Desire Me If You Can [Novel] - Chapter 56

“Ah, ah!”
Just as Grayson thought, George dropped the new fork that the staff had brought him. George turned pale, but Grayson looked at him with a disappointed expression. George, you did this earlier too. You need to show something new. If you keep repeating the same thing, the viewers will just turn off the video and move on to another piece of content. What will you do if the subscriber count drops? You’ll go bankrupt!
As if he had heard Grayson’s inner reprimand, George’s eyes met his. Startled, George was taken aback, but Grayson didn’t miss the opportunity, shaking his head coldly. It was a reminder for him to snap out of it. There’s a time for encouragement and a time for a warning. That’s how progress is made.
Grayson acted that way for George’s sake, but unexpectedly, George twisted his face in frustration and lowered his head. His clenched fists under the table were trembling. As George, pale and gritting his teeth, trembled in his seat, Dane, who had been cutting his steak, suddenly spoke up.
“How’s Charles doing?”
“H-huh?”
George quickly looked up, blinking in confusion. He seemed unsure of what was being asked, so Dane paused, looked at him before putting the food in his mouth.
“I mean, how’s Charles doing? Is he feeling okay?”
“Yeah? Yeah… we talked about this earlier… ah.”
Realizing the intent behind the question, George’s face brightened immediately. He hurriedly nodded and continued speaking.
“Yes, he’s doing well. No problems, um, I even took some pictures, would you like to see?”
Without waiting for a response, George quickly pulled out his phone and began flipping through his album. He showed Dane pictures of the dog he’d taken, leaning toward him while chewing his food. George’s face flushed red in an instant, and he started explaining the photos, “This one was taken in front of my house yesterday, this one in the living room, this one when he was playing, and this one, this one…”
As George rambled on about his dog, Grayson became bored quickly. He thought to himself, This is far less interesting than the show I was putting on earlier. George, can’t you see what people are expecting? Provide new content before the attention fades, hurry up!
But George, oblivious to Grayson’s thoughts, continued to happily talk about his dog. Grayson thought that if you collected all the times the word “Charles” was mentioned during the meal, you could probably write an entire book.
Dane, on the other hand, seemed barely interested, but he didn’t give up, much like anyone who has a pet, or loves children.
Perhaps Charles was the only topic that could catch Dane’s interest, given the lack of anything else George could talk about. Grayson, sitting across from the endlessly talking, uninteresting man, watched with a touch of pity. Despite Dane’s indifferent reactions, George couldn’t tear his eyes away from him, his cheeks flushed, his voice unnaturally high. It was clear to anyone that  George was absolutely excited.
Totally smitten.
Grayson sipped his wine as he quietly observed George’s face, or more specifically, his eyes. He knew those eyes. The eyes he had seen in the omega and alpha who had given birth to him. The eyes of someone in love. Eyes that were completely absorbed, as if they belonged only to one person in the world.
The reason George’s face was red wasn’t just because of the wine. The man was practically jumping for joy simply because Dane was with him, even though Dane didn’t respond at all.
Look at that, love really does make people happy.
Grayson smiled faintly as he thought to himself that his belief hadn’t been wrong. Dane may have laughed off love and denied it, but that was simply his arrogance. Love exists. It’s right there, in the eyes of that man.
Sadly, Grayson had never met such a counterpart despite desperately searching for fate. Every time he dared to hope, he was disappointed, only to turn that disappointment into a new hope.
He had never found that kind of affection in the eyes of anyone who looked at him. What on earth did that feel like? Grayson longed to know. How unfair it was that something so clearly existed, yet he couldn’t find it. He sighed and emptied his wine glass.
By the time dinner was almost over, George was completely drunk. His speech was slurred, and a smile never left his face. It was clear to everyone that he was in a state of bliss, almost as if he were dreaming. By the time they were about to leave the restaurant, George could barely walk.
“I’ll drive, so give me the keys.”
Dane extended his hand, but George shook his head, laughing as he replied.
“No, I’ll take you… I’ll drive you…”
“You’re drunk. You had some too.”
Dane glanced at Grayson before turning back to George.
“The only one who hasn’t had a drink is me. So, I’ll drive.”
“No, I… it’s my car…”
George continued to resist, but Dane didn’t allow him to waste any more time. With a furrowed brow, he suddenly gave George a gentle shove on the shoulder. Unprepared, George staggered back but was caught by the large man standing behind him.
“Hold on.”
Dane, who had given the command to Grayson, immediately started searching through George’s pockets. He easily found the keys and turned to walk toward the car.
“Ugh…”
George made a pitiful sound like a dog, and Grayson, still holding his shoulder, gently patted him.
“Come on, cheer up. You had a good lunch, right? That’s enough.”
At those words, George looked up at him, stretching his neck to meet Grayson’s gaze.
“Really?”
“Of course. It’ll be a memory that lasts a lifetime, don’t you think? You’ll be reminiscing about it while sipping hot cocoa by the fireplace when you’re old. ‘Ah, those two men were so handsome and cool, you’ll say.”
“Two men?”
“Yeah.”
Grayson casually pointed at himself and Dane in turn. George let out blankly at Dane as he muttered.
weak sound and turned his head, staring
“Yeah… they’re really handsome… and their bodies… so good…”
“Right, you’re lucky.”
“Really?”
“Of course. Cheer up.”
As Grayson gave the typical comforting words, George let out a puppy-like sound. Grayson, a little surprised, chuckled shortly. Just then, Dane walked up to the passenger side of the car.
“Give it here.”
Dane took George in his arms and said to Grayson.
“I’ll take George home and drop him off. You can head back on your own.”
“What?”
Taken off guard, Grayson instinctively asked. But Dane, with an indifferent expression, continued.
“You can take a taxi or whatever. I’m leaving now…”
“Wait…”
Just as Grayson was about to say something, George, who had his head resting on Dane’s chest, suddenly looked
up and blinked his dazed eyes.
“Hey, how about we go to my place for another drink?”
With his unclear pronunciation, Grayson frowned, but Dane’s reaction was different.
“Why not?”
Smiling faintly, Dane’s response caused George to jump up excitedly and shout.
“Really?”
“Weren’t you drunk?”
Unlike before, George spoke with a clear voice and focused eyes, and Grayson couldn’t help but ask, surprised.
George, startled again, stammered in embarrassment.
“I… I sobered up quickly…”
Dane responded casually.
“Good. I don’t sleep with drunk people.”
George’s eyes grew even wider, and Grayson looked at Dane with similar widened eyes.