𝕾𝖊𝖓𝖘𝖊𝖑𝖊𝖘𝖘 𝕵𝖔𝖞

รɦαω

I square up to the cable machine, exhale, then pull the bar toward my chest. I bring roughly sixty kilograms to my shoulders. I hold for a few seconds, then move on to the next twelve repetitions.

With the frets over my heart attack behind me, I could go back to working out. Going into my fifties, I should be worried about less superficial things like my graying hair or fading six-pack, but I want Summers to find me attractive.

Twelve reps later, I face away from the cable machine. I inhale, grit my teeth, straighten my spine, and steady my balance, straining my breath until I'm hauling the harsh weights with my bare right arm.

"Old man?"

Riel had so many nicknames to choose from — honey, sweetheart, darling, baby, babe, sweetie, sugar, boo, or anything other than 'old man'. The nickname frustrates me, makes me roll my eyes every time he calls it, but I don't have the heart to tell him not to call me that. And it shouldn't but it does, it just so happens that my chest swells with fluttering warmth, pride, heart, and flowers, and this weightless rush to have Riel call me by some lovey-dovey nickname even if it is 'old man'.

"Yes?" I answer grudgingly, hiding my smile.

Riel stops at the door. He watches me, biting the sides of his index finger. He doesn't act shy about it, his eyes stalk the length of my body.

"Hmm," Riel exhales deeply.

I feel a shiver tracing my spine, feeling like prey under Riel's gaze. He should be shy not me. He's always the shy one.

"Enjoying the show?" I muster a casual tone.

Riel doesn't say anything back, his lips quivering into a playful smile. He lifts from the doorframe to meet me.

"Just checking to see if we were still alive," Riel raises his hand against my forehead, brushing sweat curled hair from my face.

"I get it," I smirk. "You were missing me."

"Yes," Riel reaches to my height, tracing his fingers around my face. "But, who else has the right to miss you?"

He pulls my face against his warm mouth, lining kisses on my jaw.

"No one has that right ..." I smile, agreeing. "Only you get to miss me."

Riel steps back a bit, his hand lowering to the strap of my tank top. He runs his hand under the strap, using his fingertips to lightly trace the vein that starts from my collar and leads out to my shoulder.

"Old man," he teases me, his voice like silk. "How am I supposed to remember what I should be telling you when you're in front of me looking like this?"

Riel drops his hands to my arms, brushing his palms over the curve of my biceps.

"Ahem," I blush. "Was it something important?"

"Not anymore," Riel raises his eyes at mine.

My ears turn red first, then the flush of heat spreads to my neck, and this time it reaches my cheeks, my blush gets brighter.

"Gllk," I gulp, feeling the linger of his caress over me. I feel my muscles twitch under his touch, flexing slightly as if responding to Riel's curiosity.

"I really don't—," I kiss his shoulder. "I don't want my first time making love to you to be in some musty gym," I tell him.

"Whoa," Riel jumps back. "Slow your roll, old man. I'm not having sex with you," he looks past me, pretending I'm not there, "... not yet, anyway."

"Don't try to hide it," I slid my hand along the curve of his jaw, steering his gaze towards me. "I know every part of you is already mine."

I feel his face warm against my palm.

"I should get back to work," Riel says nervously as he turns for the door.

I grab him by the waist, dragging his back against my front.

"I've to get back to work," Riel protests.

Sweeping his hair over his shoulder, I brush kisses on his neck. "No," I grumble. "You don't get to use that excuse outside of the office."

"You're a very demanding man to work for," he says. "I

have a million things to do ... so let me go do them."

"Well, actually ..." I hug Riel closer against me, gluing myself to him, "you have got a million and one things to do. Don't forget the one about you getting under me."

Riel shoves an elbow to my side. "There'll be no me getting under you," he giggles.

"Not even for snuggles?" I ask shyly.

"You weren't thinking about snuggles," Riel laughs.

"I was too ..." I retort.

"No, you weren't," he tells me in a louder, more playful voice.

"I was ... I was ..." I repeat, throwing a couple of kisses on his cheek. "I was ... I was thinking about snuggles."

