{ #5 } Eclipse Of The Moon (MxM || 18+)

Chapter 33 - Fucking Up

Eclipse Of The Moon ~ Book 1 of Aaron
Chapter 33
Fucking-Up

Quick note: as I promised, I added the draft version at the bottom, so that makes this part a 14K-word long chapter, and knowing how Wattpad often messes up with my copy-paste from Word, I hope there won't be paragraphs missing, so if you feel like something is missing, let me know and I'll have a look.

And since it's been a while, remember that we're jumping over a month later after the previous chapter ;)

Saturday 23 August 2003

"Why the fuck didn't you tell me earlier!?"

Oopsie...

Someone sounds angry...

Ivan's roaring voice, immediately followed by the noise of the entrance door being slammed shut, makes me startle and nearly jump on my seat. Well, I can't be the source of his anger this time, so I quickly relax. Nonetheless, I quit the chatting conversation I was having with Cam through texts and hide my phone underneath a pile of books.

"You were busy in meetings more than one thousand miles away, Ivan! What would you have done!? It could wait for your return!"

Anton...

So, Ivan's angry at Anton, and I wonder what happened...

Ivan flew to San Antonio last Tuesday to deal with some business – something about getting rid of a hotel and a nightclub he owns there – and from the daily conversations I had over the phone with him, the transactions got trickier than he expected; so much so that he had to postpone his return to this morning instead of Thursday. Consequently, I was ready to face a grumpy bear, but it seems like it's even worse.

However, far from showing repentant, fearful or at least sorry, Anton's voice sounds peculiarly detached, even a bit amused, and actually quite disdainful.

"Don't scoff, Anton, it's serious."

"I know, Ivan, but we dealt with the issue, and it wasn't worth disturbing you."

As my curiosity gets stronger than my fear to meet an angry Ivan, I head out of the library and instantly come across the two men in the living room. As soon as he sees me, the tension that darkens Ivan's features immediately fades away and his eyes soften as he pulls me into a hug.

"Hey, Menino, it's so good to see you," he whispers warmly, brushing my back.

"Welcome back home, hope you had a nice trip," I reply warily, still aware of his strained body.

"Yeah, all good. Listen," he then says as he pulls back, his voice recovering all its seriousness, "I need to discuss something with Anton now. It's almost noon, so would you mind preparing a quick meal so that we can have lunch together? Or you can order someth..."

"No worries, I'll make a salad."

"Yeah, something simple so you don't burn the kitchen," he teases, earning a deserved eyeroll. "Thanks, Aaron. We won't be long."

As Ivan heads toward his office, I turn to greet Anton with a hug, whispering a smug good luck in his ear, which earns me a playful kick in the ass before he goes to meet his friend.

Now, this house is really big. Really, really big. It has a huge surface, then thick walls and doors, and yet, although the kitchen is on the opposite side of Ivan's study, I still get to hear their shouts as I mince iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, palm heart and cucumber. Jeez! What the heck happened that would yield such an argument? Not that I would dare to ask, so...