LOVE ME A LITTLE MORE (M×M)

~7~

"So, what are you planning on now?" Kyle asked me and I shrugged my shoulders, taking a sip of my black coffee. How do people even drink this s**t to keep themselves happy?

"I'll be doing overtime, what else? Sleepless nights are what you get to be a successful engineer." I said with a snort, drowning the last two sips of my coffee.

"You won't get intoxicated by these caffeinated drinks, you know right?" He mocked me with a chuckle, motioning towards the two empty cups of coffee and I smiled, shaking my head.

"I know and yet you are here to drink this coffee with me." I retorted back and he let out a long, dramatic sigh.

"Things employees do to get a raise from their bosses." He said, making me roll my eyes. Yeah, right.

"I, sometimes wish to resign from here. I am so f*****g done!" I said, removing my glasses as they were getting fogged and he nodded in agreement.

"You cussed!" He exclaimed with astonishment and I laughed at my misery.

"I am tired, Kyle."

"Same, bro. But the money Penny and Cents pay us is an incentive enough to tolerate their oppression." And I have never heard anything as true as what Kyle had just said at the moment. Their money has now bought everything.

"Why do you think I am still here, Kyle? Every time I decide to quit, Rylan promises to pay me even more. And if I leave Penny and Cents, I know Rylan will give me a bad remark on my profile. I have no other option but to comply."

"We can always do a strike against their oppression! After all, we live in a free country." Kyle said, making me shake my head as I pushed my third cup of coffee away.

"Remember last time Diana and Roma started the strike? Even the newspapers and media were called. We all thought it would be a nationwide strike. But Rylan and his people booked two front pages of every newspapers to show their dominance. They even donated a million dollars to the media. Our strikes would only cost our job, Kyle. Rylan is a big name now."

"f**k, I had forgot about that." He said, shaking his head and I lifted my hand up to call the waiter.

"Another coff......."

"We'll just like to have our bill now, please." Kyle said, cutting me off with a nasty glare and I sighed, removing my wallet before I pulled out a few dollars.

"It was my turn to pay today, Theo." Kyle said, pushing my money gently and I shook my head, holding his wrist when he pushed his hand inside his pocket to remove his wallet.

"I am the one who is getting paid extra, Kyle. Let me pay."

"Sometimes I think, you are more depressed than angry. Did you visit the therapist again?" He asked me, his eyes looking at me curiously and I suddenly felt my cheeks heating up at the mention of Mr. Alderic Hudson.

"Yesterday only." I answered, getting up from my chair and Kyle followed me as we both left the cafe to get back to our work.

"You did? Damn, I never thought you would actually visit him again with the attitude you were showing to me that day." He teased me and I hit his head upside down, making him whine.

"I.... I just realized, I need help more than I would admit." I finally confessed and he sighed before he looked at me with an impish smile, masking his pain.

"So, you do admit that you are depressed, hm?" He asked me and I shoved him, getting in the elevator.

"Do not forget you suggested me the therapist, Kyle. We all are depressed here."

~~~~~~~

"Mr. Roosevelt. We keep meeting during our grocery shopping." Mr. Hudson said with a smile when my cart again hit his feet. I smiled in embarrassment as I took my cart away from him before looking at him through my glasses.

He was dressed up in a dark suit with white button up shirt inside. His hair were still combed. No strand of his hair were out of its place. Mr. Hudson stood there, handsome and beautiful as ever.

When he looked like he was dressed for an event, I was dressed in a long sleeve t-shirt and a pair of joggers. My curly locks were undone.

"Hello, Mr. Hudson. We indeed do. Is there a party in your house?" I joked, referring to the vegetables, cheese, bread, ready-to-eat snacks in his cart and he laughed, shaking his head.

"Barely. I was just trying to stock my fridge so that I don't have to come for shopping again. I am not a very big fan of shopping, Mr. Roosevelt." He said with a soft smile and I nodded my head.

"I understand. Shopping after a very long day can be really tiring. But a man needs to sate his hunger." I said and he hummed in agreement.

"Shopping isn't as bad as cooking after a long, long day. And ordering in every day isn't feasible. Anyways, what's for dinner today?" He asked me and I laughed softly, shrugging my shoulders.

"Whatever Mom would wish to cook. I cook sometimes though.... but not so often." I said with a shy glance at the man in front of me who was gazing at me with so much of interest and curiosity that it made me look away from him.

"That's one of the major advantage of living with your parents." He said with a small smile after a long period of silence. And I nodded my head.

"What about you? You live alone?" Mr. Hudson's eyes snapped at me before his lips curled up in a mischievous smile. He took a step towards me, making me bit my lips as I took one back.

"You can accompany me if you wish." He said, making me choke on my saliva and he started laughing, shaking his head as he took a step back from me, allowing me to breathe properly.

"I was just joking, Mr. Roosevelt. You started hyperventilating." He said, his laughter had now melted down into something more simple and more raw. More beautiful.

"Have you forgotten who I am, Mr. Hudson? You're a man. And I like men. Your jokes are not jokes to me. They.... they turn more intense with the distance you close." I grumbled and he smiled. His fingers heading towards the chocolate isle before he picked a small box of Belgium chocolate. Before I could've protested, he tossed it in his cart.

I don't know how and why but I knew he would give me that chocolate. I just had a small intuition stating that.

"And who said this distance doesn't affect me, Mr. Roosevelt? If you like men, why did you assume, I am any different from you?" He said, his words low but clear enough to make me gape at him.

I left the hold of my shopping cart and walked closer to him. His brown eyes were focused on mine. For a minute, I felt like they were so deep that I would drown into them. They were as brown as the chocolates he offered me. As brown as the coffee beans I often roasted with my Mom. They were brown enough to make my lips part.

"What do you mean?" I breathed out and he smiled softly at me as he billed his groceries, allowing me bill mine next.

He didn't say anything. He just waited for me calmly until I was done with billing my groceries. And when I was done, he tossed the chocolate box into my shopping bag and smiled at me one last time.

"Try these Belgium chocolate. These chocolates are also one of my favourite chocolates. And I'll see you in our next session, Mr. Roosevelt. Do not forget your homework until then. Okay?" And with that he was out of the supermarket, leaving me alone with my bags of groceries and a box of Belgium chocolates.

Did he.... did he just tell me that even he is a gay?

Mr. Alderic Hudson, my therapist, my crush was also a gay! And I could barely breathe at this information.

And what was the meaning of all these chocolates then? Did it mean something? Or was I just thinking more than I should? Either way, his confession only made it harder to attend his next session.

