the apartment, probably checking if something was missing or if someone snuck inside. When the coast was clear, Hunter looks back at me and puts his hands on his waist like a mom.

     “Why’d you leave the door open like that? What if someone broke in?” He scolds me.

     “Well, I panicked. And it’s not like another naked man is going to be waiting for me here, right?” I joked, trying to make the mood light again. Thankfully Hunter finally calmed down as he walked toward me with a soft expression.

     Hunter kneels in front of me and grabs hold of both of my hands. While squeezing it, he says, “Welcome home, daddy.”

      I leaned towards him and pressed my forehead against him before squeezing his hands back. “I’m home.”

     We sat there for a while, but then Hunter pulls away and removes my shoes and socks for me. “Let me help you with that first,” he says, about to stand so he could grab the first aid kit inside the bathroom. But before he could even stand, I grabbed his arm and stopped him.

     “Dane, what’s wrong?” He asks.

     “R-Remember our first kiss? Back at the motel…” I shyly say, my face probably so red now because I could see a grin slowly appearing on Hunter’s face as I said it.

     “Well, I think I’m completely sobered up now,” I continued to say, and I could practically see Hunter’s tail waggling because of how happy he looked.

     “What happened to enjoying the moment and not getting horny all the time?” He asks, and I looked away because of how embarrassed I felt for asking for such an absurd request. Hunter doesn’t say anything anymore, but then he grabs me and lifts me up. “Alright, since my little pup took all the courage to say all that to his daddy, then I guess I have to reward you. But first, let’s dry up.”

     Hunter brought me to the bathroom and gently puts me down. I tried to stand properly as he removed my wet shirt for me, and then he slowly pulls down my pants, assisting me so I wouldn’t stumble back. 

     When I was fully naked, Hunter grabs a towel this time and uses it to wipe my skin, cleaning every inch of me so we’d be ready for later. The two of us were so silent that I couldn’t help but gulp. For some reason, this made me feel more nervous compared to everything else we’ve done together.

     “Looks like it’s my turn,” he says soon after, dropping the towel so he could strip in front of me. Without breaking eye contact, Hunter used his shirt to wipe his body. First, his chest, his arms, and then his thighs, making me stare at them with such intensity that I could tell Hunter was enjoying it. After drying himself up, Hunter walks closer to me and suddenly grabs my ass, squeezing it tight with his large hands. “ I’ll fuck you so hard until all your bad memories go away, and all you’ll ever remember is how fucking amazing I was that night,“ he says, repeating the same words he told me at the motel.

     “Don’t disappoint me then,” I told him, and Hunter leans close and bites my lower lip before lifting me off the ground so he could carry me again.

     My cock presses against his hard chest, making me gasp at the sudden contact. While he was carrying me, he locks his lips on mine and walked out of the bathroom. I couldn’t help but feel this unusual excitement as we walked around the apartment completely naked. It was such an erotic feeling that I couldn’t help but press myself even harder on him.

     When we finally got to the bedroom, Hunter gently puts me down on the bed and goes on top of me. The two of us continued to lock lips. He would occasionally suck my tongue, his taste surprisingly sweet.

     Hunter kisses me even harder, pushing me further into him until I couldn’t breathe, so when he finally pulled away from me, I gasped for air, saliva dripping on the side of my mouth like I was some kind of starving animal in heat.

     “What a naughty little pup,” he says as he looks down at me with his cold gaze. Hunter then kisses me for one last time before kneeling on the bed, my body just in between his legs.

     “Sit,” he then commands me, and without any hesitation, I sat up, my face now directly in front of his dick, making me gulp. “Now suck,” he says after, and the way his voice sounded so demanding turned me on even more, so I licked my lips and grabbed his manhood so I could finally enjoy the meal.

     I licked the tip for a while before sliding my tongue up and down like I was licking a popsicle, making sure it was wet enough. Hunter seemed to like it because he had his eyes closed, probably enjoying the pleasure. But when I grabbed his balls and finally put his dick inside my mouth, Hunter grabbed a fistful of my hair and suddenly pushes me even deeper.

     My eyes watered as hunter thrusts his hips, his cock now inches away from my throat. I had to grab his rear end, burying my nails as I started moving my head.

     “ Holy shit Dane. That feels fucking amazing, “ Hunter moans, turning me on even more.

     I breathed in my nose, making sure I don’t pull away too fast, but as I pushed myself even deeper, the tip of his cock touches my uvula, and I quickly pulled away before I end up accidentally gagging.

     “Y-you’re dick’s too long. I can’t go any further,” I say as I tried to catch my breath, and Hunter finally lets go of my hair.

     “I d-don’t know if…t-that’s a compliment…or a c-complaint,” Hunter says, panting heavily as well.

     I looked up at him and wiped my mouth before holding onto his cock again. “I can just give you a handjob and you can just cum in my mouth,” I say as I started moving my hands, gripping onto him while I opened my mouth wide.

     “Oh baby, you keep on making daddy so happy today,” he says as I continued to move my hands. After a couple more seconds, Hunter’s body starts to tremble, and he quickly grabs my shoulder for support.

     “I-I’m about to cum babe…” he warns me, and so I opened my mouth even wider, sticking my tongue out so I could catch every drop of him.

     Hunter grips my shoulder, and finally, with a loud moan, white fluid shoots out of him and directly goes inside my mouth. His cum was hot and slightly bitter, but instead of swallowing it, I used it as a lube, transferring it back onto his dick as I licked it off my tongue.

     “When on earth did you turn so sexy?” He asks as both of us were panting heavily.

     I cleaned my tongue and lay back down, getting ready for Hunter to finally shove his dick in, but then Hunter suddenly got up from the bed and said, “Stay.”

     I furrowed my brows in confusion as Hunter ran out of the bedroom. It took him a couple of seconds, but when he got back, my eyes widened from shock when I noticed a lollipop in his hand. “No, you got to be kidding me,” I say in disbelief as Hunter joined me back on the bed with a stupid grin on his face.

     “Shall we try this?” He asks me, making me laugh because of how excited he looked. I knew that Hunter was a lustful guy, but I didn’t know that he’d have this kind of kink.

     What on earth did I get myself into?

     “Do whatever you want,” I say, and Hunter goes on top of me again before pulling the plastic off the lollipop. He starts sucking on it for a while, but then he pulls it out of his mouth and positions it in front of my lips.

     “You can enjoy sucking that too,” he says, and I gladly opened my mouth so he could put it in. The lollipop was sweet–strawberry flavor.

     “What kind of porn did you watch for you to have this sort of idea?” I asked him while I continued sucking on the lollipop.

     “I went to the convenience store the other day and saw one of these. I remember how you like sweet things so I thought you’d enjoy it,” he explains before pulling the lollipop out of my mouth. “Now roll over,” he then tells me, and so I rolled over and lay on my stomach, giving Hunter a full view of my ass.

     “Your ass still looks way more delicious than this lollipop,” he then says before smacking it, making me moan at the sudden action. looks like I have unlocked another kink. Seriously, the more I’m with Hunter, the more I realize how much of a pervert I really am.

     “ That’s because you only had boring sex with your ex, “ my inner conscience suddenly says, immediately making me brush him off so it wouldn’t end up ruining my mood.

     “Since you seemed to have enjoyed sucking on this so much, let’s see if your other mouth would enjoy sucking it too,” Hunter says as he presses the candy on my entrance, smothering it there before licking it. “Oh, now it’s really sweet,” he says as he starts licking me, the lollipop still pressed against my hole until it was completely wet and sticky.

     My body trembles as Hunter’s hot tongue continues to lick me, but soon after, he pushes the lollipop inside, and I immediately clenched the sheets, the sensation of this hard object making me feel extremely turned on.

     “Wow, it’s really sucking on the lollipop too,” he says as I feel the stick just hanging out of my hole while the inside tightens around the circular candy. “This is way too hot,” he says, pushing the lollipop even deeper.

     “If I leave it there, will it melt?” He asks, staring at my hole so intensely that I couldn’t help but bite my lip in embarrassment. “I think it’s already starting because it’s getting smaller than before,” he continues to say like my ass and that lollipop was some kind of science experiment.

     “H-Hunter…please…stop teasing already,” I tell him, and Hunter grins and dives back down, licking the lollipop that was inside me. His hot tongue, partnered with the hard candy, made my body tremble in pleasure. Never in a million years did I ever think I’d experience such a thing. I don’t think I’ll ever recover from this. Regular sex will never be enough anymore.

     “Oops, the lollipop is all gone now,” Hunter says as he pulls the stick out and throws it away. He then licks me for one last time before leaning close to kiss me, his mouth and tongue sweet and sticky like that lollipop.

     “ Alright, that’s enough, “ he whispers as he leans to kiss the nape of my neck this time. Right after, he turns my body around so I could finally face him. “This view is much better,” he says as he positions himself at my entrance. I thought he was going to just shove it in, but then he pulls something from under the bed. I was going to lose it if it was a candy cane this time, but I sighed in relief when I saw that it was lube.

     “I also bought this at the convenience store, but they didn’t have a condom that’s my size, so are you okay going raw?” He then asks me, and all I could do was chuckle. At a time like this, he’s still thinking about these things. This is why I fucking love him.

     “It’s fine. We can do without it for now,” I say, and Hunter nods his head and smears his cock with lube. He then puts some on my entrance, and the cold liquid instantly made the hair on my skin stand. He puts a finger in first, and then a second one. After preparing my hole, he finally presses the tip of his cock on me.

     “ Tell me you love me first, “ he softly says.

     My heart was beating fast as I prepared myself for what was about to happen. Hunter and I are finally going to be one. This was an act that was more than just lust and pleasure. This was a way for us to show our love for each other, I couldn’t be happier than that.

     “I love you, Hunter,” I tell him.

     “I love you too, Dane Andrew McCartney.”

     Hunter pauses for a second, but after a while, he finally pushes himself inside me. Slowly going deeper as my hole tries to adjust to his size.

     “D-daddy, go deeper,” I demanded him, and Hunter continues to push himself deeper. When he saw that I was struggling, he leans close so I could drape my arms around his neck.

     Hunter then starts massaging my entrance so I wouldn’t feel any pain. “Relax baby, it’s okay. Let me in,” he tells me.

     It felt painful for a while so I started burying my nails in his back this time, but with one final push, he finally got all of him inside, and my body instantly relaxed. I let go of Hunter’s back and touched my abdomen, almost feeling Hunter in me.

     “It’s so fucking hot and tight inside you,” Hunter says, panting heavily as he tried his best not to start moving yet. He wanted me to get used to him first, and the way he was just enduring it made me touch his cheeks in complete admiration.

     “I’m not going to let you go any more,” I tell him, and Hunter grabs my hand from his cheek so he could gently kiss it.

     “And I’m not letting you go either,” he replies.

     When my entire body relaxed, and my hole didn’t feel like it was burning anymore, I took a deep breath and told him, “Y-you can move now.”

     Hunter gazes down at me first, but soon after, he did what he was told and finally made his move. He slowly pulls himself away before pushing it back in. His movements were slow at first, but then they gradually got harder and faster to the point where the bed started to creak.

     “Oh baby, s-shit…you feel so good,” he says as he continues to thrusts his hips back and forth, his balls hitting my entrance during each trust.

     I continued to moan loudly, not even caring anymore if our neighbors would hear us. I just wanted to savor every moment I had with Hunter. I wanted to feel him in every inch of my body. “Daddy, more…give me more,” I demanded, my toes now curled up as his pace got faster than the last one.

     The room was filled with our moans and hot breaths, as well as the sound we were making every time he pounded himself in me. It was almost music to my ears.

     “Ah fuck, baby, I’m going to cum,” Hunter then says.

     “C-Cum inside me then daddy. Give it all to me,” I answered him.

     Hunter and I moaned together as we matched each other’s pace. And as Hunter gave me one final thrust, hot cum oozes inside me, the sensation making me cum as well.

     Hunter’s eyes were closed as his seeds continued to pour inside. But when he was finally finished, he looked back at me and brushes his now wet hair back with his fingers. Both of us were panting heavily, our bodies completely covered in sweat like we just ran a marathon. Hunter was about to pull out, but I stopped him and said, “No, keep it in. I want you to just stay inside me for a little longer.”

     Hunter doesn’t complain, but then he drops himself on top of me, now drained from what he just did. I wrapped my arms around him as Hunter buried his face in my back, his hot breath almost making me giggle.

     “B-by the way…it’s Damien,” Hunter suddenly reveals while he continued to catch his breath.

    “What did you just say?” I confusingly ask him, and Hunter chuckles and looks back into my eyes as he revealed, “My real name, it’s Damien Nicholas Collins.”

     My eyes widened from shock when I heard what he had just said. I didn’t even know why, but I suddenly felt my eyes tearing up. “I don’t think it’s good that I only heard of your name after having sex with you for the first time,” I managed to joke Hunter and I both laughed.

     “ Damien… “ I say under my breath, trying to get used to it.

     It was a beautiful name, and it definitely fits him well.

     Hunter…no…Damien reaches out to wipe the tears off my face before giving me a quick kiss. “You saying it for the first time is making me horny again.”

     “Oh shut up,” I quickly say as I finally pushed Hunter out of me before he starts thrusting himself again.

     Hunter laughs, but he leans to kiss my forehead this time. With our eyes locked on each other, I smiled at him and says, “Let me say it again then. I love you…Damien Nicholas Collins.”

     “I love you too, my lovely sunshine.”

TO BE CONTINUED

A/N:

You’re Welcome…

• Your Author

(20) Assessment

🐾

A WEEK HAS PASSED since Hunter and I finally declared our love for each other, or in layman’s terms, we fucked. I know when I put it that way, it sounds a bit overly romantic, but that’s just the way it is. The two of us didn’t meet each other in the most conventional way, but that’s what made our story more interesting, and I believe that that’s what made my love for him grow to such a rapid extent.

     “Damien!” I called out, my eyes closed so the shampoo wouldn’t get to my eyes.

     No one answered, but then someone turns the shower on, and I immediately washed the suds off my hair and my face. While I was doing so, the man behind me suddenly leans close to my ear, grabbing my waist and pulling me back so our bodies could touch.

     “ Why in such a hurry babe? Don’t you wanna play around more ?“ Hunter—who is actually named Damien—suddenly whispers in my ear before gently kissing the nape of my neck.

     I elbowed Hunter in frustration, and Hunter finally lets go of me before stepping out of the shower so he could put on some clothes.

     My relationship with Hunter didn’t exactly change, but it felt more secure. There are still a few things that we’re not able to talk about, like how he knows my uncle and how he’s known me before I even met Todd, but these things are something that Hunter will eventually talk about with me as soon as he’s ready. I’m not going to force him to do it since I trust that there will be a time when he’ll tell me everything.

     But other than the fact that I found out that Hunter loved me not because it was his job to love me, I also found out what his real name is. I guess Hunter is just his dog name if that makes any sense. But even though his real name is Damien, Hunter told me to refrain from calling him that name in public. I only call him that when I’m mad, or when we’re flirting or having sex. It’s such a sexy name after all.

     Things between us happened a little too fast though. I’ve only known him for two months now, but I already feel extremely attached to him. It’s probably because we share a past together too.

     “Dane, you’re heading to the company today, right?” Hunter asks while wearing his pants.

     I turned the shower off and grabbed my towel to dry myself with it. I then walked towards the sink and grabbed a dryer to dry my hair. “I am since we’re launching your magazine tomorrow,” I answer with a louder tone so he could hear me over the dryer.

     When Hunter was finally done wearing clothes, he stood beside me and stared at his reflection in the mirror, holding his cheeks before saying, “Should I shave my beard? I think it’s getting too long.”

     “I think it’s fine to trim it a little,” I honestly say, putting the hair dryer down to look at him. “You look hot with it. It brings out your sex appeal.”

     “Really?” Hunter asks back, obviously happy about my comment because he wouldn’t stop smiling now. “Then should I let it grow till it reaches the floor?” He then says, making me laugh.

     “Idiot.”

     After brushing my hair, I put on my clothes too and looked at myself in the mirror to check if I looked okay. While I was adjusting my coat, Hunter goes in front of me and puts my necktie around my collar so he could tie it for me.

     “Once the magazine is published, you’ll quit the company, right?” I asked as Hunter continues to tie my necktie in complete concentration.

     “That’s the plan,” he casually answers before looking back at me. “Why? You don’t want me to go? If you don’t want me to then I’ll stay.”

     “Please don’t do that. It’s true that I’ll miss seeing you around the company, but more importantly, I want you to do something with your life, something that you really want. I don’t want you to just focus yourself on me, you know?” I honestly tell him, my expression showing how worried I was about this.

     “So you want me to be of use to society,” he manages to joke despite my seriousness, making me chuckle instead.

     When Hunter saw that I was smiling again, he leans close and kisses me on the forehead. “If you’re really worried then I’ll do something about it; don’t worry. But about the modeling career, I honestly think it’s not cut out for me. And besides, I only want you to stare at me,” he explains, and my face instantly heats up again.

     “A-Anyway, I should go,” I say, quickly heading out of the bathroom to grab my bag and car keys. While I was putting on my shoes, I told Hunter, “By the way, I left some money in the living room. I might get home late, so if you’re hungry, just order something.”

     “You won’t be home to eat dinner with me again?” Hunter asks.

     “I’m sorry, I’m just really busy,” I answer.

     I was about to explain that I’ll just make it up for him, but then I remembered how Todd and I would fight about this before. Now that Hunter and I are officially a couple, I don’t want him to think that I’m neglecting him too because of my job. I don’t want to make the same mistakes again.

     “You know what, I’ll make time. I’ll come home as soon as I can, okay?” I say, making up my mind about it.

     I thought Hunter would be happy, but he walks towards me and suddenly shook his head. “Hey, it’s okay. I’m just worried that you’re overworking yourself again and you won’t be able to eat properly like last time,” he tells me.

     I was honestly surprised by what Hunter said, but before I could say anything, he adds, “You don’t have to worry about me. Finish your job and just come back home right after. I’ll be waiting for you here.”

     My god, I don’t deserve him.

     “But I did this to you yesterday too. You’ve been alone at home and I don’t want you to think that I’m neglecting you or that all I care about is my job and that I’m—”

     “Babe,” Hunter quickly interrupts so I could stop talking. When I finally calmed down, Hunter reaches out to touch my cheeks, cupping them in his hands. “You’re not neglecting me, whoever told you that? Make a fucking living, do your thing and earn some hard-earned cash. You worked hard to be where you are now, so I’m not going to stop you from doing what you love. I just don’t want you to exhaust yourself too much. I’ll see you when you get back, okay?”

     I stared at Hunter and almost started tearing up. So this is how it feels like to have a partner that fully supports you and doesn’t quietly judge you for doing what you love.

     “I love you,” I say, and Hunter pulls me in and hugs me tightly.

     “ I love you too, “ he whispers before letting go of me.

     When we broke from the hug, Hunter suddenly smacked my ass and said, “You better work bitch.”

     I laughed and showed him my middle finger. “You’re an idiot, do you know that?”

     Hunter just shrugged his shoulder and I finally opened the door to head out. “I’ll see you tonight Damien,” I say for the last time, but as soon as I opened the door, a tall man in a familiar suit suddenly welcomes me. I couldn’t quite recognize him at first, but when I finally got a clear memory of who he was, my eyes widened from shock and I immediately pointed my finger at him.

    “Y-You!” I shouted.

     The man smiles as I stared at him from head to toe, making sure I wasn’t imagining things. This man was the same man who gave me the Companion’s Association card back at the café. I can’t believe I’m seeing him again.

     “What’s going on? What are you doing here?” I confusingly asked.

     Hunter, who was surprised to see him too, steps out of the apartment and stands behind me. “It’s today, isn’t it?” he asks.

     “What is?”

     “It’s Hunter’s monthly assessment,” the man standing in front of us answers with the same smile he had on when I met him at the coffee shop. Talk about creepy.

     So it’s Hunter’s monthly assessment? I read that in the contract, but I thought that it wouldn’t be valid since Hunter’s technically not a dog anymore. And why just now? It’s already been two months. Aren’t they a bit late for a monthly assessment?

     “Was that today?” I ask, awkwardly laughing it off so I could pretend that I forgot about it.

     “We didn’t count the time when he was still in his dog form so today’s his scheduled assessment,” the man explains, probably because he noticed how confused I was about this.

     “Okay, but I have work to do today. You didn’t give me any notice so I wasn’t able to take the day off. Can we schedule this some other time?” I then tell him.

     I thought the man would agree to it since it was a reasonable request, but he surprisingly declines my offer and says instead, “I’ll be very quick, Mr. McCartney. We can’t reschedule since it’s part of your contract. We don’t want any trouble now, do we?”

     The man was still smiling, but he let out this very uncomfortable aura around him that I couldn’t do anything else but nod my head to agree with him. “If that’s the case then there’s nothing else I can do,” I say in defeat.

     Hunter looked like he wasn’t happy about this either. He was going to say something to our visitor, but the man doesn’t give him the chance to speak as he asks me, “May I come in?”

     “Oh yes, of course,” I immediately answer, moving out of the way so he could enter the apartment.

     Hunter and I then looked at each other before walking back inside as well. While the man looked around our humble home, I placed my bag and car keys in the living room before following him in case he does something stupid.

     “I know this is a late introduction, but my name is Jonathan Philips, one of the head directors at the Companion’s Association. Since Hunter is an S-Ranked Companion, I will personally conduct this assessment,” he explains, acting like I knew what he was talking about when in reality I’ve only heard of all that today.

     What does S-Ranked Companion even mean? He’s making it sound like Hunter’s some type of prime meat.

     “Right…” I awkwardly say as the man named Jonathan pulls out a checklist from his bag. Without saying anything, he walks to the kitchen and starts opening the cabinets and even the fridge. Thank god we went to the grocery the other day or I would have already flunked his assessment before it even started.

     “Does Hunter eat three times a day?” He asks while checking the labels of each of the products that I bought, probably checking if they’re expired or not.

     “Yes, he does,” I answer before glancing at Hunter who looked completely calm with this whole situation.

     “Do you accompany him all the time when he eats?” Mr. Jonathan asks next.

     Will he know if I lie to him?

     “Don’t even try lying to me, Mr. McCartney,” Mr. Jonathan suddenly says, shocking me because I thought he read my mind for a second there.

     “I try to, but whenever I’m busy I—” Before I could even explain myself, Mr. Jonathan puts an X mark on his checklist and heads to the bathroom right after. He then checks the storage room and even our bedroom.

     “He sleeps beside you?” He asks while staring at the bed.

     “Yes, he does.”

     Mr. Jonathan nods his head and walks back to the living room. “Alright, the assessment is done,” he says, making me sigh in relief. “Your apartment is fine, and the building is well-guarded. It’s also located in a good area in the city, so that’s a plus point. And with one glance, I could tell that he’s doing great in your care.”

     “I’m glad to hear that,” I say, but then Mr. Jonathan hands me a paper that had the words “ First Warning“ written on top of it, as well as other things that can help me improve with taking care of him.

     “What’s this?” I confusingly asked.

     “It’s your first warning. You have left Hunter unattended during the rain two times now, which was a specific requirement that you had to follow according to your contract. But since this is only a minor offense, you will only be given the first warning,” Mr. Jonathan explains, making me drop my mouth in shock.

     How on earth did he know that?

     Have they been watching us all this time, is that why Hunter’s been so secretive?

    “If you can give me a few more minutes of your time Mr. McCartney, I would love to talk about your—” Before Mr. Jonathan could even finish his sentence, Hunter suddenly pulls me away from him, surprising me because Hunter almost looked…scared.

     “Daddy, you’re late for work now, right?” He asks, gripping my arm.

     “W-Well, I can—”

     “If you have anything else to say, you can say it to me instead and I’ll relay him the message when he gets back home. I don’t want him to miss work because of me. That’s not what a companion should do,” he then tells Mr. Jonathan who looked back at Hunter with a serious expression.

     I thought he would decline it again, but he takes a deep breath and surprisingly nods his head. “Alright. We can talk some other time.”

     “Are you sure?” I ask, looking at Hunter. Of course, I also want to go now so I could still catch up with our meeting, but I also don’t want to just leave Hunter with this guy.

     “It’s fine. I’ll handle everything else,” Hunter reassures me, and I took a deep breath and finally nodded my head before taking my bag so I could get ready to leave. I looked at Hunter, and then at Mr. Jonathan for one last time. They were waiting for me to leave, so I leaned toward Hunter and whispered to him, “ I’ll see you later, okay? “

    “S-See you later,” he says with a nervous-looking smile, and I nodded my head before finally heading out, unsure of what the hell just happened.

     “What was that all about?” I asked as I closed the door behind me. “And what’s with the tension between them? It looks like he’s Hunter’s boss, but it feels like they’re more like enemies than co-workers,” I say as I walk towards the elevator. I pressed the button and waited for the elevator to arrive, but as I reached out for my car keys, I noticed that my pockets were actually empty.

     “Ah shit, I left it on the table,” I say, scratching my head in frustration before running back to the apartment.

     I opened the door and was about to head inside, but then I heard Jonathan and Hunter talking inside. I wanted to let them know that I was there, but my curiosity got the best of me, so I slightly closed the door and started eavesdropping on their conversation.

     “Are you out of your mind?!” Mr. Jonathan shouted with complete authority compared to his slow and calm voice earlier. “Out of everything you could have done, you told him your real name?!” He shouts next, making me widen my eyes in shock. How on earth did he know? I made sure not to slip. There’s no way he’d find out about that.

     “Were you planning to reveal everything else to him too?!” Mr. Jonathan continues to shout, and my chest started to beat fast because of how nervous I felt.

     “I didn’t,” Hunter answers, obviously trying to calm Jonathan down.

     “You have endangered all of us, Hunter. You have ruined everything we’ve been planning for years,” Jonathan then tells him. “I know you, Hunter. I know that one word from that man and you’ll tell him everything without question, but when will you realize that giving him these little hints isn’t helping anyone?!”

     Plan? What plan are they talking about?

     “I’m trying my best to keep things a secret. I’ve been trying—”

     “Well you’re not trying hard enough,” Mr. Jonathan quickly fires back.

     “Jonathan, he eventually has to know. I can’t stop him from seeking out the truth,” Hunter then defends, but it seems like it was something that Mr. Jonathan did not like to hear.

     “Herbert told me before that the more Day McCartney gets involved with you, the more he gets involved with the association. Maybe I should have listened to him. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea after all,” Mr. Jonathan says, furrowing my brows in confusion. Who on earth is Herbert? The only Herbert I know is the chairman of EXRay Media, but there’s no way he’s involved in all this, right? There’s just no way.

     “We didn’t have a choice.”

     “We didn’t have a choice? Or you didn’t have a choice? We made a deal Hunter. I let you out of the cage, and you keep your mouth shut.”

     “That’s because I don’t have any more time left! How many times am I going to say this?!” Hunter then shouted, and I couldn’t help but flinch because it was the first time to ever hear him raise his voice like that.

     “I don’t care how short your fucking time is. You do your part, I’ll do mine. You handle McCartney, and I’ll handle the people at the Association. You keep your fucking mouth shut, and I’ll make sure they don’t watch you. That was the deal, and that is what’s going to keep you alive,” Mr. Jonathan firmly explains, and that last sentence made my heart drop.

     I didn’t even notice that I’d been holding my breath this whole time.

     I know I shouldn’t be eavesdropping, but fate brought me here somehow. There has to be a reason why I left my keys so I could purposely hear all this. There just has to be a higher power that’s trying to help me understand all this.

     “For now, you’re suspended,” Mr. Jonathan then declares, and without seeing Hunter’s reaction, I could tell he was surprised.

     “You can’t do that,” Hunter retaliates.

     “Oh, I can. You broke too many rules, Hunter. Did you really think the association would never find out? Do you think we’re stupid to not notice? No, of course not. You’ve been with the association for 14 years now, and you know damn well what they’re capable of,” Mr. Jonathan explains, leaving me speechless.

     Hunter’s been working for the association for that long?

     “I don’t really want to do this, but you know that they’ll force me to do it regardless. It’s better if I give you the suspension now before they decide to handle this themselves.”

     “Jonathan, please. I can’t waste any more time,” Hunter now begs.

     “Nothing’s going to change my mind anymore. You’re suspended for a week, and that’s final,” Mr. Jonathan then declares, and I could almost see the shock on Hunter’s face when he heard that.

     “This is unfair! Suspensions only last for three days max!”

     “Mr. McCartney broke a rule too. Hunter, if you don’t accept this suspension now, they’ll definitely pull you out of this contract and you’ll never see him again. Is that what you want?”

     I covered my mouth, trying my best not to run inside and defend Hunter, but my legs just couldn’t move. It was just as scared as Hunter was.

     “I’m leaving, and thanks to you, I’ll have to bow and apologize to the big dogs again because of your carelessness. I’ll be back tomorrow with some men to take you. Make sure to tell Mr. McCartney,” Mr. Jonathan says as he walks towards the door, immediately making me hide myself so he wouldn’t spot me.

     I got ready to run off, but then I heard Hunter say…

     “I love Dane.”

     Jonathan pauses, but then, as I heard his footsteps getting closer, he answers back, “And so did his uncle. He loved him more than you could ever imagine, that’s why Hael… was willing to shut the association down just for his sake. Remember that.”

TO BE CONTINUED

(21) Black or Gold

🐾 

“DAY!” SOMEONE SUDDENLY SHOUTED, instantly making me flinch. I looked up from my desk and saw Jane staring at me with her arms crossed, obviously annoyed that I’d been spacing out since I got here.

     “Good god, you’re as mentally absent as Rebecca over there who accidentally printed the same page thirty times instead of printing the entire issue,” Jane says before massaging her temple in frustration. “Are you with us or are you not? Because if you’re not feeling well, I’ll need you to head back home. I don’t want your negative energy to affect everyone else in the office.”

     “N-No, sorry, I was just a little out of it. What did you need?” I ask, and Jane sighs and hands me a folder, looking completely frustrated. I understand why she’s on edge. Ever since the incident with Rebecca wasting thirty pages of glossy paper earlier, we’ve been constantly scolded by our chief. We’re going to meet the chairman today for the big launch, we can’t be making mistakes now. I seriously have to keep it together.

     “Ms. Valentina wants you to review this before our meeting later. Think you can handle that?” Jane asks, and I checked the content of the folder and nodded my head to agree to it.

     “I’ll give it to you later,” I say, and Jane doesn’t say anything anymore and heads out of my office. As soon as she closed the door, I buried my face in my desk and silently screamed in frustration. After eavesdropping on Mr. Jonathan and Hunter earlier, I ran as fast as I could like I just committed a crime.

     I just heard things that have left my mind in a complete knot. Jonathan Philips, who is apparently one of the directors of the very secretive Companion’s Association, just said things that did not make any sense in my head.

     What did he mean by plan? What did he mean by Hunter handling me while he handled the association? How did he know I mentioned the word Damien and even found out about the rain incident? Did they install hidden cameras around my apartment? Should I just call the fucking police right now!?

     I’m losing my goddamn mind! And then there was something about Hunter getting killed. Like literal dead…gone…bye-bye, that kind of killed. That scared the shit out of me.

     When I received that card and got Hunter, I knew that something was up. I knew that there are things that I can’t know and things that I have to avoid. But then I start finding out that Hunter and I met before, and then my uncle is somehow involved, and this whole situation just became worse. There was no way I could stay quiet now.

      And then there’s this information that Jonathan said before I ran off…

     “He loved him more than you could ever imagine, and Hael…he was willing to shut the association down just for his sake. Remember that.”

     Are you telling me my uncle, my sweet and gentle uncle Hael McCartney, could possibly have worked for that association too? Is that what they’re saying right now? Was he a companion like Hunter, is that why they know each other?

     And what was that about being suspended for a week? What did that mean? Are they going to take him away? Is Hunter going to be locked up?

     “What is even going on!” I shouted before slamming my hands on my desk. As I did so, I accidentally knocked off a magazine that had my wallet placed on top of it, making me curse. I got up from my seat and picked it up, but just when I was about to grab my wallet from the floor, I suddenly noticed something.

     Inside my wallet was a black and gold card that I received from Jonathan himself, a card from the Companion’s Association. I furrowed my brows in confusion because I felt like I’d seen something like this before, but as my hand was inches away from grabbing my wallet, a tear suddenly dropped from my eyes, and a memory rushed in front of me like a train.

     A memory that happened ten years ago…

[ 10 YEARS AGO , at the McCartney Residence]

     “Uncle, may I come in?” I asked, knocking at the door of my uncle’s bedroom.

     “Come in,” I heard him say, and so I took a deep breath and opened the door. As soon as I got inside, I saw my uncle staring at himself in the mirror while he tried to fix his hair. It was obvious that he was having a hard time, so I chuckled and approached him.

     “Let me,” I say as I stood in front of him, and my uncle faced me while I fixed his hair until it looked completely clean and neat. “There,” I say, and uncle looks back at his reflection and smiles, impressed by my masterpiece.

     “You really know how to make a man look good Andrew,” he says.

     “Well, I try my best,” I proudly answer.

     Uncle Hael faces me and starts patting my head, acting like I was still a ten-year-old kid that he took in. So I pushed his hand away in annoyance, but uncle just laughed and handed me his necktie next. “Please?” He asks, and I sighed and took his necktie so I could tie it for him.

     “How are you going to live without me?” I sarcastically ask, making him chuckle.

    While I was tying his necktie, uncle looks at me and says, “Andrew, I might be gone for a while, okay?”

     “Again? Is it because of your job that you can’t seem to share with me?” I ask, just now noticing the suitcase on his bed. I could tell that uncle looked troubled by such a simple question. I knew he wasn’t going to answer my question anyway, so I sighed and finished helping him with his necktie before looking back at him. “It’s fine. I just don’t want you to work so much.”

     “I know. I’m sorry if I’ve always been busy, but I—”

     “You don’t have to explain yourself uncle, I understand. I know how important that job is to you, and you always make time for me even though you’re busy. Just come back safely,” I say, and uncle takes a deep breath, looking at me with such a soft smile that I couldn’t help but smile too.

     “My brother is way too lucky to have you as his son,” he comments, making me chuckle. “Anyway, what did you need?” He then asks as he walks towards his suitcase so he could check if he left something.

     “I need money for my final project,” I say, and my uncle nods his head and pulls out his wallet from his back pocket. But as he was about to take it out, he pulls his phone out instead while his wallet falls to the floor. I quickly went down on my knees to grab it, but as I reached out my hand to it, I noticed a weird-looking card inside. It was a black and gold card, and before I could even read what was written on it, uncle quickly picks his wallet up himself.

     “What was that?” I ask as I stood from the floor to face him.

     Uncle quickly pulls out a couple of bills from his wallet and hands them over to me before hiding them back in his pocket. “Andrew, what did I tell you?” Uncle asks as I take the money from his hand and cross my arms to show him an x.

     “Work questions are prohibited,” I answer.

     “Work questions are prohibited, exactly,” uncle says back, patting my head again. “Good boy.”

     “Uncle!” I complained, quickly pushing his hand away.

     “Alright. If that’s all you need then I’ll see you when I see you, Andrew. Make sure you study hard!”

[END OF FLASHBACK]

     I quickly covered my mouth and stumbled back, staring at the card with complete horror. How was I so blind? How could have I forgotten something so important about my uncle? All this time, it was right in front of my face.

     Now it all makes sense; why Jonathan gave me the card, why I got to meet Hunter, and why everything is now a mess.

     But why are they doing this to me? My uncle has been dead for eight years. If he was involved in all this, then why are they only doing this to me now? Did my uncle do anything? Did he get involved in something he shouldn’t have and got the association angry?

     Or did he have a companion just like me and he did something that badly ended things?

     My god, my mind’s in complete shambles. Just when Hunter and I finally decided to be more open with each other and our feelings, this happens. Does the universe just hate making me happy?

     “Sir McCarney?” Someone suddenly calls out from outside my office, instantly making me snap back to my senses.

     “What is it?” I ask as I quickly grab my wallet from the floor and wipe the tears off my face so I wouldn’t look like a mess. One of the members of my team opens the door, and then she looks at me and says, “The meeting’s about to start. Ms. Valentina is waiting for you at the elevator.”

     “Oh yes, of course. Tell her I’ll be right there,” I say, and my employee smiles and nods her head before heading back out. I take a deep breath and massaged my temple again. I can’t lose focus when I’m at work. Even when Todd broke up with me, I went to work on the same day and finished all my tasks without breaking a single sweat. I can’t let the people here suffer with me.

     “You can do this. I trust you,” I tell myself as I grab the folder that Jane handed me earlier, quickly reviewing it before heading out to the office so I could go to the meeting room with our editor-in-chief, pretending like I wasn’t moments away from breaking down for the very first time in my working career.

…

“Alright, and I guess that will be all. Thank you everyone for working hard on this project. Also, congratulations to all of us. We’re going to have a press conference next week for this magazine’s launch, and I’m hoping for its great success. Thank you, everyone,” one of our directors in the company said, and everyone in the meeting room started clapping their hands.

     When the meeting was finally over, the employees started standing from their seats and shaking each other’s hands. Mr. Peters, who worked with us on this project as well, just looked at me and awkwardly smiled before heading out. I guess after what happened with Timothy, he realized how shitty he’s been too.

     “McCarney,” Ms. Valentina suddenly calls out, immediately making me stand from my seat as well.

     I turned my head and saw her talking to none other than the founder of EXRay Media himself, chairman Herbert Orlando. Ms. Valentina then gestures for me to approach them, so I quickly fixed my necktie and went to where they are. I’ve always seen the chairman around the office, but this is the first time I’m actually walking up to him like this.

     “And I’ve talked about this before, but this is Mr. Dane McCartney,” Ms. Valentina suddenly introduces, and the chairman looks at me with a smile and shows me his hand, immediately making me grab it so I could shake it.

     Okay, maybe the universe doesn’t hate me as much as I thought.

     “It is a pleasure to finally meet you like this chairman Orlando. I don’t want to act like a fanboy here, but I have been your fan since I was a literal kid and I have been in love with your magazines ever since. It has been a great honor to work here,” I say, trying my best not to sound like I’m sucking it up.

     Thankfully chairman Orlando just chuckles and calmly shakes my hand. “I am honored as well. Valentina has talked about you before, and as someone who has been working for the company for four years, I would also like to thank you for working hard.”

     “O-Oh please, no, the pleasure is mine,” I quickly say, my face probably turning red because even Ms. Valentina was chuckling at my reaction.

     “Well, I’m planning to make Mr. McCartney here the next editor-in-chief once I get transferred to the European branch, so it’s best if you two get to be more familiar with each other,” Ms. Valentina suddenly blurts out, making me look at her with my mouth and eyes wide in shock.

     D-Did she just say editor-in-chief?

     Is she telling me that she’s going to promote me?

     “I think Day will do a great job,” the chairman says, and I quickly bowed my head to them again. “Well, as much as I want to chat more, I have another meeting to attend. Let’s talk again next time Mr. McCartney. I would love to know more about you,” chairman Orlando says, and I quickly nodded my head as he and Ms. Valentina finally head out of the meeting room.

     When I was finally alone, I practically jumped for joy after what happened, completely forgetting about the assessment earlier. But as I was about to start celebrating on my own for finally getting to speak with my idol, I suddenly realized something. 

     “I think Day will do a great job,” the chairman said earlier, and that instantly made the hair on my skin stand.

     He called me Day so casually. Ms. Valentina introduced me as Dane McCarney and didn’t mention my nickname at all, but how did he know that? Does he just randomly know the nicknames of all of his employees? Has Ms. Valentina told him about that already, or is it because…

     “Herbert told me before that the more Day gets involved with you, the more Day gets involved with the association. Maybe I should have listened to him. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea after all,” Jonathan mentioned earlier.

     My mind was once again in a gutter, but just before it could start clouding my head, the phone in my pocket suddenly rings, making me flinch.

     I quickly took my phone out and saw that it was calling from home. Hunter was calling from home, and instead of immediately answering him, I just stared at the number as my heart started to race uncontrollably. I was nervous, but I knew that it would be more problematic if I ignore it now, so I took a deep breath and put on a fake smile on my face as I finally answer, “Hunter, you called?”

     Hunter doesn’t say anything, so I looked out of the window from where I was standing and continued to pretend like I was fine. “Oh yeah, you won’t believe this, but I left my car keys back at the apartment! I was already at the parking when I realized it, but I was so late that I just rode the bus and—”

     “You heard, didn’t you?” He suddenly asks, and everything around me came crashing down.

     I gulped as I could hear Hunter panting heavily on the other line. The two of us didn’t say anything for a while as we were trying to think of the right words to say to each other. But as the silence consumed us, a tear finally falls from my eyes.

     “H-Hunter,” I call out. “I’m so fucking terrified,” I then confessed.

     “Oh, Dane…”

     “I love you, I really really love you. But is it okay for me to feel this way for you? Will it be alright? Will we be alright? I’m so scared that I might lose you, but at the same time my mind is so confused,” I say as tears streamed down from my eyes.

