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Shane knew the whole thing was a bad idea. A really bad idea. Every time he let Hayden talk him into something, it always ended up disastrous. Like the one time he convinced Shane to ride the roller coaster with him and Shane had to sit down for fifteen minutes after getting down from his near death experience (Hayden had to half carry him because of how wobbly his legs were). In his defense, he had never been turned upside down at a speed so insane that it almost forced him to puke his organs out. Yes, it was really that bad. And it was also equally embarrassing trying not to scream like a child throughout the ride.
The other time Shane regretted even befriending Hayden was when he tagged along with the him and his kids to a trampoline park and his dear friend politely nudged Shane to ‘let loose’ and have fun, and encouraged him to go compete with his kids (Hayden pushed him into the trampoline while his kids were playing ‘Jumping Monster’). As Shane gasped for a breath in the five second interval where the kids decided to spare him mercy and attack each other, all he could think about was something along ‘keep your friends close and your enemies closer’, because Hayden was definitely the latter.
(Honorary mention—when Hayden made him try wasabi ice-cream. Wasabi ice-cream. It was so bad that he talked to his therapist about it).
With the history of how most of the events turned out, Shane knew there was no way he could escape any of Hayden’s plans. He would be included one way or the other. Hayden mostly just talked Shane right into doing something stupid. But if he’s not the active participant, then he would surely be the victim of his pranks. And if not the victim, Hayden would definitely just blame the entire idea of the prank as Shane’s. Even if the former sat all night referring to his ‘how to ruin someone's day (or long shot, their week) in the worst way possible’ manual that he wrote himself. Hayden was so humble that he would never take the credit for all of it if Shane’s not included in his plans. The devil worked hard, but Hayden worked harder.
Shane stood outside the bar, muttering a curse under his breath. He picked at the crusty skin of his lips nervously. He tried to focus on his breathing, pushing the thought of mixing laxatives in Hayden’s drink to the corner of his mind. He knew he had walked right into another trap, and now, somehow, Hayden had convinced him to ‘kidnap’ Elian—Hayden’s college roommate.
It was Elian’s birthday. Shane had never met him before, but Hayden talked about him a lot, and had always wanted to introduce the two of them to each other. So, of course, instead of being normal and celebrating his birthday like other normal people do, Hayden went ahead and proposed the most catastrophic plan Shane had ever heard of. And Shane, why yes, agreed to it.
(“Shane, we've spent most of our college days being normal and lazy. If we don't do this now, we're definitely not doing this when we're in our late thirties. Nope. And please, if you have kids and grandkids one day, do you wanna tell them that the most fun you've had in your life was watching a movie marathon on a Saturday night? Or about the great adventures we're about to partake in if you agree to my plan? Think about it, buddy. We can have some fun. Take a break from our busy jobs. It's now or never.”
First, lay the trap.
“You, of all people, need to take a break, buddy. You're always working hard, being a good and law abiding citizen. As you should, of course. But don't you miss having fun? And you know that after Elian’s birthday Jackie and I are going on a vacation. Which means we're not going to see each other for some time. Let's do this.”
Let Shane walk into the trap.
“Let's live as if we're dying tomorrow. You know what they say—having fun is not a diversion from a successful life; it is the pathway to it.”
And snap!)
Yeah, he definitely needed to have another talk with his therapist about Hayden irreversibly fucking with his brain.
Shane was pretty sure Hayden stayed up and spent an entire night googling ‘quotes about having fun’. But he also knew that he needed this regardless. He was getting burnt out, his job was sucking away a little bit of his soul every single day. The monotony in his life was painting his days black and white, and Shane wanted to take away the brush to paint in some colour before he was left fully burnt out. And if indulging in Hayden's pranks was one of the ways, then so be it.
What's the worst that could happen?
Yes, probably ‘kidnapping’ was definitely on the extreme side of ‘taking a break from his boring life', but Shane couldn't bring himself to care anymore.
He adjusted his cap, pulling it down as much as he could to cover his eyes, and walked into the bar. He was supposed to threaten Elian saying he had found his Russian ‘goods’—which was just his vodka—and take him upstairs to the hotel room Hayden had booked. Elian would follow him and they would walk into a fully decorated room with Hayden waiting for them inside.
Shane had made an entire list of the loop holes he saw in this so-called plan. The biggest one being Elian simply refusing to believe Shane, but Hayden repeatedly reassured him. And it's not like Shane could come up with other ways of fixing any of it, so he let it go.
When he walked inside the bar, he scanned the crowd until his eyes fell on a certain man sitting at the bar counter. Hayden had told him what Elian was wearing, and it took Shane a couple of seconds to spot him.
The bar was relatively crowded, and there was nothing Shane hated more than a crowded public setting. He needed to get this ‘kidnapping' done as fast as he could, so he could go back to the hotel room, away from the crowd. He beelined towards the man, avoiding bumping into people.
“Hey, Elian?" Shane shoved his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. It was another one of Hayden’s ideas—dressing in a black hoodie to appear more intimidating (Hayden was delusional).