─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───

"Florida?" Riel frowns.

We landed in Florida about five minutes ago and Riel is already starting a smear campaign against the state.

"What did Florida do to you?" I ask him.

I actually like Florida despite its quirks as a state, it has charm — the sunsets, salty air, and crystal-clear waters make it impossible not to love.

"What hasn't it done?" Riel retorts.

"You'll change our mind," I tell him.

I'm sure once Riel sees me shirtless on the beach, he'll only have the fondest of thoughts about Florida.

"What's with the silly smirk on your face?" Riel raises a brow at me.

"Nothing," I grin.

"You're losing it, old man ... " Riel shakes his head.

He moves around me, trying to get the bags from the trunk of the car. I grab Riel's wrist, tugging him away from the trunk.

"As long as you're around me," I mumble, kissing his hand. "Don't think about doing any heavy lifting."

Riel rolls his eyes at me. "Spare me your chivalry, I'm a man just like you ... not some princess. I'll lift whatever I want."

"You can be a man to the world, I don't care ..." I say to him, "but to me, you're my princess."

"Aargh," Riel groans. "Whatever ... since you're Mister Strongman, carry all the bags yourself." He stomps off, racing up to the beach house.

"Keep stomping, princess," I encourage him. "It makes my view of your ass better."

Riel turns at the door to glare at me. In return for his scowl, I blow a kiss his way. He blushes prettily at the kiss but looks away to the ground.

"Well, go on .... stomp on into the house," I tell Riel. "I definitely won't complain about the view." I hand our bags over to the staff.

Riel suddenly wears a mischievous glint on his face, he turns, walking backward into the house. "Suffer," he grins, passing the doorway.

"Heh," I smile at his antics, tailing him into the house.

I turn into the foyer behind Riel. He steps short of the staircase, looking around the house. I glance down at my phone, scrolling through a lengthy message from my mom aimed at convincing me to fix my issues with Mallory and get married. I reply to her message with a simple 'no'. Well ... maybe it wasn't simple since after that I texted 'there's someone else. I'd like you to meet him.'  Her next text is a 'him?' followed by five or six question marks.

I watch Riel's back from the corner of my eye, tapping 'yes, him' on the keyboard, then I stuff my phone back into my pocket. I lift my foot to the staircase, stepping into Riel.

"Oof!"

A startled noise escapes Riel as I collide with his back, and he stumbles forward. I act on instinct, reaching for his waist, steadying him against me.

"Careful," I warn him.

Riel turns his head at me, a sharp look in his eyes. "You bumped me," he accosts me. "And now... you're telling me to be careful?"

"It was an accident," I tell him.

"Hmm," he raises an unconvinced glare at me.

"What hmm?" I ask him. "You don't believe me?"

"Of course not," Riel rasps. "You probably bumped into me on purpose so you could rub your crotch on me."

My brows shoot up at the accusation of my character. I wouldn't do that.

"I didn't . . ." I defend myself. "I was saving you from a concussion."  I tug Riel closer to me, resting my head against his shoulder. "I don't appreciate being treated like a pervert."

Riel spins in my arms, looking me in the eyes. "Sorry," he whispers, kissing the left side of my lips.

"You better be sorry," I bury my face against his collar.

Riel slings an arm over my shoulder, tucking me into the warmth between his neck and shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he voices softly in my ear.

Riel's fingers brush the back of my head, coaxing me to fall asleep.

"I could get used to this," I mumble. "And this..." I cop a feel of his butt.

Riel scoffs, laughs hard, and pulls my head up from his shoulder. "Who said you could get handsy?" he asks.

I peer at him. "You're mine ... aren't you? Who else is going to get handsy with you?"

Riel does the usual — rolls his eyes at me, but blushes as always. "You're lucky, you're cute," he jabs his finger against my forehead, pushing me back.

"Cute?" I scoff. "I'm fucking handsome. I'm probably the most handsome man you've ever met."

Riel lifts a brow at him. "Why probably?" he asks me, rounding the staircase.

I smirk, hurrying to close the distance he's making on me.

