Page 20 of Dance With Me
“Who’s Dom?” Joe knew he shouldn’t feel jealous, but he couldn’t help it. Was Dom his boyfriend?
“He’s a friend. I’ve known him for a year or so. He’ll hopefully be joining us at the studio when Natalia leaves.”
Joe tried to absorb all that Seb had told him, but he was finding it hard to take it all in.
“No ex-boyfriends who could do this? Anyone you might have upset?” Joe didn’t believe this for one minute. Seb seemed to be such a kind person.
“My only ex is dead. Daniel died about two years ago from an overdose. There’s been no one else.” Seb bit his lip, and Joe could see he was fighting tears.
Joe squeezed his hand. “I’m sorry, that must have been hard for you.”
“It was, but it gets easier as the days go on.” Seb paused for a while. “You know, when I was at the club that night, I thought I saw him, but it couldn’t have been.”
“Saw who, Seb? Saw who?” Joe asked, his thumb rubbing the back of Seb’s hand.
Seb looked at Joe, shell-shocked. “Daniel. I thought I saw Daniel, but how could I have, Joe? Daniel is dead.”
Chapter Twelve
Seb
Seb looked at Joe, the realisation of what he’d just said hitting him square in the chest. That little niggle at the back of his mind from the night at the club. That was what it was; the face in the crowd was Daniel. Or was it? He’d been told of Daniel’s death by his brother Ed. Why would he have lied? There was nothing to gain by that.
He stood up and walked away from the table. He dropped to Rocco’s side and ran his hands through the dog’s fur, as if seeking comfort. How could that be true? Daniel was dead, but the more he thought about it, the surer he was that he’d seen him at the club. Shit, this was fucking stupid.
“Are you sure, Seb? That’s fucking messed up if it’s true.” Joe looked confused by what he’d said.
“I don’t know.” He snapped, rubbing his hand over his face. “I’m sorry. It’s not your fault.”
“No, I can understand how this would mess with your head. Are you going to tell the police?”
“Wouldyoubelieve me if I told you? I’m not sure I even believe it myself, but I know what I saw. I spent enough years with him.” The more Seb thought about this, the more his stomach rebelled; the meal they had just eaten threatened to make another appearance.
“You have to go to the police with this, Seb. You can’t just leave it,” Joe implored, his face flushed with anger.
“I know, I know,” Seb replied. He felt so frustrated and terrified at the same time. “I think I’m going to sleep on it tonight, then go and see them tomorrow, see if they can do anything. Honestly, I was hoping it’d be a student with an infatuation, but I know it isn’t.”
“Do you want me to come with you? I can take some time off if you want.” Joe was being so good about this, so understanding.
“Thank you, but I’ll be OK. You’ve already done so much tonight, letting me tell you about it. You didn’t need to do that.” Seb looked up at him, his eyes filling with tears again.
“Hey, come here, don’t cry.” Joe stood and walked over, pulling Seb up into his arms. He rubbed his back in comfort, and stroked his hair as Seb’s head rested on his shoulder “We all need to vent sometimes, and I’m more than happy to listen. It’ll be fine, you’ll see.”
Seb leaned back to look up into Joe’s face, and he lost himself in his gorgeous blue eyes, so deep with emotion and understanding. Joe brought his hand to Seb’s cheek to stroke it gently. Seb allowed himself to lean into his touch but quickly moved away. He couldn’t do this, not right now.
Joe dropped his arms to his side, looking disappointed. “I should probably go,” he said. “Let me know if you need me to come to the police station with you. I don’t mind.”
“I’ll be fine, seriously.” Seb wrapped his arms around himself. He just didn’t know how to handle this.
“At least let me know how you get on. I won’t rest until you do.” Joe looked worried and reached for Seb again. He dropped his hand at the last moment, and Seb was tempted to take his hand in his. He needed comfort but knew it was unfair to take it from Joe.
“Erm, yeah, sure. I will.” Seb really wanted to ask him to stay, but that wouldn’t be fair either.
Joe walked towards the door hesitantly, as if reluctant to leave. “Thank you for the food.” He turned to look at Seb, then at the door. “So, I’ll see you tomorrow, or do you want to leave it?”
“Would you mind if we left it? I don’t know how long I’ll be at the station.”
“No, it’s fine. All good. I’d better go… again!” Joe smiled, and Seb was seriously tempted to drag the man back to his room and hold him close. He felt safe with Joe, protected even, but he let him go.