The man—Elian—put his drink down to look up at Shane. And shit, Hayden never mentioned how fucking gorgeous Elian looked. He had a sharp jawline, soft brown curls, and god, moles littered all across his neck—a prominent one placed on his left cheek. He stared at Shane with those beautiful blue eyes, and Shane felt himself instantly drowning in the ocean they held. Shane’s eyes traced down, noticing a distinct bear tattoo on the man's forearm.
"Yes?” Elian replied and Shane blinked, surprised at the thick accent lacing his voice. Hayden never mentioned about him being Russian, but Shane couldn't care less. Even if everything went south, Shane would at least come out of this with Elian’s number. That's for sure.
"Um,” Shane started.
Seem intimating, not intimated, he reminded himself. He cleared his throat before continuing.
“We found your Russian goods. If you don't follow me upstairs right now, things will end badly for you.” Shane kept his voice steady, trying his best not to break eye contact.
Elian’s lips pulled into a smirk before disappearing within a split second. "Shit, okay. Lead me.”
If Shane wasn't so dazed, he would definitely pick up on the fake panic in the man’s voice—like he couldn't care less about the fact that a total stranger approached him asking him to follow him because he found his ‘Russian goods’ (wherever the hell that even meant).
At least the plan was working.
When they stopped before the door, Shane took a deep breath. Hayden would be waiting inside—Shane had locked the door from the outside to make things look less suspicious—and the room would be decorated with a big ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY’ banner.
"You should step in first.” Shane muttered, unlocking the door, but not pushing it open.
The other man shrugged. "Okay.”
Shane stepped back, letting Elian push the door open. Shane was expecting a ‘happy birthday’ being yelled from inside the room the moment Elian opened it. Or fairy lights illuminated if Hayden felt extra excited. Or at least a couple of balloons laying all over the floor (like fifty, because Hayden had to be extra).
Instead, they were met with silence—the lights were switched off, the room was entirely dark—like they were just moving in. No decorations, no banners, no balloons at an amount that should be considered hazardous. It was just normal. Like any other room.
"So? Where is the Russian stuff, handsome?”
As if Shane wasn't already caught off guard by the stillness in the room, Elian had to go ahead and flirt with him. Yeah, like Shane could ever be normal about that.
He could feel his brain starting to overwork, generating thoughts at the speed of the roller coaster nightmare that still haunted him.
Where was Hayden? Was Hayden pranking him? Was he the victim and not an accomplice? Was Shane the one being ‘kidnapped’? But why would Hayden leave him alone with Elian, who was, practically speaking, still a stranger to him? And why was the room not decorated like Hayden had promised? Were they shifting the party somewhere else and Hayden thought it would be funny not to tell him?
“So?" Elian spoke, interrupting Shane's train of thoughts. He crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow after shutting the door behind him and leaning against it.
Shit.
"Elian, look—”
“Okay, stop. I know it is Russian, but my name cannot be that hard. Is Ilya, not Eliyan.”
Shane blinked. “What?"
“Eliyan or whatever you've been saying. I do not know, and don't care actually. Is Ilya, not the other name."
Okay. Cool. Everything was under control. Shane was totally not about to start spiraling. Totally.
“No. Wait. You're Hayden’s college roommate. You're Elian." Shane replied, more of a statement than a question, because he would be so fucked if it turned out that the other man wasn't Elian.
“Who the fuck is Hayden?" The man—apparently Ilya—asked, walking towards Shane and stopping right before him.
Shane looked at the him and shook his head. No. No. This must be another one of Hayden's pranks. He probably already talked to Elian about this and thought it would be funny to do this to Shane.
Hayden Pike was going to be a dead man. Shane Hollander was going to kill him.
“Listen, I'm tired, okay? If this is one of Hayd’s pranks, just tell me. Or I'm gonna bury you along with him.” Shane sighed, rubbing his temples, trying to ease at least an inch of the tension off. He would definitely start graying in his early thirties if this goes on, no thanks to Hayden, of course.
The stranger giggled in response.
Okay. Enough.
“Look, some other day, all right? It's not funny. I was looking forward to having fun today, and I'm already tired. I just wanted a break, and right now, I really don't appreciate whatever the two of you are putting me through. So, please, while I'm still being nice, listen to me. I'm going to call Hayden and you're gonna ask him to call this whatever ‘kidnapping’ thing off and we'll go for dinner and order a cake for you like normal people do. Oh, and happy birthday.” Shane snapped, before taking a deep breath to calm the pulse he could feel in his temples. He took his phone out of his hoodie pocket to call Hayden.
“Hey, breathe. I do not know what you're talking about. And kidnapping? Who are we kidnapping?" The stranger scoffed.
Shane didn't pay him any attention, more focused on trying to switch his phone on—the goddamned thing just wouldn't. "Great. I think my phone died. You have to call Hayden now.” Shane said, looking up at the other man.
The stranger took a step forward, shortening the distance between them.
“Okay. Time out. I am not who you think I am. I think this is all… What's the word,” Ilya scrunched his eyebrows in concentration. “When you understand things wrong?”
"Misunderstanding?”
"Yes, that word. You're so handsome and smart, wow.”
Shane stared at the other man, trying to ignore the fact that he was flirting with him. There were a million thoughts running through his mind, and it wasn't helping the incoming headache he could feel. “How do I know you're not lying? You literally didn't even question the fact that I called you Elian all along and you just followed me here. And the Russian stuff? Were you not even suspicious? Moreover, you're wearing the same clothes Hayden told me Elian is wearing. That's how I noticed you in the first place, actually."
