Ruan's eyes remained glued on his phone for the umpteenth time as he scrolled through Jax's Instagram feed, mesmerized by the photos on his page. His eyes were fixed on his beautiful smile and his body. It had only been two days since their last meeting. Still, he wanted to know more about him, and his curiosity led him down a rabbit hole of social media stalking and devouring every Jax's online post, making sure he didn't like any to avoid another rumor.
The more he learned about Jax, the more he wondered why he was curious about the man who wasn't even his type. Why was he so captivated by this guy? He typically went for men with rugged, muscular builds. On the other hand, Jax had a leaner physique, although his toned arms and the hint of six-packs in one of his photos suggested that he was perfectly fit.
Yet, Ruan had always been drawn to men with rougher edges, not someone as boyishly charming as Jax.
As he continued staring at his photos, he had no idea his lips had curved into a smile. He knew he would see him again at the second meeting.
" Sir, we are here," One of his bodyguards announced as he opened the car door.
Ruan quickly looked up from his phone, his smile faltering. He quickly composed himself and placed the phone in his pocket. ''Right,'' he said and stepped out of the car. Suddenly, a barrage of camera flashes assaulted his eyes, forcing him to squint. No one had warned him that reporters were around, not even Lucas. He was caught off guard and pushed by the reporters who tried to interview him.
''Ruan, when is your rehab starting?'' one reporter shouted.
"Have you decided to leave one4all?"another asked, microphone thrust forward to his mouth, but he could avoid it as one of his bodyguards pushed it away.
With their help, they tried to help Ruan push through the crowd, but the reporters closed in, and it was not just them but angry fans who had come to the company.
They all screamed angrily in the background, calling Ruan names and blocking his path.
In this Chaos, Ruan was suddenly pushed and stumbled forward, his head mere inches from colliding with the glass door, but just in time, a hand grasped his arm from the right, pulling him back and gently pushing him into the building.
Ruan landed awkwardly, his body entwined with his rescuer's, and they both stumbled. As he struggled to regain balance, he felt his world tilted as he fell into Jax's supporting arms. Their eyes met, and Ruan's widened in shock. Even though he was expecting to see him at the second meeting, he was too stunned to speak as his gaze locked on Jax's big brown eyes.
Jax pointed towards the chaos outside and shouted. ''We better run.'' Without hesitation, he stood up, grabbed Ruan's hand, and they both sprinted. They reached the elevators just as the reporters and the fans burst into the lobby, but the doors didn't open even after they both pressed the buttons repeatedly.
Seeing as the doors were not going to open, Ruan looked around and noticed a Corner beside the Elevator, he held on tighter to Jax's hand and pulled him in. ''We can hide here.''
It was a small space away from everyone's eyes and not easily noticeable.
Ruan sighed as he watched the fans and reporters run past them. ''They didn't see us,'' he whispered as he looked up to see Jax's eyes staring back at him. ''I...'' he tried to say something, but suddenly their chests touched due to the small space, and he could feel their heart beating. He couldn't deny the moment's intimacy, and the shocks he got from touching Jax began to give way to a flutter in his chest.
As their eyes met again, the tension grew, and Ruan couldn't stop staring at his face down to his full lips. He suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to lean in and kiss Jax's lips, and as things couldn't get worse, Jax bit his lower lips at that moment, creating more ideas in his head.
Ruan didn't know when he reached out his hand to touch Jax's face, but before his hand could touch it, the spell was suddenly broken by one of the guards who spotted them.
''Uhm,'' he looked from Ruan to Jax. ''Sir, the situation had already been controlled! You can move around freely now,''
Ruan cleared his throat and nodded in response, dropping his hand and stepping back to release Jax's hand.
The sudden loss of contact left him feeling like he had lost something, but he quickly composed himself and smiled at Jax. ''Thank you for your help,'' he said.
Jax nodded.
They walked out of the corner and headed straight to the Elevator. As they reached the elevator doors, Ruan recognized a woman he had seen with Jax at the first meeting, and upon sighting them, she pointed towards Jax. ''You suddenly disappeared! Where have you been? Couldn't find you…'' she suddenly turned towards Ruan. ''Hello, Mister Ruan! A pleasure to see you again.''
Ruan nodded in response, and just in time, the elevator doors opened, and they all stepped in. He stood before them with his guards and couldn't stop thinking about what had almost happened with Jax.
He couldn't shake off the feeling that something could have happened without the guard intervening. Maybe, just maybe, he would have kissed Jax. The thought of them ever kissing sent a shiver down his spine.
Was he going crazy? He asked himself. He barely knew Jax, yet their brief encounter left him breathless and yearning for more. His nervousness made him place one of his fingers in his mouth, and he started chewing on his nails like usual whenever he was anxious or nervous.
Thankfully, the elevator doors opened as they reached the floor they were headed to. As Ruan stepped out, he heard Jax snicker, which made him stop. Because of this, Jax accidentally bumped into him.
Apologetically, Ruan turned to face him again, their eyes meeting. For a fleeting moment, they stared at each other without saying anything until the woman with them cleared her throat.
''We better head to the meeting,'' she said, breaking the intense Connection between them.