Intrigue

Chapter 31

Malcolm's POV

I started walking towards the direction that the Maps application was showing. Sean glanced at me in surprise, finding it difficult to keep up with me. We walked silently for a few minutes. With the way I was rushing, we'd be getting there in less than ten minutes.

Sean spoke just before we arrived. "Are you sure you're okay, about what I said?" he asked me.

I squeezed his hand tightly. "Yes. I mean as long as you're not doing it any longer."

Sean stopped me a few paces away from the bar where we were meeting his friends. The area was surrounded by people drinking and smoking. "I'm not. I wouldn't even think of it," he said. He released my hand from his, and put both of his hands on my shoulders. "I would never do anything to jeopardise our relationship," he told me. "I know that what we have is great and to me, you honestly are the priority in all of this." His eyes delved into mine, and I could catch a glimpse of his grey flecks. I could tell he was telling me the truth; there was something very honest about his expression.

"I know," I answered him. I reduced the last bit of space there was between us and we kissed softly. Sean pulled away to look at me for a couple of seconds and then pushed his lips to mine heatedly again. Evidently, we'd both gotten over not wanting to be seen this way in public.

A male voice calling Sean's name made him pull away from me. We both looked around. A guy around Sean's age, holding a cigarette in his hand, approached us. He glanced at me briefly before hugging Sean, making it a point to be extremely careful not to touch him with the lit cigarette, and holding him a second too long, enough for me to know that we had just met Jeremy. He was as tall as I was, and had short wavy brown hair, fair skin, light brown eyes and freckles running across his slightly elongated face. He had just a hint of stubble, and wore a light blue shirt, classic denim jeans and a black branded jacket on top, together with boat shoes. He seemed nice.

"Hey, man," he grinned at him. "I thought you said you were bringing a friend, not meeting someone at the bar. This is fast, even for you."

Sean looked back at him in confusion. "What? I didn't meet Malcolm here. This is the friend I was referring to. Well, boyfriend, to be precise," he said hesitantly.

Jeremy looked at me in surprise. "Oh. Sorry. Oh. I wasn't expecting..." he trailed off, and I understood. He wasn't expecting me to be a guy, and when he'd seen Sean and I, he thought we'd just met and hooked up at the bar.

He smiled at me. "Nice to meet you, Malcolm. I'm Jeremy, M- umm, Sean's best buddy." His eyes turned to Sean, who seemed to be watching him quizzically.

I forced a smile. "Likewise," I said. This was already awkward, and I was meeting just one out of five friends.

Jeremy took a puff out of the cigarette. "Sorry, I thought you'd be a girl," he said unabashedly. "Our Sean has always been a bit of a mystery."

I arched an eyebrow. With my knowledge that Sean and him had messed around in the past, I didn't think that he would be much of a mystery to him. Jeremy caught my look and his eyes widened.

"Shit, you know, don't you?" he asked me. He turned to Sean. "Must be serious if you told him about that stuff willingly."

A smile played on Sean's lips. "It is," he said, placing a protective arm around me.

"I'm happy for you," Jeremy answered with a smile, putting his hand on his shoulder for a few seconds. "I missed you." He squeezed his shoulder, then turned to me. "Don't worry, I won't take him away from you. Ours was just a bit of fun. I'm not gay."