Ilya hummed in response. "I thought you couldn't say Ilya and just said Elli-whatever the name is. But now that I think about it, it does not sound the same.”
Shane raised an eyebrow.
“Elli-man seems to have good fashion sense," Ilya chuckled in amusement. "And the Russian stuff? Well, I deal with Russian stuff for work. So whatever. You just have to trust me and see.” He smiled, winking at Shane.
He winked.
Shane cleared his throat, hoping the red tint dusting his cheeks wasn't obvious. Why was Ilya flirting with him as if Shane hadn't snapped at him just a few seconds ago? And why was Shane blushing? He's supposed to be pissed right now.
"Okay, then. Let's say you are not Elian and you don't know Hayden. That makes us total, complete, strangers. So why did you just follow me?” Shane asked, his fingers twitching to pick at his lips to ease his nerves.
“I see a pretty man and I ask no questions. I know what I want."
"Oh?” Shane looked away, wanting to dig a grave for himself and jump right in. He had always been awkward when someone flirted with him, and not to mention that this stranger was a total eye-candy. That didn't help. Not at all.
“Anyway. I'm Ilya Rozanov. You are?"
“Shane Hollander."
“Nice to meet you, Hollander." Ilya smiled. “Remove that cap. Since you've kidnapped me already, no need to hide your pretty face."
Shane could feel the blood rushing to his face in embarrassment.
Did he actually end up bringing a random man to a hotel room?
“So, Hollander. What plans do you have for me?" Ilya asked, walking around the room, examining random things that seemed to pique his interest. He looked at ease, like he was not one bit concerned about the fact that he just followed a man he didn't know to a hotel room and didn't just witness the said man have an almost breakdown accusing him of things he had no clue of.
“Uh, look. I think this was all a misunderstanding. Hayden's my friend, and he's always including me in his stupid plans or he's usually just pranking me. So I assumed you were in on it, because I didn't know you weren't Elian. Elian was his roommate in college, and it's his birthday today," Shane removed the cap, smoothening his hair after. “This whole thing was stupid anyhow. I'm sorry. You can— You can go back to the bar,” Shane looked at his shoes while picking at a loose strand of the sleeve of his hoodie. “If you wanna, that is."
Ilya put the floral coaster he was eyeing back on the kitchenette counter before looking at Shane. “No. I was bored at the bar anyhow.” He shoved his hands into his jacket pocket.
"Oh. Do you wanna do something else, or?”
Ilya smirked, and Shane instantly shut him down before the other man could make any comments about it.
"No, I didn't mean it like that. Just— I don't know. Are you hungry? We can still go get dinner at least.”
"You are so boring, Hollander." Ilya shook his head. “Dinner is good. Let's go.”
He sighed, carefully folding and tucking the cap he held before shoving it into his hoodie pocket. He walked outside to the reception and checked out of the room with Ilya on his heels.
Practically speaking, it was suspicious how easily Ilya trusted Shane. But also, it's not like Shane could trust Ilya and just walk out with a stranger. Shane wasn't the most social person, so this whole situation that he was putting himself into wasn't one bit ideal.
But right now, he couldn't care less. Hayden had ditched him, and Shane was going to that fancy dinner reservation with or without him. He didn't care. All the more reasons that the restaurant was a walkable distance from the hotel room they were currently in.
Minutes later, he realised today was the day the universe was telling him to call it quits and give everything up—go to the mountains and become a monk—let go of expectations, relationships, everything mortal.
“It is closed? That's so funny." Ilya chuckled, hands running through his hair, messing up the curls in the process, but in a good way. Compared to Shane, who just stood there in a hoodie, Ilya was dressed fancier. Something about him exuded power even with his most casual gestures.
Shane continued to stare at the sign. ‘We’re extremely sorry for the inconvenience caused from our side. Please check your SMS for further information and to reschedule your reservation.’
If Shane could burn holes with his eyes, he would've torn the place apart by now. Probably set it on fire too, and then jumped inside to end the day on a good note.
"Of course you sent me the details through an SMS, because guess why? My phone is dead. Of course. Why do I even try?” Shane mumbled, before walking off, caring the least about the other man who sprinted to catch up to him.
“Maybe I take you to dinner instead?" Ilya asked, his lips curling into a smile. His eyes glinted with amusement, as if Shane was the most interesting person he had ever met in his lifetime. Like the whole situation was the most endearing experience to him. Like Shane’s misery was somehow funny to him. Or cute, even.
The world’s polluted with evil people, Shane thought (he meant Ilya Rozanov).
Shane looked at him in disbelief before scoffing. “You're being awfully nice to your kidnapper."
“Is my first time being kidnapped. Am I not supposed to be nice?"
Shane let out a chuckle in surprise, not expecting the joke. He shook his head, feeling his mind begin to unwind just a bit. He appreciated Ilya’s attempt to make the situation feel less shitty than it actually was.
Shane was someone who obsessed over little details. One conversation going wrong would eat away his brain for days. One mistake would make him question why he ever started whatever it was that he did, and one misstep would sometimes bind him with so much fear that it restricted him from taking another step—a million ‘what ifs’ running haywire in his mind. So, of course, it was natural that one bad situation following another encouraged the unease to claw deeper into him, letting it settle in.