"It's such a beautiful house," Riel inspects the marble detailing on the wall.

"It is," I agree ". . . but I always thought it was missing something important."

"Like what?" Riel asks me.

"You," I tell him.

"Do you ever leave an opportunity to flirt?" Riel shakes his head.

"Oh?" I grin, leaning into the window frame. "Does it bother you? Or you just don't want to admit you enjoy my flirting?"

"I absolutely hate it," Riel says, but the sneaky smile on his lips says he absolutely loves my flirting.

"You absolutely love my flirting," I correct him.

"Really now?" Riel locks his arms over his chest. "What makes you think that?"

"Because," I pull his arms from over his chest, tugging him into a hug "... you love everything about me."

"Do I?" Riel cocks his head slightly to one side, fixing his eyes on me.

I press a soft kiss on his lips. "You do."

When Riel concludes his tour of the hallway, he raises a questioning look at me. "Which of these rooms is mine?"

Shouldn't he be asking which of these rooms is ours?

"This one," I lead him into the master bedroom.

Riel settles into the room, unpacking his clothes on the bed. I couldn't tell if I get to stay in the same room as him or not. After all . . . we're on a work trip and he'll eventually default to playing just my assistant.

"Ahem," I scratch the back of my head. "Is it okay if I

stay in this room too? Because I'll be totally okay with you preferring us staying in separate rooms."

"Once we keep work outside of the bedroom ... you're welcome to stay." Riel mumbles, not looking up from his unpacking.

"Good ... Good," I smile.

I sit a bit behind Riel, resting my head on his shoulder, inching closer to steal a kiss off his lips. I steal my kiss, but Riel is more interested in finding some draws than kissing me.

"What do we have here?" I swipe a pair of Calvin Klein briefs from him.

"Give me my briefs," Riel stretches his opened palm at me.

"No," I scram to the other side of the room.

Riel comes after me. "Give me that."

He reaches to get the briefs out of my hand, but I hoist them over his head. "I could give them back..." I twirl them around my finger, "but where's the fun in that?"

"I don't care about your fun," Riel groans. "Give them!"

He stretches over his head to grab the briefs but I keep them out of his reach.

I lead my stare down to his crotch.

"I'll trade you," I bargain, "these for the ones you've got on now."

"Look," Riel says. "I'm not interested in satisfying any of your weird fetishes."

"Oh, Riel," I exhaled a quiet laugh ... "Summers soon to be Harlow, you already do, without even trying."

Riel blinks. "So, I won't ask any questions about that."

I smirk at him, he couldn't hide that he was interested.

"Are you sure?" I ask him. "Not even one?"

"No," Riel says. "Now, give me my underwear."

"Not without the trade," I tell him.

Riel sighs. "You know what, old man? I will not match your freak."

He walks away from me.

"At least give up what color they're?" I plead with him.

"No," he yells.

I wait in bed for Riel to finish his shower and concert.

He's had the same song on loop for well over fifteen minutes now.

Riel finally comes out of the shower, steam trailing him into the room.

"Were you boiling crabs in there?" I ask him. "Why are you showering with such hot water?"

Riel takes his hair down from the towel wrapping his head. "If you can't afford the water bill ... just say so."

"Oh, you got jokes?" I laugh.

He sits in front of the vanity, sprinkling olive oil over his head. "You've got money, I've got jokes..."

I turn on my side, watching Riel's reflection, thinking he's getting more beautiful.

"Bring me my pajamas, will you?" Riel meets my gaze in the mirror.

I ignore the dark blue pajamas he forgot to take in the bathroom with him, bringing one of my shirts to him instead.

"Here," I hand him the shirt.

"Why did you bring me your shirt?" Riel asks me.

"Because you'll look much prettier in it than me," I tell him.

"Is this some weird way for you to get off?" He raises a single eyebrow at me.

"No," I answer. "I haven't stopped thinking about how prefect you looked in my shirt the last time and I'd love to see you like that again."

"You would, wouldn't you?" Riel asks me.

"Yes," I nod eagerly.

He tries not to smile but does. "Guess, I can't say no to that."

