Chapter 27: Who is the bottom?

Marco’s POV

In my life, I had done crazy things. Things so bad that if I started listing them, even the devil would lock his gates against me. I was a sinner, a master of rage bait, an asshole- as my brother loved to remind me. I could accept all of those titles. But there was one thing I was not: impulsive.

Impulse usually came from an uncontrolled urge, a brief moment where rationality snapped and left you raw. In my world, losing control was unacceptable.

Except right then, I was impulsively smashing my lips against Fabio’s without restraint, holding nothing back, kissing him as if breathing depended on it.

And honestly? Who could blame me? Fabio was a walking disaster, a temptation that had no right existing. I was kissing him-devouring him, really- not just out of some simple urge for sex, but because the exact second my eyes met his, the moment he gave me that subtle gesture to come over, I lost my mind.

When he had been standing at the top of the stairs, looking down at me like I was something wicked and forbidden- and I was- rationality flew right out the window. Every sharp thought in my brain vanished until all I wanted was to drag him close and let him know how insane he was driving me. So I did.

And judging by the way his hands were tangled in my hair, gripping tight, he felt the exact same way. It was madness, pure and simple.

"What are you thinking about?" Fabio murmured against my lips. He pulled back just a fraction, barely enough to break contact, his warm breath still brushing mine.

"Just wondering what the hell we’re doing," I replied, deliberately letting my lips brush against his as I spoke.

"Kissing, of course," he said, his voice completely nonchalant.

"This was supposed to happen tomorrow, not today," I muttered, my gaze dropping down to his lips. They were already slightly swollen, flushed a faint red.

It was my doing. A stupidly proud feeling flared in my chest, and I nearly smiled before catching myself just in time.

"You’re here now," Fabio muttered, his fingers moving down from my hair to rest against the side of my neck. "Tomorrow, today... it doesn’t matter."

I swallowed, letting his cold fingers crawl under my skin. His touch stilled me completely, leaving my entire body quiet, listening and waiting for whatever he would do next.

"Then..." I trailed off, slowly licking my lower lip. "...what’s the game for tonight?"

Fabio’s mouth twitched into a smirk. But right as he was about to answer, the universe decided to ruin the moment.

"I knew it!" a painfully familiar voice shouted from below. "I fucking knew it!"

I let out a heavy sigh and pulled back, turning toward the sound.

Tony was standing at the bottom of the stairs. Right behind him were James and Ethan.

Yeah. This was going to turn into a very long night. Tony was not about to let this matter slide, and from the look on Ethan’s face, neither was he.

The three of them walked up toward us.

"Can I just go home?" I asked, flashing Tony a sheepish smile. He looked ready to launch a missile straight at my head, making sure no piece of me was left.

"No, you cannot," Tony answered, offering a fake, sugary smile in return. "You lied to me."

If there was an award for being dramatic, Tony won it every single day.

"I didn’t lie," I corrected. "I just didn’t tell you the whole truth. Now you know, so leave me alone."

"Oh, really?" Tony pressed, taking another step closer. "You told me it was a friend who dropped you off that morning, and you also said nothing else, except a one-night stand, happened between you and Fabio. You clearly lied."

God, I felt like a cheating husband getting caught by his wife.

"How does knowing even help you?" I muttered, rolling my eyes. "Yeah, we’ve been sleeping together. Is that what you wanna hear?"

I was sure that one day, I would be the one to finish off Tony for being so ridiculously nosy and snooping around my sex life. Who does that? Even my mother would not.

Tony pressed his lips together and stepped in beside me. He wrapped his arm over my shoulders and blinked his eyes so innocently that if I did not know him, I might have fallen for it.

"Leave that, I forgive you. But... there’s something Ethan and I have been arguing about, and only you and Fabio can answer it," he said in a low voice I almost did not recognize.

"Wait, don’t ask yet," Ethan interrupted, a nasty smirk spreading across his face that clearly spelled trouble. "Let’s go upstairs. There’s a private bar in there."

I wanted to refuse. I glanced at Fabio for help, but the man was just standing there, smiling, and even had the nerve to wink at me. Great. I was surrounded by people determined to wreck my peace.

Ethan led the way while Tony dragged me along. Fabio and James followed behind us.

Once we got inside the private bar Ethan had mentioned, Tony pushed me down onto one of the two sofas inside. Before Fabio could even react, Tony grabbed him and made him sit right beside me in a hurry.