But right now, with Ilya, he could push his thoughts to a corner of his mind just for long enough—until he could go back home and inevitably let the last bit of control snap.
He stopped walking, turning to fully face Ilya. “Okay. Your kidnapper grants you permission to take him to dinner."
“Your words, my command."
They walked back to the bar where Ilya had parked his car—he insisted that they could go to the restaurant in his car. Shane and Hayden had come together, and Hayden was nowhere to be seen. So it didn't matter if Shane went with Ilya anyhow.
Shane sighed for what felt like the hundredth time in the same hour as he waited for Ilya to get his car. But nothing in the world would've prepared him for the sight he would witness.
Shane gasped as Ilya pulled up his car—a silver Aston Martin. Frankly speaking, he was never that into cars. As long as he could get where he wanted with it, it didn't matter what car he drove. It was just another automobile to him. But even with his little interest in cars, he was pleasantly surprised at Ilya's.
But more than surprised, he was terrified. For a second, he couldn’t move his legs, even when Ilya gestured for him to get in. He just stared, feeling his brain shut down.
Did he just ‘kidnap’ a really rich Russian man and have a mental breakdown in front of him and blame it on him after? Shane Hollander was about to end up in the headlines the next day.
“Hollander,” Ilya called, unaware of Shane’s inner turmoil.
Don’t act suspicious, Shane whispered to himself, before clearing his throat and getting into the passenger's seat.
"She is my baby. The first ever car I bought. Do you like it?" Ilya beamed, pressing on the accelerator.
"Y-Yeah. Of course. First car and that too an Aston Martin? So impressive.” Shane replied, fastening the seatbelt.
"I worked hard to get where I am. My business is… what's the word? Something that rhymes with flushing?”
Shane chuckled in amusement. “Flourishing?”
"Da, that word. English is hard, I do not like it." Ilya shook his head, looking disgusted, as if the language mentioned had personally fouled him in unimaginable ways.
Shane hummed. "Flushing is quite literally the opposite of flourishing, kinda.”
Ilya looked at the other man with disbelief, before his eyes went back to the road. He scoffed. "I flush English. There. Did I use it right?”
"Sure, if you say so.” Shane smiled.
They had small conversations throughout the ride, mostly joking about random things. Ilya complained about how the past tense of draw was ‘drew’ and not ‘drawed’ but the past tense of claw was ‘clawed’ and not ‘clew’. Shane was laughing the whole time, mostly having forgotten about his distress.
After Ilya parked, they walked into a high-end restaurant. Shane was surprised that it was completely empty. There was not a single customer other than them. The place was the fanciest Shane had ever been to, and it didn’t help that he was here with Ilya. Just the two of them. Like it was a date. He looked around, taking in the sumptuous setting and the faint light glimmering from the huge chandelier. There was a feeble hum of an old jazz song playing in the background.
Now, Shane wouldn't say he was struggling to make it on a day-to-day basis. He was both privileged and grateful to have food on his plate. But he knew he definitely couldn't afford a single starter in this place. This was definitely out of his budget. For sure.
“Hey, Ilya, listen. This place seems way too expensive. Out of my budget, actually." Shane whispered. Not that he was embarrassed, but he would be, if the bill came out and he had to see the first five digits of his phone number or something on it and probably had to sell his kidney for it. Or, worst case, had to sell both his kidneys and his house.
"Is okay. My treat.” Ilya shrugged, pulling the chair out for him.
Shane normally would've been gleeful at the gesture if it was not for the most absurd thing he had heard Ilya say all night.
“No," Shane replied firmly, ignoring the chair and Ilya's confused expression. "Ilya, look, we just met, and I'm not allowing you to spend so much on me. Just, no.” He shook his head.
Ilya’s eyebrows scrunched. The man actually looked confused. Like Shane had just rejected his business card and not a good amount of his money being spent on him.
"Hollander, this is my restaurant. Is okay. Really.” Ilya gestured towards the open chair, looking rather bored that they were having this whole conversation.
“Your— What?!" Shane had to physically pinch himself to not yell out the sentence in surprise.
Ilya hummed. "Yeah. I called them to open it for today just for you.”
Shane looked at him, mortified. "Ilya, what are you saying?”
"It was closed today, and I had them open the restaurant.” Ilya replied, matter-of-factly. "The chef probably hates me for it, but no one likes their boss. So is okay. Hollander, I’m hungry. Can we just eat?” He sighed.
Shane begrudgingly sat down, not knowing what to reply to the other man. Ilya walked to his opposite side to sit in his own chair.
"So? What do you want to eat?”
All of this felt like a really bizarre dream—like Shane went to sleep after a really exhausting day at work, and his burnt out brain was refusing to let him sleep, creating unreal situations one after the other to punish him for pushing himself until he was completely and blatantly tired. It felt too absurd to believe that it was all true.
Most of the dinner was going by in conversations Shane couldn't even process because of how hazy he felt. First, he ‘kidnapped’ a stranger, and then pitched the idea of going to dinner with the said stranger and then accepted the stranger's offer to take him out for dinner, and then let him drive him in his really cool car to an extravagant restaurant which the stranger apparently owned.
