บท 19: Just Friends
[Johan's POV]
He was anxious, but to be fair, his secret crush has been revealed. While he trusted Adrian wouldn't tell a soul about their sexual affair as it would compromise his relationship with Rhia, people who have knowledge about his attraction to the blond would give meaning to every interaction they had.
Johan took a deep breath to calm his nerves and glared at his worst enemy; the biometric door lock.
"Calm down," he whispered to himself. "You've had acting class back in high school. And you've committed sins far worse in the past. This doesn't compare to that."
As the digital clock flashed 8:59 PM, Johan pressed his index finger to the flat surface of the fingerprint window. It took him several tries before it opened at exactly nine o'clock.
Upon opening the frosted-glass door, Adrian's face came to view and his intoxicating scent drove his heart three hundred miles per second. "Good eve—!"
"Move." Johan fast-gaited to his computer desk, opened his monitor, typed his password, and hit the log in button one second before the clock turned nine-o-one. Relief washed his system, and he slumped to his chair.
He'll never give Diego the upper hand against him. Never.
The frigid air blowing from the air-conditioner chilled his skin damped with sweat. Adrian walked back from the door with confident strides. Their eyes met for a second and Johan averted his gaze, blushing at the memory of when he first started fantasizing about Adrian.
Adrian was wearing the same outfit. The pale yellow dress shirt he's wearing hugged his sculpted body perfectly, and the dark navy pants accentuated his thick thighs and gave a subtle outline of his crotch.
Fantasies about office sex and comfort room sex resurfaced in his mind. When Adrian tickled his ear, Johan glared. 'Stop making things harder for me, you jerk! And please stop bringing up my fantasies right now, stupid brain!'
Christy released a noise that sounded like a turkey, and Thesa stomped her feet in a way that doesn't suit her age. "Oh, my god! Have you two finally reconciled?" she asked.
'We did. Through kissing, touching dicks, jerking off, and showering together.' Johan wanted to slap himself as his mind sarcastically kept listing things they had done for the past two days. He remained silent with a poker face because he needed to maintain his composure.
Adrian rolled his chair towards him with a raised fist, smirking. "We're friends, okay?"
Johan stared at Adrian's knuckle, noting how his veins popped like angry grape vines. Only a man who masturbate a lot would have that kind of hand, just like him. Johan whipped his head away. "I don't do that kind of stuff. You're so cringey."
"What the—?"
Oops! Wrong move. Adrian might make a fuss.
"Go back to your desk." Johan turned his head back and grabbed Adrian's fist. He smiled at him as he shook their hands.
The sexy, angry scowl that formed on Adrian's face dissolved and uncurled his fingers. He pressed their palm together and Adrian's thumb and pinky circled around his hand. What was that? Some sort of a bro code?
"As long as you're friends, boys. We're good." Thesa gave him her sincere motherly smile as Irene nodded behind her.
Johan didn't want to know what Christy's reaction was, and meeting her eyes would be a lethal move.
The heat of Adrian's palm extended to him, and he couldn't help but notice how bigger Adrian's hand compared to his. 'Well, he's got a bigger dick.'
Johan pulled away before they gave that weird handshake a different meaning. And seriously, he needed to have a serious talk with his brain. "Let's get to work," he said and faced his monitor.
"Okay, Han," Adrian agreed and went back to his desk, while Christy headed out. It's not her shift yet, anyway.
Friends, huh?
Since when did friends kiss and do sexual stuff to each other? But given their situation, it's the best label that they could have. And he doubted Adrian would agree to calling them fuck buddies.
Friends with secret benefits, then? That seemed more fitting.
Johan opened their document retriever and started working. The clicking of keyboards became more prominent as they diverted their focus on their computer screen.
After he finished the first batch of documents to check, Johan's mind wandered at random memory.
He jerked off Adrian yesterday.
Johan's eyes darted to the mirror beside his computer screen. He installed it there to check himself from time to time if he's making weird faces unconsciously.
They showered together yesterday.
Blood colored his cheeks at the vivid image of Adrian standing naked in his shower. What's with this delayed embarrassment? 'Fuck you, brain. I'm trying to work here.'
Of all the times he could daydream about those stuff, his mind chose this moment. But since he's busy trying to be self-conscious, the emotions he suppressed during those times resurfaced along with the memories. And he should be feeling guilty, not excited.
