The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 223: Friends With Benefits

"Oh, by Ava, I mean Ava Hill from ManaTech," Lane added, when Damien remained silent. "You’ve met her already."

"Yes, I remember. At the airport," Damien nodded, but his frown only deepened. He looked hesitant, as if he had something to say, but didn’t know whether he should bring it up or not.

Lane glanced at the man, feeling a bit nervous. He was still anxious about this whole reveal, even though the conditions were already established, so he was sensitive to every change in Damien’s expression.

"What is it?" he finally asked, unable to endure it anymore. "Is there any problem?"

"Not exactly a problem..." Damien spoke slowly, still reluctant, "It’s just that... Are you two... just friends?"

Hmm? So that’s what it was about? Was Damien... jealous?

Lane’s lips curved in a wicked grin. "Not JUST friends. Friends with benefits!"

Only after the words had already left his mouth did he realize that perhaps it wasn’t the best joke to tell to his BOYFRIEND. Not ever, but ESPECIALLY not when he was already in trouble!

So, before Damien could figure out the meaning of it, Lane rushed to explain, "She gives me guiding, and I gather samples for her. Benefits, yeah."

"Hm." Damien stewed over it for a minute, not asking either about the illegal guiding, or the samples. He just sat there quietly with his brows furrowed, until eventually asking once again to confirm, "Just this?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, I wouldn’t call it ’just’. We’re besties, and I would trust her with everything, if that’s what you’re asking about?"

It didn’t seem it was, because Damien’s frown didn’t ease up. He was still mulling over something, but wouldn’t say it out loud!

Lane clicked his tongue, losing his patience. With one swift move, he lifted himself up from Damien’s lap, and pushed the man onto his back, leaning over him and trapping him against the bed. "Alright, spit it out. What’s wrong?"

Damien stared into Lane’s grey eyes for a while, before finally letting out a sigh. "It’s nothing serious... It’s just that, back at the airport... I thought I saw the two of you... Being intimate..."

"...What?" A shudder passed through Lane’s body at the mere thought. He and Ava? As if! Sure, the woman was pretty, but she was his bestie! They were like family! It had never crossed either of their minds to do anything, even kiss, not even just to try, not even when drunk. It was simply ridiculous.

Still, he had to ask to clarify the situation. "Where?"

"At the coffee shop."

"Hmm." Lane lifted his brows, confused. "Are you sure you saw it?"

"No, I just saw it from the back. She was holding your shoulders, and your heads were, uh, close..."

Lane tilted his head, thinking for a moment. "Yeah, nope. I probably wasn’t even in my body at the moment, she was only holding me up to hide the fact that I was unconscious? I don’t really remember, honestly, but we’ve never kissed or anything, ever," he reassured Damien.

"I’ve never kissed anyone but you ever since we started seeing each other," he added, just to make things clear.

Of course, that was only since they started OFFICIALLY dating, because Lane had slept with others after Evan... It wouldn’t count as cheating, since they weren’t even casually seeing each other at the time or anything, and Lane wasn’t even aware that Damien liked him back then, but he didn’t want the man to know about it anyway.

Luckily, Damien didn’t ask, he just nodded his head. "Alright."

Lane exhaled softly with relief. "Are we good, then?" he smiled, leaning closer to the man, his fingers brushing under Damien’s chin, delicately adjusting it so that Damien’s lips were perfectly in line with his lips. "Shall we seal the deal?"

"The deal?"

"Mn. You’ve stated your conditions, I accept them, so it’s a deal."

"You... don’t have any conditions of your own this time?"

"Hahah, of course I do," Lane chuckled softly, staring intently into Damien’s emerald eyes. "This is my condition."

Then, he closed the distance between them, capturing Damien’s lips in a deep, intense kiss, sliding his tongue in as soon as he found the opening.

Just as his hands slowly slid underneath Damien’s shirt, his phone rang. Not wanting to unglue himself from his boyfriend, Lane ignored it. Once, twice, thrice...

"Your phone is ringing," Damien muttered when their lips briefly separated in a short break in-between kisses, as the phone rang for the fifth time.

"So what?"

"Shouldn’t you at least check out who’s calling?"

Lane let out a loud groan, but still waved his hand, summoning his phone. And perhaps it was good that he did, because the person calling was Ava.

And she wouldn’t call him for no good reason, especially not when she knew he was at Damien’s!

Not bothering to move himself from Damien, Lane picked up the call.

"Finally!" Ava called at the other end of the line as soon as it connected. "What the hell are you... Wait, no, don’t answer that."

Lane chuckled, answering against her words, "You’re probably not wrong."

"Well, it would have been better for you if I were wrong!" she retorted. "Because you need to come back right this instant!"

"What? What is going on?" Lane furrowed his brows, feeling uneasy all of a sudden. He finally lifted himself up, sitting on the bed next to Damien.

"Gia came to pick you up, apparently. She’s already at my place, and has been ringing the doorbell for a while... And she’s very curious about what you’re doing, not answering!"

"...Shit. And you?"

"I’m still at work! The Allens called me a while ago, since they can’t contact you at all!"

...Well, of course they couldn’t. Lane had set all the Allens to go straight to the voicemail. Not that they ever called him - there were only two or three instances when they tried to contact him in the past fourteen years - but he didn’t want to be disturbed by them, ever.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t quite afford to ignore them now.

"Uh, I get it," he sighed, tousling his hair. "I’ll get back now..."