Page 32 of Decorated

“I don’t have a second,” Blaine whispered, darting a glance around Alfie by leaning to one side, then the other. “I need to get out of here.”

“You don’t,” Alfie told him, feeling paradoxically calmer with each second that ticked by. He understood the situation, had a good idea of what was coming, and was confident that he could contain the situation and facilitate the best outcome. It was a version of what he’d been doing in the RAF for the last ten years.

“How can you be so calm when my entire life is falling down around my feet?” Blaine asked, genuine desperation in his expression.

“Because it’s not,” Alfie said, resting his hands on Blaine’s shoulders. “Now breathe.”

“I can’t breathe at a time like?—”

“Breathe,” Alfie said, meeting Blaine’s gaze and holding it firmly.

Blaine was as tense as could be for his first two, quick breaths. He made eye contact, though, and as soon as he did, Alfie breathed with him, leading him to slow everything down.

“Breathe,” Alfie repeated one more time, willing his calm into Blaine. “There.”

Blaine let out a long breath and relaxed, nodding at Alfie like the crisis had been averted and everything was okay.

That lasted for five seconds.

“Blaine, there you are. I’ve been trying to catch up with you for ages, but I guess we’ve both just been so busy,” Dave said as he walked up to stand beside Alfie. The attractive and richly dressed woman was with him. “Hi, I’m Dave,” Dave went on, turning to Alfie with a smile and extending his hand. “I’m Blaine’s business partner.”

Blaine made a small, terrified sound as Alfie pivoted to shake Dave’s hand.

“And I’m Lucy Evers,” the woman introduced herself, extending her hand as well.

“Please to meet you,” Alfie said, smiling as he greeted each of them.

Things were starting to click into place. Blaine probably thought he was facing his worst nightmare. Not only had Dave tracked him down and cornered him, Blaine probably thought he was about to be sued.

“Blaine, I’ve been trying all week to reach you but you haven’t returned my phone calls,” Dave said, turning to Blaine with a confused frown. “Where have you been?”

“Here?” Blaine said shakily. “The party?”

Alfie drew in a breath, squaring his shoulders as his drive to protect kicked in. He shifted closer to Blaine and said, “Blaine told me about what happened. He’s anxious about the implications and what it might mean for your business partnership.”

Blaine whipped to face Alfie, his eyes wide with indignation. Alfie figured he probably wouldn’t love being forced to face something head-on, but whether Blaine knew it or not, he wasn’t facing it alone.

“That’s why you haven’t returned my calls?” Dave asked, blinking. “Because of the fire?”

Blaine swallowed hard, but could only manage to push out a weak, “Yeah.”

“What was the extent of the damage?” Alfie asked, placing a hand on the small of Blaine’s back to communicate that he was right there with him. “Blaine was concerned that the financial fall-out would put your entire business in jeopardy.”

“Who are you?” Lucy asked, though not unkindly. “Are you his boyfriend or something?”

It was another calculated risk that could send Blaine into a spiral again, but Alfie answered, “Yes, I am.”

Dave broke into a smile. “I didn’t know you were dating anyone,” he told Blaine. “Good on you.”

Blaine opened his mouth, but again, only a loose string of wheezed syllables came out.

Dave didn’t seem phased by Blaine’s reaction, which hinted to Alfie that Blaine being rendered speechless wasn’t new to Dave.

“Mate, are you worried that the fire would somehow put us out of business?” Dave asked with a look of genuine surprise.

“Didn’t it?” Blaine found his voice. “We…we don’t have insurance. I forgot the payment. The whole place was destroyed.” He peeked at Lucy. “She’ll come after us for everything we have.”

“I—” Dave started to reply, but the kids on the dais finished singing, and the conversation was temporarily put on hold as the room burst into applause.

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