Chapter 229

"Goodbye, Ken. See you next time," Andre said as he held the car door open for a reluctant Ken.

Ken paused in front of the door and looked up at Andre, "Do your lips still hurt?" He asked Andre.

Andre smiled, "It was a weak punch, it doesn't hurt that much, not as strong as yours." He touched Ken's shoulder.

Ken giggled, glancing at Cross behind Andre, "Bye, Cross. Don't worry, you'll get as good as me soon, Andre's a good teacher." He waved to him and entered the car.

Andre watched the car drive away before he turned to Cross.

"I'll go sort something out. I'll see you when I see you, Boss," Andre said and turned away from Cross. 

He had nothing he wanted to do, he just needed to take a break from Cross's company. Ever since Cross arrived, it seemed as if he no longer had time for himself; it was always Cross, Cross, Cross. He needed a break.

"Where are you going?" Cross asked, falling in step with Andre. 

Andre stopped and sighed, "It's personal, boss -"

"Do you still know my name? Boss this, boss that. I have a name, you know?" Cross said, putting his hand on his waist. 

Andre blinked, staring at Cross's face for a while, "You're one weird character. Okay, let's get this straight because I don't want your fist on my lips anymore -"

"How about my lips?" Cross raised a brow, not smiling.

Because Cross kept a straight face, Andre took an extra second to understand what he meant.

He stared at Cross's face in surprise, "So you do have humour in you? That's nice." Andre cleared his throat, averting his eyes from Cross.

Cross scoffed, "Oh my God, chill, bro. You and I know I would never kiss you, stop acting funny." He stated.

"How did we even end up with this weird conversation? Just go back to the room and shower or do whatever you want to do. Just leave me alone," Andre waved Cross away. 

"Hold on," Cross caught Andre's hand, walking around to stand in front of him.

Andre stared at Cross's hand that was holding his. "You know? This is the first time you're initiating contact. You see? You're warming up to me." He chuckled. 

Cross slowly retrieved his hand, frowning. "Just tell me where you're going." He said. 

Andre sighed, "You know, apart from seeing each other when we're about to sleep and when you need to practice, we really don't have any business with each other's business. Where I'm heading is none is your business. So, just... bye." He turned and hurried away, leaving Cross behind.

Cross stood there, wondering where Andre was headed.

The real question should be, why was he still standing there and why had he made that silly joke about his lips on Andre's? That was probably why Andre was running away from him.
***
"I'm telling you the truth, I haven't seen him since breakfast. How about you call him on the phone?" Pole said to Jasper.

It was already evening and Jasper could no longer count the number of times he had asked everyone if they had seen Jeremiah. 

He knew he shouldn't be asking about him so openly and desperately, but he couldn't control it; he'd tried busying himself with work, but he still couldn't come to terms with the fact that he woke up alone and cold in bed.

He was angry, he needed to ask Jeremiah why he did that, he needed to see him to make sure he was okay, he needed to look into his eyes and tell him never to do it again. 

"Can you hear me?" Pole tapped Jasper's shoulder. 

Jasper slowly blinked, looking around the whole place one last time.

He was out in the beach bar, hoping to find Jeremiah there. 

"I hear you," He said to Pole, frowning.

"But, why though? Why are you searching for him? Something happened between you two, right?" Pole asked.

Jasper stood, "Nothing happened." He clenched his jaws as he answered.

"Okay, I believe you," Pole nodded.

"Say, how about I take you to the Club? Just to unwind and forget whatever is bothering you?" Pole asked, stepping closer to Jasper. 

"Huh? What do you say J?" Pole drummed his finger on the table.

Jasper sighed, "Let's go." He said. 

"Awesome. Just a minute, Andre is over there with some dude, I'll go ask him if he's joining," Pole said and quickly hurried away.

He met Andre at the darkest corner of the bar, talking with a slim dude.

"Hey, man," Pole said as he reached the table. 

Andre looked away from his company and stared at Pole, "What's up, Pole?" He asked.

"I was heading to the bar and I was wondering if you might want to join. You can bring your company, too," Pole pointed to the guy.

Andre shook his head, "No, he likes it here, right?" He turned to the guy beside him.

The guy simply nodded his head.

"Right. Catch you later, then," Pole waved and left.

"Let's go, man. Seems like Andre wants some tonight," Pole chuckled as he walked past Jasper.

The first thing Jasper saw as he entered the dim resort club was Jeremiah, standing alone in front of the bar.

The first thing he did was to take an urgent step forward to meet him but his approach was paused as he saw a man walk up to Jeremiah and put his arm over his shoulder. 

He waited for Jeremiah to push the man away or step away from the man. Rather, he smiled up at the man and asked him to sit beside him.

He felt devastated and disappointed.

He stood at the entrance for a while and stared at them, seeing the way Jeremiah kept smiling at the man's words.

So that was it? That's how he got ditched? He thought...

He sighed. What was he even thinking? He made it clear that it was a one-off something between them. Jeremiah did nothing wrong to him, he was just keeping to his words and minding his business.

"Jasper, I found us a spot," Pole said as he came and dragged Jasper away from the entrance.

