Chapter 121 - Interesting Facts From Andrzej's Past

"And if Andrzej finds out that Mr. Bambus is interfering in his affairs, will he be angry?"

"Well ... I must have said too much ... It is best to forget that you saw me at all." But if you're in trouble, just shout. I am Myszy."

The man in the tracksuit backed up hastily. Śliwiński looked quickly at the passers-by. There weren't many of them. The woman with a stroller met another and they were both standing on the sidewalk talking. The couple of teenagers walked as close together as if they wanted to merge and didn't even pay attention to where they were going. The runner was returning along the same route ...

If the man in tracksuit had hostile intentions towards him, he could kidnap Dominik or even kill him and no one would pay attention to it. The previously recognized actor, who was afraid to go out into the street so as not to be attacked by female fans, now aroused no one's interest. Have people forgotten about him, or was he himself (well, maybe Marczak had something to do with it too) that caused this paranoia? Or maybe people just got used to it? After all, it had been his neighborhood for two years. Once upon a time, when he left the house so rarely, he could actually cause a sensation, like a unique zoological specimen, but now it was everyday life on the street. Does he become so common to people?

Dominik smiled at the thought. He never noticed it, but recently he could actually show up in the city alone or in company and he was not accosted by anyone and no photos of him taken from behind a bush appeared in magazines. The more he was seen, it seemed, the less sensational he was. After all, he was no longer the secret that everyone wants to guess, because he himself revealed it piece by piece. His first appearance at the party was a sensation, as was his first dinner in the company of Andrzej and a day spent with friends, but each subsequent event was less and less commented on. Even his presence in the hospital, although sniffed out so quickly, did not have any major media consequences. Although when it comes to this last event, Dominik knew that Marek did everything in his power to silence the matter.

Marek Marczak, the same man who broke his heart twice and led him to the abyss of despair just a few months ago.

Śliwiński once loved him. He had such a great affection that Marek was literally the whole world to him. Although it was alluring and romantic at first, it took drastic events to convince Dominik how unhealthy it was for him. As a consequence, Marczak was supposed to stop being a part of his professional and private life, but it was easier said than done.

Marek was very specific - handsome, classy, ​​brave, intelligent and knew exactly what strings to pull to achieve his goal. His methods were not always legal, but they were always effective. As he once managed to manipulate the media to create the right atmosphere of inaccessibility and mystery around Śliwiński, now he could take the journalists' breath away from him. Dominik was therefore free from them and all thanks to Marczak.

The actor no longer wanted to owe anything to his ex-agent. He had forgiven him in his life for all his betrayals and even those recent August events, but that didn't mean he wanted him back in his life. Marek wasn't bad, just twisted in his own way. The power that money gave him, position and compromising materials for the majority of people whose voice counted in this part of the world made him create his own morality, in which his own desires and instincts were the most important. With great difficulty and pain, Dominik broke free from this reality, dominated by Marczak, not to return to it after just a few months. It was completely different now. Now he had his Andrzej, whose disinterestedness and concern for Śliwiński was almost the opposite of Marek's behavior.

The man Dominik spoke to a moment earlier said that he was his bodyguard in case something unexpected happened. A bodyguard sent secretly by a friend of a friend without this friend's knowledge, it sounded a bit strange and Śliwiński couldn't help it, that the situation presented in this way did not inspire his trust. Who was this "Bambus"? Could he really be trusted, or is he just another deception, another false friend?

This time, however, it was supposed to be Andrzej's friend.

Dominik knew little about Nowicki's past. Once he asked Andrzej about it, but he replied that it was quite normal - school, studies, work. No ex-wives, no relationships lasting more than three months, and no adventures worth mentioning. He also reportedly had no friends except Paulina, with whom he had been friends since high school and with whom he proposed right after graduating from high school. A few buddies, but none really close. And yet the bagman pretended to be an envoy of Nowicki's friend.

Is somebody lying here?

Certainly not Andrzej. He might not be telling Dominik the whole truth, but he certainly wasn't lying to him.

But then who were the Bambu guy and the man in the tracksuit he had met a while ago?

Dominik knew this might sound paranoid, but he felt uneasy that he was being followed. The guy said he was supposed to protect him, but it was a complete stranger sent by someone whom Śliwiński had never heard of before, so who knows where his loyalty lay and whether his role really is to keep the actor safe? That is why Dominik carefully checked whether the gate closed properly and, after entering the house, turned the key twice in the lock.

***

Andrzej showed up two hours later, when it was still light outside. Dominik, who had just been wiping imaginary dust in his office (not many had accumulated since the last vacuuming two days earlier), entered the living room as soon as he heard the sound of the door closing. Nowicki was hanging up his jacket. Noticing Śliwiński, he smiled warmly. Dominik must have had something in his expression, because Andrzej frowned.

"Marczak tried something?" He asked tensely.

"No, just ... Who is Bambus?"

The surprise on Nowicki's face made Dominik know that Andrzej knew this pseudonym. He felt even more interested and anxious.

Nowicki exhaled. It was as if the tension was coming off him.

"Bambus is my friend, the one from whom I had the keys to the summer house."

"Just ... a friend?"

Andrzej went inside.

"You probably want to hear everything?" He smiled indistinctly.

Dominik felt a lump in his throat. Had he touched some of his lover's painful past? Yes, he was curious, he wanted to know everything, but not at the expense of Andrzej's suffering.

"If you don't want to talk about it ..."

Nowicki shook his head, took Śliwiński's elbow and led him towards the couch. He sat him down beside him and put his arm around him.

"I didn't want you to know about Bambus as you shouldn't be associated with certain names and matters. Bambus is said to be doing illegal business. Actually, he's kind of a gangster. He manages affairs on the right-bank Vistula. At least that's what the police think."

"Ooooh..."

Dominik really didn't want to show any surprise, but he couldn't help it.

"We met in high school. I was a good boy, he belonged to a rebellious youth who had a conflict with the law. We weren't very close, but when he got into serious trouble, I testified in his favor. Not entirely truthful. Bambus escaped justice and said he owed me something. I guess he liked me a little more than I liked him then. He tried to get me into his group, but that wasn't for me, so I backed out. We have been doing each other favors since then. Usually it wasn't a big deal, for example I would take pictures of his girls sometimes, sometimes he would wind me up as a photographer for some party. But when you got that package, I asked him to help me trace the sender. Then he participated in the search for you."

"Do you want to tell me," Dominik sat down so that he could see Andrzej's face better, especially Andrzej's eyes, "that you have connections with a local criminal group?"

"Sorry."

His brown, warm eyes now expressed embarrassment and regret. Śliwiński was unable to catch their gaze.

"I understand," he said.

Three seconds passed before he straddled Andrzej's lap and took his face in his hands. He put his mouth to his without words. The kiss at first was warm and one-sided, saying, "Do you think this will stop me loving you?" Then he started to evolve and gain passion: "you know, it's even appealing." Finally he put his arms around him and greedily kissed him, "take me, I want you so much!" At that moment, Nowicki shyly returned the kiss and touched his back.

Still kissing him, Dominik reached for Andrzej's fly. It was still soft, but that could change in a flash. Śliwiński knew how to caress his lover in order to quickly bring him to the right state.