Can You Keep A Secret (Denis Stoff)

19

Ryan's POV:

It was pouring rain that night. I could hear the rain splashing against the window panes as the lights flickered from its force. That's when there was a knock at my door. I walked over to it cautiously, awaiting a second knock just in case it was all just a ruse. The knock came again. I opened it, careful not to remove the chain on my door in case it was someone who was here to hurt me. I opened it and saw Denis standing there, dripping wet, and breathing heavy. I unchained my door. 

"I couldn't wait until the tour was over, so I flew out here to see you. I missed you so much," He told me.

"Denis-" I began. I didn't really know what to say. This was the line between sweet and downright crazy. How could he just up and leave because he wanted to see me so much? "This is crazy."

He grimaced. "What's crazier is that you won't let me inside in this terrible rain."

I stepped aside, gesturing for him to enter. "Sorry about that. Do come in." He entered and looked around nodding at the small details of my small house. 

"Nice place you got here," He noted. "Miss me?"

"I barely know how to welcome you! A little more warning would be nice."

"Don't you know anything? That would ruin the surprise!" He chuckled as he smiled like a fool. He walked closer to me and wrapped his wet arms around me.

I threw him off, rolling my eyes. "Why did you come all this way?"

"I want to make you mine." He pursed his lips and writhed his hands, looking at me with those adorable, dark eyes. 

"Denis, I don't even know how to respond to that. Is that what all of those flirty messages have been about?"

"I think you're cute."

I chuckled. "That's so pure."

"Isn't it ironic? The guy covered in tattoos that sings for a metal band thinks that a girl he met in the suicide house is the most adorable thing he's ever seen. I love the way that you blush when I talk, and the way that you laugh at my jokes, even though they're not funny. And I love that you let me into your house when I show up without warning in the pouring rain, and the first thing you say is that I'm crazy."

I shook my head as I sighed happily. "Who would have thought?" I pointed to my small kitchen. "Can I offer you some coffee? I hear that it's customary to offer one's guests a beverage."

"Do you have tea?" He smiled awkwardly. "More of a tea guy."

"I've got plain black tea. Is that okay?"

"That sounds perfect."

After I made us a pot of tea and poured it into two mismatched mugs that I'd found in a cupboard, we sat down in my living room on my shitty couches that I'd found at a secondhand store. "I would have asked you to go to a café with me, but that seems kind of difficult," Denis admitted. 

"Seeing as how it's nearly eight in the evening, I'm going to agree with you." I chuckled. 

"So what have you been doing with your freedom?" He took a sip of his tea and then swirled the liquid around in his cup.

"Working and trying to make ends meet. And writing some drafts."

"You write?" He asked the question a bit too enthusiastically.

"Yes, yes. I'm freelance though, so it's really difficult for me to get my work out there."

"By choice?" He asked curiously.

"I wish that it was by choice. But unfortunately it's buy force."

"You'll get your big break someday. I know it."

I took a sip of my own tea. "So how are things going for the band?"

"Well, touring is great. But it would be nice to catch a break. I feel so overworked." He slumped back on the couch dramatically, nearly tipping the whole thing over.

"You poor thing." I faked sympathy for him.

"What do you do for work other than writing then?" He sat back up.

"Uhh.." I thought about what I'd gone through in the last two years, and decided just to gloss over the really bad stuff and tell him only a little bit of what I did. "Well, I currently am doing adult films."

His eyes grew wide. "I'm surprised at that."

"It's not my favorite thing in the world," I admitted, wanting desperately to get off of the subject. "This would be my second year in the industry, and hopefully my last."

He nodded. "I hope so too. Especially if you don't really want to be doing it." 

"My friend says that I need to get a real relationship so that I could say that my boyfriend got to jealous to let me continue."

Denis grinned. "That could be arranged." He wiggled his eyebrows.

"It's the only work I've got." I looked down. "Not my favorite thing, but it's the only thing keeping me from bankruptcy. I like having a roof over my heat and water running through my pipes."

"Understandable." He nodded a bit as he took yet another small sip of his tea. "You know, if you're self-publishing, Amazon has a great algorithm worked out for that. Plus, I'm sure that there are independent publishers that would love to publish your work."

"I'm always looking for opportunities. I have an interview with a small publisher tomorrow. Which is why I'm staying up all night to work on my draft." I gestured to my old laptop. 

"I could help you edit. Sleep depravity is no friend to proper grammar. When I was learning English, they really stressed that." He rolled his eyes. "So trust me when I say that I'd be pretty great at it."

"You can help me if you'd like." I stood. "I don't see the harm in that." 

"Then it's settled." Denis stood with me. "I'll help you edit tonight, and then we can go to the park tomorrow?" He looked at me with pleading eyes.

"You help me edit tonight, and then we can go to the park tomorrow," I agreed.

"Yes!" He jumped as he did a little victory dance. Was he always like this?