Then Isaac’s eyes grew even larger. “Has Jared ever done something stupid?”
Stephen snorted. “The list is long. What do you have in mind?”
Isaac seemed exasperated now. “No! I mean, does he have a habit of using sharp objects to…uh, lightly slice it over his arms or some other parts of his body?”
Stephen was more than a little pissed off now. “Of course not! I…I don’t think he does.”
“But you’re not sure? At least not one hundred percent.”
Stephen shook his head. “He’s not the type to do anything like that.”
“Cool. I asked because I used to know this girl back in high school. She was addicted to pain.”
Stephen immediately understood what Isaac was referring to. “She must be sick in the head.”
“Probably. She had this utility knife with her every single day. Whenever she was bored in class, which happened really often, she would take that knife out and run the sharp edge over her arms over and over again until it bled. Then she repeated the same motion in some other parts. She once told me she was hooked onto the feeling.”
“That’s fucking messed up.”
“I agree with you one hundred percent. That’s why I’m wondering if Jared has a similar habit.”
Stephen’s first instinct was to refute Isaac’s assumption, but he held back for a brief moment. He didn’t want to believe that Jared would do anything as idiotic as that, but he couldn’t be absolutely certain. He, Dexter, and Jared might have been best friends for a really long time, but he was aware nobody in this world could claim to know everything about somebody else. Maybe Jared was too excellent of an actor, being able to somehow conceal such a harmful action for years. Then Stephen scoffed at himself. He was going insane and getting rather paranoid, no thanks to Isaac. He knew Isaac was a poor orphan with a low self-esteem. Isaac also had a habit of second-guessing anything and everything. Stephen had probably been hanging out too much with Isaac, so his new friend’s negative tendency was rubbing off on him.
“I’m not sure, man,” Stephen said eventually. “I truly believe Jared isn’t like that, though.”
Isaac smiled at Stephen. It might have been intended to reassure Stephen, but he was frankly panicking deep inside.
“Steve, I don’t know what else to say. Why don’t you talk to Jared about it? Make sure that you pay really close attention to his facial expressions and various body language. If anything seems off to you, we can go from there.”
Stephen nodded. “You’re right. I’ll do that tonight. He will be picking me up for a date later at six o’clock.”
“Good luck then.”
“Thanks.”
After that, Stephen and Isaac switched the topic of conversation over to some other things. They talked about Isaac’s classes, shifts at the diner, and his relationship with Dexter. Stephen did his best to focus on the conversation, but he couldn’t stop thinking about Jared and their upcoming date. One way or another, he was determined to find out exactly what was going on with Jared.
Chapter 12
Jared was nervous. He had no idea if his smile looked natural enough, and he hoped Stephen, who was seated next to him inside the car, wouldn’t be able to tell one way or another, especially since the lighting was rather dim inside the vehicle at the moment. He gripped on tightly onto the steering wheel as he navigated the car through the heavy evening traffic. Then he cleared his throat before beaming widely at Stephen.
“You’re very handsome tonight,” Jared complimented Stephen, and all the while, his heart was beating like crazy. “Even more so than you usually are.”
Stephen blushed. “Thanks. So are you. Very sexy in your three-piece suit.”
“Not half as good-looking as you are in yours.”
Jared was pleased when Stephen put one palm over his thigh. That little connection right there felt really calming.
“Where are we going tonight?”
Jared grinned at Stephen. “Back to the location of our first date.”
Stephen chuckled. “Tenth floor again?”
“Yeah.”
“More electric candles and rose petals?” Stephen inquired, but there was a hint of mischievousness in his voice, and Jared liked that. “Or is it going to be a sex-themed dungeon this time around?”
“That’s for me to know, and for you to find out,” Jared replied before winking at Stephen.
Stephen laughed. “Okay.”
After that, Jared urged Stephen to talk about his day. He wasn’t surprised to hear that Stephen had spent a few hours at the coffee shop with Isaac. Stephen and Isaac had been spending a lot of time together, hanging out and chatting with each other. Jared was certain those two must be gossiping with each other, but it was all right with him. Stephen might be needing a new friend to confide in and share things with aside from him and Dexter, and Isaac was the right solution for that. Besides, Jared and Dexter were both very preoccupied with their respective businesses lately, and they didn’t have much time for Stephen. Or Isaac for that matter. It made perfect sense for Stephen and Isaac to bond with each other.
“We’re about two minutes away,” Jared said when he noticed the entrance to the building was now several feet away from the car. “We just have to pass through this damn traffic.”
“Great. I can’t wait.”
Neither could Jared, but he didn’t utter the words out loud. Instead, he remained silent for the remainder of the drive toward their destination. Besides, he was getting more apprehensive the closer they got to the building itself. He had planned a special date for Stephen, and he was worried about his boyfriend’s reaction. Initially, when the idea had come to his mind, it sounded really awesome. Now, he wasn’t so sure about it. It seemed too cheesy and corny, and it was probably more than a little sentimental. He would look like a nostalgic fool who was stuck in the past. Unfortunately, it was too late to change anything now. It was already done, and there was nothing he could do about it unless he decided to ditch it altogether and have dinner elsewhere with Stephen. However, he was also curious to see if Stephen might actually enjoy it. Hence, he made up his mind to just go through with it and pray for the best possible outcome.
