The rest of the trip was peaceful, Carlos fell asleep and Alberto continued his work on the notebook. The flight attendant served him a few more times but did not dare to look towards Carlos. Just before landing, Alberto tightened Carlos' seatbelt carefully so as not to wake him up.
As soon as the plane landed, Carlos woke up to the movements. Alberto was looking at him with an affectionate gaze that made Carlos feel uncomfortable. "What's wrong? Am I drooling?" Alberto smiled at the question and replied, "No, I was just admiring how beautiful you are."
Carlos gave a shy smile and asked, trying to change the subject, "Have we arrived?" "Yes, but before we get off, there's something I need to talk to you about," Carlos noticed that Alberto became serious and tense when saying that. "I'm going to meet some business partners here in Brazil, so I want to apologize in advance. I can't be so kind and affectionate towards you in front of them. They are my partners, but I don't trust anyone. I don't want them to realize that I care about you and put your safety at risk."
Carlos nodded, understanding what he meant, and somehow felt happy with what Alberto said. After all, it meant that he was special to Alberto and could become his weakness. He didn't want anyone else coming after him, and he didn't want to interfere with Alberto's business.
Everyone disembarked from the private jet, and a car was already waiting for them. A well-dressed man stood outside the car, with his hand in his pocket and sunglasses on. "Alberto, how nice to see you," the man greeted Alberto and hugged him. "How are you, Diego? Is everything in order here?" Alberto asked, his expression serious.
"Yes, but let's get in the car. They're waiting for us for the meeting. I'll brief you on everything on the way," Alberto agreed, and before getting into the car, he looked at Carlos and indicated the other car. "You can go with Paulo in the other car."
Carlos simply nodded and walked toward the other car, where Paulo was already standing, holding the door open. Even though Alberto had warned him about how he would have to treat him, Carlos couldn't shake off the strange feeling that Alberto's coldness caused him.
Alberto got into the car with a stern look on his face, and Diego noticed. "Is there a problem, my friend? You seem irritated," Diego said. Alberto stared at him and replied, "Just a few problems I left behind. I'm thinking of how to solve them." Diego narrowed his eyes, gave a malicious smile, and asked about Carlos.
"And who is the guy that came with you? He's quite handsome. Some lover, perhaps?" Alberto sighed and answered seriously, "He's nobody special, just one of my subordinates. He's my personal doctor. He knows I suffered an injury recently, and he's just accompanying me as a precaution."
Diego placed his hand on Alberto's thigh provocatively and asked, "But are you okay? I hope this doesn't prevent us from having fun like we always do." Alberto knew what kind of fun he was referring to, but now he had Carlos, and that wasn't going to happen. "I don't think we can do anything this time. I'm sorry, doctor's orders."
Diego made a displeased face as Alberto replied. He didn't give him a chance to continue and asked him to talk about business. While Diego explained the current state of affairs in Brazil, Alberto took out his phone and sent a message to Carlos.
"Wait for me at the hotel. Don't leave the room until I come back. I'll take you out for dinner after I finish what I need to do. We're not in my territory, baby, so I can't take any risks with your safety. Don't open the door for anyone except me and Paulo. I'm sorry for leaving you alone."
Carlos received the message, read it, and sighed. He knew Alberto was being overly concerned, after all, they were in another country. What could possibly happen here? But he wasn't going to disobey. Actually, what bothered him at that moment was the man who was alone with Alberto in that car. He saw the way he looked at Alberto.
Paulo was different from Bruno, he was more reserved and serious. He remembered how Bruno had intimidated him when he first met Alberto. Paulo didn't feel as comfortable around him as he did with Bruno, but he still took a risk and asked, "Are Alberto and that guy really close?" Paulo looked in his direction, but with his sunglasses on, he turned back to face the front before responding.
"Don't worry, you seem really important to him. I've never seen him so concerned for someone before. So don't worry, he's loyal." Hearing that made him feel a little better, but at the same time, it only confirmed that they had something going on. Carlos mentally scolded himself, he had no right to feel jealous, even though he was already certain that he had feelings for Alberto and that they had been intimate, they weren't dating.
