Have I caused this?
It was a real possibility. Kari had been careful not to push this morning to get Bowie in his car, more encourage. Then he’d slipped up with the pet name when they were at work. A promise to himself to think before speaking was needed. He hadn’t missed how Bowie had gone from hopeful to crestfallen when Kari had stopped himself. He was making himself dizzy, and he suspected doing the same to Bowie with his behavior. Dad was right; he needed honesty. Kari just didn’t know where to start. A first for him.
They hadn’t spoken about Rex, except to clarify about keys. Was that a good starting point?
“Something wrong, Bowie?” He didn’t curse at how concerned he sounded when he wanted Bowie to open up to him without too much prompting.
Soulful brown eyes peeked up at him from under long, dark eyelashes, which framed Bowie’s gorgeous eyes. Kari’s inner tuning fork for others’ distress vibrated.
“Erm… we… erm… no… yes.” His cheeks were bright pink as he stood behind the chair he used, as if uncertain about taking the seat, clutching the iPad he held in front of his chest like a barrier.
“Sit for me, Bowie,” Kari encouraged in a soft tone that got an immediate reaction from Bowie, who did as he was told, placing his iPad on Kari’s desk before folding his hands in his lap, wearing a look of expectation that did stupid things to Kari.
“Bowie, you seem upset. Is it connected to work? Talking to Hollis about everything or is it… Rex?” he asked cautiously.
Bowie rung his hands together, and they became his focus, while sitting a little straighter. Not once did he let his gaze drift up. Instead, he shook his head. Messy, dark hair flopped over his forehead adorably.
Gods, he was in so much trouble.
“I didn’t tell Hollis what happened.”
If Kari was surprised by that, he kept it to himself, waiting to see if Bowie would elaborate further.
He squirmed in his seat. “I never told the others we were dating… Rex didn’t want me to.” That was no more than a whisper. “Now I know why he didn’t want me to say anything…”
A sense of foreboding came with the dewy eyes that finally glanced up. Kari resisted prompting Bowie when he picked at the side of his thumb, seconds turning into nearly a minute before he spoke again.
“He told me he had another boyfriend… you know, at the same time as me. Though now I’ve thought ‘bout it, I don’t think we were dating… not properly.” A sheen of sweat coated his paling skin by the time he finished speaking.
Kari was going to rip the fucker's head off.
“Do you think that means he’ll leave me alone?”
Back was the hammer to his heart, taking Kari’s breath when Bowie’s shimmering eyes met his. “Will I have to move out of my apartment? I can’t expect you to pick me up and drop me off every day… can I?”
The trembly voice that held hope was too much when Bowie, whether he realized it or not, begged Kari to say yes. Defenceless, Kari was up out of his seat and around his desk, crouching in front of Bowie, taking hold of his icy hands. One thing was obvious: Bowie was frightened that Rex would come back and hurt him.
Which begged the question, had something happened since they’d arrived at work? Or was this all connected to what went down two days ago?
Kari searched Bowie’s expression to see if he could find the answer. A clue.
Bowie sent out so many signals that Kari went with his gut instincts. “If you could be granted wishes, what would they be over this situation?”
Surprised as Bowie by what came out of his mouth, he went with it, because there was no way he could take it back now. Absently, he gently rubbed his thumbs over the back of Bowie’s hands, working on warming them.
Bowie’s head tilted to the side. “Wishes? Like Aladdin and his genie of the lamp?”
“Yes, like that,” Kari encouraged, despite how scarlet Bowie went. “It’s one of my favorite animations.”
“It is?”
Kari chuckled at how unconvinced Bowie sounded. Yet his hands relaxed in Kari’s. “Hey, you don’t need to sound like that. I love those movies. The Little Mermaid is my second favorite, followed by The Lion King. However, Sebastian from The LittleMermaid is hilarious, so he kind of vies for the top position. So, wishes? Do you have some right now?”
“I can wish for anything?” he checked, and Kari nodded reassuringly. “To stay in my apartment and not be scared when I leave. And I never have to see Rex again.” He tugged one hand free and rubbed it over his mouth, his eyes shifting away.
Heart beating faster, Kari nudged a little. “Any others?”
“I’ve never had a nickname.”
