Page 6 of Mutual Desire

“Yeah, but… what about you?”

Damien turned slowly, raising an eyebrow. “What do you mean,me?”

“The presentationwe’redoing. You know, tomorrow… well, technically today now.”

It took Damien a moment to process the horror of Nick’s words. When the realization hit, he felt his stomach drop.He was seconds away from strangling his best friend. Blinking in disbelief at his would-be victim, Damien struggled to process the sheer audacity.If Nick thought for one second that he could drag him into presenting this whole mess of an antivirus project, he clearly didn’t know Damien well enough. Damien had already spent more than ten hours straight helping him. He’d given Nick a hand, and now Nick was trying to take his goddam entire arm and drag him into the spotlight too.

“You’re joking,” Damien said flatly, already knowing Nick was anything but.

Nick grinned sheepishly, the kind of smile that always got him out of trouble.

“You’re out of your mind, Nicolas, if you think I’m going to present this with you,” Damien shot back, glaring at Nick like the man had suggested they go skydiving without parachutes. “It’s your software, not mine.”

“But you helped!” Nick argued, a whine creeping into his voice. “You know the software better than I do.”

Damien let out a groan, leaning his head against the doorframe. “I swear to God, Nick. I walked you through the code; that doesn’t make me your co-presenter.”

Nick folded his arms, leaning against the door with an exaggerated sigh. “D, you’re the brains here. If anyone should be up there, it’s you. You know they’ll eat this up if it comes from you.”

Damien’s eyes narrowed. “Flattery won’t work this time, Nicolas.”

Nick’s grin faltered for half a second before he pivoted to Plan B: weaponizing guilt. “Come on, D. It’s not like I’m asking you to do this alone. I just... I need your backup, okay? I’ll handle most of it; you’ll just be there to answer questions.”

Damien opened his mouth to protest, but Nick cut him off.

“Please, D. Just this once. I’m begging you.”

And there it was—Nick’s puppy-dog eyes, the ultimate weapon. Damien groaned inwardly. This was why people shouldn’t keep best friends for over a decade; they learned all your weaknesses.“At what time again?” Damien asked with a resigned sigh.

Nick’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Three o’clock, babe. I love you. You know that, right?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Damien muttered, shaking his head. “You better be buying me dinner after this.”

“Done. Steakhouse, five Michelin star courses, whatever you want,” Nick promised, opening the door wider. “Oh, and don’t forget to wear a suit. You’ve got that whole sexy-professor vibe—guaranteed to have them eating out of your hand.”

Damien shot him a deadpan look. “Nick, I’m already plotting your murder, and comments like that aren’t helping.”

Nick grinned, unbothered. “And don’t worry, I’ve already got the PowerPoint covered,” Nick added, as if that was supposed to make everything better. “We're just waiting on a video I had someone put together.Should have it by eight in the morning.”

Damien froze mid-step, his head snapping toward Nick. “Wait. Did you say PowerPoint?”

“Yeah! How else would you properly present a project, D?” Nick replied innocently, though the teasing glint in his eyes gave him away.

Damien clenched his fists. Murder was beginning to feel like a viable option.“You could use your damn mouth, Einstein,” Damien snapped. Then, realizing how that sounded, he quickly added, “I mean, to talk. God, shut up.”

Nick burst out laughing, nearly doubling over in the doorway. “Oh, man. You make this too easy.”

Damien flipped him off, already regretting agreeing to this madness. “I’m leaving before I strangle you. And Nick, this is the last time.”

“Sure, sure,” Nick said, still grinning like a Cheshire cat. “See you tomorrow, D. Don’t forget the suit!”

As Damien walked away, Nick’s laughter trailed after him, and despite himself, Damien couldn’t help but crack a small smile. Nick was infuriating, but damn if he didn’t know how to make life interesting.

As he headed home and the weight of exhaustion pressed down on him, all Damien could think about was his bed. When he walked into hisapartment, he noticed Craig sitting in the living room, watching TV. Craig’s blue eyes were cold, his expression distant and his face tensed. Damien didn’t need to ask why—he already knew. The missed calls, the unread texts—it all pointed to one thing. He knew rest would have to wait.

“Where were you all day?” Craig’s voice was calm, but the clipped tone hinted at his simmering frustration.

Damien sighed, dragging a hand through his hair.Not tonight, please. He was in no mood for this conversation. He could barely keep his eyes open.“I texted you earlier this morning. I was helping Nick with something.”

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