Worship Me

Worship Me

Chapter Eighty-Three

The streets of downtown Easton were closed to traffic, replaced by rows of white tents and food trucks. Warm string lights hung overhead, giving the whole street a soft golden glow. Music played from a small stage at the end of the block while people wandered from stall to stall with drinks and paper trays of food in their hands. 
Vendors sold handmade jewelry, paintings, candles, clothes, and local crafts, while the smell of grilled burgers, barbecue, funnel cakes, and fresh popcorn filled the air. 
Children laughed as they ran past with balloons, and every few steps someone stopped to admire a display or chat with a vendor. The whole street felt alive, packed with people enjoying the warm evening.
Lucian held Artemis’ hand, walking him through the fair. 
“you know when Leo talked about the night life here, I thought he just meant the clubs,” Artemis muttered. Lucian stopped in front of the barbeque stall. 
“Of course you would think that, your little head is filled with sex and cigarettes,” Lucian flicked his forehead gently with a finger. Artemis frowned, rubbing his forehead gently. He wanted to glare at Lucian but the other man reached for the spot and gently soothe it with his thumb.
“Does it hurt?” He asked gently. Artemis stared into those blue eyes in a daze. It didn’t hurt at all  but he liked Lucian caring for him so he nodded. 
“I think it’s going to swell. I might have tattoos and all but I have really sensitive skin, professor,” Artemis complained. Lucian shook his head,amused by the exaggeration.
“What kind of barbecue do you want? Fish or…”
“i want every kind they have,” Artemis cut in, then he looked away with a scoff. Lucian chuckled. 
“Alrigth, alright, take any seat you like, I'll place the order,” he told the boy. They were currently on a line with just three people ahead of them.
“Well, I don't feel like walking either. You just attacked me and you couldn’t even apologize,” Arrtemis huffed. He was aware of the eyes his little tantrum was attracting but he couldn't care less. 
“I’m sorry I attacked you,” Lucian reached for his hair but Artemis pulled back. There were two people in front of him now. Artemis was not on the line but he was moving along with Lucian, complaining.
“My legs are hurting. I want to sit,” he said again as the second person left, leaving just one person. Artemis didn’t think Lucian would actually take him seriously until the man stepped out of the line.
His eyes widened. “What are you…”
He didn’t get to complete the words when Lucian suddenly swept him off his feet. His heart stopped for a second, heat warming his cheeks. Suddenly, the eyes on them began to bore holes into him. It didn’t help that he was hearing giggles around them. He'd never wanted to crawl in a hole and disappear like he did now. 
Meanwhile, Lucian on the other hand was completely relaxed. He didn’t care about the prying gazes on them but was more invested in the rare shyness he was witnessing. 
“What are you doing? Put me down,” Artermis whispered, burying his face in Lucian’s shirt. 
“Why? Your legs are hurting, no?” Came a deliberately oblivious response. 
“My legs are working fine, let me down,” he gritted.
Lucian smirked down at him, “I think not.”
Artemis cursed under his breath but didn’t complain anymore. He was mentally counting the seconds until Lucian reached a table. After what seemed like an eternity, Lucian drew a chair and set him down on it. Artemis stared hard at the table, unable to meet Lucian’s gaze. 
The professor ruffled his hair with a low chuckle and planted a kiss on his forehead. “Who was the one complaining about being kept a secret? Now you can’t even handle this?”
Artemis bit his lip. Lucian was right. This was not him at all. Yet, his heart wouldn’t stop pounding. He felt hot, very hot. 
“I’ll go place the order, okay? Wait a bit,” Lucian didn’t pry for answers and simply walked back to the line. Luckily, the owner was just attending to the last person. Lucian placed his order soon but he spotted an ice-cream truck close by. 
He figured Artemis would need something to keep his mouth busy while waiting for the barbecue. On reaching the truck, he realized he didn’t know which flavours Artemis liked. 
“I’ll have one of everything.” 
The woman gave a surprised smile. “Are you sure? We have like fifteen different flavors.”
“That's a lot of sugar,” Lucian muttered. But no way the boy was eating all of them anyway so it was fine. “I’ll take it.”
Artemis was starting to get bored when a girl approached him. 
“Hi, I'm Rica,” the redhead introduced with a bright smile. Artemis didn’t smile back. He was not interested in talking to anyone who wasn’t Lucian. The girl dropped her hand awkwardly. “Uhm… I just wanted to say you look really good. I saw you with your friend earlier so I thought….”
“Husband,” Artemis corrected, sticking a cigarette in his mouth. 
“Huh?” Her mouth hung open. 
“I said he’s my husband. Now leave me alone,” he grumbled, flicking on his lighter. Just then, his eyes caught Lucian approaching and he quickly threw down the cigarette, crushing it under his feet. 
The girl followed his gaze to Lucian who came to a stop by Artemis' side. He was even more handsome than he looked from a distance. His blue eyes were the most stunning set of eyes she’d ever seen. But he wasn’t even looking at her.
He frowned deeply, eyes narrowing at the boy sitting next to her. 
“What? She’s the one talking to me,” Artemis defended. Lucian set down the bags on the table and pulled a lollipop from his pocket. Artemis watched in confusion as the man unwrapped it. 
“Smoking is bad for your lungs,” Lucian stated, pushing the sweet in his mouth. Artemis chuckled. 
“So you rather I have diabetes instead?” The boy teased. Seeing neither men were paying attention to her, the girl huffed and walked away. It was unfair that two handsome men got to be together.
“No, but it’ll do for now, until I find a better solution,” Lucian said, dragging his chair from the opposite side so he could sit beside Artemis. “I got you ice-cream. Didn't know which flavors you liked so I got a few for you to try.”
Artemis reached for the bag. His jaw dropped when he saw the different flavors. He didn’t have a sweet tooth but God he wanted to melt. 
“Are you sure you don’t want to marry me, professor?” He smirked. “You don’t have to do anything, just keep spoiling me like this.”
Lucian chuckled. When Artemis first asked that question, he thought it was the adrenaline speaking. He leaned in with an equally teasing smile. 
“Would you like to go on a trip then?” He asked. “Japan, Paris, HonKong, Dubai… anywhere.”
“Ouuu ... like the freaking temple dedicated to me?” The smugness in his voice made Lucian laugh. “Hey, I'm not even kidding. Haven’t you heard of the temple of Artemis?
“I’m pretty sure it's in ruins,” Lucian snorted. 
“Still, for it’s mere existence, you should totally worship me,” Artemis caressed Lucian’s cheek gently, gazing deep into those ocean blue eyes. “You’ll do that, won’t you, professor? Worship me until the day you die…”
A heartbeat passed.
“Yes.”