[two weeks after ''Stop Leaving Me'' takes place]

•Damien's POV•

''Why do you dress like that?'' Julia asks.

I grab my shoes from the edge of my bed, leaning against the dresser as I slip them onto my feet.

''Why're you still here?'' I ask in response.

''No I'm being serious, Damien. Black fitted jeans, a white V-neck and your signature leather jacket isn't exactly first date attire.'' She says. ''He could be taking you to a fancy restaurant, you never know.''

''Or,'' I say, walking back into my closet and pulling a random leather jacket off of a hanger. I walk into the room and lay down on my bed next to her. ''He could be doing something a bit more my style which means not having to deal with the public and the paparazzi at a fancy restaurant.'' I tell her.

A part of me is really looking forward to this date with Otto. I feel genuine nerves and excitement that I can honestly say I haven't felt in forever.

But then that other part of me. That part of me that just refuses to allow me to let myself be happy is gnawing away at me.

I feel guilt.

For no fucking reason obviously.

I'm not doing anything wrong. And I should know that. And I shouldn't feel bad about giving Otto a chance. And I sure as hell shouldn't feel bad about letting Steven go.

He made his choice.

And now I'm making mines as a result of that.

''I can see that look on your face. Don't do that. Don't you ruin this for yourself before it even starts. You deserve to be happy too Damien.'' Julia declares.

I sigh, shaking my head.

''I know, I know I just can't shake this feeling of guilt that I feel.'' I admit to her.

''But you have nothing to feel guilty about,'' Julia sits up on the bed, she tucks her hair behind her ears as she pulls me up into a sitting position as well. ''Listen to me,'' She says, taking my hand in hers as she looks at me seriously. ''Look, at this point I think we've established the fact that I'm not Steven's biggest fan. But I am yours. And I know you've had this weight on your shoulders for the past seven years of just wondering what could've happened between you two. And I know you would've given just about anything to find out. But I've watched you shy away from relationships with other men simply because you're holding onto the hope of only ever having to be with Steven. I think it's time to let go of that hope and start living. Don't you? I really just want you to be happy Damien. And clearly, you're not getting happiness from chasing Steven. So let someone chase you for once.''

''I second that opinion,'' Cody's voice jumps into the conversation. I look over towards my room door to see him walking in. ''Get out and enjoy yourself,'' Cody says. He grabs my jacket off of the bed and throws it at me.

''And when I say get out, I really mean get out. You too Julia. Scarlet's going to be here in like five minutes and I'm trying to enjoy my night too, so...'' He grabs my arm, pulling me up from my bed and starts ushering me towards the front door.

''So you and Scarlet made up?'' I ask, freeing my arm from his grip as I walk into the kitchen. Julia enters behind me, grabbing her keys off of the counter.

''I guess I'm going to go revel in my loneliness. Must be nice to not be single. I hope you both get blue balls tonight,'' Julia says, walking over and hugging me.

''Not likely, but I'll think about you when you're diving into your second pint of ice cream and I'm diving into my second round,'' Cody teases, hugging Julia.

''Don't,'' She says laughing before heading out of the house.

''So...you and Skylar?'' I ask, trying from a new angle since he ignored my question about Scarlet.

''Skylar and I aren't speaking right now. But Scarlet's coming over to talk and I feel really good about it. She's actually been acknowledging my existence at school lately and not giving me her bitchy little side stare that she does, so I'm thinking we're about to get back on track.'' He tells me.

I sigh and once the air leaves my lips, I immediately regret it because Cody doesn't do well with confrontation. At all.

''What?'' Cody demands.

''Nothing,'' I reply.

''No, you have something to say so say it,''

''Cody I just feel like the talk we had in New York about how you can't change what our upbringing was like by simply marrying Scarlet and having kids and being a good husband and father didn't really sink in.'' I explain. ''We went through what we went through, and I'm so sorry to have to tell you this but nothing, nothing in this world is going to make it hurt less except time.''

''Damien I get what you're saying, but just because I've already decided on how I want to live my life doesn't mean I'm sublimating my pain.'' He says.

Before I can open my mouth to speak I hear knocking at the door. I look at Cody.

