Moonlit Man (bxb)

Chapter 19 - Worth it

It was the morning after, where Sam found himself sat on a barstool in his hotel-room kitchen. A thread of anxiety ran through him as he reflected on the night before. He contemplated his escape from the kiss with Mathew. It was unexpected for him, and a tinge of embarrassment colored his face as he thought of how he would have to face him at some point, especially since it was the day of the gala. He considered his options; a) he could miss the event completely to save himself the hassle, awkwardness, and stress of going; b) act like nothing happened and continue as normal, and c) apologize for bolting out the room and explain how he felt. His instincts had elected to go with the latter option, even though he preferred option a.

But for now, he planned on giving the man some space, Mathew probably wanted nothing to do with him, he thought. How could he? Mathew was a somebody – Not just a billionaire CEO, but someone that people were overly-eager to greet; someone that had charm and charisma; someone that people would steal glances at when he entered a room; someone that people would remember. Who would remember him, he thought? Nobody cared about a nobody – not really.

After breakfast, he stepped out of the hotel for some air to clear his mind. The streets of London were a marriage of sounds –people walking in alternating directions, catching taxis, texting, calling, eating, chatting, and shopping. After he finally reached a distance he was no longer comfortable with, he headed back, his mind quietly buzzing as he walked in the quiet comfort of the public. Some time had passed as the November air turned crisp and the traffic developed as masses of people made their way home from work. He reached the familiar glass-paned doors of his hotel, opened for him by the tight-lipped doorman, made his way through the sleek lobby, and selected the ninth floor in the elevator. The doors opened and he continued down the hall, turned the corner only to collide with a wall of back muscles.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't see you--" Sam started, after a slight daze, he quickly adjusted himself to see Mathew turning back to look at him. Those blue-green eyes were striking as usual, and his hair was damp and seemed to be in waves over his head. He wore a black compression top that clung onto his lean, muscled figure and a matching pair of slim-fit running tracksuit bottoms.

"Sam, nice to see you." A smile crossed his lips and Sam noticed his glossy skin.

"Uh... hey," Sam replied, trying to hide his awkwardness.

"Where were you?" he asked with polite interest, eyes scanning over Sam's face.

"Oh­­– I went on a walk... wanted to see the city, I guess," Sam muttered as his weight shifted from one foot to another.

"I was just at the gym," Krondstat replied, holding his protein shake up in the air. After a moment he continued. 'We need to talk. You know... about last night? I tried calling, but no luck.' His expression grew thoughtful as his eyes poured into Sam's.

"Oh. I left my phone in my room," Sam mentioned, as he reached into his pocket for a keycard while the knot in his chest tightened; warmth spread through his stomach and heat flooded his cheeks as he remembered how the man got his number at the carnival on the first day they arrived in London:

– –

"ROLL UP! ROLL UP! BEAT THE HIGH SCORE AND WIN A PRIZE! PLAY RING TOSS AND BEAT THE BOSS!" The sturdy carny bellowed through the busy crowd. Sam and Mathew stopped in front of the gaudy red and green colored tent as an array of lightbulbs blinked in rhythmic patterns.

"Let's give this a go!" Sam yelled excitedly, projecting his voice over the hubbub of chatter and whimsical carnival tunes playing in the air.

"You know, most of these games are rigged right?" Mathew said, matching his volume.

"What? Scared of being beaten?" He teased, a devilish glint in his eye.