Riel lazily drags himself to stand up. He traces the path back to the bathroom, my shirt over his shoulder.

I should've known better than expecting him to change in front of me.

He steps out of the bathroom a second later, changed out of his bathrobe, and wearing the shirt I gave him. I exhale slowly, my eyes dragging over him, memorizing every inch, every part of him I wanted that he's hiding under my shirt.

"I can't believe it's twelve already," Riel says.

He brushes past me as if he doesn't what he's doing to me. I grab his waist, pinning him against the wall.

"What are you—?!" Riel stares at me, eyes wide.

I press against him, one hand braced on the wall beside his head, the other tracing his side.

"W-what ..?" Riel gulps.

"Quiet ..." I warn him. "I really want to fuck you right now and your mouth moving isn't doing you any good."

He blinks at me, clearly wanting to say something but not saying it.

"Riel Summers," I press a kiss against his neck. "The things you do to me ..." I tell him breathlessly.

I lift him in my arms — turning in the direction of the bed.

"Where are taking me?" Riel presses his palm against my chest.

"To bed ..." I tell him.

A tight expression sets on his face, his brows drawing low.

"Relax," I chuckle. "We're going to sleep and that's it."

─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───

"Haaah," I exhale a big yawn.

I head downstairs. I don't get quite the early start on my day like Riel. Couldn't he have spared me a single hour more of cuddling?

"Hey ... you!" I shout after a maid.

"Yes, sir?" She drops what's she doing to head towards me.

"I'm expecting a delivery in an hour or so ... make sure you get the package to me the minute it's delivered," I tell her before walking off.

I find Riel in the kitchen sliding a sunny-side up eggs out of a skillet.

"I pay someone to do that," I remind him.

I narrow a resentful gaze at the chef lounging about in the corner.

"You do," Riel doesn't look up as he cracks another egg into the pan, "and that's exactly why —not naming names—," he side–eyes my chef, "someone wouldn't listen to me when I told them you wouldn't be having bacon or any other greasy meat with whatever nonsense pastry for breakfast." He flicks his gaze to me. "And since I'd rather have a man with a functioning heart — I'll make you breakfast myself."

I lean against the marble countertop, my lips lifting to a half-smile. "You know," I whisper in his ear. "You're awfully sexy when you're worked up."

"Does your brain ever do any of your thinking or is that responsibility left solely to your penis?" Riel asks me.

"Depends?" I ask ... just to tease him. "How mad would you be if I say the latter?"

Riel presses his lips into a thin line, shooting me a less-than-impressed look.

"I'm kidding," I tell him. I brush a kiss on his forehead.

"Don't get so worried about me, my cardiologist seems to think my heart is in pretty good shape."

"Seems to think?" Riel yelps.

"Riel, stop ..." I place a finger on his lips.

I pull his hand from his side, bringing it over my chest.

"You feel my heart beating, right?" I ask Riel.

He nods.

I tilt his chin up with a light stroke of my fingertips, my palm brushing over his cheek as my thumb lazes in the warmth of his skin. Riel covers the back of my hand with his, blushing.

"Without you," I trace my other hand over the hand he still has on my heart. "Without you, my heart wouldn't be doing that."

"You're giving me too much credit," Riel whispers.

"I'm not," I tell him. "You don't even know how much you've made this heart of mine better ... actually more than better — best. Yes, you've made it best."

Riel smiles, leaning into my chest.

"I can't believe ... your sloppy lines work on me," Riel mumbles.

"You should've known better," I set a kiss at his temple.

My arms find their way around Riel.

I wonder if he's listening in on the restless drumming in my chest. Whenever I'm with Riel my heart doesn't keep quiet. And then there's also this constant, steady presence pumping my heart with senseless joy. Which does make perfect sense since I'm madly in love with him.

I crowd Riel closer to my chest, refusing to let even air come between us.

"Could you not hold me so tight?" Riel complains. "I'd like to live past this hug."

"Sorry," I loosen my hold on him.

Riel shifts in my arms with the one loc of his hair that didn't go into his messy attempt at a ponytail, sticking out and tickling my chin.