"Hey, isn't that Jeremiah? That's him alright, aren't you going to him?" Pole asked as they sat down on a sofa.

Jasper shook his head, "No. I can wait. It's not that urgent." He shrugged.

"Um, okay.  You know? I think -"

"I'll get us some drinks," Jasper said, stood, and walked off. He didn't want to hear what Pole had to say, he was starting to pry deeper. 

However, he didn't think his plan through, his quick escape had led him right toward Jeremiah and his new man.

He kept a straight face and moved to the bar.

He stood behind Jeremiah and ordered his drink, not bothering to speak to him.

"Give me your strongest," He said to the bartender.

Jeremiah heard a familiar voice behind him and froze. 

He had been hiding from Jasper all day, but it seemed like he no longer had anywhere to hide. 

Jeremiah gave his partner a small smile and turned to look at Jasper, thinking he would catch him staring at him, but Jasper was simply looking at the bartender preparing his drinks. Jeremiah felt ignored, so he forced himself to believe that Jasper might not have seen him so he tapped his shoulder. 

"Hey," He called quietly. 

Jasper slowly turned and stared at Jeremiah with an expressionless face, "Hey." He said and looked away, continuing to stare at the bartender. 

Jeremiah frowned, offended.

"You know him?" Jeremiah's friend asked, moving close to him.

Jeremiah slowly nodded, "He's my colleague." He said.

"Oh, hi, Jeremiah's colleague, nice to meet you," the man stepped forward and extended his hand to Jasper. 

Jasper immediately grabbed his drinks from the bartender and turned to face Jeremiah's man. He stared at the man's hand and raised his hands to show him the drinks he was carrying and why he couldn't shake him.

He gave the man a small nod and walked away.

"Your friend is... cold," The man chuckled, returning his hand to his side.

Jeremiah nodded, forcing a smile.

Why was Jasper ignoring him? He didn't even act mad that he saw him with someone else, could he really not care? He thought that by now, Jasper would have been so eager to speak to him after not seeing him for a whole day, but turns out, he really meant nothing to him.

"Hey, are you okay? Still up for some drinks?" The man asked Jeremiah, holding his waist.

Jeremiah took a deep breath and looked up at the man's face, "Sure." He replied.

'Let's see how nonchalant you are,' he thought and sat down on the stool behind him.

At Jasper's table, he was mute as Pole kept chirping about an unimportant topic; he couldn't care less about what he was saying. His focus was on Jeremiah; he was observing how frequently that man touched Jeremiah, and he did nothing but smile at him.

He should probably look away from them or leave the club, but he didn't. For some reason, he wanted to stay and see where Jeremiah and that man ended up by the end of the night. Whatever happened tonight determines his next step with Jeremiah. 

If Jeremiah actually ends up with that man tonight then Jasper would completely step back. He didn't like sharing.

"Hey, is that not Cross?" Pole tapped Jasper's shoulder and pointed at the booth across from them.

Jasper glanced and saw Cross looking all angry and drunk as he spoke to someone. 

He shrugged, "That's him." 

Pole frowned, "That's it? Are we not going to go over and know what the problem is?" He questioned.

"He's not my problem. Call Andre or something, or you can let Andre be, the guy wants to have some fun tonight. Cross will sort himself out, he's the boss," Jasper sipped his drink.

"Oh, damn, what should I do now?" Pole murmured, confused.

He stared at Cross and sighed in relief as he seemed to have settled down, quietly sipping his drink.

"Thank goodness, there'll be no drama tonight. Right, Jas... Huh?" Pole turned to his side but couldn't find Jasper anymore, he looked to the bar and saw him dragging Jeremiah away from the man he was speaking to.

"I was too fast to conclude, maybe the drama was just about to start," He sipped his drink and relaxed into the sofa. 

In the less crowded area of the club, Jeremiah struggled out of Jasper's hold.

"What is wrong with you? You're hurting me!" Jeremiah frowned, rubbing his arm.

"Sorry. But..." Jasper sighed, putting his hands in his pockets.

"But, what? Why did you have to disgrace me like that in front of my date? Why did you pull me out like some little kid?" Jeremiah asked, glaring at Jasper. 

"He was touching you too inappropriately," Jasper replied.

"So what? I liked it, I didn't call for your help; so why did you come? Jealous?" He stepped closer to Jasper.

Jasper chuckled, shaking his head, "No. I'm just looking out for a colleague so he doesn't make a horrible mistake." He said.

Jeremiah scoffed, "Yeah, like I did with you, right?" He narrowed his eyes, watching Jasper's reaction. 

Jasper's face remained calm but his fists in his pockets clenched so tight that it hurt, but it didn't hurt the way his heart was hurting.

"A mistake, huh?" He smiled at Jeremiah. 

Jeremiah shrugged.

"You don't know what you're doing, don't say that, please," Jasper whispered. 

"Oh, please, I know what I'm doing. I'm flirting with someone else who isn't you. A least, he smiles at me and makes me feel seen. Not ignoring me for half of the time I'm with him," Jeremiah said with a frown. 

Jasper moved to hold Jeremiah but Jeremiah stepped back. 

