40

Chapter 40

I took a taxi to meet Damien at the location. Richard offered to give me a ride, but after a little argument about Damien's intention, I declined his offer. His jealousy these past few days had been frustrating and, frankly exhausting. But this was Damien's day, and I wasn't going to let Richard's possessiveness ruin it.

Damien was already waiting when I arrived at the theater. He waved enthusiastically while holding two tickets in one hand and a bucket of popcorn in the other.

"You're just in time," he said, handing me a ticket. "You're going to love this movie."

I glanced at the poster. It was some big-budget action flick. Richard was so wrong when he assumed that Damien was planning to watch a romance movie in order to 'set the mood.'

The movie was as loud and ridiculous as I expected, and Damien's running commentary made it more entertaining. He kept whispering things like, "That's totally unrealistic" during the most over-the-top stunts.

After the movie, Damien suggested we head to a nearby social venue. It was one of those all-in-one places with bowling, arcade games, and a bar.

We started with bowling where Damien absolutely destroyed me. I couldn't knock down a single pin, and my score was stuck at zero. It was definitely embarrassing.

"If you want to score, fix your stance," he said, taking the ball from my hand. "And this one's too heavy for you."

He swapped it for a smaller ball and guided me through my posture. His hands lightly adjusting my arms and shoulders. My phone buzzed in my pocket, but Damien waved me on. "Go on, try."

I rolled the ball and, to my surprise, it was a strike. I couldn't help but cheer and gave Damien a high five.

I answered my phone while Damien took his turn.

It was Richard.

"What is it?" I asked.

"He's too close."

The venue was loud, but I swear I could still hear his heavy breathing through the phone.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"He touched you on purpose and you let him," he growled.

I frowned and scanned the crowd, but I couldn't spot him. The venue was large, and with so many people around, it was hard to tell if he was here.

I stepped away from Damien to get some distance. "Are you following us?" I demanded.

"His hands were all over you," he spat out in anger.

"Richard, if you're stalking me, you need to stop immediately. I will not be tolerating this kind of behavior."

There was a pause, and then a frustrated sigh. I could almost picture the anger on his face.

"Tell him to keep his hands off you," he hissed with a chilling threat. "If he wants to keep baking, that is."

Before I could respond, the call ended. I put my phone back in my pocket and walked over to Damien thinking about how I'd deal with Richard once I got home.

"Everything okay?" Damien asked.

"Yeah," I said quickly, forcing a smile. "Just someone being unreasonable."

After the game, we decided to order some food. I offered to buy him a drink.

"Remember our dorm food?" Damien asked between bites of his burger. "I swear those mystery meat tacos still give me nightmares."

I laughed. "I don't understand why you ate them in the first place after I told you they looked disgusting."

"Because I was hungry and broke," he admitted, grinning. "And hey, I survived. Probably with a better immune system too."

"And look how far we've come. Here's to another year of surviving adulthood," I said, raising my glass. We clinked our drinks together.

Next up was laser tag, which turned out to be much more intense than I expected. Damien took it way too seriously, barking orders like a general.

"Cover me!" he shouted, sprinting across the room. Before I could react, someone tagged me, and I was out.

"You're terrible at this," he teased as he celebrated his victory.

"Well, that's because you used me as your human shield," I shot back, rolling my eyes.

We ended the day at the arcade hopping from game to game. I finally managed to beat him at a fighting game, and he demanded a rematch every time, only to lose again and again. After around 20 matches, we were both laughing so hard we could barely stand.

The rest of the day was fun, and by the time we'd played everything, I was pleasantly exhausted.

As we walked back to the parking lot, Damien offered me a ride home. "It's late, I can give you a ride home," he insisted.

I hesitated but eventually climbed on behind him, holding on to the seat for balance. The ride back to the manor was thrilling as the cool spring air rushed past us. When we reached the gate, I got off.

"Thanks for today, Carl," he said warmly. "It was the best birthday I've had in a while."

"I had fun too," I admitted with a smile. "Happy birthday, Damien." I handed him back the helmet.

His grin softened, and he hesitated, his eyes meeting mine. "There's one more thing I wanted to do."

"What is it?"

Before I could react, he leaned in and kissed me. It was soft, hesitant, and completely unexpected.

I froze as my mind raced. By the time I pulled back, he was already stepping away with an apologetic smile.

"Sorry," he said quickly. "I shouldn't have done that."

"What was that?" I asked, glancing around, half-expecting Richard to appear out of nowhere.

"I just... anyway, thanks for making my birthday special," Damien said quietly.

I swallowed hard, not knowing what to say. My thoughts were a mess as I muttered, "I should... go."

Damien nodded. His smile fading slightly. "Goodnight, Carl."

I punched in the gate code and stepped inside. What the hell just happened?

My heart pounded as I walked up the driveway, replaying what had happened. And more importantly, how was I going to explain this to Richard?