Bashful - A Skephalo Story ❤️

Part 43

Vincent woke the next day feeling determined. The girls had all left to stay in a hotel last night, and he could finally talk to Dave in quiet.

He'd been acting weird all month, avoiding talk of the wedding and having nothing to do with it. Vincent could see it was hurting Zak's feelings, and he was adamant that they were going to talk and come to some sort of understanding.

Deciding to catch him off guard so he would be less defensive, Vincent turned and shook him awake.

"What do you want?" Dave groaned, rubbing his eyes and nestling his head into Vincent's neck.

"We need to talk."

Dave's heart missed a few beats and his eyes snapped open. "There's nothing we need to talk about. I- I don't know what you're talking about anyway."

"I don't think you're telling the truth," Vincent murmured quietly, placing a hand on his cheek. "Why have you been acting so weird lately?"

"I haven't!" Dave protested, cheeks turning red. Seeing that Vincent wasn't buying it, he sighed slightly and tried again. "I don't know..."

"No." Grabbing Dave's hands in his, Vincent pulled him close. "I think you know exactly why, and you don't want to admit it, which is why you're lying to my face," he snapped.

Flinching, Dave shook his head weakly, but his eyes gave him away. Vincent frowned reproachfully at him, continuing. "You know, I would have thought you'd have the decency to tell me what's going on. But that doesn't matter, I guess. I think you're just scared. Scared of marriage, of tying your life to someone else's. I'm not dumb, Dave, but I need to know, because you're killing me: what are you afraid of? Commitment? Attention? Or..." He swallowed hard, "do you not want to be tied to me?"

Watching in shock as tears started to roll down Vincent's cheeks, Dave pulled him onto his lap and held him tight. "I'm so sorry," he muttered, trailing off uselessly as he wiped away his tears.

Gritting his teeth, Vincent met his eyes. "Just tell me which one. I won't be mad, but you're hurting me by not talking to me about your feelings."

Looking down resignedly, Dave mumbled, "I'm scared."

"Not good enough." Vincent tugged on his chin, making him meet his eyes again. "Explain why."

Dave kissed him lightly, taking him by surprise and earning a small smile. "I love you so much. Although," he took a deep breath, "I don't think I'm ready for marriage. It's a big part of our lives, and I want to spend it with you. But I don't want to rush anything." He glanced at Vincent nervously to gauge his reaction.

Rolling his eyes, Vincent pushed Dave back onto the pillows and straddled his lap. Leaning down, he kissed him tenderly. "You could have just said that to me," he growled, running his fingers slowly through Dave's hair as his mouth explored his jaw.

"I take it you're not mad then, nerd." Dave let out a relieved laugh, sliding his hands down to his hips.

"I told you I wasn't going to be mad!" Vincent protested, pulling away.

"No, don't go," Dave grumbled, sitting up too, so their faces were millimetres apart, "I was enjoying that."

"Oh, really?" Vincent arched one eyebrow, smiling. "Well, we can always just pick up where we left off..."

Nobody saw either of them for the rest of the day, as they were too busy locked in their room. At one point, Jacob knocked on their door to ask them if they wanted lunch, but there was no answer. Giving up, he shrugged and headed to the kitchen without them.