EIGHTEEN

DAMON

After I reached for a clean glass cup and poured myself some wine, he walked up to me, held my chin, and made our eyes meet. As I darted my sight to the side, he said, "Don't be shy, I will be good to you."

"Hmm..." I managed to get my chin out of his hold and I gulped the wine in one take. I poured myself another glass.

"It is you and me in this room, baby. So, let's have lots of fun."

"Hmm..." That seemed to be all I could say as I tried to search for an opportunity to drug him and get things over with.

The man soon began to caress my face as he gently nudged his groin area toward my face. I kept my eyes trained on the floor and my mind searched and searched for that opportunity.

Soon, as I saw two cockroaches weasel their way into the room, I got my chance.

"Ahhh!" I jumped instantly and hugged the man to my chest. "It's a cockroach! Oh... I am so scared of cockroaches. Do something, please..." While this moment might be an indication that I am very good at acting, I am hating it even more.

Basiton hugged me even tighter and I could feel his fear. His fear was bigger than my fake one.

"I hate cockroaches!" As he talked, I took out the drug. "Do something, please! Don't make me see it!" Basiton groaned as he planted his face against my shoulder.

"You are scared of them too?" I asked with fake concern. The man nodded like a baby.

"There, there." I began to pat his back as I stylishly rocked our bodies in the direction of his drink.

It was a risky thing, but I had to pour the liquid from a distance. My heart pounding as I patted the man and ensured him that I was there for him, I positioned my hand in an advantageous position and ended up deciding to pour the drug into my wine.

As I pretended to care, I announced that the cockroaches were gone and as the man asked me if I was sure, I grabbed my glass of wine, swirled it, and pushed it in his face.

As I patted him, I said, "Here drink this. It should make you calm."

As he swallowed the whole drink, he said, "I hate insects. I know it's crazy. I've been made fun of because of it. But I feel this fear each time I come across certain insects."

Damn, the man was actually scared of insects.

As I patted his back some more, I found myself saying, "It is not a terrible thing to feel fear. It's just a sign that you are human."

"No one has ever told me that before..." The dreamy look in the man's eyes instantly made me wish that the drug would kick in and the man would be indeed knocked out. "I have always considered myself pathetic because of my unusual fear."

"Well, I have considered myself pathetic because of some things. So, I think I understand you. Do you want to lay on the bed?"

"You must really want this moment to happen." The man smiled widely. "Were you being shy because you wanted to appear hard to get?"

"Hmm..." I repeated my usual deadbeat response.

As I helped him to the bed, I noticed that his gait became somewhat lopsided. His eyelashes began to flutter furiously as well.

I almost smiled as it occurred to me that the drug was kicking in.

The man yawned and said, "I think I have been too busy these days. I am suddenly feeling sleepy."

"You can sleep if you want," I said as he sat on the bed. "I will be waiting for you when you wake up."

Ha! You wish.

"That's so sweet." As I watched a smile grow on the man's face, I almost felt bad for him.

But I soon caught myself.

Basiton was a gangster, a second in command for that matter. He is not someone I should not pity in any way.

As I watched his drowsy eyes close, I decided to wait patiently.

For about ten minutes, I waited and when I was certain that the man was deep into his drug-induced sleep, I alerted Lucius through the small remote he gave to me.

Then, I began to look for the document Selena mentioned.

The first place I looked was under his bed where I found a suitcase. Hoping that it contained what I came there for, I carefully opened it and lo, the blue file sat peacefully and alone in the rectangular space of the suitcase.

As I stared at the file, I waited for Lucius who came in five minutes later and informed me that he decided not to attach the tiny cameras and microphones.

That was none of my business. All I did was urge him to make the file swap.

After he did that, we were set to leave. I took one more look at Basiton who was sprawled on the bed.

"Let's go. Anyone can come anytime soon," Lucius said and I nodded. As soon as we stepped out of the room, a bold siren sound filled the air and the ship started moving.

I looked on with shock on my face at Lucius whose face looked as calm as the sea.

"What are we going to do, Lucius?" He ignored me as he took the file from my hand and kept it in a nylon bag.

And the next thing I knew, he grabbed me by my waist and jumped.

~

"He threw me into the fucking water." I threw my hands into the air as I angrily communicated my distaste at Lucius's action back on the ship.

Selena wore a small smile on her lips as she made her eyes roam my extremely wet body.

As Lucius threw a small towel in my direction, he said, "I fucking held you and jumped. Don't be a crybaby."

"Same thing, Lu." He frowned at his new nickname which I will officially start calling him. Something about his full name makes me shiver each time I say it.

As I rubbed the towel over my head and dried my hair, I said, "Selena, I don't understand what that was about, but going on missions wasn't part of our deal."

Selena's smile dropped instantly and I feared that I had unlocked her anger. She told Lucius to leave and when it was just the two of us left, she said, "I thought I said not to question me."

"Did you have to grab my dick to pass that across?" All that time on the mission must have given me some courage. As I stopped roughening my hair with the towel, I returned her tough gaze.

Selena made a slow clicking noise with her tongue as her eyes darted to my groin area and back to my face. "Damon..."

"What? Are you going to grab something else this time?"

"Let's make another deal," she said as her deadly gaze relaxed a bit. Soon, she stood up from the edge of the table where she was seated and walked toward me.

I scoffed. "What do you take me for? A fool? You want me to make another deal so that you can keep sending me on errands, right? Isn't that your plan?" I was about to spit the words 'NO' in her face when she interrupted me.

"You should hear me out," she calmly said as she halted her steps right in front of me and looked up at me. There was a smile in her eyes and that smile made me cautious instantly.

"Hear you out? What more is there to hear?"

"Shh..." One of her fingers was placed against my lips and I was indeed shut up. As I looked down at the finger held against my lips, I felt a certain thrill in my body.

The warmth that came with that one finger was something I couldn't explain. It just felt good. Her other fingers wouldn't stop teasing my chin and that added to the strange way I was feeling at that moment.

"Let's make a deal, Damon." I could not speak as she suddenly grabbed my wet collar and drew me closer to her. I could feel her chest graze against my lower chest area and I felt even more tumultuous. It made no sense that such simple contact would make me feel things that I always thought were limited to romance novels.

"Damon..." Her voice was a whisper at that point. Yes, that sweet whisper that made my head turn the first time we met. "Let's become fuck buddies."