~~~~~~

"Since when did you started buying chocolates, Theo? I thought you said that they are a waste of money and teeth." Mom said when she emptied the bag of groceries and my eyes snapped at her. s**t, I forgot to remove them from the bag.

"Theo bought chocolates!?" Dad asked from the kitchen, surprised and I rolled my eyes, taking the box of the Belgium chocolates from Mom's hand and stuffed it in my pocket.

"It's not like I bought some explosives, Dad! They are just chocolates. What's the big deal?" I almost whined and mother shook her head.

"Exactly, Theo. You bought chocolates. Not some engineering tools but actually chocolate. That's...... unrealistic." Mom said dramatically and I swear, I sometimes doubt if I'm really her son and not Kyle. They both are just so similar.

"I didn't buy them, Mom. Somebody gave these chocolates to me. Happy now?"

"Is it the same girl? Damn, you guys are advancing fast. And please tell me, you did buy her some gifts too. I didn't raise you to just get gifts. I raised you to gift others too. What did you gift her?" Mom asked me, pulling me towards her by my bicep and I let out an irritated sigh.

"You like a girl, Theo?" Dad asked with a frown and my heart almost dropped down to my stomach.

"A girl? What do you mean by a girl, James?" Mom asked Dad and his eyes widened for a second before he laughed nervously, shaking his head. What's wrong with him?

"I meant, you like the girl, Theo? That girl you went on a date with? Slip of tongue, you know?" Dad explained further, making me breathe in a sigh of relief but my heart also clenched in despair.

What if.... what if Dad knew I was a gay. And what if, he was supporting? Things would have been so different.

"A man gifted it to me, Mom. A boy, I never went on a date with. He just met me in a supermarket and asked me to taste them. It's nothing more. No girl gifted me chocolates, in fact girls don't even like me, Mom."

"Drop it, sweetheart. Can't you see how tired Theo is? Poor boy worked his butt off at work. He doesn't need our interrogation right now." Dad said to Mom and I breathed in relief.

"Thanks, Dad."

"But Theo, aren't your working hours till 5.30 in the evening? Why are you working almost four hours extra from past few days?" Dad asked me with his worried eyes and I shrugged my shoulders, smiling gently at him.

"I have some important project with a very close deadline, Dad. I need to work extra to make the project a success. Besides, this would be the biggest project our company has from past one decade. It's our Mayor's project. And I am leading it. And besides, they are paying me overtime too." I said, faking a smile and Dad's frown deepened, making my smile to drop.

"Your extra pay won't compensate with your health and mental peace, Theo. I know you earn quite an amount in your office but I don't want to lose my only son because his company pays him good." Dad's expression had now turned sour. Almost stern but more sad and concerned.

"It's okay, Dad. I am not risking my health or mental piece in any way." I lied straight through my teeth and he sighed, shaking his head.

"Go freshen up, son. I'll go and heat up your dinner. I made the dinner today. Your favourite infact." Dad said, changing the topic. He smiled gently at me and I bit my lips, controlling my urge to hug my father. It felt...... awkward to express my love for him.

"Thanks Dad."