"I really don't want to do this," I grumbled.
"Come on, Lukas," Damien said, using the tone one might reserve for coaxing a reluctant child. He grabbed my hand and led me into the apartment building. "Which one is it?" he asked.
"That one," I said, pointing to a door. "Look, Damien, there's still time to bail."
"No, there isn't," he replied, ringing the doorbell.
"Oh, Lukas," a voice said when the door opened.
"Ethan," I responded curtly. It had been about two weeks since I'd kicked him out of my office that day, and I hadn't seen or heard a word from him since. I observed him quietly from head to toe. He didn't look entirely unkempt, and to an outsider, he would seem completely fine, but I knew him. His stubble was growing out. His neat hair, which was always perfectly styled, wasn't matted or dirty, but it looked like he'd run his hands through it a million times, something he'd never do. He was dressed in pajamas, which was definitely odd for him since it was already almost 2 in the afternoon.
"What brings you here, Lukas?" Ethan asked.
"Can we come in?" Damien interjected.
"Sure," Ethan said, moving to the side to let us in.
I looked past him and noticed a single hamburger wrapper on the table. It might not seem like much, but there were so many things wrong with that one wrapper being there. First off, Ethan was a massive neat freak, and on a normal day, that one wrapper would be driving him crazy. Secondly, Ethan would never eat a burger of his own free will, given his dedication to maintaining his body and good health. Next to it was a glass cup on the table, without a coaster. Normal Ethan would've lost his mind over stuff like that.
"Soooo...how have you been?" I asked in an attempt to break the awkward silence.
"Oh, you know, I've been good. I've had a lot more time for myself since I don't have a job anymore," Ethan said with a slight bitterness in his tone.
"Haha," I laughed awkwardly as I scratched behind my neck. "So about that..."
Ethan's expression shifted, a mixture of curiosity and wariness evident in his eyes as he looked at me.
"About what?" he asked, his tone guarded.
"Well, Ethan," I began, choosing my words carefully. "We did some digging and found out that the leak didn't come from you or your stupid boyfriend." Okay, so maybe not so carefully.
"Lukas," Damien glared at me
"Excuse me?" Ethan's tone grew sharp.
"I'm sorry," I sighed.
"You should be. You didn't even want to listen to me or give me a chance to explain."
"Well, you have to understand how I felt, too. You'd already lied to me once; how was I supposed to believe anything else you were going to say?"
"This and that are two different things, Lukas. Who I date is my business and has nothing to do with work, and I would never betray Noble Couture like that," Ethan said firmly.
"Look, I said I was sorry, okay?" I sighed. I didn't come here to fight with Ethan.
"Fine, me too. I should've told you I was seeing Chris rather than going behind your back," Ethan apologized as well. We probably looked like a pair of 8-year-olds to Damien, who was sitting quietly and watching us.
"Why did you, though? You know how much I hate that guy."
"That's exactly why. You hate him so much, I didn't want to be forced into a situation where I'd have to choose between my best friend and my boyfriend."
"You really like him that much?" I asked.
"Yes," he blushed.
"Gross."
"Alright, I think I'd better give you guys some privacy. Lukas, be nice," Damien warned, and I rolled my eyes at him. "I'll go wait for you in the car downstairs," he said, standing up to leave.
"I'm a grown man, quit talking to me like I'm a kid."
"Whatever you say, princess," he smirked at me.
"It's King!" I yelled after him, but he'd already left and shut the door behind him.
"So... are you guys official now?" Ethan asked.
"Umm, yeah," I replied. "So you and Chris, huh?"
"Yeah," Ethan affirmed.
The room lapsed into silence once more before I broke it. "I'm really sorry for accusing you like that without even giving you a chance to explain."
"Do you want me to tell you it's fine? Because it's not," Ethan said, surprising me.
"What? I thought we were okay? You just apologized too," I remarked.
"I mean, yeah, I'm sorry I lied to you. I shouldn't have done that. But I'm not sorry for dating Chris."
"But he's the enemy—" I began.
"He's your enemy, Lukas. Yours, not mine," Ethan emphasized.
"I'm just worried about you, E."
"As you said, Lukas, I'm a grown man. I can take care of myself."
"I just thought he might be using you to get information against Noble Couture," I explained.
"Why would you think that?" Ethan questioned. "Do you really find it that hard to believe that maybe someone was actually just in love with me?"
"I'm sorry, Ethan. You know that's not what I meant. It's not an excuse for what I said and how I reacted. I went off on you without even giving you a chance to explain yourself. We were under a lot of pressure, and I let my emotions get the best of me I just worried that Chris might be a predator trying to take advantage of you."
"He's really not that old," Ethan mumbled. "And you keep saying he's a predator like he's some potbellied middle-aged man."
"He might as well be," I grumbled under my breath. "He really is just sooo old and he's sooo fuglyyyy too," I complained.
"Lukas," he warned with a look.
"Sorry, I guess old habits die hard," I mumbled.
"For the record, he's not that old; he's 27, and he's not that bad-looking either. Also, what grown man still says 'fugly'?" Ethan said, and I rolled my eyes.
"Fine, whatever you say," I relented. "So are we good now?"
"I guess so," Ethan sighed.
"So... is this the part where we kiss and make up?" I joked, puckering my lips.
"That's disgusting. Save that for your man. Don't think I didn't see him bossing you around too, Princess," Ethan snickered. "What was that all about anyways, you got some sugar daddy-sugar baby thing going on?" he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively in a way that made him look more stupid than I'm sure he thought.
"Damien is not my sugar daddy," I mumbled, feeling the tips of my ears heat up. I missed the sweet, shy, innocent Ethan. I'm pretty sure this one here has been corrupted by Chris.
Ethan chuckled. "Hey, you never know. He's got that whole responsible, mature vibe going on."
"Yeah, but he's not that old," I protested, defending Damien.
"He's wayyy older than Chris and even more so than the two of us. He could be the same age as Uncle Lee for all we know."
"My boyfriend is not the same age as my dad," I insisted.
"How would you know? How old is he then?"
"I, umm...he's, uhh...shit."
"You don't even know how old he is. I bet you don't even know when his birthday either. Still as selfish as ever, I see," Ethan said. Though he was probably joking, I couldn't help the look of hurt that flashed on my face.
"I'm sorry, Lukas. I shouldn't have said that. I guess I'm still the teeniest bit upset."
"No, it's fine. I deserved that, and you aren't wrong either."
As we bantered back and forth, I couldn't help but feel a sense of relief. Despite our rocky start, it seemed like Ethan and I were finally on the path to reconciliation, at least. And with Damien waiting downstairs, I was eager to put this awkward encounter behind me and return to the comfort of my man's awaiting arms.