“We’re here, babe.”
Stephen nodded before getting out of the car. “Okay. I’m excited now.”
Jared could only give Stephen a tentative smile before alighting from the car and allowing the female valet to park his car for him. “Me, too.”
Then he walked toward Stephen and reached for his boyfriend’s hand before the two of them made their way into the building hand in hand. He wasn’t astonished to discover quite a few familiar faces at the lobby. He wasn’t in the mood to socialize with them, but he didn’t want to appear rude. He and Stephen chatted with them for a few minutes before excusing themselves and heading toward the private elevator. He was even more nervous now. It was showtime.
* * * *
Stephen was honestly rather astounded by the bright lights when the elevator doors slid open upon arriving on the tenth floor. He half expected this date to be similar to the one he and Jared had gone on the first time around. Consequently, he felt a little disappointed when there was zero electric candles anywhere as he and Jared stepped out from the elevator. Instead, the lights were bright enough to contrast against the dark evening sky outside, which was visible through the glass walls of the building. When he noticed a huge piece of thick, black cloth about six feet wide hanging from the ceiling all the way to the floor, effectively obstructing his and Jared’s path, he turned toward his boyfriend in bewilderment and pointed at it.
“What’s it doing there?”
Jared shrugged in response, but there was also a hint of anxiety in his eyes that Stephen was able to detect quite easily. “It’s supposed to separate this small walkway from the remainder of the room. You’ll find out soon enough.”
Stephen moved closer to the cloth and poked at it. “It’s like a massive curtain.”
Jared tugged on Stephen’s hand. “It’s black and thick because I need it to block your view of the rest of the floor. Let’s walk around it.”
“Sure.”
Seconds later, Stephen gasped softly at the sight that greeted him. There were eight beautiful chandeliers about ten feet apart from one to the other. The glass dining table, which was in the shape of a square, only had a small vase of flowers on it. Jared made his way toward one of the chairs and picked up a bouquet of yellow roses before presenting it to Stephen.
“A dozen yellow roses for you.”
Stephen accepted the bouquet in amazement. “Thank you.”
He was about to sit on the chair when Jared stopped him from doing that. He glanced at Jared in confusion.
“Aren’t we going to have dinner?”
“Not yet,” Jared replied, and he sounded so mysterious, Stephen’s curiosity was piqued now.
When Jared clapped his hands together a couple of times, Stephen was rather tickled by it because that was so theatrical and dramatic. Then he gaped when the few massive red curtains covering the cement wall on their left began to rise all the way up to the ceiling. After that, he was staring at a neat row of photographs from one end of the room to the other. He approached the first photo frame, which consisted of two photographs in it. He chuckled when he realized who those happy babies in the photographs were supposed to be.
“You were a chubby baby.”
Jared snorted. “Not half as fat as you were.”
Stephen rolled his eyes before a sudden realization came over him. “Jared!”
Jared was startled by Stephen’s loud voice. “What?”
“Is this the reason why you have those injuries all over your palms and arms?”
Jared nodded. “Yeah. I got paper cuts among others. Why?”
Stephen couldn’t help it. He laughed until the tears rolled down his cheeks.
“I-Isaac thought you had intentionally hurt yourself. He assumed you were suicidal or something.”
Jared scoffed at Stephen. “Fuck no! That’s crazy. Why would I do that? I may have some issues with my parents and brothers, but I’m okay otherwise. Besides, I have you in my life now. Don’t be stupid.”
Stephen kissed Jared on the lips briefly as the relief washed over him. “I love you.”
Jared’s eyes softened. “I love you, too.”
After that, the two of them moved on to the next photo frames. The subjects of the photographs were always Stephen and Jared. There were pictures of them sleeping side by side as babies. There were also photographs of them playing together as toddlers and teenagers. They seemed to take less pictures together as they grew older, but there were more than enough to keep track of their developments over the years. Stephen wasn’t surprised to notice that in most of the photographs, he looked bored and more than a little sullen while Jared had that consistently mischievous expression on his face.
“Do you like them?” Jared asked as they got nearer to the final photo frame.
Stephen grinned and nodded at Jared. “Absolutely. Where is Dexter, though?”
Jared snickered. “That’s a long story. To keep it short, I gathered these photographs from all of our parents—”
“Mine, too?” Stephen inquired, feeling rather surprised by that piece of information.
“Mine, yours, and Dexter’s,” Jared answered while slipping one arm around Stephen’s waist. “Your parents love you, babe. They’re just rather…detached.”
Stephen snorted. “That’s a nice way of putting it.”
“I guess. Anyway, I also got some of the photographs from my older brothers. After all, all three of our families used to hang out together a lot in the past. We haven’t done that in a while, though.”
Stephen noted the wistfulness in Jared’s tone of voice. He squeezed Jared’s hand in what he hoped was a reassuring manner.
“I know. We can do that again soon.”
