Chapter 143 - Because She...

No, it was definitely too much for Nowicki's hangover brain. He had no choice but to postpone his deliberations to another date and for now assume that, regardless of his motives, Marczak did not take advantage of the situation.

Andrzej Nowicki was angry, but not at his lover. On myself. What Marczak told him that Dominik kissing Scarlett Yang, an extremely beautiful and sexy American actress, is a misunderstanding, should be Andrzej's first thought. After all, he knew how important he was to Dominik, and that the actor had never shown an interest in the opposite sex, and he had not even looked at other men that way. Śliwiński was faithful, it was simply in his nature. And yet Andrzej doubted him.

Nowicki knew what he saw. Then, while riding the tram with his assistant in search of beautiful locations for photo sessions, he saw clearly the lips of his lover and beautiful Scarlett, joined in a kiss. They were standing in a cold drizzle, in the middle of the sidewalk like in a bad American melodrama. This view was clear-cut and left no room for different interpretations.

Andrzej's heart ached. It hurt badly. He never suspected that he might feel this way, but he never thought that he might love someone so much that he would sometimes lose his breath. He did not expect love, he did not look for her, but when she found him in the form of Dominik and demanded him for herself, he had to succumb to her. He couldn't do it halfway, so he immersed himself completely in her - heart, mind, and soul. And with the body, of course. Against nature and conventions, he joined the man because he loved him as much as if his life depended on it.

Dominik couldn't betray him. Not like this. There had to be an explanation for this seemingly unambiguous scene. Some ulterior motive, if only as absurd as a rehearsal for a scene they were to play together. After all, they will be kissing on the set. Yes, it was probably a rehearsal, or… or whatever. Dominik just couldn't come up with the initiative to kiss a woman in the middle of the street.

Only Andrzej's eyes saw their kiss.

"If you feel unwell, why not get me some pills?" His assistant snapped him out of his thoughts. "We are in such weather that it's easy to get the flu."

"No need, thank you," he smiled at her. "Here, under this center, I would like to see Angelica and Victoria. Two girl friends on pre-holiday shopping. You said they were free?"

"Yes."

"Well. Here we will give Agnieszka and Monika and here… Victoria here again. I know the client likes her."

"What about the snow?"

"I'll push the option without him. If it is not going to rain until after Christmas, there is no point in deceiving people. Write down all these comments if your boss would like to have them in writing. Sure I want."

I need to call him, he thought as she jotted down. I have to apologize and say I trust him. That I believe.

Only it would be a lie, he found out with pain. Though he knew how unreal it was that Dominik could ever cheat on him, the image of Scarlett kissing him still ached as hell.

"Should I make an appointment for make-up artists and clothing suppliers?"

"Yes. We care about time."

"I'm on it," she said, and gathered up her papers.

As soon as she left, Andrzej reached for his phone.

'We'll talk. Just give me a second. I have a hangover and a headache at work and I want to talk to you calmly' Andrzej wrote a message to Dominik.

When he reached for his cell phone this morning, he was terrified of how many missed calls he had displayed and how many texts he had had - all from Dominik. The texts were full of anxiety, and the tension grew with each of them. They finally became desperate. Even Paulina's contact crept in between. Had the concerned actor also called her? If so, she must be anxious now.

Poor Paulina. Nowicki hoped she wasn't worried too much. Either way, he owed her contact as well. He wanted to call her when he received an answer from Dominik.

'Thank you. I'll be waiting.'

For some reason, this text hurt. Andrzej saw vividly in his imagination the face of this young man, delicate, beautiful, and at the same time undoubtedly masculine. He saw his shy smile and eyes that pulled him in like two blue giants. Dominik was so beautiful that he sometimes resembled a being out of this world. Beautiful and sensitive. And although he was the reason that Andrzej got drunk that evening, the thought that Śliwiński was worried about him all night filled him with remorse.

***

Dominik was standing in the parking lot in front of the entrance to the company building. Andrzej noticed him immediately, dressed in a dark coat, standing still with his hands in his pockets, staring at the door. When he saw the photographer exiting, he flinched, but did not approach him. He just stared at him with his gleaming aquamarine eyes. This time, however, they looked at Andrzej without their typical love for him, but rather with uncertainty and fear.

Nowicki sighed and went to meet him. He wasn't ready to have this conversation yet, but he couldn't just ignore him. Not when he saw more clearly with every step that his lover was cold and that he looked as if he was about to be consumed by remorse.

"Have you been waiting for me long?" Amdrzej asked in greeting.

"No. Not really" answered Śliwiński. He was lying. It wasn't very cold, so his neigh could only get him to stand in the frosty, fresh air for a long time. "I just wanted to see you," he bowed his head shyly. "I was worried about you not coming back for the night and just wanted to check if you were all right."

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to bother you. Somehow it turned out like that. Sorry."

Poor Dominik, Nowicki thought, feeling his conscience building up.

"I just ... I'm glad you're okay. As for this photo in today's newspaper..."

"I did not see it" Nowicki muttered under his breath.

"Excuse me?"

"Does not matter."

Śliwiński looked at him without understanding. He blinked.

"Will you ... come home today?" The actor asked hopefully. Nowicki felt something tighten in his dimple.

"Yes," he replied.

Dominik's eyes flashed with joy. He looks like a child or a small furry animal, the photographer thought. I know he didn't cheat on me, and yet ...

"Let's go to the car."

The actor obediently followed him.

"If you haven't seen the photo ... But Marek said ..." Dominik began timidly, his eyes downcast.

"The photo didn't appear until today. I couldn't see him yesterday. I've seen you."

Behind him the footsteps stopped.

"Andrzej, I don't ..."

"I know. Listen…" Nowicki turned to face Dominik. It was cold. Not terribly so, but Dominik looked chilled. "What I saw yesterday shocked me a bit, that's why I ... That's why only today ... Let's go home. It is cold."

The actor nodded. With eyes downcast, curled up under the influence of temperature and guilt, he resembled a beaten puppy with a tucked tail. At the sight of this, Andrzej felt terrible.

"I'm really sorry I didn't come back for the night," he said as he walked to his car. "I shouldn't have broken my promise to you."

"Promise ... Is it just why ...?"

Nowicki bit his lip.

"Shit, this is not the place for such a conversation," he growled.

"Yes. You're right."

The way home was silent. Neither spoke a word until they stepped inside. Andrzej used this time to think about a few things.

Dominik Śliwiński was an exceptional man, very sensitive, naive, a bit infantile, but also extremely lonely. For many years he was lied to by his partner, cheated on and used in various ways, which is why he had huge problems trusting anyone. But when he did so, he opened up with all his heart and made him even more vulnerable. A few months ago, when Nowicki met him, he decided to take care of him, protect him from the wolves of this world, but not from his truth. What had developed between them in the meantime complicated matters a little, but that desire for care remained.

"Listen," he said from the door, "I reacted emotionally yesterday, I didn't think. Forgive me. But when I saw you kissing ..."

"There were no fireworks."

"What?"

"Scarlett wanted to see if anything was going to spark, so she kissed me. Yes, by surprise. I haven't even realized what was happening. But there were no fireworks. There weren't even sparks. In fact, it was unpleasant."

"Are you kidding? With Scarlett Yang, the sexiest Hollywood star?"

"Because she ... is not you," he replied, so softly the photographer barely heard him.