''We're finishing this conversation later,'' I tell him.

''Unfortunately,'' I hear him mumble under his breath as he follows me to the front door.

I open the door to an awaiting Otto. And just like the last time he was standing at my front door he looks like a fucking snack. I'm happy to see he's dressed semi-casual as well in some dark jeans, a grey shirt and a black blazer with the sleeves rolled up.

''Ready?'' He asks. I nod, making my way out of the house.

''Be safe kids! Use protection and don't do anything I wouldn't do!'' Cody yells after us. I roll my eyes, climbing into the passenger seat of Otto's car.

''So,'' Otto says as he begins to drive off. ''On my way home earlier I realized that I have no idea what the hell you like to do for fun.''

I laugh, clicking my seat belt into place.

''I can't remember the last time that I went on a real date to be honest with you so I'm guaranteed to be impressed with whatever it is that you've set up tonight,'' I assure him.

''You look way too nervous by the way,'' I tell him. ''Where's all that confidence you had earlier?'' I tease.

He laughs, shaking his head.

''I don't know. I'm still trying to process the fact that you actually said yes to this date. I was fully ready to accept another blow to my self-esteem.'' He says.

''Damn. I was that harsh before?'' I ask.

''Not really, but at the risk of sounding kind of shallow, I'm going to admit to you that I'm not use to hearing the word no when I ask someone out.'' He tells me.

''That's what made you interested in me?'' I ask curiously.

''No, what initially made me interested in you is the fact that you're insanely hot,'' He admits laughing. ''But,'' He says, reaching over and offering his hand out to me. I place my hand in his and he intertwines our fingers. ''What made me want to date you is your dedication to your brother. I admire that about you. I don't know anyone in my life who would go through the lengths that you go through to try and ease someone else's pain. You're very selfless and I like that. I like you.''

Well damn. He's actually a really nice person. Not that I expected him not to be, but just wow.

About thirty minutes later we were pulling up in front of a very popular restaurant downtown and I slowly felt my hopes for a very chill night diminishing.

''What's with that face?" Otto asks as he takes his seat belt off. I unclip mines as well as we both climb out of the car. He hands his keys to the valet and waits for me as I walk around the car to him. ''Something wrong?''

''No, I just assumed you'd plan something more—''

''Discrete and lowkey?'' He asks.

''Yeah,'' I reply, offering him a small smile. ''This isn't bad though, I just know that once we get in there people are going to start taking photos and asking for pictures and by the time we leave we're going to be swarmed by a group of paparazzi.''

He grips my hand in his, pulling me along with him as he walks to the entrance of the glass elevator. We ride it up to the top floor where the restaurant is.

''Yeah I thought about that,'' He says as we exit the elevator. He pulls open the restaurant door, gesturing for me to walk in first. ''So I just booked the entire restaurant for the night.'' He reveals just as I look up to see the unoccupied restaurant.

''How am I doing so far?'' He asks, an adorable smug little smirk taking the shape of his lips.

''Amazing,'' I admit.

• • • • • • •

''What'd you want to do with your life? You know before the fame and the spotlight.'' Otto asks me.

I grab the glass of wine in front of me, taking a sip to wash my food down before placing it back on the table.

''Well,'' I say, thinking for a moment on which direction to take this conversation in. I don't want to stay bottled up about my life and I agreed with myself to give him a chance which includes opening up and talking about things that I don't usually tell people. ''I was homeless for a while before I got into modeling. So I didn't really have many options but this,'' I tell him.

''Oh,'' He places his napkin on his plate, pushing it to the side. ''What happened? If you don't mind me asking,''

''Um,'' I shrug, ''Yeah that's probably a story for a later time, it's not exactly a happy one.''

''Okay, well what about before then?'' He asks.

''Before then I probably would've ended up going to college on a football scholarship and majoring in whatever took the least amount of time to graduate.'' I admit, laughing. He laughs, taking a sip from his glass

''Do you ever think about going to college now?''

''Well thanks to Javier, I finished high school and got my diploma despite the circumstances, but I don't see any purpose in me going to college.'' I answer.

