Chapter 52: Crazy for him

Third POV

It was way late into the night, but inside one particular villa, Fabio’s villa, obviously, chaos had completely taken over. It was a private party, nothing like the ones back in Milan that were usually packed with people. Here, there were only the five friends of Fabio’s from earlier, with Tony, James, Elia, and Orso added to the mix. Orso had been dragged along without much room for objection, though judging by the expression on his face, he was already regretting every decision that had brought him there.

Even from where he stood far away from the chaos in the middle of the hall, Orso looked deeply uncomfortable. His brows remained knitted together as he kept looking anywhere but at the group of young men dancing, shouting, and drinking. He seemed to have decided that staring at the walls, the floor, or even the ceiling was preferable to witnessing whatever madness was happening in front of him.

As for Tony and Elia, the two had done the exact opposite. They had fueled the fire and had already become one with Fabio’s friends. They were competing in a drinking game where each person had to down five shots in one go, and anyone who paused had to remove one piece of clothing. Almost everyone was already shirtless, while a few had gone even further. Tony, for example, was already down to his boxers and seemed to have no shame whatsoever as he continued participating as though this were the most normal thing in the world.

James, who had been silently watching all of this from one of the sofas, looked seconds away from dragging someone out of the villa by force. His fingers were clenched tightly around his glass, and the longer he watched Tony encourage everyone around them, the more his patience seemed to disappear.

Then there were two other missing souls.

Marco and Fabio.

They were actually outside, behind the parking lot of the villa, where the darkness offered them a little privacy. They were seated inside Fabio’s convertible Ferrari, though calling what they were doing simply sitting would have been a blatant lie. Marco was straddling Fabio as they kissed without stopping, neither of them being particularly gentle or rushed about it. Their breathing had grown heavy, fingers were tangled in hair, and Fabio once again wrapped a hand around Marco’s throat, a gesture he seemed to have developed an unhealthy obsession with. Not many people could handle his rough side, but Marco appeared to enjoy it far more than he should have, even tilting his head back slightly to give Fabio more room.

"We good now? You don’t feel like killing anyone anymore, right?" Fabio whispered against Marco’s lips with a chuckle before pecking and lightly biting his lower lip.

"Mm," Marco muttered, his mouth curving into a faint smile. "But I won’t promise."

Fabio lowered both hands to Marco’s hips, holding him firmly as he studied his face with obvious amusement. "Should I be worried right now? Because I’m really not."

"I’ll be good," Marco assured him, the smile finding its way across his lips again despite everything that had happened earlier.

Fabio squeezed him through the fabric of his jeans and traced his tongue slowly over his own lower lip before leaning closer. "Then, do I get to..."

He had barely started the question when Marco suddenly climbed off him, pushed open the car door, and jumped out. Fabio stared after him for a second before Marco turned around and threw one final statement over his shoulder.

"I’ll let you have your way with me tonight if you stay away from... that dude."

With that, Marco walked toward the villa, leaving Fabio behind with a chuckle and a look of unmistakable resolve. He leaned back against the seat and shook his head before murmuring to himself, "How many times do I have to affirm that Diego was nothing but a fling I care no more about?"

Once Marco stepped back inside the villa, he nearly passed out from the sight that greeted him. Half-naked men were screaming, laughing, and arguing like a group of gossiping bitches who had been given unlimited alcohol. His eyes widened in surprise, but despite himself, he ended up laughing at the ridiculousness of it all before his attention shifted toward James.

Marco made his way over and dropped onto the sofa beside him. "What in the madness is happening here?" he asked, glancing around at the drunken chaos while James kept his eyes fixed on a certain someone, Tony.

"Don’t even ask," James groaned as he shifted his attention to the drink in his hand and downed it in one go. "How do I even tame him? He’s too wild."

Marco poured himself a glass of whiskey before shaking his head in amusement. "So much for being in love. That shit really sucks."

James sighed and gave a resigned nod. "Yeah."

"So, how far have you two gone? Still haven’t confessed your undying love?" Marco teased, lightly clicking his glass against James’s.

James leaned his head against the back of the sofa, and a quiet smile formed on his lips. "I did."

Marco nearly choked on his whiskey. "When? What did he say?"

James looked at him for a moment, clearly debating whether he should actually tell him, but the look on Marco’s face left no room for refusal. "A few days ago," he finally admitted in a low voice. "I was fucking him when I did, and he thought it was just because of the heat of the moment."

"Holy crap, you’re so bad, James," Marco said, laughing his lungs out. "Though, it’s kinda hot."

"Tony still refuses to speak about it. He either changes the topic or walks away."

Marco nodded in understanding, and for a moment, the two men simply sat there while the noise from the party continued around them. James took another drink, his eyes wandering through the room, while Marco remained relaxed against the sofa until James suddenly nudged his shoulder and leaned closer.

"Your man is coming over," he whispered.

Marco instantly looked toward the villa’s entrance, and sure enough, Fabio was making his way in their direction. His gaze was already fixed on Marco, but before he could reach them, someone stepped in front of him and started a conversation. Fabio stopped, listening to the man, though his eyes still occasionally wandered toward Marco.

James watched Marco’s eyes narrow slightly as he observed the interaction. "You sure you don’t like him?" he asked.

"What?" Marco replied, having barely heard the question.

"Do you like him?" James repeated, this time more clearly.

Marco leaned back against the sofa and looked up toward the ceiling for a moment before answering.

"No," His voice, when it finally came, was low and certain.

James frowned a little. "Are you certain about that?"

Marco muttered, "What I feel... it’s too... deep to be termed as like, and it’s also too dark to be termed as love. I don’t even know what it is I feel for him."

James glanced at him, his expression filled with both confusion and concern. "Tell me about it. Maybe I might have an idea."

Marco swallowed and blinked slowly as he continued staring upward. For a moment, it looked as though he were trying to arrange every thought in his head before allowing any of it to leave his mouth.

"It started as excitement. Thrill. It was only the desire to touch him, and then it grew into a need. I began needing his touch, needing to hear his voice, needing all of him in short." Marco paused and rubbed his thumb against the side of his glass. "I thought it was just an addiction to his touch because he matched my energy, but then it has grown out of control. I cannot stand him being touched by anyone. Like, I mean it... I don’t know where desire ends and whatever this is begins. There is this voice in my head constantly whispering that he is mine."

He paused and took a deeper breath, his expression becoming harder as he remembered what had happened earlier that night. "You know, earlier tonight... I actually felt like killing someone. Not joking. My mind is losing control whenever it comes to anything involving Fabio. I don’t think. I just act on impulse, which has clearly never been my thing."

Marco lowered his eyes to his glass. "I’ve tried convincing myself that everything between us is just physical, but today, I’m certain there’s more. I’m certain it’s not a simple like. The word is too shallow for this madness. And as for love..." He gave a humorless laugh. "Love should be sweet and simple, without all this confusion. At least that’s what people say."

James remained silent as Marco continued, his voice dropping even lower.

"But this? This is insanity. I’m going crazy for him."