His Therapist

Chapter 14

"Elio, my man!" Diego roared, pulling Elio into a hug, chuckling. Giving him a pat on the back, Diego finally let the stunned man go.

Taking a step back to return the distance between them, Elio was confused by Diego's sudden uninvited presence. He had shown up at his front door with no prior text or warning which was out of character, even for him.

"Diego?" Elio uttered his name, raising an eyebrow at the bouquet of roses, the large box of chocolates, and the teddy bear in his hand. He flipped his eyes back up, unable to hold back the mocking smile tugging at his lips. "Here to confess your secret undying love for me after all this time?"

"You wish." Diego snorted before shoving the bouquet of roses to him. "Hold those for me."

"What the hell?" Elio said in disbelief before the man walked into the apartment, inviting himself in. He set down the teddy bear and the box of chocolates on the living room coffee table.

"Thea?" He began to call out, walking around the house. "Thea, where are you?"

Elio sighed, shutting the door before walking up to him.

"So all of this is for her?' Elio chuckled, shaking his head. Of course, they were. Elio had seen how he had looked at her the other day.

"Yeah," Diego replied, preoccupied with finding the girl that was nowhere in the house.

A fucking Valentine's day gift. For a girl he'd just met yesterday. If Elio was being honest, he was more pissed at himself for not coming up with the idea first.

"She's off-limits." The protective words slipped out of his mouth before he could stop himself. She was his. He had claimed her first, fucked her first, all before him. But she wasn't a woman to be claimed. She had to be earned and Elio was willing to go through every challenge and obstacle to win her. He sure as hell wasn't going to let Diego swoop in and take her away.

"Says who? She's single."

Grimacing, he pressed his lips together, feeling a surge of jealousy course through his veins. His immediate response was to deny his words but he stopped himself. She was single. He had no claim over her whatsoever and if he claimed that he did, the blonde-haired spitfire would be pissed if she had somehow figured it out.

Diego sighed, walking up to Elio. "Look man," He began, taking the roses back out of his hands. He looked up at Elio, not a single sign of humour in his eyes."If you guys are fucking or even dating, tell me. She may be living with you and I don't want to steal your girl, but I like her."

Elio narrowed his eyes, staring into his intense eyes. He desperately wanted to tell Diego that they were fucking but that would only be partially true. They had only fucked once on New Year's Eve and she had been blowing him off ever since.

Bloody hell, Elio cursed in his head. Diego was serious about her. One look in his eyes and anyone would easily be able to tell Diego wasn't fucking around. When he'd flirted with her last night as soon as he'd set eyes on her, Elio had already been weary. How long had Diego even been in her presence? Five minutes? Less? Was that all it took for him to make up his mind about her?

"She's all yours." Elio sighed, depleted, breaking away from his intense stare and taking a step back. Clenching his fist, he watched as a satisfied expression settled on Diego's face.

Glancing around the house one last time, Diego sighed. "She's not here," He concluded before grabbing all his things again and sitting himself down on the couch before flashing Elio a lazy grin. "We're cool, right?"

Although it would hurt his ego immensely, it wouldn't come as a surprise to him if Thea wanted to pursue Diego. He was an attractive man. A ladies' man.