The Devil's Lover

Chapter 8: Ice Cream

Franchesca Pravo's job as a flight attendant would keep her away weeks at a time. It wasn't ideal, but she was lucky to have kept a job with good pay for over ten years now.

She made Jayce cook a meal with her so the two could spend some time catching up. It was supposed to be just them, but the animal shelter where Teressa interned at a few days a week closed early due to repairs. Teressa hadn't eaten lunch yet, and Fran didn't mind the extra company.

“Why isn't Miles here?" Fran asked as she tied the strings of an apron around her waist, noticing the missing piece of the golden trio.

“He landed a job as a performer in a bistro Downtown. His shift starts at one and ends at nine," Teressa answered, frying ground turkey in a pan for their turkey taco lettuce wraps. "I think Miles, the dramatic little s**t that he is, also wants to make Jayce miss him. They had a bit of a misunderstanding."

Fran was more than a little baffled, asking Jayce, "You two had a falling out?"

Miles, Tessa, and Jayce were practically inseparable. It’s one of the reasons Franchesca didn’t worry to death whenever she left her nephew alone. She didn't even think any of them knew how to fight one another, it just didn't seem right.

Jayce looked well, that was the first thing Fran had noticed when she got back. Her nephew seemed to be getting enough sleep despite his job hours.

Currently, he was in charge of cutting the ingredients and was determined not go look at Fran's direction. "It's not that big of a deal. I called and apologized, he said it was fine. We just haven't spoken properly since the other day."

"What did you do that had to warrant an apology?"

The preparation of quesadillas was left to Fran, because her nephew was a better cook, even though he barely did it either. Making quesadillas seemed fool-proof, even for Fran.

“I was an ass and wasn't in a good mood. I took it out on Miles." Jayce shrugged, trying to play it off. Fran could see the downward quirk of his mouth.

Teressa's hand paused, the spatula hovering away from the pan. "You're too hard on yourself, Jayce." She tilted her head in sympathy before she turned to Fran. "He was in an awful mood because Henry decided to stop by Glorious G a few days ago."

Fran knew who Henry Elliot was. "Oh, the first love. What did he want?"

Fran had lived with her nephew for years now; she'd been with him when he was hired at Glorious G, when he first got a serious boyfriend, and when the aforementioned boyfriend caused Jayce's first heartbreak.

“Henry’s separated from his wife, and he asked if I wanted to get back together. I said no," Jayce mumbled in a rush. "But that's not why I was being difficult. Honestly, the thought of Henry doesn't faze me anymore."

Fran placed a hand atop Jayce's hair. If Jayce wanted to talk about this some more, he would bring it up sooner rather than later.

“Your mother used to give our parents a hard time when we were teenagers. I think she liked the adrenaline rush."

Jayce's face brightened. It usually did whenever Fran brought up his mother. "I remember mom told me she snuck into clubs while she was still underage."

Fran's nephew looked so much like his mother during her teenage years, back when Angelina Terrell was still Angelina Pravo. Both sisters had gotten their looks from their own mother, which meant Jayce looked a lot like Fran too.

“Angelina, rest her soul, wasn't exactly an angel growing up." Fran made the teasing in her voice known. "She was a great big sister though. She didn't tell our parents when she walked in on me kissing Aileen, my secret girlfriend at the time. She even made me promise that Aileen and I were being safe."

Jayce made a face. "Zia Fran, I can't think of you having s*x, come on. You're my aunt."

Teressa spun around at the mention of Fran's secret girlfriend at the time. "Do you two still keep in touch?"

Fran's chest warmed at the thought of Aileen. "Yes. Trust me, if you two ever meet Aileen, you'll have no doubt as to why I said yes to being with her back then."

Jayce's eyes—identical to Angelina's eyes, to Fran's eyes—widened. "You say that as if you still like her. Why have we never heard of Aileen before?"

“There was nothing to tell," Fran said, paying no mind to the way her chest clenched. "She has a daughter, they both live in Richmond. We talk through f*******: sometimes, but she has her hands full being a single mom and working full-time."

Jayce and Teressa shared a look.