''Hmm,'' He hums, an interesting look covering his face.

''What?'' I inquire.

''Nothing, you're just so young and you have no aspirations. Why?''

''I don't know,'' I say, ''I guess it was just never something that I got a chance to prioritize on. I didn't get a moment in my youth to stop and enjoy or experience anything long enough to want to make a career out of it. Except football. And I damn sure didn't want to do that for the rest of my life.''

''You still have time,'' He assures me. I smile.

''What about you?'' I ask, ''Did you always want to do this?''

''Me? No, no I wanted to be a doctor. But med school wasn't exactly in my family's budget. Nothing was really. So Javier giving me a shot was really a blessing.''

''Oh so you're like really fucking smart huh?'' I ask, earning a laugh from him.

''I have prescription glasses and everything, you just don't know. I had the whole nerd look down and then puberty hit and stole my little virgin innocence.'' He jokes.

I shake my head. ''Nope, don't blame puberty for your hoe phase,'' I say, chuckling with him. ''You really are very mature though for your age, and I know you probably hear that a lot.''

''I mean twenty isn't that young. And besides I've been through a lot, so I kind of had to be.'' He tells me.

''Yeah,'' I reach my hand across the table, grabbing his and squeezing lightly. ''I understand that,'' I say.

''Are you ready to head out?'' He asks.

''Yeah, lets go,'' I answer, getting up from the table.

We make our way out of the restaurant and over to the elevator.

''I really don't want to take you home,'' Otto admits as soon as the elevator doors close. I look over at him and see him staring at me. Jitters and lust dancing around in those vibrant blue eyes of his.

He looks very sexy right now.

''Come home with me,'' He offers.

A nervous laugh leaves my lips. That's a really enticing offer. And I had an amazing time tonight.

I've been on dates before, mainly with women, and mainly for some publicity deal, but the few dates that I did go on with men couldn't hold a flame to this one tonight.

All they really wanted out of the date was either a piece of my spotlight or a piece of ass.

But this date had depth and I like that. And I like what I got to know about Otto. I enjoyed how intrigued he was with me, and how effortless it felt to allow myself to be comfortable with him after a while.

''Okay,'' I agree, watching as his eyes light up. He smiles from ear to ear and I can't help but do the same because he's so fucking cute with that happy little grin on his face.

We make our way out of the elevator, walking over to his awaiting car by the valet post. Climbing in, I put my seat belt on. He gets in, doing the same.

I pull my phone from my pocket as he starts the car up. I didn't even feel the time going by, it was already 12:00am. I sent Cody a quick text before tucking my phone back into my pocket.

It wasn't too long before we arrived at his house.

''Do you want anything?'' He asks as he unlocks the front door. I walk in behind him, shutting the door behind me. I follow him into the kitchen.

''I would say beer but...'' I say laughing.

He rolls his eyes, shoving my shoulder lightly. I grip his arm before he has a chance to move it away, pulling him closer to me before capturing his lips with mines.

He brings his hands up to caress my face. The moment he opens his mouth for air I take the opportunity to dive in, letting my tongue play around with his.

His hands leave my face, going down to pull at the hem of my shirt. Separating our lips, I back up a bit, pulling my shirt up and over my head before tossing it aside. He ducks down catching my nipple in his mouth and earning a groan from me as he lets his teeth toy with it.

He looks up at me with a smirk on his face. I reach down and grip his chin in my hand, pulling his face back up to mines as our lips collide. I grab the waist of his pants, easily unbuttoning them.

''Planning on taking a sip of me?'' He says through a pant of air as I free his lips from mines and let my mouth go to work on his neck. I grip his growing erection in my hand, loving the sound of the moan that followed.

''Well you do taste better than that damn beer, so,'' I say laughing. 

<<A/N>>

Whew.

Lmao that was fun to write.

I really feel like Otto brings out a side of Damien that he never gets to show. Right? And they're just so cute together, omg.

How do y'all feel about Otto and Damien?

Oh and I know the photo is in b&w but which do y'all like more, Otto with bleached blonde hair or with light brown hair? 

Did you guys enjoy this chapter?

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Posted: November 12, 2019.