Shane was probably going crazy. Yes, that was the only explanation. He could feel his neurons violently attack each other hoping that would get them to shut down, if it meant avoiding processing whatever Shane was experiencing in one single night. He had suicidal-homicidal neurons.
Yeah, he was going insane.
“Hollander, you are having panic attack." Ilya put his fork down, looking at lacing his voice.
"What? No,” he shook his head slowly. "Just— Just been a long night.”
"Do you want to go home? I can drop you.” Ilya wiped the corner of his mouth with the napkin, raising an eyebrow.
"No!” Shane replied almost frantically. "I mean— You've already done enough. No, that sounds wrong. Um, what I mean is that—”
"Shane,” Ilya cut him off. "Has no one taken you out on a date?”
Shane blinked in surprise, not expecting the conversation to derail so fast.
“Has no man, I don't know the word, spent money on you? That word? Is it spoiled?"
Shane had dated before, sure. But his previous boyfriends were assholes, if he had to put it kindly. Hayden thought Shane had a problem.
(“One day, I will beat the hell out of all of them. And you can't stop me." Hayden had said.)
Ilya hummed at Shane’s lack of response, as if he could read his mind. “I am interested in you and I took you out on a date. Is simple. Paying for your dinner and dropping you home is the bare minimum. No?”
Shane looked at him incredulously. “What?” he whispered, feeling his brain short-circuit. This had to be some sort of a joke. Before he knew it, he was giggling—the giggle soon turning into a full blown laugh. He wiped at the corner of his eyes before looking at Ilya.
“Ilya, I think I’m losing my mind,” Shane’s smile dropped so suddenly and quickly that it made Ilya’s eyebrows raise in surprise. “What is even happening today?”
Ilya shrugged, breaking into a smile at the other man’s antics. “Hollander, probably you are not as boring as I thought.”
“Boring? Ilya, I’m serious. None of this feels real. I don’t understand. I ‘kidnapped’ you, remember? What do you mean this is a date?” Shane replied. Sure, he had felt like it could be a date, but hearing Ilya confirm it made it seem like his delusional thoughts just took form. And that wasn’t something normal.
“Like the thing where you take someone out? Someone you like, actually.” Ilya replied, his smile not fading from his face.
Shane rolled his eyes. “I know what a date means, Ilya. I’m just… I don’t know, surprised, I guess?”
Ilya nodded. “Okay. I understand. Long day, no?” he waited for a nod from Shane before continuing. “So, what do you say? Are you interested in me too?”
Shane's eyes grew large. “W-What?”
“If you are not, then we can call it a day. I am not asshole to force you to come with me on more dates.” Ilya leaned back in his seat, shrugging.
Shane’s dumbfounded brain registered exactly one thing from the entire sentence—a second date with Ilya. And the possibility of losing it if he didn't express his mutual interest.
“No! I mean— Yes! I am interested!” Shane blurted out the words before he could even comprehend what he said. There was a ten second pause—complete silence—before Ilya grinned, his eyes glistening with joy. Shane tried to explain himself before Ilya could say something.
“What I meant is that…” Shane trailed. He sighed, silently convincing himself to might as well just say it. “Okay. I find you attractive and we can go on a second date.”
Ilya whistled at that, crossing his arms. “I asked if you were interested but you are bold, Hollander. Attractive, huh?”
“Shut up, asshole.” Shane rolled his eyes albeit trying to fight a smile.
“You know, Hollander, I coul—” Ilya’s phone rang before he could finish his sentence. He pulled it out of his pocket, his face instantly going humourless when he looked at it. He muttered an excuse to Shane before he walked away to pick up the call.
The restaurant was empty, so it was inevitable that Shane could hear Ilya’s conversations. He mostly spoke in Russian, but Shane could still pick up the tension in the other man’s voice. He could figure that whatever conversation Ilya had on the phone sounded pretty serious. He spoke for around two minutes on the phone before suddenly going quiet. Shane turned to look at him thinking he was done, but Ilya was just standing there with the phone pressed against his ear as he stood with his eyes closed, fingers massaging his temples.
“Finish it. Call me when it is over.” Ilya broke the silence, replying in English, before sighing deeply. He ended the call and pocketed his phone. Shane turned back quickly, hoping the other man didn't notice him looking.
He sipped his drink as he waited for Ilya to sit back down. “Sorry. Is work." Ilya muttered, sliding into his chair. He looked tense.
“I understand." Shane replied, nodding. He wanted to ask if everything was okay, but he figured it wasn’t his place. At least not yet.
After their dinner, Shane agreed to let Ilya drop him home. Shane could pick up on the poorly masked agitation of the other man—his slightly tensed shoulders, and the way his fingers formed a fist for a second before going back to holding the steering wheel. Shane had always been good at picking up even the most intricate details of people that they thought no one else would notice.
Hoping to distract Ilya from his thoughts, Shane started asking him a couple of random questions about his interests. Like his favourite ice-cream flavours, his favourite movies, his best vacation experience.
When Ilya asked the question back, about his favourite ice-cream, he answered him almost instantly. “Strawberry.”
“I knew you would like strawberry ice-cream. Even when chocolate is right there,” Ilya replied, his fingers absent-minedly drumming the steering wheel. “You are so boring, Hollander.”
