Emerging

Chapter 26: Vincent

I had no idea what I was doing. I never had a boyfriend, and I was going to see him now. Only a few hours after our date. I knew that I was needlessly complicating it, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I was wildly unprepared. But I had work to do especially with the launch date of the game approaching in the next two months. Game development was my passion and I could confidently say that I could do it happily until I die, but that didn't mean I wouldn't turn 30 different shades of red just by thinking about kissing Jesse again. I just had to keep in mind that I was going to my place of work and I couldn't let on how much he affected me. I didn't think it would be hard.

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     It was about ten minutes since I got to work and I already asked Deng Lun what Jesse's schedule looked like for the day. He seemed reluctant to answer but he told me that Jesse had a meeting with his father in an hour. That didn't seem right we usually had meetings with Mr. Marlon together. "I wasn't invited to this meeting?" I had to guess since I wasn't entirely sure after going straight to bed after my shower yesterday. This meeting must be about the cookout. I suspected Mr. Marlon knew something close to the truth about Jesse and I's relationship.

I'd be an idiot not to see the effect Mr. Marlon had on Jesse. He wasn't exactly scared of his dad, yet I could tell that Jesse cared about what his dad thought about him. A lot like how I did with my mom. Mr. Marlon seemed like a stern man when it came to business, but from what I saw at the cookout with his boyfriend he came off as a generally kind man. I didn't want Jesse to face his dad alone. I decided that I was going to that meeting. I would support Jesse the way he supported me. I informed Deng Lun of the impromptu decision to change my schedule before going back to my office to finish reviewing some paperwork. It felt good knowing was taking my first steps as a boyfriend.
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I was heading out for the meeting a few minutes early. It's always a good idea to be early. As I was waiting for the elevator I looked around for Jesse but I didn't see him, I figured he'd be up there eventually. But I was hoping to see him before the meeting to confirm that he wanted me there.

    I stood in front of Mr. Marlon's large and intimidating office door. Jesse still had five minutes to get here, I knew he would be here on time but I was scared he'd be upset with me for overstepping boundaries. I would for as long as I could.

Every minute he wasn't here seemed to pass too fast. But upon hearing the pleasant ding of the elevator and hastily turning to confirm my hope that it was Jesse. I was able to relax a little seeing him rush over to me. He had two minutes before he had to be walking into his father's office.

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He asked me to wait outside. Not exactly the outcome that I wanted. But he wanted me to wait right here, which was a good sign. I was going over the hurried interaction in my head trying to see if I caught any signs of distress.

*Flashback*

"Hey, what're you doing here?" Jesse gently questioned upon seeing me. I saw his eyes scan over my body before focusing on my face. He placed the laptop he was holding in his hand under his right arm. With his now free hands, he grabbed my hands in his. I feared my palms were sweaty but it wasn't the time to focus on that, and he didn't seem to notice either.

I asked him if he wanted me to go in there with him, telling him that we were in this together. He made a sort of unexplainable expression that seemed to be a mix of things. But I glanced at my watched seeing we had thirty seconds to wrap this conversation up. And I told him so, feeling that Mr. Marlon wasn't receptive to people who showed up late. He hadn't said anything after my explanation, he just looked at me.

Not wanting to rush him, but wanting to rush him; I nervously tapped my foot. I was counting the seconds he had left. He just sighed, hugged me, gave me a kiss on the forehead, told me to wait out here, and walked into his father's office 10 seconds before he needed to be there.

*End of Flashback*
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I didn't hear any angry raised voices or popping champagne bottles in celebration either. It was ringing silence, in the cold hallway. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was letting my mind wander in an attempt to settle my nerves.

About 10 minutes had passed and I was thinking of taking Jesse on a date this weekend. But the fantasy was interrupted by him coming out of the office. Once again, I was searching his face, looking for signs of the slightest thing wrong. But he looked alright, just a little sleepy. And I thought there was nothing to worry about.

"He wants to talk to you." Jesse smiled at me.

I felt my breath take a pause and my eyes widen. Upon remembering to breath out, I saw that Jesse was smiling at me, so this talk couldn't be bad. "Am I going with you?"

"No. Sorry, he said he wants to talk to you alone."
Jesse wouldn't let me talk to him if he was mad. Playing my trust in Jesse, I made my way to the door.

I walked passed him, and heard the door softly close behind me as I saw Mr. Marlon sitting at his desk. He was perfectly stoic, a calm poker face. As a businessman, I admired Mr. Marlon. He was everything I wanted to become. But right now I was terrified of him. But despite my terror, I mimicked his vibe. Schooling my features to look attentive but not bothered.

"You don't have to look a robot in front of me kid." He eventually rasped out. He was holding onto a laugh, I could tell by the furling of the corner of his mouth and the crinkle to the corner of his eyes. I blinked rapidly, confused by the change in atmosphere.

He went on to laugh at how uptight I was and that he was completely prepared to pull the "disapproving dad prank" but my expression was too hilarious. His laughter burst out in loud waves. After he sobered up, he decided to be direct with me. "I like you for my son, you're very responsible. It might rub off on him. And I can tell that you're a good kid." I smiled at that, "Thank you, sir."

"No more of that sir or Mr. Marlon shit, you can call me Duke. And maybe if you marry my son you can move up to something more colloquial." He thought we could get married? I didn't let my mind linger on that suggestion, that wouldn't be considered a possibility for a while. I wasn't sure what to say as he continued speaking, so I just listened only speaking to thank him when he complimented me. Nothing stood out to me except, "You sure you want to see my son when your mom is homophobic?"

So he knew of her views. I assumed at that moment he was hiding his relationship from my mom too. That made laugh. He looked at me with a questioning gaze, "I suppose we'll both have secrets we're hiding from my mom." And that made him break into a smile, as he understood my meaning. "Seriously though our secrets have the potential to ruin business, and I won't tolerate that."

"Trust me, Duke. I won't let this happen. There is too much at stake . And I don't just mean business, I mean Jesse too." I assure him with a nod.

"You're a good kid. Jesse made a good choice."
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After the meeting, Jesse and I made out in the 5th-floor bathroom. We didn't talk about our respective meetings, we could do that later. At the moment I just wanted my lips on his. Our kisses were frantic but still tender. However, we didn't do anything but kiss, seeing as we just started dating yesterday.But that didn't mean there wasn't things happening in our pants, we just ignored it. I was fine with that for now, but I was worried Jesse wasn't. If he wasn't he didn't show it, he just kept kissing me with gentle ferocity. The kisses made me melt in a way I never imagined I could.

We emerged with wrinkled clothes, and puffy kiss worn lips. We each had to take a minute to calm down. Thankfully most people were out lunch by the time we returned to our offices. That included Deng Lun meaning I avoided his judging glares. He was getting more and more flippant after each of my work encounters with Jesse. I wasn't concerned about it. And the rest of the day went by slowly almost peacefully. My first day as Jesse's boyfriend went well.

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This chapter is a bit overdue but I feel that I did a pretty decent job. I'm so happy with how it came out. Lately this book has been getting a bit more attention than I'm used to. It's definitely not that big of a deal and it's not a lot of people (which doesn't matter) but I'm happy with this anyway since I thought no one was ever going to read it. It's a bit embarrassing but the best kind of embarrassing. The support means a lot to me, thank you so much!!💛💛

Salut!💝🥰