Page 44 of Entranced By the Basilisks

“Are you two dating?” I ask. In a normal situation, I probably wouldn’t ask, but this isn’t a normal situation and the connection Ari spoke of last night makes me feel like this is my business too.

The flash of sadness across Ari’s face is gone so fast, I’d doubt it was there if not for his words. “Not officially or publicly. We’ve met up on occasion for some years.”

Years?

“Oh,” I say, not knowing where to go from that. Luckily, Ari explains.

“There are some difficulties that keep Jasper from being in a relationship with me and I admit that I’ve kept my true wants for us to myself so as to not make him decide to cut what we have off until recently…”

“What happened?”

Ari winces. “I pushed.”

“And Jasper broke it off,” I say. Suddenly a lot of the undercurrents that have been stirring between the two men make sense. I want to ask what keeps Jasper from being in a relationship with Ari, but I hardly know them, and already this feels too personal.

As if Ari agrees with that inner thought, he jumps up and gestures for me to sit at the counter. “Please, take a seat! Do you want something to drink? Coffee? Tea?”

“Coffee, please,” I say and sit at the counter in front of the spread of food.

“How did you sleep?” Ari asks as he loads up the coffee machine.

“Like the dead. I love the decor in that room. Actually, this whole place is stunning.” I turn in my seat.

“Oh, you like it?” Ari shoots me a giddy smile and it clicks why every detail in this place fits with him.

“Yeah, did you decorate?” I ask.

Ari avoids my gaze as if shy, but his smile is wide, taking pleasure in being acknowledged for his beautiful work.

“I’ll admit that I like having my space set up just so,” he says.

My eyes travel over the kitchen and living room with that nugget of knowledge. The penthouse gains significance with each meticulous detail I see. A particular throw blanket draped across the couch, a sculpture turned at a perfect angle. Before, I’d only noticed the books that clutter certain corners, but now I see the whole effect.

“Thank you for inviting me into your home,” I say.

He shrugs stiffly. “It’s hardly a home with just me here.”

“It’s your home and that’s what matters.”

Ari smiles warmly at me, but I don’t think he agrees. I start to eat breakfast and take a weird enjoyment in the way he brightens with every compliment I give him about the food. He likes taking care of people and has been seeing a guy for years with who he felt like he couldn’t express that.

From what I’ve seen, Jasper isn’t cruel, but he is principled and hyper focused. I’m assuming he doesn’t have anyone that he’d listen to, like my mother or Grace, telling him to slow down. Something tells me that if he knew it would have hurt Ari’s feelings to leave early, he wouldn’t have.

“Hey, Ari,” I say between bites. “Maybe you should tell Jasper that you’d like to have meals together. He could always say no, but then he at least knows that it’s something you want.”

Especially if there are other things he wants from Jasper.

“You’re asking me to communicate clearly with him? How could I ever?” Ari teases and we both let the matter drop. Through breakfast I catch Ari scrunching his brow in consideration between bits of conversation about the foods he’d plated up for breakfast.

After cleaning up, Ari claps his hands so loud I jump.

“Time to start training!”

In Ari’s company, I almost forgot the real reason I’m here.

20

JASPER

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