Desperate for Love

by Aliana James

  It was obvious that John needed his help.

  “Let’s go to my office and figure this out.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Travis

  Travis exited the train and sprinted up the stairs. Alec made him promise to be home on time but he got caught up in work. He had to rearrange the numbers to make the new division work financially and spent the most of the afternoon in a meeting with John.

  His phone rang as he got off the platform. He sighed in relief when he saw Jonas’s name instead of Alec’s.

  “Hey Jonas.”

  “Hold—” Jonas paused and then erupted into a huge coughing fit. He blew his nose and then coughed some more.

  “What the hell, Jonas? Are you okay?”

  “No, I’m dying, honey. I need a favor,” Jonas said.

  He’d agree to anything not to have to hear him cough.

  “Name it.”

  “Can you—” Cough, cough, cough. “Cover for me tomorrow night?”

  “Yeah, what time is your shift?”

  “Closing.” He groaned as Jonas blew his nose right into his ear.

  “Please tell me you’ve seen a doctor.”

  “Yeah, but he warned me that I’d infect everyone if I went in.”

  “You know I don’t work there anymore, right?” He teased. “There wasn’t anyone else available?”

  Jonas sniffled into the phone. “Half the bartenders are sick.” Another round of coughing came over the phone and he held it away from his ear until Jonas stopped.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “It sounds painful.”

  It wasn’t a problem for him to cover for Jonas. He’d get to see everyone.

  “Enough about me. How’s life?”

  How to answer that? He didn’t know, if he could be honest.

  “Things are… good, I guess.”

  “You guess?”

  The walk from the subway stop to home was four or five blocks, so that gave him plenty of time to talk.

  “Our schedules make it hard for me and Alec to spend time together.”

  “That’s normal.” Jonas wheezed.

  “Are you sure you can talk? I should let you get some rest.”

  “All I’ve been doing is resting. Talk to me.”

  How could he describe their situation without divulging everything?

  “It…feels like we are doing everything backward.”

  “I always thought you guys were together, or maybe a friends with benefits thing.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mentioned it the last time we worked together. He only has eyes for you.” Jonas paused and then coughed before he continued. “Be honest, have you ever seen him leave with a guy in all the months he’s been coming by?”

  “Alec is a player. He hasn’t suffered a shortage of guys.”

  “Yeah, well, he didn’t pick them up at Raven. I’m telling you every time he comes in, he sits in the same spot at the bar and watches you all night.” Jonas cleared his throat, and he winced. “How did you not notice it by now? Then you guys leave together. I’m pretty sure half the club thought you guys were a thing.”

  He tried to remember the last time he and Jonas worked together and what he may or may not have said.

  “And I almost forgot, Eric told me that Alec asked last Saturday night you worked if Peter ever came into the club or if you got hit on.”

  That was a moot point. He got hit on every shift, several times a night.

  “That doesn’t matter ,Jonas.”

  “It does because Eric asked him why he cared and he told him because you were his. His, Travis. That’s what he said.” Travis rolled his eyes. What was this, high school?

  Jonas normally didn’t embellish but there was no way in hell Alec said that. He wasn’t property—something that Alec could claim. It didn’t matter to him, because he didn’t believe a word of what Eric said.

  “I saw his face when you guys got married. Every couple has to find time for each other. There’s nothing to worry about. He’s into you.”

  The situation sucked and the longer he and Alec were together the more confused he got. They needed to set some new ground rules. Otherwise, he would spend the next two years confused about his feelings and what it freaking meant.

  The stress of his so-called marriage replaced the stress he had felt over Tyler. He couldn’t win.

  “Travis! Are you there?” Jonas yelled into the phone and then coughed.

  “Yeah, I’m here.”

  “Do me a favor, okay?”

  “You already asked for one today,” he joked.

  “I’m serious. You and Alec, you guys belong together, so for once in your life don’t sabotage this.”

  “I don’t sabotage things.”

  “Oh really. Should I go down the list? Let’s see. Your relationship with Peter, the situation with Tyler, your promotion with Thomson—”

  “Hold on. I did not sabotage my relationship with Peter.”

  “Please, that man was a saint. He did everything for you and when he asked for you to give him some time, you picked up more hours at the club.”

  Peter had acted like a saint in front of Jonas, in front of their friends, but when they were home, he complained all the time. He couldn’t take it anymore, so he ended up working more hours at the club, but he never told Jonas.

  “I needed the money.”

  “I’m sure you did, and it gave you an excuse to sabotage the relationship.”

  “How the hell did I sabotage the situation with Tyler?”

  “You didn’t believe him when he told you it was serious and almost got the both of you killed!”

  Okay, so Jonas had a small point, a tiny one. He didn’t need him to explain what happened with Thomson. He had set it up so there was no way he would get promoted because he didn’t want to work on the executive floor. Jonas argued with him that the increase in salary made it worth it, but in the end, he made sure he didn’t get the job so he could say he tried.

  “You need to do something for you. Go after it. Because if I know you, you’ve half-assed this marriage since you said ‘I do.’ Why would it seem real if you haven’t put any real effort into it?”

