Chapter 21:

Rating: M

Disclaimer: I do not know any of the workers of the WWE personally nor am I affiliated with them in any way. This story is a work of fiction and I make no profit whatsoever from it.

Dean blinked a few times as he stared at the older man who was laying next to him. It was almost unbelievable that the words had even left Roman's lips. He could feel his heart thundering in his chest, the silence between the two of them while they stared into each others orbs creating a world that encased just the two of them. He had to swallow down the bubbling lump in his throat, the tension between them was getting too much.

He gently ran a hand across Roman's chest, his nails lightly dragging against the bronzed skin. He couldn't get enough of that electric touch that they shared. He never wanted to lose it. He exhaled the heavy breath that was building in his chest, relieving at least some of that pressure. He'd never said those three words to anyone he'd been in a relationship with before and it absolutely terrified him.

But being with Roman felt so right. He didn't know how else to describe it other than that Roman was the missing piece his heart had been searching for. He wanted to open his mouth and respond to his boyfriend's admission but his jaw felt frozen shut. It had felt like an eternity since Roman had said he loved him and he wished he could tell him he definitely shared the same feelings. He saw the flash of hurt in Roman's grey orbs and it made his heart sink.

"Hey." Roman's voice was quiet. "If you don't feel the same way, that's okay." He shrugged, trying to hide his hurt. "I probably jumped the gun anyway."

Dean leaned forward and captured Roman's lips with his own. His hands grabbed at the side of the older man's face, holding him there while he pressed their lips as physically close together as they could be. He rolled over so that he was almost on top of his lover, his skin prickling with excitement when he felt Roman's hands slide to rest on his hips. His blue orbs slid shut and his lips parted, waiting for Roman's tongue to press in.

He pushed his body in closer to the older man's, his head tilting while he allowed Roman's thick, pink tongue to invade his mouth. He moaned into the kiss. He felt the electricity radiating between them, his kiss swollen lips eagerly trying to swallow around Roman's while their kiss intensified. He hoped that this kiss could show the other man his true feelings while he tried to muster up his courage and actually speak the words.

He pulled back from the kiss after a few long, heated moments. He ignored the raging erection that was rubbing against Roman's side and he opened his eyes. He was pleasantly surprised to find that the older man was already looking at him. He took in another deep breath before he spoke. "I love you too Roman." He said with a smile. "I can't believe you ever doubted that I didn't."

Roman had a relieved smile on his face. "Well you left me hanging for a while there."

"Yeah. Sorry about that." Dean replied. He still had a cheeky grin on his lips. "You're different to anyone I've ever dated before."

"Good different I hope?" Roman let out a light laugh.

"Duh." Dean laughed. "I hope I'm with you for a long time."

"So do I." Roman agreed. "Now. Let's get a shower and then we can do some of the things I had planned for us to do today."

Dean laughed. He leaned forward and pressed another kiss to his lover's lips before he rolled off the bed. He started walking over to the bathroom. He looked over his shoulder when he reached the door and winked. "See you in there, stud."

Roman never moved so fast in his life.

Seth had spent the past week wearing a facade. He pretended that everything was okay, his usual cocky smirk and stride on full display when he was at work. He didn't know if any of his other coworkers noticed the longing gleam in his eye when Hunter didn't turn up night after night or the disappointed look in his gaze when Randy turned up instead. And at the same time, he didn't want to know if any of his colleagues had cottoned onto something happening between them.

Well his other coworkers that weren't Tyler. He saw Tyler approaching him at the end of each shift, a shit-stirring grin on his lips. But he always managed to avoid it, instead burying his head in Dean's shoulder and wrapping his arm around the older man's waist. He knew it was only a matter of time before there was no one to hide behind and he would be at the full mercy of his younger coworker.

He didn't know how he managed to get through his shifts with no Hunter and barely any Randy. His boredom and heartache making each minute drag on like a century.