“Stop calling me boring. Besides, I don’t expect you to understand it either way.” Shane crossed his arms, looking out of the window.
Ilya hummed in response. “Okay. Let me guess, you also like the beach more than mountains?”
At that, Shane turned to look at Ilya, who was already smiling in victory. Shane shook his head.
“That was just a good guess, Ilya.”
“No. I am psycho like that.” Ilya grinned.
“You mean psychic?”
“That too.”
When they reached, Ilya took Shane’s number—Shane couldn’t take Ilya’s, well, because his phone was dead. He stepped out of the car and turned around to look back at Ilya. The man lowered the window of the passenger side.
“See you on the next date, handsome.” Ilya winked. He grinned when he saw blood rush to Shane's cheeks. Shane just nodded.
Ilya pressed at a button to slide up the window before stepping on the accelerator. Shane could’ve swore he drove out at the same speed as his roller coaster nightmare. For a second, he just stood there, surprised at Ilya’s sudden change in his driving. He wasn’t one bit rash when he drove Shane. He was definitely in the speed limit. Shane was always careful about such stuff, and he would’ve definitely noticed if Ilya wasn’t.
Shane shook his head, making a mental note to text Ilya about it. The first thing he did when he walked inside his house was put his phone to charge. The screen lit up, displaying ‘Charging. 1%’.
He sighed before plopping down on his bed. The time was 12:21 A.M., and he felt thoroughly exhausted. His eyes started growing heavy the moment he felt himself relax into his bed. He decided to check if Ilya had texted him yet, before planning to go to sleep.
He waited until his phone restarted. When it did, his home screen instantly blew up with what felt like a hundred notifications.
38 messages from Hayden.
15 missed calls from Hayden.
9 voice mails from Hayden.
Shit. He had completely forgotten about Hayden. He felt the panic urgently scratch at his throat, feeling his heart pound against his ribs as he dialed Hayden. He disconnected his phone from the charger. It had charged 10%. Shane muttered a curse, hoping it wouldn’t die on him during his call.
“Hello? Shane, fuck, I was so worried.” Hayden picked up almost immediately.
Shane released a breath he wasn’t even aware he was holding. “Hayden, where the fuck were you?”
“The hospital. I'm back home now.”
Shane could hear some shuffling in the background, and he stood up from the bed in an instant. His hands grew cold.
“Shit, Hayden, what the fuck? What happened? Are you okay? Give me a few minutes, I’ll get ther—”
“Shane, breathe. I’m okay. It was Amber. She was running down the stairs and fell. Jackie’s out of town and the babysitter panicked. Shane, there was blood on the floor I—” Shane heard Hayden take a deep breath. “She got a couple of stitches. I just reached home.”
“Do you want me to come over? How’s Amber?”
“No, it's all right. She’s fast asleep. It’s okay, Jackie’s on her way home. I tried contacting you, but your phone wouldn’t connect.”
“Yeah, it died on me.” Shane sat back on the bed.
“I’m sorry, I really had to leave. I thought I could pick you up from the bar on my way to the car, but the babysitter kept calling.”
“Hayden, you know you don’t have to apologise.”
Hayden sighed on the other end of the call. “Elian went back too. He texted me saying something urgent came up. I was worried since you weren’t returning my calls. Anyway, where were you?”
“I was—”
“Shit, Amber’s awake. I’ll talk to you in the morning.”
Hayden cut the call before Shane could reply. Shane took a deep breath, mentally counting to seven, before releasing it. He replugged his phone to the charger and laid back down on the bed. His heart slowly stopped banging against his chest, and he could finally feel his hands warm up to how they normally were.
The only thing in the room he could hear was the fan’s steady hum as it rotated in continuous circles. Shane let his eyes close, succumbing to the exhaustion, drifting to sleep before his brain would start over-analyzing every emotion that he’d felt all day long.
The next time Shane stirred awake, there was faint sunlight pooling into the room. He stifled a yawn while rubbing his eyes and getting up. He made the bed and sat back down at the edge, unplugging his phone to check the time. The remnants of his sleep instantly evaporated when he looked at the new text message he had received last night.
Unknown number
hope you had fun handsome
can’t wait to see you soon xoxo
2:58AM
Shane just woke up and he was already blushing like a teenager in love. He saved the other man’s number before replying.
Shane
you are such an asshole.
He checked his other messages, mainly those from Hayden.
Hayden
shane???
pls reply
where are you??
shit
i am at the hospital rn
don't panic. amber fell down the stairs
9:55PM
Shane scrolled down, ignoring last night’s texts to check the ones Hayden had sent this morning.
Hayden
sorry I cut the call last night
amber’s better now. already eating my head about wanting pancakes 😔
text me you wake up
7:56AM
Shane typed a reply.
Shane
i just got up. good to know she's okay.
and pls make her some pancakes, she deserves to be spoiled all day long poor bb
Hayden replied almost immediately.
Hayden
yeah yeah whatever you say 🥱
okay now tell me everything
where were you last night?
