The crowd of bodies in the bar rendered Stuart's vision useless. No matter how much he looked, he couldn't find Berry, not through the people scattered around in the bar. He didn't want to draw unnecessary attention which was why he didn't bother informing anyone that he was here but now, he regrets it. He would have felt much better without the smell of alcohol and sweat.
Unable to bear it anymore, he phoned the manager and within two minutes, the man was standing in front of him. The manager was a man who looked to be in his early forties. He was tall, had good features and looked responsible.
The manager greeted Stuart, his tone tinged with reverence. Stuart responded with a low hum and not wanting to waste any more time, he went straight to the point and asked about Berry.
The manager, efficient in his duties, immediately told Stuart what he wanted to know and Stuart dismissed him after expressing his thanks.
He made his way up the little stairs in the bar and walked further and further into the building. The sound of people cheering and the music blasting through the speakers reduced gradually and eventually disappeared as Stuart entered the private room.
The private room was empty, save for one man who Stuart was beginning to get used to his presence. The neon lights fell on him and surrounded him which did nothing but magnify his presence. Slow, soothing and low music played in the background which Stuart guessed was the reason Berry was gently swaying his head.
The room instantly became small for Stuart. He was all too aware of Berry's presence in the room so much so that he could pick up the scent of Berry's perfume even though he was still standing by the door.
From where he stood, Stuart could clearly see Berry's handsome face. The neon lights just made it better. The man seated had his eyes closed, hair falling over his forehead and hands crossed with two fingers tapping on his arm every second as if following the best of the music.
Berry looked the same as Stuart remembered, handsome, calm, elegant and maybe sensible but Stuart knew what to expect if those eyelids were to open now. The only difference was that his hair had a different colour but Stuart made it out to be because of the lights.
Suddenly, Berry leaned forward, uncrossing his hands and resting one of them on the table. His eyes opened which just got Stuart's already erratic heartbeat going haywire. He was so stunned by Berry's beauty and couldn't think for some seconds.
"Did you suddenly change your mind, Stuart?" That familiar smirk returned to his lips and Stuart became dizzy. He began to think that maybe running away would be better. He almost forgot how difficult it was to talk to Berry and it seemed that he just become worse than he was the previous time every time he saw Berry
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath bracing himself for what was going to come. For what he knew was going to come, reminding himself that he was only doing this for Marie and that he should endure it.
With newfound confidence, he strode towards the table and sat down opposite Berry, his eyes fixed on the man in front of him. Stuart could swear that he only looked at Berry just to show that he wasn't affected by his ( Berry's) presence but he found his eyes moving and following Berry's movements. His throat ran dry and he instinctively raised his hand to rub his neck.
This meeting was not going to go as expected, he was sure.
An amused smile played on Berry's lips as he watched Stuart. He noticed that Stuart was anxious and quite jumpy and it only made his smile wider. He leaned forward and placed his palm over Stuart's hand on the table just for the fun of it and the reaction he got made him burst out laughing so hard.
The moment Berry's palm made contact with him, Stuart helped and withdrew his hand like he was touched by something hot. It took a lot of effort from him to not jump from his seat and leave the room. He glared at Berry, wishing he could slap the stupid grin away from his face but he realised that even if he could, he wouldn't. He just would not be able to bring himself to hit such a beautiful piece of work.
Berry's laughter soon died down and he coughed softly when he saw that Stuart was not finding the situation funny. He took a sip from his glass, all the while staring at Stuart.
Stuart could bear anything but being stared at, especially by a pervert like Berry. He rolled his eyes and knocked twice on the small table in between them as if calling Berry out of whatever he was thinking.
"I want to talk about what you did to Marie". Stuart began, not wanting to give Berry any chance to act stupid again, "Whatever is going on is between you and I and it should stay between the both of us. There was no need to drag Marie into it". Stuart said in a tone that made it seem like he was talking to a child. He saw Berry's brows crease but he kept talking anyway.
"Just because I didn't agree to be your boyfriend, you decided to end the deal you made with my sister. I don't know what you think about it but that was very immature of you, Mr Yates." Stuart finished talking and leaned back to cross his hand.
He saw Berry opening his mouth and closing it again repeatedly for a while and a victorious smile appeared on his face. For once, he managed to make Berry speechless.
Once again, Berry, looking confused, parted his lips and spoke, "You… think I stopped working with her because… you refused to be my boyfriend?" He asked slowly, making sure that his words came out carefully.
Stuart raised his chin, eyebrows lifted and said, "What other reason is there? That would be the only reason you would stop working with her!" He said firmly and confidently which made Berry stare at him for some seconds before he smiled again.