Chapter 26: Hot and Sexy

Third POV

Marco raised his brows. He crossed his arms, entirely unconvinced. "You are not like us, James. You don’t go around sleeping with just anyone. You’re careful. I may not have realized it before, but now... I see the way you look at him. And ever since... you both... shit." Marco rubbed the back of his neck, frowning. "I feel indecent saying that word out loud, but anyways. Ever since you both had sex, you seem more calm. Tamed. Soft, even. I’m not saying it in a bad way, it’s just..."

James interrupted him, his voice low and firm, cutting through the distant sound of the party music. "What I mean is, I don’t just simply like him, Marco. I fucking love him."

Marco completely froze. He remained standing still for a full second, his brain actually stopping its train of thought. His lips parted in pure surprise, and he simply stared at James, almost forgetting how to form words.

James did not wait for him to recover. He looked away, staring out into the dark trees as he continued speaking. "At first, I just saw him as a friend. An annoying one. I don’t know when or how it happened... it just did. Maybe it was in between all those late nights I had to carry his drunk ass home when he couldn’t walk. Or maybe it was when he would not stop stupidly arguing with me over who had a bigger dick."

James let out a dry, humorless chuckle. "I... I can’t tell, man. Then, that night happened. I felt so crazy when I saw him kiss another man. It nearly made me wanna kill someone... Tony probably thinks I slept with him because I was drunk, but my head was perfectly clear. I wasn’t that drunk."

James finally turned his eyes back to Marco. His gaze was intense, unapologetic. "I remember every single thing. Every fucking sound he made. How touching his skin felt. And since then, I can’t control myself. I feel like a beast on heat whenever I set my eyes on him."

Silence took over the space between them. The heavy bass from the villa thumped in the background, but right there, next to the bikes, it was completely quiet. Marco processed the honesty in James’s words.

After a few moments, Marco shook his head slowly and broke the silence. "You are so fucked up, man."

James chuckled, nodding his head in full agreement. "I know. Of all the people in the world, it had to be Tony."

The tension broke. The two of them ended up laughing, a short, genuine release of breath. James patted Marco on the shoulder. Then, he turned and walked toward the villa, heading inside to follow the genesis of all his misery: Tony.

Left alone in the cool night air, leaning against the motorbike, Marco reached into his jacket pocket. He took out his phone, unlocked the screen, and dialed a number. He held it to his ear. On the second ring, the line connected.

"Hey, Orso," Marco said, getting straight to the point. "Is Elia with you?"

"Yes," Orso replied. His voice was calm as always.

"Good," Marco added. "Sorry to bother you tonight. My friends dragged me to some... never mind. Keep an eye on him tonight, will you?"

Orso paused for a brief moment before answering. "It’s no bother. He has been... obedient."

Marco frowned slightly at the word, Elia and obedient in the same sentence sounded so off, but he did not push it. "Right. Thank you." He hung up the phone.

Before he could slide the phone back into his pocket, the screen lit up. A notification tinged loudly. Marco opened the message. It was a text from none other than Fabio.

[You look hot tonight.]

Marco’s lips instantly rose in amusement, something warm passing across his chest. He looked up from the screen, his dark eyes wandering around the exterior of the villa, scanning the crowd near the entrance, looking for that familiar face. But Fabio was nowhere to be seen.

Just then, another text arrived. The phone buzzed in his palm.

[Look up.]

Marco did. He stepped back from the bikes and looked up at the second floor of the house. There, standing on a wide glass balcony, he finally saw him.

Fabio was standing near the railing, looking down. He held his phone in one hand while he sipped a drink from a short glass with the other. He wore a black shirt, completely unbuttoned, exposing his chest to the cool night air. His dark hair was slightly messed up, falling over his forehead, making him look effortless and dangerous.

Marco did not look away. He brought his phone up with both hands, typing out a quick reply, his thumbs hitting the screen fast.

[You look sexy.]

He hit send. Up on the balcony, Fabio looked down at his phone screen. A slow, sharp smile spread across his face. He looked back down at Marco. Slowly, deliberately, Fabio put away his phone, slipping it into his pocket. Then, he raised his empty hand and gestured with a single finger, curling it inward, signalling Marco to come over.

Marco smirked. He raised his own hand and mimicked the exact same gesture with his fingers, telling Fabio to come down.

They stood firmly in place for a few seconds. The distance between them felt charged, pulling tight. Then, almost at the exact same moment, both of them made a move.

Marco stepped away from the bikes and walked toward the front doors of the villa. Up above, Fabio turned away from the balcony railing and disappeared inside, heading for the stairs. It was a silent language passing between them, completely understood without a single spoken word: ’Meet in the middle.’

Marco pushed through the front doors. Inside, it was pure chaos. The air was thick with the smell of expensive liquor, sweat, and smoke. The music was deafening. People were packed together, dancing wildly, some almost half-naked in the dark corners. Others vaped, blowing thick clouds into the air, while couples made out aggressively against the walls.

Marco ignored all of it. He pushed past shoulders, squeezing through the tight crowd, his eyes fixed firmly straight ahead.

He reached the center of the main room and stopped just as he was about to climb the first step of the staircase. He looked up.

Fabio was standing exactly at the top of the stairs, looking down at him.

Both of them stood completely still. The crowd moved around them, but they were locked onto each other. Suddenly, the fast-paced music in the room shifted. The beat dropped out, turning into a slow, heavy rhythm. The neon lights flashed aggressively overhead, washing the entire room and the staircase in red, then blue, then deep purple lights.

Fabio’s chest rose and fell. Marco’s hands clenched into fists at his sides.

Then, the bass dropped. The loud, heavy music slammed back into the room, vibrating through the floorboards.

In that exact instant, the spell broke. Both men lunged forward. Marco took the steps two at a time, rushing upward, while Fabio descended fast, skipping the steps to meet him. No words passed between them. There was nothing to say. It was a silent understanding.

They met perfectly in the middle of the staircase. When they were finally face to face, the air between them vanished. They crashed into each other, bodies colliding hard, and they smashed their lips together in a desperate, hungry, needy kiss.