There was one upside to his shitty week however. And that was Dave. He'd seen Dave come in a few times before but that had been when Hunter was around and he hadn't had all that much interaction with him. He didn't know much about the older man other than that he was a successful banker from New York. Dave was a nice distraction but he didn't get the same fluttering feeling in his heart when he saw Hunter. There was chemistry there between them but it was nothing compared to what he had with the man who held his heart.

He'd spent most of the past week texting Hunter asking to see him. He checked his phone every five minutes, hoping to see a reply there, his stomach dropping when he could see that Hunter had seen the message but had failed to reply. Again. He felt desperate, pathetic even that he was holding onto a man who reciprocated his feelings but would never ever be able to give him what he wanted.

It was very late on Saturday night when he finally received a message back from the other man, agreeing to see Seth the following day. He could barely believe that the words were even there on the screen. He felt his heart rate quicken, his palms sweating nervously. He was lucky he'd been at home alone in his apartment, his excitement overwhelming everything else that he'd been feeling.

He barely slept that night. He had huge bags under his eyes when he got ready on the Sunday morning but he didn't care. He was more than elated just to see the other man that he didn't think about the potential consequences that may follow. He made sure that he dressed in his favourite pair of black skinny jeans that clung to every muscle in his legs and a plain white t-shirt.

Hunter had suggested for them to meet at their usual place of the older man's apartment. Normally Seth's heart would be racing from excitement but not this morning. Today was all nerves. He glanced in the reflection of his floor length mirror one last time before he finally left his bedroom and made his way towards where he knew the older man would be. He wanted what he had before and he hoped that Hunter would agree.

The elevator ride down to the basement level of the apartment building was quiet and felt like it took forever. His thoughts and his fears were clouding his mind, making it almost impossible to try and calm his thumping heartbeat. His hands were shaking as he reached for the car door handle, pulling it open and climbing inside of the large car.

His chest was tight, his breathing a little labored as he tried to slide the car key into the ignition slot. His hands were still shaking, his chest heaving with anxiety while he started up the car. He let his brown orbs slide shut for a moment and he took in a deep breath. He had to stop for a minute and calm down. He didn't really know why he was even that nervous. He was only going to see Hunter. Hunter that he'd gone and visited hundreds of times before. It had just never been under these circumstances.

His eyes snapped back open and he finally backed out of his parking space and began the short drive from his apartment to Hunter's secret one. He had the radio turned up loud but he wasn't really listening to it. He could hear the sounds but he wasn't paying attention to the lyrics or the melodies of each song. He concentrated all of his energy onto the short drive and tried to push his anxious thoughts to the back of his mind.

He reached Hunter's place in a short amount of time given the gridlock of traffic he was stuck in. He pulled into the spot that he knew was reserved solely for him. He turned off the car and let out the heavy breath that sitting right at the base of his throat as he got out of the car. He clicked the button on the top of his key, locking the expensive vehicle before he made his way towards the elevator.

He stepped inside of the small box and pushed the small round button that indicated it was Hunter's level. He was glad he was alone in here. He could feel his stomach swirling around uncomfortably while he watched the small screen above the doors, the red digital numbers counting higher and higher. He heard the ding and he stepped out of the lift, walking the short distance down the hallway to his ex-lover's door.

He took a deep breath and he lifted his hand up to the door. He knocked three times and waited. His heart was thumping so hard in his chest he couldn't hear anything but the blood pounding in his ears. He felt it stop beating for a split second when the door opened up in front of him and Hunter was standing there with an unreadable expression on his face. He swallowed down the lump in his throat before he spoke. "Hunter."

"Seth." Hunter said quietly. There was a hint of a smile on his face. "Please come in."

Seth stepped inside of the familiar apartment. He glanced around the walls keenly. He'd been here less than a week ago and yet it looked different to how he'd remembered it. There was new furniture and the walls were now painted a contrasting colour. He turned back to the older man. "You've redecorated."

"Steph's idea." Hunter shrugged. He closed the door behind him and walked towards the kitchen. "She thought this place would be good as a retreat for us." He rolled his eyes. "Do you want a drink?"

