***
Those words cut Chris so deep, he gasped. Was that how low their relationship had sunk? Was Shane feeling so much humiliation he was actually begging him to…leave him some pride. Were they not supposed to be each other’s backbone? What the fuck happened to them? Chris felt a physical pain inside his chest. Now he knew for sure that Murray had told Shane about his stupid break-up crap. Why else would Shane have such a nightmare?
“Sleep, Chris.” Chris heard Shane say softly from beneath the covers and stretched out on the bed again.
“Can I hold you, please?” Chris’ voice was barely a whisper. Shane remained tense and quiet for a moment. Then he moved back against Chris so that they spooned against each other, with Shane’s back to the front of Chris and Chris’ arms around Shane’s waist. There was nothing sexual about their closeness. “I love you,” Chris whispered, refusing to get worried when he didn’t receive any response though he knew Shane had heard him perfectly.
Chris knew that it was crucial for Shane to hear those words from him that very moment, more than any other time. And Chris did just that. He always made sure he said those words to Shane every single day, just as he’d promised to do. Whenever they were apart, Chris would call or send a text before he slept, to tell Shane he loved him. He hadn’t told him the day before though.
“Sorry I didn’t tell you yesterday,” Chris murmured. Suddenly, it didn’t matter who was right or wrong. And it certainly didn’t matter that Chris had resolved to wait till Shane made the first move. “I acted like a jerk and I’m sorry.”
Though Shane didn’t utter a word, Chris felt better…lighter.
The next day, things seemed to be a little less tense between Shane and Chris. They took strolls around the beautiful property, enjoying the lovely weather and generally hanging out. Chris wanted to bring up Shane’s nightmare…reassure Shane that he wasn’t going to leave him. But he wanted to respect Shane’s wishes and not bring it up…at least not so soon after what Shane obviously felt was a humiliation.
Though the two men spent time together, there was still some distance between them. Chris noticed that Shane was chatting more and more with Mario and that pissed the hell out of him but there was nothing he could do about it. That evening in bed, Chris pulled Shane into his arms despite Shane’s objections, which sounded feeble even to his own ears.
“Shut up, Shane,” Chris muttered, pressing a kiss on Shane’s neck. “You’re my obsession. Never forget that.”
Again, Shane didn’t respond. And again, Chris didn’t give a flying fuck. Within a short time, their breathing evened out as they both drifted off.
By the fourth day in the luxurious vacation home, Chris was ready to scream. First off, Shane had still not told him why they were vacationing in that house. Chris didn’t want to come across as not wanting to spend time with Shane so he wasn’t asking any questions. They seemed to be tiptoeing around each other as Shane was obviously refusing to open up and say why he was angry. And as if that wasn’t stressful enough, Shane was spending too much time with Mario, who seemed to be smitten with Shane. What hot-blooded gay man wouldn’t be, Chris fumed. But the possibility that Shane also lusted after the obviously besotted chef made Chris want to tear something apart. Shit!
“Come on, we’re going clubbing,” Chris said abruptly on their fourth night.
“What?” Shane looked up in surprise.
“I said we’re going to the club.”
“You know I don’t dance,” Shane said.
“And who said clubbing is just for dancing?” Chris was moving towards the stairs. “We leave in thirty. I’ll pick out something for you.”
Shane groaned as he got up to follow Chris reluctantly. He might as well go with the flow, he thought. After all, they had nothing doing at home. He’d thought after a day or two with Chris, he could bring himself to talk things out with Chris. But he was still hurt and couldn’t bring himself to talk much with Chris as he’d wanted to. Surprisingly, Chris had also refrained from talking about their obvious problems too.
Well, maybe what they needed was some time away from the house, Shane thought. By the time they finished dressing up, Shane was so horny he wanted to scream. Chris looked totally hot in a tight red v-neck t-shirt, white jeans, and black leather jacket. His classy black designer boots completed his classy look. Shane couldn’t help but stare open-mouthed at Chris.
“What?” Chris looked at himself. “Is something wrong?”
Shane swallowed hard and turned to go. “Nothing’s wrong.” He responded hoarsely.
“Hey?” Chris called and watched as Shane turned around to face him.
Chris stared admiringly at Shane, feeling an intense heat within that had nothing to do with the weather. Shane was wearing grey jeans and a sexy white long-sleeved t-shirt, that had a grey zipper in front. The top fitted his ridiculously sexy body like a second skin, leaving little to the imagination. His light brown six-inch leather boots completed his sexy look.
“Damn, you’re hot,” Chris said in that warm, raspy voice that never failed to make Shane hard.
Shane shrugged. “You picked it.” He said in a voice he didn’t even recognize as his own. Then he turned and left the room.
Chris stared at the door for a while, wishing he could simply drag Shane into bed and fuck his brains out. But he knew that that wasn’t the right time to go all caveman on his obviously still angry boyfriend. Chris prayed to all the angels for patience and willpower. Patience to be able to give Shane the space he obviously needed. And willpower to…well, let no one say Chris Donovan was a rapist.
When Chris got downstairs, Shane was standing outside laughing softly with Mario, who was getting ready to leave for the day. Chris saw red. But he didn’t react.
“Leaving, Mario?” Chris asked cheerfully as he took the car keys from Shane’s hand. “Or you’ve been invited to tag along by your heartthrob here.” And not waiting to listen to Mario’s response, Chris turned towards where the car was parked, neither seeing the embarrassed blush on Mario’s face nor the look of shock on Shane’s.