I felt like my last update was a little late, and I always feel bad if you are a scene skipper because you don't get a full chapter - so here's a second release.  

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Jaiden took a bite from the breakfast and moaned happily. Toni was grinning, which caused him to flush.

Jaiden coughed. "You have a beautiful home. Did you recently move in?" He asked, noticing the unpacked boxes.

Toni sighed. "I lived out of state for a while but came back a couple of months ago. I'm just hesitant with unpacking."

"Hesitant?"

"I was offered a permanent position in the city I worked in before. It's a good job, but it's hard to officially leave home. I haven't given my decision yet, but I have some compelling arguments to remain here." He smirked a little as he looked at Jaiden.

Jaiden bit his lip a little. He hated the conflicting feelings he had. One part of him told him to keep a distance, while the other was in knots with the thought of Toni leaving. He just found him, but now he had to prepare to say goodbye.

Jaiden forced a smile, pushing back the turmoil inside of him. "Well, it doesn't matter where you go because there is the undeniable fact that the chile is better here."

Toni laughed. "Very true."

"The history here is rich too." Jaiden said while tapping the fork on his lips.

Toni nodded, holding back a grin. "True again."

"Is your family here.  Are you close to them?" Jaiden asked.

"Sí. La familia lo es todo." Toni responded with a smile. "Isn't yours?"

Family is everything.... Jaiden shuffled in his chair a little and looked off to the side. "My family situation could be better."

Toni reached out and ran his fingers up and down his forearm. "I'm sorry, Jaiden. I shouldn't have assumed."

Jaiden sighed. "It really isn't too serious. We're just distant emotionally and, thankfully, physically." He waved his hand seemingly trying to wave past the depressing atmosphere. "Anyway, let's get back to the topic on hand."

Toni laughed. "Well, I have an ex up there that I wouldn't want to associate with."

Jaiden felt himself run cold for a moment. Was it jealousy? He coughed a little and looked away from Toni. "No one wants that. You may end up in their bed after a drunken night."

"True, but sometimes that can lead to good things." Toni leaned over and gave Jaiden a heart-stopping smile. "But, in my opinion, there is also a pretty convincing reason sitting in front of me."

Jaiden looked down at his plate and ran his hand through his hair and he felt his insecurities creep up.

"Is a one-night stand really deserving to be put on the list?"

Toni winced a little and leaned back in his chair with his arms folded. "Is that this was to you? Just a one-night stand?"

Jaiden snapped his head up and looked at Toni in shock. His face was stern, but Jaiden could see a flicker of hurt in his eyes. 

"I don't know what this is for you." Jaiden said quietly.  He was so caught up on Toni the night before that he didn't think about setting up boundaries and expectations.  They both went into this blind.

"Perhaps I came off too fast and too strong, but I'm not some cabron who just fucks around." There was a small bite to Toni's words.

Jaiden would normally get defensive in these situations. Roll with the argument. Say insensitive things and leave. It was an easy way to cut off ties. But something about Toni made him hesitate.

Jaiden sighed and decided to go with a more neutral response. "If you were someone who just fucked around, I would have already been gone. But you need to understand that my job is everything to me, and I want to respect yours as well. I don't think you should include someone you just met as a reason to decline a career opportunity."

Toni seemed to relax a little, but there was still a storm of emotion brewing in him. He nodded slowly. "It was a poor attempt to sweep you off your feet." He sighed a little. "Going there or staying here will have the same result career wise. It's just choosing the right location for me."

He rested his head on his hand and gave Jaiden a small smile. "But I do want to get to know you. I'm not asking you to marry me."

This statement made Jaiden choke on his food that he was just starting to eat again. He coughed harshly until his eyes watered. He chugged his coffee, ignoring the burn from the hot water. "God, I hope not."

Toni stifled a laugh. "I didn't think that the proposition would be that bad."

Jaiden flushed a little. "Believe me, I would make a terrible husband. Save yourself the trouble."

"I find that hard to believe."

Jaiden waved his hand. "I'm a distrusting bastard who is married to his job... obsessed is a better word for it. I have a terrible work life balance and it makes me insensitive. The few relationships I have tried ended miserably. To top it off, I must have offended a bruja unwittingly because bad luck follows me like my shadow."

