"Have a good day and come back soon!"
It was almost lunchtime, and not many people were entering the store. Lucian had just said goodbye to what seemed to be his last customer before his shift ended. He just had to make sure to organize a few things on the shelves to be completely done.
Just then, his phone started ringing. Someone was calling him, but when he turned it on to see who it was, it was an unknown number.
Lucian was debating whether to answer or not. It could be spam or it could be one of his stupid ex-boyfriends who suddenly realized they missed him, or even worse, some debt collectors.
'No thanks!' Lucian rejected the call.
A few moments later, it started ringing again.
'Are you serious?' He hung up again.
And yet, persistently, his phone rang once more. This time, Lucian, slightly annoyed, had no choice but to answer.
"I'm not interested, thank you."
Before he could hang up again, a soothing deep voice began to speak.
"How strange, at the hospital you stated very openly that you were interested," the person on the other end of the phone replied.
"...Excuse me, who is this?"
"We just saw each other early this morning. I thought we had agreed to continue our conversation. I'm not mistaken, am I?"
Processing it in his mind, Lucian recognized the voice of the person he was talking to.
"Nathan?..."
"Yes." he affirmed.
Lucian blushed. He had answered abruptly and rudely before. If he had known it was Nathan, he definitely would have responded more politely.
"Hahaha, sorry, for a moment I thought you were spam," he replied honestly in a nervous voice, re-reading the number on his phone.
'Ahhh, how stupid! I don't have his number saved. I changed phones a while ago. How did he manage to call me?!'
And as if Nathan had read his mind, he answered without a problem what Lucian was wondering.
"I asked my secretary to give me your number. It wasn't hard to get. However, if we didn't have each other's numbers, how did we contact before?"
Lucian wasn't startled because he was expecting this kind of question. How would he justify not having his number if they were supposedly seeing each other?
After a few seconds of silence, it was Nathan who continued to speak.
"I suppose we must have had our reasons," his reply made Lucian breathe a sigh of relief.
"Changing the subject, when do you have time today?"
"Huh? Today?" Lucian replied, surprised.
"Yes. I still need to hear the rest of our story, right?"
Although Nathan really did want to hear the rest, he also partly used this fact as an excuse to see him face-to-face. If one thing was clear to him that morning, it was that he felt calmer and more at peace by his side. Just his presence had a great effect on him.
"Hmm... Actually, today would be a bit complicated. I don't think I'll have time," Lucian commented with a feigned apologetic tone. As much as he wanted to see him, he wasn't sure if he could maintain his composure completely in front of him.
"My shift is about to end, but in an hour I have to go to my other job..."
Lucian wasn't lying; he really did have another job, but it consisted of tutoring young school students and only took him a couple of hours at most.
Even so, this answer annoyed Nathan a bit. The fact that Lucian couldn't give him some of his time made him feel grumpy. He inexplicably really wanted to see him; he felt a little restless.
"Can't you come and have lunch at the hospital?" He couldn't accept no for an answer.
"Even if I did, it would take me about twenty minutes, and by the time I arrived, I'd only have about ten to eat and chat. It's too little..."
"...Alright." Nathan finally accepted.
"If you can't make it for lunch, I have no choice but to pick you up later."
"Later... Wait, pick me up?" Lucian was confused. Wasn't he supposed to be at the hospital?
"How could you pick me up if you're staying at the hospital?" He asked curiously.
A smile formed on Nathan's lips on the other end of the line. "I'm being discharged today. I'm leaving in a couple of hours. According to the doctors, it's no longer necessary for me to stay in the hospital."
Actually according to the doctors and his mother.
Lucian's eyes widened. "Really? That's great!" His genuine joy was evident. He was relieved knowing that he was healthy enough not to remain bedridden.
"Yes. That's why my insistence on seeing you today," Nathan continued. "We can meet later. When do you finish your second job?"