     “Dane, I love you, and nothing will ever change that,” he tells me.

     “Then what do I have to do? Do I pretend like everything’s okay? Do I just pretend like there’s nothing wrong even though there is?” I ask him back.

     Hunter was quiet for a while, but then he takes a deep breath and tells me, “Come back home.”

     “Hunter…”

     “Come back home to me, please. Before I leave, I want to see you,” he says with complete desperation.

     I bite my lip and stare at my reflection in the window before holding onto my chest. “Alright, I’m heading back home. Wait for me.”

TO BE CONTINUED

(22) Just For Today [m]

🐾 

I WAS STARING AT the front door of my apartment, afraid to knock since I knew that Hunter was waiting. I wasn’t ready for what he was about to say to me, but at the same time, I didn’t know what I’d do if I see him, especially when I’m not going to be able to see him for a week because of his suspension.

     “ Fuck it “, I finally say, lifting my hand and knocking on the door.

     The door quickly opens just after a couple of knocks. Hunter stood in front of me, panting heavily like he ran his way here when he heard me. The two of us just stare at each other in silence. His cold blue eyes were covered in red, obviously because he was crying the entire time.

     We didn’t say a thing, or rather, we couldn’t say anything. We just stood there like we were afraid of each other. But when we heard the elevator sound from the lobby, Hunter finally grabs my arm and pulls me inside.

     He slams the door shut and suddenly pushes me against the wall. He leans close, and without any hesitation, he presses his lips on mine, aggressively kissing me like this was his first time. He pushes his tongue in, but I didn’t push him away. As much as he wanted this, I wanted it too. I wanted him to take my confusion and my pain away. I wanted him to shower me with his love and drown me in his ecstasy. I wanted him more than anything in the world.

    “ Dane, “ he calls out in between kisses, making my body shiver.

     After kissing me on the lips, Hunter removes my coat and then my necktie, leaving my shirt on. Right after that, he pushes me down until I was lying on the floor. Hunter goes on top of me and quickly pulls my pants and my boxers down until my lower body was exposed. Soon after, he unzips his pants, revealing his member that has been inside me several times now.

     Hunter sucks on two of his fingers before suddenly pushing them inside me, making me moan loudly. He pushes his finger deep, stretching me so I’d be able to take him. But despite not knowing if I was ready or not, Hunter pulls his fingers away and shoves his dick inside right after.

     I shout at the top of my lungs, my neighbors probably heard me from outside. Tears pour out of my eyes as I felt Hunter twitching inside. The action was so sudden that I thought I was going to break.

     “S-Shit, Hunter!” I shout as he starts thrusting himself so hard my head almost hit the wall.

     He pushes himself deep until his balls slam into my entrance. But as I try to endure the pain, I suddenly felt something fall on my face. I looked up and saw that it was actually from Hunter’s growing tears.

     “I-I’ll make the pain go away. I’ll make it all go away,” he tries to say as he continued to thrust deep and hard inside of me.

    “Then give me more. I want more,” I demand him as I tried to catch my breath.

     Hunter growls but doesn’t complain. Instead, he pulls out and flips me over so I would be lying on my stomach. I got ready to turn my head to face him, but then he slams himself back inside me again.

     My voice echoes in the apartment as I feel my insides clenching onto him, almost like it doesn’t want to let go of him.

     “F-faster…faster,” I say.

     Hunter continues to push himself into the deepest parts of me that no one would ever be able to reach, but after one more strong push, Hunter finally shoots all of his load inside of me, his hands tightly holding onto my waists as his body trembles from the release.

     When every last drop of him was left inside, I thought he would be finished, but then Hunter pulls out and stands from the floor, pulling me up. I stared at him and draped my arms around his neck to kiss him, but then Hunter suddenly lifts me off the floor, holding onto my thighs tightly as he pushes my back on the wall for support.

     In this position, I could feel his cum oozing out of me, but before I could say anything, Hunter slams his cock inside me again, making me widen my eyes in shock.

     “I want more,” he says as he starts thrusting inside me again, pushing his cum even deeper as I hold onto him tightly, making sure I don’t fall off.

     My back rubs against the wall as Hunter fucks me even harder than the last. My mind was now completely blank, and all I could think about was the overwhelming pleasure that Hunter was giving me.

     “Hunter…Hunter, I love you,” I say, leaning my head on his shoulders as he continues to push himself inside me.

     “ No, I want you to say my real name, “ he then whispers in my ear.

     “I can’t.”

     “I don’t fucking care, say it!” He demanded.

     I leaned back on the wall as I held onto a fistful of Hunter’s hair. My entire body bounced up and down as Hunter continues to stir up my insides, but as the two of us looked into each other’s eyes, I finally say, “D-Damien…Ah, fuck! I want more…it’s not enough Damien. Give me more.”

     My body was sweating all over and my white shirt almost became see-through. Hunter then leans close and presses his lips on me again, his grip on my thighs tight, making sure I don’t fall.

     “Damien, I’m about to c-cum…I’m about to cum,” I warn him as I pull my lips away. Hunter doesn’t say anything, but he gives me one final thrust that finally made my entire body tremble.

     Hunter cums inside for the second time, his hot breath close to my neck as he did so. When the two of us were finished, Hunter slowly pulls himself away from me and finally put me down. My legs shake in an instant so I quickly draped my arms around Hunter so I wouldn’t fall.

     Hunter was panting heavily as he held onto my waist, he then leans his forehead on mine, closing his eyes like he wanted to just enjoy my warmth.

     “I love you,” I tell him, and Hunter immediately opened his eyes again.

     Hunter stares at my eyes and held onto my cheeks before taking a deep breath. “Just for today,” he says. “Let’s pretend like everything’s okay, just for today.”

…

“Do you remember the first time we met at this apartment? It was about two months ago, but I felt like it’s been ages,” Hunter suddenly asked while he was drying my hair with a towel.

     The two of us were now in bed after a quick shower, Hunter topless while I wore his large white t-shirt. After our surprise sex session earlier, I didn’t think about anything for a while like how he wanted. I didn’t want to think about Jonathan, the association, or even his suspension. I just wanted to stay by Hunter’s side as much as I could.

     “Of course, I remember. How could I forget the time when a complete stranger welcomed me home?” I answer, making Hunter laugh.

     “You threatened me with an umbrella and even called 911,” he then teases right after, making me turn around to look back at him.

     When my hair was completely dry, I pushed him onto the bed and snuggled myself beside him, intertwining our fingers together. His hands were bigger than mine, and I couldn’t believe how different our sizes were, yet our compatibility was phenomenal.

     “Well, you were naked?! What was I supposed to do first? Drop my pants? Offer him some fresh milk and cookies?” I ask back, making Hunter laugh even more.

     “You should have kneeled down and thanked the gods,” Hunter then says, making me pull my hand away from him.

     “When did you become so confident?” I ask, but then Hunter takes my hand and intertwined it together again. “I guess it started when I realized that you were beginning to fall in love with me,” he answers, and I quickly sat up to look back at him with complete shock, almost like he said the most controversial thing in the world.

     “And when do you think that was?” I sarcastically ask, thinking that Hunter was just joking around.

     Hunter, who was still lying in bed, looked up at the ceiling and answered, “Probably it was the time when you ran back to me and left Todd at the convenience store when it started raining.”

     “W-Wait, what?! How did you know that I met up with Todd that night?” I quickly ask him.

     “I just had a hunch,” he casually says, making me smack him.

     Hunter only laughs and sat up as well so the two of us could face each other. “It’s honestly in the small things. When you worry about me, when you put me first before anything, and even when your face turns red whenever I say something to tease you. Those moments…I think those were the moments when I realized that hey, maybe he really is falling in love with me.”

     “How could you have known that before I did?” I ask, grabbing a pillow and hugging it. “For me, I was just scared. I was scared that maybe I was using you to mend my heart after my breakup with Todd. I wanted to fix myself first because I didn’t want to treat you that way; you deserved better. But maybe you were right. Maybe as I tried to fix myself, I was slowly falling in love with you.”

     Hunter smiles at what I had to say, so he leans close and quickly kisses me on the lips. “That makes me really happy then,” he says, kissing me for the second time.

     “But how about you, when did you start falling in love with me?” I then ask.

     “Guess,” Hunter answers instead, almost making me hit him with the pillow that I was hugging.

     When Hunter saw my reaction, he quickly laughs it off and shakes his head. “I was joking,” he defends. “If you ask me about when I started falling in love with you, I think it was…eight years ago.”

     Eight years ago . He just said with a straight face that he started falling in love with me eight years ago. Do you even know how long that was? But then again, if it was eight years ago, then the only time we met was when—

     “Your first day in university, the one that I told you about. I think it all started there,” Hunter explains. “At first I didn’t really feel anything. In my eyes, you were Hael’s nephew that I needed to protect, but during that unexpected meeting, I couldn’t get you off my mind. You just occupied 50 percent of my headspace and it made me go crazy.”

     “You telling me all this is crazy,” I comment as I reached out to touch his face. Afterward, I pulled my hand away from him and stared at my fingers. “So, were you, you know… close …with my uncle?” I then ask, not even looking at him as I asked that question.

     Hunter was quiet for a while, but then, he started laughing like he realized something. When I looked back at him with furrowed brows, Hunter stopped laughing and asked me, “Are you asking me this because you think I was Hael’s previous companion?”

     My cheeks instantly burned up as soon as Hunter realized the hidden agenda of my question, so I just hurried my face on the pillow so I wouldn’t have to look at him anymore. I’m seriously an idiot. Why on earth would I ask my boyfriend if he was my uncle’s companion? With my experience with Hunter, I know full well what companions do to their supposed owners, so why would I even ask such a thing?

     “To throw your worries away, no, Hael and I weren’t like that,” Hunter finally answers, making me lift my head to look back at him.

     “He was someone I respected, and I learned so much from him. If it weren’t for Hael, I wouldn’t even be the person that I am now. I owe everything to that man,” Hunter explains, and the look on his face made me smile at him. I didn’t know that someone cared about my uncle like this. Uncle Hael never talked about his work or anyone in his life so I thought he might have felt lonely taking care of an orphan kid like me. That’s why I’m glad that he had someone like Hunter.

     “I’m really happy that we share a past like this Hunter. I feel like I get to know you better because of it,” I say with a smile, but then Hunter looks away from me and takes a deep breath.

     I stared at him and waited for him to say something, but Hunter kept quiet like he was deep in thought. “Hey, what’s on your mind?” I ask him.

     Hunter takes a deep breath and suddenly grabs my hand to squeeze it tightly. I didn’t know what he was about to say, but then he tells me, “Dane, I know that this might sound selfish, but please…when you find out who I really am, promise me that you’ll continue to smile and find your happiness.”

     I don’t know why, but his words felt heavy. I tried to laugh it off and pull my hand away from him, but Hunter didn’t want to let go. He wanted me to answer him, so without thinking much of it, I nodded my head and squeezed his hand back.

     “I will,” I reassured him, and Hunter pulls me all of a sudden and hugs me tightly. I was surprised, but I hugged him anyway.

     “ I love you, Damien, “ I whisper to him.

     “ I don’t want to leave you here, “ he answers.

     “Then don’t leave me.”

     “That’s not easy. Jonathan isn’t the type to make a bargain. If he suspends you, then there’s nothing else you can do,” Hunter explains as he pulls away from me.

     “By the way, I didn’t want to ask you this but I felt like I had to know. Jonathan mentioned about keeping you—” I paused and swallowed the lump in my throat before adding, “alive, as long as you follow him. Did I hear it right?”

     Hunter, who looked like he expected my question, nods his head to confirm it. “There are things that I still can’t do, and there’s a reason why I was hesitant in meeting you. They said that the more you get involved with me, the more chances you’ll get hurt.”

     “W-What?” I asked, surprised that this is even something that I should now be pondering about. I didn’t know that being with Hunter would lead me to not only live a life of romance but with fucking action too.

     “But you don’t have to worry,” Hunter quickly adds. “I have protected you all those years. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

     “What should I even be afraid of?”

     “I can’t tell you for now because this is how Hael wanted to do things. I’m making sure to follow his will, but when I finish everything, you can finally live safe and happy,” Hunter tells me.

     “You keep saying you, but it should be we, right?” I ask, and Hunter takes another deep breath and lies back down. I thought he was going to ignore my question again, but then he pulls me towards him so I could lie beside him too. Hunter drapes his arms around me as the two of us stared at each other. He then leans close and kisses me on the lips before telling me, “I love you too.”

     I was surprised because his statement came out so randomly, but then I remembered that I told him that first and he only answered me now.

     “Just for today, let’s pretend like everything is okay,” Hunter tells me again, and I nodded my head and moved closer to him so I could rest my head on his chest.

     Hunter kisses my head before caressing my back. Afterward, he hugs me even tighter until the two of us finally went to sleep, knowing full well that even if we pretend like nothing is wrong, things are still never going to be the same again.

…

I opened my eyes when I heard the alarm on my phone blaring. I slowly stood up from the bed and scratched my eyes before standing up to turn the alarm off. I then walked to the curtain and opened it, realizing that something was missing right after.

     “Hunter?” I called out, but no one answered me.

     I ran out of my bedroom and checked the bathroom, the storage room, the living room, and the kitchen, but I couldn’t find him anywhere. “M-Maybe he just bought something outside,” I tried to convince myself even though I know full well that this wasn’t the case.

     I wanted to pretend that Hunter was going to knock on the door like how he always does, but when I walked to the dining table, I noticed something—it was Hunter’s collar. I grab the collar from the table and pulled it towards my chest to hug it. Soon after, I felt a tear fall from my eyes.

    “He’ll come back,” I say since I know that Jonathan said that it will only be for a week.

     My tears continue to fall as I stand in the middle of this empty apartment. I didn’t want to think of anything, and I didn’t want to lose hope. This is only temporary, so all I have to do is wait.

    “He’ll definitely come back. I just know it.”

TO BE CONTINUED

(23) Mask On

🐾

  IT’S BEEN FIVE DAYS since Hunter left the apartment because of his suspension. I haven’t heard anything from him since then, and for some reason, I have been denied access to enter the Companion’s Association, which actually disguises itself as a pet shop.

     So as I waited for his return, I went back to reliving the boring life that I desperately tried to run away from in the past.

     “The sales for the issue we released sold better than we expected. A lot became curious about the model and he even became a hot topic in a couple of entertainment articles,” the head of the Marketing Department stated while he was standing in front of us, showing his presentation on the projector.

     I stared at the chart that was being flashed in front and I couldn’t help but chuckle. I probably contributed a huge percentage of that because of the number of magazines I bought for myself. Every time I pass by a bookstore, I’d grab a copy of Hunter’s magazine and just impulsively buy it like an idiot.

     “We’re already planning on our next project. A lot of brands reached out to us and are asking if Noah can model for them. We’re still trying to choose what we’ll take, and we’re also hoping to get him to model for a billboard,” he explains while everyone quietly listened to him.

     I sat at the very back of the room, doodling on my notebook instead of writing things down because I knew that Noah, AKA Hunter, is planning to quit after all this is done. He hasn’t officially said it to HR yet, but that was something that we already talked about, so all this is useless.

     “Now let’s talk about the commercials…”

     As everyone was still busy talking about this month’s new project, I walked out of the meeting room and decided to take a break. As I got out, I saw Jane walking in my direction, holding boxes over boxes, so I rushed towards her and quickly grabbed the one on top so I could help her.

    “Oh, Day, thank you,” she says. “Is the meeting over?”

    “No, I just took a break. Let me help you with this first. Where are you bringing them.”

    “God, you’re a lifesaver,” she tells me, making me chuckle. “I’m heading to room 1209. These are the props they need for one of the shoots. Everyone else was busy so I just decided to bring them myself.”

     “Alright, then let’s go.”

     Jane and I walked our way to the elevator so we could bring the boxes to the 12th floor. My stupid self didn’t want to enter the elevator because I have a very strange memory of it, but at the same time, I don’t want Jane to think I’m crazy to use the stairs instead, so I took a deep breath and finally went inside the elevator with her.

     While the two of us were waiting, I glanced at Jane’s reflection on the door and decided to ask him, “Jane, you’re married to someone who works at a corporate company, right?”

     Jane was obviously surprised because she looked back at me like I had something horrible on my face. I guess we never really talked about things like this so her reaction is expected.

     “W-Well yeah, why’d you ask?”

     “He goes on business trips, right? I just wanted to know how you handle that, like…how do you avoid getting anxious while you wait for him to come back?” I ask, and a huge smile suddenly appears on Jane’s face.

     “I see, so you found someone,” she suddenly blurts out, almost making me drop the boxes that I was holding.

     “N-Not exactly,” I answer, but the look on Jane’s face showed that she didn’t believe me, so I took a deep breath and just nodded my head in defeat. “Yeah, you got me, I’m with someone right now.”

    Jane practically shrieks like a teenage girl, but then she composes herself and says, “I can’t believe our team leader has finally found someone. Anyway, regarding your question, I think it’s never easy to watch your partner leave. Sometimes my husband even goes away for a month! But the truth is, I endure his absence because I know he’s going to come back anyway.”

     “B-But what if you’re not sure? What if he suddenly cheats on you or something?”

     “Okay, now you’re giving me anxiety,” Jane manages to joke. “But I do sometimes think about that too, but if your relationship is sure; if it’s with no doubt or malice, then you’ll be alright. They’ll come back to you no matter what,” Jane explains, and her words made me feel better in an instant.

     “Thank you, Jane,” I say, and Jane nods her head and smiles at me.

     “Day, we’ve been working together for four years now, but we’re not only work buddies or whatever others may call it. I genuinely see you as someone who I admire and respect whenever we’re at work, but behind all that, I see you as my friend. You can open up to me like this. You don’t have to carry all that heavy load alone,” Jane suddenly tells me.

     I looked at her with shock, my eyes now watering when I heard what she said. But before I could even say anything, the elevator door opens. “Well then, let’s go,” she says as she steps out of the elevator, and I quickly ran behind her.

     “Thank you for that, Jane,” I finally tell her. “Thank you, I mean it.”

     “Oh you, no need to be so emotional about it,” Jane replies, nudging my side before laughing, making me laugh too. “Let’s go and drop this off, then after your meeting, let’s eat lunch together. I want to hear everything about that new lover of yours.”

…

“I’m home,” I subconsciously announce as I entered my empty apartment. After Hunter left due to his suspension, I’ve been hoping to just magically see him at home, even though I knew that it wasn’t going to happen.

     I sighed when no one answered, so I just threw my bag on the sofa and sat down. I didn’t say anything and just stared at my ever-so-boring painting since I didn’t have a television, but just when I was about to pull out my phone, someone suddenly knocks on the door.

     “Hunter?!” I say, quickly running to the door without even thinking about it.

     I immediately opened the door, hoping to see a familiar face, but when I saw a different man standing in front of me, the excitement that I quickly felt instantly left my body, and I was consumed with great disappointment.

     “Good evening, Mr. McCartney,” the man greets.

     I stared at him from head to toe, recognizing the uniform because it was the same uniform that Mr. Jonathan wore when he visited. It was also the uniform the man at the store, Your Company, wore. If I remember correctly, the guy who assisted us there was…

     “Wilson?!” I asked in shock, finally recognizing his face.

     Wilson, who was standing in front of me holding a box, smiled and nods his head, probably glad that I remembered who he was.

     “W-What are you doing here?” I ask before looking at the box. “Wait, is this the suit that we bought at the store? The one for Hunter?”

     “Well, not exactly,” he then answers. “I would like to speak with you privately, so may I come in?”

     “Oh, of course. Please come in,” I say, moving aside so I let him enter my apartment without any hesitation.

     “ Day, you’re still an idiot. I can’t believe it, “ my inner conscience tells me as I watch Wilson walk his way to the living room.

     “If you’re here to see Hunter then he’s not here, but I’m guessing you already know that, considering how you’re working for the association,” I say, offering Wilson to sit on the sofa. Wilson puts the box on the center table and sits beside me before saying, “I do work for them, but I’m here because of Jonathan, and not because of the association.”

     “What do you mean?”

     Wilson doesn’t answer me, but instead, he hands over an envelope. I take it from his hand and opened it. To my surprise, it was an invitation.

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/ccad431228029adcd0b2f2219bb762313cb3e6fe/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f6d4177556844465a4c68715134673d3d2d3531353331363737322e313731666232323734333639633462363730353138383034353032392e706e67)

     While I was staring at the invitation in complete shock, Wilson explains, “The Companions Association holds a masquerade ball every year. All the masters, current and previous, gather together to celebrate this event. No one can easily get this invitation and it is impossible to fake. Today, you are invited to attend it.”

     “Wait, are you telling me that—”

     “Yes, sir Jonathan would like you to attend. Hunter has his own plans, but so does he. If you wish to know more about the association, then this is your only opportunity to do so,” Wilson tells me, confusing me a little because I thought Jonathan wasn’t on my side.

     When Wilson noticed my reaction, he then adds, “I hope you know that sir Jonathan only has good intentions. All he’s concerned about is Mr. Hunter’s and your wellbeing, that’s why he asked me to give you this even though it could potentially harm him.”

     “Does Hunter know about this?” I then ask.

     “Due to his suspension, sir Jonathan cannot easily communicate with him, so Hunter most likely does not know about your attendance,” Wilson answers.

     I take a deep breath and looked back at the invitation. I wasn’t sure if it was alright for me to go to this party without Hunter’s knowledge, but I felt like I had to go regardless. “Well, if you guys think that this will help me then…” I continue to stare at the invitation, but then I finally notice something. The name that was written on it was different. It was Dane Andrew Collins, and if I remember correctly, the surname Collins is—

     “That’s Hunter’s surname,” Wilson blurts out, and my entire face turns completely red.

     Out of all the names they could choose, they chose this.

     “In the party, you cannot, and I repeat, cannot, reveal that you are a McCartney. No one in the association knows your real identity, so if they find you there, it will be big trouble not only on your part but on our part as well,” Wilson tells me with a serious expression that I couldn’t help but gulp.

     I knew my uncle was a part of all this, but I didn’t know that it would be to this extent. What did my uncle even do to the association? Did he like…have a companion and run off with them?

     “At 7 PM, someone will be waiting for you outside. Your role is to not say anything or talk to anyone. You only have to listen, and we hope that some of your questions will be answered there,” Wilson tells me as he hands me over the box that he was holding earlier. I placed the box on my lap and removed the lid to open it. Inside was a piercing blue suit and a silver mask. If Jonathan doesn’t want me to stand out, this isn’t going to help.

     “This was all the things that I needed to tell you,” Wilson says as he stood from his seat. “If you need anything else, you can call me.” Wilson then hands me a card. It was like the black & gold card that I have, but the color was black and blue instead. His name and his number were also found in the back.

     “Thank you,” I say, and Wilson bows his head to me before finally heading out of my apartment. As soon as he was gone, I took a deep breath and looked at the clock. I still have at least an hour to get ready, so I didn’t waste any more time and went straight to the bathroom.

     I took a bath, fixed my hair, put on the suit, and even wore my most expensive cologne and jewelry. When I was ready, I stood in front of the mirror and stared at my reflection.

     “Why am I even trying to look good? Hunter wouldn’t be there anyway because of his suspension,” I tell myself before turning away. I took my phone and my wallet, and then the invitation and the mask. Right after wearing it, I finally went downstairs. Just in time, a luxurious car was waiting for me there, and a serious-looking man wearing the same uniform as Jonathan and Wilson was standing just in front of it.

     I quickly walked my way to him with a blank expression. Right after, I took out the invitation and showed it to him. The man doesn’t say anything and pulls out this scanner-like device so he could check the authenticity of my invitation. A couple of seconds after, the scanner turns green, and the man finally opens the car door for me.

     Looks like Wilson is right. It really is hard to fake this.

     “Good evening, master Collins,” the man surprisingly greets, and that one greeting alone made me blush like a teenager in love.

     I tried to keep my cool, nodding my head toward him before heading inside to take a seat. The driver heads inside as well and glances back at me through the rearview mirror. “There is champagne and some snacks on the side. Please help yourself while I drive you to the location.”

     “Tha—” I was about to thank him, but I quickly shut my mouth and nodded my head instead.

     The driver thankfully doesn’t say anything anymore and starts driving me to wherever the party may be. Since it was already there, I also helped myself with the champagne, drinking moderately because I didn’t want to arrive drunk.

     It took us about forty minutes to finally arrive at the location. At first, I thought it was going to be at some hotel or an event hall, but when we arrived, the building looked like a museum that’s located in the middle of a fucking forest.

     “ What in the playboy mansion is this? “ I thought to myself as the driver parked at the entrance where others were being dropped off. Earlier I thought that my attire would grab attention, but looking at the other guests made me realize that if I wore a little less, I would have been underdressed.

     The car parks at the front, and the driver immediately heads out to open the door for me. I took one last sip of my drink before finally heading out.

     I gotta act normal.

     Wait, no, not normal. I gotta act like I’m a rich and sophisticated master. That’s it.

     “Good evening masters!” I heard a group of people outside saying as the guests entered the museum-like mansion one by one.

     “Good morning master,” one of them stated when I approached the entrance. I continued to keep my mouth shut as I showed them my invitation. Like earlier, they scanned my card and checked if it was real or not. When the scanner turned green, the guard smiled and tells me, “ Enjoy the night, master Collins.“

     Once again, I ended up blushing after being called that name, but I quickly cleared my throat instead and finally entered the party.

     When I got inside, I thought the party was going to be formal; the type of party that you’d go to where everyone’s just having a couple of drinks and then you’d listen to this live band playing on the side. But no, this was way different.

     The inside was dark and had all these crazy lights. There was sexy music playing in the background, but to top it all off, there were pole dancers on the side, making the interior look like a club. Men and women were dancing sexily to the music, working that pole as if their lives depended on it. It was so erotic that I had to look away because of how shy I was feeling.

     “ I didn’t know that the theme for this party would be BDSM, “ I say to myself as I tried to navigate through the crowd who was dancing and throwing money at the dancers.

     To be honest, I’ve never been to these kinds of events before. I wasn’t able to go to clubs because of how busy I was, so the closest thing I’ve been to was a pub with my ex-boyfriend where we shared a couple of drinks and just went home before 9 PM.

     “Master, wine?” a waiter suddenly asks, popping out of nowhere.

     I shook my head and continued to follow the crowd. After a couple more pushing and pulling, I arrive at this large hall where the guests were. There was a red carpet in the middle, and then there was a stage at the front.

     “ What’s going on? “ I whisper to myself as I got closer to the front to see better. Soon after, the music stopped playing, and a spotlight was shone on the door on the side.

     “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Companions Association’s annual masquerade ball!” A voice announces, making everyone start cheering. “To begin, let us first welcome our dear companions. Starting off with the lowest ranks, the B-Ranks!” the voice then states, and soon after, seventeen stunning men and women arrived and walked on stage, causing the entire crowd to erupt.

     What on earth is going on? These are companions?! They already look like fucking models, yet they’re considered the lowest rank?!

     “The A-Ranked companions!”

     Ten hot and handsome men and women went out this time, and all I could do was stare at them with my mouth wide from shock. These guys are out of this world. They don’t even compare to all the artists I’ve interviewed in the past.

     I had a hunch about what the association really is, but I didn’t expect it to be this big. Looking at the guests, I’m assuming that majority of them are millionaires who can afford to spend money on things like this, and at the same time, hide this type of lifestyle from the public view thanks to the association’s secretive nature.

     “Foxy! I love you!” One of the guests shouted as the companions happily went to the stage, waving at them like they were some kind of idols.

     “W-wait, I saw that guy!” I accidentally say out loud when I noticed the man who went on stage last. He was the man who was with that mistress that Hunter and I met at the bus stop. So he really was a companion, and an A-Ranked too.

     Now that I think about it, these ranks are somehow familiar. I think I’ve heard someone mention this before.

     Wait…

     “ My name is Jonathan Philips, one of the head directors at the Companion’s Association. Since Hunter is an S-Ranked Companion, I will personally conduct this assessment,“ Jonathan said during that time he visited.

     So this is what he meant by that. Then among these ranks, the next one would definitely be the S-Rank. With the general idea I have about these things, S usually stands for super or special, which means S-Ranks is the best among the others, which also means that Hunter—my boyfriend—is known to be…

     “Now let us welcome the companions that everyone has been dying to see, let us all give a round of applause to our beloved S-Ranked companions!” the voice announces, and these people, who I’m assuming are from the upper class, suddenly transformed into literal savages as four men and a single woman enters the hall.

     I almost got pushed as these companions walked on stage. My jaw literally dropped as I watched them wave to the crowd. These people were literal gods. No wonder Hunter is ranked with them.

    Wait, speaking of Hunter…

     I looked at them one by one, but as expected, Hunter wasn’t there. Looks like they really took his suspension seriously. I guess all I could do now is wait and watch how this party unfolds. If I can learn even just a little bit, then that would be enough.

     “ I should at least move out of the crowd so I wouldn’t suffocate to death, “ I then tell myself as I was about to change spots, but then, just as I turned around, the unknown voice announces something that immediately made me stop.

     “Now, to officially start off this exciting night, let us all welcome the companion’s pride, the S-Rank among S-Ranks who has served the most masters…”

     I quickly stopped walking as I heard the announcement. For some reason, my heart started beating fast. Something about this made me feel nervous. I didn’t want to move an inch, but as the crowd started cheering, I couldn’t help but swallow the lump in my throat and slowly turn back to check who this man could possibly be.

“For his final year as a companion, let me proudly present to you all…the chairman of the Companion’s Association…Hunter!”

TO BE CONTINUED

A/N:

Happy New Year Guys! 🎆🎇

• Your Author

(24) Dog Watchers

🐾

“FOR HIS FINAL YEAR as a companion, let me proudly present to you all…the chairman of the Companion’s Association…Hunter!”

     The crowd cheers as a man walk to the stage with a bright smile on his face, waving at everyone like he was a real celebrity. Everyone was screaming his name, but as I looked at him, I couldn’t help but swallow this lump in my throat that has kept me from saying a word.

     Last year as a companion.

     The Chairman of the Companion’s Association.

     This was what Jonathan wanted me to know, yet those words just didn’t add up. I couldn’t wrap my head around it. I couldn’t put those words together as if they were puzzle pieces that had different sizes. For a moment I thought I was going to faint.

     “Hunter! Hunter!” The audience repeatedly cheered.

     The man was wearing a red suit that matched his mask. He had that confident look on his face and a grin that made him look like he knew exactly what the crowd wanted. But despite the mask, those cold blue eyes were too familiar. They’re the same pair of eyes that I’ve been dreaming of for weeks.

     This was definitely Hunter.

     I wasn’t seeing things, nor did I hear them wrong. The man who was said to be the chairman of this entire association was none other than the man I have been with for about two months now.

     This was the man that I love.

     “Good evening, master and mistresses. And welcome to Companion’s Association,” Hunter finally greets when he got on stage, making everyone stop cheering so they could hear him better. All the other companions stood behind Hunter while Hunter stood in front of them with dominance, showing his superiority above everyone else.

     “It is my honor to once again hold such an amazing event thanks to all the masters who’ve been loyal to us since the very beginning,” Hunter starts. “I have been a companion for fourteen years. I am the oldest and the most experienced one yet. I have mentored most of the new generation of companions, and I am completely proud to have left such a great legacy,” he then adds, and everyone starts clapping for him.

     This bitch just said fourteen years so casually. He’s been fourteen years as a companion, so before I adopted him, he has been with other owners . Oh dear god, I don’t know how to take all that in. Of course, I respect his choice of doing this for a living. I understand the hustle, but at the same time, it still feels completely strange to me.

     How many men and women had he taken care of before me? Did he sleep in bed with them? Did he shower with them? Did he hold them like how he’d hold me?

     But other than that, there’s also the fact that he’s the fucking chairman of this whole thing. He was the big dog, the boss. But if that was the case, why is he being cautious? Why is the association after him?

     What does my uncle have to do with all this?

     What do I have to do with all this?!

     Nothing is making sense!

     “Each year, new masters would come and new companions would get adopted. New experiences would be made, and most importantly, new relationships would be established. Some come to us for pleasure, some for emotional support, and some are just hoping to find the right company to who they can casually talk. This is the pride of our association. This is what we’re striving to become,” Hunter explains right after, and the crowd claps for him again.

     “That’s why I’m really happy to see you all here again. Even with your masks on, I’m still confident that I can point out all the previous owners and masters that I’ve served throughout the years,” Hunter then adds as he starts skimming through the crowd. 

     “Well, looks like I don’t have to point anyone out because it seems like I’ve already served most of you,” he then jokes, and the guests started laughing, some even cheering. I couldn’t help but turn away from him.

     Hunter…Damien…looking at you now, standing on that stage with that confident look on your face, I almost couldn’t recognize you. Have you always been like this? For a moment, you looked extremely happy, a look that you rarely show me. When you look at me, I see love mixed with fear; uncertainty masked as security. You were always cautious around me, like loving me was a dangerous escapade that you had to endure.

     Why do I feel so envious; so insecure?

     Should I have found out about you earlier so I wouldn’t feel so small as I’m surrounded by the people you potentially have held like how you’ve held me?

     “Before we continue this party, I would like to say a few more words,” Hunter continued. “As my last year as a companion, I would like to give my sincere thanks to everyone who has given me the greatest memories. You are the reason why I am what I am today. You are the reason why I have acquired such amazing things, and for that—”

     Hunter suddenly pauses, making the entire hall quiet. I didn’t know why they became silent all of a sudden, but when I looked back at Hunter, my eyes widened from surprise when I realized that he was now staring back at me, his eyes wide in shock.

     I took a step back, trying to look away but I couldn’t.

     “I…Uhm…” Hunter struggled to continue his speech, but words wouldn’t come out of his mouth as the two of us continued staring at each other. I gulped as Hunter clenched the microphone he was holding. How did he know that it was me? How on earth did he even spot me among all these people?

     “T-Thank you for…Thank you for the…” As Hunter was trying to keep his act together, a man wearing the association’s uniform immediately runs to the stage to whisper something in his ear. His surprised expression instantly turned into something darker, and the crowd started whispering amongst each other.

     “I-I’m sorry masters, but there have been urgent matters that I have to attend to at the moment. Please, do enjoy the party,” Hunter quickly announces. Before the guests could even react, he quickly runs off while the rest of the companions joined the crowd so they could ease their frustrations after Hunter’s unexpected exit.

     “ What the fuck happened? “ I asked myself as the music started blaring. I looked around and started making my escape plan. Wilson told me that if anything happens, I should just call him. I need to get the card he gave me and call him right away before I—

    “ Don’t move, “ a man suddenly says behind me, grabbing my arm before I could even take another step. “ They know you’re here. They detected something on you. “

     “W-What?”

     Detected something on me? What does he mean by that? I don’t have…w-wait…I do have something on me. Wilson didn’t tell me that I shouldn’t bring it. For fuck’s sake Dane, you brought that card! You left it in your wallet like a complete idiot!

     “ Good job Dane. You fucked it up like always, “ my inner conscience tells me, making me curse in frustration.

    I turned back around to check who the man was, and to my surprise, it was the A-Ranked companion that we met at the bus stop. I was about to say something to him, but then he covers my mouth and pulls me away from the scene.

    The man brought me to this secluded room. It was dark, but both of us knew not to turn the lights on at the risk of getting caught, so when he closed the door behind us, he finally lets go of me.

    “You…you’re—”

    “That’s right, we met before. I was with my current owner, and you were with chairman Hunter,” the man says, and the words chairman Hunter made me feel uncomfortable inside for some reason.

     “I reckon you didn’t know that until now,” he then adds as I looked around the room.

     “I don’t know what’s going on, but I really should leave. Someone told me to come so I’d know some things about the association, but coming here was a mistake. It only made me more conflicted,” I say, peeking out of the window before looking back at him.

     The man takes a deep breath and adjusts his necktie before telling me, “Well, it’s obvious that you wouldn’t know much. It would be a great hassle if the rightful heir to this great empire finds out about the truth.”

     I was about to walk towards the bed when I heard him say that. My body instantly freezes, and I slowly looked back at him in complete shock. “W-What did you just say,” I ask.

     “ Where did he go?! Look at all the rooms! “ We suddenly heard someone shout from outside, instantly making both of us panic.

     “We can’t talk now. I have to get you out of here first before they find out I’m with you,” he says as he runs towards the shelves. He then pulls out a book, and to my surprise, a secret passage opens, making me widen my mouth in shock because it’s the first time I’ve ever seen something like that.

     “Mr. McCartney, let’s go,” he says.

     I was about to follow him with no hesitation, but my feet wouldn’t move. “I don’t know if I should trust you,” I tell him instead. For all I know, this could be a trap.

     The man looks back at me. I thought he’d get mad, but then he takes a deep breath and tells me, “My name is Kristian. Jonathan asked me to help you escape if anything happens.”

     So he knows that Jonathan asked me to come here.

     Well, he’s the only one who’s willing to help. I don’t have any other options anyway so I can’t be picky now.

     “Fine, let’s go,” I say, now following him inside the secret passage.

     The selves behind us close, and lights automatically open. While the two of us were walking down the path, I looked at Kristian and asked him, “What is this place? And how do you know about this passage?”

     “Well, for starters, I live here,” Kristian answers, surprising me. “All the companions live here. This is where we stay, train, learn, relax–everything. Let’s just say if Hugh Hefner had Playboy Mansion, this was Hael McCartney’s Companions Mansion.”

     “Wait, Hael McCartney? As in my uncle?” I asked, surprised by this newfound information.

     “Wow, they really didn’t tell you anything, huh?” Kristian comments when he saw my reaction. He then takes a deep breath and finally reveals to me, “Well, if you haven’t noticed anything yet Mr. McCartney, your uncle…he’s the founder of this association.”

     WHAT

     THE

     ACTUAL

     FUCK?!

     “Founder? You mean…he made all this?!” I asked, my mind now slowly having a mental crisis over all the things I’m learning so far.

     “That’s right. Your uncle was the founder, and when he died, chairman Hunter took over. I don’t know how that happened, maybe it was because he was the longest companion to have ever worked with him, but that’s how it is now,” Kristian explains as we continued walking.

    For a moment I was about to stop. I needed to take a deep breath and let all this sink in, but at the same time, I knew that I had to keep moving. I can’t let them catch me, now that I found out about all this.

    “I’m actually surprised that he was even given another fieldwork and got adopted. The chairman hasn’t been adopted for at least four years now, and to think that it was you,” Kristian then says as we finally reached the end.

    Kristian opens the door. I was expecting to find another room, so when I realized that we were now outside, I couldn’t help but be amazed. 

    “There’s your ticket out of here,” Kristian said as he pointed to a car that was parked near the bushes. “You remember how you got here right? Then you’ll know how to get back. If you just follow the road, you’ll arrive at the main street. You’ll be safer there with all those people,” he then adds before handing me the car keys.

     “W-Wait a second. How about you? Will you be alright?” I ask, and my concern probably surprised him because Kristian ended up giving me a soft smile. He was about to say something to me, but then he suddenly grabbed hold of his chest and his body starts to tremble, almost like he was being electrocuted.

    “K-Kristian? Are you okay?”

     I was about to help him, but Kristian pushes me away and suddenly covers his eyes. I didn’t know what he was doing, but then I remember that Hunter did this once. He covered his eyes from me, almost like he didn’t want to see me. Or to be more specific…

     He didn’t want others to see me.

    “T-They got me. I told you…t-too much,” Kristian says, still covering his eyes as a trail of blood suddenly oozes out of his nose.

    I covered my mouth in shock as Kristian tries to gasp for air.

     “What’s going on?! Kristian, let me help you,” I desperately say as I grabbed my handkerchief to wipe the blood off him, but Kristian slaps my hand away, surprising me.

     “M-Mr. McCartney, you have to leave. Our e-eyes…” Kristian pauses as he falls on his knees this time. As he clenched his fist, and as the blood continued to drip from his nose, he added, “They can s-see everything…t-through our eyes. It’s in e-every…companion’s eyes.”

     My mouth widened in complete shock as I stared at Kristian.

     The reason why Hunter was so cautious to answer my questions, the reason why he was so secretive and would often give me confusing hints, and the reason why Jonathan found out that I left Hunter during the rain, was all because they saw everything in Hunter’s eyes.

     They were always, always watching.

    I felt sick. I thought I was going to gag. My head was just in circles now.

    “Mr. McCarney, you are the most important person right now, so please…go!” Kristian finally shouted.

     I got back to my sentence and quickly took a step away from him. I tried to reach out to help Kristian, but I bit my lip and clenched the car keys in my palm, finally running to the car so I could escape.

     “S-shit, shit!” I shout in a panic, my hands trembling as I removed my mask, throwing it on the passenger seat in complete frustration. I turned the engine on and immediately drove away, but as I was heading to the exit, I glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Kristian who was still kneeling on the floor while covering his eyes. When I was already at a safe distance, Kristian finally opens his eyes, and in an instant, he drops to the floor.

