Frank noticed the look and waved his hand. "Go for it," he said with a smirk. "I’ll be fine."

Charles looked back at Mark before answering. "Yeah, I can go with you," he said. "But can you give me a few minutes to get ready?"

Mark nodded. "Alright. I will be waiting in my room. Just text me when you are done."

"Okay," Charles nodded.

With that, Mark turned and headed back to his room.

The moment the door closed behind him, Charles quickly walked back into the room, his heart beating much faster than before, his eyes immediately landing on his suitcase.

Frank said. "Chill, man! Are you guys going on a date?" he started teasing.

Charles brushed a hand through his hair, his cheeks turning warm. "Stop it. It’s not a date."

"Oh, please. A man personally comes to your room to ask you out somewhere alone? That’s definitely a date."

Charles tried to ignore the teasing and pulled out two different shirts. "Frank, be useful. Which outfit should I wear?"

Frank rolled his eyes playfully but walked over to inspect the choices. He carefully picked out a stylish shirt and a matching pair of trousers, completely taking over. He styled Charles, adjusting his collar and making sure everything looked perfect.

Once he was fully dressed, Charles looked in the mirror, suddenly feeling a bit nervous. He turned to Frank and said, "Say a prayer for me."

Frank smirked. "I hope he takes you somewhere where he can fuck you. That way, your mind will finally calm down."

Charles choked on his breath. "Frank! Be serious!"

Frank’s expression softened into something genuinely sweet. "He is already into you, Charles. So my real prayer is that both of you end up in bed as boyfriends, not just bedmates."

Charles smiled warmly, the nervousness leaving his body. "Thank you, friend."

Frank leaned in and planted a quick, supportive kiss on Charles’s cheek. Charles smiled, walked over to the door, and stepped out into the hallway.

Left alone in the quiet room, Frank sighed. A small smile crept onto his face. "Both of my friends have a man now," he muttered to himself.

He walked back to the bed and sat down, staring at the floor.

"Frank... It’s time to finally take your own love life seriously too."

But after saying that, he suddenly paused before laughing quietly at himself. "But who would even want someone like me?"

Meanwhile, instead of texting Mark, Charles decided to go directly to his room.

He walked through the quiet hallway before stopping in front of Mark’s door and knocking softly.

Mark opened the door almost immediately.

The moment he saw Charles already dressed and ready, he picked up his phone from the desk beside him before looking back at Charles.

"Let’s go."

But just as they turned toward the door, Mark suddenly paused after glancing at Charles.

Then he frowned. "Wait."

Charles blinked.

Mark stepped closer toward him afterward.

"Your hair."

Before Charles could even react properly, Mark lifted his hand and gently fixed the slightly messy strands of Charles’s hair himself.

The sudden closeness instantly made Charles’s heartbeat rise.

Charles unconsciously lifted his eyes toward Mark’s face while Mark focused quietly on fixing his hair.

Then slowly...

Mark noticed him staring.

For a brief moment, both of them simply looked at each other quietly.

Neither moved away.

Then finally, Mark lowered his hand. "Alright," he murmured. "Let’s go."

As they walked down the hallway, Charles quickly pulled out his phone and sent a message to Adrian to inform him that he was heading out with Mark.

Not even a minute later, Adrian replied: Alright, have a nice day!

When Mark and Charles reached the ground floor and stepped outside, the vehicles were already waiting for them in the driveway. Tony was sitting in the front passenger seat of the main car, with the driver behind the wheel.

Mark and Charles slid into the spacious backseat together while another car carrying several stone-faced bodyguards followed closely behind them.

A moment later, the cars finally pulled away from the mansion, smoothly driving down the long estate road.

Their first stop was at a corporate building in the city.

Mark turned toward Charles and explained that he needed to quickly meet with a business partner first.

Then Tony immediately stepped out of the car alongside Mark, but before leaving, he turned toward the other bodyguards following behind them.

"Stay with Charles," he instructed.

The bodyguards immediately nodded.

After that, Mark and Tony headed inside together for the meeting while Charles stayed back in the car with the remaining guards nearby.

Once they finished there, they drove to another location entirely for a second business meeting.

And just as before, Mark took Tony inside with him, while the other bodyguards stayed behind to keep Charles company until they returned.

Once all the business meetings were finally finished and Mark returned to the backseat, the cars slowly pulled back into traffic again.

Charles glanced at him curiously before speaking. "I didn’t know you actually worked," he admitted.

That immediately made Mark smile. "Of course I work," he replied. "I manage some of my own businesses while also helping my mother handle parts of her company here in the city."

Then he glanced briefly at Charles. "My father may be rich," he added calmly, "but do I look like a grown man who would sit around doing nothing all day?"

Charles immediately shook his head. "No, that’s not what I meant, I’m only surprised because most of the time you’re always at home."

Mark nodded. "That’s because I mostly work from home."

Charles nodded afterward. "Alright." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

After that, Mark suddenly instructed the driver to stop at one of the most expensive restaurants in the city.

The two of them ended up having a quiet late lunch together before eventually leaving afterward.

The atmosphere between them felt much more comfortable than before.

Then while they were on their way back home, Mark suddenly looked toward Charles again, as if he was trying to find the right words for something.

After a brief pause, he finally spoke.

"Would it be okay if I have your contact? Maybe your social media handles too?" Mark asked. "Just so we can keep in touch."

Charles smiled, feeling a flutter in his chest. "Sure, that’s completely fine."

They exchanged their phone numbers and social media accounts right there in the car. By the time they arrived back at the estate, it was only early evening. Mark headed toward his own wing of the house, while Charles walked back to the guest room.

Inside the room, Adrian and Frank were sitting together on the bed, scrolling through a phone while laughing and talking about something.

The moment Charles walked through the door, both of them snapped their heads up. Their faces lit up with curiosity, and they immediately began to question him.

"Where did you guys go?" Frank asked, leaning forward. "Why are you back so early? I thought you were going on a proper date!"

Charles sat down on the edge of the bed and sighed. "I thought we were going on a date too. But no, he just wanted me to follow him to handle some of his business meetings. Afterward, we had a quick lunch at a restaurant, and then we came straight back."

Frank grinned, nudging Charles’s shoulder. "Hey, little by little, this is progress. At least he wanted you by his side. One day soon, he’s going to ask you out for real."

"Well, there is one piece of good news," Charles admitted, a shy smile breaking across his face. "He asked for my number and my social media before we got back."

Adrian and Frank instantly gasped, burst into cheers, and started teasing him mercilessly. They laughed, jumped around, and celebrated the victory the way only close friends do.

In the middle of their celebration, Adrian’s phone began to ring. He looked at the screen, and his smile turned soft.

"My man is calling me," Adrian said, standing up and smoothing down his clothes. "I have to go see what he needs. I’ll be back soon."

Adrian walked out of the room with his phone in hand, leaving Frank and Charles alone to continue their conversation.

The moment the door clicked shut...