Chapter 139: Impulsive Kiss.

Vincent had nothing left to say.

Nothing Dave had said eased the uneasiness that had taken hold of him when he walked in and found Dave kissing Eli.

He turned away, although he had no idea what leaving like that would mean for their relationship or what he was supposed to do afterward.

Should he tell Bryce that he had found Dave and explain what he had walked in on, or keep the whole thing to himself?

But before he could take a step, Dave caught his hand. He moved in front of him, blocking his way, his expression strained with desperation.

"Vincent, I swear I didn’t say I couldn’t be with anyone else. He misunderstood me," Dave insisted.

"You can explain that to Bryce if you decide to come back," Vincent replied without thinking.

He tried to walk away again, but Dave stopped him, pushing him against the wall with enough force to leave them standing close together.

Vincent’s heart began racing at the sudden proximity.

"Will you stop talking like that!" Dave snapped, frustration thick in his voice. "What do you mean, if? Did I say I wasn’t coming back? And what do you mean I should explain myself to Bryce? What about you? You don’t care? Is he the only one affected by this?"

Vincent stared at him, caught off guard by the certainty in Dave’s voice. Dave spoke as though he already knew that Vincent was affected too, as though he could see through the anger and recognize the feelings Vincent was trying so hard to keep buried.

For once, Vincent couldn’t find a single word to say. It was so unlike him that the silence itself seemed to expose him.

"You don’t care?" Dave repeated, his voice dropping to a low murmur.

Vincent still couldn’t answer. Instead... "You knew we were coming back today, but you didn’t even care enough to stay. Instead, you were busy somewhere else with your..." He stopped himself, unable to finish the sentence without making his anger more obvious. "Do you know how Bryce felt when he found out you weren’t home? Do you know how worried he became when you still didn’t return after hours? And you were here, with someone else?"

Dave looked at him with what seemed like disappointment. An unpleasant emotion flickered across his eyes before disappearing almost as quickly as it had appeared.

"Is it just him?" Dave asked again.

Vincent’s expression faltered at the same question.

"What do you want me to say to make you understand that I never planned for this to happen, and I didn’t plan to go any further with the kiss? Of course I wanted to be there when you came back. That’s what I’ve been waiting for these past two days. Waiting for both of you, not just Bryce."

Dave paused briefly before asking again.

"Was he the only one who felt uneasy when he came back and couldn’t find me?"

The question struck uncomfortably close to the truth. Vincent had been worried too. He had felt the disappointment of returning to an empty house, the unease that had grown when Dave failed to come back, and the fear that something might have happened to him.

He had cared enough to leave and search for him.

Yet he had spoken as though all that mattered was Bryce’s distress.

Unable to meet Dave’s eyes, Vincent turned away again. He didn’t want to answer, much less admit what Dave had managed to draw out of him.

Dave caught him once more. Before Vincent could pull free, Dave pressed him against the wall again and moved closer.

Then he kissed him.

Dave’s lips pressed against his with an urgency that left little room for thought. Vincent could feel the panic in Dave’s movements, the tension running through him as though he were desperately trying to communicate something he couldn’t put into words.

Vincent froze.

His heart was pounding so hard that he could feel each beat against his ribs.

He forced himself to think clearly and pulled away. Only then did Dave seem to grasp what he had done.

Sweat broke out across his forehead, trickling down his face as the full weight of his actions settled over him.

After keeping his feelings hidden for so long, this was how Vincent had found out?

Pathetic.

But things had already gone this far. He might as well get it over with.

"Are you gonna punch me for that?" he asked, attempting to sound confident despite the panic he had never experienced to this extent.

"Considering what you are, I know you already knew what was going on with me. You can tell literally everything in a second if you want to. I like you, more than just the friendship you’ve built between us. I have romantic feelings for you, and I’ve had them for a while now. I wasn’t even planning to tell you yet because you keep insisting that we’re only here because of Bryce, and that made me afraid of being rejected and ruining the understanding we’ve built between us."

By the time Dave finished speaking, he felt so suffocated that breathing had become difficult. Vincent was still looking at him, his expression giving away nothing, and Dave had no idea what was going through his mind.

He wished Vincent would say something. Even if he rejected him, at least Dave would have an answer.

He had imagined that rejection countless times, preparing himself for the possibility, but facing it now was nothing like he had expected.

Vincent stood there as though he had been frozen in place, saying nothing. After a while, he stepped aside and walked toward the door.

This time, Dave didn’t stop him, although every part of him wanted to. He desperately wanted Vincent to stay long enough to give him the answer he had been waiting for, even if it was the one he feared most.

But he couldn’t bring himself to hold him back again.

He had never felt so exposed, and he hated how little control he had over it. He could hardly believe that the number of people capable of making him this vulnerable was growing.

The man he used to be seemed to have died somewhere along the way, leaving behind someone he barely recognized.

The first time he had ever felt truly vulnerable was with Eli. Then Eli disappeared from his life, and Bryce gradually took his place.

With Bryce, everything had become far more intense. He couldn’t control himself around him, and being with Bryce made him feel as though he was everything to him, including the very air he breathed.

Now, even though his feelings for Bryce hadn’t changed, he was finding himself falling for another man at the same time.

Worse, he had just confessed those feelings to that same man, who couldn’t even give him a single answer, not even a rejection.

He had nearly begged for one.

What was happening to him?

What if what he felt for Vincent wasn’t genuine romantic attraction at all?

What if he had simply become flustered by the way Vincent treated him so gently? But if that were all it was, would those feelings have lasted this long?

Would Vincent occupy his thoughts day and night?

Would Dave have found himself struggling to maintain control whenever they were in bed with Bryce?

Would he have worried about Vincent too while they were in the Wolf World? And would the possibility of being rejected by him have frightened him so much?

He didn’t know.

But he had already confessed.