Carlos thought about this as he looked at the scenery around him. It bothered him, but was this really what he wanted now? To date Alberto? He still had Lucas, who wanted an answer, but he was sure that he no longer felt the same way about him.
The hotel where they would be staying was very fancy. The room was a large suite with a beautiful view of the sea. Carlos loved seeing that landscape and was eager to go to the beach. Paulo left the luggage in the room and went to wait in a sitting area in the suite.
The Room
Carlos was feeling hot, so he took a shower and put on something cooler and continued to look at the view, waiting for Alberto. Since he was taking a long time, Carlos decided to go downstairs to grab something to eat while waiting for him. Paulo went with him because he had strict orders not to leave Carlos alone.
They left the hotel and headed towards a nearby diner. They sat at a table and one of the waitresses came to deliver the menu and take their orders. The girl made a point to smile at Carlos, and he smiled back and started to choose what he wanted.
"I'll have this sandwich and a fresh orange juice, please," Carlos spoke a little Portuguese, but you could tell he had an accent. "You guys aren't Brazilian, are you? Where are you from?" Before Carlos could respond, Paulo interrupted, asking for the same order to be brought to him.
The girl gave another smile to Carlos and left to deliver the order. "Why were you so rude to the girl?" Paulo placed both hands on the table, interlaced his fingers, and looked serious. He responded, "The girl was flirting with you, and Alberto wouldn't be happy to know that someone is flirting with you."
"Seriously? She was just being nice, and besides, I'm not your boss's boyfriend, so I can flirt with whoever I want. And by the way, you know I'm gay, right?" Paulo didn't respond, he just took out his phone and started scrolling. Carlos rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the street.
A little while later, the girl came back with their orders, smiling at Carlos again, while Paulo observed. "If you need anything else, just let me know," she said in a way that made Carlos feel a bit embarrassed. "Don't worry, if he needs anything, I'll let you know," a deep, strong voice behind her startled her.
"Can I help you, sir? Are you two together?" the girl asked awkwardly. Alberto approached a bit more and responded, with a grumpy face, "Yes, we're together." She was standing with her back to Carlos, blocking his view of Alberto, so he took the opportunity to gesture to her, pointing at himself and then at Carlos. The girl became embarrassed, apologized, and left.
Paulo, who saw everything, just smirked. "You didn't want to wait for me in the room?" Carlos didn't look at him as he responded, "I was hungry and wanted to enjoy the view." Alberto didn't say anything, he just stood there waiting for them to finish eating so they could leave.
"Do you want to take a walk before we go back to the hotel?" Carlos agreed, excited. They walked for some time along the promenade without saying anything until Alberto decided to break the silence. "Is something bothering you? Or do you want to ask something?"
Carlos simply shook his head, not having the courage to ask what he really wanted. "It's nothing, I just thought maybe we could spend some time together here." Alberto held his hand and stopped, making Carlos face him.
"I'm sorry, but I need to take care of some organization matters first. After that, I promise I'll be all yours," Alberto touched Carlos' face, and he closed his eyes, enjoying the sensation of his touch. "That's alright, I can wait a little longer." They started walking again, but this time, Alberto didn't let go of his hand.
Back at the hotel, they rested for a while and then got ready to go out. Alberto had planned to take him to a restaurant near the beach. In the restaurant, the table Alberto reserved was outside with a view of the sea. "This place is beautiful, Alberto. You have good taste," Carlos was happy to be there.
"I thought you would like it here, and it's perfect for what I want to do." Carlos didn't understand what he was referring to. "What do you want to do?" Before Alberto could respond, the waiter arrived with their dishes. Alberto took a deep breath, shooting a deadly look at the waiter, who served them as quickly as he could and left.
Carlos smiled at Alberto with that look, but as soon as they were alone again, he continued, "I brought you here tonight because I wanted to make a request, and I really hope you'll accept it." Carlos's heart raced as he imagined it could be what he was thinking. "What request?"
"I know you've been through a lot, and I want you to know that I'll always be by your side, but I don't want to be by your side just as your friend, protector, or whatever else. Alberto took Carlos's hand that was on the table and continued.
"I want to be by your side as your boyfriend, your man, or any other cute title, so I want to know, will you accept this twisted mobster here as your boyfriend?"
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