Tempting (Man x Man)

Tempting - Chapter 64: God Dang It

God dang it. Why is she so good at finding these things out? She's almost as bad as Mr.

Malone. I cough slightly as she sits there, eagerly waiting for me to spill the truth.

"Calvin come on, tell me. What are they like? Oh wait wait, let's start off with the basics, what gender?"

"Uh... really, its nothing serious Eliz-"

"I don't care, I'm just curious. Please?" She asks as I sigh, feeling backed into a corner. I brush my fingers through my hair as my cheeks once again feel like they're on fire.

"I-Its a... guy and you know... he's nice."

"Oooh what does he look like? Is he hot? He's hot, isn't he? You were blushing a lot when texting him."

Yes, he is very attractive and one look from him can bring me to my knees...

"He's... uh I don't know. I like his personality I guess."

"Mhm, sure." She says as she gives me a knowing look. I inhale deeply as I slide both my hands over my face.

"Okay, Elizabeth... I still need to finish s-some work, can we have this conversation later?"

"Oh sure! But we are having this conversation later. He must be very cool if he's making you all flustered and stuff... Toodles!"

I again sigh as she walks out my door and closes it behind her, leaving me in much-deserved silence. I focus more on my work if anything, even though a huge portion of my mind is on Mr. Hamsure.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Its closing period and I've just submitted the last of my documents. I close my laptop with satisfaction while simultaneously my pocket buzzes. I pull out my phone and see a text from Mr. Hamsure:

Gorden :): I'm outside waiting. You done yet?

Me: Yeah, just packing up. Be there in a sec.

I walk with an almost giddiness as I make my way to my office door. All I can think about is the bright sapphires mistakened as Mr. Hamsure's eyes. I honestly can look into them all day. In a somewhat dazed-like state, I swing open the door, not registering that someone was in front of me.

I accidentally smack face-first into Mr. Malone, who had a fist up in front of him, probably preparing to knock.

"Oh, I'm sorry David! I didn't see you there, I-" I say swiftly, but he cuts me off.

"It's okay, I just... need to talk with you in my office. If that's alright with you."

"Oh... of course." I wonder what he wants to talk about? I take a second to glance over his face and notice faint bags under his eyes. Even the amber's of his irises have seemed to dull a bit. And as he turns to start walking, a familiar scent wafts through the air and I know it's nothing other than alcohol.

Has he been... drinking?

I walk questioningly behind him, studying his pace. He walks with the same grandiose that he usually does, but Mr. Malone is a heavy drinker. His intoxication doesn't show as easily.

We turn the corner to his office door, which he holds open for me. I walk through with a thanks before heading to the seat in front of his desk. Somewhat painful memories begin to surface as I sit, but I shake them off as David takes his own seat.

Now that I'm in a position to see his face clearly, I take some time to really study him. The bags I saw earlier under his eyes were not imagined, and it was almost like his whole body was tensed.

I wonder what happened to get him like this? I too start to feel a bit of anxiety as I wait for the news.

"W-What's going on David?" I say.

As if he was somewhere else, his eyes snap back to mine. He breaks a long sigh as his body finally relaxes. If the news is bad enough for him to be acting like this, imagine how I'll feel.

He rests the side of his face on his chin, closing his eyes momentarily as he says,

"You smell it right?"

"... Yeah. H-have you been drinking-"

"Yes." He says briskly as he leans back in his chair, his eyes still closed.

"Why? What happened?"

"Nothing."

My eyebrows scrunch together as my worry starts to turn to confusion. Does he just not want to tell me? There's clearly something wrong because he's drinking on the job, and usually, David takes his work seriously enough to not jeopardize it.

"Nothing? David, I know its something. Y-You can tell me."

I hear a small chuckle escape his lips, as he bends for something behind his desk.

"If I tell you, you'd hate me." He mutters.

"...What?"

"Nothing. Sorry, I don't know why I brought you here to be completely honest." He says now, but a bit more audible. I frown as I see he had reached for a bottle of dark liquor, that he then opens and pours into a spare glass cup on his desk.

"David, I'm sorry but this isn't m-making sense. What's going on here..."

Suddenly my phone starts ringing in my pocket, and I know exactly who's on the other line. Mr. Hamsure! I forgot that he was waiting outside for me.

David grimaces as he takes a gulp of his drink.

"Is that him?"

"David..."

"You don't need to tell me. I know." He lets out a sigh as he sets his now empty cup on the table, reaching for the bottle once more. I move into my pocket and click the side of my phone, silencing the call.

I don't know what's going on, but I don't want to make things worse by answering it.

"Does he do better for you?"

My eyes get stuck on his face for a moment as I process the question, looking away when I realize what this is.

I scratch the length of my arm and say,

"We don't need to talk about that David-"

"It's just an honest question, Calvin. I-"

Once again my phone starts ringing and I hear an exasperated grunt from David. I hurriedly turn it off, but this time pulling out the device to silence the ringtone. My hands shake as I text Mr. Hamsure that I'll be out in a minute, all while I can feel the heat of Mr. Malone's eyes on my face.

He swirls his newly poured drink around his glass.

"I saw his car outside, are you going with him?"

"David I don't feel comfortable w-with talking about this."

"But you do feel comfortable enough with seeing him."

"E-Excuse me?"

Almost as if he was catching himself, he shakes his head, rubbing a hand over his face.

"I'm sorry."