Defying Dominance (MxM) (18+)

10

Chapter 10: Daniel

I pull my headphones off, frowning. I thought I heard-

There's another knock at the door, barely audible, so I slip out of bed and pull on a shirt to go answer it. I didn't expect anyone today. Maybe it's a package?

I peek through the window built into the door, then quickly unlock it. "Jace? What are...What happened?"

Jace just gives me a watery smile. "May I come in?"

"Of course." I step aside to let him in, and he ends up standing awkwardly in the living room. "What's wrong, Jace?"

"N-nothing. I'm fine."

"You showed up at my house for no reason, clearly about to cry, on a day where you were supposed to be on a date. Something's wrong."

Jace takes a deep breath, like he's about to tell me what happened, but then he starts to cry quietly, sitting down on the couch. "It was awful, Daniel," he says between sniffles. "He just...kissed me and grabbed me and I didn't want him to and there were cameras and I pushed him and..." Jace's phone starts buzzing incessantly, and I swear he almost jumps out of his skin, his tears starting anew.

"That's awful. But why did you come here?"

Jace turns his phone off while he calms down enough to talk again. "'Cause...I don't wanna be home when Dad finds out. I don't know what Kyren told the reporters... He could have said anything. He probably said bad things, but Daniel, I didn't mean to push him, and I didn't hurt him! I just...he made me uncomfortable and I didn't want him to touch me and...Well...Dad isn't going to be happy..."

I frown, studying him carefully. I haven't known him long, but even still. I've never seen any signs of abuse, but he seems so scared... "Jace...your dad doesn't-"

"No. No! Dad doesn't hit me. He doesn't hit any of us. He would never. I swear. He's just...Very opinionated and likes things to go his way. And he yells sometimes, but that's normal."

"My parents don't yell. Not angrily. Sometimes they yell if they're outside and I'm inside and they need my help. But never from anger."

Jace shrugs. "Everyone is different. But this date...You saw on Instagram. It's his business partner's nephew. What if Marcus screws Dad over because I don't want to be with Kyren and pushed him? Dad would be livid!"

"He kissed you after you had made it clear that you weren't interested. That's not on you."

"It doesn't matter. I over-reacted. It was only a kiss."

"No. Nope. Doesn't matter. You made it clear that you didn't like his advances and he did it anyway. You aren't over-reacting, Jace."

Jace rubs at his nose, sighing. "I don't...wanna talk about it anymore. Can I stay here for a little while? Watch some movies or something? I'll pay you-"

"You don't have to pay me to hang out. We can watch movies. My parents won't be home until 6." I look around for the TV remote but find nothing, so I dig through the couch cushions until I find it. "What movies do you like? Comedy, romance, thriller...?"

"Uh... I like musicals. Hairspray is on Netflix. I can log into mine if you don't have it."

"We have Netflix, Jace."

Jace bites his lip. "Sorry, I didn't mean to insinuate that...I didn't intend-"

"Jace, it's okay. I didn't think you were insinuating anything. Do you want a drink, or a snack? I think we have some Taco Bell."