The following days felt like a slow burn. Every corner of Eli's life seemed to be tainted by the lingering presence of J.M. His mind was occupied with thoughts of the man thoughts that wouldn't leave him alone, even during moments when he desperately wished for some peace. But peace was a distant memory now, one he couldn't remember even if he tried.
He couldn't even look at his phone without expecting a message from J.M. No matter how many times he checked, he couldn't shake the feeling that the man had a way of making himself the center of Eli's world, whether Eli wanted it or not.
The strangest part? Eli wasn't sure if he hated it.
It was late when Eli finally texted J.M. back after several hours of silence.
"I'm not coming tonight."
There was no real reason for his message. No grand declaration of his feelings. It was just a simple attempt to reclaim some control, to force himself to make a choice, to stop being swept along by J.M.'s forceful presence.
The reply came almost instantly.
"I'll be waiting for you, Eli. You can't ignore this forever."
Eli's fingers trembled as he read the message. You can't ignore this forever.
The words twisted inside him, knotted up with a mixture of anger, fear, and something deeper something harder to pinpoint, but undeniable all the same.
He hadn't replied. But just seeing those words made his resolve waver.
J.M. was always there. Every moment. Every time Eli tried to push him away, there he was, inching closer, like a shadow that never left his side. It was maddening. Yet, when Eli looked at J.M., even for the briefest second, he could feel something shift within him a magnetic pull that he had no control over.
And now, it was happening again.
It was late in the evening when Eli found himself standing in front of the café, the same café where it all started. He hadn't planned on coming here, but somehow his feet had brought him back to this exact spot.
It was as if his body knew before his mind did that he couldn't stay away any longer. That the distance between them was unbearable.
He pushed open the door, the familiar sound of the bell above the entrance chiming as he stepped inside. The café was quieter than usual, the only sounds the soft hum of the coffee machine and the murmurs of other late-night patrons. But the moment Eli stepped in, his eyes sought out the one figure that could always draw him in.
J.M. was sitting at their usual table, alone. But this time, there was a difference in his posture a tension in his body that spoke of something unspoken. He looked up when Eli entered, and for the first time, Eli could see something in his eyes that wasn't the usual confident, calculated glint.
There was something raw. Something real.
Eli froze, his feet rooted to the ground for a moment as he watched J.M. rise to his feet.
"You came," J.M. said, his voice softer than usual, but no less intense.
Eli wasn't sure why, but he found himself unable to speak. His mouth was dry, his heart pounding in his chest like it had a life of its own. J.M.'s gaze was unwavering, and Eli could feel the weight of every word they had shared in the past few days the tension, the game, the power struggle seeping into the space between them.
J.M. didn't make a move to close the distance between them. Instead, he waited. As if he was testing Eli, seeing how long it would take for him to make the first move.
And for the first time in days, Eli's thoughts felt clear. He wasn't just reacting. He wasn't just being pulled along by some invisible thread. No, this time, he was making a choice.
He could leave. He could walk out the door right now, and it would be over. He could stop playing this game and walk away from whatever twisted thing had developed between them.
But when Eli took a breath, the words that came out of his mouth surprised even him.
"I didn't come here to fight anymore," Eli said, his voice steady but his insides betraying him. "I came because I want to know what happens next."
The words hung in the air like a challenge. A line drawn in the sand.
J.M. smiled then, that same smile that always made Eli's heart race, but this time, there was something softer about it. Something that didn't feel like a game. It felt like understanding.
"You always were more honest than you give yourself credit for," J.M. murmured, his voice low, almost affectionate. "But I told you from the beginning, Eli. I always get what I want. And what I want is you."
Eli's breath caught in his throat, and suddenly, everything shifted. It wasn't just about the attraction anymore. It wasn't about the back-and-forth, the game. It wasn't even about control.
It was about something deeper. Something that Eli couldn't deny any longer.
He wanted J.M., too. Even more than he realized.
But that realization terrified him. Because he knew that once he admitted it once he allowed himself to feel whatever this was it would never be the same. There would be no going back.
"I'm not afraid of you," Eli found himself saying, though his voice cracked slightly.
J.M. didn't say anything for a long moment. Instead, he stepped closer, his presence overwhelming and undeniable. "Then stop pretending," he murmured, his lips just inches from Eli's ear. "Stop running. You're mine now. Whether you want to be or not."
Eli closed his eyes, his mind spinning, heart racing faster than he could process. But there was no denying it.
No denying what had already started between them.