Chapter Ten
Lulu
They reached Cleveland a little too early for lunch, but they decided to make a stop anyway. Or rather, Xavi had decided to make a stop, because Lulu had crashed a little after Eire, probably mid-sentence, like he usually did. Manu always teased him about that, saying he was like one of those annoying dolls that ran out of batteries in the middle of“I love my mommy and dad—”or some shit like that.
“Who the fuck is Nancy?” Xavi grumbled next to him. Lulu slowly blinked his eyes open, the remnants of a dream still tugging at him as he took in his surroundings. They appeared to be in some city parking lot, tall buildings rising around them. Xavi eyed him through hooded lids, his broad, bare forearms resting against the steering wheel. He must’ve pulled off his leather jacket at some point, but Lulu had no recollection of them stopping since he’d crashed.
“Nancy?” Lulu said, his voice coming out croaky like a frog with a case of bad laryngitis.
“Yeah.” Xavi smiled crookedly, the barely there tip of his upper lip going straight to Lulu’s groin, warmth pooling in his core, making him feel all toasty and floaty. “You were yelling at someone called Nancy.”
Huh.Nancy was a chick who’d worked at theDa Luxlast season but who’d gone home to Texas right after the final show.
“What did I say?” Lulu pursed his lips, curious why he’d been dreaming about Nancy but also relieved it hadn’t been about Xavi, because that would’ve been fucking embarrassing. His dreams about Xavi were always intense and vivid, leaving him panting, sweaty, and painfully hard. Lulu’s gaze automatically dipped to his groin, but there was no arousal tenting his pants.Whew.
“I don’t know,” Xavi groaned. “Some shit about eyeshadow, I think.” Xavi leaned back in his seat, rubbing his large hands along his face, tattoos adorning his tanned skin. Lulu had always thought they resembled patterns of intricate blacklace, with scars intermingling on his one arm, some silvery, catching the late-morning sun, others more prominent, protruding from his skin like small hills or digging into it like shallow canyons. Lulu knew Xavi was self-conscious about his scars, especially those on his torso and back, but Lulu found them beautiful. Every part of Xavi was beautiful, just like every part of a stoic tree was, from the roots to the trunk to the branches. It didn’t matter if a storm had torn off a few branches or a drought had discolored the leaves. It was still a tree, with all its marks left behind by time and circumstance. Xavi’s scars only made him more desirable in Lulu’s eyes because, while circumstance might have put them there, Xavi wore them not only as a testament to what he’d lost that night, in the fire, but also of the pain and suffering he’d endured to reclaim his body and his life. And the result was fucking spectacular, leaving Lulu breathless, his fingers itching to trace along the tattoos and his tongue vibrating with the need to lick around every scar.
“Eyeshadow?” Lulu eventually pulled himself back from Droolland.
“Yeah. You were yelling, ‘You stole my fucking glitter eyeshadow, Nancy!’ or some shit like that.” Xavi looked tired already. It made sense. If Xavi had slept just as awfully as Lulu had for the last few nights leading up to their trip, he must be fucking shattered.
“Well, she did.” Lulu frowned. At least his favorite eyeshadow had gone missing from his makeup purse around the time Nancy left for Texas. Could be a coincidence, of course, but Lulu didn’t believe in coincidences. “Where are we?” Lulu rubbed at his eyes, then unbuckled his seatbelt.
“Cleveland.The West Side Market.” Xavi unbuckled his belt too before he opened his door and got out of the car. Stretching his huge body, he groaned from hours confined in a space that was way too small for his large frame. Lulu got out too, swallowing as he caught a glimpse of Xavi’s soft stomach and the trail of coarse black hair disappearing into his jeans. He loved the way Xavi wasn’t ripped like those muscle daddies down at the club, but bulkier, softer, like a real man should be, at least in Lulu’s eyes. “I thought we’d walk around the market, stock up on goodies for the trip, then grab lunch.” Xavi narrowed his eyes, his gaze dipping to where Lulu’s gaze was resting. A subtle blush crept across Xavi’s cheekbones before he quickly grabbed the hem of his black T-shirt and tugged it down, covering his stomach.
“Sounds good,” Lulu said, and again, there was this annoying croaky edge to his voice. Hopefully, Xavi hadn’t noticed.
