Cold Touch

Chapter Ten

Ashkii waited at the bar for about ten minutes before deciding Giovanni wasn't just taking a break but hiding from him. He got off the barstool he was sitting on before wandering over to the back door as well. He would have driven himself home, but he was a little too tipsy to walk straight and wasn't going to risk it. Giovanni had offered him his spare room, and he was deciding to take the offer, regardless of how awkward the whole situation was.

He opened the back door, walking into the little corridor with the stairs that lead to the apartment upstairs. He looked over at them, spotting Giovanni sitting on the stairs and staring out into the corridor.

"Are you going to bed?" the older man asked, and all Ashkii could muster up was a nod. His head was ringing, and his throat still felt clogged with all sorts of emotions he wasn't willing to let loose. The dim orange light that flooded the room from the single light bulb made Giovanni look a lot tanner than he was. Ashkii watched as the man's eyelids fluttered. He looked tired—exhausted, but Ashkii wasn't sure if it was from work, the alcohol, their conversation, or all three.

"Yes," Ashkii said, stepping forward. He stopped right in front of Giovanni, staring down at the taller man who was sitting on the second to the last stair. "That's if you're still comfortable with me sleeping here."

"I am," Giovanni said, looking up at Ashkii. "We're not fighting, and I don't have anything against you. Don't make it seem that way."

Ashkii shrugged. "Well, that's a bit hard to believe."

Giovanni sighed, standing up at the stair. He was already taller than Ashkii, but the added height made him look even more slender. The older man tucked a hand into his pocket before taking out a key and holding them forward, dangling them in front of Ashkii.

"Go on," Giovanni said, dangling the keys again. "You have to unlock the door, and I'm not done up in front. I'll meet you upstairs in an hour or so if you're still awake."

Ashkii blinked, reaching out to grab the keys.

"I want us to hang out and be close," Giovanni muttered as Ashkii pocketed the keys. "I really appreciate having you around, but for that to work, you have to let go of..." Giovanni trailed, looking up at the ceiling for a bit. "You have to let go of the feelings you think you have for me."

"I'm not thinking I have them, I know I have them," Ashkii said, making the bartender blink before sighing and looking away.

"Ashkii, listen—"

"No, you're just going to tell me I don't know what you're talking about," Ashkii injected. "You might be older, but I think I know more about how I'm feeling a lot more than you do."

"Well, what do you want me to think?" Giovanni said, brushing his hair away from his face. "That someone I've only known for a few months—someone I know who is straight is suddenly just head over heels for me. I don't think that's how anything works."

Ashkii narrowed his eyes at Giovanni, watching the man's deep brown eyes stare right back at him. Ashkii's eyes fell to the man's lips, and there was a sudden pool in his chest that wanted him to kiss Ashkii—to climb on the stairs until he was leveled headed with him. To reach out to touch his face, feel his sharp face, and touch his lips. Ashkii swallowed a breath. He did know what he felt, no matter how much Giovanni was trying to make him doubt that.

"Why do you care if it's a mistake on my end? You sleep with a lot of men. What difference would it make if it was me?" Ashkii mumbled, watching as Giovanni's eyes went wide. "Why are you acting like it's something you reserve for people you're serious with? I'm not asking you to be serious with me—"