(BL)Alpha Made-Chapter 333: He’s hiding something

Andrew could tell that something was up with Maxwell on the way home.

The man was lost in thought most of the drive, and didn’t start any conversations with Andrew at all. While this happened sometimes, today didn’t feel exactly the same. He felt purposefully distracted, and Andrew didn’t want to make any crazy assumptions, but it felt like it was intentional. Like the man didn’t want to talk to him, specifically.

Andrew should have felt more worried than he was, but he couldn’t be. He knew that if it was something bad in their relationship, he would have said something. Maybe. After the argument they had, and the small time that they had broken up, Maxwell had gotten a lot better at communication.

If he didn’t want to tell Andrew right away, he just hoped it wasn’t anything big. He hoped that Maxwell would tell him about whatever was bothering him in his own time.

Andrew kept a smile on his face as he drove to their new home. He almost messed up and drove to their old home, but caught himself before it got too obvious. He expected Maxwell to make a comment on it, but the man was silent.

That did worry Andrew, but he kept it to himself as they pulled into their new gated community and then further into their own garage. The contractors were still there, and Maxwell was the first to get out of the car, heading inside. Andrew let him, watching him, wondering what was bothering the man so much that it kind of felt like he was avoiding Andrew.

He tried not to get too worried. The man would talk to him. He knew he would.

Andrew made sure that they had collected everything from the car before he got out, locked up, and joined Maxwell in the house. Maxwell was chatting with the contractor, probably getting caught up on what they had done today, and when he noticed that Andrew had stepped into the building, he waved him over. Andrew went willingly.

"They got the new door for upstairs installed. The one that’s supposed to act as Richard’s temporary home before the other unit is finished." Maxwell told him and Andrew nodded, turning a smile to the contractor.

"Oh perfect. That’s wonderful news, especially with him moving in so soon." Andrew said and the contractor seemed slightly relieved.

"Glad to hear it. We’re working as fast as we can on the apartment, but is there anything else you wanted done in the basement while we’re down there?" The contractor asked and Maxwell nodded.

"I’ll go grab my laptop. Let’s meet in the dining room in about ten minutes? I want to change out of my outside clothes." Maxwell told him and the contractor nodded.

"Can do, Boss." They split apart and Andrew and Maxwell headed upstairs, both going to their respective closets to get changed. Andrew kind of missed how they used to go to the same closet, but he didn’t want to sound like a needy little kid, so he kept that to himself.

Andrew changed into a loose fitting of a shirt he could find, but it was still pretty tight around his arms, and a pair of sweatpants. When he came out of the closet he found that Maxwell was wearing a nice, thick sweater that barely stayed on his shoulders and a comfy looking pair of pants. Andrew had no idea how the man managed, but he always looked so high class compared to Andrew.

Wait...was that Andrew’s sweater?

Andrew felt his eyes narrow as he realised that yes, it was his sweater, and he’d been wondering where it had been after he had unpacked it. He was pretty sure he’d worn it a few days ago, so how did it end up in Maxwell’s closet?

Maxwell made no comment on it, in fact practically fleeing the bedroom as soon as he was dressed. Andrew stared after the man, more than a little confused. This behaviour was so unlike Maxwell, especially after how aggressive he’d been this weekend that Andrew felt like he was getting whiplash.

If he was in a mood, it was better to let him figure out. There was no harm to it because at the very least the man was wearing Andrew’s clothes. That meant that Andrew could relax somewhat.

Andrew headed downstairs after pondering for a few minutes if everything was alright, and then just decided he should go make dinner. Maybe Maxwell was being a little weird because people were still in their house? He hoped that was the answer, because it was getting slightly hurtful.

Andrew could hear Maxwell speaking to the head contractor in the dining room once he entered the kitchen. He could even catch a glimpse of them sitting at the dining room table, Maxwell sitting closer to the door while the contractor sat next to him as they went over the next few phases that Maxwell had planned for the house.

Andrew smiled, before turning and starting on dinner. It was going to be just the two of them tonight. No Jenny, no Kim. Andrew had made sure that they were alone, and made sure that Jenny and Kim knew that they were very appreciative of their help, but they could manage the rest on their own. Kim had read between the lines, understanding that Andrew wanted some alone time with his partner, and hoped that she would be able to help Jenny understand that it wasn’t personal.