     I gasped as I clenched the steering wheel, stepping on the gas even harder so I wouldn’t have to witness such a thing.

     My hands were trembling, and then tears were now streaming down my eyes.

     My uncle was the founder of the Companion’s Association.

     Hunter is the new chairman of the Companion’s Association.

     I’m the heir to that association.

     “Fuck!” I shouted at the top of my lungs as I continued to drive away from that party.

     I couldn’t think straight. My mind was a complete mess, and all I could do was run away. I hated this feeling. I hated how I didn’t know anything and now all of it is chasing after me like I had everything to do with it from the very beginning.

    I don’t remember a single thing about my uncle other than the times we shared together at home. He never talked about his work because “ work questions are prohibited. “ I never knew that all this was going on, yet here I am now, hiding from people who could potentially kill me because of something I had no idea about.

     “I’m gonna lose my fucking mind!” I continue to shout, releasing all the anger that I was feeling inside. But as I was trying to keep the little sanity I had left in me, the phone in my pocket suddenly vibrates.

     At first, I wanted to ignore it, but I swallowed the lump in my throat and checked it anyway. It was a message from an unknown number. For a second I thought it was a scam, but when I read the message, I knew in an instant that this was the place where I had to go to.

    The message read: Mr. McCartney, head to the place where you first met Hunter. You’ll be safe there.

    I knew that going straight home would be the worse idea, so I’m going to take a chance with this. So I stepped on the gas and immediately drove myself to the pet shop where everything started.

    The drive took a while, but I eventually got there in one piece. Obviously, at this hour the shop was closed, but I ran to the door anyway and started knocking on it like a maniac. After a couple of knocks, the door finally unlocks itself, and a hand suddenly pulls me inside, slamming the door shut so no one else could see me.

    I stumbled back as this unknown person pushes me away so he could hurriedly lock the doors. As soon as the door was secured, he looks back at me, and I instantly recognize him as the man who I met on the day I adopted Hunter. He was the employee who I threatened with a pillow because I thought he was going to sell my organs.

     “Thank god you’re safe,” he says, surprising me.

    “So you work for Jonathan too,” I tell him, and the man nods his head to confirm it. I was about to ask him a question, but another figure appears. It was the woman at the cash register, Christine. When I met her, she had this jolly personality, but now she looked completely serious.

     “Jonathan called us and told us everything,” Christine says, making me sigh and massage my temple.

     “This is my fault. I shouldn’t have brought that card,” I say, and Christine approaches me and pats my shoulder.

     “Mr. McCartney, I know this is all too sudden for you, but rest assured that this wasn’t your fault. It seems like the association was ahead of us. They somehow knew that Jonathan would use the opportunity to bring you to the party, so they were already waiting for you there. Even if you didn’t bring the card, they still would have searched for you there,” Christine explains, but it still didn’t help assure me.

     “It’s strange how I’m meeting you both in this situation. The last time I saw you, I was just trying to adopt a dog,” I say as I looked at Christine and the man whose name I still did not know.

     When they heard what I said, Christine and the other employee looked at each other before looking back at me.

     “I apologize for the late introduction. My name is Neilson White, I’m a second-division head of the Companion’s Association. I work under Jonathan who works for Hunter,” the man named Neilson explains.

     “And as you may already know, my name is Christine, but I’m better known as Christina Marquez. I’m part of the second division, and Neilson here is my boss,” Christine then explains.

     “You messaged me and told me that it would be safe here, but how sure are you guys? Kristian, the guy who helped me, he…he—”

     “So they got Kris too,” Neilson says with a sad expression.

     “This pet shop is safe since master Hael made sure that the association won’t know anything about it. It’s safe to say this is like his secret hideout. As for your concerns regarding Kris, I’m assuming you’re talking about the eye cameras,” Christine explains, and I immediately nodded my head to answer.

     “I’ll tell you all about it, but let’s not talk here,” Neilson then says, and so the three of us went upstairs, hoping that no one would see or hear us other than the animals who looked back like they knew exactly who we were.

TO BE CONTINUED

(25) Last Will

🐾

NEILSON BROUGHT US TO an office on the top floor which was completely empty like the rest of the building. No one else was at the pet shop, other than the animals of course, but besides Neilson and Christine, they were the only ones there.

     “Now let’s talk about what you found out at the party,” Neilson finally says as he sat on his desk, gesturing for me to take a seat on the chair in front of him. So I took a seat while Christine handed me a bottle of water. After thanking her and taking a sip of it, Neilson finally started answering my previous questions.

     “The thing that you saw on Kris, that was an eye camera. The association places cameras on every companion’s eyes. During Hael’s time, they were only contact lenses, and their purpose was to protect the companions from the masters, but after his death, the higher-ups decided to make it permanent, and it ended up becoming something that harmed the companions instead,” Neilson explains. “The cameras are being foreseen by the ‘dog watchers’ who have to make sure that none of the companions say or do anything that is against the association’s policies.”

     “If they’re eye cameras, how are they able to hear too?” I then ask.

     “It’s through their collar,” Christine then adds, surprising me.

     Was this the reason why Hunter didn’t want to wear the collar that I received from the association? Well, I bought a new one for him and hid the old one in the storage room, but it’s possible that they could have still heard us from there. I should have just thrown it away from the get-go.

     “I can’t believe it. This is another level of disgust. I’ve done a lot of things with Hunter. The way the two of us would look at each other is special and sincere, but all this time someone else was seeing it too,” I say, my heart aching. Rather than feeling embarrassed, I was just angry, especially for Hunter. The fact that he’s forced to share special moments with those bastards is sickening.

     “I understand your frustration, but with Hunter, it’s a bit different,” Neilson suddenly tells me, making me look back at him with my brows furrowed.

     “What do you mean?”

     “With Jonathan’s help, his cameras aren’t always on,” he reveals.

     “There has to be some kind of indication too, or maybe like a sign,” Christine then adds. “For example, he could wear a white shirt every time he’s being watched, or maybe he switches on this obedient persona every time it happens. Most of the time the companions could feel if their cameras are on, so chairman Hunter must have been doing something that would assure you that you two aren’t being watched.”

    Doing something?

     There are moments that Hunter acts strange and secretive, like the time he starts acting as if I’m really his master, but there are also times when he’s sweet and loving. How would I know what his indications were? He wears different shirts every time, his mood changes rapidly, and he usually calls me—

     “W-Wait,” I say, making Christine and Neilson look back at me.

     “Hunter…he…there are times he calls me Day, and there are times he calls me Dane,” I say, realizing it now too. When I remembered some of the instances where he’d call me a particular name, I ended up laughing. But as I laughed, tears suddenly starts streaming down my eyes.

     “Thank god,” I say. “Thank god. Hunter only calls me Dane whenever he says he loves me.”

     Christine and Neilson looked at each other with a smile before looking back at me.

     “That’s good to hear then,” Christine says, reaching out to touch my shoulder.

     When I finally felt a lot better, I took a deep breath and looked back at Neilson. “Alright, now that we established that, then can you answer me this? Why did the association allow him to be with me? Do they know that I’m Hael’s only successor? If that was the case then why did they allow this to happen?”

     “The association doesn’t just function with one boss. We have five who handle different divisions . Jonathan is a head director, which means he’s one of the bosses who oversees multiple divisions. These directors are called Big Dogs “ Neilson explains to me. “With his help, there is information that he can keep hidden from the others, and one of that information is the fact that you’re related to Hael.”

     “Wait, are you saying they don’t know who I am?”

     “In the beginning yes, they didn’t know, but Hunter fucked up. That’s why Jonathan got so mad.”

    “ You have endangered all of us, Hunter. You have ruined everything we’ve been planning for years. “ I remembered Jonathan saying when he and Hunter were talking at the apartment.

     So that’s what he meant by that?

     “It seems like Hunter wasn’t able to hide his feelings enough. For a time he was only supposed to be there for you as his loving pet, but he started revealing things and acting suspicious. The other big dogs eventually caught up,” Neilson explains, making me massage my temple.

     Hunter has been giving me all these hints in the past, and that’s the reason why their plan is now ruined. Why wasn’t he able to stay silent? If he never opened up about these things, I would have never even known anything. I never would have questioned him.

     Was he trying to provoke the association? Is that it?

     “So that’s the reason why they’re trying to find me now,” I say before taking a deep breath.

     “That’s also the reason why Hunter went to the party. He actually didn’t want to go, but the association threatened him that they’ll take you. Now that Hunter’s back at the association, Jonathan wanted to change the plans. Since everything’s all ruined anyway, might as well reveal everything to you,” Neilson then reveals.

     Now I understand why everything’s such a mess.

     I don’t even know what to feel anymore. Basically, all this happened because Hunter and I fell in love with each other. Now how am I supposed to react to that?

     “But what were Hunter and Jonathan planning anyway? If Hunter was only going to act like my obedient dog for the rest of his life, then what was the point in all this?” I then ask, and that question seemed to be something that they expected me to ask because Neilson and Christine ended up taking a deep and heavy breath.

     This was going to be another crazy revelation. I could feel it.

     “You see Day, Hunter made a deal,” Neilson starts, making me furrow my brows in confusion.

     “Deal?”

     “Haven’t you wondered why Hunter’s the chairman?” Christine then asks me, and that finally made me question it too. Hunter’s supposed to be the chairman, the boss of the boss, but why is he being controlled like this by those big dogs despite having such a title?

     “Let me start from the very beginning,” Neilson says. “When the former chairman, Hael, decided to make the Companion’s Association, he needed someone to fund it so he looked for investors, and those investors became the Big Dogs . For years, the association strived, but then, the other big dogs became greedy. Hael sensed that they wanted to steal the association from him, so he made his last Will & Testament in order to secure it.”

     “That last will stated that all his riches and properties will be handed over to his only nephew, and when I say all riches and properties, that meant the association as well,” Christine then adds while my heart raced at every word they uttered.

     “The big dogs found out about it, so they retaliated. Hael realized the danger that he put you in, so despite all his hard work, he decided to shut everything down. He was ready and willing to put everything away just to protect you, but before he could do that, Hael, unfortunately, died,” Neilson then says, and the memory of his death made me look away from them.

     I remembered how I was in my dormitory when our institute’s dean suddenly visited. He told me what happened to my uncle; he told me he died after getting into a car accident, and my world just completely shattered.

     I went back home, and Todd—who was just my roommate at that time—was kind enough to accompany me. During my uncle’s funeral, it was only me, Todd, and the priest. It was a heartbreaking scene. We didn’t even have any other family or friends to support us, so the rain at that time felt heavier. Remembering it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

     “We were there too you know,” Neilson suddenly reveals, immediately making me look back at him with shock.

     Christine, who looked teary herself, takes a deep breath and explains, “During his funeral, all of us were inside our cars, watching in a distance. He was our boss, but he cared for all of us. Hael treated all the companions and the employees as his own family. He was more than just a chairman to us.”

     “And Hunter…we practically had to lock him in the car and tie him up because he wanted to run to you. Hael was like his father, but more than that, he wanted to comfort you,” Neilson then reveals, and tears finally streamed down my eyes.

    So Todd and I weren’t really alone that time?

     “That’s why we’re thankful for Mr. Cooper. If he wasn’t there for you, maybe even Jonathan would have gotten out of the car to comfort you,” Neilson adds, and I quickly wiped my tears away. My love for Todd grew deeper, not romantically of course, but with deep appreciation.

     “We’ve all been watching over you Day. Me, Jonathan, and even Herbert, but Hunter was really the one who acted as your guardian. That’s the reason why when Hael died, he took the position of chairman even though he didn’t want to. Being the chairman meant that the big dogs could keep a closer eye on him, but he took it anyway because he knew that with that title, it would be enough to protect you, and he was right.”

     “But why show himself now? Why is all this happening? Where’s the Will & Testament?” I then ask, growing impatient.

     “Thanks to your uncle, the big dogs didn’t know your name or your face so they couldn’t find you, but just last year, they found out about Hael’s relationship with chairman Herbert of EXRay Media, and that’s when things started getting messy,” Neilson says with a more serious tone, making me gulp.

     So it really was chairman Herbert Orlando. I can’t believe he knew my uncle too, and I can’t believe he was one of the people who has been looking after me all these years.

     “Herbert has been trying to keep you hidden, but now that the big dogs found out about him, Jonathan and Hunter got worried that they’ll find you too, so that’s when they decided to give you that card,” Neilson says, making me pull out my wallet so I could stare at the association’s card.

     So this was the beginning of everything.

     “Hunter showed himself to you because he was there as your guard dog while Jonathan tried to fix the situation, but things only became worse after that, and now you’re here,” Neilson says right after, and I stared at the card for one last time before looking back at them.

     “And the deal you mentioned earlier, what was it? What deal did Damien make?” I ask, and that question felt like something that neither Neilson nor Christine wanted to answer.

     “Do you really want to know?” He asks, and despite my doubts, I nodded my head anyway.

     “Hunter’s the only one who knows where the last Will & Testament is,” Neilson finally reveals.

     “W-What?”

     “Other than being the oldest companion who had the proper title to take over the association, him having Hael’s Will was also the reason why they made him the chairman. Because if they didn’t, the last will & testament will be followed, and you’ll be the chairman instead,” Neilson continues to say, making me grip the card that I was holding.

     “But going back to what I was saying earlier, Jonathan and Hunter were scared that they’d find you after the big dogs found Herbert, so Hunter, in order to protect you, asked to work on the field again like what he and Jonathan planned, but the association didn’t allow it. And that’s when the deal was made.”

    “And what was it?” I asked, my heart beating even faster than the last.

    “The deal was, chairman Hunter serves the love of his life for one last time. You were the love of his life,” Christine starts to explain.

     “And what was the catch?”

     Neilson takes a deep breath and looks away from me before answering, “On the end of the deal, right after serving you for a year…they’ll kill him.”

     My heart drops in an instant.

     Kill him.

     Hunter agreed to get killed in order to protect me.

     “T-That can’t be. Hunter…he…he wouldn’t risk his life for a man who he wasn’t even sure would love him back, right?” I asked, my hands now trembling.

     “It was a fair deal, so to speak,” Neilson says before giving out a loud sigh. “Hunter gets to be with you in his final year while Jonathan would have fixed the situation and kept your identity a secret until the very end. The association will then be able to kill the only person on earth who knows where the will and testament is, which means it never existed.”

     “But now that everything has come to this, what will they do to Hunter now?”

     “The only reason why they haven’t killed Hunter is because they were afraid that he’d hand you the Will. They didn’t know who you were, so if Hunter gave it to you, then it’s game over for them. But now that they know who you are too, the risk of killing him is lower because the risk of killing you is higher,” Neilson explains, the hair on my skin stand.

     I was just a regular editor in a company I’ve been dreaming to work at a few days ago, and now I’m hiding at a pet shop because a group of big dogs is searching for me so they could kill me over a Will & Testament that I know nothing about.

    if that’s not crazy, I don’t know what is.

     “Day, you’re the heir to the association. Hunter didn’t want to give you the will because he didn’t want to involve you in all this, but if you take it now, you’ll have all the legal rights to inherit it, which means you’re the only person on earth who can shut it all down,” Neilson then explains to me, making me swallow the lump in my throat.

     “Shut it down? Like what my uncle wanted? Wouldn’t that only make things worse for me?”

     “The Companion’s Association is a legal business. Hael made sure that there wouldn’t be any problems while he operates it. But when he died, the big dogs started doing illegal work. They started getting associated with drugs, took criminals as clients, and would even sell companions. You’re not involved in any of that since you haven’t acquired the will yet, but if you do shut it down, the big dogs will definitely get caught by the authorities,” Neilson tells me, and all I could do was bounce my leg up and down because of my growing anxiety.

     That’s such a big task.

     I don’t want to fucking mess up and potentially put everyone else in danger.

     “Most, if not all, of the companions came from terrible backgrounds. Some were orphans, some were abused, some were just thrown away, but Hael took them all in and made a home for them.”

     “That was the mansion,” I say, and both Neilson and Christine nodded their heads to agree to it.

     “Everyone was willing to follow Hael and his vision, but now that he’s gone, things changed for the worse. Hunter was the only one that’s keeping us all together. He’s the only one fighting for the safety of the companions despite the little power he has over the big dogs.”

     “The association…it’s no longer the association that master Hael envisioned. A few of us who followed him also believe that it’s high time for us to let the association go. What was once our home—” Christine stops to wipe the tear away from his cheeks.

     Make the lonely feel wanted, that was their motto. It seems like my uncle really did create something like that. He made a family with these people, but those bastards…those big dogs ruined everything.

     I don’t want to be the person to shut everything down and take these people’s homes away, but if that’s what they want to do, then I want to help. I’m already in this mess, then I might as well do everything I can. This was the only legacy my uncle left behind. In order for them to stop dirtying that legacy, I’m going to be the one who has to stop it.

     “What do you have to do then?” I ask, but before Neilson could say anything, we suddenly heard something from outside the building.

     Christine quickly rushes to the window and slightly pushes the curtain open so she could see what it was. Neilson and I were patiently waiting, nervous to hear what it could have been, but when Christine finally told us what was happening outside, our hearts instantly dropped.

     “Shit, it’s an association car. How did they know we’re here?” Christine reveals, and Neilson and I quickly stood from our seats.

     “Day, I have a car in the basement. I’ll lead you there. You have to hide before more of them come,” Neilson explains, and I nodded my head, ready to follow him. The two of us got ready to make a run for it, but just as Neilson was about to grab the doorknob, Christine stops him.

     “W-Wait! Someone’s getting out of the car. It looks like he’s alone,” Christine says.

     All of us were nervous, but then, Christine sighs in relief before looking back at us. “It’s Hunter.”

TO BE CONTINUED

(26) Drive & Escape

🐾

I RAN TO THE window, standing beside Christine so I could see Hunter too. Hunter got off the car and walked towards the entrance, holding onto the side of his stomach like he was hiding something. “Dane!” He then shouts, trying to open the door of the pet shop. As he was trying to force it open, he suddenly stumbled and falls on one knee, surprising us.

     “What’s wrong with him?” Christine confusingly asks, but with one look, I already knew what was going on.

     “He’s injured,” I say.

     I was about to run out of the office, but Neilson suddenly grabs my arm to stop me. “Day, you don’t know what they did to Hunter. They could have placed a tracking device on him, or maybe they have full control of his cameras now. If you show yourself to him, you might get hurt.”

     I knew that Neilson was only worried, but I pushed his hand away from me and told him, “Hunter won’t go all the way here if he knew the risk.”

     Neilson wanted to say something, but I was already out of the door before he could even do it. I ran out of the shop as fast as I could, and as soon as Hunter saw me, he immediately had a relieved look on his face.

     “Baby, you’re safe,” he weakly says, and I quickly went to him and grabbed him, but before I could help him up, Hunter lets go of his side, and there I finally saw the blood.

    “Oh no…y-you’re bleeding,” I ask in shock, my hands instantly trembling as I reached out for my handkerchief so I could cover it for him. I tried to stop the bleeding, but as I was doing so, Neilson arrives at the entrance and looks back at Hunter.

     “You escaped the mansion, didn’t you?” Neilson asks as he walks closer to us. Christine also appeared behind him, trying her best not to panic like I was.

     “We should bring him inside so we could treat his injury,” She says as she was about to grab Hunter, but Hunter pushes her hand away. He forces himself to stand, and then he grabs my arm and says, “No time. Dane, come with me. We have to go.”

     “Okay, where are we going? Where are we supposed to—”

     “No,” Neilson suddenly says, grabbing my hand and pulling me away from Hunter. “You are not taking him anywhere. Day has to stay here.”

     “But it’s not safe here anymore,” Hunter tries to tell him.

     “He’s not safe with you,” Neilson fires back. “Hael asked us to protect him too, and that’s what we’ll do. You had your chance and you fucked it up. We can’t hand him to you anymore.”

     “I can’t leave him here,” Hunter desperately tries to say. “Dane, please, trust me. Come with me before they arrive,” he then says in a panic.

     “Wait, what?” Christine asks in shock, and Neilson’s eyes widened when he realized something.

     “You brought them here?!” Neilson shouts, making me cover my mouth in shock too. “You brought them directly here, to the only place Hael thought would be safe?!”

     “I didn’t bring them anywhere! The association always fucking knew!” Hunter shouts back despite the pain he was feeling. “They always…always knew.”

     “What are you talking about?” Neilson asks, his brows furrowed because of how confused he was.

     Hunter takes a deep breath and holds onto his injury again before looking back at us. “A year ago, when they found out about Herbert, they already found out about Dane before Jonathan and I could even stop them. I knew that I could no longer protect him, so I agreed to get killed so they would no longer chase after him.”

    Christine gasped in shock, while Neilson was left speechless. I was shocked too, but I couldn’t feel anything. What Hunter said left me in a daze. I didn’t want to believe it.

     “Did Jonathan know?” Neilson then asks, and Hunter shook his head, finally making Christine start crying. From the very beginning, the association knew where to find me. This meant that all this time, everything that Jonathan, Neilson, Christine, and even Wilson…everything they did was for nothing. The association was already on them before they even realized it.

     “So all this time…everything we’ve done…” Neilson tried to laugh it off, but then he runs to Hunter and grabs him by the collar, not caring about his injury at all. “You knew yet you let this all happen?!”

     “I didn’t care, okay?! I was going to die and keep Dane safe, that was all I cared about. I didn’t care about what would happen to everyone else as long as I made sure that nothing happens to him,” Hunter says, his voice shaking as tears formed in his eyes.

     “You selfish bastard!”

     “You two, that’s enough!” Christine then shouts, pulling Neilson away so he could finally let go of Hunter.

     Neilson and Christine didn’t say anything after that, but then, Hunter looks back at the two and tells them, “I-I’m sorry, but this was the only way to protect him. If I told you everything, they would have known.”

    “But your cameras, they were being foreseen by Jonathan. He would have—”

    “It wasn’t my cameras,” Hunter quickly clarifies. “When they found out about Dane, they watched over him differently. His neighbors, the people who work at the coffee shop you go to…everywhere. They were the ones watching Dane, so I had no choice.”

     The moment I heard Hunter say all that, my stomach instantly felt sick. So all this time, people around me just…watched? They were just observing me, making sure I won’t get a hold of that god-forsaken will?

     My whole life is literally a lie!

     “That was the deal; I stay with Dane for my final year and disappear with the Will and Testament, and then the association will no longer have any reason to chase after him,” Hunter then explains. “But the more I got closer to Dane, the more my guilt consumed me. I fucked up, I know that, but I wanted Dane to at least know, and I know that it was stupid and selfish but I didn’t want to die knowing I hid everything from you. I wanted you to receive the only thing Hael left for you, and I believe this is what he would have wanted too,” Hunter then says, looking back at me this time.

     I didn’t know how to feel anymore.

     Can I really trust Hunter despite all this?

     Wait, no, Dane, this is the man you love, right? You promised that you’ll believe him and be with him no matter what. All this time, he has always thought of your well-being, so why are you even questioning him now?

     “Even with Jonathan locking my system from the other big dogs, I was still caught and now have put everyone in danger, that’s why I want to make things right, so please Dane, come with me,” Hunter says as he shows me his hand so I could grab it.

     I gulped and stared at his hand before looking back at Neilson. Neilson was shaking his head, discouraging me to follow him, but before I could even make a decision, Neilson’s phone suddenly ring, startling all of us.

    Neilson looks at us before taking his phone. When he saw who it was, he takes a deep breath and puts it on speaker so all of us could hear it. “ Neil, is Day with you right now? “ A voice says, and if I remember correctly, that voice is coming from Jonathan, one of the head directors of the association who started this whole plan with Hunter.

     “He is, where are you?” Neilson asks back.

     “ I’m here at the headquarters pretending to look for Hunter, but I’m assuming he’s already there with you ,“ Jonathan says, and Neilson takes a deep breath and answers, “Yes, he’s here, and he’s injured.”

     “ Well, he tried to escape so what did he expect ,“ Jonathan answers back. “ But it’s good that he’s with you now. You can just stay there for the time being while I try to distract the others. I already temporarily shut down Hunter’s system so they won’t be able to track him .“

    “That’s actually the problem,” Neilson says as he massaged his temple. “Hunter said they’re coming here. It seems that all this time, the association knew about our plan so they bargained with Hunter.”

     Jonathan was quiet for a while, and I assumed that he’d get mad, but instead, he takes a deep breath and says, “ I had a hunch that something like this would happen. They’ve been searching for him for years now. Finding Day was inevitable. We should have known that we couldn’t hide him forever. But our plan wasn’t a waste. We were still able to stall the big dogs, and that’s more than enough.“

     “Thank you, Jonathan,”

Hunter says, but Jonathan doesn’t respond to it, probably because he tried to understand the situation, not because of Hunter.

     “ I saw a few of the catchers earlier, so if my calculations are correct, they’ll arrive there in thirty minutes max, “ Jonathan then explains.

     “Then what should we do? Do we take Day and make a run for it, or do we hand him over to Hunter?” Neilson then asks, and Jonathan pauses again.

     After a while, he takes a deep breath and says, “ Day, I know you’re listening too.  We’re sorry for everything. We tried to protect you, but things just didn’t work as we planned. I hope one day you can forgive us.“

     “It’s okay,

“ I whisper under my breath, making it impossible for Jonathan to hear.

     “I also know that you’re confused, but what I’m about to say might confuse you even more. Know that Hael trusted them both. You can come with Neil, or you can run off with Hunter. It’s your choice .”

     I can’t believe they’re making me choose in such an urgent situation.

     “What is it then, Day?” Christine asks, making me gulp.

     I looked at her and Neilson, and then back at Hunter who was growing weak with every second. I wanted to follow my gut, but before making a decision, I looked at Hunter and asked him, “Give me one reason to believe that what I’m about to do is the right choice.”

     Hunter didn’t even have to think about it as he answered, “The will and testament—”

     Christine gasped when he heard what Hunter has to say, and even Neilson was taken aback.

     “I’ll take you to where it is,” Hunter finally finishes.

     “Well, I can’t fucking top that,” Neilson suddenly comments, and the mood between him and Hunter finally mellowed down. “Use my car. There’s a medical kit and some water bottles at the back. The car you brought here might have a tracker so using that to escape would be pointless.”

     “Thank you,” Hunter says as Neilson hands him the keys.

     “We’ll hold them off for as long as we could to give you guys enough time to escape. Please be safe,” Christine then adds, and I quickly grabbed her to give her a hug, making Christine hug me back too.

     “Thank you for everything,” I tell her, and Christine pats my back and pushes me off her.  “You really did remind me of master Hael,” she adds, making me give out a sad smile.

     “Dane, let’s go.”

     I looked at Hunter and nodded my head, but just when I was about to leave with him, Neilson puts his hands inside his pocket and tells me, “When we meet again, we’ll buy you a ton of cheesecakes. Your uncle…he always told us that you loved them.”

     I don’t know why, but that single statement started making me tear up. These were the people who looked out for me when my uncle died. Even though I’ve only known about them recently, I couldn’t help but feel indebted to them.

     Now I definitely have to make this right. For them, for Hunter, and for my undecided future.

…

The drive was quiet, awkward even. Hunter and I couldn’t say a single thing to each other, yet it’s almost been an hour since we’d been driving down this long road that leads us to a place I know nothing about.

     After patching up his injury, Hunter insisted that he drives for us. Of course, I wanted to drive for him because he was hurt, but I was still more surprised by the fact that he was driving in general. Hunter has always been scared of riding the car, so having him drive it is strange.

     I couldn’t bare the silence anymore, so when we stopped at a red light, I finally looked back at him and said, “So, chairman Hunter. I didn’t know you had such a title.”

     “It’s just a stupid title,” Hunter answers, his voice a little horse. “When Hael died, the directors made me the chairman because they needed to control me, and at the same time, I was the face of the Companions who the masters adored. I was just a mere puppet.”

     “So other than knowing my uncle’s death and my real identity, the adoration of the masters was also a reason why they haven’t killed you?” I ask him next, and Hunter looks at me and chuckles even though what I said wasn’t a laughing matter.

     “Looks like Neil and Christina told you a lot,” he says first. “But you’re right, the masters loved and trusted me. Killing me off all of a sudden would be a huge loss to them, so they thought of a solution to use my retirement as some sort of escape.”

     “Retirement?”

     “A companion’s contract only lasts for 15 years, and on the 15th year, a companion is forced to retire, and all the traces of them being involved with the association are erased. Since my contract is about to end anyway, killing me off was an easier decision for them,” Hunter explains, making me gulp.

     How could Hunter agree to such a thing? He’s willing to get killed for my sake, but what did I even do for him to do such a thing? Was this just because he was blinded by the idea of loving me? Or does it run deeper than love?

     “Why are you willing to risk yourself for my sake?” I finally ask him, and Hunter takes a deep breath and looks back at the road.

     The stop light turns green and Hunter continues driving again, but as he was driving, he answers me, “I loved you…I love you…and until now I’m still crazy about you. Wouldn’t it be so romantic if the words ’ I’ll die for you ’ were literal?”

     I was moments away from shedding a tear, but as soon as I heard his last statement, I quickly hit his shoulder and say, “How can you make jokes at a time like this?!”

     “Just wanted to make sure you weren’t mad,” Hunter then blurts out.

     “Mad? After everything that happened today Damien, getting mad is the least of my concerns. I’m more confused than I am mad,” I explained, and Hunter sighed in relief.

     “Well, I thought you’d be mad when you heard what I had to say during the party,” Hunter then opens up, surprising me because I thought he’d just pretend like it never happened.

     Of course, I was bothered by what I learned about him, but I know Hunter had his reasons for doing such a thing, so I’ll give him a chance to explain his side.

     “Hael took care of me since I was young. He didn’t want me to be a companion, but I forced him to, so when I turned 21, he allowed me to be one. To others, being a companion might only sound like some sort of fancy prostitute, but we’re more than that. We have masters who are widows, who lost the love of their life, or are simply lonely. Some request for us to just stay by their side within a contracted time, some just want someone to talk to, while others seek pleasure to hide the pain,” Hunter explains to me, stopping the car to look my way.

     “Dane, I am a companion, and there was no time or day where I was ashamed of it. I know you might feel disgusted about it, but this is who I am, and I’m proud to be—” Before Hunter could even finish his sentence, I grab him and instantly wrapped my arms around him.

     “Mad? Disgusted? Damien…the things you’ve done are the choices you made. I will not damn you for that,” I sincerely tell him, and my statement must have come as a surprise because Hunter grabs me and hugs me even tighter. “You made the lonely feel wanted, and that’s all that matters,” I continue to say. But as I was hugging him, I quickly pushed him away when I realized that he was still injured.

     “Oh no, did something happen to your wound?” I ask, and Hunter just chuckles.

     “No, it’s fine. I told you, the bullet just scraped me,” he replies, but then I noticed that his shirt was wet again.

    “That is definitely a lie! We have to look at it again. We’ve been driving for two hours now anyway, so whoever’s chasing us is probably long gone,” I say in a panic. I was about to run back to get the first aid kit, but Hunter stops me and massaged his temple.

     “I think there’s a motel a few kilometers away from here. Let’s just go there and stay for the night, okay?” Hunter tells me, and I took a deep breath and nodded my head to him.

     “Fine. Let’s go.”

TO BE CONTINUED

(27) Band-Aid

🐾

“WELCOME TO MOTOR-INN, HOW may I help you?”

a woman at the front desk greeted us with the most boring tone I’ve ever heard in my life. She looked like she didn’t want to be there, but she was forced to still greet us because she was getting paid to do it. Honestly, more power to you ma’am.

     “We need a room with one bed for the whole night. We don’t need any food service or anything like that,” Hunter explains, hiding his injury with his jacket so the woman wouldn’t notice.

     Thankfully she also doesn’t recognize Hunter’s face despite being on the cover of a magazine that sold thousands of copies. I guess the launch wasn’t as successful as we thought it was.

     “Just a shower with running water would be fine…”

    While Hunter was talking with the receptionist, I tightly grabbed hold of his arm while I looked around the area, holding onto a paper bag that contained Neilson’s first aid kit, and a water bottle.

     We were literally in the middle of nowhere. There was a gas station a few miles away, and then this motel that looked old and forgotten. There were a few truck drivers having a drink outside, some even whistled at me when we walked past them. I don’t want to be judgemental or anything, but I feel like the chances of me getting killed here are higher than the association chasing after us.

     “You can have the last room on the left,” the woman tells us, grabbing the key behind her and handing it over to Hunter. “Enjoy your stay,” she then says, and Hunter and I finally walked to our designated room.

     Hunter heads inside first, and I followed behind him. As soon as I closed the door, I quickly lead him to the bed so he could take a seat. I then placed the first aid kit on the table so I could check his wound for him.

    “Can you remove your coat?” I ask as I was getting the patches and the antibiotics ready. Hunter doesn’t answer but starts removing his coat as slowly and carefully as he could. As soon as he removed it, I brought the things to the bed and placed them there before undoing his shirt.

     “Are you going to get mad at me if I tell you how hot you look tonight?” Hunter suddenly says, making me look back at him like he’s an idiot.

     “You want me to pour alcohol on your injury so you could feel how hot I could really be?” I sarcastically ask him, and Hunter just laughs it off.

     As soon as I opened his shirt up, I removed my fancy coat and brushed my hair back with my fingers before kneeling in front of him. I knew that Hunter was going to comment about the position that we were in, so before he could even say it, I immediately glared at him and told him to zip it.

     Hunter chuckles again, but when I removed the patch that he placed on his wound earlier, he flinches, and the blood instantly made the hair on my skin stand.

     “Do you even know what you’re doing baby?” He asks as I was trying to concentrate, hoping I’ll magically get possessed by a nurse so I’d know what to do.

     “Just shut up,” I say as I grabbed a clean cloth and a water bottle. After wetting it, I started cleaning Hunter’s wound first. He winces at first, but then he relaxes eventually. I guess the health classes I had when I was in high school paid off after all.

     While I was cleaning him, I glanced back at Hunter’s face. The room was dark, and the only thing that illuminated us was the neon lights from the motel sign outside. But despite that, Hunter looked amazing. I know I got mad at him for saying it to me, but he’s no doubt hot himself.

     “Do you have sex with your masters the way you have sex with me?” I suddenly blurted out, immediately making myself cover my mouth right after because I wasn’t supposed to ask that out loud. Of course, I was already too late because Hunter was already staring back at me like he heard the most absurd thing in the world.

     “I’m sorry, you don’t have to answer that,” I say as I put the cloth down so I could start putting an antibiotic on his wound next.

     Hunter chuckles at my reaction, but then he adjusts himself and looks out of the window. “The things I do for you are definitely different from the things I do for them.”

     “How different?”

     “Well, for starters, they’re not allowed to take my clothes off,” Hunter answers. “They can get naked all they want, but I have to keep mine on.”

     “So you’ve seen multiple naked bodies then?” I ask, pushing the cotton swab a little harder, making Hunter growl at me. The reaction made me flinch, so I quickly cleared my throat and took the bandage next so I could patch it up. While I was doing so, Hunter answers my question.

     “I’ve seen a lot, but no one could top yours. Your body is the only body that can make me hard as a rock,” he then says, and this time, I laughed.

     “That’s it?” I then ask him while I start putting the bandage on.

     “They can’t kiss me,” he answers.

     “What else?”

     “They can’t call me by my real name.”

     “What else?”

     “They can’t fall in love with me,” Hunter answers next, and I finally looked up so I could stare at his eyes that were intensely looking down on me. I pulled my hand away from him as Hunter touches my lips. With his eyes still locked on mine, he tells me, “They can’t fall in love with me because the love they want me to give…already belongs to you, and only you.”

     His declaration sent a shiver down my spine, so without even thinking about it, I moved closer to him and pressed my lips to his. Hunter was startled for a second, but then he grabs me by the cheeks and starts kissing me back, but more aggressively this time.

    “D-Damien, wait…” I try to say, making sure his injury doesn’t open up again.

     Hunter kisses me for one last time before finally pulling away, the two of us panting heavily like we just ran a marathon. “Seriously Damien, you say the weirdest things at the wrong time,” I scolded.

“What’s weird about what I said? Does daddy not like how I express my love to him?” he then teases, and I looked at his injury again, sighing in relief since it was no longer bleeding like earlier.

     I cleaned up everything that I used and grabbed the only water bottle we had left before handing it over to Hunter for him to drink. Hunter thanked me for it and takes a sip as I sat beside him on the bed. When he finished the bottle, he puts it aside and looks back at me. “You look like a mess,” I say, reaching out to brush his hair back with my fingers. “But still very much handsome,” I then tell him, making him smile.

     “You’re handsome yourself, my dear master Collins,” Hunter suddenly tells me.

     I was supposed to just laugh it off, but my instinct told me to grab a pillow and hit Hunter with it even though I know full well that he was hurt. So when I slammed the pillow on him, Hunter suddenly groaned in pain, immediately making me look back at him in shock.

     “Oh no! I’m sorry!” I was about to check the bandage if blood started oozing out again, but before I could even grab him, Hunter started laughing.

     “I was joking!” He says, and I grabbed the pillow again and hit him for the second time.

     “I hate you.”

     “No, you don’t.”

     I tried to act mad, but hunter looked at me so lovingly that I ended up giving in. There was no way I could hate him.

     “Why are you always like that?” I ask, making Hunter look back at me with furrowed brows.

     “Like what?”

     I lean my head on his shoulder to hide my embarrassment. “Like…why do you always make me happy despite all the fucked up things that are happening to us now? Seriously, even Romeo and Juliet is nothing compared to our love story.”

     Hunter doesn’t answer, and I thought it was because he was happy from what I said, but when I looked back at him, I was surprised to see that he was actually moments away from crying.

     “D-Damien, are you okay?” I ask, quickly wiping his tears away for me.

    “You have no idea how happy you make me feel,” he suddenly tells me, making me take a deep breath and smile at him.

     “I thought you were hurt, but they’re actually tears of joy,” I jokingly tell him, carefully draping my arms around his neck and moving closer to him, Hunter sitting in between my legs as the two of us comfortably sat on the bed.

     The two of us stared at each other, but then, Hunter grabs my hands and tells me, “Dane, I’m a flawed man whose hands are stained. I’ve done things…things I desperately regret that I’m still trying to make up for. But despite how I am, can you make me one last promise?”

     “Sure, what is it?”

     Hunter takes a deep breath and leans his forehead on mine. With his eyes closed, he whispers, “ Will you marry me? “

     Will

     You

     Marry

     Me

     My whole world stopped in an instant. Everything just vanished, and all I could see was Hunter’s face. The words echo in my head as Hunter finally moves away from me. He stares at me, probably checking my reaction, but I couldn’t even say a thing. The question was such a surprise that I couldn’t even process it yet.

     “Y-You just got shot…and you’re proposing to me?” I asked him as tears now started streaming out of my eyes.

     I’ve never expected anyone to ask me that question, and the fact that it came from someone I deeply love feels completely magical. I couldn’t stop my tears from falling even if I wanted to.

     “I know this isn’t the most convenient situation, but I asked because I didn’t know when I’ll be able to ask you again,” he suddenly says, making me hit his shoulder. “Don’t say that! You’ll be able to ask me again, do you understand?”

     Hunter doesn’t say anything, but he nods his head anyway. He then reaches out to wipe the tears off my face, leaning close to kiss me on the lips. “So what is it? What’s your answer?” He then asks, almost making me laugh.

     “After everything we’ve been through, you’re still asking me that?”

     “Well yeah, that’s the most important part after all,” he innocently answers, and all I could do was hug him in submission. I love him so much. I never thought I’d ever love someone as much as I love him.

     “This is the strangest proposal I have ever witnessed Damien, but yes, of course, I’ll marry you. What kind of answer were you even expecting from me?” I told him, and Hunter smiled and quickly locks his lips on mine.

     “Thank god. I was honestly nervous for a second there,” he says right after, making me laugh. “I love you, Dane,” he then tells me, reaching out for the first aid kit to grab something. I didn’t know what he was doing, but then he takes my hand and gently kisses it. Without saying anything, he shows me a piece of band-aid, and then he slowly starts wrapping it around my ring finger.

     “Is that…”

     Hunter lifts my hand and gently kisses my finger before saying, “When everything is okay, I’ll buy you the most beautiful ring in the world. I promise.”

     I force myself not to cry.

     I don’t think any jewelry in the world would be as valuable as what he has given me. Nothing else will ever compare to it.

     “Since you popped the question yourself, may I ask you for something else in return?” I ask back, and Hunter nods his head.

     “Will you allow me to carry your surname?” I ask him, and Hunter looked so surprised that he ended up grabbing me for a tight embrace. I was supposed to push him away because of his wound, but Hunter suddenly started crying. I couldn’t let go of him anymore.

     “I’d be really happy if you do,” he says.

     “I love you, Mr. Damien Nicholas Collins. I really, really do,” I then tell him, and Hunter pulls away from me and says back, “I love you too, soon to be my Mr. Dane Andrew Collins.”

