Falling slowly (boyXboy athelnar)

Chapter 1

"Hey!" Athelstan looked up, a small gasp escaping his lips. The tall, blond man in front of him, drumming his fingers on the counter, stared at him. "I've been waiting here for almost five minutes as you've stared into space."

"E-excuse me?"

"I've been waiting to purchase this book as you've stared at the wall," the man slid the book across the counter and Athlestan scanned it quickly.

"S-sorry, I'm just feeling a little under the weather," Athelstan mumbled and the man nodded. "Oh, this is a really good book!"

The man chuckled, taking the bag from his hand, their hands grazing. "I haven't read it yet. See you around. . . Athelstan," he said, reading Athlestan's name tag.

"Y-yeah." Athelstan mumbled, watching the man leave.

"Someone has got a crush," his friend, Lagertha, commented.

"No. H-he just scared me and then was nicer than I thought he would be. . . That's all," he muttered and she shoved him playfully.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Did he look scary?"

"No, he looked. . . Familiar,"

"Maybe you've seen him from a porn or something."

"Lagertha!"

"What? He was very sexy," she remarked and he laughed.

"The tattoos were a bit edgy, makes him look mean," Athelstan said and she scoffed.

"Don't judge a book by its cover, Athelstan."

"That's the reason books have covers, Gyda. That's a terrible analogy," he told her and she rolled her eyes.

"As you have reminded me everyday," she retorted and he sighed.

"I-it is a very serious issue; no one understands the importance of book covers."

She smiled. "What are our lunch plans?"

***

Athelstan and Lagertha walked into Harlem Public, sitting down. "Look who it is," Lagertha pointed at the counter. Athelstan turned around and, sure enough, the bald man was at the counter, pouring a drink. "Shame, he's a bartender."

"Yeah," Athelstan sighed. The man gave the woman infront of him to glass and sat down, pulling a book out. "I'm going to go talk to him."

Before Lagertha could tell him otherwise he crossed the room, sitting down in front of the man. "Hang on, dude, let me finish this chapter," he said and Athelstan chuckled.

The man shut the book after a few minutes and looked up, his expression brightening when he saw Athelstan.

"Is it good?" Athelstan asked.

"Excuse me?"

"The book," he clarified. "Is it good?"

"Oh, the book! I'm only a few pages in but from what I've read it seems promising. Is that your friend from the bookstore?" The man asked, pointing at Lagertha.

"Yeah."

"She's cute. Can you tell her to come over here?" He asked and Athelstan's heart sank.

"Yeah, sure. . ." He muttered and trudged back to the table.

"He wanted to see you; he thinks you're cute," Athelstan spat and she frowned sympathetically. "Well? Are you going to go?"

"You seem to like him, I don't want to ruin your chances," she explained.

"He's just a Hetero asshole, like every man I know," he sighed and she nodded, kissing his cheek before walking over to the man. Athelstan sighed and pulled The Language Of Flowers out of his bag, opening it and reading it.

***

Athelstan's phone rang and he sighed, putting it on speaker. "Yes?"

"His name is Ragnar. He's 28, has tattoos covering most of his body, and I think he night be into you," she said and he laughed.

"How could a man who completely ignored me whilst staring at you be into me?"

"A little bit after we were talking for a while he started asking things about you and then asked if I would tell you he wanted to take you on a date," she said and he gaped.

"Really?" He asked.

"Yes. Tomorrow at the end of your shift he wants to meet you at his work; and you can dress how you usually do," she said and he nodded.

"So he said he wanted to go on a date with me?"

"I think it was more of a 'get to know you' type of deal, but that is practically the same thing. Do you want me to come over so we can hang out and watch movies and shit?" She asked and he nodded.

"Yeah. I'll be over in a few minutes."

Athelstan hung up and turned the tv on, finding a good movie to watch. His phone buzzed and he looked at it, a text on the screen reading Is this Athelstan?

That depends on who this is... He replied.

I'm Ragnar. The hot guy at the bookstore that waited patiently for you to give me my book.

Oh! Yeah, this is him.

Did your friend tell you about our plans for tomorrow?

Yes.

Wear something comfortable, we're just going to my apartment

Oh.

Ragnar stopped responding after that and Athelstan set his phone down, waiting for Lagertha to arrive.

***

"You know he's going to try to get in your pants," Lagertha told Athelstan, who nodded.

"I am aware of that, and I do understand there could be a risk since he's twice my size but I'm putting faith in him."

"You are putting faith in a complete stranger," she echoed and he nodded.

"I will see what happens, and whatever happens I will be responsible for that." She nodded, touching his knee.

"You can leave work early tomorrow, I've talked to our boss."

"You are my boss," he responded and she laughed.

"I know. Take off tomorrow so you can be well rested for your likely rape," she said and he covered his mouth. "I'm only kidding; he seems like a nice man. But I only spent so much time with him, I do not know for sure."

Athelstan nodded hesitantly. "It's late; you should go get some rest. I have an extra bed if you want to stay here," he told her and she nodded, kissing his forehead and leaving the room.

He sighed and closed his eyes, falling asleep slowly.