Desire Me If You Can Novel - Chapter 30

When Dane finished speaking, the surroundings were silent as the grave. Everyone belatedly realized that even the next table had stopped talking and was listening to him. But even so, they could only look at each other, unable to break the awkward silence. Ezra was the first to speak in the embarrassed atmosphere.

“I still believe that you will find someone to love someday.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

Ezra added with conviction.

“Like me and Sandra, someone who makes you happy just by being together, someone you want to kiss when you see their face, someone you think about constantly, someone you feel like dying without…”

He continued speaking, spinning his cup with his fingertip. He wore a smile unconsciously the entire time he was speaking. Just thinking about Sandra made the corners of his mouth lift involuntarily. Even though she wasn’t standing there, it looked as if she was smiling right beside him.

He must have been recalling the ordinary days spent with Sandra. The feeling of their shoulders brushing when they walked, the warm cup of tea she offered on a tiring day, the heart that felt strangely ticklish whenever she called his name.

Listing things one by one like that, Ezra looked at Dane.

“Someone like that.”

Dane muttered after a moment of not-so-welcome silence.

“You’re lucky. Congratulations.”

“What? …Oh, no, I do think meeting Sandra was an enormous stroke of luck, but…”

Ezra was flustered but still grinned happily. He looked overjoyed just thinking about his wife. He lightly patted Dane’s shoulder, as if to encourage him, and said.

“Don’t worry, you’ll meet someone someday too. Just like I met Sandra. When that time comes, you’ll know how great love is.”

He seemed to be seeking agreement, but only a cynical sneer appeared on Dane’s profile.

“If such a thing as love exists, that is.”

Saying that, he emptied the rest of his beer in one gulp and ordered another glass. People around them also ordered drinks, and the topic soon changed to something else, making them quickly forget the previous conversation.

It was quite late when Dane finally stood up. Seeing him rise after completely emptying the beer in front of him, Ezra asked in surprise.

“Oh, are you leaving?”

Dane nodded and answered.

“It’s late. Darling will be waiting without sleeping. Will, thanks for the drinks.”

He raised his hand briefly to greet his colleagues and turned away. The waitress he passed by gave him a meaningful look, but Dane just gave her a light smile, as if saying I’ll see you next time, and walked out. He wouldn’t usually refuse a temptation, but today was an exception. He truly only wanted to stretch out on his bed because he was dead tired.

As he walked down the hallway, he saw an incredibly tall man walking toward him from the opposite direction. It was Grayson Miller.

His physique was remarkable at a glance. His slender limbs, solid frame, and naturally tall stature meant that any ordinary person standing next to him would inevitably look shabby. A stylish suit perfectly encased his broad shoulders and long legs, and deep-set eyes were visible beneath his naturally styled dark hair.

But Dane, who involuntarily frowned despite the man’s dazzling appearance, continued walking without saying a word.

Unluckily, their timings overlapped as Grayson was returning from the restroom. Although he felt annoyed, Dane didn’t adjust his speed, not wanting to seem like he cared. Grayson was the same.

No, he thought he was. Dane had no intention of talking to him, but Grayson thought differently. As they drew close enough to touch, Grayson suddenly wore a broad smile.

“Wow, leaving already? The night is still young.”

Grayson spoke, using the light tone that suited the public perception of him as a playboy. Could the fact that he could greet the person he had fought to the death with just hours ago so casually mean that he was genuinely broad-minded, or was it simply because he was a psychopath who couldn’t feel emotions?

“I’m tired.”

He answered briefly and tried to pass, but Grayson continued talking.

“Masa seemed interested in you. Are you really just leaving?”

Masa was the bar employee who had been flirting with Dane earlier. He noticed that much? Dane chuckled in disbelief.

“You noticed that much, even while fooling around with every single female employee in the station.”

At the sarcastic remark, Grayson answered with an even brighter smile.

“Love cannot be hidden. It’s bound to attract attention.”

Dane stared blankly at his grinning face, utterly dumbfounded.

Right, a one-night love is still love.

He thought cynically to himself, and tried to pass without saying anything, when Grayson suddenly grabbed his arm. What’s this? When Dane looked at him, clearly showing his displeasure, Grayson smiled brazenly and said.

“Where are you going? You should accept Masa’s feelings.”

“I said I’m tired.”

“What if you regret it later?”

“Regret? Me? Why?”

Dane shot three short questions at the unexpected word. Grayson answered with a serious face.

“Masa could have been your one and only love.”

Grayson’s voice was light, as always. Dane frowned and asked.

“So?”

“If you miss her this time, you might never meet her again for the rest of your life. How tragic and sad is that? Ah, I feel like crying.”

Grayson wore a completely sentimental expression. He even wiped his eyes as if sobbing, but naturally, nothing came out. His gestures were exaggerated, like acting in a play. Dane, dumbfounded, looked at him and asked sarcastically.

“So, what exactly is this ‘love’ that you’re searching for so desperately?”

It was a highly challenging question. There was no way Grayson had seriously contemplated something like love. But Grayson’s reaction was unexpected. His expression slowly shifted. The hint of a joke still lingered around his lips, but his eyes strangely sparkled.

“Being happy, being joyful, feeling good just by being together, someone who takes my side no matter what I do…”

His face, talking about love, looked ecstatic, as if he were dreaming a sweet dream. Grayson, who listed all the good things, concluded with a satisfied expression.

“Someone who stays by my side, with me, for life.”

“Hmm.”

In contrast, Dane, who had been listening with an indifferent expression as if his soul had left his body, let out an aimless sigh of astonishment, then chuckled lightly. The dreamlike answer unfolding before his eyes sounded utterly nonsensical to him.

“So it’s true that it doesn’t exist in the world.”

Leaving just that single sentence, in contrast to Grayson’s long explanation, he turned away. The sweet pheromone scent that always drifted around him gradually faded. He thought it was over, but suddenly, Grayson abruptly asked a question.

“You weren’t there that day, right?”

“Uh, I wasn’t.”

To the sudden question, Dane answered cursorily without looking back. At that moment, a silence with a somewhat playful air flowed from behind him. Dane suddenly felt that Grayson was smiling. He was annoyed. No, it was more than strange.

And finally, Grayson added.

“I didn’t say which day.”

Only then did Dane stop walking. Turning back, his eyes immediately met Grayson’s, who had been watching him until then. Dane’s lips moved briefly.

“Not bad.”

He chuckled, shoved his hands into his jacket pockets, and walked away again. Dane left the bar without looking back even once.

What is he thinking? It’s definitely not that guy.

Grayson, who had been standing in the same spot until then, turned his body. Amazed at himself for having said such a thing, he strode back to his seat, walking in the opposite direction from Dane.