…

I was forced to open my eyes when I heard the loud trucks outside our motel room. I was about to stand from the bed, but when I remembered what happened last night, I couldn’t help but grab a pillow and scream at it because of how excited I felt inside.

     Last night, Hunter…no, Damien…proposed to me. He didn’t go down on one knee, he didn’t give me an expensive ring, and there wasn’t anything extravagant, but it was still the sweetest thing I have experienced in my life. Nothing could top it.

     I lifted my hand and stared at my finger that had the band-aid, and my heart started racing again. But before I could even start fantasizing about our wedding, I decided to get up so we could leave.

     Damien told me that we’ll be leaving early in the morning. It was still 5 AM, so I’ll give Damien a few more minutes so he could rest more. After all, Damien wasn’t able to sleep properly last night. He insisted to look after me in case those bad guys suddenly appear.

     I got out of bed as quickly as possible to not wake him up. I then walked towards the window and took a peak. The truck drivers were leaving the motel one by one, and thankfully no one suspicious was waiting for us outside.

     The men chasing after us are one of the people following the Big Dogs, or the head directors of the Companion’s Association. Jonathan is considered a big dog himself, but it seems like he’s the only one loyal to my uncle, so Damien and I trust him.

     I don’t know much about the other guys, but I know for a fact that they’re dangerous. Other than shooting Damien when he tried to escape, they did something to Kristian too. And now that I’m thinking about it, the accident that killed my uncle…might not even be an accident at all.

     Uncle Hael died when I was 18 years old, so I was able to live alone after his death. At that time, uncle didn’t leave me anything. The old house we used to live in was too big for me anyway, so I had to sell it so I could pay for my college fees.

     A couple of years after his death, I had loans to pay so I had to work part-time, but it was just impossible. I was literally moments away from asking money from Todd’s rich parents, but then I suddenly had a secret benefactor who paid off all my student debt. Thinking about it, it was probably Jonathan or someone else from the association.

     When I graduated, I then sent my resumé to multiple companies, but I was rejected by all of them so I was forced to work in a fast food chain as a cashier while Todd worked as an attendant in a ticket booth at a nearby theater.

     The two of us tried to make ends meet. We lived in a small studio-type apartment with a mattress and a portable stove and could only eat once a day. Thankfully, a couple of months after that, EXRay held a contest where you had to write a feature story. I entered the contest just for the hell of it, but I got lucky and won. A week after that, they sent me a letter and asked me if I was interested to work for them as a fact checker’s assistant. It was the lowest position, but I grabbed the opportunity anyway.

    Connecting the dots now, it seemed like chairman Herbert Orlando had something to do with that. But despite the help Jonathan and the others have given me, they didn’t end up meddling too much. They watched but still gave me the chance to grow on my own. Experiencing actual hardships made me become the man I am today. I’m glad they didn’t make my life easy. It wouldn’t have been fair.

     “Babe?” a voice suddenly calls out, immediately making me turn back at Damien.

     “Good morning,” I tell him as I walked back to the bed to check his wound. Damien doesn’t say anything, but then he leans close to give me a quick kiss. When I saw that his wound was getting better, I sat on the edge of the bed and asked him, “How was your sleep?”

     “Not enough,” Damien answers, leaning his head on my shoulder and yawning.

     I chuckled and patted his head. “Well, if you could have just slept with me last night then you could have rested more.”

     “My fiancé is so sassy,” he suddenly tells me.

     Before I could even react to what he said, Damien stands up and wears his shirt that had a bloodstain on it. Thankfully his coat was clean so he used that to cover it. Since it was already morning, I decided not to wear my shiny blue coat anymore. I didn’t want to attract anyone with it.

     “Looks like we really need to go,” he tells me, grabbing the keys to our room and reaching out for my hand. I grabbed the first aid kit and squeezed Damiens’s hand before heading out of the room.

     We gave the key back to the woman from last night, and in a blink of an eye, we were back on the road to wherever we were going.

     “Are you hungry? We can stop at a gas station first if you want,” he tells me while his eyes were glued on the road.

     “No, it’s fine.” 

     Damien and I didn’t say anything as I pulled the windows down so I could stick my head out, staring at the sun rising in front of us. I know that we’re being chased by people who are trying to kill us, but if I pretend that everything’s fine, this almost looks like an actual road trip. I would have honestly enjoyed going on a road trip with Damien. I think it would have been fun.

     “Oh yeah, Damien. I have a question,” I asked him when I suddenly remembered something important.

     “What is it, babe?”

     “You were a dog before, right?” I asked, and Hunter immediately stepped on the brakes, surprising me.

     “Whoa! Damien, be careful!” I shouted, glad I was wearing my seatbelt or I would have been thrown out of the window.

     “S-Sorry, I was just surprised that you asked that,” he explains.

     “What’s to be surprised about? You clearly know that I’ll eventually ask you that. I’d still want to know if my fiancé is really a dog after all,” I tell him, and Damien takes a deep breath and massages his temple like what he’s about to tell me is something that’s really troublesome to explain.

     “I guess it’s about time I tell you the truth…” Damien says. “Are you ready?”

     I adjusted in my seat and crossed my arms before looking back at him. “Well, we have all the time we need, so give it your best shot big boy.”

TO BE CONTINUED

(28) Welcome Home

🐾 

MY MOUTH WAS WIDE in shock as I listened to everything that Damien told me about the association and how it all works. As he explained, the association is like an exclusive club for the rich and lonely. No one except high-class people knows about it so it’s very secretive. The masters—or what Damien said was like their clients—are also asked to sign contracts to keep the confidentiality of things.

     The masters are then given cards according to the money they’re willing to spend, something like credit cards. If you can only afford the B-Ranked companions, you are given a blue card, red for A-Ranked companions, and then gold for S-Ranks.

     I thought the gold card was the same card that I had, but Damien clarified that it was different. The card that I have in my possession was special and one of a kind since it’s the founder’s card. Only my uncle had it.

     Anyway, now that you have the card, the masters can then scan it into their computers and they’ll be brought to a website. Based on the card they have, they’ll be shown the list of the companion’s under the rank they chose. The money you’ll spend ranges from thousands to even millions, which is fucking crazy.

     “So the most expensive card is the gold card, right? Then I’ll be able to see thef companions under the S Rank and choose. But at the party, there were just four of them under the S-Rank. Wouldn’t that be hard on their part?” I ask, now fully engrossed with all this information about my uncle’s supposed legacy.

     “Not really. Among a hundred masters, only two or three are able to afford the gold card. As I said, this card is worth millions, and prices also depend on the companion you’re going to choose and how long you’re willing to spend with them,” Damien explains to me.

     “Then if I somehow choose a companion whose name is Hunter, how much would I be spending?” I then ask.

     Damien scratches his chin and thinks about it carefully. If I remember correctly, he hasn’t been working as a companion for a couple of years now so maybe he doesn’t remember the—

     “About five million dollars…a night,” Damien suddenly blurts out, making me widen my mouth in shock.

     People paid five million dollars a night to fucking sleep with him, while I’m here riding his dick for free. I honestly shouldn’t feel proud of something like that, but I am.

     “The longest master I had made a contract with me that lasted for an entire week. He paid thirty-five million dollars for that and he barely even touched me. He was pretty old, but I did jack him off from time to time to compensate for it,” Damien casually tells me. When he saw my reaction, he quickly shakes his head and tells me, “O-Of course that was just a job. There were no strings attached or anything. I didn’t—”

     “I don’t care about that,” I quickly tell him. “All I care about is that someone paid you thirty-five million fucking dollars yet you let me work my butts off to put food on our table.”

     “Babe, you’re not focusing on the important part right now,” Damien tries to tell me, amused by how I am reacting to all this.

     “Anyway, back to the topic. when you scan the card, you won’t actually see the faces of the companions, but instead, you’ll see their dog counterparts,” Damien then explains to me.

     “So you choose the dog you want, and then a week later they turn into a human?” I ask, and Damien started smiling from ear to ear.

     “That’s the tricky part,” he tells me. “We actually don’t turn into humans.”

     “What?”

     “We were never dogs, to begin with,” Damien finally reveals to me, and when I tell you that my jaw fucking dropped, well, my jaw fucking d r o p p e d.

     Damien’s not a dog! Thank god!

     “Dogs are known as a man’s best friend, and that’s the whole concept of all this. When a master chooses a dog, it doesn’t automatically mean that they’re going to be your partner. No, there’s more to it. When you choose your dog, they’ll be brought to you, and then you’ll be put on trial. A trial  is when you stay with the dog first. If the dog doesn’t like you, well…you won’t see the human counterpart,” Damien explains to me, and my excitement rose again.

      “Oh! So it’s like the selection I did at the pet shop! Christine told me that I don’t choose the dog, the dog chooses me,” I tell him, and Damien smiles and nods his head, glad I was understanding it now.

     “The dogs and their equivalent companions are real best friends. They live together in the Companion’s Mansion and train them, so if their dogs don’t like the new master, the companion will reject them.”

     “Wait, so you’re close to Hunter the dog?” I ask, and Damien nods his head to confirm it.

     “That’s why we were surprised when Hunter really chose you. We were planning to put bacon on you so he’d at least sniff you, but he approached you himself. I guess even Hunter knows that I like you,” Damien explains to me, and I couldn’t help but feel happy inside.

     So Hunter the dog was real. Now I get to have Hunter and Damien together. I can’t be happier.

     “And when the dog does accept the master that chose them?”

     “Then they’ll stay with the dog for the time being. the collar they’re wearing has cameras so the companion will also know how they treat the dog. So when they switch, the companion will know how to act around the house. That’s pretty much it.”

     I took a deep breath and properly sat back in my seat while Damien started driving again. I can’t believe my uncle thought of all this. I honestly want to know his thought process. Like, did he just wake up and suddenly think, “ Hey, I want to make a company for dog lovers! “ I bet when he told people about this, they thought he was crazy.

     “Speaking of Hunter, where is he now? On the first day we met, I thought I lost him and felt really terrible inside. I really want to know if he’s safe,” I then tell him, and Damien smiles at me, probably amused that I’m worrying about Hunter the dog more than our current situation now.

     “Hunter’s back at the mansion. He’s a bit old, but he’s fine. He’s a smart dog and was even part of our plan. I trained him to reject the association collar so they wouldn’t have cameras on you,” Damien explains, making me open my mouth wide in shock. So that’s the reason why he didn’t want to wear that collar. I had to buy a new one because of it.

     “Damien, does that mean that you chose Hunter to represent you?” I ask next.

     “No, Hael actually picks the dogs that will properly represent us and we’ll share names. Hael gave me Hunter when he was still a puppy. I grew up with him and saw similarities, so I think Hael chose the right one,” Damien answers while he continued driving.

     “Wow, I don’t know if my uncle is a genius or an idiot, but what he did is quite impressive,” I say, making Damien chuckle. “But I do want to know why he did all this. Like, why did he decide to make an association like the companion’s association.”

     Damien saw the confused look on my face, so he glances at me and tells me, “Did you know that Hael actually discovered EXRay Media with Herbert?”

     “W-What did you just say?” I ask in shock.

     I was about to ask if he was joking, but then I remembered the magazines that were in our old house. We always had exclusive magazines and limited copies from EXRay Media. Was this the reason behind it?

     “Hael told me once that when he was working with Herbert, he realized how dull his life was. He got tired of writing about the exciting lives of the people they featured, and so he decided to make the association,” Damien explains to me. If I didn’t know anything, I would have never believed it.

     “I didn’t know uncle had such a connection with the chairman.”

     “Well, they were close with each other. That might also be the reason why he paid for your school debt when he heard about it from Neilson.”

     “Wait, my benefactor wasn’t Jonathan?” I ask, and Damien shakes his head, almost leaving me speechless.

     “Then it really means that I only got the job in EXRay Media because of Herbert and my uncle. And here I thought I was an amazing writer,” I say, now feeling a bit down.

      “Hey, don’t worry little pup,” Damien says as he reaches out to touch my hand, “Herbert actually told me that he’d fire you if you were terrible at it. You’re still working there, right? Then you’re good at what you do, so don’t worry about it.”

     “Is that so?” I ask, and Damien nods his head in answer.

     I sighed in relief and looked out of the window again while Damien tightly held onto my hand. My head was a little clearer now. For a while, I thought I already knew my uncle, but after finding out more about the empire he built, I feel like I started to know him better too. I’m glad that I met Hunter, Damien, Jonathan, and the other people who were with my uncle. I feel much closer now to my uncle compared to before.

     “Oh yeah, Damien, I still haven’t asked you about this, but…why were you with my uncle? You told me you were with him since you were young, right? Did something happen to you or your family? Did they know my uncle too?”

     I thought it was a harmless question, but as soon as I asked it, Damien suddenly pulls his hand away from me. He doesn’t say anything, but then his hands tighten around the steering wheel.

     “D-Damien, are you okay?” I ask. “You don’t need to answer if you don’t want to,” I then tell him. Damien couldn’t look at me, almost like he was scared. It was completely different from the other questions I asked him. Something definitely happened to him in the past, and I think it’s wise if I don’t pry on it for now.

     “Baby, you can stop the car,” I tell him when I noticed that his hands were now trembling.

     Damien finally steps on the brakes, and the car stops in an instant. I took a deep breath and reached out so I could force him to face me. Damien still tries to look away, but I grabbed his hand and tightly held onto it. “If there are things that you still cannot share with me, then it’s alright. You’re not required to tell me everything now, okay?” I say, and Damien gulps and nods his head.

     I couldn’t help but stare at him with pity. Damien looked like a terrified kid, almost like the time I left him during the rain.

     “I’ll drive this time,” I tell him since he looked like he’s going to cry if he continues driving. “Thank you for telling me about the association. For now, you can rest. This is a long straight road anyway so I’ll just wake you if there’s a different path.”

     Damien doesn’t argue with me as we switch seats. I stared at him as he leaned his head on the headrest, closing his eyes to ease himself. I started driving for us, but Damien still looked troubled, so I reached out and intertwined my fingers with his, and Damien squeezes my hand back.

     I sighed in relief as I continued driving in silence.

     Damien slowly relaxed and eventually fell asleep. The drive took about two more hours. I stopped at a gas station once and bought us sandwiches and water bottles. I checked Damien’s wound to make sure it was healing. He then took a bite of our sandwiches, told me where I have to go next, and then I continued driving.

Three more hours passed, and my body was starting to ache. But after reaching a certain point, I realized that there were railroad tracks in front of us. Hunter told me to wake him up when I see the tracks, so I slowly stopped the car and looked at Damien, shaking his body so he could finally wake up.

     “Damien, wake up. We’re here” I say, and Damien slowly opens his eyes to look at me. He scratches his eyes and looks around. “We’re already close by. Let me drive for us now. Thank you for driving for us baby,” he then says, leaning close and giving me a quick kiss on the lips like he didn’t have a mental breakdown a couple of hours ago.

     “You sure you’ll be alright?” I ask, and Damien just nodded his head before stepping out of the car.

     The two of us switch places again. When Damien got to the driver’s seat, he puts on his seatbelt and held onto the steering wheel.

     “Drive slow okay?” I tell him, and Damien nodded his head before driving past the tracks.

     The two of us were quiet as Damien drove us for thirty more minutes. After a while, the road ends, and we eventually arrive at an area that was all dirt and grass fields.

     “Where are we?” I ask.

     Damien doesn’t answer, but then I notice a small town in a distance. There were a few old houses, an aesthetically pleasing bar, and even a police station. Who would have thought that we’d find something like this here?

     “Dane…welcome to my hometown,” Damien suddenly tells me as we finally arrived at this small community. Kids spotted us and started running towards our car. Damien parks in front of the police station as more people started crowding us. But what surprised me more was that they started cheering his name.

     “Damien’s back!” One of the kids shouted.

     There were dozens of people waving at him like he was some kind of world-renowned star who came back home to find his roots. It was a bit strange for me, but Damien was smiling from ear to ear. I could tell how happy he was. I couldn’t help but smile now too. I’m glad he’s feeling better now after what happened in the car a couple of hours ago.

     “Look how big they are now,” Damien says while looking at the kids.

     I looked around at the town, my heart fluttering a little. This was where Damien grew up. This is where he made friends, where he probably got hurt after running around in the dirt and just experienced most of his firsts. For him to bring me here makes me feel really happy.

     “Okay now, move away. Let’s give Damien some space,” someone suddenly says, making the kids move.

     “Come on, let’s go,” Damien then says as he steps out of the car first. He opens the door for me, and as soon as I stepped out of the car, everyone automatically started staring at me like I was an alien.

     “Hi…” I awkwardly say.

     I tried to remove my hand from Damien since he was still holding onto it, but Damien wouldn’t let go. He wasn’t even embarrassed to let the people in his hometown see him holding hands with a guy like me.

     “There’s my boy!”

     People moved aside as an older man holding onto a cane walked towards us. The moment Damien saw him, his face instantly brightens up.

     “Uncle Vic!” Damien calls out, finally letting go of my hand so he could hug him.

     Uncle Vic? So Damien still has relatives after all. For a second I thought he was an orphan like me.

     “You look better than when I saw you eight years ago,” his uncle said, surprising me because my own uncle died eight years ago too. Should I be paying attention to that detail or is it just pure coincidence?

     “And based on your description, this must be Dane Andrew McCartney,” the old man then says, looking at me this time.

     I quickly went to him and shook his hand, but instead of taking it, Damien’s uncle pulls me in and hugs me as well. I didn’t know why he was suddenly hugging me like this, but then he tells me, “Thank you so much…for everything you and your uncle have done for my nephew.”

     “Y-you’re welcome?” I confusingly ask back.

     “I’ve been dying to see you. When Damien still went to visit here, all he would talk about is that college student who liked cheesecakes so much. You’re practically a local celebrity in this town,” Damien’s uncle says, embarrassing me in an instant. I looked at Damien with annoyance, but he only laughed it off.

     “Oh, I almost forgot to introduce myself. My name is Victor Collins, the mayor of this very small town,” uncle Vic introduces. “Now follow me. I know you two are tired from that long drive.”

    The people around us finally moved aside as Victor leads the way.

     “Come on babe,” Damien then tells me, reaching out to grab my hand again. I didn’t know if his uncle heard that or not, but I couldn’t help but feel shy.

     “ Please don’t do this to me, “ I whisper, and Damien just smiles as the two of us finally follow his uncle.

     “By the way, welcome to Rivermounth. We might not be on the maps, but we’re an active town. The founders of this town were a group of hunters, which is why a few of us still hunt despite how modern our world is now,” Victor explains.

     It’s an interesting history, but what really got my attention was the fact that the people here were hunters. Was that the reason why my uncle named the dog Hunter? Has my uncle been here before? I should have asked Damien if he named the dog or if my uncle did. It would have been very helpful.

     “Here we are,” Victor says as we stop in front of a house that’s beside this beautiful lake that overlooked the mountains. I couldn’t help but stare at it. This was no doubt the best location in the town.

     “Now follow me. We’ll serve you some of Lilith’s famous stew,” Victor then tells us, walking inside the house first while Damien and I followed behind him. “Lilith! Damien’s back! Prepare the stew!”

     “ Who’s Lilith? Your aunt ?“ I whisper to Damien as we got inside.

     “ No, she’s the cook. “

     “Please take a seat and make yourselves at home. It’s not much, so I hope you don’t mind Mr. McCartney,” Victor then says as he gestures at the dining table.

     “No, it’s a very beautiful home, thank you for having me here. And Day would be fine,” I tell him with a sincere smile, and Victor smiles back as the three of us finally took a seat, Damien removing his hand from me so he could pull my chair for me like a true gentleman.

     “So…Day…I’m guessing you know the entire situation by now,” Victor tells me as he removes his hat.

     “Well, not entirely.”

     “It’s only natural that they wouldn’t tell you everything. if I was in your uncle’s shoes, I would have done the same,” he explains, and I don’t know what look I was making, but Victor sighs and grabs my hand to hold it, almost like a sign of comfort.

     “We owe everything to Hael. He’s the kindest man who has ever visited us, and if it weren’t for his kindness, Damien would have—”

     “Uncle please stop,” Damien suddenly interrupts, surprising us. “Whatever you’re planning to say next, I beg you to not continue.”

     “What are you talking about?” Victor confusingly asks.

     “I…” Damien pauses and clenches his fist before looking away from us. “I haven’t told him everything yet,” Damien reveals, but instead of being shocked, Victor acted like he already expected it.

    “Why am I not even surprised that you haven’t told him that? You’re still a coward like the last time you visited,” Victor suddenly says, looking completely disappointed.

     “I get to tell him, not you,” Damien fires back, now looking at his uncle with an intimidating look. But Victor wasn’t backing away as he looked back at Damien too, showing him who was the boss in this house. For an old man like him, he looks like he’s going to beat your ass if you challenge him in a fight. I guess intimidation is a Collins family trait.

     “E-Excuse me…” I try to say as the two continued to stare at each other. I thought the two would start throwing punches, but then a woman appears and announces, “Stew’s ready!”

     Thank you, Lilith! You’re a lifesaver.

     “My apologies,” Victor says before clearing his throat. “We should eat first.”

     Lilith puts this large pot in front of us and starts handing us bowls and spoons. As she was serving the stew for us, I glance at Damien who wasn’t smiling anymore like last time. What is it that Damien is even afraid of sharing with me? Now I’m starting to be curious myself.

     “By the way, I hope it’s not a rude question,” Victor says as he looks at me this time.

     “What is it?” I grabbed a glass and started pouring water into it so I could have a drink. While drinking, Victor suddenly asks me, “How long have you been together with my nephew here?” The question came as such a surprise that I ended up spitting the water out. Damien had to grab a napkin so he could wipe my mouth for me.

     “I am so sorry,” I say as I started wiping the table as well.

     Victor chuckles at my reaction, but thankfully he didn’t mind my bad manners.

     “It’s fine. I was just curious,” he says.

     “W-Well, we’ve been together for barely three months now,” I explain. Since Damien doesn’t seem to be afraid of telling the entire town about our relationship, I might as well just say it with confidence now.

     “He’s actually my fiancé,” Damien casually reveals, surprising not only his uncle but Lilith as well.

     “Really?! Then when’s the wedding?!” Victor excitedly asks us, and his excitement made me smile. I then look at Damien and grabbed his hand under the table, squeezing it before smiling at him as well. I never really met Todd’s family properly because they didn’t approve of us. They didn’t like how I “ made him gay, “ so we never talked about them. Having someone’s family to support our relationship like this was definitely refreshing and heart-warming.

     “Anyway, as much as I want to know the full details, I know that you two came here for a different reason,” Victor says this time, making Damien and I look at each other before looking back at him.

     “You’re here for the suitcase, right?” Victor then asks, and I furrow my brows in complete confusion.

     “The suitcase?”

     “That’s right,” Victor says before looking back at Damien. “You’re here for the Will & Testament, just like Hael predicted.”

TO BE CONTINUED

(29) Childhood

🐾     

“W-WAIT, HE HAS IT? Your uncle has the will?” I ask in shock, looking at Victor before looking back at Damien. Damien takes a deep breath and nods his head to confirm it. “Eight years ago, when Hael died, his lawyer gave me the suitcase and told me to hide it with all my life. The only place I could think of that the association knows nothing about is here.”

     “Don’t worry, I don’t know the code so I never got to open it,” Victor then says, making me widen my eyes in shock.

     7 2 8

     “When Hael went here sixteen years ago, he told me that he was slowly losing control of the association. He wanted to make things work, especially since he finally took custody of you, but things just didn’t go in his favor,” Victor explains, surprising me because I didn’t expect my uncle to have been here such a long time ago.

     I was literally ten years old at that time. I think that was the time I started living with him.

     “Why did he come here though?” I finally ask.

     Victor glances at Damien, but then he looks back at me and tells me, “You’ll know why,” he says. “Hopefully very soon.”

     Damien glares at his uncle but thankfully doesn’t say anything, so Victor takes a sip of the stew before standing from his seat. “I’ll be right back,” he tells us before walking away. As soon as Victor was gone, I quickly looked at Damien and whispered to him, “ Babe, the will and testament is just inside a fucking suitcase ?“

     “ That’s right. Hael thought that the best place to hide the will is in a suitcase, “ Damien whispers back.

     “Well that’s just fucking great,” I sarcastically answer, shoving my mouth with stew so I could feel better. I thought it would be in some kind of volt, or maybe in a sealed box at least. But a suitcase? My uncle really is crazy.

     “It’s a good thing I still kept it,” Victor says when he walked back to the dining room. I thought he brought the suitcase with him, but to my surprise, it was actually a key. He walks closer to the table and places the key in front of Damien, surprising him.

     “Is that—”

     “That’s right. That’s the key to your old house. The suitcase is in your father’s room, and rest assured, it has been safe there for all those years,” Victor answers as Damien takes the key to check it. I don’t know the reason behind his expression, but I couldn’t help but notice the sad smile he gave when he stared at it.

     “Thank you, uncle,” he says before standing from his seat. “Dane, we should head there now.”

     “Wait, let me at least finish the food that Lilith prepared for us. You should eat first too. I think that suitcase can wait,” I quickly tell him.

     “He’s right Damien. Finish your food first. I know you both have something important to do, but at least relax while you’re here. Show Day around town and introduce him to the locals. I bet they’ll be thrilled to meet him,” Victor then says, which excited me more than Damien did.

     Damien looked like he was about to decline his uncle’s suggestion, but when he saw the smile on my face, he sighs and massages his temple. “I guess you’re right. Let’s finish eating and then I’ll show you around.”

     I thanked Damien as he sat back down in his seat. Victor sat on his chair as well, and the three of us continued eating together. Lilith even brought roasted potatoes to match, which made the meal better. This was the first time I’d tasted something so homey. It didn’t just make my stomach full but my heart warm as well.

     “By the way, I ask Lilith to clean your old house from time to time, so you two could sleep there for the night. I’ll just give you some fresh clean bedsheets and pillowcases, and then you’ll be good to go,” Victor tells us.

     I was about to thank Victor for his kind gesture, but as I was about to do so, I suddenly saw the perverted grin that Damien was trying to hide, almost making me choke on the food because I knew exactly what he was thinking at that very moment.

     “ Damien, you’re seriously a fucking idiot. “

…

“Your hair looks cool and spiky,” this kid tells me while I was squatting on the ground so he could easily touch it.

     “Well, it’s like that because I haven’t washed it yet. That’s why it’s now flying everywhere,” I explained to him, and the kid giggled and touches it for the last time before running off to join his friends.

     After eating lunch with Damien’s uncle, Damien walked me around town and confidently introduced me to the townspeople as his fiancé, which I was very happy about. I’m not going to lie, it was embarrassing at first, but I eventually got a hang of it.

     We practically walked around the whole day, so we decided to make our last stop at the playground where the kids happily greeted us. It’s good that they were raised right too because when Damien told me that I was going to be his future husband, the kids didn’t find it weird. Instead, they started fighting over who will be the flower girl and the ring bearer.

     “Mr. McCartney,” a little girl then calls out as she approaches me. I looked at her and smiled, and then the girl starts playing with the hem of her dress before asking, “Do you hunt too like my dad?”

     “Hunt? No, I don’t. But I am a team leader and an editor at a very famous magazine company,” I excitedly tell her. I thought the little girl would ask me about it, but then she frowns at me and runs away, making me sigh.

    “Looks like even kids find my job boring,” I say out loud, and Damien—who was watching me do a terrible job with the kids—laughs at me before grabbing my hand so he could help me stand.

    “You’re bad at kids, aren’t you?”

     “Kids are such a gem,” I say as I sat on the swing, taking a deep breath as I watched them play around. “But they’re not accessories that will make someone look good. They need proper attention and care. I can’t say I’m bad with them, but if I did have one, then I’ll try my best to raise them right.”

     Damien walks towards me and stood by my side, watching over the kids too.

     “That’s good to know. Our kids will definitely grow up and become amazing adults in the future, just like their dads,” Damien casually declares, making me look back at him in shock.

     Our kids. He just casually said our kids.

     “Why? Do you not want to have kids with me?” Damien innocently asks when he saw my reaction, and honestly, I would have started bawling my eyes out if no one was around to see me.

    “Of course I do!” I quickly tell him, making him chuckle.

     Damien walks in front of me and holds onto my cheeks, raising my head up so I could face him. He looks around to make sure no one was watching us, so when he saw that the coast was clear, he quickly leans towards me and presses his lips to mine.

     I was surprised, but I leaned towards him and kiss him back too, making the two of us chuckle like we were some kind of high school love birds.

     “You seriously make me so happy,” he then tells me, and so I wrapped my arms around his waist and hugged him. Damien pats my head, but then he groans in pain, making me look at him with narrow eyes. “Hey, the kind lady from the other house already added medicine to your wound. And besides, it’s partially healed now too so you can’t pretend like it still hurts.”

     Damien pouts, but then I hugged him again, leaning my head on his stomach so I could feel his warmth better.

     While the two of us were practically flirting with each other, the moms arrived at the playground and started calling for their kids so they could head back home.

     “The sun is setting, we should go,” Damien says as I finally let go of him before getting off the swing. “Uncle told us that we’ll have dinner at 7. It’s still a bit early so it’s best if we check the house first,” he then adds, and I nodded my head and grabbed his hand so we could walk to his old house together.

     While we were walking, I intertwined our fingers together and told him, “This place is really nice Damien. I could see why you adore this town so much.”

     “My family and I grew up here,” he says. and before I could even ask him about them, he quickly tells me, “And I hope, if you allow it, we could come back here from time to time too.”

    “I’d love that,” I say with a genuine smile.

    Damien glances at me and suddenly stops walking. I looked at him confusingly, but then he grabs both of my hands and looks straight at me with a serious expression. “When everything is okay, we’ll get married and have kids, and then we’ll watch them play around until the sun sets. Then we’ll eat dinner together and stay in their room until they fall asleep. After that, we’ll get freaky all night until the sun rises,” Damien tells me, making me laugh.

     “That sounds absolutely perfect.”

     “Just give me a little more time, okay Dane? I promise, I’ll make things right and make sure these aren’t empty promises,” he then tells me, and I nodded my head, assuring him that I’ll wait no matter what.

     Damien leans close and kisses my head for one last time. After that declaration, the two of us finally went to his house. I don’t know why, but I felt a little nervous. I know that no one’s probably home, but having Damien bring me to his own house is still nerve-racking.

     “Here we are,” he says, stopping in front of this green cottage house. There were plants surrounding the house, and the paint was a bit lighter now, but despite that, it felt nice and cozy.

     “It’s beautiful,” I say, and Damien couldn’t help but smile.

     “It looked better when I was young. It hasn’t been touched for a long time so it looks a bit old now, but you’re right, it still is beautiful,” he then says, walking up the porch that creaked on every step. Damien then pulls out the key from his pocket and finally opens the front door. He stepped inside first and turns the lights on, right after, he gestured at me to follow him, so I did.

     When I got inside, Damien closes the door behind me and says, “Welcome to the Collins Residence.”  

     I looked around and touched my chest which grew with envy. I don’t remember much about my childhood, but what I do remember is that my parents were strict with me. Our old house looked more like a hospital than it was a home. The only time I truly enjoyed my childhood was when I moved in with my uncle, but that still wasn’t as homey as this.

     “Looks like Lilith really does clean the house from time to time?” Damien says as the two of us walked down the hallway that had dozens of pictures on the wall.

     Based on the photos, it looked like Damien was an only child. He had multiple pictures with this man who had the same smile as his. Then there was this woman who was holding onto a baby. Other than pictures with the other man, there were no other pictures of her on the wall.

     “Damien, may I ask you something?” I ask as I continued to stare at the pictures.

     “What is it?”

     “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, but…your parents…where are they now?” I finally asked, turning back to look at him.

     Damien, who was also staring at the picture, becomes completely silent. He had this sad smile on his face, so I immediately told him, “I’m sorry, that must have been an insensitive question.”

     “No, it’s fine,” he says as he looks back at me. “My mother, the woman in the picture, died when I was still a baby because of breast cancer. I never really got to meet her, but my dad said that she was a wonder.”

     “And your dad?”

     Damien becomes silent again, looking back at a picture of a man who was leaning on a truck. He stares at the picture for a while before taking a deep breath. “This is him, he says.”

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/38adf79840455efdb6073e50604e9ad61d6635e0/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f4a65785041536c66686b6e4c77513d3d2d3531383239393933372e313732313465613166336162393361623938313434343831383135312e706e67)

     “He died a long time ago too in an accident,” he shares with me, trying his best not to shed a tear. I reached out to touch Damien’s shoulder. I was worried that he was going to start experiencing a traumatic episode again, so I immediately tried to lighten up the mood as I pointed at a different photo of a kid who was jumping toward the lake.

     “Is this you?” I ask him instead, and thankfully, the grim look on Damien’s face changes as he gives me a smile, looking at the photo that I was now pointing at.

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/473eda7bd827d1b6f1075e751a56d9ceb2921a83/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f36536d50303562614670704e56413d3d2d3531383239393933372e313732313465613466393636663466343632363930353236353238352e706e67)

     “Damn, that’s such an old photo. I think I was about…12? I’m not even sure. I was at the lake with some of my friends. This was after classes too. A few miles from here there’s another town where you can find the school. All the kids in Rivermounth go to school there,” Damien explains to me, probably remembering his time as a kid because he wouldn’t stop smiling.

     “Anyway, we should head upstairs and check that suitcase,” Damien then says, but I grabbed his hand and told him, “For tonight, can we forget about that and just enjoy ourselves? Let’s check the suitcase tomorrow. I trust your uncle, and I’m sure it’s safe in your father’s room.”

     Damien looked hesitant, but he nods his head anyway and tells me, “Alright, if that’s what you want then let’s rest for now.”

     “Thank you, Damien.”

     “We should also take a bath first. Which means you have to remove that,” he then says, gesturing at the band-aid on my finger. Damien was about to remove it for me, but I immediately hid my hand behind my back, surprising him. “What are you doing?” He asks, trying his best not to laugh at my reaction. “Don’t tell me you’re going to take a bath with that.”

     “Then give me a new one after,” I tell him like a spoiled kid, and Damien finally started laughing at me.

     I crossed my arms and looked at him angrily, so Damien stops laughing and just grabs me by the waist, pulling me towards him so I could hug him. “You are way too adorable Mr. McCartney,” he says. “If you’re going to act like this then I’ll give you all the band-aids in the world. All you have to do is marry me.”

     “We already established that, didn’t we?” I asked him, and Damien smiles and hugs me for one last time before finally letting go of me.

     “Anyway, let’s go to my room,” he then says, heading upstairs first as I followed behind him. When we got to the second floor, Damien stops at a door that had a sign that said, “Cool kids only.” There were also different stickers and doodles on it. Before I could even make a comment, Damien immediately looks at me and says, “Don’t judge.”

     I ended up chuckling as the two of us entered the room. As soon as we got inside, Damien opened the lights and I was instantly welcomed by a bedroom that had blue wallpaper. I couldn’t help but let my heart flutter. 

     This was Damien’s bedroom.

     There was a single bed, boxes that contained old comics and action figures, old posters on the wall, an old television, and even a gaming console. For some reason, this wasn’t the bedroom that I was expecting to see.

     “I can’t believe you were a nerd,” I teased, making Damien pinch my nose. I was about to pinch him back, but someone suddenly started knocking on the door downstairs.

     “That must be Lilith with the clean bedsheets. Wait here,” Damien says, running downstairs to open the door. As I was left alone in the bedroom, I walked around the room and decided to look through his things. I even looked at his dresser to check his clothes like a stalker. Compared to his physic now, these clothes were definitely small. I wouldn’t even imagine that these were owned by him.

     “It’s crazy how Damien had a life that I knew nothing about,” I say, closing the dresser and walking towards the window that had a stunning view of the river and the mountains. Staring at the scenery made me feel calm inside in an instant. If I was given a choice, I’d love to stay here with Damien instead.

     “The view looks amazing, doesn’t it?” Damien suddenly asks, immediately making me turn around.

     Damien walks back inside the room holding bedsheets and pillowcases. There were also fresh clothes and towels, which I’m assuming is for us.

     “Let me help you with that,” I say as I was about to grab the bedsheets, but Damien immediately moves his hand away from me and says instead, “No, I’ll do it. You should take a shower first. The bathroom is on the left side, you won’t miss it.”

     “Oh, okay.”

     It’s not like I was hoping to shower with him, so why do I sound disappointed?

     “ You were totally expecting to shower with him ,“ my inner conscience suddenly replies to me, immediately making me grab the clothes and the towel so I could run to the bath. The water was cold, but it was better than having nothing. 

     After taking a shower and calling myself off, I went back to the bedroom and saw Damien sitting on the floor and reading old comics. He was also able to place the bedsheets for us too like a good soon-to-be-husband.

     “What are you reading?” I asked, drying my hair with the towel.

     “Just some marvel comics,” he says, putting the comics down and standing from the floor to face me. “I had a strange life, but I’m lucky to still have a childhood where I was able to enjoy.”

    “I’m glad to hear that,” I say before handing him the towel.

    “Well, I gotta go take a shower now too. You can look through the boxes, but beware, you might end up finding adult magazines there,” he then says before laughing like a pervert.

     “Idiot,” I tell him, and Damien finally heads out of the room to take a bath. As soon as he closed the door, I sighed and threw myself onto the bed so I could sulk. Looks like Damien has no desire to do it with me. I know we’re both tired, and we’re trying to stay alert since someone’s chasing after us. Damien’s been shot too, but still, I told him that we should enjoy the night. Didn’t he get what I meant by that? And wasn’t he smirking back at Victor’s house when his uncle mentioned that we’ll be staying here for the night? What was that about then?

     Wait, does Damien not desire me anymore? When he saw the kids earlier, did he realize that being with a girl is actually better? Now that I think about it, I never really asked about Damien’s sexual preferences. I know that he’s not required to tell me if he doesn’t want to, but it’s natural to want to know when we’re literally planning to get married, right?

     Has Damien liked guys since he was young? Or did he just force himself to like it for the sake of his job as a companion? Will the people in town think that I made him gay like Todd’s family did? Did I end up confusing him?

     “Ah shit, I’m starting to think of unnecessary things again even when I’m certain that Damien isn’t thinking this way,” I say in frustration, burying my face in the pillow so I could calm down. Have I always been this insecure about myself? Todd was originally straight before we got together, but I wasn’t like this. I wasn’t afraid that he’d start preferring girls again while he was with me, but now it just feels different.

     As I try to clear my mind, I moved my head and suddenly spot a bag peaking under the dresser. I stared at it for a while before standing from the bed and grabbing it. The bag was a bit dusty so I was expecting it to be his old school bag, but when I unzipped it, my mouth opened wide in complete shock.

     Inside the bag were rated magazines.

     “Damien wasn’t joking?” I ask in shock, pulling one of the magazines out of the bag. I went back to the bed to check the magazines. I was expecting to see a hot woman on the cover like what normal teenage boys would have, but to my surprise, a half-naked man welcomed me at the front cover.

     I immediately looked at the issue and saw that this magazine was published sixteen years ago, so it means that Damien has been looking at gay magazines since he was a teenager, which means that Damien could possibly be…like me.

     I couldn’t help but smile at how Damien was able to explore his sexuality at such a young age. I think at this age, I was still pretending to like girls because I didn’t want people to damn me for it. I didn’t want others to know that I liked reading fashion magazines while the guys in school read comics. I didn’t even dare look at magazines like these. I only really started going full out when I got to college.

     “I envy your confidence, Damien,” I say as I opened the magazine to check the contents.

     The magazine contained different men who made sexy and provocative poses. I was used to this because I’d been to photoshoots that had sexual concepts, so I looked at the magazine like I was checking my drafts. But as I was scanning the magazine, the thought of Damien looking at the same thing suddenly made me feel hot inside.

     Did he look at this magazine with curiosity?

     Did he scan it while jerking off?

     My perverted thoughts consumed me as I thought of Damien sitting in this very bed, staring at the same magazine that I was holding while he pleasured himself.

    My body starts feeling hot, and without even thinking about it, I placed a pillow in between my thighs and slowly started caressing my growing bulge on its soft surface.

     I dropped the magazine on the ground and closed my eyes as I hump the pillow in complete ecstasy. But just when I was about to put my hands inside my pants, I suddenly felt a large figure standing beside me.

     I quickly turned my head and saw Damien staring at me, wearing a towel to cover his lower area. I was about to get off the pillow, but then he tells me, “Why’d you stop little pup? Go on, show daddy what you were doing.”

TO BE CONTINUED

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/5cabb310bf1a98de25ebf64d1b68421ea9fb29ac/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f4b65415a61654f387850373043413d3d2d3531383239393933372e313732313332646664363635646261383236313639363237313930372e676966)

(30) Playtime [m]

🐾

  DAMIEN STARES AT ME with his intimidating cold blue eyes. I could feel my entire face heating up from complete embarrassment, but before I could even say a single word, Damien walks towards me and grabs the magazine that I was checking before he arrived.

     “So you really did find these,” he says with a chuckle. “Did you get horny after checking these guys out? I feel a little jealous Dane.”