Andrew just liked being alone with Maxwell, and they needed some time to adjust to this new place on their own. Andrew wanted to build a life with Maxwell, make this place feel like somewhere they could both relax and enjoy.

Andrew hummed away, pounding out the pork he was planning to crisp up in the air fryer after he breaded it, not really paying attention to the others around him as he worked. He just...puttered away, listening to the soft sound of Maxwell’s voice in the other room and the responding voice of the head contractor as they spoke about the next steps. He could also hear the other contractors moving around like ants, and it was an oddly soothing experience even with the fact that he was worried about Maxwell.

Andrew had everything ready for dinner, just needed to check in with Maxwell to see if he was done with his meeting, and then he could put the meat on since it wouldn’t take too long. Andrew washed up his hands, drying them on the apron he was wearing over his clothes before he pulled it off and headed for the dining room.

"How is it going, you two? Almost done with your meeting?" Andrew asked kindly, and Maxwell and the head contractor turned. Both of them had been staring at the plans that Maxwell had mocked up, Maxwell speaking while the contractor made notes. Maxwell looked a little...guilty? But Andrew didn’t mind that the man was speaking to another, nor how close they were sitting next to each other.

He had to do that to explain everything that he needed to explain.

"Gosh, have we already gone over this much? The crew must be wondering where I am. Sorry about that, Mr. Beckett. We were so busy that we forgot ourselves. I’ll start by getting our basement plan put into place and then we can discuss what you want to do after that." The contractor said, scraping his chair as he stood up. He looked a little flustered as he left and Andrew blinked. freёwebnoѵel.com

It took him a few seconds to realise that he hadn’t been referring to Maxwell. He’d called him Mr. Beckett. Andrew’s face warmed as he realised that, but it appeared that Maxwell hadn’t caught on.

Maxwell was busy muttering to himself, shutting down everything that he’d been showing the contractor and making a little list of things that he needed to keep track of. Andrew watched him in their way too big dining room for the table that they had in there at the moment and smiled.

"Max? Am I cool to start getting dinner ready?" Andrew asked and Maxwell jerked, turning to look back at Andrew. Andrew noticed how the man scanned him briefly, his ears going pink before he turned away from him again.

"Yeah. I can get the table ready." Maxwell told him and Andrew chuckled. He wanted to tease the man more, but decided against it.

"Alright. I’ll start the air fryer." Andrew told him, spinning on his heel and moving back into the kitchen. He was pulling on his apron again as the contractors were moving past the kitchen’s entrance and out towards the front door.

They were all chatting to each other, and waved when they noticed Andrew was looking in their direction. It seemed that paying for lunch had done a number on them, since they were in such good moods now. Andrew grinned, giving them a wave in response as they all left the house, and then it was just him and Maxwell. Finally.

Dinner didn’t take too much longer, and it was only a few minutes later that Maxwell came in, grabbing the things to set up the dining room for dinner, his ears still pink. Andrew was only growing more and more curious about what the man was hiding from him.

He was getting a feeling that it really wasn’t anything bad, not with how nervous Maxwell was acting now that they were home, and how he was looking at Andrew.

Andrew dished up their food, waiting for the air fryer to go off before he placed the pounded pork on each plate. Maxwell was finishing getting them some water for the table while Andrew placed the food down. Andrew was all smiles as he sat down, Maxwell joining him.

Andrew slid his hand across the table to grab Maxwell’s in his own, since they were sitting close to each other, but not side by side. Andrew liked to sit at the end of the table so that he could get up and grab things easily and quickly if need be. Maxwell let him, and Andrew smiled at him warmly.

"It’s nice to be able to sit like this with you after a long day at work in our new home." Andrew told him sincerely and watched as Maxwell’s chest rose and fell quickly. Then, much to his surprise, the words burst out of Maxwell’s mouth.

"I have separation anxiety." Maxwell looked horrified that the words came out of his mouth, while Andrew felt his heart practically stop. What?

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