Chapter 122: Dinner planned
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Haruki got hectic spending hours discussing some issues with Ren before planning other things with Kiyoshi. By the time he went back to sleep, it was almost midnight and Hiroshi had already fallen asleep on his bed. Haruki cleaned up and went to bed. Just before he fell asleep, the screen of his phone lit up.
He wanted to ignore and sleep but stretched his hand to the phone and lifted it from the nightstand. He got a text message from Aki inviting him to a dinner party.
The date time and venue were indicated in the text along with an apology for inviting him a bit too late and telling him that it was okay if he wanted to skip.
Haruki checked his schedule. Weekends are usually free for him unless there is a very important occasion or project. Confirming that he didn’t have anything to do the next day, he accepted Aki’s invitation.
It was a very short notice but he didn’t think that was enough reason to reject the invitation without any prior plans. He would most likely be free and bored anyway.
He sent a message to accept Aki’s invitation before properly sinking under the covers. The man on the other side of the bed. Moved close to him and naturally placed a hand over Haruki’s stomach under the covers.
The warmth seeped in through the fabric of the pyjamas as the man leaned close to his ears and whispered, "You’re back."
"Hmm," Haruki hummed touching the man’s hand on his stomach.
"I missed you," Hiroshi murmured sleepily pressing his forehead against Haruki’s cheek.
Haruki raised his hand and touched Hiroshi’s hair and stroking the soft strands gently with his fingers. A smile lifted the corners of Haruki’s lips subconsciously. He had never noticed that the man seemed like a very faithful dog.
A thought flashed through his mind but didn’t register for too long. Perhaps he could keep the man for himself like owning and protecting a pet. Too much warmth came from where their bodies touched.
The man smelled like him but there was an undertone distinct scent that belonged to the man alone. A smell that made him want to taste the doctor’s skin. To suck on the skin until he leaves red marks claiming ownership.
Just when the temperature began to rise notably, Hiroshi adjusted his sleeping position still keeping his hand over Haruki’s stomach and began breathing deeply. Haruki exhaled with a trace of exasperation but he didn’t disturb the man’s rest knowing the man must have been busy at work during the day.
***
Hiroshi woke up with his hand holding Haruki in a close hug. He wondered when Haruki came to sleep because it was late when he went to sleep and Haruki had not come. He worried about the man making him remain in the same position even after waking up.
Although the curtain blocked out the sunlight, he knew it was way past the time he usually woke up. He had slept in. It was the weekend and he had no plans for the morning so he closed his eyes to sleep further.
There was a knock on the door and before Hiroshi could wake up to open the door, Haruki had woken up and got up from the bed. He walked to the door and opened it before walking to the bathroom.
Hiroshi got up from the bed to speak to the person at the door. It was Kiyoshi and he came to wake Haruki up for breakfast. Haruki cleaned up and when he stepped out of the closet, he was dressed in a cashmere hoodie and track pants.
He picked up his phone and headed out of the room to his study while Hiroshi went to clean up.
The rest of the day after brunch was spent playing golf in the backyard, and reading in Haruki’s study. Both of them did almost everything together silently enjoying each other’s presence.
Hiroshi was not very good at playing golf and Haruki took it on himself to teach the man all he needed to know about the space. Hiroshi being a fast learner, made things easier for Haruki and Haruki ended up spending more time on the court than he had planned to.
Both of them sat on the comfortable sofas in Haruki’s study after each picking a random book from the multitude of books on the shelves. Haruki dozed off after a while, woke up and continued reading the book.
The atmosphere was casual and peaceful, so domestic, it was as though it could not get any more natural than it was. Haruki felt very comfortable even in the silence when they had nothing to say to each just simply focusing on what they wanted to do independently.
It would be a lie to say he didn’t notice how different it was from all the other men he had been with in the past. He began wondering if he would ever be able to feel that way with his future wife and doubting that possibility, he had to stop that train of thought.
When the chef sent someone to find out about their dinner plans, Hiroshi told Haruki had prior plans with an acquaintance.
Haruki raised his head from the book he was reading and looked at the man. He wanted to ask him who the acquaintance was but he could sense that the doctor didn’t want him to know. He chose not to force the answer out of the man.
Although that quickly made him rethink the feeling of loyalty he thought the doctor gave him. Keeping secrets was not prohibited in their contract and he could understand that the man was not his dog as he had believed during the past few days they spent together.
The doctor was an independent individual he had no full control over after all, the man was not his slave. His gaze remained indifferent as he watched the man place the book he was reading back on the shelf and leave the room.
He realised the person the chef sent was still waiting for his response so he told him he would eat something very light first because he had a late dinner plan.
Without telling him who he was going out with or what the occasion was, the doctor was gone by the time he was done eating the meal he served. He continued reading in his study only standing up from the sofa when it was thirty minutes to the dinner party.
There was still a sour aftertaste from what the doctor had done earlier and no matter how he thought of it, he came to the conclusion that he would have preferred a complete monopoly of the man.
He wanted the man to treat him like a master, he wanted to know everything about the man, and he didn’t want anyone to share the man’s time with him. This was the first time they were parting ways since they came to his house that day except for going to work and other important meetings.
When he realised how deep and dark his thoughts were getting, he forced himself to stop and focus on other things.