For The Love Of Chéri (CHAPTERS 1-112 REWRITTEN)

Chapter 118 : Suzy, We Need To Talk About..Expectations And Boundaries

Lennon smiled. "Good. I have another way to prove I'm gay. If you get in the back of the car I'll show ya."

"You don't have to offer twice!" Chéri said as he giggled and hurried to get to the back seat of the car.

~ X ~

It was eleven o'clock at night and Suzanne heard the front door. She was sitting on the sofa reading as Javier walked in slowly with a swollen eye and bruises developing down one side of his face.

"Hav..?!" She said with concern as he walked past her to the bedroom.

"Occupational hazard..." He said in a low tone from the other room, before he slowly lay down on the bed, pulling the thick ID band off his arm while he lay flat.

She sat next him on the bed. "Did Marcel do this?"

"Ofcourse not!" Javier said, almost defensively. "There was a disturbance in room twenty-six and the panic button was pressed. We got there to find a hostile client. Apparently, he couldn't get off and got aggressive about it. We subdued him but he punched me clean in the face and head butted Rodriguez. Marcel brought the whole situation under control by breaking the guys arm in two places and then throwing him out."

"Wait here!" Suzanne said as she rushed off to put some ice cubes in a sandwich bag and wrap it in a towel. She came back to hold the pack to his face. "Should you see Dr.V?"

"I've already seen him. Marcel looked me over then had Dr.V check me out. He let me off early." Javier answered, wincing as she moved the ice pack.

"You're going to have a massive shiner." Suzanne remarked.

"A what?" He asked.

"A shiner. That's what Lennon called it when he got two black eyes after Marcel and the French team lynched him." Suzanne answered.

"A shiner huh?" Javier said smiling. "I've never heard that English term." He said as he shifted with discomfort due to a sore back.

"I think it's an American term. Hav, I'm sorry." Suzanne said as she looked at the yellow and purple discolouration appearing around his eye.

"Well, Its not your fault!" He said.

Suzanne lay beside him and hugged him tightly. "At least I am here to take care of you."

"Yes! You are, as I'm not doing a very good job taking care of myself." He said as he put his arm around her, and she rested her head on it.

She placed the ice pack back to the side of his head and smiled up at him. "You know. I looked at the food you have in, and it's mostly just tortillas, corn chips and dip. You don't just sit here and eat Doritos and dip in the evenings, do you?"

"No! Sometimes I make pisto." He said as he guided her hand higher up the side of his face.

"I'll make you something to eat in the evenings." She said.

"You know. Tomorrows my day off. Instead of your making something here, do you want to grab a bite to eat out? I kinda think theres a place that would appeal to us both. Nandos, its Portuguese but they have a place in Barcelona city." Javier said casually.

"I...I don't have any money, and don't want to put you out even further." Suzanne said.

"Nah, on me. On one condition though." Javier said.

"What's that?" She asked.

"The only expectation is no expectations." He said.

"I can do that." She said.