Johan resisted groaning and rubbed his temples. He could feel a headache coming.
"Han?" Adrian called. "You okay?"
"I'm fine." 'Don't talk to me and let me fantasize about you quietly.' Johan gave a warning look when Adrian rolled to his side, but he ignored him.
"Headache?"
"It's not that bad," Johan said and lowered his voice. "Go back to your desk."
"It's not like I'm doing anything suspicious." Adrian pressed the ON button of the computer beside Johan's desk. It was Jacqueline's station, and she's on the 11PM shift. "Do you think Jacqueline would mind if I exchange seat with her?"
Johan gave him an incredulous stare. "What? Why would you exchange seat with her?"
Adrian smiled. "So I can sit closer to you."
Their department had a couple of empty desks. Some were reserved for the mid-shift and graveyard shift people. Despite having sitting arrangement, exchange of desks weren't prohibited as long as the agreement was mutual between the two parties.
"Whatever. Do what you want." Johan went back to checking documents. He opened another program to check their workload. "Shit! We've got one hundred thirty-two documents in the queue and counting. Go back to your desk, Adrian."
"Thesa and Irene can handle that." Adrian laughed when the aforementioned two protested, and Johan kicked him back to his desk.
"Stop bothering me, Bastard. That workload will be split between the three of you while I'll be checking them all by myself."
"Fine. Fine. I'm on it," Adrian said, but rolled to his side again and whispered, "Stop thinking about lewd thoughts so you can focus." He snickered when Johan tried to grab him but failed, cheeks aflame.
Damn jerk!
Diego asked Johan to supervise them and watch over their workload, even though it wasn't his job. Does he supervise them? Barely. As long as they stayed out of trouble, Diego wouldn't chew them out during coaching time.
One hundred thirty-two documents to analyze weren't as scary as it sounded. They've been doing it for years, so it's a piece of cake, but they needed to finish it within thirty-five minutes. With a deep breath, Johan cleared his mind with inappropriate thoughts and focused on his task. From the time they zeroed out the queue, Jacqueline and other mid-shift people finally arrived.
"I'm taking a break," Johan locked his monitor and stood. He turned to Adrian by instinct. "Coffee?"
Now that the tension between them has been resolved, they've gone back to being coffee-break buddies. A sweet smile made its way to Adrian's lips as he leaped to his feet. "Sure! My treat, I won the bet again, anyway."
Johan rolled his eyes as he made his way to the door. Their silly bet about his log in time wasn't new to him. Stupid bored people.
Like usual, Adrian opened the door for the both of them because his fingerprint register was malfunctioning. The biometric door lock gave Adrian easy access, and his hand went to settle on his waist as they stepped out.
"Johan," Diego called as they passed by him on the locker area. His eyes darted to Adrian's hand on his waist before they made eye contact. "How's the workload?"
"It's good." Johan tried to act nonchalant and crouched down to his locker, stepping away from Adrian's grasp that made him looked inconspicuous.
"Nine. Sharp. Why do you ask me that every time?" Johan grabbed his smartphone. "That's my log in time for, like, three years now. Don't tell me you're still not used to it?"
Diego only shook his head and clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "I just don't want you getting late. That will reflect on your records, and the team."
"If it happens. Did it ever happen? No."
"Still—!"
"I'm on a coffee break, Diego. Save your scolding for later."
"Fine." Diego walked out of the locker area with a sigh.
Adrian was waiting for him at the door to the pantry, his eyes following Diego's back with a dour look. "I really hate that guy," he grumbled. "You should be our department head, not him."
"Nah." Johan pushed the glass door open. "Too much responsibility. I'm fine being a quality analyst."
"You can have flexible time like him though."
"And deal with reports, score cards, attendance and stuff? No way."
Adrian chuckled and walked to the canteen. "You know, Han, let's just have coffee. I don't want to stress you out."
"I'll be waiting in that table, then." Johan pointed at an empty one.
"Alright."
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K_Contiello
K_Contiello I'm starting to have fun with the switching POV. I know some scenes are repeating sometimes but in the other character's perspective. It could be daunting to some, but to me, it gave me a distinction to their characters. Johan was still easier to write despite the complicated personality I gave him. Adrian was - I'll get used to it somehow.
What are your thoughts? Let me know!
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