Doctors Orders (Manxman)

Chapter 12

Tristan

I had no idea how to respond to the text. There was always the option of not answering but somehow I had a feeling that it wouldn't be a wise decision.

So I settled on saying hello back. I had a faint hope that he wouldn't reply immediately and I would be able to go back to whatever I was doing. That hope was crushed as I saw my text be blue ticked within seconds.

"You aren't in town. Where did you go?"

His words shocked me. How the hell did he know that I wasn't in Chicago!?

"How do you know that? I never told you," I said while anxiously waiting for his reply. The fact that a complete stranger knew my whereabouts was extremely worrying.

"I have my methods."

I snorted at that. What a typical reply. But I wasn't going to back down this time. Maybe it was the fact that I couldn't feel his blazing eyes on me but for the first time I felt brave. This man had asked enough questions. It was my turn now.

"What is your name," I typed. I so desperately wanted to know more about him. It was like a morbid curiosity. I half expected him to just flat out refuse to tell me his name but I was pleasantly surprised.

"Alexander Sturtevant. That's my name."

I stared at his name on my screen for a long time. There was something different about his name. It made me insanely excited but scared at the same time. Feeling encouraged by his answer, I decided to be more daring.

"What do you do?"

"I own things."

"Like?"

"Factories."

"Oh."

I bit my lip. He really must be shit rich then. He probably knew everything about me already. He certainly had the money and power to find out.

"What else do you know about me? Did you ask for my background or something like they do in the movies?"

He replied with a laugh emoji. "No Tristan. I just wanted to know your name and what you do. It's up to you to tell me or not tell me the rest."

So he knew my name too. As if that wasn't a gross invasion of privacy. Still it was kind of nice that he hadn't probed any further than that. Or maybe he had and was lying to me. But somehow he didn't seem to be the lying type.

"So where are you though?"

I didn't see any point in beating about the bush. It was better to just tell him where I was. "I am at my parents house for my sisters wedding. We left today."

"We?"

"I mean me and Damien. He's my best friend."

"Just friend?"

The question took me by surprise. Why was he even interested in what Damien was to me?

Because maybe he is interested in you.

I swallowed nervously. The thought made my stomach twist in knots. He certainly was a good looking man, someone who was completely out of my league. If he was interested in common old me he was either blind or had seriously questionable taste in men. On top of that he probably was a millionaire.

Logically I should have immediately replied with a yes because I knew for sure that I wasn't ever going to get a man like Alexander again. But I hesitated. Somehow the thought of typing yes made me feel sick to my stomach. It was proof of the fact that there was nothing between me and Damien. That someday Damien would belong to someone else. That someday he would be making someone else's lunch.

I angrily pressed the home button and turned my phone off. Suddenly I wasn't so excited about anything anymore. I excused myself and went up to my old room. It was located on the topmost floor beside the attic. It wasn't very big and became extremely stuffy in summers but I loved it. It had always been my safe haven and another plus was that my parents rarely ever came here.

I sighed in relief and flopped down on my bed. It was still as soft and comfortable as ever. It smelled like old memories and I took a long whiff. This bed had seen a lot of things. My tears, late night conversations, movie marathons, my first kiss and of course the time when I lost my virginity.

My room was covered with posters of my favourite bands from my school days. Damien had helped put these up. Our taste in music was pretty similar though he enjoyed retro more than present day music. He was the one to introduce me to Pink Floyd and I had instantly fallen in love.

I opened my bedside drawer and chuckled when I found an old work out copy of Playboy. I had gotten it at school from some older boys for ten dollars. I had heard a lot of good things about this magazine and how every teenage guy just had to have it.
Most of my guy friends were gushing about the busty naked women with perfect figures whereas I was trying hard to look away from the naked guys. That was a big hint towards my sexuality but I had ignored it at the time.

The incident that confirmed my doubts had taken place in grade ten. It was all due to the stereotypical bad boy of our school who was bisexual and fucked everything that walked. I wasn't attracted to him romantically at all but physically he was a treat. He had gotten hint of my fancy and had taken the initiative himself.

I still remember the day clearly. He had come up to me with a cigarette hanging off his mouth and his sleeves rolled up to show his tattoos. The smell of smoke on him had been a huge turn off but he had other skills. He was my first kiss. On this very bed.

I had also lost my cherry to him. Yet again on this very bed. Kissing him was like passive smoking, only with a tongue involved. He tasted of stale smoke and bitter tobacco. He had forced his tongue into my mouth without waiting for me to adjust to the feel of his rough lips on mine.  Suffice it to say that my first kiss wasn't a good one. But he more than made up for it in bed. The sex had been amazing. Painful yes but still amazing. I had known that he wasn't going to be gentle and he hadn't been. Surprisingly, I had loved every second of it.

The euphoria of sex had lasted only for a few weeks before Damien had found out. I had foolishly hidden the fact that I was seeing him from Damien. I knew that he wouldn't approve of me dating someone who was a complete ass but I couldn't let go of my bad boy either. Damien found out through gossip and when he confronted me about it I knew I was doomed. I told him everything without leaving out a single detail and watched his face morph into an expression of pure rage.

He stomped out of my house after I was finished and ignored me for two whole days. Then I found out that I was being cheated on. With a girl. I had never expected us to last but seeing the guy I gave my virginity to making out with a slutty bitch was a heart breaking sight. I cried and ran to the only person I knew would be able to comfort me.

Damien had simply hugged me tight while I cried and cried. He never forced me to talk or tell me to get over it. He let me deal with it at my own pace. Finally I told him everything and the next day my ex boyfriend had a huge bruise on his face.

So did Damien. My heart broke when I saw my best friend sporting a purple eye and getting suspended for my sake. I had realised then that seeing Damien like that hurt way more than being cheated on by an asshole.

From that day on I never hide anything from him. Not even the tiniest of details.

But apparently he does.

The very thought that Damien didn't trust me as much as I trusted him filled me with unimaginable agony. I wanted to be his person too just like he was mine. I did not want him to discuss his lifestyle with others but hide it from me.

A terrifying realisation came over me as I lay on my bed and stared at the posters that we had put up.

Damien Rogers was never just my best friend. He was more, so much more.