ENTHRALL

Kalen halted his steps in the middle of the expansive stairs, pretty certain that the taxi already left but still turned his head to look as if wanting to chase it. Just a few days ago the man made him upset, but now, he becomes fascinated by him. He puts his hand on his chest still his eyes at the direction the taxi took off and caressed it. He felt his warm hand through the thin fabric of his shirt with his cherry lips shut together, softly hearing his breath and unaware that people were already looking at him.

A soft touch on his shoulder brought him back and quickly turned around to see who awoke him. It was his friend Kath standing at the lower step of the stairs with her other brow raised, trying to uncover what he was looking at. Kalen smiled at her friend who was wondering why he was in the middle of the steps and staring oddly at no one.

She returned her eyes to Kalen and gazed at the man who is now giggling at her expression.

"Mr. Kalen, what were you looking at? You looked like a crazy person. People are staring at you."

She asked, taking a step up equally to his step.

"I just saw someone. Nothing important."

Kalen quickly defended himself. But why does he feel like he is, he thought. They just giggled at each other's presence and went inside the building. They went to their separate offices and Kalen, after putting his stuff on his desk, hastily grabbed his phone inside his pocket and dialed his best friend, Matt. The always cheerful guy answered his call immediately making him sigh in relief.

"Kal? Something wrong?" He asked in a worried voice. Kalen doesn't usually call him in the morning unless he has something to announce or has problems.

"Matt, yes something is wrong."

"Kal." Matt's voice became serious but Kalen just tittered at his overprotective friend and rolled his eyes.

"Relax will you? Not that big of a deal. I just want to let something out of my chest." Said Kalen pressing his back against his swivel chair while looking at the walls in his office.

"What do you mean? Don't joke around with me early in the morning. I stopped at the side of the road just to take your call. Are you not feeling okay?"

"Sorry. But seriously though, I'm fine, Matthew"

He hears the sigh of his friend on the other line, obviously irritated.

"So, what happened?"

"You know that Leo, he hmm.." A bit hesitant, he couldn't continue his words because he was worried that his best friend might get angry or worse, laugh at him.

"Yes?" Stretching out the word, wondering why Kalen is stammering. Might be something serious, he thought still waiting for the other to finish the sentence.

"Did he do something to you? Spit it out, Kalen." He implored.

"I think so. Have you been attracted to anyone before? I mean not that you don't tell me, but, have you ever been attracted to someone, you know, like you can't get that person out of your head? And when you see that person you suddenly feel anxious,/like.."

Matt already understood what he was trying to say and directly pushed through, continuing the words his nervous friend couldn't.

"Anxious excited? Or anxious terrified, like completely and terribly out of it?"

We paused for a bit and gulped, didn't know what to answer, or rather, didn't know how to answer Matt's question because he didn't want to admit it.

But eventually, he did.

"Anxious excited, and a bit terrified as well." Said Kalen, feeling like hiding under his table.

Matt couldn't hold back his emotions anymore. He was right, his best friend started to crack up the moment he confessed what he was feeling. We bent forward and rested his elbow at his desk and ran his hands through his hair, feeling embarrassed. His face flushed and he bit his lower lip, frowning at the situation.

He listened to his friend annoyingly and hissed as the guy continued to cry with laughter.

"God, Matthew! Enough already. I shouldn't have called you. You're so annoying!"

The man on the other line finally stopped when he sensed that his friend was getting mad.

"Okay okay, I'm sorry. Calm down, Kal. Not good for you. Breathe."

"It's because you're annoying. You're making fun of me."

"Stop being so dramatic. You know, Kal, the last time we spoke, I told you not to let that Leo guy get into your head and I meant that. So what happened? Cause I'm confused."

"I don't know what's gotten into me. When I went to his place to discuss something about the designs and mind you, he was the one who invited me, and when he volunteered to show me around the City, I was touched and I felt happy, to be honest."

"He did what? Did you go to his place? You better tell me all about this when I arrive next week."

"I will. But listen, why do I feel like, I've known him for so long? I feel somewhat glad when I see him."

"Maybe it's fate, Kal. Maybe it was the time for you to meet."

Fate, he thought pressing his lips together and leaning back again to his chair. Every time he would see Leo or talk about him, he would feel his heart thump like it knows who that person is. Like Leo is the one who beats it for.

"Or maybe because." Matt continued.

"Matt, let's not talk about that, please." He interrupted his friend before saying anything he didn't want to hear.

"Okay, sorry. Just tell me everything when I got there. I have to go now, I have a meeting."

"Alright, I have to start working too. Drive safe and I'll see you next week. Bye."

"Yeah. And stop stressing. Bye."