  “Man, you’re harsh.” He turned onto his block and sighed in relief. “I’m almost home.”

  “Think about what I said. Can you do something good for you instead of everyone else? Just this once? You deserve happiness, honey. You need to figure out what you want.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Feel better.”

  He didn’t know what he wanted. That was the problem.

  Alec

  Bags in hand, he opened his apartment door and proceeded to the kitchen. The lady at the market told him that he needed to marinate the fish in lemon and garlic first, so he started with that.

  He could do this. After all, he had watched Travis cook at least a dozen times. It didn’t look hard.

  The meeting today was brutal and the aftermath of the decisions made would put the bulk of the work directly into Travis’s lap. So much for Grandfather promising Travis time to acclimate. It sucked that Grandfather wanted the information by the end of this week, leaving Travis and his newly created department no time to complete the other reports and audits they were doing.

  After the meeting, he stopped by Travis’s office but Cynthia told him he was meeting some staff. He stood and watched several employees pass by her desk, all wanting a minute of his time. The idea to do something nice for Travis had popped into his head.

  Sure, they could order out. No doubt they could find some restaurant they hadn’t tried. But it was nearing 7 p.m. and Travis still hadn’t left the office. By the time he got home, Alec was positive he wouldn’t want to go out again.

  He gave Chauncey a belly rub and refilled his food and water dishes. After he washed his hands, he tried to figure out what to start with first.

  Marinate. What had the lady told him? She made it seem so easy. He took the fish out of the wrapper an
d placed them in a pan. Travis used this pan when he marinated chicken.

  Okay, fish in the pan. Check. He needed lemon. He dumped the two bags over on the counter and the lemons rolled off onto the floor. He raced to grab the lemons before they rolled into the living room.

  When he ordered fish at a restaurant, they came with slices of lemon. Maybe that’s what she meant. He pulled a knife out of the block and set the lemon on the counter. Balancing the knife on top of a lemon was tricky and the lemon kept sliding away as he tried to cut it. Why was this so hard?

  He pulled a fork out of the drawer and stabbed the lemon to hold it in place. Lemon cut into slices, he placed them on top of the fish. The garlic was next but it was in a giant clump. He felt like an absolute idiot as he grabbed his phone. Maybe there was a video on how to peel garlic.

  A few videos popped up, and he clicked on one. He followed the instructions and placed the garlic on the fish. Was that it? He guessed as he slid the pan on the fridge shelf.

  As he glanced at the items on the counter, he remembered that he planned to cook rice to go with it. Back to the phone again. Video watched, he poured water into a pan and placed it on the stove.

  When the water boiled, he poured the cup of rice in and covered the pot. His phone rang on the counter.

  “Hello,” he answered without checking the caller ID, a move he regretted instantly.

  “Hello, sweetheart. Glad I finally caught you,” his mother purred. Conversations with his mother grated on his nerves. She informed him of every single little thing that happened in her life since they last spoke. Like it was his job to remember the name of the gardener or the man at the market whose family played music. If that wasn’t it, then she endlessly complained about his father.

  “Mother,” he answered. He had chickened out and sent a text message telling her that he got married. It remained unanswered until now.

  “I heard the wildest thing from Paulina today.” She paused. Paulina, Thalia and Julian’s mother, would have delighted getting the one-up on having any information before the others. “She said that you were married to a man named Travis. I told her that couldn’t possibly be true. My only child wouldn’t get married and not tell his mother or even worse not have his mother there.” Her voice rose at the end.

  Christ, he was screwed.

  “Yes, I got married, Mother.” She gasped. “It was a quick trip to the justice of the peace. Grandfather and Travis’s parents were the only ones there.” As he said those words, he wished he could take them back.

  “I see.” The chill in her voice was unmistakable. “It seems my only child does not wish to inform me of the important occasions in his life.”

  “Mother!” he yelled. “Please stop—”

  “And that I had to hear this from Paulina of all people!”

  “I sent you a text message.”

  “One I obviously didn’t receive. You know those don’t always go through. Glad to know someone wasn’t dying.” She sniffed. And now the tears.

  “Mother, I’m sorry. It was a quick thing, wasn’t even a real ceremony. Come on. It’s not that big of a deal.”

  He heard a gasp behind him. As he turned, he saw Travis’s eyes widen in surprise. An alarm blared from the kitchen and caused both of them to run toward it. He had wandered into the hall, out of the view of the kitchen. When he rounded the corner, a ball of smoke greeted them both.

  “Mother, I have to go.”

  “What’s that noise? Are you all right?”

  “Yes, just have to go. I promise I’ll call you soon.”

  He hung up as he entered the kitchen. The smoke came from the stove as flames licked up the side of the pot. The rice! As he ran toward the stove, Travis pushed him out of the way. Fire extinguisher in hand, Travis pointed it at the stove and doused the flames. Once satisfied that the fire was out, he shut off the stove and the circuit breaker while Alec stood shocked.

  “What the hell were you making?” Travis asked as he dropped the extinguisher on the floor.

  “Rice.”

