Page 40 of Embriagado
“You’re disgusting.”
True.
He shook his head like a dog before turning to me. “Don’t you have work or somethin’?”
“Got the day off.”
“Any plans, then?”
“Just chill, I guess.”
“Sure you don’t wanna join Tess and me?”
I shook my head. “Nah.”
Scratching his chin, Nacio looked around the empty gym. “Remember when Dad used to run this place?”
If I remembered? There wasn’t a day I didn’t think about it. About how Nacio took his first steps right next to that punching bag in the corner. The look in Dad’s eyes the first time I threw a proper uppercut in this ring and how Mom brought us all snacks after a long day of working out. I also remembered the belt that used to hang above that mirror. Now, there was a stupid banner there with Carlos’s name on it. The asshole who’d bought this gym while Dad was so deep in his grief that he basically stole it.
“We should visit his grave, y’know?” Nacio said.
Bitterness filled my mouth, and I bit the inside of my cheek.
“Vamos.” I placed my hand on his shoulder. “Let’s go.”
His eyes met mine for a second before he nodded. “So… you’re super sure about not joining Tess and me?”
“Yeah.” I slipped under the ring’s ropes to get out.
“Why not?”
“Like I said—” I picked my bag up off the floor and hung it over my shoulder. “—I plan on doing nothing.”
“You’re just gonna jerk off, aren’t you?” he asked, pressing closer.
He was pretty much spot-on, but not willing to admit it, I shoved him away from me. Nacio laughed before pulling out his phone and texting someone. I’d put my money on it being Tess.
So far, today had been a nice distraction, but now, with my brother’s attention span focused solely on his phone, I went back to thinking the same shit I had for the last three days. Ever since the attempted carjacking, Ariyan had hardly acknowledged me. Honestly, I didn’t even see him that much at work, and when I did, he bluntly ignored me. It sucked, to say the least, and I worried I’d scared the shit out of him by beating those guys up.
“Did you like it?”
“Boxing?”
“Yes.”
“Like it? I’d die for it.”
Fuck. Couldn’t I have worded it better? Instead, I made myself sound like some psychopath. No wonder he hadn’t spoken to me since. He probably thought I was out of my mind. Which I was, to a degree, but he didn’t need to know it, at least, not until after I fucked him.
* * *
After Nacio left to meet with Tess, I was still pumped, so I went for a ten-mile jog along the shore to clear my mind. It helped, and now, done with my shower, I was ready to spend Saturday night in front of the TV. Grabbing the water bottle I’d left on the counter, I finished it in three long gulps, then crashed down on the couch, which had seen better days. I grabbed the remote and turned the TV on, and after picking some random action movie, I tucked one arm behind my head and got comfortable. Thirty minutes into the movie, the thought of ordering pizza crossed my mind, but quickly passed as I began dozing off. I guess I really wanted that pizza because I swore I heard the sound of a bike driving down the street, and all I could think of was the delivery guy driving around with a trunk full of pizza. I can even smell it. Or maybe it was just a dream? Everything felt foggy, like a different universe, and I blinked my eyes open to a dark room. In front of me was a figure, dressed all in black except for the burst of his silver-white hair.
Ariyan?
The room filled with his intoxicating scent, and like some drunk, I wanted to get up and touch him, to pull him close so he’d be right next to me, but my body felt heavy, as if it had been turned to concrete. My chest tightened with disappointment, but just when I felt like shouting, he came toward me and touched my jaw, softly caressing my skin until his fingers slipped to my neck, and the touch turned aggressive. My dick hardened in my sweats, and I shifted, feeling blood rushing down my body. The pressure on my neck tightened until I was almost out of breath, but right before it happened, it was all gone, and the room turned still again. My eyes snapped open, and I sat up on the couch, body covered with sweat.
“What the hell?” I muttered, one hand running through my damp hair.
