Sugar

20.

When Dallon and Stella get to their hotel, Stella goes to get changed and Dallon walks into the bar. He sits down at the bar and just orders a double scotch. He takes a few sips of it and looks at his phone. He really wanted to be with Brendon right now, go out for dinner, take him to see the Eiffel tower, but Brendon was in New York.

"You look sad, Dallon. Are you sure you can listen to my problems?" Stella says as she sits down next to Dallon and she looks concerned.

"I'm alright, Stella. Please tell me what's going on with you. I might not be good at helping, but I can listen." "Thank you."

Stella orders herself a glass of wine before she starts talking.

"So, as you know I have a husband, Dan, and a son, Jackson," she says and Dallon just nods.

"Well, lately I feel as if Dan is using Jackson, just to get away from me. They'll go on spontaneous trips to the zoo, or the park and I know that I'm not home a lot, but that doesn't mean that we can't go to the zoo together, on the weekends. And when Jackson is having a sleep-over, or when he's playing with friends, Dan will just ignore me. And it's so weird to me because I don't know what I did wrong and I want to make it right, but how can I?"

Stella takes a few sips of her wine and Dallon frowns, as he tries to think of reasons why Dan would act like that.

"It makes me so sad and unsure because when we got married, we promised each other that we'd always be honest, but I feel like Dan is just keeping things from me and it hurts." "I'm not a therapist, but maybe Dan just needs some space. Just like you said you needed some space when I apologized for taking you to France."

Stella laughs a little.

"That is honestly the first time that someone apologized to me for taking me to a country like France." "Well, I figured you'd like to be with your husband and son, but I get that you need some time away. That just happens. My parents had-"

Dallon stops talking, as soon as he thinks of his parents and he doesn't finish his sentence.

"A lot of people have that too. You can't really help it." "I hope so... I just can't help but feel guilty because I promised to always be honest with him, but what's the point if he isn't honest with me?"

Stella looks down at the bar and just follows some of the scratches with her finger.

"Well, I'm not the best at advice, but just stay honest with him because that will clear your conscience." "Yeah, you're right. I will. Thank you for listening to me, I needed to get that off my chest." "Of course. I want you to be okay."

Stella smiles and Dallon just pats her hand softly because he sits back.

He wasn't too good with social and emotional situations and he knew that, but that didn't mean that he didn't want to try.

"You know how you asked me if I had ever fallen in love with someone I shouldn't have?" Stella asks after they just sit in silence for a while and Dallon looks at her.

"Yeah." "Well, I did. And I really regret it because it hurt me a lot." "You can't help falling in love with people, that's the whole problem. So there's nothing to regret because you can't help it."

Stella nods and finishes her wine. She just orders another one and Dallon gives her an amused look. He takes a sip of his own scotch and glances at his phone again.

He wanted to talk to Brendon, but he didn't want to seem desperate, so he was waiting for Brendon to text him.

"You know you could just text him, right?" Stella asks and Dallon nods.

"Yeah, but I don't want to freak him out... I mean, he's not even really my boyfriend..." "Wait, what?" "Yeah, we've got an arrangement. But I fell in love and I don't think the feelings are reciprocated." "I'm sorry."

Dallon just shrugs.

"It's totally fine. I can get over this, I just need some time." "But maybe Brendon feels the same. What then? Are you just gonna let the opportunity of being with him go?"

Dallon, who was gonna take a sip of his drink, suddenly freezes. He hadn't even thought about that, but maybe Brendon could feel the same.

"Oh..." He says in a soft voice and Stella giggles a little.

"I hadn't thought about that." "I noticed. But the way he was so disappointed when you went to France, makes me think that he wants more than just that arrangement you have." "I'm sure it's nothing, though. He's just really nice."

Stella just stays quiet and looks at the bar with a skeptical look.

"Can I just say something without being fired?" "Well, it's after office hours, so you're not at work anymore, so I can't fire you." "Alright, thank you."

Stella clears her throat and looks up at Dallon.

"You are being incredibly stupid."

Dallon can't help but chuckle a little and he just shrugs.

"I don't want to scare him away. So I want to take everything slowly." "Alright then. I do want to know if you guys start dating because I can't wait to tell you 'I told you so'." "Sure. Of course, I'll tell you." "Cool. I think I'm gonna head to my room now, though."

Stella gets up and smiles at Dallon.

"Alright. I'll go too, soon. I'll see you tomorrow, at breakfast." "Yeah. Good night."

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