Shane
okay firstly, don't freak out
i took this man upstairs thinking he was Elian, but he wasn't. and i didn't realise that for like a really long time
then i proceeded to snap at him thinking you guys were pranking me
and the poor man just stood there confused
at some point i even remember threatening him saying i'll bury him along w you. it was just bad.
later i invited him for dinner and the place we had reserved was closed. so he drove me to this really really expensive restaurant which he apparently owns.
Hayden
???
is this a joke
Shane
no. all of that actually happened
Hayden
🤣🤣🤣
i feel i am concussed rn lemme go read it again
Shane
whatever, you ass
Hayden
shane wdym he owns the restaurant???
and since when do you just invite people to dinner? I had to convince you for a week to come to the company dinner
Shane
i had lost my mind last night. leave me alone.
he was quite good looking too actually
Hayden
give Shane his phone back you phone thief
my friend can't hurt a fly
why did you pick to steal from his house of all people
i can give you a list of people's addresses from where you should steal instead
leave Shane ALONE 😠
Shane
hayden you need to know that you're the most unfunny person I've ever met in my entire life
Hayden
love you too 🖕
shane you can't be serious
you basically went on a date last night
Shane
i guess? ohh and also
he drives an Aston Martin btw
Shane’s phone instantly lit up with a call. Hayden, of course.
“Shane Hollander." Hayden dead-panned.
"Good morning to you too, Hayden.” Shane sighed.
“A date? Really?"
"Hayden, it wasn't anything like that.” Shane bit his lip, knowing damn well that it was like that.
"When I was fighting for my life in the hospital, you were out there looking for new sugar daddies—”
"Firstly, you are okay. It was Amber. I know she's so embarrassed of you right now. And secondly, it was just a coincidence. How would I have known that he's like… that rich?”
Hayden hummed on the other end. “Must be your sugar daddy gaydar."
“Shut up."
“So? Who’s this good looking guy? What's his name?"
Shane rolled his eyes, even though Hayden couldn't see it. "Ilya Rozanov. Russian, I think. Mostly."
Shane smoothened the already made bed as he waited for a reply from Hayden, but the said man just kept quiet on the other end. Shane brought the phone into his vision to check if the call had disconnected—it hadn't—and put it back to his ears.
"Hayde—”
"You're joking.” Hayden replied, cutting Shane off with what seemed more like a statement than a question.
"What? No. Why? Do you know him?”
"Know him? Shane, oh my god,” Shane heard some ruffling noise in the background, and then the sound of a door shutting close. It was quieter than it was before. Shane assumed Hayden wanted to continue the conversation somewhere his kids couldn't hear. “Shane, please tell me you're serious.”
Shane stood up, choosing to walk to the kitchen before his anxiety acted up in anticipation. “Okay, now you're worrying me."
Hayden sighed. "Do you know who he is?”
"Hayden, please, get to the point. This is hurting my head.”
"Okay, okay,” There was a couple of seconds of silence before Hayden spoke up again. "What was the name of the restaurant you went to?”
“I think it was… The White Rabbit? Or something like that?”
“Shane,” Hayden sounded frantic. “Shane, are you sure?”
Shane leaned against his kitchen counter, picking at his lips. He didn’t respond.
“Shane, that’s Ilya Grigoryevich Rozanov.”
“Okay…? Hayden, I’m still confused.”
“Well. There are these… rumours. About the restaurant, and well… the other things.”
Shane didn’t interrupt, though it felt like Hayden took a million years to get to the point. Shane’s fingers were starting to numb as they slowly grew cold.
“Well, for starters, they say that the restaurant is owned by the…” Hayden trailed. “The mafias. The Grizli. And Ilya… I think he is their boss. Did he have a bear tattoo or something?”
A nervous laugh escaped Shane’s lips. Ilya did have a bear tattoo. “Hayden, it’s early in the morning to be joking about all this.”
“Shane, I swear, I wish this was all a joke. But,” Hayden sighed. “I don’t think it is. I would never joke about any of this.”
Shane wanted to sit down before he would pass out. “I will call you back later.” Shane mumbled, not waiting for Hayden to reply before ending the call. Hayden had sounded serious, worried, and Shane knew he was not joking. He knew his friend enough to differentiate that much.
He slumped to the floor with his back against the kitchen counter. His phone dropped to the floor as he let it fall. Drawing his knees to his chest, he leaned his head on them, trying to control his erratic breath.
This was it. Shane thought yesterday’s mental turmoil at least resulted in Shane finding a potential date. But no, he kidnapped a mafia boss, made a scene in front of him, blaming him—blaming him—and then spent the rest of the night with him as if he were just another person, and not the fucking mafia.
The call Ilya got in the restaurant—Ilya saying something about ‘finishing it’ (Shane was sure Ilya meant killing someone), the tattoo, Ilya’s rash driving—all of it clicked. Sure, it could just be Shane’s brain reading way too much into the details, but it was still all a high possibility.
His therapist would have a field day.
Shane reached out for his phone when he heard it buzz. It was text message.
Ilya
have a lovely morning solnishko 😽
A quick google search revealed that Ilya was calling him sunshine. Why yes, the sun shined right out of Shane’s ass. There was a sudden flick of emotions in his mind and Shane almost felt frustrated.
He was in the middle of a massive mental breakdown and Ilya had the nerve to be so nonchalant about the whole catastrophe and call Shane sunshine? Was he not afraid of Shane finding out? Or did he think Shane was easy? Shane would show him how much of a sunshine he actually was. He typed on his phone furiously.