     “ I wasn’t, “ I shyly whisper under my breath, and Damien leans closer to me so he could hear me better. “What did you say?” he asks, making me bite my lower lip.

     When Damien saw my reaction, he smirks and grabs a chair. I didn’t know what he was going to do with it, but then he places it in front of me and takes a seat, directly giving him a view of the bed.

     “Well then, since it’s come to this, let’s continue,” he tells me, making me gulp. “Remove your pants and your underwear for me little pup.”

     I felt so embarrassed that I thought I wouldn’t be able to move, but like my hands had minds of their own, I started removing my pants and underwear as Damien instructed. For a moment I felt like I was under his full control.

     When I was now naked below, Damien stares at my throbbing cock and licks his lips. “If you ask me, this is way better than any of the magazines I read when I was young.”

     “ Damien… “

     “Don’t call my name like that baby. You gotta show me what you were doing first,” Damien says, suddenly opening his legs wide so I could take a peak of his growing bulge. If he moves a little more, his towel would probably fall and I’ll be able to see everything.

     “Come on now. Let me see.”

     I could feel the sweat trailing down the side of my forehead, but as I stare at Damien’s eyes, my body heats up again, and I finally lower my exposed dick on the pillow, pushing it deeper so I could feel it better. The contact left a shiver down my spine as I finally started moving my hips, staring at Damien and imagining that he was the one that was under me.

     I continued to shamelessly hump the pillow, but the longer I did it, the more my insides started to itch. So while I moved forward and back, I started sucking my fingers, making sure to cover them with my saliva. When it was wet enough, I slowly reached out to my behind and gently slid a finger inside my entrance, the action making me gasp.

     “S-Shit…” I say as I started putting the second finger in.

     When both fingers were now inside, I began to play with myself while I continued to ride the pillow, Damien still staring at me as I did so.

     “Ah, Damien…Damien…” I repeatedly called out.

     Damien continues to stare at me with great intensity as I played with myself, but as I start to grow tired, Damien finally stands from his seat, the towel around him falling to the ground, making him completely naked. I didn’t even notice how hard he was now.

     “ My turn. “

     Without any warning, Damien stands behind me and pushes a finger in while my fingers were still inside. I gasped as my tight hole stretches at his contact. “S-Shit…daddy…” I moaned, Damien pushing his fingers even deeper inside, thrusting so hard I thought I’d faint.

     “Getting horny over pictures of other men? I should seriously punish you for that,” Damien says in annoyance. I turned my head to look at him, but before I could even explain myself, he aggressively grabs my cheeks and kisses me. He pushes his tongue inside, making me taste this minty flavor in his mouth.

     When he pulled away from the kiss, the two of us finally pulled our fingers out, making my entire body shiver.

     “Daddy, I feel so empty inside, please give me a bigger one,” I start begging, almost making Damien growl like a hungry beast in heat.

     “My little pup’s acting too obedient tonight,” he says as he positions his cock in my hole. He teases my entrance, lightly pushing himself but never putting it in. I couldn’t help but clench the bedsheets in irritation.

     “Please put it in now,” I demand to him this time, making Damien laugh.

      When I thought he was going to put it in now, Damien moves away from me and suddenly takes his wallet that was on the side table. He pulls something out from it, and to my surprise, it was a condom. “For emergencies,” he cheekily says, biting the sachet to open it. He then walks back to the bed, standing just at the edge of it before saying, “Can you put it on for me?”

     I didn’t even hesitate as I turned to face him. I grabbed the condom from his hand and pull it out from the sachet. Without looking at him, I grabbed his hard cock and confidently wore the slimy condom on him like a glove. As soon as it was secured, Damien pushes me back so I could lie on the bed this time.

     “Thank you, darling,” he says with this hot fucking grin that it almost made me cum then and there.

     Damien lifts both of my legs up and rests them on his shoulders. He positions himself at my entrance, and finally, he starts pushing himself in, making me bite my lower lip. Even if we do it every day, I feel like I’ll never get used to his size.

     “You’re so tight baby,” he says, pushing himself even deeper. “Did you not play with toys while daddy was away?”

     “I was…too…b-busy…there wasn’t any…t-time,” I try to tell him.

     “Good.”

     Damien pushes himself in one last time until my body trembles. After that struggle, he was finally inside. After his suspension, this was the first time I felt him inside me again. This sort of connection always left me in great ecstasy.

     “ So fucking good, “ Damien mumbles to himself as he started thrusting inside me, fucking up my insides until the bed started moving. I was afraid that the bed might break, but thankfully it still had the strength to hold us.

     “Tongue…stick your tongue out for me,” he then commands, and I did what I was told and stuck my tongue out for him. Damien doesn’t say anything anymore as he leans toward me. Then, he starts sucking my tongue, making my body feel even hotter.

     He slowly pulled and pushed himself in while he continued to suck my tongue. When he pulled away, he grabbed my cock this time and started stroking it for me.

     “W-Wait, Damien, if you touch me like that…I’ll cum,” I warn him, but Damien didn’t care. He continued to jerk me off while he moved even faster, matching the pace of his hand in every thrust. I stared at the ceiling as my entire body moves to his beat. I could literally die right now because of how good I felt at this very moment.

     “ Daddy, more…I want more. “

     “Ah shit, you’re so sexy, Dane. Your body…your heart…everything…you have to give it all to me,” Damien tells me.

     I looked back at Damien and reached out to touch his face. I then draped my arms around his neck and pulled him lower so our lips could touch. “ It’s already all yours, “ I whisper to him before pressing my lips to his.

     Damien lets go of my cock as the two of us continued kissing. After one final thrust, Damien’s body shakes and he quickly pulls his mouth away from me so he could cum. Thankfully he had a condom on so cleaning up won’t be a pain.

     After our loud moans, the room falls completely silent, almost like a storm finally ended.

     “Fuck…that felt fucking good,” Damien says, slowly pulling away from me as the two of us were panting heavily. I thought Damien was going to put my leg down, but to my surprise, he grabbed my cock and started jerking me off again. After a few seconds, I took a deep breath and released my seed, the hot fluid dripping on Damien’s hand.

     “Shit, that was hot. I should do that to you more often,” Damien says, finally letting go of me before removing the condom. “You make me feel so good Dane. Even I’m starting to get scared,” he then tells me, making me laugh.

     “Alright, let me tidy up.”

     Damien started cleaning up, even putting away the pillow that I was grinding on earlier while I continued lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling as I tried to catch my breath. When Damien finished washing his hands and was now wearing clothes, he went back to me next and started cleaning me too with a wet cloth. After that, he puts my underwear and pants on for me until I was fully clothed again.

     “You want some water?” he asks, but I shook my head in response.

     “Is your injury okay? Did it start hurting?” I then ask him.

     “Don’t worry, it’s fine.” Damien joins me on the bed and leans towards me to kiss me on the forehead. He then stares at me, but I immediately look away from him, trying to hide my face with a pillow.

     “You’re still shy after everything you just said and did earlier?” Damien teases.

     “Shut up.”

     Damien chuckles and grabs me by the chin so I could look at him again. “You don’t have to be shy. When it’s just you and me, you can say and do anything you want. I’ll watch you as long as you want me to,” he says with a smile.

     I nod my head and reach out to touch his cheek. While I stared at his dreamy eyes, I clarified, “By the way, I wasn’t humping that pillow because I got horny from the men in the magazine. I got horny because I imagined you jerking off while looking at them.”

     Damien was silent for a while when he heard my explanation. I thought he was going to laugh at me, but then, my eyes widened from shock when saw his face turning red. Wait, is he fucking shy now too?

     “That’s not fair,” Damien tells me. “You made me horny again. Wanna fuck for the second time?”

     “Are you serious right now Nicholas?” I ask, but before we could actually even start doing it again, someone suddenly started knocking on the door downstairs, immediately making me sit back up.

     “ Damien! Dinner’s ready !“ a loud voice announces from downstairs.

     “Looks like Lilith came to fetch us,” Damien says as he stands from the bed as well.

     “We should go then,” I say as I walk towards the door. I was about to leave the room, but Damien suddenly grabs my hand and pulls me back to him. I didn’t know what he was trying to do, but then he puts something on my finger. I couldn’t help but slightly open my mouth in shock when I saw the band-aid.

    “Better?” he asks, lifting my hand closer to his mouth so he could kiss it. I couldn’t help but smile at him because of it. I love it when he verbally tells me he loves me, but these little things are what make me certain.

     “Now come on. I bet Lilith made the best dishes again. You’re definitely gonna love them,” Damien says as the two of us walked down the stairs together.

     “Maybe I should ask Lilith to help me cook some of those dishes. I think our children would love home-cooked meals better,” I then tell him, and Damien smiles from ear to ear and nods his head in approval.

     “I’d love that.”

TO BE CONTINUED

(31) Time To Go

🐾 

“WHEN EVERYTHING IS OKAY,

we’ll get married and have kids, and then we’ll watch them play around until the sun sets. Then we’ll eat dinner together and stay in their room until the sun sets. After that, we’ll get freaky all night until the sun rises.“

     “That sounds absolutely perfect.”

     “Just give me a little more time, okay Dane? I promise I’ll make things right and make sure these aren’t empty promises.”

     …

     “DAMIEN!” someone suddenly shouts from outside the window. “Damien! You need to get out of bed right now!”

     I slowly opened my eyes after hearing the scream from outside the house. I nudged Damien who was sleeping beside me as he groaned and slowly got up from the bed to walk to the window, checking what the ruckus was all about.

     Damien and I were both out of it, still a little sleepy since the sun has barely even come out, but when Damien looked out of the window, the tired expression on his face immediately turned into shock, and my instincts instantly told me to stand as well.

     “Uncle Vic?” Damien confusingly asks, pushing the window open.

     I ran beside Damien and looked out of the window as well. Victor was standing outside the house looking like he witnessed something horrific.

     “What on earth is going on?” Damien confusingly asks, putting a shirt on before running downstairs. I quickly put my pants on as well, grabbing my wallet and shoving it inside my pocket before following Damien downstairs.

     Damien opened the front door for Victor, and Victor immediately went inside, locking the door and making sure no one else would be able to get in. “Have you opened the suitcase?” he quickly asked as Damien and I walked towards him.

     “No, not yet,” Damien answered.

     “Good.” Victor takes a deep breath and walks towards me, grabbing my shoulder tightly and saying, “Head out at the front door. A man named Abe will be waiting for you near the river. Take the suitcase with you and he’ll drive you back to the city.”

     “Wait, what’s going on?” I ask, trying not to panic.

    Victor lets go of me and clenched the cane that he was holding. “They’re here,” he says. “The association found you.”

     “What?!” Damien shouts, and all I could do was cover my mouth in shock.

     They’re here?

     How on earth did they find us?

     “That can’t be. No one knows about this place except for Hael and Jonathan. How were they able to—” Before Damien could even finish his sentence, we suddenly heard a gunshot, and then there were screams coming from a distance. My heart instantly sank when I heard it.

     “There’s not much time. Day, you have to leave now,” Victor tells me, but I was shaking my head in disapproval. Why is he telling me to run away alone? Why on earth does it sound like he wants me to leave Damien behind?

     “N-No, I can’t leave,” I say, my head now in a mess.

    Victor was about to say something to me, but Damien suddenly faces me and held onto both of my shoulders. “Baby, listen to me. You have to leave with the suitcase. You can find it in the other room, probably inside one of the cabinets. It’s the suitcase with the letters C and A engraved on it so you can’t miss it.”

     “Alright, now come with me.”

     “I can’t. I have to stay here, okay? I have to protect the people in Rivermounth, and I have to stall them so you could escape,” Damien explains, and my heart instantly drops.

      “No!” I shouted, pushing him away from me, but Damien grabs me and wraps his arms around me so I could calm down. Last night we were just holding onto each other dearly, and now…

     “I told you that I’ll protect you. I told you that I’ll make sure that nothing happens to you,” Damien says, hugging me even tighter as tears started streaming down my eyes.

     “Day needs to go now,” Victor then says, and Damien finally lets go of me.

     “Damien, please. We can escape together, we can—”

     “Dane,” he calls out, making me stop in an instant. I thought he was going to say something else to me, but instead, he grabs my cheeks and gives me a passionate kiss. As soon as he lets go, he presses his forehead on mine and whispers, “ I love you. “

     “ Damien… “

     “Now go!” he then shouts, and my body flinches as it immediately runs up the stairs, stumbling a little as I reached his father’s bedroom.

    I started opening the cabinets, throwing out the boxes, and checking where the suitcase was. As soon as I found it under a pile of books, I pulled the suitcase out and was ready to leave, but just when I was about to run out, I suddenly heard cars arrive outside the house, and I immediately squatted down, making sure no one sees me.

     “Good morning Hunter!” A voice cheerfully announces outside.

     I gulped and crawled towards the wall, sitting down and hiding just under the window since the room didn’t have any curtains. While I was contemplating whether or not I should just run out of the door and escape, my body wouldn’t move for some reason. My hands were shaking as I held onto the suitcase, and my heart was beating like crazy.

     “ Dane, please…move ,“ I whisper to myself as tears poured out of my eyes, but my feet still wouldn’t cooperate with me.

     “Hunter! Where are you my cute puppy?!” The voice continues to say.

     I thought that Victor and Damien would continue hiding inside the house, but then I heard the front door open, and as soon as I heard it, I quickly peeked out of the window, and like what I was afraid of, Damien and his uncle walked out of the house.

     There were about three vans parked outside, and men wearing the Companions Association uniform stood in front of the house holding guns. I couldn’t help but cover my mouth so I wouldn’t be able to make a sound.

     “There’s my naughty puppy,” a man standing in the middle says as Damien approaches him. He had this grin on his face when he looked at Hunter and compared to Jonathan, he looked more like a thug than a business.

     “It’s good to see you too pops,” he then tells Victor, but Victor spits on him in response. I thought the man would get mad, but he just laughs it off.

     “You gave us a hard time Hunter. Do you know how difficult it was to find this place? We had to torture Jonathan and kidnap his kid just so he could spill it out,” the man says, instantly sending chills down my spine.

     This man literally just said tortured and kidnapped in one sentence.

     “How dare you include Jonathan in this!” Damien angrily shouted.

     “Oh come on. You two have been working together, right? You should be thankful that we didn’t kill him yet. Well, if he didn’t give us information, maybe we would have,” the man then says before laughing sadistically.

     “Anyway, now that you’re here, where’s Hael’s nephew?” They then asked, immediately making me grip the suitcase that I was holding. “He’s here with you, right? I’m actually a little disappointed that you double-crossed us, Hunter. You could have lived the numbered days you had left with the man you love and die happy, and then we would have never touched him, but you just had to fuck it up.”

     “We both know that’s a lie. Even if you killed me, you would have killed Dane too,” Damien then answers back, and the big dog started laughing even more.

     “I’m feeling a little good today Hunter so who knows? Why don’t you try me and we’ll see?” he then tells him. “Now where is he? Just tell me where he is and we’ll leave this cute little town alone.”

     “I haven’t seen him since I left the party the other day.”

     “Oh come on now Hunter, we’re too old to be lying to each other. I know you brought Hael’s nephew here too,” he says, and I immediately looked away from the window and pressed my back against the wall to hide.

     “I told you, here’s not here,” Damien insisted, and the man no longer laughed.

     “Look, two things can go down here. One, I ask my men to raid every single house in this town and burn it to the ground, or two, I round the townspeople up and shoot them one by one so one of them could tell me the truth. What do you think?”

     “My people will never tell you where he is. They can keep their promise, unlike you people,” Damien fires back, and this time, the man chuckled.

     “You people? Oh, honey, we’re the reason why you’re here and not in jail so at least give us a little credit,” he then says, making me furrow my brows in confusion. What did he even mean by that?

     “I know Hael helped this town in order to protect his nephew, but Hael is fucking dead. You don’t have to keep your promise to a dead man. Only fools do such a thing, and I know you better than this Hunter, you’re not a fool,” the man tells him.

     “You don’t know me,” Damien replies. “And you don’t know Hael either. If you think that you’ll have your way until the very end then you’re dead wrong. You thought that you’d won, but there is a reason why you were labeled dogs…and he was called master.”

     “You sly son of a bitch!”

     As I was still hiding, I suddenly heard someone reloading their gun, and in an instant, everything around me stopped.

     “If I kill you, do you think your precious Dane would come out?”

     Kill him?

     They’re actually going to kill him?

     What am I supposed to do? Do I keep hiding? Do I just run away and leave Damien here? Do I just—

     “You’re an idiot!” I suddenly heard Damien shout, and my heart starts beating faster. “If you think he’ll come out because of something so stupid then you’re the fool. Dane is the rightful chairman of the Companions Association. He will lead Hael’s legacy and clean off the stain you bastards have left on it. So bark all you want. This time, you won’t be able to tame us.”

     All my doubts instantly disappears as soon as I heard him say all those things. It was almost like he knew that I was listening, and he had to make sure I hear it so that I wouldn’t feel doubtful anymore.

     So without any uncertainty, my body finally moved as I crawled out of the room. As soon as I was out of view, I headed downstairs and ran to the backdoor of the house as fast as I could, tears streaming down my eyes as I did so.

     My feet continued to move until I arrived at the river where a pickup truck was parked. A middle-aged man with a long beard and a cap was waiting for me there, and as soon as he saw me, he immediately opened the door.

     “Abe?”

     “Mr. McCartney, mayor Victor told me to drive you to the city, so hop on and I’ll safely drive you back. There’s a path here where they won’t spot us, but we need to hurry,” He says, and I nodded my head and got inside the car.

     Abe closes the door for me and heads to the driver’s seat. As soon as he started the engine, we got out there as fast as we could. I didn’t want to look back. I knew that if I did, I might end up forcing Abe to stop the car so I could run back to Damien. But running back to Damien would only make things worse, and I knew all that. I don’t want to waste Damien and Victor’s sacrifice either, so this is the best thing I can do for now.

     “They’ll be alright,” Abe suddenly says as we finally got out of town.

     “Everyone in Rivermounth is tough and can handle themselves well. A group of men with their little guns won’t be enough to scare them. As soon as they know you’re safe, I bet they’ll start taking out their shotguns and go savage on all of them. We’re hunters after all,” Abe explains, obviously trying to make me feel better.

     “Thank you,” I tell him with a smile before looking back at the suitcase that was sitting on my lap. The suitcase was a bit old and dusty, and it also had the CA initials engraved on it, just like what Damien said. It even had the logo on the back.

     “I can’t believe people will do anything for this thing,” I said before looking back at Abe. “Do you think…do you think they’ll kill him?”

     “I don’t think so,” Abe honestly answered. “Damien is the only connection they have of you so they won’t risk that. But I’m pretty sure that they’ll take him, and knowing Damien, he’ll come with them without a fight to protect the town.”

     Okay, maybe that’s better than actually getting him killed.

     But what now? Now that I have the suitcase, what on earth am I supposed to do? Where on earth am I going to go? Who am I even going to trust? I don’t know anyone else who would—

     Wait…

     “Chairman Herbert,” I immediately say, making Abe glance back at me. Damien mentioned that chairman Herbert was close with my uncle. He might know something and will be able to help me.

     “It’s settled. We’re heading to EXRay Media,” I say. “I’ll tell you the way.”

     Abe nods his head and speeds up.

     As we drove away from the peaceful town of Rivermounth, I looked out of the window and held onto the band-aid on my ring finger. This is the time when we stop pretending that everything’s okay because it’s not.

     If we want to have that wonderful future we’ve talked about together then I have to be strong. If Damien’s willing to protect me then I should be able to sacrifice too.

     I’m going to make sure that every promise will be kept…

     That’s what I’m going to believe.

TO BE CONTINUED

(32) Sacrifices

🐾

AFTER HOURS OF DRIVING, Abe and I finally arrived at the city. We were minutes away from EXRay Media, so I got myself ready as well. I know that the Association is already aware of my uncle’s connection with chairman Herbert Orlando, but with the situation that I’m in, I’m confident that they won’t think that I’ll hide here out of all places.

     “We’re finally close,” I say in relief before looking back at the suitcase. “When I arrive at the company, I’m going to open this suitcase. All I have to do is put the code and—” I immediately stopped myself when I felt something strange.

     Without wasting any second, I immediately looked at the opening, expecting to see a code, but to my surprise, there wasn’t any place to put on the code at all.

     “This is a fucking keyhole!” I shouted in shock.

     How could I have not noticed that all this time? I was so preoccupied with Damien that I didn’t even notice that this wasn’t going to open with a code at all. Damien didn’t even give me a fucking key!

     “A keyhole?” Abe asks, looking back at me confusingly.

     “The suitcase, it’s supposed to have a code like Victor said,” I explained as I showed him the suitcase.

     “Well, if push comes to shove then just break the thing. Wouldn’t that be easier?” Abe suggested, but for some reason, I have a bad feeling about it. If someone could just easily break this open, then why hasn’t anyone done it yet?

     “I don’t think destroying this is a good idea,” I say. “Someone would have easily done that already if it was possible,” I then explained, and Abe started touching his beard like he was thinking of something.

     “Well, you know those high-tech shit in movies where one guy tries to open a lock and the thing just explodes. Maybe that suitcase is like that,” Abe tells me, and my eyes immediately widened in realization.

     “That might actually be the case,” I say as I lifted the suitcase up. Now that I’m holding onto it like this, it is a bit heavy for a suitcase that’s only supposed to hold papers.

     Wait, why am I so calm about this? There’s a fucking bomb sitting on my lap. Who knows when it will explode? I could have also dropped it earlier!

     “Wouldn’t this already be like…expired? How long has it been? Maybe if I force it open, it won’t explode anymore,” I then say, trying to convince myself that it’s safe to just drive around with a bomb.

     “Bombs have a long shelf life that may even reach decades, so they might still work. So please, don’t try to open it or even shake it. I just bought this truck three months ago,” Abe then says, which was pretty interesting since he’s more concerned about his truck than his own well-being.

     “Anyway, we’re here.”

     Abe stops the car in front of a tall building. I looked out the window and noticed that we were now in EXRay Media. I was only gone for almost two days yet it already feels way too unfamiliar.

     “Do you want me to come in with you?” He then asks me.

     “No, it’s fine. You should head back instead and check if you’re family’s okay,” I tell Abe, and Abe smiles and nods his head. Before stepping out, I then pull out my wallet and gave Abe all the money I had in it. “I know this isn’t enough, but please take it. I promise to give you more when we meet again. I know money won’t be enough to show you my appreciation but thank you for helping me. I really mean it.”

     Abe stares at me in shock, but then he chuckles and tells me, “You’re as kind as Hael said. Thank you, Mr. McCarney.”

     “No, thank you. “ I opened the door and got out of the car, but just before I could walk away, Abe suddenly calls out for me, making me turn to look back at him. “What is it?” I ask.

     Abe looked hesitant at first, but after fighting over it with himself, he decided to tell me what was on his mind. “Whatever happens…” He says. “Damien didn’t mean to do it.”

     “W-What?”

     What did he mean by Damien didn’t mean to do it?

     “Stay safe Mr. McCartney,” Abe says, tilting his cap down and driving off before I could even ask what he meant by that,

     “Day?” Someone then calls out while I stood right in front of the place I work at. I turned around to check who had called out to me, and with a sigh of relief, it was actually my dear friend, Jane.

     “Day, why do you look like that? Why didn’t you go to work yesterday without any notice? And what on earth is that musty-looking suitcase,” Jane continuously asks as he approaches me with a worried expression on her face.

     “I’m sorry I can’t answer all that, but can you tell me where the chairman is?” I ask Jane instead, confusing her even more.

     “Well, we just finished a meeting with him so he’s probably back in his office at the top floor,” Jane says, and before she could even ask why I’m looking for the chairman, I tapped her shoulder and ran inside the building. The guards who were at the entrance let me in since they knew who I was, but they were confused since I was literally still wearing pajamas from last night.

     “Mr. McCartney, is everything okay?” One of the guards asked, but I ignored them and headed upstairs to the chairman’s office, not letting anyone stop me as I continued to clench the strap of the suitcase.

     When I got to the top floor, the chairman’s secretary welcomes me. “Oh, Mr. McCartney. It’s a surprise to see you here,” he says.

     “I’m sorry, but is the chairman in his office? I would like to speak with him. It’s very urgent,” I then answered.

     “My apologies, but the chairman is not entertaining anyone at the moment. If you like, I can schedule a meeting for you, if that’s something you’re interested in,” the secretary kindly suggests, but what did he not get with the word urgent? I can’t make schedules now.

     “I’m sorry, but please, I really need to talk to him. It won’t take long,” I insisted, but he sighed and shook his head.

     “I really can’t Mr. McCartney. The best thing I can give you is a scheduled meeting, and that’s all.”

     Alright, I’m just going to run for it. I don’t care if he calls security, but I have to make sure I get to speak with chairman Herbert right now. I can’t waste any more time, especially when I don’t know where Damien may be or what exactly happened to him.

     “Well, if you’re not going to let me speak with him then—” Before I could even make a move, the chairman’s office door suddenly opens, making me and the secretary look at him in shock.

     “Mr. McCartney, he calls out. “You can come in,” he then says before heading back inside his office. I didn’t say anything anymore as I followed him inside. Chairman Herbert sat in front of his desk and glanced at the suitcase I was holding before looking back at me. “Sit down,” he then says.

     I did what I was told and sat on the chair in front of him. I didn’t say anything, or rather, I couldn’t say anything. I didn’t know what to tell him, or what to ask him. Where do I even begin?

     “It looks like you’ve been to Rivermounth,” chairman Herbert suddenly tells me, making me look back at him with shock. I wasn’t expecting him to know that place.

     “The association went there too and probably took Damien with them. I’m not sure because they helped me escape and I had to leave,” I explained to him, and chairman Herbert sighs and massages his temple, showing me his frustration.

     “It’s already expected that things would come to this, especially when they’ve been keeping an eye on Hunter for months now,” Herbert says. “But I’m surprised you’re all calm about this. Have they told you about my relationship with your uncle?” He then asks.

     I took a deep breath and placed the suitcase down before standing from my seat. I then looked at the chairman and bowed in front of him with no hesitation. “From all the years you’ve been secretly supporting me, thank you. I wouldn’t be what I am today if it weren’t for you.”

     The office becomes silent and I was expecting him to say something, but chairman Herbert didn’t say a thing at all. I didn’t know what his reaction was, so I immediately stood back up to face him. To my surprise, he was actually smiling at me.

     “You give me too much credit,” he says. “We had different reasons as to why we wanted to keep ourselves a secret from you, but my reason was a little selfish.”

     I didn’t know what he meant by that, but then the chairman pulls something out from his drawer and shows it to me. It was actually a photo of him…

     And my uncle Hael.

     I furrowed my brows and stared at the photo. The picture was taken from this very office. They were standing beside each other, my uncle’s arm around the chairman’s shoulder, a bright smile implanted on both of their faces. At the bottom of the picture, there were also the initials H.H, which could mean Hael & Herbert.

     I couldn’t believe that the chairman I admired since I was young had this kind of relationship with my uncle.

     “I didn’t help Hael when he needed me the most. He was having a hard time with the association and was trying to find a way out, but I couldn’t help him. I didn’t want to get involved with him; I was simply scared of the consequences. He was working with people who had bad reputations; I didn’t want EXRay Media to get affected by it,” chairman Herbert explains to me while I sat back down on the seat.

     “I ignored him, his calls, his emails…so when he died, I was devastated. The closest friend I had…the most important person in my life…died, trying to erase the empire he built himself. I didn’t have the guts to go to the funeral. I was a coward,” he explains further, his eyes starting to water a little as he explained his side.

     I didn’t know him enough, but I could tell how much he cared about my uncle and how much he regretted the decisions he made despite being right. He had no obligation to help my uncle after what happened to him. He didn’t have to feel so guilty.

     “I thought when he died he despised me. I really thought that he’d hate me so I never tried to approach you. But about eight years ago, I received a mail. It was the picture I just showed you, and along that picture was this…” Chairman Herbert paused and suddenly placed something on top of his desk.

     My mouth instantly dropped when I saw that it was actually a key.

     “There wasn’t any note that explained what the key was for, and there wasn’t any name or address to show who it came from, but I knew that it was from Hael,” he tells me, handing me the key.

     I grabbed the key and checked the suitcase. “You think that key is to open this?” I ask him.

     “Who knows? But Hael wouldn’t give this to me if it wasn’t connected to you, don’t you think?” he asks back, and I nodded my head to agree to it.

     “Well, nothing would happen if we don’t check it out,” I say as I walked towards him so I could put the suitcase on top of his desk. “Abe said that this might end up exploding, so if you’re not certain about this, you may leave if you want.”

     “It’s fine. If this is my end, then there’s nothing I can do,” the chairman replies to me, getting off his seat as well so he could stand beside me and see what the content of the suitcase was. I took a deep breath and touched the band-aid on my finger first before finally positioning the key on the lock. My heart was beating extremely fast as I closed my eyes and immediately pushed it inside, turning the key to check if it would open.

     The room was silent for a while, but then a click sound was suddenly heard, immediately making me open my eyes back to check it.

     “It’s open,” I say, sighing in relief.

    It was finally open. Inside this suitcase contains Hael Luis McCartney’s Will & Testament, the very important papers that the entire association is searching for.

     I took a deep breath and slowly opened the suitcase. But to my surprise, there weren’t any papers inside the suitcase at all. But like what Abe and I suspected, there were wires inside the suitcase that might have triggered an explosion, and in the middle was a silver flash drive.

     “I thought the Will would be printed on paper. I didn’t expect it to be digital,” the chairman says, and I couldn’t help but nod my head in agreement. “You can use my laptop. It’s not connected to the company server so it’s safer,” chairman Herbert tells me, running to get his bag so he could let me borrow it.

     “Can I sit on your desk?” I ask him, and the chairman nodded his head and placed the laptop on his desk. I took the flash drive and sat on his chair, immediately connecting it to the chairman’s laptop while chairman Herbert stood behind me.

     As the screen loaded, I couldn’t help but feel nervous, and I could tell that the chairman was nervous about it too.

     “There it is,” the chairman immediately tells me, pointing at the icon that popped on his desktop.

     “Project X,” I say as I read the name of the folder. I clicked on it with no hesitation, and suddenly the camera on the laptop turns on and the words SCAN appears on the screen.

     “Scan? Scan what?” Chairman Herbert asks.

     I didn’t know what it meant either, but after a while, my eyes widened from shock when I realized something. I immediately took out my wallet and pulled out the Black & Gold card that belonged to my uncle. I placed the card in front of the camera, and after a few seconds, the words “SCAN COMPLETE” flashed in front of us.

“That’s it?” the chairman asks, but then the screen shows an empty box this time. “Wow, whoever made this made sure that people won’t be able to easily open it. Now it’s asking for a code.”

     A code?

     “Do you know anything Day? Probably something your uncle usually tells you, or maybe it’s his birthday?”

     “No, it’s not his birthday,” I tell him when I remembered what Damien told me before. I wasn’t entirely sure if this was it, but without wasting any time, I typed down the number 728. Before I could even click enter, the chairman suddenly chuckles, almost like he knew what it meant.

     “Hael, that bastard,” he comments.

     So that wasn’t just a mere code?

     “Chairman, what do you—” before I could even ask what the code meant, the screen suddenly turned black, surprising the both of us. At first, I thought that the battery died, but after a few seconds, the laptop turns back on, and this time, the words “DEVICE CLEAR” was shown on the screen.

     “They scanned my laptop too. That’s impressive.”

     As soon as the laptop turned on, a new folder appeared on the screen. I clicked open the folder, and as soon as I did so, tons and tons of files popped up. Among those files was a video, and the thumbnail on the video made me furrow my brows in an instant.

     “Uncle Hael?” I say, recognizing the man in the picture. I don’t know why, but my hand starts to tremble as I clicked on the video. The video was completely dark in the first 10 seconds, but after a while, a man appears on the screen. It was my uncle, Hael.

     “ Hey Andrew… “ my uncle greeted, and as soon as I heard his voice, tears instantly streamed down my eyes. It’s been so long since I’ve last heard him call me Andrew. He really was the only one who called me by my middle name.

     He looked tired too. He wasn’t the charming uncle that always smiled at me when he comes back home. He had bags under his eyes, his skin pale, and even looked thinner. During this time I was in college. I didn’t even know that he was going through all this.

     “Hopefully with everything I’ve carefully planned, you’re the one watching this. And since you successfully opened the suitcase, I’m just going to assume that Herbert is there with you too ,” uncle says, and chairman Herbert touches my shoulder and squeezes it. I could tell that he was trying not to cry too.

     “Herbert, if you’re hearing this…thank you for protecting my precious Day,” my uncle then says, and a tear finally falls from the chairman’s eyes, making me grab his hand that was holding onto my shoulder. “ Before anything, I would like to apologize to both of you. All I wanted was to help, to make the lonely feel wanted, but I didn’t anticipate the outcome of my selfish ambition. I have left a legacy that only hurt the people I love,“ uncle explains with a sad expression.

     “ Andrew, when you’re parents died, I swore that I would do everything to protect you, but all I’ve done is endanger you even more. I tried protecting you, and I hope you know that Damien tried protecting you too .“

     “He is,” I unconsciously answered even though he wouldn’t be able to hear me anymore.

     “ Damien is the only one who knows about the code. I chose that code because it’s something he’ll never be able to forget. That code won’t only unlock the flash drive, but it will unlock Damien’s past as well. The reason why he’s here, why I took him, and why he’s so afraid of telling you everything…is all because of that code,“ he says, but then he chuckles and brushes it off before adding, “But that’s an entirely different story.”

     Of course, it is.

     “ Now for the reason why I made this video. I wanted to explain something that traces back to the very beginning. I wanted to tell you the greatest mistake I made, and that was getting involved with the big dogs. “ My uncle explains. his expression now a lot more serious than earlier.

     “ When I made the association, I wanted to protect the companions, that’s why I suggested putting microphones on their collars and giving them contact lenses that act as cameras. The purpose of this was to protect my companions, but later I found out that the big dogs were working on a permanent camera, and was even developing a microchip that will entirely control the companions. I tried to stop them, but I just couldn’t. “

     While uncle was trying to explain the cameras and the chips, I immediately remembered Kristian. When the association found out that he was helping me, he started bleeding. Could this be the chip that my uncle was talking about?

     “ I knew that I could no longer control them, “ uncle continues when I played the video again. “ They were planning things behind my back, and I knew that if I continue this, they’ll end up endangering not only me but the rest of the companions as well. That’s why I decided to transfer all the rights of the Association to you…my nephew, Andrew. “

     So what Neilson and Christine said was true.

     “ The reason I did this was not because I wanted to endanger you, no, that’s not it. I had to have a backup plan. While I try to shut the association down, the association’s ownership is in your name. So if they try to kill me, the association won’t automatically transfer to them , and my plans can still be continued by Damien and Jonathan,“ uncle tells us.

     “This man is seriously a mad genius,” chairman Herbert then comments, making me chuckle.

     “ Now for the flash drive ,“ he finally says, and I sat up straight and ready myself. I got ready to hear some sort of instructions on what I’m supposed to do next in regard to his will, or what his plans were, but what he actually said left me completely dumbfounded.

     “ There is no Will & testament, “ my uncle finally reveals, and chairman  Herbert and I were left completely speechless.

     “ Damien doesn’t know about it either, but that’s the truth. I gambled and pretended that I had one. I knew it would endanger you, but I had no choice. If I left the association in their hands, things would have gone worse, “ uncle says, and the chairman and I couldn’t utter a single word.

     The will… was all fake. All this time, it never existed.

     “The big dogs are searching the whole country just to look for those documents and are even kidnapping my lawyers. Little did they know that it never existed. they’ve wasted all those years searching for it.”

     I stared at the screen with my mouth still wide open. As uncle continued to explain what he did, I couldn’t help but realize that my uncle really was smart. Damien was right when he said that there’s a reason why the big dogs are called dogs and uncle Hael was their master.

     “ Now for the folder that you found in this flash drive. Those aren’t my will and testament, but they’re files that will expose the association to the public. All their plans, documents, illegal activities…everything. I gathered them all throughout my time as the chairman, trying my best not to leave a single trace. The association breathes in secrecy, so if you expose them, they will definitely be taken down .“

     “So he’s trying to imprison them,” chairman Herbert tells me, realizing it too.

     “So my uncle really gave everything up just to shut the association down,” I stated, shocked at my uncle’s courage to do all this. Because if he pushed through with this plan when he was still alive, he would have been sent to prison with them. He was that determined.

     “ I want you to upload these files and hand them over to the right authorities. I know you’ll be able to do it, “ he tells me, and I nodded my head in response.

     “ The upload process might take a while, probably an hour or so. The first folder will show you the steps on what to do next, follow them and the entire files and documents will spread. It took me years to acquire all those evidence, so it’s important that this pushes through till the very end. “

     Uncle looked so determined, but then, he took a deep breath, and looks straight at the camera, making it look like he was directly looking at me.

     “ Now for the most difficult part… “  Uncle Hael grabs something from a small bag and places it in front of him. I couldn’t really tell what it was.

     “ Exactly an hour from now, someone will assassinate me, “ uncle Hael suddenly reveals, making me widen my eyes in shock.

     “ Someone has been following me for weeks now, and he thinks I haven’t figured it out yet. I’m inside my hotel room, and the moment I walk out of this building, someone’s going to shoot me. I can no longer run away from it… “ Uncle pauses and suddenly moves his camera so we could see what he placed on the table. They were actually pills.

     “ I tried my best Andrew…I really, really did. I never wanted to leave you… “ he says as tears formed in his eyes.

     I stared at the screen as my own tears streamed down my cheeks too.

     “ I loved you and treated you like my own son. I did everything to make sure you lived a perfect life… “ uncle says as he grabs a water bottle, and I gasped when I realized what he was going to do next.

     “No…” I tried to say as more tears pour out of my eyes.

     “ Don’t blame anyone because they have done nothing wrong. I left you people who will protect you…more than I could have done myself. Damien will cherish you, love you, and stand by you, I just know it. Jonathan and the others will be there too. “

     “No…please…”

     “ After a few minutes, this video will stop and the flash drive will automatically go on lockdown. I have sent Victor the exact details on what to do once he sees this. I know he will do his best to make sure that the plan won’t go to waste. Damien’s also the only one who knows about the code and has the key. He knows what to do after that, “ my uncle explains, but I could no longer process it anymore.

     “ Well, since you successfully have this now then I can say Viktor and Damien did a pretty good job ,“ he then says with a chuckle, making my heart break even more.

     After laughing at himself, uncle takes a deep breath and looks back at the camera again.

     “ My little boy…I’m sorry if this old man can’t buy you any cheesecakes anymore after leaving you in so much pain “

     “I-It’s okay…I don’t…I don’t need it,” I tried to say as my entire body trembled.

     “ I love you, “ he finally says.

     “No…uncle…I love you…please don’t.”

     Chairman Herbert wraps his arms around me as the two of us watch uncle Hael drink the pill. Uncle looks at the camera and smiles, but soon after, more tears continued to pour out of his eyes until he eventually started sobbing, his cries resonating as my heart ached for him all over again.

     “ I’m sorry, “ he says.

     “ I am so so sorry .“

     “Uncle…”

     “ Herbert, I leave you my precious Day. He’s obsessed with your magazine so teach him everything he needs to learn. I need to make sure I’ll see his name in the magazines ,“ uncle then says, and chairman Herbert hugs me even tighter.

     Blood suddenly oozes out of my uncle’s nose, but he immediately wipes it away. He then takes a deep breath and wipes his own tears, reaching out to the camera, almost like he was holding onto me for the last time. “ I was ambitious, but I realized that the association wasn’t my legacy at all. You made me—the loneliest man on earth—feel the most wanted. That’s why Andrew, out of all the achievements I’ve done…you are my greatest legacy. “

     Despite the pain he was feeling inside, uncle smiled at me for one last time. And before anything could happen, the video ends, and the office that was quiet was now filled with my loud sobs. I quickly turned around and hugged chairman Herbert as I buried my face in his chest, trying my best to remain calm, but I couldn’t.

     “It’s okay,” he tries to say, hugging me even tighter as his own tears fall from his eyes.

     “It’s okay.”

     My uncle didn’t die in an accident like what they told me.

     The association didn’t kill him either.

     The truth was…

     In order to protect me and finish what he started…

     In order to shut the association down…

     He killed himself. 

TO BE CONTINUED

(33) Plan It Out

🐾

I WAS HOLDING ONTO chairman Herbert, trying my best to keep myself together after what I just witnessed. My heart wouldn’t stop racing, and my body was trembling like it couldn’t calm down. I just saw how my uncle killed himself. Not knowing the truth was a pill I was willing to swallow, but this was something I did not want to know at all. I wasn’t there for him, and I wasn’t able to do anything to help him.

     “Just stay there, let me get you some water,” chairmen Herbert tells me, letting go of me. I didn’t want him to let go, but I couldn’t say anything. So when the chairman removes his arms around me to get some water, my head starts spinning, and before I could even get a hold of myself, everything went black and I eventually fainted.

