Perhaps it was because they were in front of the altar that his defenses weakened. Richard was the epitome of every gay man's fantasy; both as a fine man they could marry, or a one-night fling who would subdue them in bed. The thin patch of stubble lining his jaw promised a spine-tingling sensation if it ever grazed his skin.
His stomach fluttered when their noses brushed, and Yves got to see up close Richard's matured yet still attractive face. Yves almost closed his eyes as the gust of fruity champagne that soaked Richard's breath tickled his lips.
But in that split moment before their lips touched, Timothy's face flickered in his memory.
Yves got ahold of his slipping rationality and his hands shot up to stop Richard's advances, pushing on the hard chest to put distance between them. "C-Congressman."
"Yes, dear?"
"Y-You're a little too close."
Richard only leaned closer, leveling their gaze, lips curled into a playful smirk. "It's so you can kiss me if you feel like it. But I don't want you to feel you don't have a choice, so you can push me again if you don't. I just want to make my intentions clear."
The thumping of his heart couldn't get any louder than any wedding bells. A crush on him? Cool. Yves had admirers from different age groups who knew he's got a boyfriend. But those were harmless infatuations. This man, however, just flirted with him, even after knowing he's in a relationship. That's a bit extreme.
"No," Yves said.
"Is that your final answer?"
"I'm not that easy to get, sir."
"Then, can I get you the hard way?" Richard asked.
Yves' eyes narrowed through his eyeglasses. "What do you mean by that?"
"Are you not aware of who I am?"
"I know who you are, Congressman Richard Alonzo. I am a fan."
"Yet, you are playing hard to get with me? Do you know how many men and women would die to be in your position right now? Maybe it's time for you to get a new prescription glasses. Perhaps a LASIK eye surgery would help? I can recommend a credible clinic. I'll pay."
"Thank you, but my glasses are working just fine," Yves said, bringing a hand to push his eyeglasses. "I think I have made it clear I'm in a relationship. Perhaps you need to get your ears checked? Deafness is a sign of aging."
Richard clenched his jaw. His face was a blank slate, and Yves didn't know if he should pat himself in the back for that good comeback or run for his life because he may have hit a cord. Some people in their forties were quite sensitive about their age, although the man in front of him didn't look like one.
After a contemplative silence, the congressman started laughing. Richard pointed a finger at him. "That's a nice one. You're good at debate. Maybe you should become a politician too."
Yves was sure such retorts wouldn't be allowed either in the congress or the senate.
"I really want to kiss you," Richard said as he resumed coaxing him. "From the time you used the window of my car to fix your hair, I've been thinking of you. You have such a beautiful face."
Yves' eyes widened in disbelief. "T-That was you?"
"You didn't recognize my voice?"
He was too flustered to even find out whose voice it belonged to. Not only did he embarrass himself at the parking lot, he also did at Banquet Hall, and in front of the same person. Yves shrunk a little.
"That wooden toy you brought with you, do you love collecting those?"
Yves groaned and hid his face behind his palm. Please, not that one! He'd rather not remember it. Why was he even here? He shouldn't have accepted help from this man.
"Do you play with them at night?"
"Ugh! Please, just stop. I'm already embarrassed enough."
Richard shifted closer to his ear and whispered, "If you're with me, you do not need to play with wooden replicas. I own something better."
"You-! You are such a dirty old man!"
"Excused me?" Richard gasped. "I am not old. I am only forty-two! Don't you know the saying that life begins at forty? How dare you call me old!"
"I already told you, I have a boyfriend!"
"Where? Where is he? I don't see a boyfriend hanging around you."
"He's at home!"
"Leaving you to a party by yourself?"
"I can go to parties by myself."
It was Richard's turn to narrow his eyes at him. "Until proven otherwise, you are very much single to me. And why would you carry around—"
"It was a gift! And I have a proof, okay?" Yves grabbed his phone and showed his wallpaper, which was a photo of him and Timothy on a boat ride at Burnham Lagoon. "See that? That's my boyfriend. Tall, dark, handsome and young!"
Richard studied the photo with raised eyebrows, then grunted as he stepped away from him. "Yeah, whatever. But I'm definitely more attractive than him when I was your age. After twenty years, he won't be as good-looking as he is now."
"In twenty years, you'll be a retired senior citizen."
"Why must you keep poking at my age?"
"If you don't want me to do that, then please stop whatever you're playing right now before I do something unforgivable."
"Right. Sorry. I apologize for how I acted. It must have been the alcohol." Richard smiled, but his eyes still lingered on Yves' lips. He scratched the back of his ear. "Or maybe I'm just too captivated by your beauty. Too bad you're already taken."
What a smooth-talker. He's a politician, alright? Richard Alonzo was a presence not suitable for his heart, mind, and body. Yet Yves found it hard to walk away. His conscience kept telling him if he stayed around this man for another minute, the flimsy barrier between them could shatter any moment.
Thankfully, a call ringtone chimed in like a divine intervention.
Richard reached for the inside pocket of his suit and took out his smartphone to answer the call. "Hello?"
Yves used that opportunity to leave. Like a runaway groom, he marched to the chapel's entrance without looking back. It's only right to step away from temptation because he has a boyfriend—a boyfriend he loved so much, even if marriage was not an option for them.
"Yves," Richard called before Yves reached the concrete arch of the chapel's entrance. "Are you going back to the Banquet Hall? Let's head back together. There's someone I need to meet there."
"Ah... no. Go on ahead. I'm going to stay and look around for a while. I really like it here."
Richard shook his head, smiling. "Such an elusive man you are. Your avoidance is hurting my feelings."
The charming smile almost brought out his inner fanboy because it was the same smile Richard would use to his leading ladies in the movies. Yves faked a laugh to mask out the giddy feeling. "Funny. I'm a heartbreaker now."
"You are," Richard chided. "You managed to break the heart of a former matinee idol."
"Right. So stay away from me. I can break even Chris Evans' heart."
"Now, that's a bit of a stretch. But come to think of it, he's also in his forties now. You really have a thing for men in their forties, don't you?"
"D-Don't you have someone you need to meet at the Banquet Hall?" Yves tried to remind the man. "You should go now. It's not nice to make someone wait."
"Then why didn't you wait for me?"
"Go on!" Yves pushed the man out of the chapel because he's starting to spout nonsense.
"One more thing." Richard resisted, throwing a smile over his shoulder. "Can I have your number?"
"What? Why?"
"So you can inform me in case you and your boyfriend broke up?"
"Not gonna happen. Go!"
"You don't want to keep in touch with a celebrity?"
Tempting, but he'd rather not. Yves gave a final push, and Richard was out of the chapel. With a wolfish grin, he leaned against the concrete arc of the chapel's entrance and waved at the astonished legislator. "Bye!"
Despite the obvious rejection, Richard kept a silly grin on his face that made him look ten years younger than his actual age. He shook his head, threw another meaningful glance at him, then finally sauntered away.
Yves put down his arm and caught himself still smiling, even after the older man disappeared. The erratic beat of his heart was something he shouldn't feel for another man, but he shrugged it off as a feeling any normal person would have if they met a renowned person such as Richard Alonzo.
It was a bizarre encounter.
"Amazing."
Yves jolted in shock at the sardonic voice that sounded ironic from the word they just spoke off. He swiveled to stare at the exact copy of the man who had been flirting with him not too long ago. Only, this guy legitimately looked younger because he was Richard's twenty-year-old son.
Glenn approached him in a slow gait, arrogance sprinkling out of him in his every step. He leaned against the chapel's door with crossed arms over his chest. "Truly amazing. Flirting with a man almost twice your age, right in front of the altar. Have you got no shame?"