For a second, Franchesca could see herself and Angelina.

“All I heard was single." Teressa grinned conspiratorially at Jayce.

Franchesca had to break their expectations. “We promised to keep it civil between us. Aileen and I live in different states, being a teacher takes too much of her time, I'm flying in and out of countries every few weeks..."

Jayce hummed. "It sounds like you're trying to convince yourself more than you're trying to convince us."

Fran shook her head but said nothing to oppose him.

-----

It's during a rom-com movie that Jayce's phone screen lit up with a call.

Aunt Fran, who saw the caller I.D., narrowed her eyes intriguingly. "You and William Cameron still talk?"

Jayce moved at the speed of a sloth awakening from its nap, placing his bowl of popcorn down and reaching his arm out to grab his phone. "I don't know what he wants." Jayce wasn't sure, but he had an inkling given their past conversations.

“Only one way to find out." Fran nudged his thigh with her toes, her back supported by a pillow she got from her bedroom. "Go answer it in your room, I don't want to pause just as Ryan Gosling's about to show on screen."

“Fine. Try not to drool on your pajamas."

Once Jayce was in his bedroom, he answered the call. "Hey, William."

“Good evening, Jayce. Forgive me, I know you said no the last time, but I decided to give it one more shot." William Cameron sounded winded. There's a car door closing in the background, honking and engines zooming past on some busy street.

Jayce internally winced. "William, I'm flattered but—"

“Before you reject me completely, just have dinner with me."

“Tonight?" Jayce lowered his phone to check the time. He had thought it would be later than 7:23. "Why do you keep asking me to dinner? We don't even know each other that well."

"The point of asking you to dinner is so we could get to know each other before I fly back home."

Jayce sat at the edge of his bed. “You're heading back to London?"

“Only for a month, maybe less if I finish the paperwork earlier." William paused. There's some chattering from his side, and then there was quiet. William was probably off the street and had entered a shop or a building. "It's only dinner, Jayce. The night isn't going to end with us being boyfriends. I'm more than aware of that. A date is all I'm asking from you."

Jayce's shoulders slumped. He remembered what he had said to Miles the other day, that William was a tad too presumptuous, and yet here William was making valid points.

William Cameron had always been respectful of Jayce's boundaries (it wasn't William's fault that Keith spilled about Jayce and Henry). Jayce truly had no other reason not to give William a chance.

"Where am I meeting you?"

-----

Aunt Fran was thrilled that William invited Jayce to dinner. She stole the rest of his popcorn, told him to enjoy, and to bring her back something sweet if he still felt bad about leaving her alone with Ryan Gosling.

William had suggested Vesta's Voyage for dinner, just as he told Jayce over the phone. The British businessman was standing outside the restaurant when Jayce pulled up.

William smiled and didn't stop smiling with a hand on Jayce's lower back to usher him along. A table had been reserved for them near the center of the Greek-themed restaurant. It was still dinner rush, the whole place packed.

Jayce had barely scanned the menu when William said, "You look great, Jayce."

In all honesty, Jayce hadn't put much thought into his ensemble. Now that he's here, he sort of regretted it. He was wearing white slip-on Vans, while William looked like some sort of model that jumped straight off a men's fashion magazine. The button-down made the blue of his eyes more noticeable, his strawberry blonde hair windswept but in an intentional way. With his roundish face contrasting with his lightly toned body, William had already been getting a few stares from the customers around them.

Yet William was the one complimenting Jayce, even reaching out to squeeze Jayce's hand.

A waiter came before Jayce could tell William that he looked a hundred times better than Jayce. William ordered for them, telling Jayce to trust him on this with another one of his too-perfect smiles.

Small talk was the way to go. Jayce was great at small talk. "So, what was it like growing up in London?"

“Lots of pubs, lots of tourists, different cultures." William shrugged. "I think it's quite similar to how the movies portray it. My family moved to Seattle when I was fifteen, went back to London when I turned eighteen, then moved back here again."

“You kept the accent," Jayce noticed.

“People seem to like it."

That got a chuckle from Jayce, and William looked proud about it.

