The Way to a Man's Heart

Chapter 21

A/N: The image above does not belong to me. It belongs to the person who uploaded it on the internet.

Dome's POV

I was barely aware of being assisted to my front door.

"Your key. Give me your key," in my foggy brain I could still tell that it was Pavel talking to me.

I tried shoving my hand in my pocket but I was fumbling too badly that finally Pavel removed my hand that was barely inside my pocket. Then he shoved his own hand inside my pocket.

"Uhh!" I instinctively moved backward when his hand went in too deeply and touched me where no one except myself could go.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"I don't think you are," I remarked when I noticed him smirking.

After he managed to fish out my key from my pocket, he unlocked the door for me and then placed his arm around my waist and led me inside my unit.

He tossed the key on to the coffee table and then I was expecting him to lay me down on the sofa but instead he led me towards my bedroom.

For some reason my knees started to buckle and he sensed it immediately. Without a second thought he lifted me in his strong arms and carried me to my bed.

"Don't go," I tried to say when after laying me on my bed he turned and walked away from me.

Shit, was he going to leave me just like this.

I closed my eyes, feeling the beginnings of a headache.

Suddenly I felt a cold towel being pressed gently across my forehead.

I held the wrist of the person that was ministering to me.

"Pavel?" I asked groggily.

"Who else could it be?" I could hear a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Tae," the name came out of my lips involuntarily.

I felt his hand leave my forehead and I heard the washcloth splashing into a nearby basin of water.

"Give me your phone," he said curtly. "Let me call him to come and take care of you."

"No, no, no, I'm sorry," I said. "Please forgive me. I honestly don't know why I mentioned his name. Don't leave me. Please, Pavel, I'm awfully sorry."

"Pleeeze ... " I continued to plead when he just stood there staring down at me.

I could tell by the look on his face that he felt undecided on his next course of action.

Then without thinking, I grabbed his wrist and pulled him down onto me.

"You're still buzzed," he said, raising himself up from me. "I don't want you moaning Tae's name in the peak of our excitement."

I did not try to stop him when he got out of my bed.

In my heart of hearts, I knew that he was speaking the truth.

I watched in misery as I saw him walk out of my bedroom.

Then in a few seconds I heard my front door squeaking open and then closing softly after him.

I was awakened by the strong sunlight streaming through my window. Shit, I had forgotten to draw my curtains last night before going to bed. And then again I was too buzzed to even think about it.

I slowly raised myself to a sitting position with my fingers pressed on either side of my head.

I held on to my bedside table to steady myself as I stood up and placed my feet into my fuzzy brown slippers.

The warm shower I took somehow helped a bit in shaking off my headache.

I got into fresh clothes feeling much better and then started walking into my kitchen.

As I passed my dining area on my way to the kitchen, I was surprised to see a large brown paper bag sitting on top of my dining table. There was a sticky note attached to the front of it.

I lifted the note away from the paper bag and read what was written on it.

"Hey, I took your front door key with me last night knowing that you would sleep in today because it's a Saturday. I got you something to help with your hangover. I dropped your key into the copper bowl at the corner of your kitchen counter. I hope you recover quickly. Call me if you need anything. 💘 "

He did not even bother to sign his name but of course I knew who was responsible for this. And then again I preferred the heart with the arrow that he drew in place of writing his name. Wait, what am I thinking. Shit why am I harboring all these confused thoughts.

I grabbed the brown paper bag and took out the large styropore tumbler.

Oww, I almost dropped it. It was still piping hot.

I removed the lid and the smell of the roasted garlic swimming on the surface of the soybean sprout and seaweed soup came floating to my nose.

I took out the small soup ladle that was wrapped in paper napkin from the bottom of the paper bag.

Before I knew it I had finished up the delicious hot soup that Pavel had thoughtfully provided me.

Even though I was feeling confused about Pavel, I decided that it was just the polite thing to do to call him and thank him for what he did for me.

I went back to my bedroom and looked around for my phone. It wasn't on its usual spot on top of my bedside table. Then I remembered that I had been too buzzed last night to take it out of my pants pocket.

I walked over to my laundry bin and lifted my pants from last night. Digging into my pocket to take out my phone reminded me of last night when Pavel had dug too deep into my pocket to fish out my key. He had accidentally touched me there and even though I was buzzed I had felt myself harden. Dammit, Dome, I scolded myself, stop it, stop it now. Don't be a bloody idiot.

I dropped my pants back into the laundry bin after taking my phone. Then I tapped on Pavel's name on my list of contacts.

"Yes, sweetheart," I heard him say before I could utter a word.

I quickly tapped on the red phone icon on my screen and hurled my phone across the room.