Page 4 of Mutual Desire (The Awakening #1)

The Collision

Zombie.

That was the only word Damien could think of to describe his reflection in the mirror minutes after dragging himself out of bed. He hadn’t gotten much sleep, thanks to Nick calling bright and early, using himself as Damien’s personal alarm clock.

The phone call still echoed in his mind.

“You can't be serious, Nicolas,” Damien had muttered groggily, struggling to keep his irritation in check.

Nick, as expected, was unapologetic. “Were you sleeping? It's already nine, Clarke.”

Rubbing his eyes, Damien fought back the urge to hang up. “Do I need to remind you that I just left your place a couple of hours ago?”

Nick’s smug tone was unmistakable. “When did you start needing so much nap time, Sleeping Beauty?”

Damien had rolled his eyes, realizing there was no winning this conversation. “Nicolas, I just woke up. No, you woke me up.”

Nick chuckled, unrepentant. “Did you look at the PowerPoint yet?”

“I’m hanging up now,” Damien said flatly, already regretting answering.

Nick ignored him. “Don’t forget to go through it. And don’t be late, Clarke.”

Now, standing in front of the mirror, Damien debated whether he should crawl back into bed. But napping never worked once you were awake—it only made things worse. Besides, there were too many things to do.

First, there was hiscar, which had been acting up for weeks. Damien had postponed dealing with it so often that “tomorrow” became a mantra. Today didn’t look ideal for it either, so tomorrow it was. Definitely tomorrow.

After a quick breakfast and shower, Damien updated the calendar on the website he and Nick had created, where he offered private biology and chemistry online courses. He opened up his July schedule for bookings, knowing his clients preferred live teaching sessions despite the prerecorded content available.

Reluctantly, Damien turned his attention to Nick’s 42 slides PowerPoint.

To his surprise, it was impressive—professional, sleek, and easy to follow. Damien committed the slides to memory as best he could. Nick would do most of the talking, but Damien didn’t want to take any risks—it was Nick’s career on the line, after all.

Checking his phone intermittently, Damien hoped to see a message from Craig. Nothing. He’d sent a text earlier, hoping to bridge the tension from the night before, but Craig hadn’t responded. Damien could badger him for a reply, but that wouldn’t solve anything. They needed to talk in person.

Around noon, after finishing up some laundry and washing the dishes piled in the sink as he was heading to the bathroom, Damien’s phone rang. For a brief moment, he hoped it was Craig, but his heart sank when he saw it was Dana, his sister. He knew exactly why she was calling.

“Don’t tell me you just woke up, Dam,” Dana said as soon as he answered.

“No, I’ve been up since nine, thanks to Nick,” Damien replied, rubbing his forehead.

Dana laughed softly. “You sound tired. When are you coming to visit?”

“I don’t know... next week?” Damien said, trying to sound convincing, though he knew it wasn’t.

“Sure, next week,” Dana said, amused by the obvious lie.

“Or... the week after,” Damien added, still not sounding any more convincing.

It wasn’t that Damien didn’t want to see her. He adored his sister more than anything, and she was his rock. But things with Craig were too complicated right now. Leaving town wouldn’t help, even if Craig encouraged him to go. They needed to fix things, not add more distance.

“As much as I love you, I’m not breaking the news to Mom,” Dana teased.

Damien laughed. Their mom had moved to Boston with Dana to help raise his nephew Ryan after her divorce. He missed all three of them more than he wanted to admit.

“I’ll be there soon, I promise. Just... bad timing right now.”

Dana’s tone shifted, concern creeping in. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just... things with Craig are a little off,” Damien admitted reluctantly. There was a brief pause at the end of the line.

“When’s the last time you two fucked?” Dana asked bluntly.

“Jesus, Dana!” Damien exclaimed, laughing despite himself.

“What? I’m a divorcee now—I know what makes relationships tick,” Dana said, feigning seriousness.