[ FLASHBACK : 16 YEARS AGO]

     “When will he wake up?” I could hear my uncle Hael ask. I was trying to turn around from the bed, but my body wouldn’t let me. I felt so weak, I couldn’t move a muscle.

     “He’ll be fine, it wasn’t anything serious. He was just really weak and the sudden shock left him like this,” another voice says, which belonged to someone who I wasn’t familiar with.

     “His parents have always been protective of him so things like this can become very traumatic for him,” my uncle explained.

     “Then that’s going to be a real problem. If you treat him the way his parents treated him then he’ll always be weak. Based on his data, his immune system only got weaker because of how he was raised. Letting him go out and actually play around will help him more than it would harm him,” the man continues to explain.

     “I understand. Thank you doc,” my uncle replies.

     “But what really happened to him? Why would he just run out to the rain like that?” The man who was actually the doctor asked.

     My uncle took a deep breath and sat on the edge of the bed, reaching out to hold my shoulder. “His parents died a couple of days ago. I couldn’t tell him immediately so I tried to inform him about it just this morning. The poor child ran out in shock and started shouting his parents’ names. It was heartbreaking.”

     “I’m sorry for your loss.”

     “Thank you.”

     “He’s still a child so it will be extremely painful for him, but he’ll definitely recover with time. I don’t know if this is a good thing though, but because of what happened, there might be a chance where he won’t remember a few things about this incident,” the doctor explained.

     “If that’s the case then I think I’ll be able to talk to him better about this matter,” uncle says.

     “Then I’ll head out first. If you need anything, just let me know,” the doctor says, and I could hear the door closing in a distance.

     The room falls silent for a couple of seconds, but then, the hand that was holding onto me becomes tight, and I could hear my uncle trying his best not to cry. “I’m sorry Andrew,” he says. “When you wake up, I’ll take you with me, okay?”

     My back was facing him, but I couldn’t turn to look at him. All I could do was let the tears fall as my eyes were closed shut, trying my best not to open them so I wouldn’t see how my uncle looked.

     “By the way, I adopted a Siberian Husky. Once you move in with me, you can meet him. You can even name him if you want,” he says, patting my head this time. I thought he was going to say something else, but then the door opens, and my uncle immediately got off the bed.

     “Jonathan…”

     “Master, how’s Day?”

     Master? Why’d he called my uncle master?

     “He’s fine now. He was just shocked by the sudden news. He’s a weak kid Jonathan. He ran out in the rain and I thought that…I thought…I thought I’d lose him too,” uncle says, and after everything he has said, he finally starts crying.

     “Hael, it’s okay, he’ll be fine. He needs you now more than ever,” the man named Jonathan says. “You did what you had to do. He eventually had to find out, so stop acting like that. Day’s fine now, and that’s what matters most.”

     My uncle doesn’t say anything anymore, but I could tell that he was trying to wipe his tears away.

     “And besides…” Jonathan pauses and takes a couple of steps forward before saying, “The other kid is awake.”

     “What?”

     “Damien Nicholas Collins? That 16-year-old kid you were talking about? Well, he’s finally awake.”

[ END OF FLASHBACK ]

     I quickly opened my eyes, panting heavily like I just ran a marathon. I was sweating all over, and my eyes had tears too. I was lying on a sofa, and when I looked around, I saw chairman Herbert sitting on his desk, staring at the screen of his laptop.

     I sat up from the sofa and massaged my temple. When the chairman saw that I was already awake, he immediately got up from his seat and ran to my side, handing me a bottle of water.

     “Here,” he says, removing the cap and handing me the bottle.

     I thanked him and drank the water before handing it over back to him.

     “How are you feeling?” he asked, but instead of answering his question, I said, “Damien Nicholas Collins…

     “What about him?” the chairman confusingly asks.

     “When I was a kid, I was always weak at heart, so when my parents died, I ran out of the house to look for them. It was raining, and my heart just felt like it was going to burst out. At that time, I was running down the road and almost got hit by a car if my uncle didn’t grab me on time,” I explained, confusing the chairman even more.

     The whole scene from that night started flashing in front of me, almost like the locked doors inside me were starting to open one by one.

     “I remember uncle Hael holding my hand, slowly telling me my parents were in a better place now. I was mad for some reason. I was also sad, but I felt anger more than sadness,” I continued to explain, and as I recalled those moments, I couldn’t help but start crying again.

     “W-Why…why am I remembering this now?” I ask this time as I clenched my aching chest. “Why is this painful memory coming back to me again?”

     Chairman looked at me with pity. He then held onto my shoulder and told me, “You must have remembered because of the video we watched. I don’t know how to help you Day, but you need to keep it together.”

    “But Herbert, when I was at the hospital, Damien was there too. You know the reason, don’t you? During that time, why was he there? Please, I need to know,” I say, grabbing Herbert’s hand, but the chairman could only look away from me.

     “Day, it doesn’t matter if I know or not. There’s a reason why your uncle kept things a secret. And Damien has to be the one to tell you, not me. I don’t want to take that chance away from him,” Herbert tries to explain to me, and all I could do now was put my head down as the tears dripped to the floor.

     Chairman Herbert continued to comfort me for a while, but when I was feeling a lot better, I finally stood on the sofa and joined him at his desk.

     It seems like I’ve been unconscious for a while, so chairman Herbert started uploading the files himself to not waste time. It was already dark out too, but the chairman didn’t leave me and decided to stay at his office until everything was ready.

     “This is going to take a few more hours,” Herbert explains, and I just nodded my head in understanding while staring at the loading screen.

     “So this is it. This is going to officially end the association. All of my uncle’s sacrifices all fall down to this very moment,” I then say, and Herbert smiles and pats my back.

     For my uncle’s sake, we’re going to push through no matter what.

     “I’ve been trying to contact Neilson and the others but no one’s answering. While waiting, I’ll get us something to eat. You can wait here,” Herbert then tells me, patting my head and leaving the room. When I was finally alone in his office, I took a deep breath and reached out to touch the band-aid on my finger again. I don’t know where Damien could be, and I couldn’t help but be worried.

     “Damien, please be okay,” I say, but just before I could close my eyes so I could relax, my phone suddenly rings, immediately making me stand from the seat to check it. I didn’t know who it was since the caller was from an unknown number. I didn’t want to answer it because it could be some kind of trap, but at the same time, it might be an important call.

     So after contemplating whether or not I should do it, I finally decided to answer the call. The other line was completely quiet, but then, a familiar voice says, “ How are you, Mr. McCartney ?“ I quickly covered my mouth when I realized that the owner of the voice came from the big dog who we saw back at Rivermounth. How on earth did he get my number?

     “ Do you know how many years it took to finally find you ?“ He asks me, making me clench my fist in anger.

     “Where’s Damien?” I ask instead, and the man started laughing.

     “ If you want to meet him, then come find him yourself. I’ll give you the address, and all you have to do is bring Hael’s Will and everything will work out for all of us. Of course, you have to come alone. If you don’t, we’ll shoot your precious dog, “ he tells me, immediately making me look back at the suitcase.

     So they really don’t know that the will was fake.

    This could be a huge advantage for us.

     “How do I know if you’re not bluffing? How would I even know that Damien’s there with you and if he’s safe?” I continue to ask him, and the man chuckles before moving away from the phone.

     It was once again silent, but after a while, I heard a voice that immediately made me sigh in relief.

     “ Dane …“ he weakly calls out.

     “Damien! Thank god you’re okay. Thank you,” I say, tears forming in my eyes just by hearing his voice like this. “What did those assholes do to you? Where are—”

     “ I miss you already, “ Damien suddenly tells me, purposely ignoring my question. Is he trying to pretend like everything is okay like how he always does?

     “ Hey, Dane… “

     “W-What is it?” I nervously asked.

     Damien pauses for a couple of seconds before asking, “ Are you still wearing the band-aid? “

     The moment he asked me that question, tears immediately started streaming down my eyes. I then looked at my fingers and stared at the band-aid that I’d been holding onto since earlier. “I still have it with me. But even when I’m wearing it, it still hurts so much.”

     “ I’m sorry. “

     “Damien…”

     “ I love you, “ he quickly says, making me grip the phone.

     “Why do you sound like you’re saying goodbye?” I ask him.

     “ I love you, “ he says again.

     My heart starts beating fast as I continue to listen to him say those words on repeat. I was afraid of what they were about to do to him next.

     “Damien, I remember…” I tell him. “Sixteen years ago, I was confined in a hospital after hearing about my parents’ death. You were there, even at that time, you have always been so close,” I say, wiping the tears away from my cheeks, but I could hear that Damien was already crying on the other line.

     “I told you didn’t I, that I hated the rain too? Bad things happen in the rain, that’s what I always thought, but if that day never came…the day I cried in the rain outside the cafe where Todd broke up with me, I might never have the chance to meet you like this,” I continued to explain to him. 

    I don’t know why I’m telling him this now, but I felt like he had to know no matter what.

    “ Dane, listen…I was— “ before Damien could finish his sentence, the call suddenly ends, immediately making me look back at the screen of my phone.

     I tried to call again, but it wouldn’t go through anymore. Seconds later, an address was sent to me, and attached to it was a message that read: We know where you are. If you don’t arrive within three hours, we’re going to raid that building and burn it to the ground.

     While I was reading the message, chairman Herbert arrived holding sandwiches for us to eat, but before he could hand them over to me, I immediately showed him the message and explained to him what had happened.

     “So they’re really using Hunter to lure you,” Herbert says, taking a deep breath and massaging his temple. “What are you planning then? Are you just going there?”

     “I have no choice. I need to go there or they might do something to Damien. They don’t know that the Will never existed, so I’ll just bring the suitcase as a decoy. The files are going to be uploaded soon anyway, so when that happens, call the cops,” I explained to Herbert.

     Herbert looked like he was going to disagree with my plan, but he takes another deep breath. “This is the part where I tell you that you should stay here since this could endanger you, but that plan might work,” he says. “If you’re that determined, then I can’t stop you,” the chairman then adds, making the two of us smile.

     “Who would have thought that a mere editor would be doing something like this,” I say as I try to lighten up the mood.

     “Do you know about the story of how your uncle got tired of writing about people’s exciting lives while he lived the opposite?” Herbert then asks me.

     “I did. Damien told me.”

     “Well, even though his life ended in such a way, it was still very majestic, don’t you agree?” Herbert then says before taking a seat.

     “Majestic? I guess that’s a great word to describe it,” I then replied before grabbing the suitcase. My uncle left unexpectedly, but what he left behind were great memories that a lot of people will remember forever.

     And that…

     is definitely majestic.

     “You’ve been writing about people’s exciting lives too Day. Maybe this time…you’ll write your own story now.”

TO BE CONTINUED

(34) I’m Sorry

🐾

“BE CAREFUL,” THE CHAIRMAN tells me before giving me a quick hug. It felt a little awkward since I’ve idolized this man since I was a kid, but now I’m just hugging him like this. Well, I guess it doesn’t matter. I literally had a mental breakdown in front of him so there’s nothing to hide now.

     “I’ll take care of the files and contact the authorities as soon as everything’s ready. You can also borrow my car. I already asked someone to give you the keys downstairs,” he then adds.

     “Thank you…Herbert.”

     An hour has passed, which means I only have two hours left until the association starts raiding this building. So without wasting any more time, I bid the chairman a sweet farewell and finally left his office.

     As I waited inside the elevator, I couldn’t help but touch my chest while my other hand clenched on the strap of the suitcase. It’s been beating extremely hard since I got that call. I don’t know why, but something inside me feels anxious.

     What’s strange is that I’m not anxious to face the big dogs. What I’m anxious about is how I’m going to be facing Damien. The way he spoke to me on the phone felt off. I felt like he was worried about something, but he could no longer run away from it.

     “Mr. McCartney,” someone calls out as soon as I walked out of the elevator. A man wearing a suit approaches me. It was the chairman’s secretary. I can’t believe he’s still here even though it’s already this late. How loyal is he to the chairman?

     “Here are the chairman’s car keys. It’s already parked outside,” He says as the two of us walked out of the building.

     I took the keys from him and thanked him for them. When I got out, a car was waiting for me there. The secretary opened the door for me, so I got in and thanked him again. Before he could even close the door, he suddenly leans towards me and says, “Master Hael…was a great man.”

     My eyes widened from shock when I heard what he said.

     “Y-You…knew my uncle too?”

     “I was only an intern when he was still working here,” he tells me. “But we’ll talk about it some other time. Please drive safely Mr. McCartney.”

     “Thank you,” I say as I smiled at him, turning the engine on and finally driving away.

     I pulled out my phone and checked the address that was sent to me. Herbert told me that the address seemed to be like the Companion’s main headquarters.

     I’m heading to the headquarters where 90 percent of people want to kill me. I don’t have any weapons on me, and I could barely throw a proper punch. I’m still pretty much a regular company worker despite everything that happened to me so far. I won’t just magically start kicking ass.

     To be fair, when Todd and I broke up, I was hoping to find that exciting life that I somehow abandoned because of my ambition.

     Todd was the only exciting thing about my life. He was my little spice, and to be honest, it still surprises me how I managed to even get with him. He was this super popular cliché jock who could get any girl he wanted, but he ended up falling in love with my gay ass. I guess that’s karma for his homophobic parents, who knows?

     Anyway, comparing my life from then to now is just the funniest thing that happened to me. But in the end, I’m still thankful for the years I had with Todd. Maybe when things are a lot better now, we can go grab a coffee together in a much more civil manner.

     Just thinking about it made me smile.

     But as I continued driving this long road, I suddenly spot the band-aid on my finger, and I was instantly reminded of Damien.

     Damien was an entirely different story. He was someone who came to me like an unexpected storm, and the little spice I was craving suddenly burned every inch of my being.

     I knew nothing about Damien, but at the same time, I felt like I knew him from front to back. We had this kind of connection that reassured me, but at the same time, scared me. We shared a past that is now slowly unfolding right before my eyes, and I’m afraid that if I try to dig deeper, I’ll only end up hurting myself.

     Damien is a mystery. After everything that happened to us, I barely know anything about him. He has scars that I know nothing about, and a trauma he keeps on hiding. But maybe despite all that, I really was supposed to meet him like this. Maybe, despite our doubts, we had to cross paths eventually.

     He’s the man I chose to love after all, so whatever his past may be, I have to be ready to properly face them.

     “Looks like we’re here,” I say to myself as I parked in front of a dull building that barely had any windows. It was beside a port, and it looked more like a warehouse than it was a headquarters.

     I was finally here, so I took a deep breath and grabbed the suitcase from the passenger seat before heading out of the car. The association was expecting me to arrive, so there was no point in going incognito.

     As I walked towards the entrance, a group of men wearing the Companion’s uniform suddenly comes rushing out of the building, holding onto guns that they were pointing at me. I’m not gonna lie, that made the hair on my skin stand, but I tried to act calm.

     “There’s my Day!” someone suddenly calls out. I looked up the steps of the building and saw the man that I saw at Rivermounth. I clenched the strap of the suitcase as I continued to stare at him walk towards me. He gave me this unsettling grin without removing eye contact. And when he finally stopped in front of me, he looked down at what I was holding and started laughing.

     “So you really brought it here. I’m impressed,” he says.

     “Welcome to Companion’s Association may dear Day. It’s fascinating, isn’t it?” he then asks, but I only glared at him instead of answering him, which only made him chuckle.

     “As expected, you really are your uncle’s nephew,” he tells me before glancing at the suitcase again. “The fact that you brought that here means you’re here to bargain. I’ll listen to your terms, but let’s not do it outside. It’s very unprofessional.”

     The man turns away and walks back inside the building while the other men pointing guns started pushing me so I would follow him.

     As I followed the big dog inside, walking just right behind him, he suddenly tells me, “By the way, you can call me Mr. Anderson. I’m the first division head of the association. But since you already know what’s going on, I’m sure you know that titles here are meaningless.”

     He’s probably talking about Damien being called chairman despite not having any authority.

     When we got inside the building, I couldn’t help but look around with my eyes wide in shock. Compared to the outside, the inside looked very high-tech, almost like the labs you see in movies where they hide aliens and build robots.

     While we were walking, I peeked inside one of the doors and saw a man sitting in front of five screens. He must be one of the dog watchers that Neilson and Christine mentioned.

     “We’ve been around for twenty years now. I’m pretty sure you don’t know that since master Hael never told you anything,” he explains to me next, almost spitting on the word master when he said it.

     I seriously want to smack this guy’s face with this really heavy suitcase.

     “I’m trying to survive twenty more years, but since your presence alone is ruining it, I’m doing everything I can—and I mean everything— in order to continue this great empire,” he then tells me as we finally stopped in front of a metal door. “Anyway…” Anderson pauses and looks back at me with an evil grin. “Your pet has been waiting.”

     The door in front of us finally opens. And as soon as it did, I immediately saw Damien, his hands chained while he dangled from the ceiling. He was covered in blood and bruises, and his wrists were bleeding now too while his feet barely touched the ground.

     The sight of him made my stomach churn and my chest ache in an instant.

     “Damien!” I shouted, almost running towards him if the men with guns didn’t stop me on time. Then, they grabbed me by the arm and took the suitcase away from my hand.

     Damien slowly opened his eyes. When he saw that I was in front of him, his entire body becomes stiff. “D-Dane…what are…w-what are you doing here? What the fuck are you doing here?!” he shouted, tears already falling from his eyes as he stared back at me while the people from the association held onto my arms.

     Mr. Anderson walks towards him and laughs. “I’m sorry for not telling you Hunter, but I invited your master over to see you.”

     While the men placed my hand behind my back, I angrily looked at Anderson and shouted at him, “You’re a fucking sick bastard! What the hell did you do to him?!”

     “Oh don’t worry, your pet here is already used to it, right Hunter?” He says, but Damien doesn’t say anything and just continued to look at me.

     “We were trying to find the Will and Testament, but even if we chain him like this, he wouldn’t say a thing. Thankfully that old man Victor eventually told us about the suitcase, and like an idiot that you are, you happily brought it here,” Anderson says as one of the men handed him the suitcase.

     So they got uncle Victor too? God, I hope he’s safe.

     “Thank you for this Day. Now you have to do is sign some papers that state that you forfeit these documents. Easy right?” Anderson then says, but just before he could open it, he spots the keyhole. He furrows his brows while staring at it, but then he looks back at his men and tells them, “Force this open,”

     “You can’t” I quickly shouted, making him look back at me.

     “I can’t? That’s a word I’m not used to hearing Mr. Day,” he tells me.

     “My uncle isn’t as stupid as you think. If you force that open, the suitcase will explode and a secret copy will be sent to his lawyer. You’ll end up looking for it again.” I half lied. If I tell them that it’s just going to explode then that’s a big win for them. The supposed Will and Testament will be destroyed, and that will fall in their favor.

     “Lawyer? So Hael had another lawyer?” He asks, somehow believing my lie.

     “I have the key, but I didn’t bring it with me like an idiot. Let Damien go, and then I’ll give you the key, the association, and everything else that my uncle left for me. I’ll never even talk about this again, just please…free him,” I finally say while looking at Damien who was shaking his head in disapproval.

     “Tempting,” Anderson says as he carefully hands the suitcase back to one of his men. “I’ll agree to that, but I don’t want you two to just happily leave,” Anderson suddenly tells me. Without any warning, he pulls a gun out of his pocket and directly points it at Damien’s shoulder, instantly making my eyes open wide in shock.

     “What are you doing?!” I shouted, trying to break free from the men holding onto me, but I just couldn’t. Anderson ignores my plea while he stared back at Damien who was glaring at him. “Hey, Hunter, why don’t you tell our precious Day here how you got involved with Hael in the first place.”

     As soon as he heard that request, the glare on Damien’s face turned into complete shock.

     “No! Stop it!” I shouted when I noticed the scared expression on Damien’s face. “Baby, it’s alright. You don’t have to say anything. Just look at me, okay? Just look at me,” I begged when I saw Damien slowly going into a panic attack.

     “Come on Day, don’t be such a wuss. Let Hunter tell you everything. I know that you’re curious too, right? You’ve been wondering how this all happened. Don’t even try to lie to me,” Anderson insisted, but I quickly shook my head in response.

     “I don’t want to know shit. just let him go!”

     “Alright then,” Anderson says with a sigh. And without any hesitation, he pulls the trigger and shoots Damien in the shoulder.

     Damien shouted in pain as more tears poured out of my eyes. The loud gunshot made every inch of my body paralyzed so that I couldn’t even move. “Please! Stop!” I begged, but Anderson just laughs and points at Damien’s leg this time.

     “I’ll stop if Hunter starts talking.”

     I stared at the blood oozing out of Damien’s shoulder. I could no longer watch him look like this, so as I clenched my fist, I told him, “Damien, it’s okay. Whatever it is…I will never damn you for it. But you have to speak up now, please.”

     “Oh look, Hunter, Day’s encouraging you,” Anderson happily says, but Damien still decided to remain silent, so Anderson shoots him again, my body flinching as soon as I heard the second gunshot.

     “You fucking monster!” I shouted.

     Anderson laughs as Damien’s pain grows by the second. I still couldn’t pull my hand away from the men holding onto me, but just when I thought that Anderson was no longer going to shoot him, he points the gun at Damien’s head this time.

     And at that very moment, my heart dropped.

     “No!” I shouted as tears continued to pour out of my eyes. “Damien! Just fucking tell me, please! I don’t care what it was, okay?! Just tell me!” I shouted as my own body starts to tremble from the adrenaline. Damien looked at me, unsure of what to do. But as Damien still refuses to speak, Anderson suddenly groans in irritation and finally puts his gun down, instantly making me sigh in relief.

     “This asshole will never talk even if I shoot his dick off,” Anderson says as he walks towards me. I didn’t know what he was going to do, but then, he points the gun at my head and presses it on my forehead this time, instantly making my entire body freeze.

     “No!” Damien shouted. He started pulling his hands off the chains, but it only injured his wrists more. “No! Shoot me instead! Please! Please don’t do this!”

     I stared at Damien and bit my lower lip.

     “ It’s okay, “ I tell myself. “ I understand, Damien. You don’t have to tell me anything if you’re still scared. Even before all this happened, I was willing to act as a fool for you. There is no need for you to worry. That’s how much this idiot loves you. “

     “I’ll count to five, and if you still don’t say anything, I’m going to blow his head off,” Anderson threatens as Damien continues to pull his hands from the chains.

     “Five…”

     “No! Please!”

    “Four…”

     As Anderson continued to press the gun on my forehead, I looked at Damien for one last time and closed my eyes. Looks like this is the end for me. At least after all this, Herbert would have finished uploading the files and the police would immediately come and arrest them.

     My purpose here is done.

     I hope you’re proud of me, uncle. I’ll meet you soon.

     “Three…”

     “Dane! No! Open your eyes, please!”

     “Two!”

     “Alright! I did it!” Damien suddenly shouted, instantly making me open my eyes back to look at him. Anderson also smirked at the sudden response and slowly puts the gun down from my forehead.

     “I-I’m sorry…I didn’t…I didn’t mean to hit their car. I didn’t know that would happen,” Damien says as tears continued to pour out of his eyes.

     “I don’t understand,” I tried to say, furrowing my brows in confusion as my chest felt tight.

     “Baby please forgive me. I s-swear, it was all an accident. I didn’t mean to do it,” he continued to say. My mind couldn’t comprehend what Damien was trying to explain. I was doing my best to understand it, but for some reason, my brain couldn’t function properly, almost like it purposely didn’t want to understand it.

    “Damien…what did you—”

    Damien quickly cuts me off and finally reveals “I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to kill your parents.”

TO BE CONTINUED

(35) Sunshine

🐾

[16 YEARS AGO]

DAMIEN NICHOLAS COLLIN’S POV

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING there pops?” I asked as I walked towards my father who was apparently lying under the pickup truck he bought just a couple of months ago.

     He doesn’t respond to me, but after a while, he pulls himself out from the truck and looks at me, his face covered in dirt. “Just giving this bad boy a quick check-up before heading out to the city since I have a delivery to do today.”

     “You’re heading to the city?! That’s fucking awesome! Let me come with you!” I shouted in excitement, and dad glares at me before taking a small towel so he could use it to wipe his face. “Nicholas, watch your language. If your mother could hear you, she would have smacked you.”

    “But you cuss all the time,” I replied, and this time, dad hits me with his towel, making me laugh and move away from him.

     My father starts walking away so he could head to the river bank, so I jogged beside him and asked, “Dad, can I come with you? I wanna see the city again.”

     “Nope. Last time you wandered off and I had to look for you all day.”

    “No, I promise to just wait in the truck. I promise.”

     Dad goes to the river and washes his hands and his face again. After cleaning himself up, he takes a deep breath and looks at me. “You promise?” He asked, and I started jumping for joy before I could even answer his question.

     “Yes! I swear! I’ll stick to you like fuckin’ glue!”

     “Language!” Dad scolds again, and I just scratched the back of my head and chuckled. He then sighs and massages his temple before walking back to his truck. “Fine, you can come with me.”

     “Thank you!” I quickly replied, grabbing my dad and hugging him tightly.

     “Alright alright, no need to get excited,” he then tells me, pushing me off and ruffling my head like I was still a six-year-old kid.

     “So, can I drive? Uncle Vic’s been teaching me for a while now and I think I’m ready,” I then say.

     “That’s a big no, Nicholas. Roads here are very different than the roads in the big city. I don’t want you hitting the truck and scratching it, especially when I haven’t even paid it fully yet,” my father explains, making me pout.

    “Oh come on, please! My birthday’s coming up soon, so at least let me drive. And besides, this is a good practice. If I get to drive in the city, then I can do a few deliveries for you instead,” I genuinely say. For a second I thought that dad would finally agree to it, but then he massages his temple and tells me, “I’ll think about it. Just help me load the truck first.”

     Well, I guess that’s better than nothing.

     “So, when are you going to ask that woman out on a date?” I asked while carrying some boxes to the back of the truck.

     “Woman? What woman?” Dad asked like he heard the most ridiculous thing in the world.

     “Come on, when you drove me to school, there was this grade school teacher who definitely had a little crush on you. Whenever you drive me and not uncle Vic, she’d always have red lipstick on,” I say, making dad laugh.

     “A woman wearing different colored lipstick doesn’t mean he’s trying to impress a man,” he then tells me.

     “Well, I don’t know. But she looks at you differently, and I want a baby sister. I think mom wouldn’t mind,” I continued to tell him, and dad hits me with his towel again.

“Baby sister my ass. You can barely take care of yourself and you want a baby sister?” He asked, and I only laughed it off.

     After loading the truck, the two of us finally went inside and got off the road to head to the city. It took a couple of hours, but we were eventually welcomed by these large buildings that were definitely different from the things I see back in town.

     The city always excited me. I felt like you could do a lot of things here than anywhere else.

     “Wait here,” my dad said while he carried the boxes to one of the restaurants that usually buy the fresh fish my father catches. Even though I was tempted to run out again like last time, I just crossed my arms and quietly sat on the passenger’s seat, staring at the people who walked past us.

     The world definitely is big. The fact that I’ll never meet some of these people is really weird.

     “Damien…” dad calls out after handing out the boxes.

     “We’re heading back now?” I asked, but before he could even answer, dad opens my door instead and tells me, “You want to drive, right?”

    My eyes widened from shock and I immediately ran out so I could sit in the driver’s seat this time while he sat in the passenger’s.

     “Thanks, dad,” I tell him, and dad smiles and ruffles my hair again.

     “Dad, I’m not a kid anymore,” I tell him, and he only laughed.

     “I know you’re sixteen, but I can’t help but worry that I’ll never get to see you once you hit eighteen. You’re free-spirited after all,” he says, surprising me because he never really opened up about that before.

     “Dad, don’t worry. I promised to stay with you and help with the business, remember?” I told him, and my dad smiles and ruffles my head again.

     “Alright! Enough with this,” I then say, turning on the engine as I start driving down the road. I have my student’s permit now, and I’m confident that I can drive us back safely, especially when dad’s right beside me.

     “Wow, you’re pretty good at this now,” dad then says, making me grin.

     “Told you. Uncle Vic and I have been practicing.”

     “Alright, but move a little to the left. Some of those taxi drivers drive like crazy, you don’t want to get hit by them,” he then advises, and I nodded my head and followed his instructions.

     I continued driving down the city, a little confident now since dad praised me for my driving skills. But when we got near the bridge, it suddenly started drizzling. Dad looked out of the window before looking at me, “Nicholas, I think I should drive now.”

    “Wait, just a little more. Just until we drive past the bridge,” I then say, and dad just sighed and nodded his head.

     I continued to drive for us until we got to the bridge. But as soon as we got there, the rain started getting heavier that I could barely see what was in front of us. I started to get a little nervous but I didn’t want to worry my dad, so I tried to relax and just turn the wiper on so I could at least see better. But the rain got so hard that it was hitting the roof, almost making me lose focus.

     “Just drive at that speed. The car behind us might accidentally hit us if you make a sudden stop,” my dad explained.

    I turned the headlights on and saw that there weren’t any cars driving past us in the other lane. The car in front of us was moving like a slug, so I decided to overtake it so we could finally get off this bridge.

    “This bastard’s way too slow!” I complained, turning the handle and stepping on the gas so I could overtake it.

    “Nicholas, we’ll eventually get off the bridge so you don’t have to—”

     “We’ll get off this bridge tomorrow if we continue following this guy,” I tell him as I finally moved to the left. “See!” I then say with a chuckle when we saw that the person driving the red car in front of us was actually an old lady.

    But just as soon as I looked back at the front, a bright light appeared in front of us, immediately making me realize that there was a huge truck driving in our direction.

     “Nicholas!” My father shouted.

     I was in a state of panic, so I gripped the steering wheel and immediately drove back to our lane.

     “Dad, hold on!” I shouted, but as soon as I turned back to our lane, I instantly realized that there was actually another car in front of the old lady who I was following earlier.

    The rain continues to pour hard on us as the hood of our pick-up truck slams on the back of their car, instantly making its tires screech as our cars collided.

    The red car behind me slams towards us as well, and the impact made me hit my head on the steering wheel, almost knocking me out. Everything was happening so fast. Glass flew in front of me as our cars collided with another car, and before I knew it, our car flipped.

     Tears fall from my eyes as I stared at the other cars that got affected by what happened. I then looked at my father who was trying to reach out for my hand.

     “ I…love you, “ he suddenly mumbled.

     I tried to grab his arm, but blood starts oozing out of my nose, and then I felt something cold on my back. I tried to look at it, but then I eventually realized that there was a metal shard that was pierced through my back.

     “D-Dad…” I called out, my hands trembling.

     I looked back at him and realized that his eyes were already closed, so I reached out to him and grabbed his cold hand. “ D-Dad…wake up, “ I weakly say, but dad wasn’t responding.

     “Dad…” I called out again.

     I tried to move, but the metal on my back made it impossible. But just as I was about to call out for him again, my body falls weak, and my eyes heavy.

     I could hear the sound of an ambulance coming from a distance as the rain continued to pour on us. And as my hands were still holding onto my father, I squeezed his hand tightly for one last time before finally losing consciousness.

…

“Master Hael is devastated. It was clear that your nephew was the main source of the incident. Not only that but a lot of people are pressing charges against him,” I could hear an unfamiliar voice say.

     “I know, and I will take full responsibility.”

     Uncle Vic?

     “Whatever I have to do, I’ll do it.”

     I slowly opened my eyes and saw my uncle talking to another man wearing a suit. I decided to sit up from the bed, and as soon as they saw me, uncle Vic immediately ran to my side and started crying.

     “Oh dear god, you’re awake! I thought I lost you too,” he said while tightly holding onto me. I was about to ask him what had happened, but when I saw the rain outside the window, everything started flashing in front of me.

     My entire body trembled and I started panting heavily, my chest tight as if someone was squeezing it. “W-where’s my dad?” I finally asked, and uncle Vic slowly lets go of me.

     “I’ll leave you two alone for now,” the other man says. When he left the room, uncle Vic took a deep breath and hold onto my shoulder, looking at me with tears in his eyes.

     “Damien…”

     “Where’s my father?” I asked again.

     Uncle Victor couldn’t answer me, and his silence made me realize something that made my entire world stop.

     “N-No…” I say as I pushed my uncle away from me. “No…no no no…”

     My hands trembled as tears formed in my eyes. Without even thinking about it, I pulled out all the tubes attached to my body and got off the bed, but my legs instantly gave in and I fell to the ground in an instant. Uncle couldn’t say anything as he tried to help me stand back up, but I still tried to push him away.

     “No! I need to see my father! Please!” I shouted, but uncle hugged me tightly so I wouldn’t be able to move anymore. Even when I’m hitting his back, he still wouldn’t let go of me.

     “Damien, he’s gone! Goddamn it, he’s gone,” my uncle replies to me, and all I could do was hold onto my uncle as I tried my best not to lose strength.

     “No, you’re lying. He’s not gone…he’s just in another room. Take me to him, please uncle,” I still insisted even though I knew that my uncle was telling the truth.

     “Damien, you’ve been in a coma for a week now. We…we had to bury him. We couldn’t tell how long before you’d wake up. I’m really sorry,” my uncle then explains, making me clench his shirt even tighter.

     “Uncle…it hurts…it hurts so much,” I then say, burying my face in his shoulder as he continued to hug me.

     “I know son, I know.” As my uncle continued to pat my back to calm me down, someone suddenly entered the room, making me look back. He was wearing a similar uniform as the man my uncle was talking to earlier, but he was definitely more intimidating.

     “W-Who are you?” I ask, pushing my uncle away so I could stand.

     Uncle Vic immediately helped me so I could face the unknown visitor. When I was already facing him, the man suddenly grabs me by the collar, clenching it as he stared at me with anger and sadness. His eyes were also filled with tears, but he couldn’t say a single word to me.

     “Who are you?” I ask again.

     The man looked like he was moments away from punching me, but then he lets go of me and turns away from me while he wiped his tears away.

     “My father—”

     “Is dead.” he quickly tells me before looking back at me. “He’s dead, alongside my brother and pregnant sister-in-law. All of them died at the bridge, and now my nephew lost his parents.”

     “I-I’m sorry,” I say, trying my best not to tremble so much as I held onto my own hand and squeeze it. When the man heard my apology, all he could do was laugh.

     “I’m sorry? Yeah, that’s it. That’s all you’ll be able to do now,” he says, and I looked away from him as my tears dripped down to the floor. “I can’t help but be so mad at the fact that you’re still here and my family isn’t, but god forbids that I damn a mere teenager,” he tells me. “You’re just a kid…you’re just a stupid kid. That’s what they told me.”

     “I’m sorry…” I repeated as my uncle tried to hold onto my shoulder.

     I pushed my uncle away and dropped to the floor again, kneeling in front of the man who looked at me with his eyes filled with resentment and pity. “Please, forgive me. I’ll do anything, I swear it. I’ll do anything to make up for your loss. I’ll live with this guilt my entire life…”

     “Damien, don’t,” my uncle tries to say, but I ignored him.

     “I know I will never be able to make things right, but please give me a second chance…” I continued to beg.

     The man doesn’t say anything to me as I continued to kneel in front of him. But after a while, he looks down at me and says, “I’m not the one who’s going to give you a second chance. One day you’ll realize how terrifying it is to make decisions that you could have easily avoided. One day you’ll face someone and see regret. But until that day comes…remember this, Damien Nicholas Collins, July 28…engrave that date in your heart. I will never allow you to forget.”

     July 28…

     7/28

     “We’ll talk again soon,” he says as he walks away from me, leaving the room in silence. 

     My chest starts aching in an instant as I remembered his words. “ One day you’ll face someone and see regrets,“ he said.  I finally sobbed my eyes out, the rain outside matching my pained tears.

[FIVE DAYS LATER]

     “He’s still not fully recovered, but thankfully the metal shard that pierced his back wasn’t that deep. The only thing he’ll be worried about is a scar,” the doctor explained while I was lying on the bed, staring at a blank wall.

     “But as the psychologist stated from yesterday’s exams, Damien is suffering from PTSD, also known as a post-traumatic disorder. If he sees things that remind him of that incident, he’ll suffer from panic attacks. That’s why you should make sure he avoids anything that may trigger him from that day.” the doctor continues to explain while my uncle nodded in understanding.

     “Thank you, doctor.”

     PTSD.

     No wonder they covered all the windows.

     “If you need anything else, just let me know.” The doctor then says before finally leaving the room.

     As soon as he was gone, my uncle approaches me and holds onto my shoulder to check on me. “You feeling better?” He asked, but I didn’t answer him.

     Uncle took a deep breath and sat on the edge of the bed. “Once you’re fully recovered, you’ll have to talk to Mr. McCartney. I don’t know what he’s planning to do, but thanks to him they’re not pressing charges against you. The least you can do is follow him.”

     “Is he a good man?” I asked, my back facing away from him.

     “I’m hoping that he is,” uncle replies.

     “Is he going to be okay?” I then asked.

     “He’s in pain like you are, but the two of you only need time. You’ll eventually—”

     “No,” I quickly interrupt, finally turning around to face him. “I mean his nephew…is he going to be okay?”

     A man named Jonathan Philips visited me yesterday and mentioned Mr. McCartney’s nephew who was also confined in the same hospital. He’s six years younger than me, and he only woke up almost the same day I did.

     Mr. Philips said his name was Day, and I decided to visit him yesterday, but when I saw him in his room. I didn’t have the guts to face him; I felt too guilty. But despite what happened to him, I watched him from outside his window. He was laughing while eating a slice of cheesecake. For a kid, he was stronger than I was.

    I was jealous of that strength.

    “Do you want to see him this time?” My uncle suddenly asked, surprising me.

    “S-See him?” I asked back. I didn’t want to face him again, but I found myself nodding in answer. So uncle helped me up and sat me in a wheelchair so he could bring me to his room.

     When we arrived, Uncle knocked on the door, and Mr. Philips opened it for us. “What are you doing here?” he asked.

     “Damien wanted to meet him. Is it okay?”

    “Well, he’s asleep. But you can if you want,” Mr. Philips then said, moving away from the door so we could head inside.

     Uncle pushes the wheelchair towards the bed where Day was and left me there while he and Mr. Philips walked outside the room. When I was finally alone with him, I looked at him and swallowed the lump in my throat. The first time I saw him yesterday, I instantly started crying. I couldn’t forgive myself. I couldn’t forgive myself for taking his family away. It’s all my fault…

    “ I’m sorry, “ I whispered, staring at him as he rested on his bed. But as I stared at him better, I didn’t cry anymore. I remembered the bright smile he had on his face. I didn’t feel pain. I felt something different…

     Like relief and comfort.

     Despite the rain that I could hear outside his room, he was a ray of sunshine that shone down on my darkness.

     “ I’m sorry if I took them away from you, “ I whispered as I leaned toward him. “ But I’ll make up for it and pay every price. I’ll protect you as long as I could, and I will always remember that night and repent . My life is yours. Use me as you wish until I can finally look you in the eye and properly apologize. “

   I leaned closer to his ear and clenched onto the sheets, trying my best not to shed a tear as I finally said, “ I hope you heard that loud and clear…my lovely sunshine. “

TO BE CONTINUED

A/N:

Did you get the ending? Because if you did you’re fuckin awesome! HAHA Anyways, as always, thank you so much for reading!

• Your sleepy author 😂😴

(35.5) Hunter

🐾

“I HOPE YOU HEARD

that loud and clear…my lovely sunshine,“ I heard someone whisper in my ear, immediately making me open my eyes in shock. But when I opened them, no one was there.

    “Mama…papa?” I unconsciously called out, but when I looked at my side, I realized that someone was lying on the edge of the bed that I was in. “Uncle?” I then say, and uncle Hael immediately lifted his head up to look at me.

     “Oh Andrew, you’re awake,” he tells me, reaching out to touch my hand. “How are you feeling? Are you feeling better now?”

     I took a deep breath and nodded my head, making uncle smile.

     “I wasn’t able to visit you yesterday, but did you enjoy the cheesecake I gave you?” He then asks, and I nodded my head in answer for the second time.

     Uncle doesn’t say anything anymore and reaches out to touch my cheek, holding onto me like I was the most fragile thing in the world. He had a sad smile, almost like he was moments away from crying but he was trying his best to not do it in front of me. As the silence in the room consumed us, uncle takes a deep breath and finally asks, “Andrew, you’ve been here at the hospital for a few days now, but do you remember why?”

     Why?

     Why am I here?

     Now that I think about it…

     Why am I here?

     Why don’t I remember anything?

     “I’m sickly,” I answered instead, making uncle sigh. “But mama and papa always made sure that I’ll be alright. When are they going to visit me?” I then ask, and a tear finally streams down uncle Hael’s eyes, but he immediately wiped it away.

     “Your mom and dad, they…they had to go. They couldn’t visit you anymore because God needed them, so they had to go,” he tells me, grabbing my hand again and squeezing it even tighter.

     “Will they be gone for a long time?” I then asked him.

