Page 26 of Allured (Love and Burlesque #1)
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
EZEKIEL
Isn’t all just grapes?
T he documents in my briefcase feel heavier than they did this morning, before Alek had picked me up and taken me to a scenic and revealing lunch.
Deep down I know I will never be able to erase Alek’s pained and defeated look from my memory as he disclosed his past. The momentary wide—eyed panic with which I responded certainly didn’t help the situation.
The truth of the matter is that I was scared at that moment as well. Not so much from the fact that Alek was involved with Knight, but more due to the way he had described his past. There wasn’t an air of shame, nor should there be, when he was sharing his truth. But it was the sense of sadness that came with it that alarmed me.
Sadness from how people have reacted to his past. Sadness from how he immediately thought we were through because of it.
Most of all, it was the sadness that came from his statement saying all he was good for was being a rebound.
The man I’ve been waiting for all of my life perceives himself to be less than and it torments me to think I could be a contributor to those emotions.
Our picnic date continued. The previous levity had been broken but a deeper, more meaningful, atmosphere surrounded us. Alek felt safe to share more of his past as he laid his head on my lap. The clouds above us were lazily forming into new shapes in the bright sky as I stroked the wavy hair at his temple.
Preferring to listen and still trying to process not only Alek’s past, but my own as well, I let him lead the conversation until it was time for us to gather our things and separate for the day.
I hope he didn’t notice the slight tremble in my hand as he held it during our ride to the university’s library or the desperate way I had clung to him while saying our goodbyes.
My lone drive home from campus after Alek had dropped me off felt ages longer than usual.
Closing my front door, I set my belongings down in the foyer. For now, I could pretend to forget what lies in my briefcase. It’s a matter of time either way, and I shouldn’t spend the weekend agonizing over it. The thought on the forefront of my mind instead should be how I am meeting my Alek’s family for the first time at dinner tomorrow.
“Cousin! I hear congratulations are in order, or rather, should we start with you thanking me for making this most fitting match?” Knight’s smirk can be heard through the phone.
Huffing into my phone, I prop it against my ear as I sort between various wine bottles that mean gibberish to me at a local shop.
After my picnic with Alek yesterday, I needed some more time for reflection before I called my cousin. Deciding to call him while shopping for a gift to bring to Alek’s Sunday dinner, I figured that the snobbish man could also come in handy in helping me pick out a wine.
“Yes, I am entirely sure that was your only intention when sending me to do your bidding at the gala. Whatever it was you had to do while I checked on the allergen list in the kitchen was so much more important.”
Knight clears his throat and I hear the distinct sound of papers shuffling in the background.
“Yes, well, I did have an entire event to set up,” my cousin replies, almost skittishly.
“I was calling to let you know Alek told me about his past, and specifically, your involvement. What do you think of a Syrah?” The bottle in my hand has a unique label to it. I run my thumb over the embossing of the letters as I wait for Knight’s reply.
“And how do you feel about that involvement? A bottle of Syrah and a bottle of White Cuvée should give you a nice variety.”
“Thank you, Knight. To answer your question, I feel happy that he told me, and saddened by the stress he felt in revealing it to me.”
“I would assume the past is not an easy thing for most to reveal, Ezekiel. I am sure you can empathize.”
His words cut deeper than I thought they would.
“I know,” I reply, setting the bottles gently into my cart before making my way over to the cash register.
A soft sigh echoes in my ear. If Knight weren’t like a brother to me, I would assume it was a sigh of pity, but I know better. My cousin cares as deeply for me as I do for him. We were all we had at one point in our lives. A sense of childhood nostalgia washes over me just speaking to him, and I make a note to give my aunt a call soon as well.
“Please let me know when you’re having dinner with Harriett next, I would love to join you two.”
“I’m sure she would be delighted to see you, I hear her chemical mask redness has finally gone down and she no longer looks as if she’s wearing a Freddy Krueger mask,” Knight jokes, laughing softly.
I join in his laugh, trying to set the bottles onto the cash register at the same time. The cashier begins scanning my items and it’s my cue to say my goodbyes.
“Knight, I’d like you to know that this changes nothing between us. What Alek revealed to me about his past and in tangent, yours, has no bearing on how I see you.”
“I know, cousin. That was never a worry of mine. I’ll be seeing you soon.”
“Goodbye, Kni.”
“Goodbye, E.”
With that, I tuck my phone into my coat pocket and retrieve my wallet to pay for the wine. After a quick thank you to the cashier, I make my way out of the small shop and into my car.
Setting the bottles securely in the backseat, I turn around and buckle myself in. A slow breath leaves my lips before I type in Alek’s address into the navigation. There is no guarantee that this dinner will go amazingly but just the fact that I am seeing Alek once again, and that he wants me to meet his family has me smiling the entire ride to his duplex.