HIS (Complete ✅)

Chapter 3 (Do i need to take my clothes off?)

Tay paced the length of his living room. There was a pit in his belly with dancing butterflies. In an hour and a half, New would be in his home, in his studio.

His two-bedroom condo stood on the 12th floor of a building in the center of the city. The view on the 12th floor was not as wonderful as that on the 30th but it was something. He transformed one of his bedrooms into a home studio. He had another studio in town for professional shoots but for personal projects with people he was familiar with, he used the studio at home.

He could've taken New to the other studio to save himself the anxiety. He should have. However, he wanted to show New his home for reasons he was too embarrassed to admit to himself.

He doublechecked his reflection in the mirror hanging behind the front door. Fixed his hair for the nth time. Changed into his third shirt.

When New messaged that night, Tay was so happy he thought he was going to die. But of course, the conversation was awkward. He didn't know if he had any right to ask New why he reached out so late. He counted himself lucky enough to have gotten the text in the first place. In a bid to make the conversation less stilted, he reminded New of their photoshoot appointment. That brought them here today.

He glanced at his watch again. One hour more. He should perhaps eat something. But his stomach hurt from excitement. He didn't think he could keep anything down. The shrill sound of the doorbell jolted him out of his thoughts. He stumbled to the door, half confused about who it could be.

His legs almost gave when he saw New at the other through the peephole. He opened the door, grabbed onto the door frame, and gaped. He thought he had an hour more to mentally prepare himself for this.

"Hi." New greeted with a smile. His voice was just as smooth as Tay remembered. Skin just as bright. And smile twice as beautiful.

"Hi." Tay choked out.

"I know I'm a bit early but I got tired of waiting," he paused. "May I come in?"

Tay realized he was still holding onto the door frame. His entire body blocked the entrance. "Sure" he scrambled to the side, one foot almost tripping over the other. "You're welcome," he said when he regained his balance. He closed the door after New. Watched him pull off his shoes. He tried and failed to not stare at his ass.

"You've got a nice home." New looked impressed. Tay heaved a mental sigh of relief. He wanted New to like his space. Especially since he'd want to share this space with New soon. He quickly shook his head to discard his wishful thinking. He wasn't even a hundred percent sure the man was into men.

"Thank you," Tay said. He led him to the open sitting room. The morning sun poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows. It basked the room in a golden glow.

He always thought nature was awesome when that happened. But watching the light fall on New's skin took his breath away. His mind wanders to lazy weekends with the man. Just the two of them huddled on his couch and watching TV. Lazily making out to the sound of their favorite song. Making love with the sun and the sky as their audience.

"Teh?" New touched his shoulder. His hands, soft. Tay jumped out of his skin. "I've been calling you for some time," he chuckled. "Are you always this— eccentric?"

Tay internally groaned. This was not the best second impression he wanted to give. "Sorry." He apologized. He could not talk himself out of this one.

"Don't apologize. I like weird." New started to take off his jacket. "Okay, where do you need me?"

Tay had to take a second to answer because WTF? "Uhm— my studio. This way." He led the way to the equally sunlit studio. His studio had several photos he took hanging on the wall. New took his sweet time looking at every single one of them. "What do you think?" Tay asked when he was done.