"What is it you need?" Ryan asked, tugging his arm away from Carl's grip.
Carl didn't answer right away. His gaze lingered, his eyes searching Ryan's face, looking for something. "Is there a reason you're pretending not to know me?"
Ryan blinked, caught off guard. "We… know each other from somewhere?"
From what he knew, Carl had only returned to the country recently, and in his memory, he was sure he had never interacted with him before tonight. Plus, he originally wasn't from around here and only moved into the city for university.
Carl's lips curled. "Isn't it considered knowing?"
Ryans's fingers curled around the seatbelt. "Well, we met at your dad's place, I'm not denying that. And if you're offended by my silence during the ride, I apologise. I don't like talking much, that's just how I am. Plus…" His voice trailed off. "*We're not that close."
"Not that close?" Carl repeated, almost amused.
In a flash, he took Ryan's hand again. But this time, slipping it under his shirt.
Ryan stiffened. He could feel Carl's warm, firm muscles, and his fingers brushed over the defined ridges as Carl guided his hand up and down his abdomen. It felt nice, familiar. And scalding.
"You— you," Ryan swallowed hard, trying to pull back to no avail. "What do you think you're doing?"
Carl didn't loosen his hold. Instead, he guided Ryan's hand lower. "You seemed to enjoy touching it the last time."
"Are you insane?" He finally managed to jerk his hand free and leaned back, putting space between them. "You can't just shove my hand inside your shirt!"
Carl only smirked. Without warning, he unbuttoned the top 3 buttons of his shirt, revealing a view of his smooth chest. He leaned in closer, giving Ryan a full view of the red blooms on his chest. "Your lips already brushed past every part," he said softly.
Ryan's eyes widened. Kiss marks and a few scratches littered Carl's chest like a work of art, similar to the ones he saw in the mirror this morning.
"See?" Carl tilted his head slightly. "The scratches you made haven't healed yet."
Ryan's fingers slowly went to his glasses. He took them off and turned to Carl again. The hazy outline closely resembled the one from the night before, the more he looked.
"You—" his voice cracked, terror filling his veins. "You. How could it be you?"
Ryan felt his stomach drop. The man from yesterday was Carl.
"Wait," Carl's gaze darted between Ryan's face and the glasses in his hand. "You can't see without them?"
"I'm long-sighted," Ryan muttered.
"Oh." Carl leaned back slightly, his smile widening. "I thought you were pretending not to know me."
"I—I—" Ryan's mind raced, his shock making him unable to make up words. What was he supposed to say? What could he even say?
He actually had a one-night stand with his professor's son. Not long ago, he had been lecturing Alex, not knowing he had made the biggest mistake possible. "I apologize for my behavior last night."
Carl hummed. A soft smile on his lips. "Then I should apologize for mine, too."
Ryan took deep breaths, trying to calm his racing heart. The arrow had already been fired. He couldn't take it back. But he had to fix this somehow.
"I was the one who… took the initiative. You did nothing wrong."
Carl had been on his own, nursing his drink. Ryan had been the one to walk up to him and ask the other man to sleep with him.
"Of course, there's nothing wrong with two consenting adults…. having a little fun."
There was indeed nothing wrong. But the person he had "the fun" with shouldn't have been his Professor's son. Anyone else would have been fine. All his plans for never seeing the man again were gone. He would not only be seeing Carl again, but he'd be seeing him often. His mother was right. Decisions made without proper planning would always lead to disaster.
Carl reached into his pocket and pulled out a roll of dollar bills, setting it gently on Ryan's lap.
"I think you dropped this when you ran away."
Ryan's eyes stayed on the bills. His fists clenched. In hindsight, Carl must have thought he was ridiculous when he saw it on the nightstand.
"I intentionally left them," he murmured, his voice was low. He had never been so embarrassed in his life.
"What did you say?" Carl asked, though he clearly heard.
"I said I was going to pay you," Ryan said stiffly. "You can keep it."
Carl's brows arched, a teasing smile playing on his lips. "Do I look like I need money?"
Before Ryan could respond, Carl leaned close to him again, his warm breath brushing against Ryan's cheek. "I see the marks haven't faded." His eyes lingered on Ryan's neck, looking through the gap in his shirt.
Ryan leaned back more, almost sinking into the seat, and hurriedly covered his neck with his hands.
"Can I have your number now?" Carl held out his phone."At least we are no longer strangers."
"There's no reason for us to stay in contact." Ryan coughed.
"But we have a memory together," Carl countered smoothly, throwing a wink.
"I would prefer if we kept what happened last night buried forever."
"Why?" Carl's smile fell a little. "Are you in a relationship? Or seeing anyone?"
"No," Ryan said firmly. The scumbag was out of his life, and he was now a free man.
"Neither am I," Carl replied.
Ryan hesitated. "Emmm… congratulations," he said awkwardly, unsure of what Carl was getting at.
"Could you consider me? You like my body well enough."
Carl loosened another button, revealing more skin.
Ryan swallowed. Images from the night before flashed through his mind. He did like the other man's body. But Carl was too much trouble. The risks… it was better to avoid him.
"It's getting late," Ryan blurted, unfastening his seatbelt. "I need to feed my cat. Thank you for the ride."
Without waiting for a response, he pushed the door open and rushed out of the car and into the apartment building.
"Wait, I—" Carl's voice received no answer in the quiet night. He exhaled. Ryan had run away again.
- - - - - - - - - - -
Carl glanced at the dollar bills scattered across the floor and the car seat. Slowly, he leaned over and picked them up one by one, storing them in the compartment.
Though he didn't get Ryan's number this time, he wasn't worried. There were now many reasons to meet him again. Eventually, things would work out.