Seth felt sick when he heard Hunter mention his wife's name. "I thought she didn't know about this place?"

Hunter let out a groan. "She didn't and now she does."

Seth looked over at the older man who now looked a little annoyed. "Why did you tell her about it? I thought this was your secret place for where we met up."

"Seth." Hunter said sharply. "You begged me all week to see you and you are wasting your time by asking me stupid questions about my wife." He saw the flash of sadness in the younger man's brown orbs. "I don't have all day. Why did you want to see me again so badly?"

Seth took a deep breath and sat down on the new brown leather couch that looked over the Chicago skyline. "It hurts too much." He didn't look at the man next to him when he felt the couch dip. "I'm not myself without you. I feel this big empty hole in me that just won't go away. I want things to go back to how they were before I told you I loved you."

"Seth." Hunter exhaled a breath of his own. "I didn't want to end what it was that we had but there wasn't a choice. It's not fair to either of us to pretend that there is a happy ending for us when there isn't."

Seth didn't say a word. He could feel his eyes welling up with tears again but he didn't want to cry. He couldn't cry again. He also wouldn't look at the man sitting next to him.

"I hope you didn't think that you coming here would give you a different conclusion to when you left last time. We cannot go back to how we were before last weekend because you will ask me for more again down the track and I will say no." Hunter continued. "I could give you everything you want but I am not willing to. I can't lose my family for someone that may not even be around in five years time." He took a deep breath, carefully watching the younger man. "I'm sorry."

"I wish you would have taken that risk." Seth said. He finally turned towards Hunter. He felt the first tear roll down his cheek. "Does this mean it's all over between us now? For good?"

Hunter nodded. "You need to move on from me and find someone else." He said quietly. "You need to forget about me."

Seth took a deep breath. "If this is the last time I see you, then I need to tell you something."

Hunter creased his brow. "What is it?"

"The whole time that we were sleeping together-" Seth made sure he was looking directly at Hunter. "-you weren't the only one I was with."

Hunter felt the jealousy build up inside of him. "What do you mean by that?"

"You aren't the only one I've had sex with in the time that you and I have been a thing." Seth answered.

"I fucking guessed that." Hunter spat, his tones laced with obvious envy. "Who else did you sleep with?"

"Randy." Seth answered cautiously. "There was others but he was the main one."

"And let me guess, that guy who confronted you at work as well?" Hunter snapped. "I should have fucking known you'd go to Orton. It's crystal fucking clear why he never chased any of the other guys at the club because he was pounding your ass every other night."

"He didn't mean anything like you did to me!" Seth said quickly.

Hunter looked Seth up and down. "Maybe I should have fucking known that I was sleeping with a cock-hungry whore. One wasn't enough, was it Seth?"

"It was only because you weren't there through the week that I went to Randy! I'm sorry!" Seth tried to reason, only to realize that maybe what he'd said wasn't the best response at all.

"You need to leave." Hunter said sharply. "You need to get the fuck out of my apartment, get in the car that I bought you and never contact me again." He stood up. "You can delete my number from your phone and you can never see me again." He watched Seth open his mouth. "Keep the stupid car and you can keep the expensive clothes but you can get out and never come back."

Seth stood up. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to think of the right words to say while his brown eyes stared wildly at Hunter. He felt frozen to the spot and he knew he deserved it right now.

"What are you doing?!" Hunter's voice was loud. "Fucking. Get. Out!"

Seth wanted to say something, anything. He wanted to apologize but his lips refused to budge. He didn't see any sort of love on Hunter's face as he looked at his ex-lover. All he saw was anger, resentment and jealousy. He shot the man he loved one last look before he walked out of the older man's apartment for the very last time.

He heard the door shut behind him and he knew that this was the start of the next part of his life. And maybe Hunter wasn't the great love of his life after all.

TBC

A/N: only five chapters to go after this one! Thank you to everyone for reading and reviewing! Always interested to hear what you guys think! GatesVengeance x