Escort || manxman

Part 12

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Adam rubbed the towel briskly over his hair a few more times before yanking it from his head with a bit more force than necessary, making it slap wetly against the sink when it fell. The bright lights of his bathroom, as well as the lack of his glasses made him squint a bit at his own image in the mirror above the sink. He stared at himself for a few moments, taking in the hint of puffiness under his eyes, the way his hair could do with a trim, and the dull gloom of his countenance. Sighing deeply, he shook his head before turning to hang up his towel and reaching for the hair dryer to begin his styling routine.

His mind was preoccupied, though not by the upcoming dinner and 'additional service' appointment he had this evening. What was going through his mind instead were thoughts of a man with a bright smile, a hesitant yet fierce nature, and eyes so wide and blue and beautiful that Adam could drown in them and die a happy man. What - or rather who - occupied his mind was Alex.

It was late afternoon the Saturday after he'd seen and spoken to Alex last. Adam hadn't been in touch like he'd promised he would be and guilt had begun to take small, painful bites out of him. Still he couldn't bring himself to call or show up unannounced at Alex's door like he'd had no problem with doing before. And, really, this wasn't the first time he'd found himself lost in thoughts about Alex, but it was all different now. It was different because Adam's outlook on his and Alex's... arrangement was different. The dynamics had changed, at least on Adam's part, from a flirtatious, carnal fling to something... else.

It had happened when he got back from dropping Alex off a week ago.

He'd planned out an outfit that would fit the requirements that his client had left for meeting at a bar downtown, mentally picking the shirt that would go with that certain pair of black jeans and the black suede derbies to match. When he'd looked over the shoes standing in neat rows underneath the shirts in his closet, however, Adam couldn't seem to find the pair he'd planned on wearing. Having been pressed for time, Adam huffed in annoyance and started roughly pushing the shirts aside to be able to see his shoe collection better. Still not able to find the derbies he wanted to wear, Adam had lifted his gaze to the top shelf where he kept the pairs he didn't wear that often in their boxes and began sorting through them quickly.

When he'd pulled out a box that was crammed in further toward the back corner, a flutter of black fabric had tumbled from the shelf as he pulled the box over the edge and into his hands. Adam's movements stilled in recognition. He'd almost forgotten about putting it there.

With a swooping sensation in his belly, Adam had put the shoe box aside and bent to pick up the black t-shirt lying in a crinkled pile by his feet. Handling the shirt with a care that resembled the way one would treat a piece of delicate bone china, Adam had caressed the soft, worn fabric between his fingers as he stared at it. It was the shirt that Alex had given him to wear the morning after their first encounter. Once he'd gotten home that day, Adam had stowed it away, wanting to keep it separated from the rest of his clothes as a memento of sorts.

Lifting his hands to his face, Adam had pressed the fabric to his nose, inhaling carefully and immediately being hit with Alex's familiar scent. It wasn't the cologne he sometimes wore or the detergent he used for his clothes; it was the deep, oddly warm scent that was him, that was inherently Alex, and it had made a small smile spread on Adam's lips while a flutter filled his chest. Not even an hour had passed since Alex had stepped out of his car, yet being reminded of him then had made Adam acutely miss having him around already.

And that had been the moment when Adam felt something fundamental shift inside of him, making his smile fall into a confused frown.

Slowly backing out of the closet, with the t-shirt still in hand, Adam had suddenly been unable to focus on much else but the flurry of confusion in his mind and the heavy thudding of his heart. He'd felt ambushed, struck, yet unable to even begin to understand what had happened, leaving him startled and almost frightened.