  “Rice?” Travis asked in disbelief. “Why were you cooking rice?” He took off his suit jacket which was covered in soot and rolled up his sleeves. Travis turned to the kitchen island, groceries lay haphazard and melted ice cream dripped down the side. Shaking his head, he reached under the sink for paper towels.

  “I was making dinner.” The ice cream. Shit, he forgot he bought that. He was excited about hot fudge sundaes for dessert.

  Travis grabbed the rest of the vegetables Alec planned to steam to accompany the fish and opened the fridge. A pungent smell overwhelmed the room. He looked at the pan and then glared at Alec.

  “Let me guess, you were making fish for dinner?” Travis asked as he rolled his eyes and threw the pan with the fish on the counter. “You’re not supposed to put this in here. This type of fish will stink up everything and is incredibly hard to cook. Who told you to get this?”

  “A lady at the market.” She made it sound so easy too.

  Travis shook his head. A drawer slammed as he put away the items in his hands. Alec walked over to the sink and wet the sponge. He should at least help clean up the mess.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I was going to wipe up the stove.”

  “You’re not cleaning the stove with that.” He huffed. “You know what? Leave it. I’ll do it.”

  “This is my fault. I should clean it up.”

  “Don’t you think you’ve done enough?” Travis asked as he placed a bucket in the sink. “I’ve got this. Please go. Make sure Chauncey stays out of here.”

  He watched Travis start to clean off the stovetop and sighed. He had a feeling he wasn’t going to be allowed in the kitchen for a long time.

  Travis

  He let out a huge sigh of relief after Alec left the kitchen. When he opened the door to the apartment and saw the huge cloud of smoke, he panicked. Thankfully, it was only a pot on the stove and he had caught it before it did any major damage.

  What was that man thinking?

  The stove, his pristine stove, the top black from soot…The soot had traveled up the side of the backsplash and darkened the range hood. At this point, he wasn’t sure if it would come out.

  He turned to glance at Alec and noticed he changed into gym clothes. Good idea. At least then he wouldn’t ruin his shoes. He really liked these shoes.

  “I’m going to change.”

  He came back to the kitchen to tell Alec to wait and gasped as he sprayed the wall with cleaner and a river of soot started to run down the cabinet.

  “Shit!” Alec cursed as they both scrambled to grab something to clean it up.

  “You can’t use the spray.”

  “Okay. Um what can I clean it up with?”

  He grabbed the kitchen towels from in front of the stove and the bucket under the sink. The towels were ruined anyway. He filled it with warm water and dumped dish soap in it with the towels.

  “Use this. Make sure you don’t let anything drip down the wall or the cabinet.” He clearly needed to demonstrate. “Put the towel in the bucket, take it out, ring it out so most of the water comes out. Do it over the bucket and then use it to clean up. Rinse. Repeat.”

  Alec walked over and took the towel from his hand.

  “I’m not a complete idiot. I have cleaned before.”

  “Nope, not a complete one, just a partial one,” he called over his shoulder, and Alec laughed as he went into his room to change. After a quick change and a trip to the bathroom, he folded all of his clothes and grabbed a garbage bag to put them in. Alec had managed to wipe a layer of soot off of the backsplash and had the grills off of the top of the stove.

  “Didn’t I mention on our wedding day that you weren’t allowed in my kitchen?” He asked.

  “I know. I thought it would be something nice to do for you. Peace offering… I ordered a pizza and that calzone thingy that you like.”

  “Okay.” He grunted. Yes, he was starving and ti
red, but the mess in the kitchen wasn’t one they could leave.

  “I thought about calling the service to clean up—”

  “Of course you did.”

  “I didn’t, though. I’m going to clean this up. I made the mess.”

  He paused on his way to the sink and looked at Alec as he scrubbed the stovetop.

  “Listen, I’m sorry. My mother called and caught me off guard.”

  “You didn’t check first before answering?” He rang out a new towel and switched it for the dirty one Alec held out. Alec avoided his mother and only spoke to her when he had to. After what Thalia told him, he didn’t blame Alec. He had never met the woman as she spent most of her time in Europe.

  “I hit answer on my watch before I saw it was her. She was upset because Paulina told her we got married.”

  He wasn’t paying attention and splashed Alec when he walked over to the sink for a new towel. Alec looked up and laughed.

  “Sorry, I—”

  “Oh, you totally did that on purpose!”

  He didn’t like the gleam in Alec’s eye and moved the bucket out of his reach. Getting doused in sooty water was not a fun time.

  Alec washed his hands under the sink and instead of grabbing a paper towel to dry them flung his wet hands in Travis’s direction.

  “Hey!” he yelled as he pulled his wet T-shirt away from his chest. “Not cool.”

  His hands were still wrapped around the bucket. The water wasn’t that dirty. He reached in with both hands. The spray of water shot out of his hands, landed in a splash on Alec’s chest, and ran down the front of his body.

  Alec ran to the sink and pulled the spray nozzle.

  “Oh no.” He held his hands up in surrender. “I give up. The whole kitchen will be soaked if you spray that.” A sponge landed on the floor and as he bent to pick it up a burst of cold water hit him in the ass.

  “Oh, that’s freaking cold!”