Kalen ended the phone call and tried not to think about the conversation, even though he was the one who brought it up in the first place. He massaged his wrinkled forehead and tried to focus on his work when a voice behind interrupted him. One of the guys from Kath's team greeted him and handed him a folder containing samples of finished designs for Leo's signage. He smiled faintly and thanked the man who smiled back at him. He carefully checked the designs while the man waited behind him.

"Mr...?"

"Mark, sir."

"Mr. Mark, please tell Ms. Kath and the team I said thank you. These are great. I'm sure the client will love these designs. Good job. Send me the soft copy please."

"Yes, sir. Thank you"

We didn't look at the man but his voice was full of satisfaction. The man's face beamed upon hearing the boss's compliment and went on his way to share the good news with the team.

The soft copy was immediately sent to his email and decided to phone Jax to tell him that he will send the file to him. But, the manager was not answering. The second time he tried it was already out of service so he gave up and decided to just directly call the coffee shop but to his dismay, no one answered.

He could try and call one person, he thought but he hesitated. Hesitating cause first, he recalled what happened in the cab earlier, and second, what if he doesn't answer also. But, he needed to send the file immediately so, he grabbed his phone and dialed Leo. It was just a business-related matter so no need to get nervous, he thought.

First ring..second ring..third ring.

He was about to hang up the phone when the same bitter voice answered.

"Mr. Kalen.."

"Sorry, Mr. Leo for disturbing you but neither your manager nor the employees at the coffee shop are answering my calls."

"The shop is closed today. Any problem?"

"Oh, I see. No, not really. The team completed the designs for your signage and I would like to send you a soft copy so that you can select the one you like."

"Hm. Just drop by the apartment later."

The phrase made Kalen want to puke as a tingling feeling crawls inside his stomach. He wasn't expecting it but again, he is a client and the fact was, he was smiling inside but still needed to stay professional.

"Mr. Kalen.."

Kalen flinched a little by hearing Leo's chilly voice. He was out for a second but quickly regained his calm aura.

"I apologize Mr. Leo but, I will be out late tonight. I'm afraid I can't come, I'm sorry. Please send me your email address and I will send it to you right away. "

There was a brief silence and Kalen was beginning to feel confused.

"No, come. I don't give away my email address."

The man's eyes dwindled and began to feel irritated by Leo's attitude. He found the excuse lame and odd, and so continued on his demand.

"I don't mean to be rude Mr. Leo but, it's for the designs and you can't just tell people what to do without considering the time they have. Never mind and I will just call your manager again. Thank you, have a good day."

He abruptly ended the call and hissed but his phone rang even before he can put it back in his pocket. He didn't want to pick it up but he didn't want to be disrespectful either leaving him with no choice. He picked up the call not expecting anything from the man but he was shocked to hear what he said to him all of a sudden.

"I'm sorry. I will send it to you and I will look into it once I get home."

"Oh. I uh, of course, Mr. Leo. Thank you."

"Okay."

"Mr. Leo, please call me or let your manager call me once you have decided. Thank you. Bye."

He didn't wait for Leo to answer back and slowly hung up the phone, putting it on his desk. Leo is weird and a browbeat just like Felix told him, he thought. He stared at the bright screen of his computer, analyzing other stuff that he still needed to finalize for the café but in the middle of it, he typed Facebook out of curiosity. His right index finger was moving up and down the mouse while his other palm was on his chin, debating in his mind whether to click the search box and type the name, Leo.

"So what?" He muttered under his breath, typing the name he was curious about.

Lots of Leo appeared on the list so he continued to scroll down and finally found the profile of the gorgeous man he was looking for.

He immediately noticed Leo's profile cover, which he was not mistaken, his long-gone best friend, Damon. He clicked it and stared at it for a while, smiling but in sorrow. He thought back to the time when his best friend used to get so excited every time Christmas is nearing. The man loved it so much that even before Christmas day arrives, he would give his two best friends, Matt and Damon gifts in advance.

Before he started tearing up the memories, he shifted his gaze to the ethereal image of Leo. The perfect visual but bad attitude, he thought.

The account was private so he couldn't see much of Leo's recent activities. Already feeling like a stalker, he finally logged out of his account and got back to work.

The morning went by fast as he started to get busy and didn't realize that it was already 12:30 pm. His friend Kath didn't invite him for lunch for she was also busy in a meeting, so he decided to order online to avoid the hassle and bustle outside. He had too much work to do but definitely can't skip lunch. As he was about to dial the food delivery, he saw a new message that he failed to notice earlier. It was a message from Leo, the man he was just stalking a few hours ago.

Kalen's eyes narrowed and his jaw dropped when he read the text message. He tilted his head with so much confusion on his face that he didn't know what to reply to him.

His message read;

"I'll pick you up later, wait for me outside."

TO BE CONTINUED.