Shane
Ilya Grigoryevich Rozanov.
Ilya
shit it's the government name
am i in trouble dear husband
Shane
husband??? we met for the first time last night
Ilya
a man can only dream
Shane
keep dreaming.
Ilya i really dgaf anymore
i know who you are
Was there a possibility that Shane could, probably, get killed, after the things he was about to say? Yes. But if Shane died putting Ilya in his place, Shane thought, he would die a martyr.
Ilya
what do you mean
Shane
what i mean is that i know you’re a part of the mafia
the leader or whatever
the grizli
Seen
Shane got left on read for an entire minute. In that minute of silence, his mental fog slowly started to clear. Regret instantly flowed throughout him.
“Fuck, why did I act so impulsively,” Shane cursed. “He’s gonna send people to kill me, isn’t he?”
His heart, right on track, started beating a little faster. A small knot began forming in his stomach and he got up from the ground, feeling like he would puke any minute. The complete silence in his house wasn't helping either, making him feel trapped.
He was gonna die. Ilya would get him killed.
No longer wanting to put Ilya in his place, Shane started typing a reply. He hoped if he could convince Ilya that he was as harmless as one could get, Ilya would let him live. But before he could hit send, Ilya sent him a reply.
Ilya
does that turn you on?
Shane’s eyes widened twice their size, and the nausea evaporated in shock. He stared at his phone, reading the message repeatedly, hoping he had read the text wrong. But no, the message didn’t morph into ‘I will kill you’. It remained ‘does that turn you on’.
Shane
???
ilya is this your response to someone literally finding out that you’re the fucking mafia?
Ilya
no this is my response only for you
#downbad
Shane
ilya 😭
are you like not gonna kill me or smth wtf
you actually scared me
Ilya
i am dangerous
but to you never
#downbad
Shane
okay i get. pls stop using that hashtag
Ilya
whatever you say handsome 😻
#downbad
Shane
so like?
are you a mafia boss? is it true?
Ilya
yes
i am very cool like that
you are boring
Shane
why am i catching strays?
Ilya
what are you catching
i do not understand
Shane
it's just a slang
Ilya
ok i don't care
Shane
yesterday night at the restaurant
you seemed tense after your phone call
was that also related to your mafia work? pls tell me you didn't get someone killed
what did you mean by 'finish it'
Ilya
ah someone was ease dropping
Shane
you mean eavesdropping?
Ilya
yes
dw handsome i did not get anyone killed. but yes, it was mafia work
anyway
when will i see you next?
Shane
don't you think you're being very casual?
like i just found out that you almost got someone killed?
Ilya
hollander i just broke his nose when i went back
i did not kill him
Shane
???
Ilya
🤷
idk what you want me to say
yes i am mafia boss and yes i am still interested in you
#downbad
Shane
Ilya stop using that hashtag or i will block you
Ilya
you are so boring Hollander
are you not interested in some mafia romance?
Shane
it sounds weird if you put in that way
Ilya
why not
i hear it is popular these days
Shane
get off the internet Ilya
Ilya
😼
Shane
also, pls drive at the speed limit. you zoomed off at what 100kmph didn't you?
Ilya
😿
with you i would never do that
only when i am alone
Shane sighed, setting his phone upside down on the kitchen counter. Apparently, his date was a mafia boss. And apparently he was interested in Shane. And regardless of the trepidation that lingered in his mind, Shane was also interested in Ilya.
All his life, Shane had lived by the rules. During his schooling, he had never once been sent to detention or was given a single negative remark. During his university days, his GPA was always one of the highest in his course. Even now, though he's not been the happiest in his job, he always gives it his best. He's always nice to his coworkers, who definitely don't deserve it for all the work they pile on Shane.
So this whole situation he was in, in a way, felt like the Universe was telling him something.
Take the chance. Who's to say what might happen?
The voice sounded eerily similar to Hayden’s, but Shane chose to ignore that. If repainting his life was to give a certain Russian mafia boss a chance, then he was sure he would end up with a messy, abstract painting; and that was still an addition of some new colour in his life.
He's dated people who he would consider worse than the mafia. He's had to put up with men who gave him the bare minimum and wanted him to appreciate them. Even if he didn't know Ilya for more than a day, Shane felt more confident in him than the men he's dated before. At least Ilya didn't feel like one of them.
Ilya might be an asshole, but he seemed like a different type of an asshole—the one Shane wouldn't mind being around.
Still, at the end of the day, he was Shane Hollander—someone who valued control over his life, someone who always knew how to take control of his life, even if it took him time to do so. He wasn't someone who would just give up because things got rough in the middle, despite the anxiety swirling in his mind. He gave it his all until he proved himself wrong.
He was Shane Hollander, goddammit.
To him, the man was just Ilya Rozanov. Beneath the mafia personality of his, the one Shane hadn't even seen, it was just a man who seemed obsessed with Shane.
His phone buzzed with a notification.
Ilya
i will pick you up for the next date whenever you want me to handsome 😻
#downbad
Shane’s lips curled into a half-smirk.
Shane Hollander was going to walk Ilya Rozanov like a dog, mafia boss or not.