They found themselves seated at the cafe of the resort a few moments later. One was looking shy while the other was looking rather awkward but still playful. The cafe was not that far away from their cabin. It was also overlooking the lake. The view was breathtaking as he looked at the sky in the interval of day and night. This place should have been a hot spot for tourists. It perplexed William as to why there were so few people around. But he couldn’t delve deep into his curious thoughts as the shy guy in front of him started to talk. “I didn’t introduce myself before. I’m Marcus Drago. You can call me Marcus.”

“William Hendrik,” William introduced himself simply. He didn’t bother telling the other party what to call him since he could care less about what the other party would actually call him. The person could put a distance between them or place them closer through whatever he would call him. That’s for the other party to decide.

“Hendrik? Ends with a ‘c’ or a ‘k’?”

“A ‘k’.”

“Oh wow. That’s exactly the same name as my favourite author,” Marcus suddenly started to say excitedly.

William was surprised to hear it at first. A bad premonition quickly arose deep in his heart. “Really? The author of which novels?”

“His latest novel was ‘You Are a Monster’. I really like his novels,” Marcus claimed.

That’s me, William thought to himself. Strangely, Marcus didn’t bother to ask him if he knew about this author or not. But that’s all better. Then, William doesn’t need to comment further on it. “I see,” he simply responded. He didn’t really try too hard to hide his identity but he didn’t particularly like to expose it either. So, it’s better to leave that as it is for now. It turns out that this shy boy really like to read some pretty fucked up stuffs. William felt even more intrigued by the boy.

“Why are you here in the resort, Mr. Hendrik?” Marcus asked.

“For work,” William answered in a simple manner yet again. Somehow, he also felt a bit sad that Marcus chose to call him ‘Mr. Hendrik’ instead of ‘William’ or ‘Will’. That means he’s putting a distance between the two of them.

“Work?” Marcus seemed to notice that William didn't seem like he wanted to discuss much about this but he already blurted out his curiosity and it was too late to take it back out of respect for the man’s privacy.

“Yes. I worked for a publishing company. But I’d rather not discuss my nature of work. Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay. I understand,” Marcus said with a smile. He took a sip of a drink in his hand. It doesn’t matter. In fact, he already knew everything about William. But talking like this will make it seem like he didn’t and it would feel so much more satisfying to hear the man telling him about himself. He wanted the man to tell him everything. He wanted William Hendrik to trust him. He wanted him to be interested in him. He… He wanted him. He just wanted him.

“What about you, Marcus? Why are you at this resort? Running away with your lover?” William started to tease. This way, he would indirectly ask about Marcus’ relationship status. But it was so smooth that even the calculative yet innocent Marcus didn’t notice it.

“What lover? I’m single. Mr. Hendrik, people my age should be in college right now, no? But my family sent me here instead,” Marcus started to complain dejectedly.

“Huh?” William wondered what Marcus meant by what he had said.

“This resort belongs to my mother. I’ve been very ‘bad’, so I was sent to an exile here. And in the meantime, I should learn a thing or two about managing the resort. Honestly, it’s quite boring,” Marcus complained.

William couldn’t picture in his mind the image of Marcus being ‘bad’ or ‘rebellious’. To him. Marcus is so innocent and pure and gentle. Well, except when he was in bed, that is. “What did you do that you had to be sent to an exile here?” William asked curiously. It's an occupational hazard as a writer.

Marcus hesitated on whether to answer him at first. It was so comical looking at him struggling like that. William really couldn’t help but think that Marcus is so adorable that it stirred up unknown emotions deep within him. “I didn’t listen to them. Well, I’d rather not talk about this. Sorry,” Marcus started to become secretive and that made William even more curious.

William smiled widely at Marcus that it caused Marcus’ heart to instantly become turbulent. He had repeatedly told himself to be patient. But how long can he be patient when this man that he had longed for so many years were right in front of him looking delicious as fuck? “It’s okay. I didn’t mean to pry,” William said politely.

Inspired by the desire growing uncontrollably in his heart, Marcus suddenly dropped his pretentious shyness and started to flirt openly; “Except for this, you can pry into everything else. I don’t mind.” He ended his sentences with a suggestive smile.

William laughed loudly, feeling amused at the boy flirting with him. He thought to himself that this boy would really be a good player in the future. He returned a suggestive smile to Marcus; “Really? What if I pry into your deepest darkest secrets?”

Oh… I really wanted to know your reaction if you found out. Will you feel repulsed by me or will you embrace me? Marcus wondered. His eyes narrowed slightly, looking a little dangerous and mysterious. “You’ve seen me naked. What more secrets do you want to know?” Marcus asked as he licked his lips, hinting his obvious desire.

William laughed loudly again. This kid is so cute, William thought to himself. Okay, let’s play this game. “Well, do you have anything more to show me?”

Marcus smiled flirtatiously. “Rather than that, I’d like you to show me more of yourself to me,” he indicated.

William’s curiosity was sparked. He chuckled slightly. “What do you even mean by that?”

Marcus smiled with his eyes narrowed and his dimple deepened. “This…,” He intentionally elongated his response before smiling charmingly as he said; “This can be further discussed in my bed.”

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Next update: 2023.09.01