Toni laughed. "I have some sage to burn to ward off bad luck."

Jaiden felt his lips curl upwards against his better judgement. 'Control yourself' he told himself, but his body was already betraying him.

His hand reached out and held on to Toni's. "I'm confident in a lot of things, bordering along the lines of arrogant... except for this. I'm no good to anyone."

Jaiden couldn't believe what he just said. It wasn't a lie. Far from it. It was his truth. His vulnerability. And he just laid it bare in front of some stranger.

Toni's brow creased for a moment, and his eyes softened. His thumb caressed Jaiden's hand gently. "I won't push you. But I would like you to consider having coffee with me sometime. Let me see this rumored bad luck for myself."

Jaiden smiled ruefully but didn't answer. Toni picked up his hand and kissed his palm. "Just think about it and take your time."

Space. That's what Toni gave him. He was in control of what happened next. The chemistry was there, as was the desire. But Jaiden was already feeling his walls come up and his mind kept screaming at him to leave. It was the only thing that will save him the heartache and trouble.

If this was a simple one-night stand, he would have left in the middle of the night. But Jaiden stayed all night. Hell, he even cuddled. As much as he denied it, these last two months had his mind twisted around the memory of Toni in the elevator.

But this frightened him more.

Despite what Toni said, he still had a career opportunity in another state. Like every other relationship he had, anything with Toni would have an expiration date. If he didn't fuck it up himself, their careers will.

And if Toni decided to stay in New Mexico, Jaiden couldn't give him more without exposing his darkness and trauma. The things that plagued him were too much for any partner or lover. No one deserved to be with the broken man hiding deep inside of his tough exterior. No one should have to deal with his depression, anxiety, and nightmares.

He was surrounded by loss and bad luck... he was cursed. His fear rapidly grew and choked him, quickly outweighing his desire at this moment.

Jaiden stood up. "I think I should go."

Toni's face fell slightly. "So, you're running?"

Jaiden ran his hand through his hair. "No, I'm just going home."

Toni's jaw clenched for a moment but nodded. "Ok. I can drive you."

Jaiden picked up his phone and tapped the screen. "No need. I have an Uber."

It's better this way, right? Cut it off clean.

He went back to the bedroom to change. He bit his lip and looked up at Toni who was leaning in the doorway. "You seem reluctant to let me leave."

"I am, but I won't force you to do anything you don't want." He said.

Jaiden sighed. "But why be reluctant? You know nothing about me."

Toni stepped towards him and brushed his hand against Jaiden's cheek. Jaiden was startled by the sudden gentleness and almost leaned into it. "I was hoping to learn."

His phone chimed to let him know that his ride had arrived. He took a deep breath and started to walk away from Toni and his touch.

As he reached the front door, he was suddenly pulled back into Toni's strong embrace. His lips were on his within moments. It was desperate and unrestrained, as if Toni was relaying his feelings all in this one breath.

Toni broke away first and let out a broken breath. "Mira, I wanted to forget about meeting you in that elevator, and lord knows I tried. But when I saw you at the bar last night, I couldn't help myself. Fue el destino."

Jaiden's swollen lips curled up a little, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "This isn't the movies. This was a coincidence. A good coincidence."

He turned to leave.

His mind was trying to make him run to the hills, practically drowning him in his fears. But for a brief moment he listed to the small voice that told him to turn around. He shuddered a little and looked back at Toni. He could tell that Toni was trying to keep his resolve to not chase him.

What the hell was he doing?

"One more coincidence." Jaiden said suddenly.

Toni jolted. "What?"

"If we run into each other once more, then I won't blame it on coincidence and I won't run away. If you don't hate me at that time, I'll take you out on a date." Jaiden said.

Toni gave a genuine smile. "I trust my gut, so I'm confident that you will be taking me out some day."

"I hope so." Jaiden said quietly and walked out the door and into the Uber waiting for him.

He hated himself for leaving but he didn't know how to confront his fears. Not yet. But he also didn't want to let go of this opportunity, which is why he spouted out that last offer. He was a conflicting mess.