Damien shook his head, laughing harder. “Thanks, Dr. Dana, but I’ll pass on your relationship advice.”

“Two weeks? Three? A month?”

“A year,” Damien joked, still laughing.

They laughed together for a few moments before Damien’s tone sobered. “It’s not even about that. We just... I don’t know, I miss him. We just need to feel each other’s presence, you know?”

“I get it, Dam. You two will work it out. And if not, I’ll finally have my shot with Craig,” she teased.

“Mom’s your competition. She’s got dibs,” Damien shot back, equally amused.

“I’ll show her no mercy,” Dana said, laughing.

Damien smiled softly, thinking of his mom. He missed her.

“Thanks, Dana. I needed this,” Damien said, smiling.

“You’ve got this, Dam. Craig’s an amazing guy, and you’re not bad yourself. Don’t let the little things get in the way.”

“I know. I’m going to fix it today. Don’t worry,” he promised, more determined than ever.

“Good.”

“I’ve got to go get dressed for this presentation I'm doing with Nick.”

“Go kill it at your presentation then and tell Nick I said hi.”

“Will do. Love you, Dana.”

“Love you too, Dam.”

After hanging up, Damien quickly showered. He then sifted through his wardrobe, pushing past hangers and pulling out jacket after jacket. The last time he’d worn a suit was at a Christmas party. Working at a school full of spoiled, wealthy kids meant dressing nicely, but not overly so—unlike some colleagues who sported questionable tie choices.

After a frustrating few minutes, Damien finally settled on a suit . He had found a basic black suit, paired with a white shirt and black pants. He spritzed on some expensive cologne and styled his hair, letting it down from his usual bun for a more polished look.

Checking himself in the mirror, Damien decided he looked decent enough. Nick would appreciate the effort. Suited up and ready, he packed his MacBook and iPad into his bag and headed out to Nick’s workplace, where he would help with the presentation.

It would be the first time Damien stepped foot there, though it wasn’t far from the private school where he taught.

After struggling to find a parking spot, Damien finally arrived at his destination. The building’s sheer size and imposing architecture immediately caught his attention. Even from the outside, it exuded luxury, and Damien felt a spark of curiosity about what awaited him inside. As he stepped into the lobby, his expectations were not only met but exceeded. The space was air-conditioned, brightly lit, and vast enough to house a security section, reminding him of a grand hotel lobby in Dubai.

Despite his own comfortable financial situation, mostly due to his father's life insurance policy, Damien lived modestly. The opulence of the building strangely made him feel more at ease. After being cleared by security, he continued through the lobby, marveling at the white marble floors, high ceilings, and palatial décor.

Finding his way was simple thanks to Nick’s detailed message about the floor where the presentation would be held. Glancing at his watch, Damien saw it was 2:43 pm—he still had some time to review some of the slides of the PowerPoint with Nick before the presentation. Picking up the pace, his phone buzzed, and he sighed before answering.

“I'm here,” Damien said, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice.

“Just making sure. You said you'd be here an hour in advance,” Nick replied.

Damien rolled his eyes. “No! I said thirty minutes.”

“And yet, here you are... late,” Nick teased.

“Fifteen minutes circling for a parking spot,” Damien muttered through gritted teeth.

Nick laughed. “Why didn’t you park in the underground lot?”

“Maybe because you didn’t give me a visitor card, Einstein?” Damien shot back.

Nick’s laughter echoed through the line. “Hurry up, Clarke.”

Damien smirked, already plotting Nick’s murder as he hung up. He was definitely leaving this building in handcuffs.

Still holding his phone, Damien quickly typed a message to Craig, apologizing again and asking to meet up. His eyes were fixed on the screen as he hit send when, suddenly, he collided with someone, spilling liquid on his black jacket.

“Shit—sorry,” Damien began, looking up and found himself staring into the most beautiful face he had ever seen.

For a moment, Damien thought he might be dreaming.

The man standing in front of him was too perfect to be real.