After grabbing their jackets, they walked toward the market, a brisk December wind nipping at their skin. When Lulu shuddered for what must’ve been the fifth time, Xavi threw out his arm in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. Then, without a word, Xavi moved in front of him, his intense gaze focused on Lulu’s jacket. They were so close that Lulu could easily have leaned in and brushed hislips against Xavi’s, but instead, he just swayed slightly on his feet, drinking in the intoxicatingly spicy scent of his best friend.
“Stop sniffing me,” Xavi growled as he started zipping up Lulu’s jacket. “Lift your chin,” he ordered, like Lulu was some damn toddler or something. He did anyway, the commanding edge to Xavi’s voice making Lulu shiver to his very core.
“You don’t have to baby me, you know,” Lulu huffed.
“Then stop acting like one,” Xavi murmured, winking, and Lulu’s heart did that annoying little swoopy thing it always did when Xavi winked at him.
“I’m not.” He pouted.
“You are.” Xavi smiled softly, lifting his hands, wrapping his fingers around Lulu’s grey hat, tugging it further down his head, until his ears were completely covered. Lulu couldn’t help smiling back. Maybe he was. Then, because he couldn’t help himself, he countered, “Maybe it’s because you always treat me like one, you ever think of that?” Shit, he loved when they were like this, the easy banter back and forth, the small digs at each other, always coming from a place of familiarity and affection and never animosity or resentment. This was just another thing that made Xavi perfect for him, along with the thousands of other little things that made Xavi his soulmate, his person. Lulu was sure of it. If only Xavi could see it too, but fuck, Lulu would make him see it, or he’d die trying. He would open Xavi’s eyes to the truth, whatever it took, and he had five days.
“There,mano,” Xavi breathed.
“Thank you,oso.” Lulu winked, pulling another groan from Xavi’s chest, a low rumble like thunder rolling in over the city after an exceptionally hot summer day.
“Coño.” Xavi shook his head, then almost reached for Lulu’s hand, before he stopped mid-movement, his hand hovering awkwardly in the space between them. Instead, he buried his hand in his jeans pocket. “C’mon. Let’s go get warm.”
The West Side Market was huge, with hundreds of food vendors and eateries located within the most impressive building Lulu had ever seen. If you could even call it a building. No wonder it was one of Cleveland’s most famous attractions. Built in 1912, it vibrated with history, the ghosts of vendors calling throughout the market, their long-forgotten voices echoing off the brick walls, drifting toward the ceiling, which resembled that of a people’s cathedral. It was overwhelming, buzzing with life, smells of food, some familiar and some foreign, lingering in the air, and Lulu’s mouth started watering the second they entered, as his stomach growled angrily. Xavi’s face lit up too, a focused frown between his dark brows as he mumbled, “Shit, look at that,hermano. Where do we even start?”
“Let’s just walk around, see what we feel like,” Lulu said, linking his arm through Xavi’s as the cold slowly left his body. It wasn’t exactly warm inside the market, but it was still a nice change from the icy wind outside. Xavi nodded, then started walking with Lulu attached to his side like a baby gibbon, perhaps leaning just a littlecloser to Xavi’s firm body than was appropriate for friends, but fuck propriety. If Lulu had his way, Xavi would’ve carried him around the market, whispering tender endearments in his ear, blowing him the occasional kiss or two. One could only dream, right… But soon, hopefully.
They stopped in front of a seafood vendor, with fish of various sizes and colors lined up on crushed ice along with squid, crab, shrimp, and a lot of other sea creatures Lulu had never seen before.
“Oh, look at that,” Xavi hummed, pointing at a small fish with huge eyes and purple scales. “It’s you,mano.” The lady behind the counter smiled, her gaze shifting curiously between the two of them.
“If that’s me, then this is you,” Lulu huffed, pointing at a fierce-looking, bluish-black eel. Xavi just shook his head as he dragged Lulu away, mumbling something under his breath.
They bought some lemon and lavender muffins at one place, and grabbed a to-gocortadoat another. Xavi bought some canned mussels inescabechethat Abe loved, and Lulu got some dark chocolate with pistachios for Manu and Harriet. Eventually, they stopped in front of a cheese vendor. It was Xavi’s guilty pleasure, and an awe-filled gasp spilled from his lips as he took in the selection of cheeses from around the world, with little national flags placed next to every cheese on display.
“You wanna try something?” A big dude with a red and white checkered apron and a ginger lumberjack beard smiled at them.