Jared let out a small huff through his mouth. “Maybe. Anyway, I scanned and worked on them on my laptop at home. Photoshop can do some magical wonders on those photographs.”
Stephen burst out laughing when he fully grasped what Jared was talking about. “You cut Dex out from all of the photographs?”
Jared blushed. “Not all of them. Only from some of them. Dexter wasn’t present in most of these photographs. Besides, this photograph exhibition is supposed to be about you and me. Not to worry, though. I still have the original photographs. I only made modifications on the copies.”
Stephen chortled even louder. “Dex will be so mad at you if he knows about it.”
Jared chuckled. “He definitely will be, but I don’t care. I’m not afraid of him.”
Stephen was very amused now. “If things go from bad to worse, Isaac will protect us from Dex.”
“True. Dex is so whipped by Isaac, it’s frankly hilarious.”
“You can say that again.”
Then Stephen’s amusement died down in an instant when he and Jared finally came to the last photo frame. There was nothing in it, and that was really strange. He wondered if Jared had somehow forgotten to include the photograph in this particular frame. He was about to turn toward Jared when he felt his boyfriend’s arms being wrapped around his waist from behind.
“It’s supposed to be empty, but not for long. I hope.”
Stephen couldn’t understand what Jared was talking about. He continued to stare at the photo frame. Maybe something would appear, but there was still nothing after several seconds had passed.
“I don’t get it. Am I missing something in this photo frame?”
“Well, ever since we started dating each other, I realized even more how much memories we actually shared between us. I like that very much, and I hope we can make even more memories, just the two of us, until death do us part.”
Stephen felt as if his heart almost stopped beating right at that very second. “What are you saying exactly?”
Jared tightened his arms around Stephen’s waist. “I don’t think we’re ready to get married with each other yet.”
Stephen was relieved, but at the same time, he was elated because Jared actually thought of the two of them getting married someday. The shift in their relationship from being best friends to boyfriends was still too fresh, though. Stephen loved Jared very much, but he wasn’t willing to take that next step. Not yet.
“You’re right. It’s too fast.”
Jared chuckled. “Anyway, over the last two weeks or so, I felt that my house was far too empty for one person.”
Stephen shivered a little upon hearing that because he could guess at what Jared was trying to tell him. Jared wasn’t being subtle. Not at all. The implication behind Jared’s words was loud and clear. Stephen gulped a little before speaking up.
“So is mine.”
Jared breathed in deeply. The sound was audible inside the otherwise quiet space.
“What do you think about us living under one roof? We can find a house or maybe an apartment that we both like, sell our current houses, and move in together.”
Stephen turned around to look at Jared. “And?”
“Then we can take many more photographs, just the two of us, and fill up several more photo frames for the next few decades,” Jared responded with before pointing at the last photo frame on the frame. “We can start with that one.”
Stephen smiled at Jared. “That’s an excellent idea.”
Jared’s whole body visibly relaxed in the next instant. “I agree one hundred percent.”
Stephen leaned in much closer to Jared. Their lips were about to touch when he heard a really loud growling sound coming from Jared. From Jared’s stomach to be more precise. Stephen was stunned for a short moment while Jared looked really mortified. For the next few seconds, neither of them moved or uttered a single word. Then Stephen lost it. He burst out laughing while Jared’s cheeks grew redder by the second.
“Holy shit, babe. Way to ruin the romantic moment.”
>
Jared grinned boyishly while rubbing the back of his head with one hand. “I’m starving. I haven’t eaten anything substantial since breakfast. I was too nervous about your reaction to this exhibition and my suggestion for us to live together.”
Stephen chuckled and kissed Jared on the lips for a brief moment before dragging his boyfriend toward the dining table. “Let’s get started on the food then. We can discuss the details throughout dinner.”
That was exactly what they did. Stephen was absolutely thrilled at the prospect of sharing a home with Jared. Most importantly, he was relieved that the reason for Jared’s injuries was nothing as serious as the one he and Isaac had speculated about earlier that day. As dinner progressed, he grew more excited. He and Jared would be buying their first house or apartment together, and he was definitely looking forward to it.
Chapter 13
“So, what do you think?” Jared inquired while leaning in eagerly over Dexter’s office desk.
Dexter stared at Jared. “Look, buddy. I want to know your opinion on me proposing marriage to Isaac, and maybe we can come up with a romantic and subtle way of doing it. Why are you so much more enthusiastic than me about the whole thing? And why do you have such an over-the-top idea of doing it?”
Jared snorted. “You’re talking to me, man. Everything about me is extra festive.”
Dexter sighed. “I should have sought for Stephen’s help instead.”
Jared scoffed. “I love Steve like crazy, but he’s probably even more overdramatic than me when it comes to romance and shit. He will love my plan. One hundred percent. You should have seen his face that evening almost two weeks ago when I told him that we should move in together. You would think he had just seen an angel or something. I was all cool and calm, though.”
Dexter snickered. “Liar. Steve called me up the morning after, man. Apparently, you had tears in your eyes when he agreed for the two of you to live together.”
Jared could feel his cheeks heating up in embarrassment. “That never happened!”
A Foolish Plan Page 9