     “Yes.”

     “Then where am I going to go now?” I then asked, and uncle forces a smile again and asked me, “Andrew, would you like to live with me then?”

    I stared at my uncle after hearing his question, and instead of giving him an answer, I asked, “Will there be cheesecakes in your house?”

     My uncle finally gave me a genuine smile. After wiping his tears away, he immediately nodded his head and told me, “There will be cheesecakes in the house. I’ll buy you anything and give you anything you want. We’ll even go to different places if you want to, just tell me.”

     “Different places? Mama and papa won’t like that. I have to always stay at home,” I then say.

     “Don’t worry, your mom and dad told me that it’s going to be okay. They told me you can play outside if you want to and make a lot of friends,” uncle explains to me, and I smiled and immediately hugged him. “Thank you!” I tell him, and uncle happily laughs.

     When we pulled apart from the hug, he then touched my hand and tells me, “By the way, remember that puppy I mentioned last time? Well, you might not be able to see him anymore since he’s going to start working now.”

     I giggled at what my uncle said and told him, “Uncle Hael, dogs don’t go to work.”

     “Really? But that dog is special Andrew. Someone’s going to train him so he’ll be able to follow your uncle Hael.”

     “But why? Who’s even going to train him?” I then ask.

     “It’s someone from this small town. He promised to help me protect you.”

     “Protect me?”

     “That’s right. He’s going to help me protect you from now on. He lives in that town that is even far from the city,” my uncle continues to explain, making me furrow my brows in confusion.

     “If it’s far from the city then how do they get their food?” I ask my uncle next.

     My uncle chuckles at my growing curiosity and pats my head this time. “Well, they hunt. The people around there work as hunters so they could have food every day. Even the person who’s going to train the puppy is a hunter.”

     My eyes widened in fascination, but then I asked, “Then the puppy you adopted, will he be a hunter too?”

     My uncle smiles at my question and takes a deep breath before answering, “If that’s what you want then the puppy is going to be a hunter too. He’s going to be a really really good Hunter.”

END

(36) Broken Promises

🐾 

  “I-I’M SORRY…I DIDN’T

…I didn’t mean to hit their car. I didn’t know that would happen,“ Damien says as tears continued to pour out of his eyes.

     “I don’t understand,” I tried to say, furrowing my brows in confusion as my chest felt tight.

     “Baby please forgive me. I s-swear, it was all an accident. I didn’t mean to do it,” he continued to say. My mind couldn’t comprehend what Damien was trying to explain. I was doing my best to understand it, but for some reason, my brain couldn’t function properly, almost like it purposely didn’t want to understand it.

     “Damien…what did you—”

     Damien quickly cuts me off and finally reveals “I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to kill your parents.”

     My body freezes in an instant as his words echo inside my head. I didn’t mean to kill your parents. Those words were something that I never thought I’d hear him say. Out of everything, this was the last thing I wanted to hear from him.

     But as I let his words sink in, I ended up laughing at myself.

     “No you didn’t,” I replied.

     Damien looks at me and tries his best to keep his eyes locked on me. Despite what he was saying and how he was reacting to it, he still tried to calm me down as best as he could.

     “I’m sorry,” he tells me again, and at that moment, I realized that Damien was seriously telling me the truth. All this time, the reason why he was so afraid…was because of this. It was because he killed my parents, and the past we shared was because of this accident.

     My heart was beating fast, and I felt like I was moments away from fainting, but I still couldn’t say a thing. I just stood there, staring at him while tears streamed down my eyes.

     Damien was about to say something, but Anderson stops him and moves closer to me again. While my body was frozen in place, Anderson touches my chin and tilts it up so I could directly look into his eyes. “You look so shocked. I know, right? The man you love and trust…was the reason why you became an orphan. How terrible the world is.”

     “Let go of him!” Damien shouts, and Anderson could only laugh.

     “No need to be so mad now,” Anderson tells him before walking back to where the suitcase was. 

     Damien and I looked back at each other again, but when I saw the cold blue eyes that I have grown to be familiar with, I couldn’t help but look away.

     “Day, please say something,” he says, but I couldn’t even open my mouth. Everything happened way too fast. The perfect life I had in my head just vanished in an instant, and all I’m left with is sadness and confusion. I wasn’t even angry even though I knew that I had every right to be angry.

     This was the man who had taken my parents away from me.

     This was the man who gently held onto me, but at the same time, it was the same hands that could have killed my family too.

     This was the man I love.

     Damien saved me and protected me, but at the same time…

     “Day, your dear pet is talking to you. You have to at least respond,” Anderson then tells me before grabbing the suitcase from one of his men and walking towards the exit. “Well, it doesn’t really matter to me anymore. I have the Will, and you guys can just work things out among yourselves, isn’t that a win-win situation?” Anderson says as he was about to leave with the rest of the members of the association. 

     But just as he was about to grab the doorknob, I say out loud, “The puppy who worked as a hunter.”

     Anderson stops as he and Damien look back at me. I grabbed onto my aching chest as a scene from my childhood suddenly appears in front of me. It wasn’t a clear memory, but I could remember a few things. The rain, the time my uncle told me about my parent’s death, the days I was in the hospital…and Damien. 

     I met Damien, way before I bumped into him when I was already in college. The two of us had already crossed paths way before then.

“I once wondered if my uncle was the one who named you, but now I remember. I was the one who named you,” I say, remembering how I was talking about it with my uncle when I was at the hospital.

     “Dane…”

     “When I find out who you really are…I promised that I’ll continue to smile and find my happiness,” I say next, recalling the exact moment we talked about this supposed promise. “But what do I do Damien? You’re my happiness, so what am I supposed to do now?” I asked as more tears streamed down my eyes, making Damien cry with me as if we’re sharing the same pain.

     “It hurts to know that the man I love has carried such a burden. I want to scream at you, to punch you, but I couldn’t. Why can’t I damn you for this? Is it because I love you?” I asked as I looked straight into his eyes, walking towards him so I could reach out to his cheek. 

     “I might really be the biggest fool on earth, but I love you Damien, and I will always love you. I cannot give you my forgiveness now, but everything else…you can have it,” I then say, and Damien closed his eyes, feeling the warmth in my hand as the two of us no longer said a single word.

     Damien had accidentally killed my parents, but all those years, he had repented and even given his whole life away just to work under my uncle. Was that enough? I can’t really tell. But knowing this is enough to make me sure of what Damien really is to me. Hating him won’t bring my parents back, but I will definitely gain something for loving him.

     “Dang it Day!” Anderson suddenly shouted, immediately making me turn my head to face him. I didn’t know why he sounded so pissed, but when I looked back at him, my eyes widened in an instant.

     Anderson was pointing a gun at me.

     “What the fuck are you doing?!” Damien shouted behind me. “I already did what you wanted me to do, and you already have Hael’s Will, now let us go, please.”

     “No, I can’t have that. You’re not supposed to be happy. This isn’t how the story is supposed to go,” he says, and all I could do was stare at him in complete disbelief. This man was definitely a monster. He wasn’t going to negotiate with me from the very beginning. All he wanted to do was to torment me. There was no way in hell he was going to let us go now.

     “To be honest, I thought you’d kill Damien and then I would have just killed you right after. But I’ve underestimated you way too much. You really are like your stupid and naive uncle,” Anderson tells me.

     “Fuck you,” I tell him, making Anderson chuckle.

     “Well, can’t be helped now, right?”

     “No!” I heard Damien shout as I instinctively closed my eyes. The room falls silent for a quick second, but then I heard the sound of chains falling. Someone pushes me away all of a sudden, and right after, a loud bang was heard throughout the room and my entire body trembles at the sound of it.

     I immediately opened my eyes back to see what had happened. I looked to my right and saw Damien now fighting with Anderson and his men.

     “ D-Damien… “ I weakly called out.

     Damien wasn’t able to hear me because he was busy protecting me from the others, but when I touched my side, I realized that there was this warm liquid. I slowly looked at my hand, and my heart instantly drops when I saw blood.

     “ Damien ,“ I called out again before finally falling to the ground. I took a deep breath and tried to ignore the pain, but I couldn’t. But as I struggled to keep myself together, Damien finally sees me. His eyes were hazy, and for a moment I could feel this intense desire to kill.

     Damien was about to walk towards me, but then the association’s men started tackling him. Damien tries to push them away, and while doing so, he shouted, “Dane! Don’t close your eyes! Do you hear me?!”

     I blinked and tried to catch my breath. My eyes were starting to feel heavy too, but just when I was about to faint, Damien shouted again, “Don’t close your eyes! Keep looking at me, okay?! Keep looking at me! You have to—” As Damien was struggling to break free from Anderson and his men, Anderson got an opening and punched him in the gut, making Damien stumble back and fall.

     Everyone immediately surrounded him and started kicking him on the floor until blood oozed out of his nose. I couldn’t even call out to him anymore because of how weak I felt. I tried to crawl towards him, but as I was inches away from where he was, Anderson sees me and looks back at me with a sadistic grin. I stared at him for one last time as he pointed the gun in my direction, but just as he was about to pull the trigger, the door swung open, immediately making everyone in the room stop moving.

    “Drop your weapons now!”

    Cops arrive at the scene, pointing guns at the people at the association.

    “Put your hands up! In the air, NOW!” one of the men shouted.

     Anderson’s eyes widened from shock as he dropped his gun and slowly raised his hand. More cops rush inside the room, and then chairman Herbert followed right after. He searched the area until he finally spots me. When he saw that I was injured, he ran in my direction and checked on me. “Day, you’re okay. An ambulance is on its way,” he calmly says, kneeling beside me as he presses a handkerchief on my side.

     “Day, stay awake. You need to be conscious, alright?” Herbert tries to tell me.

     I took a deep breath and turned my head to look at Damien who was lying on the floor, motionless. “D-Damien…” I weakly call out.

     As Anderson and his men were being rounded up, a couple of cops walked towards Damien too. I thought they were going to check on him, but to my surprise, they lifted him up carried him.

     “W-what are they doing?” I asked when I noticed them carrying Damien outside. “Where are they taking him? W-where…where are they taking him?!” I say in a louder voice, my wound hurting as I did so.

     Chairman Herbert tries to calm me down as we watch Damien get taken away. Herbert couldn’t really explain to me what was happening, but when I saw the tears in his eyes, I knew what it meant.

     “I’m sorry Day,” he whispers, and that was the last thing I heard before I finally lost consciousness.

[ FIVE DAYS LATER ]

“When you find out who I really am, promise me that you’ll continue to smile and find your happiness.”

     I opened my eyes and gasped for air. I was welcomed by an unfamiliar ceiling, so when I looked around, I realized that I was actually in the hospital. Someone was sitting on the sofa reading a newspaper, it was chairman Herbert Orlando. He was quiet for a while, but when he looked at me, he immediately stood up and grabbed the phone to call someone.

     Minutes came by and a doctor and two nurses arrived. They checked my state and even took blood samples. Everything was still a blur, and my body was aching all over. But what was more surprising was the fact that I’m still alive. For a moment I really thought I would have died.

    “He’s okay now, but he still needs to rest for a few more days to fully recover,” the doctor explains, and chairman Herbert nodded his head in understanding.

     “Thank you, doc,” Herbert then says, and the doctor nods his head before walking towards me. He reaches out to pat my shoulder, and then tells me, “Good job Mr. McCartney. You made it.” He smiles at me, and then he leaves with the nurses.

     As soon as the chairman and I were alone in the room, Herbert stands beside the bed and asks, “How are you feeling?”

     I took a deep breath and tried to remember everything that happened that day. I remembered Damien’s confession, Anderson shooting me, and then…“Damien,” I say, quickly grabbing Herbert’s hand and asking, “Where is he? Is he okay? Did anything—” Before I could even finish my sentence, a suddenly felt this excruciating pain on the side of my stomach, making me let go of Herbert’s hand.

     “You shouldn’t move too much. You had a fifty-fifty percent chance of surviving because of the gunshot that monster gave you. You lost a lot of blood, but thankfully Damien matched with your blood type, you were able to survive because of him”

“Then he’s okay? Right?” I eagerly asked. The chairman gives out a small smile and finally nodded his head.

     When I found out that Damien was also alive and okay, I immediately started crying. I was overwhelmed by the fact that he was alright. After what I saw, I thought of the worst-case scenario. I’m glad things worked out in the end.

     “Where is he then? I want to see him,” I then say, looking back at Herbert with a weak smile. Herbert stares at me for a second, but then he looks down, making me furrow my brows in confusion.

     “Is there something else you’re not telling me?” I then ask.

     The chairman looked conflicted, but he knew enough that I needed to know things instead of keeping them a secret, so Herbert takes a deep breath and finally looks back at me. “After the files were published and the cops were notified, everyone who was involved in the association was immediately taken by the authorities,” Herbert explains.

     “Then isn’t that a good thing?” I ask, and the chairman sighs.

     “Day…” he says before looking straight into my eyes. “Who was the chairman of the Companion’s Association?”

     “W-What?” 

     “Hunter was legally given the title of chairman, so he was automatically assumed as the mastermind,” Herbert explains to me, and all I could do was shake my head in disapproval. “N-No…that can’t be. He was just a puppet. The association used him too and—”

     “Day, you have to stay calm for now.”

     “No, I have to see him,” I insisted as I tried to sit up so I could get off the bed, but the chairman wouldn’t let me.

     “He was confined for two days and was quickly taken by the police right after. Jonathan and the others are with him, and they told me that they’ll do everything they can to prove Hunter’s innocence. That’s why you have to stay here and rest. All we could do is wait,” the chairman tells me, and a tear finally streams down my eyes.

     Wait…

     How many times do I have to wait?

     Why can’t things just work out for the two of us?

     I’m ready to talk about our past, and I’m willing to forgive you, but why…

    “I know how you’re feeling, but Hunter would want you to fully recover too,” Herbert then says as he walks towards a table that had a box and a letter, taking it and handing it over to me. “Neilson gave this to me yesterday. He said it was from Hunter.”

     I stared at the two items and quickly wiped my tears away.

    “Let me help you,” Herbert then says as he helped me sit up from the bed. The letter was now on my hand, while the box rested on my lap. “Alright then, I’ll head out first and give you your privacy.”

     “Thank you.”

     Herbert touches my shoulder for one last time before finally heading out of the room. As soon as he was gone, I moved the letter close to my nose and instantly smelled Damien’s scent. The moment I smelled his familiar scent, my eyes immediately watered again.

     “ Damien… “ I whispered under my breath before finally reading the letter.

Dear Dane Andrew McCartney,

You’re reading this, which means you’re okay.

I know this might be untimely, but I have a lot to explain to you. It might not be in person because of the circumstances that I’m in, but I hope I am able to relay everything to you in this handwritten letter.

Dane, I first met you 16 years ago at the hospital we were both confined in. After the accident with your parents, I pitied you and at the same time hated myself. I took someone’s family away, and I could never return them to you even if I tried.

Because of that incident, I begged Hael to take me so I could repay my sins. So with a mutual decision, I was brought to the Companion’s Mansion and started living there. I trained day and night and took care of the puppy Hael adopted. And when I turned 21, I officially became a companion.

It took a while before I could meet you again, and that was when we stumbled upon each other on your first day in college. You looked shy and timid, but you were still the same bright Day that I met back when we were young. I wanted to make sure you kept that brightness, so I looked away and kept myself in the dark for your sake.

When your uncle died, I swore to look after you from afar. I watched you when you were in college, when you graduated, and when you got your first job. I was there all throughout, trying to support you as much as I could without revealing myself.

For the longest time, I didn’t want to show myself to you. I thought watching over you was enough. But every time I saw you smile, and every time I saw you concentrate on the job you love so much, I realized that I could no longer look away.

I gradually started having feelings for you, feelings that I never thought I’d have. These feelings conflicted me so because I knew I didn’t deserve you. I did something terrible that doesn’t need any of your forgiveness, so all I could do was watch as you fall in love with someone else.

I thought our paths would never cross again, but they did.

I thought you would never love me, but you did.

I thought you’d throw me away and curse me after finding out the truth…

But you didn’t.

I was so afraid of how you’d react that I kept things from you. I wasn’t confident enough to make you stay, but you stayed anyway. Even after everything, you fucking stayed. This only made me realize how much I don’t deserve you.

I want you to continue your life in the most glorious way possible. I want you to shine bright, to excel in your work, and to live a life your family and I always wanted you to have.

You promised me, didn’t you? That you will continue to smile and find your happiness no matter what happens. That’s why I want you to move on. I know that you told me that I am your happiness, but someone like me doesn’t deserve your smile. This is my karma for the sin I’ve committed in the past. I should have known that I could no longer run away from it.

That’s why even when we’re apart, and if we may no longer see each other again, I want you to walk to the bright path. I know you can do it; your Day McCartney after all. I don’t want you to wait for me. I don’t want you to waste your time waiting for an enslaved man who might never taste freedom again.

I love you Dane, and I always will.

In another life…let’s both be free.

Your Hunter,

Damien Nicholas Collins

     My hand was trembling as I stared at the card. For some reason, I didn’t want to believe that this was real. All I could do was stare at the letter until my eyes started to blur because of the tears.

     “That’s unfair,” I say as I bring the card closer to my chest to hug it. Tears continued to pour out of my eyes as his scent lingered in the room. But as I continued to hug the card, I looked down and stared at the box this time.

     I placed the letter on the side and quickly opened the box, hoping that Damien just made a sick joke and everything was a lie. But more tears automatically streamed down my eyes when I finally saw what was inside the box…

     “Cheesecake…”

TO BE CONTINUED

(37) Yellow Bells

🐾

I LOOKED OUT OF the car window that I was in. Neilson, who just came back from the court, drove me back to my apartment after meeting up with me yesterday. I stayed at the hospital for at least one more week before finally being released. I was fully recovered, but there was now a scar on the side of my stomach that will forever be a reminder of what happened that day. But despite this scar, Damien’s letter was still much more painful than any wound.

     “Day…” Neilson suddenly called out, making me blink and look back at him. “I’ve been calling you.”

     “I’m sorry, what is it?”

     Neilson stares at me from the rearview mirror and takes a deep breath. “Day, are you sure you’re okay?” he asks, and I faked a smile and nodded my head in answer. “Don’t worry about me, but what were you saying?”

     Neilson knew that I was lying, but he tried not to force me into opening it up as he says instead, “Jonathan and Christine are doing everything they can to help Hunter. They’re looking through every small detail that will help him so he wouldn’t be sent to prison, so don’t think too much about it, okay?”

     I didn’t reply and just nodded my head for the second time before looking out of the window again. Neilson might have noticed that I’ve been down after receiving that letter. I appreciate that he’s giving me updates, but I think it’s much better if I stop thinking about it for now.

     “Neilson,” I called out, making him look back at me again.

     “What is it?”

     “Can we visit my family first before heading to my apartment?” I then asked him, and Neilson gives me a small smile before nodding his head. “Alright. Lead me the way.”

     After giving Neilson the directions to where my parents are buried, we directly went there so I could pay my respects.

     I knew that my parents died in an accident, but I didn’t remember much. But just recently, I remembered how I said goodbye to them for the last time. My mother and father left for the hospital to check on the baby. I was supposed to come with them because I had a check-up too, but it ended up raining really hard so I was asked to stay behind.

     I remembered getting so mad because I really wanted to go with them, but after a few hours, they didn’t return. Uncle Hael came to our house instead and stayed there with me for a couple of days. I asked him what had happened to my parents, but he couldn’t answer me. A few days after, he finally told me the truth.

     At that time I was young, but I knew exactly what my uncle meant yet I didn’t want to believe him. I ran out of the rain and tried to follow them, and that’s when my memories ended.

     But at the same time, that’s where everything else began.

     “Here we are,” Neilson says as he parks the car beside the pavement. he heads out and then opens the door for me, showing me his hand so he could assist me.

    “Thank you.”

     “Would you like me to accompany you?” He then asks.

     “It’s fine. I would like to be alone.”

     “Alright. I’ll just wait here.”

     I smiled at Neilson and walked my way to my parent’s grave with a heavy heart.

     I wasn’t the best son. Unlike my uncle, I rarely visited them. It’s not because I didn’t want to, but because they felt more like strangers to me, which could probably mean why I never really thought that 728 was related to their deaths.

     I knew deep down that I loved them, but I don’t really remember much about them even with my memories now back. Since I was sickly, I was always at home, so most of my memories of them were when I’m sick in bed, which isn’t the best kind of memory. I know that they only wanted to protect me, but I regret that I wasn’t able to speak with them in a more serious manner.

     I wanted to know why they nicknamed me Day, why did they not allow me to go out and play, and why did they let me stay at home on the exact day they died. I had so many questions, but at the same time, I wasn’t interested enough to find out. Maybe that’s the selfishness in me. I guess the night they died, the sickly and weak Day died with them.

     “Hi mom and dad,” I greeted as I arrived in front of their gravestone. I took a deep breath and reached out to touch them, and then I closed my eyes and felt the breeze touch my skin. When I opened my eyes back, I didn’t cry. I felt sad, but I didn’t cry. “I hope you are doing well,” I tell them. “The boy who hit your car…I met him. I—”

    I couldn’t finish my sentence after that, and that struggle was finally the reason why I let a tear fall from my eyes. “I’m sorry, but I fell in love with him. You don’t have to forgive him, and you don’t have to forgive me. But what should I do?”

     The wind grows strong, almost like one of them, or maybe even both of them, answered my concerns. But as I stared at their grave, I suddenly noticed something in front of me—they were yellow flowers. For a moment they felt familiar, but then my eyes widened when I remembered the exact yellow flower that was on top of my uncle’s grave when I last visited him.

     My parents’ grave was miles away from where my uncle is. I don’t know the reason why, but I felt like he wanted to stay away from them as much as he could because of guilt. Maybe he didn’t want to see them, even in the afterlife.

     In the cemetery he was in, there weren’t any yellow flowers. I then noticed that my parents’ own grave was clean too, almost like someone frequently visited them.

     I stood from the ground and walked towards the flowers. I picked one up and realized that it was actually a yellow bell, a kind of flower that we had back in our old home. I stayed at the flower and then remembered seeing it in the trash back in the apartment. When I finally put things together, I looked back at my parents and told them, “Damien…he visits you, doesn’t he?”

     No one answers, but another tear streamed down my eyes as the silence consumed me. Maybe the reason why I was so afraid of visiting my mom and dad wasn’t because I didn’t have memories with them. Maybe the reason was because I knew we didn’t have enough, and I regret that I couldn’t make more.

     As I walked back to where my parents lie, I looked at them for one last time and told them, “I’m okay now, mom…dad. I’m no longer the sick boy you had to worry about, so rest easy. Uncle was kind to me, and he took care of me like I was his own, so if you two ever meet, tell him he did a good job.”

     I touched my aching chest and quickly wiped away the tears before looking up at the clear blue sky. I stared at it for a while, and then I smiled. “Uncle, the companion you left me is a big idiot.”

     I laughed at myself and gently placed the flower down on top of their grave.

     “ I don’t care if you believe me or not, but please, let me continue to protect you. I’ll do everything to gain your trust. I promise to be a good boy, just don’t kick me out, “ I suddenly remembered Damien saying during the first day I let him stay in my apartment after claiming he was my dog, Hunter.

    And soon after, more memories of him appeared.

     “ I am yours. Every part of me…go ahead and take it. “

     .

     “ I know that I shouldn’t have acted that way, but I got so mad when I saw you with Todd when you’ve only been with him for six years. I got so mad because I’ve been with you longer than that. “

     .

     “ Fucking touch him again…I dare you. “

     .

     “ I love you too Dane. You don’t have any idea how long I’ve waited for you to say that. “

     .

     “ My real name, it’s Damien Nicholas Collins. “

     .

     “ Dane, I know that this might sound selfish, but please…when you find out who I really am, promise me that you’ll continue to smile and find your happiness. “

     .

     “ I’m a flawed man whose hands are stained. I’ve done things…things that I desperately regret that I’m still trying to make up for. But despite how I am, can you make me one last promise? Will you marry me? “

     .

     “ When everything is okay, we’ll get married and have kids, and then we’ll watch them play around until the sin sets. Then we’ll eat dinner together and stay in their room until they fall asleep… “

     .

     “ I love you… “

     .

     “

In another life…let’s both be free

“

     I quickly wiped my tears away and took a deep breath. In a short amount of time, Damien became such a familiar man who has put my broken pieces back together. I want to be selfish, but I can wait as long as I can, and maybe then I would have fully forgiven him. But if god no longer permits it, then I pray that at least in another life, we can be together.

     No unnecessary violence, no secrets, no associations, just him and me living a normal life and falling in love like the sun shines bright; natural, and normal, and free.

     “I promise to visit more often from now on, okay?” I say as I looked at them for one last time, kissing three of my fingers before touching their grave. After a heavy breath, I walked back to where Neilson was. He was leaning on the car, and when he spots me, he smiles and opens the door for me. “You had a good talk with them?” He asks.

     “I did,” I answered before heading inside the car.

     Neilson finally drove me back to my apartment. It was strange seeing the building, especially since I’d always thought that Damien would be waiting for me inside. Maybe I should move out. Having his memories so close might not be a good idea.

     “Day, if you need anything, just let us know. Herbert also told us that you don’t have to go to work if you’re still not ready,” Neilson explains while carrying my bags for me.

     “It’s fine. I think I can go to work tomorrow. And besides, I enjoy work. It puts my mind at ease,” I answered, and Neilson nods his head. He knew that he could no longer argue with me about that.

     “Anyway, you can just put the bags down here,” I say when we arrived in front of my apartment. Neilson insisted to carry them inside for me, but I told him to just let me be. I’m a grown-ass man after all. I don’t like how everyone’s treating me like a sickly kid again. I know they’re just worried, but I have to stand on my own regardless.

     “Alright, you take it easy okay?” Neilson says, patting my shoulder and finally walking away.

     As soon as he was gone, I took a deep breath and reached out for my keys. I opened the door and carried my bag inside. “I’m home,” I unconsciously say, and the empty living room instantly made me start crying even though I told myself that I should no longer cry over this.

     You moved on from Todd, you can move on from Damien - Inner Conscience.

     All right, now that’s when I’ll have to disagree with you, inner conscience. It took me months to fully move on from my six-year relationship with Todd, now you want me to move on with my 16-year relationship with Damien? I don’t think so.

     You just met him a few months ago though - Inner Conscience.

     Seriously, you’re such a pain in the ass inner conscience. It might be a few months ago, but—

     Wait a second…

     Am I seriously fighting with myself right now?

     Oh god, I’m going crazy. I knew it.

     “I need a glass of water,” I say as I walked my way toward the fridge. But as I reached the kitchen, I suddenly heard a noise coming from my bedroom, instantly making the hair on my skin stand.

     I don’t know why, but I quickly took a mop in self-defense. “Whose there?” I asked, gripping the mop as I walked towards the bedroom. I thought a person was going to answer me, but suddenly, I heard someone…bark.

    My eyes widened and I quickly dropped the mop on the floor. I ran to my bedroom, and as soon as I opened the door, cold blue eyes welcomed me. My legs weakened as I fall to the floor, but he walks towards me and started licking my cheeks, almost like he was wiping away the tears that were now streaming down my face.

     He was wearing the black collar that I bought for him. I knew he recognized me too since he didn’t growl at me like the first time I met him.

     I wiped the rest of my tears and grabbed him for a tight hug, “Welcome home…Hunter”

TO BE CONTINUED

(38) That Little Spice That’s Left

🐾

“DADDY’S HEADING TO WORK, okay? I’ll be back before lunch so we could eat together,” I say to my dog, Hunter, who was busy barking and wagging his tail at me while I walked to the door. I wore my shoes and looked back at him so I could pat his head. Hunter obviously liked it a lot because he started circling around me and was even standing on his two feet so he could reach my face to kiss it.

     “Alright, I’ll see you later,” I say as I finally went out of my apartment, which was still my same old apartment since I thought it wasn’t a good idea either to move out now.

     As soon as I closed the door behind me, I looked at the other apartment doors that belonged to my neighbors. Damien once told me that the association was always watching. They had eyes everywhere, and one of those eyes was my cracky neighbor, Martha. She was apparently arrested the other day for being an accomplice, so now her apartment’s empty, which made our floor feel empty too.

     Association member or not, Martha was somehow a good neighbour.

     Everything about the Companion’s Association was broadcasted everywhere and people talked about it like it was two hot celebrities getting a divorce. I didn’t really like how they showed my uncle’s picture in the news, but I guess this was something that he also anticipated when he decided to shut it all down.

     I didn’t know much when I was in the hospital, but Neilson told me that there were reporters waiting for me outside the building too. I don’t know who told the media about it, but my name suddenly got caught up in the news. I was found out and revealed to be The nephew of the founder of an exclusive prostitution house, Dane McCartney, even though I had nothing to do with it . Chairman Herbert had to work his way around the media just to keep my name a secret, even risking his company name for it, but we all knew how impossible that was.

     It’s a bit strange too since none of the other guys were shown, like Damien, Jonathan, and even that bastard Anderson, but my uncle’s and my face were an exemption.

     To be honest, I didn’t really care if they talked about me. I’m a writer, so I knew that news like that would be a buzz for a couple of weeks, and then people will eventually move on and forget about it, which they did. But what I was really mad about was the fact that people cursed at my uncle.

     I hated how the big dogs ruined the name of the Companion’s Association—home to a lot of people who treated it like a home. I hated how they ruined his legacy, and how everyone’s saying that it’s a good thing my uncle died. I hate it…I just hated it all. But there’s nothing else I could do. My uncle is dead, and dead men can no longer defend themselves. What’s important now is that the big dogs are gone and the association is finally shut down.

     People eventually stopped talking about me, my uncle, and the association. My life became calm again, and so I was back to work like nothing happened. I could tell that my coworkers were dying to ask me what the news was about and what my involvement was, but they had the decency to keep their questions to themselves; I really appreciated that.

     “Mr. McCartney!” Someone shouted when I got to the company. I turned around and instantly frowned when I saw Mr. Peters running towards me with a wide smile. I’m not really mad at him for what happened, but his face still pisses me off.

     “Good morning Mr. Peters,” I greeted with the most uninterested tone I could give him. But surprisingly enough, Mr. Peters didn’t really mind my rudeness and decided to joke about it instead.

     “Come on, what’s with the attitude? I thought we were buddies now?”

     Buddies? Who still fucking uses the word buddies?

     “Oh yeah, that’s right. I am very much thankful for your noble actions that night Mr. Peters that I still fantasize about it till this day,” I sarcastically say, making Mr. Peters frown this time. 

     “You are seriously so hard to please these days. Before you would at least fake a smile, but now you’re so bitter for no reason,” Mr. Peters explains, and all I could do was shrug my shoulder and walk towards the elevator. He annoyingly followed me, and since the elevator hasn’t arrived yet, I had the pleasure to continue my conversation with him.

     “By the way, heard Noah Price quit a couple of weeks ago. You two still in touch?” Mr. Peters suddenly asks, and his question frustrated me so much that he actually backed away from me when he saw my reaction. He just had to mention him right when we were in front of the elevator.

     “You know what, you can go ahead. I actually forgot something in my car,” I lied to him instead, and before he could even ask me about it, I ran off, leaving him completely dumbfounded.

     Thanks to Mr. Peters, I used the stairs again until I reached the office, sweating and panting like I was being chased by someone. I got to our office and my team immediately greeted me. Jane, who just arrived as well and was arranging her desk, looks at me and chuckles. “Morning exercise?” She asked.

     I took a deep breath and nodded my head before removing my coat. “Yeah, let’s go with that.”

     I went to my private office and sat at the desk. While I was trying to catch my breath, Jane went inside and handed me a glass of water and a folder.

     “Thank you,” I say, grabbing the folder and checking what it was about.

     “That’s for our next project. Since Noah had to leave all of a sudden, the department tried to think of other ways to make up for the loss. And yes, if you’re wondering, we’re going to be partnered up with the photography department again,” Jane reveals, making me put down the folder to take a sip of the water.

     “No wonder that guy looked so excited to see me,” I say with a disgusted look on my face, remembering how Mr. Peters walked up to me earlier with a grin. My reaction made Jane laugh.

     “Well, if it makes you feel better, I hate that asshole too,” she then tells me, and I finally laughed with her. “By the way, a man named Mr. Cooper is looking for you. He said he had business to discuss with you, so should I let him in?” Jane then asks, surprising me.

     “Mr. Cooper?” I ask, and Jane nods her head to confirm it.

     I didn’t know what was going on, but I cleared my throat and acted calm as I answered, “Sure, let him in.”

     Jane nods her head and leaves my office. While waiting, I took a deep breath and took another sip of the water. It’s been so long since I’ve last seen him. I bet he saw me and my uncle on the news too and is extremely confused. How should I explain it to him? Where do I even start?

     “Day, he’s here.” I could hear Jane say as the door opens. Soon after, a well-polished man enters the room, wearing a suit that fit him just right. For a moment I couldn’t recognize him.

    “Day,” he says when our eyes met. “I m-mean…Mr. McCartney,” he then corrected, making me smile at him. I stood from my seat as Todd walked his way to my desk. We didn’t say anything, so I just showed him my hand, and Todd smiles back and shakes it. It was a strange gesture, but at least we could smile at each other like this, even if it was for formalities.

     “Please, sit down,” I say as I gestured at the seat in front of my desk.

     Todd only took a seat when I first sat down myself. When we were now comfortable, I looked at him and asked, “How may I help you today, Mr. Cooper?”

     Todd looked shy, but he clears his throat and handed me an envelope. I checked the contents of the envelope and saw that it was actually a partnership proposal, and just in front of the documents was a calling card that said Todd Cooper,

Management Head of Zeus Modelling Agency

     My eyes widened in shock, but then I ended up smiling.

     “I’m interested in knowing more about this proposal. Can you run through it with me?” I asked him, and Todd takes a deep breath and nods his head.

     Todd and I talked about their company’s future plans and their hopes to work with EXRay Media. I listened to him as he seriously told me their vision and what they want for their brand. I couldn’t help but smile as I watched him concentrate on his work. Todd and I have been together for six years, and this is the first time I’ve seen him like this. I think after what happened, Todd finally decided to grow up and think about his future too.

     “Thank you, Mr. McCartney. I look forward to discuss this with you again,” Todd said after our meeting, standing from his seat with the folder at hand.

     “I’ll talk to our department head about it and then we’ll conduct a meeting. But your proposal is really interesting so don’t worry. I’ll convince them to accept the offer,” I say as I stood from my seat as well.

     “Thank you,” he replies, and the two of us shook hands again. Todd was about to leave the office, but then I put my hands inside my pockets and called out to him, “Hey Todd…”

     Todd stopped and turned back to face me. “Yeah?”

     “How about some coffee? For old time’s sake,” I then say, and Todd started looking embarrassed.

     He scratched the back of his neck and stated, “I’m sorry, I promised my girlfriend we’d eat lunch together, so maybe next time?”

    Girlfriend. He really said, girlfriend.

     To be honest, I was surprised, but I ended up smiling at him again. I was genuinely happy for him. My memories with Todd were bittersweet, but seeing him now really warmed my heart. The two of us have moved on and become better people. I will always love Todd, maybe not romantically, but he’ll always be in my heart no matter what.

     I’m glad I saw him today too, and I really appreciate how he didn’t even ask about what happened with my uncle to save me from that torturous conversation. Even to this day, he was considerate.

     “Next time sounds good,” I say, and Todd smiles. Before leaving, he walks back to my desk again and looks straight into my eyes, reaching out to touch my shoulder. “I hope you found your happiness too Day.”

    “I’m glad you did,” I answered instead, and for a second, Todd’s eyes become teary.

     He doesn’t say anything else, but then he squeezes my shoulder and finally leaves the office. As soon as he was gone, I sat back down in my seat and looked blankly at the window outside. After a while, I opened my drawer and pulled out a photo. It’s a photo that Damien gave me during his photoshoot as Noah Price.

     I stared at the photo, and like an idiot, I ended up letting a tear fall from my eyes. “ Oh god, I fucking miss him, “ I whisper to myself before hiding the photo back. I then grabbed a familiar card and stared at it this time. It was the association card that my uncle owned. I honestly wanted to throw it away at first, but then I thought that this is the only thing my uncle left me, so I kept it instead.

     This card was the beginning of everything. If I ignored Jonathan and just ran away, things would have been very different, but they didn’t. My whole world turned completely upside-down.

     At first, I couldn’t understand what was going on, but I ended up getting used to Damien, and the whole companions’ thing. I feel like if an alien walks in front of me right now, I wouldn’t even blink an eye. But now everything went back to normal. There are no aliens, or shapeshifting dogs, or even eye cameras. Damien’s gone, the companion’s gone, and what’s left are the sweet and painful memories I have with them.

     I’m back to my old life, and I have to accept the fact that I will forever live in this life.

     That’s just how it’s always going to be.

…

I arrived back at my apartment, my left hand holding onto my suitcase while my right hand held onto the groceries I bought for lunch. I was about to put everything down on the floor so I could open the door, but then a man suddenly runs to my side and asks, “Need some help?”

     The man looked younger than me and was definitely a new face, but I nodded my head as he grabbed the groceries in my right hand.

     “Thanks,” I say, pulling out my keys from my pocket to open the door. But before I turned the keys, I looked back at him and asked, “I’m sorry but…who are you?”

     The man laughs and points at Martha’s old apartment. “New neighbor,” he says.

     “Is that so,” I say as I finally opened the door. I grabbed the plastic from his hand and then told him, “Thank you again. It was nice meeting you, mister…”

     “Benjamin Holland, but you can just call me Ben. I hope to get more acquainted with you,” he then says with a bright smile, making me smile with him. I was suspicious at first because in the back of my head I thought he was someone from the association again, but I quickly brushed that thought away when I remembered that my life isn’t like that anymore.

     “Dane McCartney, but Day’s fine.”

     “Alright then…Day. I’ll see you around.”

     “See you around.”

     Ben waves goodbye at me as I finally closed the door. When I got inside the apartment, Hunter immediately ran to my side and leaned his body on me, almost making me stumble back. “Daddy’s home,” I say as Hunter continued to give me a kiss.

     “Okay okay, calm down boy, let me prepare our food,” I tell him, and like the smart boy that he is, he moves away from me and runs to the kitchen, sitting in front of his bowl, waiting for the food to be served.

     As we ate our lunch together, the two of us didn’t say a thing. There was no talking like how Damien and I would do whenever we were eating. No one hugged me from the back while I washed the dishes, no one would carry me to the bedroom whenever I fall asleep working, and no one would answer my I love you whenever I say them out loud.

     This is my life now.

     This is how it’s going to be.

     This…was the little spice that was left for me.

TO BE CONTINUED

(39) Another Day

🐾

[4 YEARS LATER]

“BOSS IT’S ME,” A VOICE called

out from outside my office. I didn’t remove my eyes from the screen of my computer, and I honestly didn’t want to be interrupted, but I sighed and answered anyway, “Come in.”

     The door opens, and an employee enters the room with a nervous look on his face. He was a new writer in the company and has only been working here for six months. He still makes mistakes at times, so the team would usually complain, but I see potential in him, especially since he works hard. I appreciate those kinds of people the most.

     “Sorry to disturb you Mr. McCartney, but I just finished the revisions you wanted me to do. I was hoping to get it checked,” he says as he hands me the document.

     I quickly skimmed through the document and nodded my head in approval. “It’s better than the last one you sent,” I said, and a smile instantly appears on his face.

     “But don’t be too happy just yet. This was your fourth revision just on a single part. Be more excited if you no longer have to make constant changes in your work, is that understood?” I then tell him, and the smile on his face immediately disappears.

     “I understand Mr. McCartney, thank you for the feedback,” he then says as I hand him the document back.

     “Alright, your shift already ended. You should go home. Don’t waste too much of your time in the office, especially since you’ve already been here all day,” I say right after, and the smile on his face immediately returned.

     Was I like this too when I was new? Why does everyone have to smile so much?

    “Thank you again, Mr. McCartney.” The new employee bows his head to me and finally heads out. As soon as he was gone, I took a deep breath and massaged my temple. “ Congratulations Mr. McCartney, you just had another boring day. “

     By the way, my name is D ane A ndrew McCartne y , but my very few friends call me Day . I’m a 30-year-old editor-in-chief who’s also a Department Head of the Magazine Division in EXRay Media, a magazine that shows exclusive insights into the lives of famous and well-known people.

     While I work for a magazine that talks about other people’s exciting lives, I suffer the complete opposite.

    I’ve always been a workaholic, but for a while, my job wasn’t the only thing that took up a large space in my ever-so-boring life. I met a breathtaking human who showed the best of me, and I experienced things that I never thought I’d ever experience; I even have the scars to prove it. But those days are long gone, and all I could think about now is how I’ll spend my life alone with my dog, who is apparently 12 years old.

     Neilson explained to me that the puppy my uncle first adopted twenty years ago had actually died, and he was actually a she . The dog I have now is her son, and he was the one who got the name Hunter, the very name I suggested to my uncle. I heard he was born the same year my uncle died, so that fact made me feel more attached to Hunter even more.