They continued asking and trading questions, mostly not-so-personal facts and amusing stories growing up. Jayce found out before their appetizers arrived that William was an only child, set to take over the Seattle division of Cameron Industries, graduated from the University of Cambridge, knew how to play the drums because his teenage dream was to form a band like so many greats that had originated from England, and was a big fan of horse racing since his father used to take him to the shows.

They ate moussaka and kolokythokeftedes (William had to teach Jayce how to pronounce that word three times). The dishes were amazing. Authentic, according to William.

Nothing could have prepared Jayce for the baklavas Vesta's Voyage served. The first bite of the dessert had Jayce's eyes blowing wide. It wasn't overly sweet, the pastry was light, and the filling just perfect.

“William, I hope you're not about to judge me, but I might just finish up this whole platter."

William laughed, pushing the dessert closer to Jayce. "Go ahead. It's nice to see you enjoying yourself."

Jayce narrowed his eyes. "Are you bribing me with baklava?"

"Not my intention, but maybe they'll make you want to tell me more about yourself."

Jayce continued to chew slowly, savoring the taste in his mouth. Once he got the bite down, he figured he might as well get it out of the way, "I never went to college. I started working in Glorious G almost as soon as I finished high school."

William's brows met in the middle before the man smoothed his features, like he remembered to be nonchalant about the whole thing. "It's never too late to go back to school." William waved a hand, playing it casual. "Do you play any instruments?"

"No, I was never interested in learning. My mom used to play the flute and piano though. I liked watching her play."

“Do you have any other career plans other than working at Glorious G?"

“I always believed in crossing bridges when I got there."

Jayce thought he'd imagined the way William's eyes flickered with disappointment, because the look was gone just as fast as it appeared.

The look.

William had just given him the look, either on purpose or as an instinctive reaction to how different their backgrounds were.

Jayce barely contained a sigh. He picked up another baklava.

His date tried to lighten the mood. Jayce tried not to let his desire for the hours to go by faster show too much. They were both trying too hard, and yet William seemed determined not to let Jayce go until Jayce was visibly relaxed and laughing again.

That wasn't going to happen, so Jayce pretended that he had to take a call. He stepped out for a bit, just long enough that William would believe he was actually on the phone.

He then broke the bad news to William.

"I'm sorry your aunt's not feeling well. I could drive you home?" William was frowning as he handed the waiter their bill. Jayce had tried paying for half of it, and William had not liked that at all.

"That's not necessary. I have my bike, plus I need to grab some stuff before I head back." Jayce mentally promised to bring home something for aunt Fran after dragging her into his excuse.

William offered to buy Jayce another order of baklavas to take home. Jayce declined, though everything inside him wanted to have another taste of those magnificent desserts.

Once they were outside, William kissed Jayce.

It was both expected and unexpected. Jayce figured William would try to kiss him, but he hadn’t expected William to do so without some warning at least.

They kissed in front of William's car, the man’s fingers gripping the lapels of Jayce's jacket. It was chaste; a simple press of the lips. Before it could become anything more, Jayce pulled away, smiling to try and take away some of the sting on William's face.

"Thank you for tonight."

William nodded. "Thank you for agreeing to dinner, Jayce."

Jayce saw it coming this time. He closed his eyes before he could actually feel William's lips.

For all that Jayce had thought about William, the man kissed Jayce like he was afraid to cross a line. Jayce didn't need to pull away this time, because not even five seconds later, William was breaking the kiss.

“Take care,” William said, scanning Jayce's face.

Jayce stepped backwards, and the action itself might've just answered the unspoken question in William's eyes. “I hope things go smoothly in London."

Jayce waited for William to get into his car before he drove away on Pumpkin.

He didn't even know where William was staying in Seattle, and yet the whole night Jayce hadn't felt the need to ask.

While driving back to Capitol Hill, Jayce pondered the possibility that this was what he'd always feel like dating somebody who had their whole life figured out; right down to what age they retired and moved to the countryside.

Jayce had felt so uneasy that he didn't try to tamper down the impulse to drive to the Dairy Queen near his apartment.

