When One Door Closes
Chapter 6 –
I truly intended to post this much sooner! Thank you to those of you who are still following this story and to those who might be discovering it for the first time. Since it has been a while since my last update here's a short recap: This is inspired by one of my favorite movies, Sliding Doors! How might Will's life be different if one minor detail was changed? Project Will follows the timeline if Will had made his plane to New York and Project Sonny follows the timeline if Will missed his plane.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own any of the characters….but boy do I wish that I did!
Project Will:
Will, dazed by the sight in front of him, only heard Brady say goodbye. He felt lost in the moment and had to snap out of the trance he found himself in. Who was that astonishing man with Jeremy? That couldn't possibly be his boyfriend? NO WAY! Not that Jeremy wasn't a good looking guy, he was, just not the type Will envisioned with Mr. Dark and Dreamy! "Think Will, THINK! Did Jeremy say who he was meeting?" Will traveled back through each detail of their conversations and arrived at the conclusion that he was meeting his FRIEND, oh yeah, old room-mate, while he was in New York. When Jeremy flies home to Paris, his friend is going on to another country for business. Will celebrated inside 'YES! He's just a friend!' Now he just needed to text Jeremy to make arrangements to meet up with them…awe… him…later. Then he came to the realization "SHIT…NO WAY…Will you IDOT! You gave Jeremy your card but you never got his number…DAMN!"
Will's worst nightmare just came true; he was at the mercy of Jeremy contacting him! "SHIT! Seriously!Not good!" UNLESS he acted fast…Special Agent Horton sprung into action! He went into stealth mode weaving in and out of passersby and jumped into the next available taxi. He offered the driver $50 extra to follow the car ahead. The driver replied, "Sure, but if I get a ticket you're payin' for it!" Will blurted out "Yeah, of course…just GO FASTER…whatever you do …DON'T LOSE THAT CAR!" Will got caught up in the pursuit leaning into the motion from side to side as the cab changed lanes to maneuver around slow moving vehicles in front of them. Will wasn't even sure what possessed him to begin the chase. "OH SHIT! I'm doing exactly what Eloise said not to do. I'm trying to find love instead letting it find me." "STOP!" Will shouted, causing the driver to slam on the breaks and skid to a halt just short of causing an accident.
Everything seemed to freeze, EXCEPT Will's phone! A series of text messages hit in the following order...
Unknown #: Should I stay or should I go now?
Unknown #: If I go there will be trouble
Unknown #: If I stay there will be double
Mom: Honey you staying?
Unknown #: Do U know who this is?
Unknown #: hint…devastatingly handsome
Unknown#: need another hint?
Unknown#: electrifying personality
Mom: Well Will? You promised!
Will decided to silence his mother first by replying "Hey mom - just texting u - staying 2nite" to which his mother replied "Sleep tight baby" to which Will thought, but did NOT reply, "OH MY GOD MY MOTHER'S CRAZY!"
Now onto the OTHER crazy person texting him!
Will: Hey handsome! Jay right?
Unknown#: How many people did U meet today?
Will: Oh hey Eloise!
Unknown #: U Crazy mother*^ #
Will: No that would be MY mother
Unknown#: Leave the funny to me
Will: Hey Jeremy
Jeremy: So U do know who?
Will: Duh…
Jeremy: U staying?
Will: Yes
Jeremy: Meet 4 dinner?
Will: You hitting on me again?
Jeremy: I'm smoother than that
Will: Sure! When? Where?
Jeremy: Where R U?
Will: Now?
Jeremy: Staying?
Will: Battery Park
Jeremy: We'll text U time & place later
Will: WE?
Jeremy: If I stay there will be double…
Will: WHAT?
Jeremy: double = me + roommate…IDIOT
Will: only I can call myself that
Jeremy: I'll make it up 2 U later
Will: Promises – Promises
Will couldn't help but fist pump the air and let out a "YES!" It was confirmed literally in the sub"text" that Mr. BEAUTIFUL was coming to dinner!
"Sir? SIR!" the driver startled Will out of his fantasyland. "Yeah?" "Where am I taking you now that the 007 car chase is over…um…uh...and…do I get to keep the $50?" Will looked up to see the driver smiling back in the rearview mirror. "The Conrad," Will replied with a question in his voice…oh…and…yeah… keep it!" "NICE…thanks" said the driver. "She must be SOMETHIN'!" Will looked puzzled, "WHO?" "Whoever we were chasin'!" "OH! YES definitely!" Will shook his head and grinned, not wanting to explain that SHE was in fact a HE and a very gorgeous HE at that.
Project Sonny:
Sonny's text: "Hey handsome can't wait til later"….OH HELL NO! Will exclaimed to himself. I am not falling for "Mr. Sauvé." Will intended to reply "Wrong number" but instead hit send on the draft text he was writing when he discovered Sonny hugging "Mr. Whoever". It read:meeting was cancelled but staying the night. SHIT…didn't mean to send that! Now Sonny will know that I'm available sooner than planned. Sonny's reply came in lightening speed: (Smile face) NICE! I'll text u after I ditch my friend.