I close my eyes, forgetting the track of time until the scent of something burning scratches my nose.

"Is something burning?" I ask Riel.

"I don't know," he pulls himself out my arms, gasping, "my eggs!"

Riel rushes back over to the stove, trying to recuse the eggs that had been scorched to the bottom of the frying pan. He manages to scrape the eggs from the frying pan, but they crumble into a mountain of ash instead.

"Mmh—hah," I hold my stomach, falling into a fit of laughter. "Don't you feel bad doing that to some poor chicken's baby?"

"Shut up," Riel mumbles. "This is your fault, you made me forgot what I was doing."

"How's it my fault you can't get enough of this?" I point to myself.

"Hmm ..." His eyes roam over the length of me, a slow smoldering flush raised on his features. As Riel turns his gaze from me, the seep of golden sunlight from the blinds kisses the curve of his face and traces reflections of the sun's brilliance over the smooth skin that peeks from his collar.

I tug at the blinds, capturing Riel in more of the golden hour's glow.

Most of the sunlight catches the frizz that lifts from his hair, causing it to shimmer like fine strands of spun gold against the dark locs brushing his shoulders.

"Why do you enjoy taking my breath away?" I pull his face towards my gaze so he can see what he does to me. "Don't you like to see me breathing?"

"What are talking about?" Riel asks confused as he goes back to scrubbing the burn from the bottom of the frying pan.

"Someone will do that for you," I lift his hands out of the sink.

"It's my mess ... I'll clean it," he protests.

"I already said someone will do it."

I cup his face, dropping my mouth over his. I kiss him hard, parting his hesitant lips. I couldn't have known it was possible to be so attracted to someone.

"Mmm," Riel moans against my lips.

I rake my hand through his hair, undoing his ponytail. His locs felt like long, knotted silk running through my fingers.

"Answer me," I move the kiss to his neck. "Why do you enjoy taking my breath away?"

"I don't know the answer you're looking for," he says. "Are you sure you're not just horny?"

"No," I tell him. "I'm not just horny..." I laugh, hugging him, feeling as if I'm experiencing magic and everyone else in the world has no clue about it.

I pull away from him, smiling so much that I think my head could explode off my shoulders.

Riel looks at me. "You're crying?" he asks, drying the single tear that fell on my cheek.

"I haven't cried since I was a boy," I tell him. "And now here I am as a man crying because I can't find the words to tell you how happy you make me. Riel Summers, I'm  in —," I get interrupted by someone.

"Excuse me, Mr. Harlow," the maid from earlier walks into the kitchen. "I received your package." She sets the large black box on the counter, before leaving.

"What's inside?" Riel gets curious.

"You'll have to open it to find out," I tell him.

He lifts a suspicious glance at me but untucks the tabs at the corner of the box.

"They're beautiful," Riel touches the stems of the roses lying in the box.

"Yes," I hold his waist, "but not as beautiful as this." I point his attention to the blue velvet jewelry box.

He lifts the top of the box, his gaze setting on the string of light yellow diamonds.

"It's beautiful," Riel voices.

I take the necklace from its box, lift Riel's hair, and lace it around his neck. I give him a twirl, studying how the color of diamonds complemented his skin.

"They finally have value," I say.

"Heh," Riel giggles. "I think they're pretty valuable on their own."

"You don't make flirting easy," I laugh.

"I have to keep you on your toes," he tells me.

He touches the diamonds on the neck. "I don't think I have an occasion to wear these."

"You don't need one," I tell him.

He looks back at the roses and finds the smaller velvet box. Riel flips the box open and the diamond eternity band pops out at him.

"Isn't this..." a flicker of shock crosses Riel's face before he asks his question, "an engagement ring?"

***

Writer's Notes

Got busy and forgot my original plot for this chapter.

It when in a very different direction than I wanted. I'm currently extremely busy with school so unfortunately updates are going to be scanty.

Also I had a comment about Riel and Shaw not having any chemistry. Maybe I'm overconfident in my writing but I think they've good chemistry. I don't mind taking feedback from my readers once it's said in a polite way.