6. Nixon

Chapter six

Nixon

H oly hotness, Batman.

The man standing outside my apartment building is absolutely stunning. If I’d met him before, I’d remember him, but he apparently knows me since I just heard him say my name. I take an involuntary step toward him. “Um, hi.” The iciest blue eyes I’ve ever seen widen even more. “Do I know you?”

The man shakes his head, his gorgeous black hair just brushing the tops of his shoulders. Layered perfectly, shiny and smooth, I don’t think I’ve ever seen such commercial-worthy hair in my life. He’s clean-shaven and fit with broad shoulders; my dream man looks even better than I could have imagined him.

“No,” he says, his voice like hot fudge over vanilla ice cream, decadent and sweet at once. For some odd reason, the timbre of it immediately puts me at ease.

“But you just…” I can’t help but look him over again, a sense of déjà vu washing through me. There’s something…

“I’ve seen you around campus,” he explains. “I was surprised to see you step out of your door there and just blurted your name. My apologies. I didn’t mean to intrude or startle.” Then he actually bows, a slight gesture of deference as he dips his head respectfully.

I’m so taken aback I don’t even know what to say. Removing my sunglasses, I can’t help another wince at the bright day. My headache has been a dull thud all day since Curtis only has one volume when playing video games.

“Are you all right?” mystery man asks, stepping closer with a concerned furrow to his brow. “It’s quite luminous out. Perhaps you should put your glasses back on.”

I blink at him more out of the strangeness of his words than needing to actually blink. Does he also have an accent? “I’m okay,” I say out of habit but regret it immediately and elaborate before he can double check. “I bumped my head last night, and it’s a little bright outside, but I’m okay.”

The man looks like he wants to ask again anyway but holds the question back and nods instead. “Very well. I should be on my way then. I’m sure you were off somewhere yourself.” He gestures to my bag.

“Oh.” I’d forgotten I was even carrying it. “Not really. I just needed to get out for a while.” I adjust my bag again and gesture toward my building. “Housemates.” He nods like he totally gets that. I fidget under his intense stare. He’s gorgeous, and even though he’s only wearing jeans and a dark hoodie, I feel thrown off balance by his attention and intensity.

Out of nowhere, he turns sharply and yanks his arm, glaring over his shoulder like there’s something there. A rumble of something I can’t hear passes from his lips, but just as quickly he turns back, looking serene and apologetic. “I’ve kept you. Forgive me.” He does his bow again, accompanied this time by his hand over his heart, and takes a step back.

“Wait!” I blurt, suddenly struck by the irrational sense that if he leaves now I’ll never forgive myself for at least not asking his name. He looks up, concerned again, his pale, almost white-blue eyes laser focused on me. “I didn’t catch your name.” Real smooth, idiot.

A small smile teases the corners of his perfectly shaped ruby lips. His features are so masculine and symmetrical, there’s an almost otherworldly quality about his beauty. Why he’s standing here talking to me and not out shooting the next centerfold for some magazine, I have no idea.

“Arit,” he says, but there’s something in the way he says it, the way he forms the word on his lips, that intrigues me. It’s like he’s never said his own name before, and he’s pleased with how it sounds.

“Arit,” I repeat and finally gather myself enough to step forward and hold out my hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

He looks at my outstretched hand for a long moment, long enough that I get the feeling he’s not going to reciprocate. When he raises his gaze to meet mine, he finally steps forward and places his large, warm hand in mine, a strange sort of low-humming buzz fizzling through me as we shake. “It’s lovely to finally meet you as well, Nixon.”

The second I pull my hand back, I miss whatever that feeling was, like some kind of cosmic energy or warmth has suddenly been taken away from me and I didn’t even know I needed it to survive. I can’t help the small shiver that passes through me as I regrip my bag strap. “Well, I guess I should go. You said you’ve seen me around campus? Are you a student?” I ask, even though I just said I should go. I’m not sure why, but I get the feeling this chance encounter won’t happen again. I would definitely have remembered seeing Arit before now.

Arit turns his head and glares over his shoulder again, but when he looks back at me, his face is placid. “No. I have no need for a degree in my line of work, but I do pass through campus often. The grounds are quite beautiful and quiet. I also love the library.”

I couldn’t even begin to guess at Arit’s age despite his casual attire. Youngish? Under fifty? But there’s something in the way he carries himself, in the way he stands and his confidence, that suggests he’s more mature maybe? Like he’s seen more of life and the world than most people, and he doesn’t concern himself with the little things.

I nod along even though his answer is vague at best. “And what do you do for work?”

He smiles, a panty-melting, heart-stopping, jaw-dropping event that literally makes me weak in the knees. Arit is easily the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen. “I’m a guardian of sorts,” he replies reverently, like his answer is the most important statement he’s ever made.

My first reaction is to ask which Marvel movie he’s in, but I only squint instead, confusion marring my brow. Apparently my reaction is amusing to Arit because his smile widens even more. “Interesting” is all I can think of to say.

The man actually laughs, a deep rumble that seems to come from within. “It is indeed. And you? What do you do at the university?”

It takes me a moment to get over his laugh. I’m not a particularly funny guy, but I love the fact that I’ve made this man happy. “I work as a coordinator for university programs and events.”

“Hm. Interesting,” he says earnestly, though there’s a definite smirk lurking around the corners of his mouth. If I didn’t know any better, I would say Arit was flirting with me. Me! This gorgeous man. He looks away suddenly, down the road, and his entire countenance changes. When he looks back at me, I know our moment is over. “Nixon, I’m afraid I must be going. I’ve lingered too long.”

“Of course. Sorry. I didn’t mean to keep you.” I itch to reach for my phone and ask for his number, but I won’t. I know he’s miles out of my league. And besides, it was purely coincidence we ran into each other as we did.

“You didn’t. I enjoyed our conversation. But I really must go. I’m sorry to run off so suddenly.”

I can only nod, an unwarranted sadness filling me now that he’s leaving. I look down at the brown-gray sidewalk and shove my free hand into my pocket. “It’s fine. Totally. If you have to go, go. I was only going to the library myself and interrupted you.”

“Thank you for understanding. That’s very kind of you.”

I can’t help catching one last glance of my dream man. Arit looks utterly sincere and apologetic, but he also looks edgy, like he really does need to be going. I readjust the strap to my bag. Again. “Sure. See you around campus maybe.” Then I force myself to take a step back and walk around Arit, telling myself not to look back with every step I take away from him.

It isn’t until I’m around the corner, down the street, and finally in the shade of a tree at Morningside Park that I allow myself to stop and actually breathe. I don’t know why and can’t begin to explain it, but there was something about Arit that was so familiar. Like déjà vu but with a person rather than a situation.

What was it about him and those few minutes we talked that now has me feeling more alone than I’ve felt in a long time? Am I that bad up that a simple conversation with a stranger has me huddled under a tree, trying not to go back and beg him to talk to me some more?

It may have been almost a year since I last dated, but I’m not generally lonely. Between work, my housemates, and my family, I’m fairly social. But with Arit… There was something there I can’t explain.

And now I can’t help feeling like I’ll be looking around campus for a ghost.