At that moment, Lucian realized that Nathan never gave up on seeing him. With a sigh, he had no choice but to give him his last excuse.
"Mmm... I get off around eight at night. It's a bit late, though."
"That's fine with me," Nathan replied, his voice betraying his satisfaction. "I'll pick you up. How about we have a light dinner so we can talk calmly?"
All Lucian could think about at that moment was the later encounter. He started to imagine, when the city would be quieter and the atmosphere more intimate, which seemed both tempting and terrifying.
"So you're really picking me up," Lucian murmured casually, with a flirtatious tone.
"Yes. Is there a problem?" Nathan's tone was challenging, and Lucian felt an electric current run down his spine.
"No, no, not at all," Lucian hastened to say, feeling the heat rise to his cheeks.
"Where should I meet you? I'll give you the address of the place."
"Don't worry about that. Just send me the address and at what time you finish. My secretary can drive us. See you tonight, then."
And with that, Nathan hung up.
Lucian was left with the phone in his hand, a little stunned. Again, he had given in to everything Nathan said.
He really wanted to curse himself.
...
Later that night, the fresh air announced the end of spring. Lucian was leaning against the wall of the building where he had just finished tutoring, waiting for Nathan.
His nerves had transformed into palpable excitement. When an elegant car pulled up in front of him, his heart skipped a beat. The back seat window rolled down. Nathan was there with an enigmatic smile on his lips.
"Get in," he said simply.
Lucian obeyed.
Once inside, he greeted timidly at Secretary Chen, and only a few moments later, sitting next to Nathan he could smell his subtle cologne filling the car.
It was a woody scent, very masculine, evoking nature and warmth. Lucian wondered if it was sandalwood.
The ride was silent at first, until they turned onto a tree-lined street and the car stopped in front of a small restaurant lit with warm lights.
"I thought this place would be suitable for talking," Nathan commented, as they began to get out of the car.
He gave some instructions to Secretary Chen, who would pick them up later.
Nathan didn't know it, but Secretary Chen, beneath his polite smile, was cursing for having to work so late just to drive his boss and then pick him up from a date.
Once seated and after ordering, the atmosphere became more relaxed. That is, until Nathan reminded Lucian of the main reason for their meeting.
"So, I'd like to know how we met."
Lucian, who was drinking the free water offered by the restaurant, almost choked listening to Nathan. However, this time he had been thinking about what he could say since the car, and in the end, he chose to tell the true story.
How they met through their parents, how they went to the same school, everything. He only avoided telling him the truth about the last few years and their relationship.
While Lucian spoke with confidence and conviction about his partially invented story as if it was the most natural thing in the world, Nathan watched him in a way that made him feel uneasy.
His eyes fixed on Lucian's with an intensity that instantly captivated him. It wasn't an aggressive gaze, but it was brazenly direct.
Lucian felt as if his soul was being bared in a blink, making him feel strangely exposed.
Suddenly, Nathan realized something. He liked seeing Lucian slightly nervous. He liked the blush that appeared on his cheeks, the way his eyes darted away for a second before looking back at him.
It was an unusual feeling, an amusement he hadn't experienced in a long time. And he realized he liked having that effect on Lucian.
At one point, while Lucian gesticulated to passionately describe one of his school memories, Nathan saw him in a different way. He saw not only the man in front of him but also an imposed image.
An image of a young man with messy hair and a vivid smile, telling a story with the same passion, the same hands in the air. It was a fleeting memory, but clear enough for Nathan to realize it was Lucian.
"Are you okay?" Lucian asked, noticing his momentary confusion.
Nathan blinked, returning to the present. "Yes, yes... I just drifted off for a moment."
The conversation continued, but Nathan's mind kept returning to that image. He looked at Lucian, who was now talking about his job, and wondered if he would have the answers he needed.
The date, which had begun with a mission to clarify doubts, now seemed to be taking an unexpected turn.
He not only wanted to understand his past but also felt a growing fascination for the man sitting across from him.