As he took off his leather gloves and his helmet, Jayce formulated a plan. He'd wallow with the biggest size of plain vanilla ice cream Dairy Queen had to offer, then he'd buy aunt Fran her favorite flavor, and head back to his apartment where he could wallow in the safety of his bedroom some more.

The Dairy Queen near Jayce's apartment really was just a tiny little place with a few tables and chairs where most people got their orders to-go. The whole ice cream parlor was empty tonight except for the cashier, a boy with startling spiky hair who looked not a day over eighteen.

Jayce sat down at the table furthest inside. His sixteen-ounce cup was clutched in between his fingers.

It was hard not to look too pathetic as he ate ice cream alone in an empty shop.

He had been staring off into space, getting lost in the familiar rabbit hole of his thoughts with every lick of the cold dessert when the bell above the entrance rang.

Jayce startled with the red plastic spoon still inside his mouth.

“—don't care if it works wonders, you aren't supposed to be the one sending me out to—no, it doesn’t matter that it's on my way home—"

Jayce thought it was a trick of the light at first. His heart dropped to his stomach once he got a better view.

Choi Seuljin walked into the Dairy Queen wearing a full suit, golden watch gleaming as he held his phone up. He had one hand inside the pocket of his slacks, eyes scanning the list of products above the cashier. He looked like a fish out of water—an extremely handsome fish who didn’t look the slightest bit uncomfortable about being out of his natural habitat.

There was a possibility that Jayce might've been a criminal or something along that line during his past life. That, or he's finally paying for all the bullshit he pulled before he moved to Seattle. Those are the only logical explanations as to why he got such bad luck.

Jayce prayed that Seuljin wouldn't notice him and would be too occupied with whoever it was he was arguing with over the phone. The cashier seemed bored with the whole thing, impatiently waiting for Seuljin to place his order.

He heard Seuljin release a deep exhale, looking around as he started to reply to the person at the other end of the call.

Seuljin did a double-take upon spotting Jayce.

Jayce seriously considered crawling under the table.

They stared at each other for a few more seconds, both a bit too shocked to say anything.

Then Seuljin was grinning, and Jayce kind of wanted to melt like his ice cream.

Seuljin held up a hand for the cashier to wait, muttering something to the person he was speaking with before placing his phone away. He walked right up to Jayce and pulled the chair across from him.

"Is this seat taken?"

"Yes."

Seuljin sat down anyway. Jayce glared at him.

Choi Seuljin bit his lip as he took another good look at Jayce. "You don't seem to be doing alright."

Resigning to his fate, Jayce stuffed another spoonful of ice cream into his mouth before answering Seuljin. (Manners be damned.) "I don't know how you got that idea. Was it me being alone inside a Dairy Queen at nine in the evening, or eating a big cup of ice cream by myself?"

"Actually, it was your eyebrows." Seuljin pointed at Jayce's forehead. "When you became disappointed at me for pretending I couldn't speak Italian, I saw your eyebrows go up and meet in the middle. You kind of looked like a sad puppy."

Jayce smoothed his eyebrows. "They do not."

Seuljin chuckled. "Whatever you say." Even in a Dairy Queen with rusting chairs and harsh lighting, the man looked far too dignified in a totally non-condescending way.

It was both unfair and ridiculously hot.

"Did you get all dressed up just to head to Dairy Queen?" Jayce asked.

"I could ask the same of you." Choi Seuljin leaned back, throwing an arm over the empty chair next to him. The action pulled his blazer jacket open, exposing the plain white top underneath, perfectly highlighting the expanse of Seuljin's torso.

Jayce looked down at his cup of self-pity. "I went on a date."

"I didn't know you had a boyfriend."

The absurdity of Seuljin's sudden assumption made Jayce snap his gaze back up. Seuljin smirked at his expression, speaking before Jayce could correct him. “What? I don't judge. I'm not about to call you out about what we did in the restroom, you know. People cheating is the least of my—."

Jayce harrumphed. "First of, I do not have a boyfriend. Second, if I did have a boyfriend, I would never cheat on them with anybody, least of all with my boss."