Will was shocked at Sonny's blatant disregard for his "friend." Who does he think he is anyway? Mr. Dark Hair, beautiful eyes, gentle touch…SNAP OUT OF IT WILL… he is a no good, two timing sleaze. Why does he have to be so damn adorable? As Will began to draft his reply to Sonny he was startled by the driver's voice, "Where to?" to which he responded "The Conrad" but not only did he say the words but his fingers also typed them and in his disappointed and confused state hit send. "SHIT what did I just do? OH MY GOD I just told Sonny where I'm staying." "I'm sorry did you say something sir?" the driver replied. Will sighed "Awe no, just talking to myself."
Will's self admonishment continued for a few minutes more when his phone beeped again. He hesitated reading it, knowing it was most likely from Sonny. "The Conrad! Nice!" Will's mind waged a battle with his heart, playing out possible scenarios, "maybe Sonny's "friend" is really just a friend. After all, he had mentioned something about meeting his old roommate while he was in New York but if that was a KISS even on the cheek, how close were they when they lived together? The speculations swirled. Lamenting about what his response should be, he simply chose not to react and slid his phone back in his pocket.
The taxi arrived at The Conrad. Preoccupied, Will glared at the driver holding out his hand, "That will be $ 53.87." "Oh…yeah…pay… you…" Will stuttered, handing him the money.
No sooner did Will get settled in his room when his phone rang. His heart raced when he saw the caller id…Sonny. A monotone "Hey" was all Will could manage. Sonny could hear the curt tone in his voice and tried to lighten the mood "Hey baby, miss me?" to which Will scoffed "Still with your friend?" Sonny was definitely feeling the chill "No, I'm down in the lobby, what room are you in?" Will started to panic, wanting to ignore his concerns and have his way with Sonny in his room…NOW…BUT…his mind won out, responding "Be down in a minute."
Will gave himself a pep talk on his way down, "Be strong, keep an open mind, but don't be too easy on him either and whatever you do…DON'T look directly into his eyes…you will render yourself defenseless." Arriving in the lobby he felt prepared to shoot him down… then… there he was, Sonny in all his gorgeousness. "Hey handsome" Sonny smiled while reaching for a hug. Hearing those same words that Sonny uttered to his "friend" Will felt himself stiffen and become nonresponsive to the connection. Sonny felt it immediately and pulled back trying to gain eye contact. "Are you ok babe?"
Will pulled back and decided to lay it out for Sonny, what good would it be to try to disguise his current emotional state?
"I saw you at the airport", Will uttered with little emotion. "FUNNY, I saw you too." Sonny replied with a questionable look. "I mean I came back into the airport to find you when I got Brady's text about my meeting being cancelled…and…I…well…I saw you hug your 'friend' and heard you call him handsome too."
You could almost see the wheels turning in Sonny's mind searching for the moment Will was describing, then BINGO, it hit him! "Will, that was Jeremy, my ROOMATE from boarding school. The friend I came to meet in New York." There was a momentary silence before Sonny continued his explanation "Will, we are JUST friends…well more like brothers actually."
"Sonny, I saw you KISS him, how do you EXPLAIN that?" Sonny rolled his eyes and smiled "He lives in France with his boyfriend Glenn and I like to tease him about how immersed he has become in the culture…you know by doing the kiss on each cheek thing. I was just playing around, HONESTLY Will, it was my lame attempt at a joke, but if I hurt you, I guess the joke's on me."
Will's demeanor softened and he moved closer to Sonny, breaking his own rule. He thought that he might be able to tell if he was TRULY being sincere if he studied his eyes. Will was right he was defenseless against Sonny's deep browns and he found himself believing every word.
Then Sonny took out his phone and hit call, "Will don't just take my word for it, I don't want you to have any doubts." Will was puzzled then he heard a sarcastic voice come over the speaker. "Hey brother what happened? Did you get lost on the way to your SOUL MATE?"
"Hey Jeremy, what did I tell you his name was?" Sonny asked to which Jeremy shrieked, "SERIOUSLY? SERIOUSLY? It wasn't enough that you made me listen as you went ON and ON about how you met the man of your dreams, your BLUE EYED, BLOND soul mate…only to ditch me the minute you received word of his cancelled meeting…leaving me alone to miss my baby who is on the other side of the ocean…SONNY…DUDE…you said his name like a 100 times in an hour…you SERIOUSLY don't remember it?" Sonny interrupted his friend in desperation "Jeremy, PLEASE just say his name for me!"
"WILL…IT'S WILL! God should I recount all of the ways you considered listing your names on the WEDDING invitations too…"
With that Will reached for the phone with his right hand, pulling Sonny in with his left. "Thank you Jeremy," Will said as he hit the end button. The two men smiled warmly knowing all questions had been answered. Will placed a delicate kiss on each of Sonny's cheeks saying, "I've always wanted to learn more about French culture."
"I did go to school there for a little while! Take me to your room MISTER and I'll teach you what I know about FRENCH culture!" Sonny stated with a wink
The elevator ride seemed like HOURS, but only because they weren't alone. Will was convinced that it would have gone much faster if they had taken the next car, giving them more privacy, but in the end it didn't really matter. They had an EMPTY room waiting for them…they just needed to GET there.
There is only one more chapter to this story and I'm hoping to post it much quicker than this one…
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR STICKING WITH IT, READING AND REVIEWING!