All this effort for gossip. I almost felt like a lady in a gossip group. Fuck Tony for this.

Ethan grabbed a bottle of champagne- at least something good came out of this- and poured each of us a drink. I gulped mine down in one go, but before my glass even hit the table, Tony added another pour.

"Drink more," Tony urged, almost helping me drink it up.

A heavy silence settled over the room. For once, I did not hate the quiet. I even began praying to whoever was listening above that Tony would suddenly become mute for the night.

Naturally, my prayers went unanswered.

"I don’t mean to be nosy, but Tony and I are really curious," Ethan spoke up, setting his glass down.

I looked between the two men, deeply doubtful. "I’m really not down for this. Are you, Fabio?"

I turned to Fabio, who was leisurely sipping his drink without a care in the world.

He raised his brows and shrugged. "I don’t really care."

Of course he did not. Only I was feeling pressured. Fine. Whatever. If Fabio could be oblivious to their nosiness, so could I.

I leaned back on the sofa, copying Fabio’s relaxed posture. "What is it you want to know?"

Ethan and Tony gazed at each other, then back at us, before Ethan went ahead first.

"From the years I’ve known Fabio, I know how he is. Petty, a sore loser, impatient even. But mainly, he loves dominance. So, I wanna know... like, just a little curious if you don’t mind. I hope you—"

Tony, sitting next to Ethan, slammed his hand right over Ethan’s mouth to shut him up.

"If you won’t ask, let me," Tony said. He looked over at Fabio and me, smiling widely. "What we want to know is who fucks who? I mean, who is the bottom?"

Two seconds of silence passed.

Five.

Seven.

Then—

A loud, violent cough erupted in the room. It was not from me, the two nosy men, or James. It came from the oblivious, uncaring, and unbothered Fabio. He was choking on his drink hard- so hard his eyes watered. I had to reach over and rub his back to keep him from dying right there.

"What the... cough... fuck! What the actual... cough... fuck!" Fabio cursed, glaring at the two guys who were unknowingly about to kill him.

"What? We just wanna know," Ethan said casually. "I know you can never bottom, and Tony is sure Marco would never bottom either. So we wanna know who does who."

The two of them actually had the nerve to smile. I was shameless, but I still had a little shred of decency left. Maybe, probably, I don’t know.

As for Tony, that word should never be used in the same sentence as him. He was undoubtedly, undebatably shameless.

"I’m... leaving," Fabio choked out, still coughing lightly.

Yes, he should have listened when I tried to leave earlier.

"No, not yet." Tony stood up and blocked the door, leaning his back against it.

I sighed and looked over at James for help, but the man was just sitting there, amused, sipping his drink.

When he saw me looking, he shrugged his shoulders too. "I wanna know too."

Okay, someone purchase James too. I was so done.

"I feel betrayed," I said, resigning myself to the couch. I leaned my head on Fabio’s shoulder, whispering low so only he could hear. "What now?"

Fabio sighed, his coughing having finally calmed down, and whispered back, "Knock them out and run?"

"That won’t work. They are three, we are two."

"Then what? You wanna tell them about the deal? That the winner gets to top, and that the first night we met, we took turns on each other? Sounds like a brilliant idea."

Fabio was no help either.

"The rest of my life is damned if Tony knows I’ve bottomed," I whispered frantically.

"Ethan won’t let me rest either," Fabio replied.

"So what now?" I asked.

"We stay silent until they get tired."

I almost laughed out loud. "Trust me, that’s the worst idea. Tony... he is insane. One way or another, he will make us talk."

Both of us went silent.

"What are you both plotting?" Tony asked from across the room, still standing at the door.

"None of your business," I retorted.

"Whatever. Take your time, but not too much. I’m impatient. I came out to the party to find a good chick or dude to give me the best blow job of the night not dwell on you sex li..."

CRASH.

The sound of a glass smashing onto the floor cut Tony off instantly. Every head turned toward the one person responsible.

James was now standing up, looking dark. "What did you say?"

James began making his way toward the door. Tony’s eyes widened in sheer shock. Instantly, he unlocked the door and dashed out into the hallway. James followed right on his heels without missing a beat.

This was the moment I was about to kneel and kowtow to my ancestors. For once, the universe was actually on my side.

"Let’s leave, fast," Fabio spoke up.

He grabbed my hand and bolted out the door without giving Ethan a second glance, leaving him behind yelling whatever it was I didn’t care to listen to.