"I'm not your boss," Seuljin countered before smoothly changing the topic. "You seemed really bummed out, so I assumed you and your boyfriend broke up during a date. Was the date terrible? Is that why you're pouting inside a Dairy Queen?"

Jayce still couldn't wrap his mind around this moment. He's in a Dairy Queen, with Choi Seuljin.

He must've made a face then, because Seuljin's eyes widened. "Was it that bad?"

“That's not it," Jayce mumbled.

Seuljin continued to stare at Jayce.

Jayce paused from eating his ice cream because licking at his spoon seemed too awkward to do while Seuljin was looking at him so intently. “What?"

Choi Seuljin smiled again. Jayce wished he would stop doing that because it did things to Jayce. "We're friends, aren't we? This is a friend thing. It's good to share things with friends."

“A friend thing."

“Yes, a friend thing," Seuljin deadpanned. "No romance, no hidden motives. Just a friend asking about another friend's night."

Jayce was thinking about their scene in the restroom again. It was inevitable at this point. He remembered kissing Seuljin's lips, his hand wrapped around Jayce’s co—

"The guy who asked me out tonight," Jayce began, so his mind would focus on something else before he could start blushing like a pre-pubescent boy. "I never really liked him, but I didn't hate him either. Compared to my other regulars, he was the most interested in getting to know me as Jayce Terrell and not just J."

“So, he's a customer?"

Jayce definitely pouted. "You weren't supposed to know that."

"Too late, you let it slip." Seuljin leaned in closer, grinning like Christmas came early. "You also said your full name, Jayce Terrell."

"I thought you knew that?"

"I didn't want to have to check the employee records just to know your name. That's too stalker-like."

Jayce took another scoop of his vanilla ice cream. "You sure you're not a stalker though? It's quite a coincidence that you'd show up here."

"You're very pretty, Jayce, but I'm not so desperate that I'd start following you around." It was said with light humor, mirth dancing in his eyes. Jayce didn't know whether to be flattered or not. "A friend of mine wanted me to stop by a Dairy Queen specifically. He's been obsessed with ice cream. I have no idea what's gotten into him."

“Ice cream's magical," Jayce replied with all seriousness.

“Even plain ol' vanilla ice cream?" It was the only time there was judgment in Seuljin's voice.

Jayce was immediately defensive, going as far as to point his red spoon at Seuljin. "Don't you dare diss vanilla ice cream. It's the basis of all other worthwhile flavors."

Seuljin actually laughed at Jayce, bringing a hand up to his mouth like he couldn't help it. "You're this way about ice cream? Really?"

Jayce made an indignant sound and let Seuljin have his laugh.

"I would say I'm sorry, but I'm not. Anyway, you were saying? About your date?"

"I don't want to tell you now."

Seuljin shrugged. "I won't force you to tell me any more than what you've already shared. But, really, what do you have to lose?"

Jayce contemplated that. His head came up with zero arguments for Seuljin other than you're my boss, and Jayce already knew how the man would respond to that.

There was something Jayce needed to verify first though.

"You're going to need some more context," Jayce told Seuljin. "My date asked me to share some things about myself, and I did. I told him that I didn't go to college, that I started working in Glorious G months after I finished high school. I even said that I don't have big plans for the future. I don't play any instruments either, because when you're living in South Side, musical knowledge is the least of your concerns."

Seuljin mostly seemed confused. "South Side, Chicago?"

Jayce nodded. "My family had financial problems and moved there when I was ten. We stayed until I was sixteen." He hadn't even mentioned that little anecdote to William.

Jayce briefly wondered what William Cameron's reaction would have been, finding out that Jayce grew up in a place people referred to as the projects.

"My date responded... not that well, to all this. What's your reaction?"

Seuljin’s expression remained completely unchanging. He leveled Jayce’s stare easily. "I don't know what you want me to say in return. But I don't see why your date should respond terribly to any of the things you shared. Living in a rough neighborhood wasn't your fault, your current choices are your own, you don't need to go to college or dream big if you don't feel the need to." Seuljin paused. "Also, who cares if you don't play an instrument?"

