“Oh, nearly ten years now,” Desmond said, shrugging out of his jacket so he didn’t have to meet Javier’s eyes. “It was one of my first investments as I started to see success in the financial world.”
“Mmm hmm.” Javier’s hum was all Des needed to hear to know the man had guessed just how deeply Matthew had sunk his claws into his life. He never should have let someone so volatile swoop in and take over so much of his world. It was embarrassing to remember how hungry for the sort of attention Matthew had given him he’d been.
Des cleared his throat. “I’ll just pop into the en suite to change and wash up a bit.”
“And I’ll just see what I have to work with here,” Javier said with a teasing wink, moving straight to Des’s wardrobe.
As much as Des wanted to stick around to see what a former model thought of his clothing choices, he really did need to clean up. He grabbed a pair of pyjama bottoms and a long-sleeved t-shirt from his bureau, and with one last, curious look at Javier as he threw open the wardrobe doors and studied its contents, Des slipped into the bathroom.
He raced through undressing and scrubbed more than just his face before putting on his pajamas. He almost refreshed his deodorant as well before thinking that Javier would laugh at him if he smelled a little too fresh. He liked Javier immensely, though, and wanted to impress the man. It was probably terribly dysfunctional of him, and the things he was feeling were likely the result of not having had sex in months. But seriously, what red-blooded gay man wouldn’t feel a rush of excitement at having a handsome, tall, and clever model in their bedroom?
By the time he exited the bathroom, Javier was still focused on the wardrobe. Not only that, but by the look of the things that were hung from the doors or laid across the bed, he was reorganizing the whole thing.
Before Desmond could do more than open his mouth to ask what Javier was doing, Javier said, “It’s a good thing you invited me over, because this wardrobe is in need of a serious sort.”
Des snapped his mouth shut. “If you say so, dear,” he said. It was probably silly of him to try to keep the boyfriend charade going, but he really loved it.
Javier dragged his eyes away from one of Desmond’s work suits and glanced over at him. The kindness in his smile turned into an entirely different kind of warmth as he raked Des with a gaze from head to toe. Desmond suddenly wondered when was the last time he’d washed his sheets.
“What am I thinking?” Javier asked a moment later, shoving the suit he’d been holding back into the wardrobe, then quickly gathered up the other things to put back as well. “Now is not the time for a closet makeover. You’ll have to forgive me. I’m a little OCD when it comes to organizing things. You should have seen me backstage at some of the shows I was in. The dressers either loved me or hated me for trying to keep the racks straight and organized. I suppose that’s why I’m trying to run my own agency now.”
He was blabbering, but Desmond kind of loved it. There was something light and artless about the way Javier talked. His words weren’t calculated and designed to score points, like Matthew’s always had been. Javier seemed so confident in who he was, too. He didn’t have to prove himself to anyone.
Unlike Desmond.
“I don’t mind if you rearrange my—” Insides. He wanted to say insides. “—wardrobe.”
“Some other time, sweetheart,” Javier said, putting the last of his things back, then closing the wardrobe doors. “Right now, we need to make sure you get back to feeling one hundred percent as quickly as possible.” He stepped forward, reaching for Desmond’s hand.
Desmond smiled as he took the offered hand and let Javier lead him out of the bedroom and back downstairs. Yes, he definitely liked the touchiness.
“I’m feeling much better,” he said, though it was a lie.
No, it was the truth. His stomach might still be as wobbly as a cart with three wheels, but the rest of him was happier than he’d been in a long time. His shoulders unknotted and he felt warm from the inside out. He felt cared for, important. What a change that was.
“You still need to rest,” Javier said as they reached the ground floor and headed back toward the kitchen. “What sort of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t make sure my honey bear was feeling better?”
“I’m not much of a bear, really,” Desmond blurted before he could scream at himself that Javier didn’t mean it literally. He then made it worse by going on with, “I’m fairly average in the hair department.”
He should probably just ask Javier to go and then bury himself in the back garden out of shame right then and there.
Javier turned to him with a cheeky grin as they entered the kitchen and said, “Well, I’m as smooth as a baby just about everywhere.” He arched one eyebrow and added with heart-stopping boldness, “Everywhere. It comes with the job,” he added in a far less mischievous tone, “and I’ve kept it up, even though I don’t walk anymore.”
“Oh,” Desmond said breathlessly, sitting heavily on one of the bar stools at the kitchen counter. He would not picture Javier naked, he would not picture Javier naked, he would not picture Javier naked.
He pictured Javier naked.
“Looks like you have some chamomile and mint tea in here,” Javier said after searching through a few cupboards while Desmond just stared at him in a state of horny shock. “That’s always good for the tum-tum.”
“Er, yes, please,” Desmond said, caught between feeling ridiculous and happier than he’d been in ages.
Javier fixed tea for both of them, then they took it into the lounge.
“This seems like the place to get cozy,” Javier said as they settled on the large, soft sofa. “I love this sofa.”
“It was a special treat after Matthew left,” Desmond said, then sipped some of his tea.
“A sofa was a treat?” Javier asked, sitting next to him and twisting sideways so he faced Desmond. He’d taken off his suit jacket and shoes, and as he folded one of his long legs across the couch cushions between them, Desmond wished Javier had PJs on, too.