"Fuck." Jaiden murmured.

Jaiden's phone started to ring, and he saw Nate's name on the caller ID.

"Ryder speaking."

"Um... so... I really don't want to interrupt after you finally finding the guy you've obsessed over for the last two months, but this is kind of urgent." Nate said quietly.

Jaiden sighed a little. "I'm already on my way back."

"What the hell? Why? Wait... no... I'm setting that aside to discuss later. I have some... news."

"Did you get some woman pregnant or something?" Jaiden said with a dejected sigh.

"Eh... that would have been better than what I'm telling you now."

"Fuck." Jaiden groaned.

"So, you know how your family has been threatening to come down?" Nate's voice was in a higher octave.

Jaiden paled. "Don't you fucking dare finish that sentence."

"... they're in our living room."

Jaiden shook his head. "Nope. Not doing it. Tell them I'm in Cruces, or in another state. Fuck. Tell them I drowned in the Rio Grande."

"Please, Jaiden. I can't do this hosting by myself. They're... um... a bit extra." Nate pleaded.

"Goddamnit." Jaiden's jaw was clenched with annoyance.

The phone was able to pick up the conversation on the background, most of it was his stepmother trying to explain that Jaiden always flaked out like this and was never reliable. His stepbrother would chime in and throw in some insult.

"Never mind, Jaiden... maybe you shouldn't come. I can kick them out." Nate was obviously annoyed at this point.

"No. I'll be there. I see the apartments now."

He normally rode the elevator, but he chose to climb up the six flights of stairs. As he walked down the hall, he could hear the escalating voices. They finally pushed Nate over the edge.

Jaiden took a deep breath and opened his door. He saw his stepmother, Tracy, with her hands on her hips and berating Nate. His stepbrother, Brandon, was leaning against the couch and watching the confrontation like it was a show. Nate was red in the face and trying to control himself while a woman was sitting on the couch looking extremely embarrassed.

"Enough. I can hear you all the way down the hall." Jaiden said with a tired voice.

Tracy rounded on him. "And where the hell were you. How dare you make us wait."

Jaiden sighed and walked past them, patting Nate on the shoulder. "How's the hangover?" He asked.

Nate nodded. "Worse than hell."

Jaiden chuckled as he went to go make some coffee and heard Tracy stomping in behind him.

"Are you just going to ignore us? We traveled all this way just to see you." She said with pursed lips.

Jaiden looked down at her and sighed again. He grabbed his coffee, walked past her again and went to the couches and held a hand out towards the woman sitting down. He knew that this was Brandon's fiancé after seeing the flashy ring on her finger. He hoped that she was not like them.

"Jaiden." He introduced himself. "Congratulations on the engagement. I don't know what you see in that brother of mine, but as long as you two are happy, I guess that's all that matters."

Brandon glared but she chuckled a little as she shook his hand. "Patricia."

He examined her a little. She seemed to be glowing, her hand resting lightly on her stomach and her coffee untouched.

He suspected that he would be an uncle soon. He went back to the kitchen and started the kettle.

"You're being disrespectful." Tracy started in on him again.

"And you came over uninvited." Jaiden responded. "I work tomorrow, and I don't have time to host."

"Can't you just take time off?" Tracy huffed.

"Señora, he hardly takes time off." Nate said with a snicker.

"This is America. You should speak English." She said with a glare.

"This is my place and you're in New Mexico. If you insist on visiting, you will respect my home and the culture here." Jaiden said between clenched teeth.

The kettle broke the tension with its whistle and Jaiden poured it into a mug with a bag of tea. He walked out and put it in front of Patricia, swapping out the coffee.

"It's a local chamomile and lavender. I think you'll like it." He explained with a small smile.

Her eyes widened and she blushed. "Thank you." She took the mug and inhaled the scent with a smile.

Jaiden sat down, playing with a ring on his pinky finger. It was his mother's wedding band that he had kept with him since she had passed. Tracy never knew he had this ring, or else she would throw a larger tantrum than normal.

He was suddenly nostalgic and wished he had his parents with him. Perhaps then he would have had the confidence to stay with Toni today.