"I never ignore you, Jeremiah. I've never ignored you. You're drunk. How about I take you to my room and let you sleep it off?" Jasper suggested. 

"No, not happening. Going to your room? And let another mistake happen between us? No, thank you." Jeremiah chuckled, leaning against the wall.

"You don't mean what you're saying. I don't believe them. You're drunk. Come on, I'll take you out of here," Jaaper held Jeremiah's hand and gently pulled him away from the wall.

"No, get your fucking hands off me," Jeremiah pushed him away.

Jasper was hurt, he was starting to feel a certain kind of fear that Jeremiah might actually mean what he was saying, he didn't want it to be true, it would break him.

"But I must thank you, though; you made me realise that being bottom is exhilarating. I'm switching roles from now on, and that macho man over there is going to stroke me hard and fast tonight -"

"Stop!" Jasper snapped at Jeremiah, staring at his face.

"Just stop. I don't need to hear the details. I get your point now. I was a mistake, and you don't want to have anything to do with me anymore. It's a clear message, I get it. I'm sorry for interrupting your romantic date," he said to Jeremiah, his hands shaking from the pain he was feeling within him.

He couldn't wrap his head around the fact that Jeremiah was going to be in another man's arms tonight when he had just held him the previous night. But life was a choice, and Jeremiah had made his choice; he couldn't force him to choose him.

"Yeah, now you get it. Get your boring self out of my sight. I don't want to see you," Jeremiah pointed to the exit.

Jaspee smiled, "You've hurt me, Jerry. That's not fair. I missed you when I woke up, and I searched everywhere for you. For a second, I thought we were becoming something; you brought me out of my shell just to make me regret it. I shouldn't have let you in that night, Jerry, I shouldn't have." He slowly nodded and walked away, his heart shattering with every step he took away from Jeremiah. 

Maybe it was good this way. This is why he never wanted to let anyone in in the first place, he would end up getting hurt, and this time, it hurt him badly because he was already getting used to Jeremiah's presence in his life. And now, that presence has been robbed from him, leaving him cold and alone.

He walked past Pole, ignoring his questions. He didn't want to be here, he didn't want to see Jeremiah leaving with his new catch. He's been played, and it hurt like a bitch. 

Jeremiah stood there staring until Jasper left the club, he sighed and walked back to the bar.

"Everything okay? Did your colleague want to talk about work? He seemed quite upset," The man asked.

"Yeah, he is," Jeremiah muttered. 

"Do you want to follow me back to my room? We could continue our drinking up there," the man touched Jeremiah's lap, smiling.

Jeremiah sighed, "Not tonight, Mr. Macho. That blonde over there has had his eyes on you the whole night. Go with him," he pointed to the guy sitting at the end of the bar.

The man looked behind him and smirked, "Just my type. Your loss, Jeremiah. See you around." He waved at Jeremiah and walked away.

Jeremiah sighed, staring at the man as he went over and whispered something to the blonde guy and in the next second, he saw them kissing.

He rolled his eyes and left the bar.

"Hey, man, want to sit for a while?" Pole held Jeremiah's arm as he was walking by.

Jeremiah looked at Pole and slid in beside him, resting his head on the table, "Fuck, my head is aching like a bitch." He complained, holding his head.

"And it's not even the alcohol. It's the thought of the man you've hurt, and you know there's no way he's going to open up to you again. Why did you have to do that to Jasper? Man has been feeling lost without you since morning. I know I'm supposed to pretend like I see nothing between you two, but the look on his face as he left... shattered," Pole informed, frowning at Jeremiah. 

Jeremiah slowly raised his head to look at Pole, "I'm an idiot, right?" He murmured. 

Pole nodded, "Yep, a big, stupid one. Jasper might likely shoot you if you dare to go after him again. I would if I were him. I mean, he was ready to ignore your relationship with that guy and still take you back but you chose to be an ass. Now, you've lost him, and that serves you right." He said, shrugging. 

Jeremiah scowled, "You're supposed to be nice, make me feel better, not being mean." He sniffed, surprised that he was about to cry.

"Huh? Nice? Were you nice to Jasper? Karma is a bitch, bro. I hope you hurt so much that your heart bursts. Honestly, I don't know what's wrong with you all. If you like someone, say something for God's sake! I left Cody because he politely told me he likes someone else; if not, I would have gotten myself a boyfriend already. You guys are so lame, I promise you," Pole sighed.

"Frustrating," Pole shifted away from Jeremiah. 

"I can't even say anything to soothe you right now. We both know it's not my words you need. Unfortunately, the person who might have soothed you is no longer available to you. You chased him away," Pole patted Jeremiah's knee, smiling. 

"Don't worry, it will get worse by morning, you're going to feel like dying by the time he ignores the life out of your sorry ass," Pole consoled, chuckling.

"I hate you," Jeremiah frowned. 

Pole laughed, "Jasper hates you more." He snickered.

Jeremiah was about to reply when a loud shattering was heard from across them.

"Shit, I should have called Andre when I saw the signs. It's Cross after all, why did I trust him not to cause trouble?" Pole hurriedly called Andre as he pushed Jeremiah's legs out of the way and headed to pull Cross away from the man he was fighting with.