     “Day,” someone calls out, interrupting me with my thoughts.

     I haven’t even answered them yet, but then the door opens, revealing Jane who had just cut her hair short, making her look like Angelina Jolie in her 1995 film, Hackers. Surprisingly enough, she looked good. I guess having a kid made her bloom for some reason.

     “Good evening mister editor-in-chief,” she greeted me.

     “Good evening team leader,” I greeted her back, and Jane rolled her eyes in annoyance since it’s the name she would usually say to me in the past.

     “Anyway, we just had a successful launch for our new issue, so the team decided to go to a bar and celebrate. You should come. The new kid also wants you to join. I think he has a little crush on you,” she tells me.

     I didn’t comment on her last statement as I looked back at the screen of my computer, so without looking at her, I said, “But don’t we have another project due next week? We still haven’t finalized the drafts you know.”

     “You are seriously such a killjoy,” Jane complains, making me chuckle. I then took a deep breath and looked back at her again. “I appreciate the invitation, but I would rather finish this report first. You guys can go and have fun.”

   I was smiling at her as Jane stared at my face, but then she takes a deep breath and seriously tells me, “You know, ever since you got back, you’ve always had this sad smile on you. You were like a ray of sunshine before but now—”

     “Jane,” I quickly stopped her, feeling a little bothered by her use of the word sunshine.  Jane took another deep breath and finally lets it go. “Alright, we’re heading out first. Don’t stay here too long like last time,” she then says as she finally walks towards the exit. Jane grabs the doorknob and was about to open it, but then she looks back at me and asks, “You’re still injured?”

     “What?” I asked back, and Jane pointed at the band-aid on my ring finger. I looked down at it and unconsciously hid it under my desk. “Yeah. It still hurts.”

     Jane didn’t say anything, and I didn’t know if she understood me or not, but she nods her head instead and finally heads out. I could hear the others laughing outside the office as they headed out to celebrate our successful launch, but I couldn’t share the same sentiment. All I could do was look out of my window and admire the city lights that comforted my growing loneliness.

     “It still really does hurt,” I say, touching the band-aid on my finger.

     I looked back at my computer and tried to continue the report, but I couldn’t. So I just removed my glasses and closed my eyes before massaging them. While I was doing so, someone suddenly entered my office again.

     I quickly opened my eyes back, and to my surprise, I saw Jane walking towards me with two cans of beer. I furrowed my eyes as she placed the cans on my desk, and then she pulled a chair closer and sat in front of me.

     “What are you—”

     “You weren’t going to come with us so I decided to just stay behind. I knew you were going to stay here all night anyway, so I might as well give you some company,” Jane casually says, opening the can of beer and taking a sip of it. I was surprised, but I was genuinely touched. Jane is seriously the only close friend I have. Maybe she already has a family of her own, but she still gives her time to look after me.

     To be honest, I’m surprised she’s not part of the association. I guess she’s the only one who looked after me not because they were bounded by my uncle’s kindness, but because she genuinely wanted to do it for whatever reason she may have.

     “Time goes by fast, doesn’t it? It felt like yesterday when I was still a mere writer’s assistant, and look at me now, leading a whole team. It’s a great life but…when are you going to stop being my boss?” She suddenly asks, making me laugh.

     “Until I fucking die,” I answer as I took a sip of beer too.

     The two of us laughed, and then we became quiet.

     “Day,” she calls out amidst this growing silence. “You know I’m worried about you, right?”

     I took a deep breath and unconsciously touched the band-aid on my finger again. “I know,” I say.

     “You’re working too much, you’re isolating yourself from other people, and for god’s sake, the junior employees haven’t seen you smile, not once. They think you’re some kind of robot or something, like a typewriter whose only purpose is to write,” Jane tells me, and all I could do was chuckle even though I knew that there was nothing funny about what she said. I guess I’m just trying to pretend that everything’s still okay, even though it isn’t.

     “Day, I know this isn’t my place to say but…isn’t it about time you moved on and forget about him?” She asked, and her suggestion surprised me.

     Jane must have seen my reaction, so she takes a deep breath and explained something to me. “I always had a hunch in the past, but a couple of weeks ago I was cleaning your desk, and then I found a picture of Noah. But even without the picture, I could tell that the two of you were in love,” Jane reveals to me, and all I could do was look away from her.

     “But he’s gone now, isn’t he? I saw you in the news, and I never asked because I knew how tired you are from answering and recalling them over and over again. But after that incident Day, you just changed. Where did the old Day go? The Day who would smile and greet us every morning, the Day who would brighten the office even when it was late, and even the Day who was so passionate about his job that it influenced all of us. Where did THAT Day go?”

     I swallowed the lump in my throat as I looked out of the window again.

     “I’m looking for him too Jane,” I answered as a tear falls down my eyes. Jane sighs and hands me her handkerchief. I thanked her and used it to wipe the tears away.

     “It’s been hard,” I tell her. “For a while, I tried to pretend like everything’s normal, but I gradually just got tired of lying to myself and eventually got depressed. I want to move on too, but I’m still desperately waiting even when he already told me that I shouldn’t. All I could think about is him; his sweet words, his warm touch, and his reassuring comfort. Every day I just get angry at the fact that even if I wait, he’ll never come back.”

     “Oh Day,” Jane says, sadness present in her eyes. “I don’t really know how to comfort you, but I do have one question.”

     I wiped my tears again and looked back at her.

     “Noah, or whatever his name is, if that man you’re waiting for sees you now, do you think he’d be happy?” Jane asks, and the question left me speechless.

     If Damien sees me now, would he be happy?

     No.

     He’d be disappointed, hurt, and even mad that I couldn’t keep his promise. I don’t even know why, but the thought of it made my heart ache.

     “Think about it, okay?” Jane asks, and the two of us continued drinking without saying another word.

…

“Thanks for sharing a drink with me Day. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Jane says, giving me a quick hug before walking in a different direction. I waved goodbye at her and turned away before walking to the elevator, but just when I was about to press a button, someone suddenly called out for me.

     I quickly turned around and saw chairman Herbert walking in my direction. It looks like he’s heading home now too. “Good evening Mr. McCartney,” he greets, approaching me while holding onto his suitcase.

     “Don’t tell me that’s a will and testament,” I managed to joke, and the chairman laughed and joined me as we waited for the elevator together.

     “It’s late. You stayed all night to finish something again?” He asks.

    “No, this time I actually stayed because I was drinking with one of my editors in my office. Please don’t fire us for that,” I say, and Herbert laughed again.

     The elevator opened, and then the two of us entered in silence. We were distracted by the elevator music, but as I tried not to stand there awkwardly, I glanced at Herbert’s reflection in the elevator door.

     After what happened to us with the association, both of us never opened up about it anymore. We didn’t talk about Damien, or the companions, or anything like that, but we would have dinner together and sometimes talk about my uncle. Herbert helped me through a lot in the past 4 years of my loneliness. I guess I could say he’s like my father figure.

     “Day…” He calls out, making me look at him.

     The elevator door opens just in time, but before the two of us could walk out, he suddenly tells me, “What do you think of becoming the chairman of EXRay Media?”

     The elevator music continued playing, but I was left completely speechless. Herbert doesn’t say anything after that and just walked out of the elevator. Before the doors would even close, I immediately followed behind him.

     Did I just hear him wrong? Did this man just drop the most shocking question I have ever heard so casually as if he was offering me candy?

     “You seemed surprised,” he says as we walked our way to the parking lot together.

     “S-Surprised?! You just asked me something ridiculous. How will I not be surprised?” I hysterically asked, making Herbert chuckle this time.

     “Don’t worry, it will still take a few more years since I can still work. But after thinking about it, I think you’re the only person who deserves this company. Hael helped me build this in the first place, and I don’t have any kids, so I think you inheriting it would put both of us at ease,” Herbert explains to me, but I still couldn’t say a thing.

     The two of us eventually arrived at the parking lot. When we got there, I walked Herbert to his car first. I thought he was going inside, but then he turns to face me and says, “Hael wasn’t able to leave you anything behind, but the dog…and this company…I would be delighted if you had both.”

     “I d-don’t know what to say.”

     “Then don’t say anything. I’m not forcing you to take it either. It’s your decision to make,” he says, and I smiled and nodded my head.

     “Well then son, good work today,” Herbert then says, using the word son so casually , a word he’s been using quite some time now. He then pats my shoulder and heads inside his car. As soon as he drove off, I touched my chest and opened my mouth wide in disbelief.

     “What on earth just happened?” I asked in confusion before heading to my own car. I threw my bag on the passenger seat and drove back home, but while I was driving, I couldn’t help but remember the time when Damien and I drove to his hometown, Rivermounth.

     There were times when I wanted to visit, to at least see how Victor is, but I didn’t have the courage to. It’s not like I didn’t want to go, but it’s more like I was running away; away from Damien and anything that was associated with him. Like whatJane said, I have to move on, but that was already the first thing I tried to do, and it’s what I’m still trying to do.

     A year ago, I finally met up with Jonathan. He told me that Damien’s case was still on trial, and then he told me that I shouldn’t have my hopes high. He didn’t say more, but his last words were, “ I’m sorry, but we can’t do anything else. “

     At that point, I lost hope entirely, but something inside me was still holding on. It was only a string, but it was something. Even after everything, he said in his letter, or even after what Jonathan said, I still wanted to believe. But as I wake up every day in an empty bed, the string that’s holding on starts to break. Slowly but surely, it was letting go of that little hope.

     “ If that man you’re waiting for sees you now, do you think he’d be happy? “

     Would you be happy Damien?

     Would you be genuinely happy if I let go of you and move on?

     Would both of us ever be happy at all?

     Tears streamed down my eyes as I immediately hit the brakes. As my heart starts to beat fast, I got out of my car to cool my head and walked towards a cliff that overlooked the city–the same city that Damien once dreamed of being a part of.

     I closed my eyes and let the breeze touch my skin. And then, when I opened them back, I took a deep breath and shouted, “Damien Nicholas Collins! Wherever you are now, I’ll still wait for you! If that string breaks, I’ll take out another one until all my strings are gone! Even if it takes years, I’ll still be waiting at the same spot!”

    My voice echoes as I took another heavy breath. And then I clenched my fist and said, “As I wait, I’ll smile and continue to be your lovely sunshine, but please—”

     Tears quickly streamed down my eyes and I eventually fell to my knees, grabbing my aching chest. You wanted me to be free, but you leaving chained me. I’ll never be free; I’ll always and forever be locked in the arms of the man who watched over me with those eyes that showed me what freedom really is.

     I love you so much that I’m starting to hate you too. I’m starting to hate you because you won’t be here to love me back. But there’s nothing else I can do. I will never be able to move on, but I can pretend like everything’s okay, just like how you always wanted.

     But maybe on another day…

     Or maybe in another life…

     We really will be free like how you claimed.

     “ I love you “

END

EPILOGUE

O N E  Y E A R  L A T E R

THE CUSTOMERS INSIDE THE café were talking over each other, almost making it impossible for me to concentrate on the document that I was reading on my tablet.

     “You seem busy,” someone asks amidst the growing noise that’s accompanied by the sound of rain that’s coming from outside. I take my eyes off the screen to look back at the owner of the voice, Todd Cooper, who was sitting across from me wearing an expensive-looking suit. He was bored, I could tell, and I could also tell that he was starting to get impatient.

    “I actually am busy, so if you want to leave you can go,” I coldly tell him, and instead of getting mad, Todd started whining like a kid.

     “Day! Please, help me out here!” He finally tells me, and I looked at him and chuckled before taking a sip of my coffee.

     “I told you, I’ll be busy. I can’t babysit your kid again like last time. And besides, it’s not my problem your wife’s going on a vacation with her friends. You’re the other parent you idiot, you should take care of your own kid,” I seriously tell him, and Todd just pouts and leans his head on the table.

     “But I’m bad with the baby. Whenever I carry him, he starts crying. I don’t want my wife to leave either, but I want her to enjoy herself. She’s been too stressed with our kid,” he says, and I couldn’t help but genuinely smile at him. Mr. Todd Cooper, our university’s most popular jock, is now worrying over a kid who cries because he carries him in the wrong way. Who would have thought that this would happen?

     “You can do it, you idiot. And besides, wouldn’t your wife feel a bit weird that your ex is going to babysit for you again?” I asked this time, and Todd looks at me and shakes his head.

     “I told you, Kimberly adores you, maybe even more than she adores me. And she’s a super fan of your magazines. We literally have it all over our house,” he explains, and it sounded more like a complaint than a compliment.

     “How about your mom? She’s been dying for you to have a family of your own, and now that you have it, maybe she’s willing to take care of him,” I then tell him. I didn’t mean to say it in a sarcastic manner, but Todd suddenly had a sad look on his face when he heard me say it. He looked at me like he was regretful, and before he could even open his mouth, I immediately said, “Please don’t say anything like you’re sorry again. You kept apologizing at your wedding too like you owe me something. I’m genuinely happy for you Todd, and I genuinely love you, but you gotta move on. Now that you’re a dad, you’re a complete turn-off.”

     I said the last line as a joke, and thankfully Todd ended up laughing so we wouldn’t continue on with this serious atmosphere.

     “It’s not my fault I don’t have time to shave my beard and now wear reading glasses,” Todd tells me. “I’m telling you Day, when you get married, a lot of things change, and I mean a lot. “

     I don’t know why, but the word ‘married’ suddenly made me feel uncomfortable. I unconsciously touched my ring finger again, but it was now empty. I don’t even remember when I stopped putting a band-aid on it. It just hurt more when I did.

     Todd must have noticed my sudden shift, so he clears his throat and said, “Anyway, I’m busy too since I have to overlook the fall collection tomorrow. We’re going to have a meeting together about that, right?” Todd then asks, now looking at me with a smile.

     “Yeah, I’ll send you an email.”

     “Yeah, I’ll send you an email,” Todd repeats, mocking how I said it, almost making me hit him.

     “Always so professional,” he then says. I wanted to defend myself, but then Todd’s phone rang. He takes his phone and reads the message, and then he sighs and looks back at me. “Looks like I have to head out first. New models arrived at the studio and I have to look over them.”

     “Alright.”

     Todd finishes his coffee and looks at his reflection in the mirror to fix his hair. Before standing from his seat, Todd looks at me and says, “I know you’re still waiting Day. Whenever I look at you, your eyes feel distant, like you’re looking for someone. I know we never really talked about it but…mine came to me, so I believe yours will too.”

     Todd’s sincere words made me smile and nod my head.

     “Then I’ll be going. Thanks for the coffee, department head.”

     “Next time you pay,” I replied, and Todd just shrugged his shoulder, making me roll my eyes in annoyance. This asshole literally got promoted last month and he’s still a cheapskate.

     Todd takes his suitcase, and then he pats my shoulder. “I hope you have an exciting life. Goodbye Day,” he says, the same exact words he told me when the two of us broke up in this very coffee shop.

     “You asshole.”

     Todd grins and waves goodbye, and as soon as he left, I took a deep breath and looked out the window. Looks like it’s starting to rain harder now.

     “Here you go sir,” a waiter suddenly says, placing a slice of cheesecake in front of me as I looked back at him with a small smile.

     “Thank you,” I say, looking down at the cheesecake and taking another deep breath. After what happened, I haven’t eaten cheesecakes because of how painful the memories were, but today was different. Today was 7 28. July 28. I visited my parents earlier like how I’ve always had in the past five years. I know I should be sad today, but I couldn’t help but feel at ease. Of course, I still think about a lot of what-ifs, but right now, I’m contented. Maybe not happy, but contented.

     I grab the fork and took a small piece. After taking a bite of it, I closed my eyes and savored the flavor. The familiar flavor made every fiber of my body shiver. The memories came crashing down on me like a landslide, and all I could do was let a tear fall.

     I clenched my fork and took a deep breath, quickly opening my eyes so I could wipe my tears away. But as I opened them back, my body freezes when I saw something in front of me. It was a…

     Band-Aid.

     My heart was beating fast as my hands trembled, making me let go of the fork. I was afraid to look up, so scared to be disappointed like how I was every morning when I woke up in an empty bed. But as more tears streamed down my eyes, I mustered up the courage to finally look at the man standing in front of me.

     Cold blue eyes that were surrounded with red because of too much crying stared down at my face. All I could do was cover my mouth in disbelief.

     “ Sorry I’m late…little pup “

     .

     .

     .

    “Damien…”

FIN

A/N:

You guys okay? Because I’m not 😭 

Your VERY happy & sad author 😭

Special Chapter: SIT

🐾

“IS THE CHAIRMAN OKAY?”  I asked as I was walking down the corridor with Mr. Jonathan Philips. He called me an hour ago and told me to find him in this hotel. I don’t exactly know why he wanted to see me, but by the looks of it, things regarding the chairman have been rough. I’d be glad if I’m able to help in any way.

     “He’s trying to be okay, thankfully the judge decided to put him on house arrest while we’re still working on his case,” Mr. Philips answers.

     We then stopped in front of a door, and then he gestures for me to head inside. I didn’t really say anything, but then I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. “Chairman, it’s me,” I say. 

     I could hear footsteps inside the room, and then the door suddenly swung open, revealing the Companions Association’s m

     Finally, I heard footsteps, and then the door swung open, revealing the Companions Association’s most prized possession, Chairman Hunter . He looked exhausted, and his eyes were red, almost like he’s been crying all day, which was a sight I wasn’t entirely used to.

     “Come in,” he coldly says as he walks back inside, leaving the door open for me. I gulped and took a deep breath before going in the room and closing the door.

     “Sit,” he commands as he walked towards the large window that showed the city lights. I looked around and noticed that there weren’t any chairs, so I decided to sit on the edge of the bed instead.

     “I’m glad you’re still loyal to me Mr. Holland,” the chairman says without looking at me.

     “You’ve treated us like family and you’ve taught us everything we know now. There are still a lot of us who are loyal to you, and we are willing to serve you till the end, especially when this Association…is the only thing that’s left for us,” I sincerely tell him.

     “I’m glad”, he simply says before making the whole room awkward and quiet again.

     After the Association was exposed, practically everyone who worked there was arrested, especially the big dogs. But luckily for us—the companions—we were considered as victims, so we were automatically pardoned…except for the chairman here. He was a companion for more than a decade, but like the big dogs planned everything out if ever a situation like this would happen, they made him the chairman, making him somehow guilty as well.

     But by the looks of it, Mr. Philips and Mr. White are doing everything they can to help him.

     “I called you here because I want you to do something for me,” the chairman finally says.

     “W-What is it sir?” I nervously asked.

     “It’s a very important task, can you do it?” he asked next, but before I could even answer, he takes something from the drawers, then he walks towards me and hands it over.

     “ A photo? “ I whispered to myself. I looked at the photo and saw a man with platinum white hair and blue eyes. I instantly knew who he was. He was all over the news, and master Hael used to talk about him all the time.

     “His name is Dane Andrew McCartney. He was supposed to be the heir to Companion’s Association, but apparently there was never a Will & Testament so that man wasn’t able to inherit any of Hael’s riches and properties,” the chairman explains to me. He then went back to standing in front of the window before continuing, “Look at that photo carefully…because that is the man you will be protecting with all your life while I’m away.”

     “What?” I asked in shock.

     “I’m not actually capable of protecting him now because of my current situation, so if it means you have to die just so you could protect him…then die…that is the only thing you can do for me, do you understand?” the chairman asked, making me shiver for some reason.

     I gulped and quickly stood up from the bed. “I understand chairman,” I answered with no hint of hesitation. I can do anything for chairman Hunter, but this is master Hael’s nephew too. Master Hael took us in when no one else did. I will forever be in his debt.

     “Good,” he says as he finally faces me.

     “That man is my everything. I have given everything I have for his sake,” the chairman then stated, slowly walking towards me. “I have killed so many for his sake, and I will do it all over again if I have to. So if you ever try to betray me; if you ever try to even touch my everything …I won’t hesitate to kill you too, and I don’t care if I have to rot in prison for it, do you understand?” the chairman asked, his question making me gulp in terror.

     My whole body stiffened as I answered, “Y-Yes…chairman…I understand”

     “There’s a brown envelope on the bed. The address and the key to the place where you’ll be staying can be found inside. You will continue watching over him until my case is cleared. And if I ever get back, and if you have fulfilled your duties properly, I will grant you a better place to stay, and a generous amount of money so you could start over,” the chairman explains, making me widen my eyes from shock.

     “I will definitely do my best sir. I will protect and watch over Mr. Dane Andrew McCartney with all my life.”

     The chairman doesn’t say anything else, but his eyes were teary again. I thought he was going to give me another warning, but then he gently pats my back and says, “Thank you, Ben.”

     I don’t know why, but this strong man—the most intimidating man in the Companions, suddenly looked pitiful.

     “You are always welcome sir,” I say, and I took the envelope on the bed and looked back at him, “Then I’ll be off.” I was about to leave the room when the chairman suddenly called out for me one last time.

     “Never mention me, and never tell him or make him even think that you’re somehow connected to me, okay?” 

     I smiled and nodded my head, “Okay”

     I grabbed the doorknob and heard the chairman continue. “One last thing…” he starts. “The Companion’s Association is always watching Holland.”

     I gave a nervous smile and replied to him, “I know sir…I definitely know.”

     I closed the door and walked my way to my temporary home.

     And I’ve been Day’s neighbor ever since.

END

Special Chapter: STAY [m]

NOTE:

This is just a special chapter, so it’s not really important if it’s a scene from the present, past, or future. But so you won’t be confused, Damien here will be referred to as Hunter by the narrator. Thank you and enjoy.

🐾

HUNTER WENT OUT OF  the room and saw Dane working on another magazine article. He sighs and walked towards him, then he sat down behind him, putting Dane in between his legs. Dane doesn’t say anything and just continues typing something down on his laptop, making Hunter growl from frustration.

     “Babe…” he called out, but Dane doesn’t say anything. Hunter pouts and rested his chin on Dane’s shoulder, and then he wraps his arms around Dane’s waist and tried again, “Babe…”

     When it was clear that Dane was completely ignoring him, Hunter quickly bites Dane’s ear, finally making Dane look at him before hitting his thighs. “Damien! I’m doing something!” Dane angrily scolded, making Hunter glare at him.

     “You’re ignoring me, and we haven’t done anything for a couple of days now. Do you know how many times I masturbated while you were at work?” Hunter suddenly says, making Dane sigh and massage his temple. “I’m sorry…the new issue is just coming up soon and I really need to finish this,” Dane explains with an apologetic look that always tamed Hunter down.

     Hunter takes a deep breath and finally nodded his head in defeat. “Fine,” he says as he stood up from the floor to sit on the sofa instead.

     “Thank you,” Day says as he went back to look at the screen of his laptop.

     “But if that magazine is done, I can do anything to you, okay?” Hunter suddenly asked right after. Day was already engrossed in what he was doing so he quickly answered without even thinking too much about it, “Sure, whatever”

     Hunter grins and bites his lower lip, then he smirks victoriously as he waited for Dane to finish with his work.

…

“Damien! I’m home!” Dane shouts as he removes his shoes. He walked towards the living room and turned on the lights. “ Why is it so dark? “ He then asked as he placed his bag on the sofa. Dane was finally done with the magazine they’d been working on, and thankfully the sales went well. Though it was late and he was exhausted, Dane was happy to know that he could finally take a break after a week of working nonstop.

     He removes his coat and drank a glass of water, then he walked towards the bedroom, but the moment he opened the door, his face completely turned red.

     Hunter was in bed, masturbating while using Dane’s underwear.

     “Damien!” Dane quickly shouted, making Hunter quickly look at him.

     The moment Hunter saw Dane, cum started oozing out of his cock, and Hunter gave out a low and sexy moan, “took you long enough”, he naturally says as he cleans his cock with Dane’s underwear, then he throws it inside the basket before standing up.

     “I was just warming up babe,” Hunter says with a smirk, suddenly excited just by seeing Dane’s reaction. He walks towards him, making Dane slowly move back until his back was pressed against the wall. 

     “Done with the magazine right?” Hunter asked with a smirk, gently reaching out to hold Dane’s chin. Dane—whose face was still red—gulped and nodded his head in answer.

     “Good. Now, like what we agreed on…I’ll do anything to you, right?” Hunter continued to ask. Dane paused, thinking if he actually agreed to something like that, but when his eyes widened in realization, Hunter knew that he finally remembered agreeing to it like an idiot.

     “Strip,” Hunter quickly commanded without even wasting any time.

     Dane was surprised by his sudden command that he wasn’t even able to move.

     “I said strip…or I’m going to do it myself,” Hunter says, quickly making Dane respond. He removes his clothes in front of Hunter while Hunter stared at him from head to toe. When Dane was finally fully naked, Hunter leaned closer until their manhoods would touch, then he went closer to Dane’s ear and whispered, “ Mine…all of it is mine. “

     Dane bites his lower lip, and then he felt Hunter’s hands touch his back, then it got lower until he reached his ass. He squeezed it and leaned towards Dane’s lips to kiss him. Both of them started kissing each other, but as Dane was distracted by the passionate kiss that Hunter was giving, Hunter quickly shoves two fingers inside him, making Dane bite Hunter’s lip from surprise.

     “A-Ahh!” Dane moaned as Hunter started pushing his fingers deeper inside. Hunter licks his bleeding lips, then he slightly lowered his head so he could suck on Dane’s nipples.

     Hunter thrusts his fingers faster, making Dane close his eyes from the pleasure. “D-Damien…Damien, I’m about to…I’m about to—” But before Dane could even climax, Hunter quickly pulls out, shocking him.

     “Babe!” Dane immediately complained, and Hunter just sticks his tongue out to tease his lover, making Dane hit his shoulder.

     “Not yet,” Hunter simply says, taking Dane’s hand and pulling him until they stood in front of the bed. “For today’s sex session…you’re going to play as my companion,” Hunter suddenly explains, making Dane laugh at his stupid idea. But when Hunter didn’t even smile, Dane’s expression quickly changed into a serious one now.

     “What’s a companion again?” Hunter asked.

     Dane gulped nervously and answered, “A p-pet.”

     Hunter smirked upon hearing Dane’s answer, so he leaned forward and quickly kissed Dane again. “That’s a good boy,” Hunter says as he pats Dane on the head. “Now let me hear my little pup growl,” Hunter commanded, making Dane look at him like he was crazy. “Are you fucking serious?”

     “Oh, is that how you answer your master?” Hunter seriously asked.

     Dane flinched and quickly did what he was told. He didn’t know how to do it but he copied how Hunter usually does it. So after seconds of mentally preparing himself, Dane gave out a quick and awkward growl, instantly making Hunter grin in satisfaction. All Dane could do was look away in embarrassment.

     Hunter doesn’t comment about it so Dane felt even more like an idiot after doing it.

     “Sit,” Hunter quickly commanded next while pointing at the bed.

     “Y-Yes daddy…”

     Dane’s face was still red from embarrassment as he slowly sat down on the bed.

     “Now stay.”

     He nodded and stayed obediently.

     “Now…roll over for daddy”

     “What?” Dane asked, but Hunter’s scary expression made him quickly roll over the bed.

     Hunter smirks as he moved closer, and without wasting any time, he bites Dane’s ass, making Dane flinch again. “That’s a good boy…now…here’s your treat.”

     Dane’s whole body shivered when Hunter’s tongue suddenly entered his hole.

     Dane was griping on the sheets as Hunter continued to lick him. Hunter’s hot and wet tongue made him feel hornier and hornier with every lick. After a few seconds of pleasure, Hunter went on top of him. He kisses Dane’s neck first but doesn’t say anything.

     Dane’s eyes widened as he felt the tip of Hunter’s cock touch his entrance, but before he could complain, he felt a sudden thrust, and all Day could do was obey and give in to the pleasure. “S-Shit! Daddy!” Dane quickly shouted as Hunter started fastening his pace.

     “Go on your hands and knees,” Hunter commanded again as he was slowly standing up, pulling Dane with him. Now Dane was on his hands and knees while Hunter was standing up on the floor, pushing himself even deeper inside his pet.

     “You feel so good, baby!” Hunter shouted, and then he started going slow, and the slow pace made it even more pleasurable.

     Dane was panting heavily as he said, “F-fuck it…Do whatever you want…I don’t fucking care anymore…make me feel good daddy”

     Hunter grins, glad that Dane was finally letting go and just naturally accepting the pleasure Hunter was giving him. Dane started pushing himself deeper inside Hunter now that it was making Hunter harder. But the more Hunter got harder, the more Dane got tighter.

     “Ah! T-That’s it little pup. Eat me up like that…” Hunter stated as he was now sweating like crazy. “It’s so wet and tight inside you babe, it feels fucking good,” Hunter continued to say, making Dane moan even more.

     The pace fastened again. And after a few more aggressive thrusts, Hunter gripped Dane’s waist and shot all of his load inside Dane.

     Dane, who has been wanting to cum since earlier, finally did. His arms and legs weakened right after so he quickly fell back on the bed, pulling away from Hunter’s dick. He was panting heavily as Hunter walked towards the restroom, and then he went out and started cleaning Dane’s hole with a clean cloth. When Dane was finally clean, he threw the cloth away and quickly lay beside his lovely sunshine.

     “You’re crazy Damien Nicholas Collins,” Dane says with a weak laugh.

     Hunter smiles and kisses Dane’s lips, “I love you too.”

     Dane moves closer until he could rest his head on Damien’s chest. When both of them were now cuddled up together, Dane replies, “I love you.”

     Hunter kisses Dane’s head and closes his eyes. “ Stay by my side forever, okay? “ Damien whispered, his eyes still closed.

     Dane closed his eyes too as he whispered back, “ As long as you stay by my side as well…I’ll stay with you forever “

END

Special Chapter: ROLL OVER

🐾

JONATHAN WAS HUGGING ME, and for a moment I thought he was going to cry, but he kept it all in like he always does. When we parted from the hug, Jonathan clears his throat and takes a deep and heavy breath. And when we looked back at each other, the two of us couldn’t help but laugh.

     “Thank you…thank you, Jonathan,” I say, and Jonathan takes a deep breath and pats my back, but he doesn’t say anything. I knew he didn’t want to say anything because he’d end up actually crying if he did.

     My case was finally resolved. After five fucking years of investigation and looking for loopholes that might justify my case, the judge has finally declared me as not guilty .

     I was f r e e .

     Freedom was right in front of me and I couldn’t even believe it. Maybe everything that I’ve done could never be forgotten, and it definitely cannot be erased. But this feeling…this new and amazing feeling…

     It’s too much for me to even handle.

     “I’m so sorry it took this long Damien,” Jonathan finally says.

     I give him a reassuring smile and held his shoulder, “No, if it wasn’t for you I might never have been free. Thank you Jonathan…thank you,” I say again.

     Jonathan nods his head and hands me my suitcase. “Your car is waiting for you downstairs, as well as your identification and credit cards. I also have given Mr. Holland his payment for watching over Day. He will be moving out from Day’s apartment complex tomorrow.”

     “Wait, what do you mean? What car? What credit card?” I asked confusingly.

     Jonathan couldn’t contain his happiness as he says, “All your properties and all the money you earned from working with Hael was not added to the case. To be specific, the millions of dollars you own, and the Companion’s Mansion…is back in your hands.”

     My eyes widened from shock. “W-What…how did this—”

     Jonathan cuts me off and explains, “The jury found no reason to take it from you since you were mistreated and practically used. The things you owned were given back to you because they think that was the right thing to do; to at least pay back the hardship you had to go through for the last 15 years.”

     A tear fell from my eyes again after hearing the news, and I couldn’t help but hug Jonathan again. “T-Thank you…thank you so much.”

     At first, I was so worried about what I was going to do once I get back to Dane. I was a broken man with nothing to give. I wasn’t even capable of helping him with my previous state…but knowing this, my confidence in meeting the love of my life again made me so eager.

     “Now go…” Jonathan says as we parted from the hug.

     I gripped the strap of my suitcase and thanked him again. I thought he was going to say goodbye, but to my surprise, Jonathan suddenly bowed in front of me. “We might never get to see each other again but…It has been my greatest honor to serve you…Chairman Damien Nicholas Collins.” He then stood up straight and continued, “Hael would be so proud of you. Really, really proud of you.”

     I forced myself not to cry from Jonathan’s parting words. “I hope he is Jonathan, but I know for sure that he’s proud of you too.”

     I looked at Jonathan for the last time before turning around. Then I took a deep breath and opened the door of my hotel room. I was ready to leave, but I quickly stopped when I saw Neil, Christine, and dozens of other Companions lining up on the sides of the hallway.

     “Thank you for everything, chairman Hunter,” they all said in unison, honestly making me teary again.

     Neil walks to me and pats my back. “Congratulations Hunter,” he says.

     “Thank you,” I replied, and then I looked at Christine who nodded her head to congratulate me too.

     “The Companions just wanted to see you before you leave,” Neil explains. I looked at my companions, all looked free as I was. These men and women were my family; they knew what I was going through because they themselves had experienced it. My life would never be the same, but I would never ask anyone to undo my life so I could start a new one.

     The scars, the pain, and the tears…they were the reason why I became Hunter.

     “Thank you, everyone,” I say with a deep bow.

     Then I walked away and never looked back, putting the whole Association behind me, and starting a new life again with the person who made me the happiest.

     “Dane…your daddy’s coming home”

END

ABOUT

ABOUT THE STORY:

Sit, Stay, Roll Over is by far my greatest achievement yet. I never really thought that people would read it, but well, here you are now. Some of these questions are actually from other readers so I posted the answers here.

What inspired you to write this?

⌲ Well here’s a story. I was talking to my sister when suddenly our dog comes to me. I just randomly asked her these exact questions: “What would happen if Itchico (the name of our dog) suddenly becomes human?”

Then BOOM! Sit, Stay, Roll Over was born.

How

did you think of the crazy plot?

⌲ The plot making was actually very easy since I like reading dystopian and mystery books. The story was originally just going to be a casual one, but I really can’t write stories that are pure romance, I always like giving them plots that will keep the readers from actually reading it till the end. If you actually just make a timeline of your whole story and jumble it up and chop it into bits, it will look pretty cool when everything is finally puzzled back together.

Characters?

Damien Nicholas Collins

⌲ For Damien in the story, I wanted to make him seem obedient since he’s a pet  but when they’re in bed, he’s the master lol 

I didn’t really want to give Hunter/Damien a complicated past. The story was only going to revolve around a pet-owner kind of relationship that will gradually develop into a complicated type of relationship, but like what I told my sister, I have this obsession with over-doing my character’s story.

Dane Andrew McCartney

⌲ Day wasn’t really a hard character to type since I based him on a typical workaholic person who’s very practical. He usually makes choices that won’t complicate things, but of course, we all know that changes too.

His original character was supposed to be younger, and I even considered him being a student, but again, that changes as well.

As for why I chose Lucky Blue Smith…Well, I just really liked him and his hair, so I chose him, simple as that.

Todd Cooper

 ⌲ I had to go through a lot of thinking just for this character. I originally had a lot of plans for him, like he was supposed to be significant until the last chapters but his relationship with Day going back and forth actually tired me so I decided to cut him short and just end it there. 

I also wanted to just slightly show you guys a glimpse of what a relationship looks like when the other partner acts like both of you are in a competition. And honestly, I don’t want to sound mean, but the only reason why I decided to add a Todd Cooper as a stepping stone for Damien. If Todd wasn’t there, Day would automatically fall in love with Damien the moment he sees him, and that would just be…bad. So I just used Todd as a beginning complication…

Sorry, Todd.

But I do love him. While I was rewriting him, I ended up enjoying his presence in the book.

Have you ever considered a different ending?

⌲ YES, but I NEVER considered killing any of them. Maybe I considered it a little but I never really pushed it through. Actually, the closes ending that could have made it was that Day gets to keep the Association, but he gives it to Damien instead. That was one of the original endings, but I thought it would be terrible for Day to keep the Association that practically killed his uncle.

The other ending that I decided on was that Day WON’T be meeting Damien again in the end but it was too depressing for me.

AND the other one was that Damien was going to kill all the big dogs, and maybe with the help of the people of Rivermounth. The idea was cool, but it was very hard to think of what would happen next, and it might just complicate things more.

Have you ever considered

Day actually

ending up with Todd?

⌲ Another YES.

Like what I said, this story was originally just going to be casual without a heavy plot, so there was a time that I wanted Day to go back to Todd once Damien’s contract with Day ended. BUT as we all know, that never happened. phew

When did

Damien really

fall in love with Day?

⌲ When they stumbled upon each other in university. Day was Damien’s first love, he just wasn’t aware of it.

Why was Christine surprised when Hunter (the dog), approached Day even when the whole thing was planned?

⌲ Christine wasn’t too confident that Hunter would walk towards Day since Hunter never really met Day before. But Hunter still approached Day because he smelled Hael’s scent on him. That’s why Christine was surprised.

Was Todd even gay?

⌲ Let’s just say in a sense he really wasn’t. He never liked any other guys except for Day, and he never dated any other men except Day. The closes I can say is he’s pansexual.

Can you explain to us the Video you made?

⌲ If you actually rewatch the trailer again, you’ll see that it mostly shows Damien and Dane’s past. It was honestly a huge spoiler video lol

Why Did Damien have to make Day fall in love with him first?

⌲ That’s because Damien needed Day to trust him.

Why did you decide to end the story like that?

⌲ I ended the story like that so that readers can wonder and think of the outcome that they want instead of me detailedly writing it for them. 

Sequel?

⌲ Let’s see…YES. It’s actually published now and it’s focusing on Damien and Day’s story AFTER all the shit that happened to them. And it will focus more on their relationship. Something Day & Damien wasn’t able to focus on in this book. DISCLAIMER: I wasn’t able to remaster it like this book, so there will be inconsistencies in the details BUT if you’re not keen on that, book 2 is safe to read.

Prequel?

⌲ For now, no. But it would be interesting to write about Todd and Day when they were in college.

Do you have other stories?

I have A LOT. You may choose what to read next 😂

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/904a5f8c40b567c21917b8af338ca35f5433e550/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f34614455477a7462464e735459513d3d2d3532363930393236322e313736656234656633626666613537633738313731373430383430322e6a7067)

…

AND, this is not mandatory in any way, but if you enjoyed the book and would like to give some sort of tip/donation, I would be very very thankful as it can help me continue writing. Pledging to my Patreon account will greatly help me as an aspiring author.

( The

link is in this comment line )

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/37eeb608feea797c1739c5c35cfad9131a686add/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f5f6d45625f4c464c3130483955673d3d2d3532363930393236322e313762336639396636383862373736393635383931323130343133322e706e67)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

🐾

Hello guys. You have no idea how happy and proud I am after everything that happened. I don’t want to say goodbye but sadly, all good things must come to an end.

You guys have no idea how happy you made me feel. Writing this story made me so happy and I enjoyed it so much so I hope you guys enjoyed reading it too.

For those who watched the story grow, and saw how the community grew as well, I can’t thank you enough.

For the BONERS , you guys have been awesome. Maybe on my next project, I’ll be able to see you guys again. Who knows. BUT for the things you guys have told me, I will always keep it inside my heart no matter what.

To my sister who has the power to change the whole chapter’s plot by just one word, thank you for your advices.

To the readers who correct me whenever I have typos, thank you as well, I really appreciate it.

To those who personally message me to just say you liked the story, you guys have no idea how happy that makes me feel. I always love talking to my readers and it makes me feel really happy when I do so.

To those who were late in arriving and just read this when the story was already complete…well…hi! HAHA I don’t think I can reply on new comments anymore but know that I read them all and I appreciate them with all my heart.

Thank you guys for staying with me till the end. To those who loved this story and hated it at the same time, I love you so much!

If you guys want to, you can give me a heartfelt message lol because I really like reading messages from you guys. Especially long one’s cuz I feel like my hard work was worth it.

Anyways, this is my official goodbye to SIT, STAY, ROLL OVER!

You guys made this journey so fuckin’ unforgettable. I’m seriously tearing up a little 😭

Until next time! From the bottom of my heart,  Thank you guys!

∙ October 25, 2017 - January 26, 2018 ∙

…

NEW ACKNOWLEDGMENT

(SSRO EDITED VERSION)

The re-edited version has finally ended!

It’s a bit different, isn’t it? I know some might not have liked the new version, but thank you all so so much for reading it again and joining me on this journey for the second time. I hope you laughed, cried, and loved it as much as I did when I was rewriting it.

This is the version that I’m proud of, but the old version is still the one I’m proud of the most. It might not be here anymore, but it will forever stay in my heart.

Thank you for reading SSRO, my dear readers.

Thank you to the silent readers, the loud readers, the new readers, and especially the old ones. I appreciate you all so much, and I can never be as appreciative as I am now. This book was the start of my writing journey on Wattpad, so the fact that you’re here means a lot to me.

Well, once again, this is my official goodbye to SIT, STAY, ROLL OVER [REMASTERED]!

Until next time!

∙September 15, 2022 - November 9, 2022 

∙