Desire Me If You Can [Novel] - Chapter 30

When Dane finished speaking, the surrounding area was deathly silent. It was only after a moment that everyone realized even the next table had fallen silent, listening to his words. But despite that, they only exchanged wary glances, hesitant to break the awkward silence.
In the midst of the uneasy atmosphere, it was Ezra who spoke first.
“Still, I believe you’ll meet someone you love someday.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
Ezra continued with conviction,
“Like Sandra and me, just being together makes you happy, seeing their face makes you want to kiss them, you think about them constantly, and you feel like you’ll die if they’re not there…”
He trailed off, spinning his glass with his fingertips. As he spoke, an unconscious smile crept onto his face. Just thinking about Sandra seemed to lift the corners of his mouth. Even though she wasn’t there in front of him, it was as if she were smiling by his side.
He was probably remembering his ordinary days with Sandra. The feeling of their shoulders brushing as they walked, the warm cup of tea she handed him on tiring days, the strange flutter in his chest every time he called her name.
Listing those moments one by one, Ezra looked at Dane.
“Someone like that.”
After a beat of uncomfortable silence, Dane muttered,
“You’re lucky. Congratulations.”
“What? …Uh, well, I mean, I do think meeting Sandra was incredible luck…”
Ezra laughed awkwardly, flustered. He looked so giddy just thinking about his wife, unable to contain his joy. He lightly patted Dane on the shoulder as if to encourage him.
“Don’t worry, you’ll meet someone someday too, just like I met Sandra. When that happens, you’ll understand how great love is.”
He seemed to be expecting agreement, but Dane’s side profile only showed a cynical sneer.
“If such a thing as love even exists.”
With that, he downed the rest of his beer in one go and ordered another. Others followed suit, placing their own orders, and the topic quickly shifted elsewhere. Soon, they forgot all about what had just been said.
It was quite late when Dane stood up. Seeing him finish his beer and rise from his seat, asked in Ezra looked at him in surprise and asked,
“Oh, are you leaving?”
Dane nodded and replied,
“It’s late. Darling will be waiting for me, he doesn’t like to sleep alone. Thanks for the drinks, Wil.”
He simply raised his hand, waved goodbye to his colleagues and turned to leave. As he casually glanced aside, his eyes unexpectedly met Grayson’s. For a brief moment, he locked gazes with those purple eyes staring at him expressionlessly, then hurriedly looked away and walked past the table.
The waitress he passed gave him a meaningful look, but Dane just smiled faintly, as if saying “see you later,” and kept going. Any other day, he might not have resisted the temptation, but today was an exception. He was utterly exhausted and all he could think about was to collapse into bed.
As he walked down the hallway, he saw a towering figure approaching from the opposite direction. It was Grayson Miller.
Even at a glance, his physique stood out. With his long, lean limbs, solid frame, and an innate height, most people would feel insignificant standing next to him. His stylish suit perfectly complemented his broad shoulders and long legs, and his deep-set eyes were visible beneath his casually styled dark hair.
But Dane, despite Grayson’s striking appearance, furrowed his brow unconsciously and kept walking without a word.
Unfortunately, he ran into Grayson, who was returning from the restroom. It wasn’t exactly pleasant, but he didn’t want to seem bothered, so Dane continued walking at his usual pace. Grayson did the same.
Or so he thought. Dane had no intention of talking to him, but Grayson seemed to have other plans. As they were close enough to touch, Grayson suddenly broke into a wide grin.
“Oh, leaving already? The night is still young.”
His light, carefree tone befitted his reputation as a reckless playboy. To act so casual with someone he’d fought to death just hours ago did that mean he was big-hearted, or was he simply a psychopath incapable of feeling emotions?
“I’m tired.”
Dane replied curtly and tried to walk past him, but Grayson continued,
“Marsha seems interested in you. Are you just going to leave?”
Marsha must’ve been the waitress who had been flirting with Dane earlier. He was surprised that Grayson had even noticed, and he couldn’t help but scoff,
“You sure picked up on that fast, considering you were busy flirting with every woman in the station.”
Grayson simply smiled brightly in response to the sarcastic remark.
“Love can’t be hidden. It’s bound to be noticed.”
Dane stared at his playful face in disbelief.
Well, a one-night stand is still love, in a way.
He thought cynically and tried to walk past him again without another word but Grayson suddenly grabbed his arm.
What the…?
As Dane looked at him, his displeasure evident, Grayson smiled casually and said,
“Where you going? You should give Marsha a chance.”
“I told you, I’m tired.”
“What if you regret it later?”
“Regret? Me? Why?”
The unexpected word prompted three quick questions from Dane. Grayson answered with a surprisingly
serious expression.
“What if Marsha was your one and only love?”
Grayson’s voice was as cheerful as ever. Dane frowned and asked,
“So?”
“If you miss this chance, you might never meet her again in your life. How awful and sad would that be? Oh, I could cry just thinking about it.”
Grayson put on an exaggeratedly sentimental expression, even going so far as to wipe his eyes as if he were about to cry-though, of course, nothing came out. It was all over-the-top gestures, as if he were performing a play. Dane stared at him, dumbfounded, then asked mockingly,
“So, what exactly is this ‘love’ you’re so desperately searching for?”
It was a deliberately provocative question. He didn’t believe Grayson had ever seriously considered such a thing as love. But Grayson’s reaction was unexpected. His expression softened. The playful smile remained, but his eyes sparkled strangely.
“Something that makes me happy, joyful, feeling content just by being together, someone who’s always on
my side, no matter what I do…”
His face, as he spoke of love, looked entranced, like he was lost in a pleasant dream. After rattling off a string of rosy descriptions, Grayson concluded with a satisfied look.
“Someone who’ll stay with me, by my side, forever.”
“Hmm.”
Dane, on the other hand, listened with a bored, almost lifeless expression, letting out a faint hum before chuckling softly. The dreamy answer unfolding before his eyes sounded utterly absurd to his ears.
“Guess it really doesn’t exist.”
In stark contrast to Grayson’s long-winded explanation, Dane left it at that single sentence and turned away. The sweet scent of pheromones that always lingered around Grayson faded as he walked off. Dane thought that was the end of it, but then Grayson suddenly threw out a question.
“You weren’t there that day, right?”
“No, I wasn’t.”
At the sudden question, Dane replied dryly without even looking back. For a moment, a silence tinged with mischief hung behind him. He got the odd feeling Grayson was grinning. It annoyed him—no, it was
more than that, it felt strange.
And finally, Grayson added,
“I didn’t say which day.”
Dane stopped in his tracks. Turning around, his eyes met Grayson’s, who’d been watching him the whole
time. Dane’s lips moved briefly.
“Not bad.”
With a scoff, he shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and resumed walking. He left the bar without
looking back once.
What am I even thinking? It’s obviously not him.
Grayson, still standing in the same spot, turned around.
Chuckling to himself in disbelief over why he’d even said that, he strode back to his seat in the opposite
direction from Dane.