Page 73 of Perfect Night

“Hunter. You know, from last night.”

“I know who Hunter is. What I don’t understand is why Deacon defied my orders and left you here.”

“I’m sorry, did you just saydefied my orders?Are you a mafia boss or something?”

“I told him to stay here and look after you, and he just left. I need to call him.”

Charlie stood up and grabbed a towel. Pulling the plug out, he winced. Sebastian rushed forward.

“Leave it. I can do it myself.”

It was agony stepping out of the bath, but his pride was on the line here, so he did his best to hide any pain on his face. He’d clearly failed miserably as Sebastian looked like he wanted to rush over and wrap him in cotton wool.

Charlie dried himself off before wrapping the towel round his waist and walking to the main bedroom. Sebastian was following him like a lost puppy. It would be cute if Charlie wasn’t so irritated. He took his time getting dressed because it was so painful, but refused to let Sebastian help him. Once dressed, he went into the kitchen to get a glass of water. Sebastian followed him again. Charlie was close to losing his shit.

“What are you doing, Sebastian?”

“I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

“I’m fine. Just a bit sore. It’ll heal in a few days. I had far worse than this from the bullies at school.”

There was a flash of anger in Sebastian’s eyes.

“Look, I know you love me. But I can’t be smothered. It’s too much. I gave Deacon an ultimatum to go after Hunter, or I was going with him. Hunter told me he had nowhere to go if he left Brandon. I’m safe here. He isn’t. Do not take this out on Deacon. It took me ages to convince him to leave. And he assumed he was gonna lose his job. He’s not, is he?”

“No, of course not. It’s just, I told him to stay here. What if Brandon had come here?”

“The door was locked. And would he really be that stupid?”

“You don’t know what he’s like.”

“No, I know that. And you don’t have to tell me anything. I’ve worked out most of it, anyway.”

“I want to tell you. It’s just I don’t want you to think less of me.”

Well, now he couldn’t be mad anymore. He walked over to Sebastian and pulled him into a hug. Sebastian squeezed him back, which caused Charlie to let out an involuntary groan. Sebastian leapt back.

“Charlie, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine. Stop fussing. Now tell me what the police wanted.”

“They just needed a statement about what happened.”

“Didn’t they get that all last night?”

“They like to be thorough.”

“Why didn’t they want to see me again, then?”

“Not sure. Maybe they will in a couple of days.”

It was Tuesday, and Charlie had still heard nothing from the police. He’d convinced Sebastian to go back to work, but hewas still being a fusspot. They were sharing a bed at night, but Sebastian wouldn’t touch him. Charlie had tried to initiate things a few times, but all that resulted in was Sebastian getting Charlie off and then cuddling him. It was frustrating. They’d been at it like bunnies the first week, and now he was in danger of becoming a virgin again. Okay, that was not possible, but he was frustrated.

Charlie was flying home on Sunday, and he had interviews lined up next week. He was fully prepped, so there was nothing else for him to do with his time. His friends were worried about him, but had promised not to say anything to his mum. There was no need for her to panic.

The only thing Charlie was worried about was Hunter. There was no sign of him anywhere. It appeared he hadn’t gone back to Brandon, but Deacon hadn’t been able to find him, although he wasn’t giving up. He’d spoken with Jason earlier about getting back from the airport. He assumed Sebastian would arrange everything. They were supposed to be flying back together, but Jason had suggested he check with the police that he could leave, given he was the victim of a crime and it hadn’t been to court yet.

He called Lieutenant Simmons, whose number he’d been given by the uniformed officers on the night of the charity event.

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