Jayce kept staring, and staring.

Seuljin raised an eyebrow. "Did I pass your test?"

"I'll let you know if you buy me another vanilla ice cream." Jayce's current one was pretty much melted mush by now.

Seuljin returned with two cups; one was regular vanilla ice cream, the other was pistachio. Jayce snorted at Seuljin's chosen flavor. Seuljin waved his spoon. "Uh-uh, if I can't judge your ice cream choices, then you can't judge mine."

Jayce was less worked up now. He shared some more details about his date with William, how it was going great at first until William gave him the look when he found out about Jayce's not-so-sophisticated background.

"The look," Seuljin huffed, spoon hovering inches away from his mouth. "You went berserk on me because of that."

The memory had Jayce extremely embarrassed. "Mi dispiace. I’m sorry for taking that out on you."

Seujin shook his head, swallowing down the ice cream in his mouth before he replied, "Don't feel too bad. I, for one, enjoyed what happened after your little rant." He winked at Jayce, licking his lips suggestively. Or to clean up the non-existent ice cream stains.

“Anyway," Jayce cleared his throat. "After dinner, William kissed me. I pulled away. Then he kissed me again, except that time I didn't pull away. I don't know, I feel like a douche for leading him on, at the same time, I feel bad for being this insecure. I kind of wished I had the self-confidence to just... like William back."

Jayce blamed the ice cream for being so vulnerable to Choi Seuljin, even when half of his thoughts probably didn’t make sense. Ice cream made people overshare things.

Seuljin smacked his lips, placing his spoon into his cup and leaving it there. "There's so many things wrong with that train of thought. Why would you want to force yourself to like someone?"

"Because... they're nice?" Jayce couldn't think of a clever retort to that.

"It's stupid to force feelings. Think about it, if everybody just settled for nice, where would that leave the poets and the artists who talk about passion and wanting and the wildness of human emotion?"

That had been the last thing Jayce had expected to come out of Choi Seuljin's mouth. "Did... did you just say the wildness of human emotion?"

They stared at each other, then end up bursting into a fit of laughter.

The two of them stayed half an hour longer before deciding to leave. They bought more ice cream; Jayce for his aunt and Seuljin for his awaiting friend. They'd been so wrapped up with talking that neither of them noticed the moment it began to snow.

The air was much colder now, making goosebumps on Jayce's skin underneath his sweater and leather jacket. Thankfully, the snow wasn't too strong yet.

Jayce laughed at the picture they must’ve painted. "First snow in February and we're bringing ice cream."

Seuljin hummed, eyes moving from the snowflakes gradually falling from the sky to Jayce. His eyes shone with a familiar glint. "It's lovely, wouldn't you agree?"

“Depends on what you're going to say next."

“You know, William got a kiss..."

Jayce snorted, pretending he didn't feel a familiar strike of lust in his lower stomach. "I'm leaving now." He turned to his motorcycle before he could do something stupid (again), the plastic bag hanging from his wrist as he opened Pumpkin's top box.

He heard Seuljin following him. “That's your motorcycle?"

“No, I stole it," Jayce replied without looking back, sarcasm dripping from his voice. Seuljin's own sports car was parked about three feet away from Pumpkin's taillight.

"I did not expect you to be riding a motorcycle."

Jayce placed his gloves on and then his helmet, straddling Pumpkin with practiced ease.

Seuljin took in Jayce's form without shame, staring the same way he would whenever J was stripping in Glorious G.

This time, Seuljin did not hold back. "I kind of want more than a kiss now.”

Jayce fought down a shiver that had nothing to do with the cold. "I thought this was a friend thing?"

“I've done plenty of friend things with other people. You'd be wise to take the chance."

Jayce snorted. "Are you always this arrogant?"

"I have a reason to be, don't I?" The way Seuljin said his words had Jayce thinking about that again, and Jayce really needed to leave now before his self-control threatened to break.

"Buona notte, Choi Seuljin," Good night, Jayce said in Italian.

Seuljin wasn't deterred by Jayce's response. "Guida piano, Jayce Terrell."