Marc didn’t know what bothered him more; his friend’s unruffled behavior or when he’d gotten jealous a few days before with no right, as they were only fooling around because he didn’t date.
“Would you be okay if Emma contacted you out of nowhere and asked to catch up?” Marc couldn’t help the sardonic tone at the end.
“It’s been like a fucking lifetime since we broke up,” Chris countered. “But yeah, no.” He winced.
“There you go.”
Marc wasn’t resentful about broken relationships. He still talked with his girlfriend from high school, and most of his casual hookups every once in a while; wished each other happy birthdays, New Year’s Eves, and shit like that, if they remembered. Even chit-chatted when they bumped into each other at a bar. But he knew with certain people it was impossible to do that. Viktor fell into that category.
“But do you wanna see him?” Chris swallowed, the bobbing of his Adam’s apple distracting Marc for a moment.
How could such a simple thing be so hot when it was this man doing it?
“Honestly? A small part of me wants to. I never had proper closure. But the rest of me is like fuck him. I don’t owe Viktor anything, and as glad as I am that he is succeeding with his art and getting the recognition he deserves after so many years of hard work… He belongs in the past.”
Chris had both forearms resting on his guitar and didn’t move. Didn’t even blink as he blankly stared into space. Marc wondered if he was actually breathing.
“What are you thinking?”
“Maybe you should meet him.”
Something in the bassist’s stomach stirred uncomfortably. “Hm?”
“You don’t owe him shit, but you owe it to yourself to have that closure.”
“I hate it when you make sense.” Marc smiled to himself, glad that it wasn’t Chris not giving a fuck, but Chris wanting him to heal.
“Yeah, it’s a nightmare to be so smart.”
“And stupid at the same time.”
“That too.” He chuckled, but something in his expression felt off.
“You sure you’re okay with me meeting Viktor? I mean, if I decide to.”
“Why are you asking me? We’re not a couple.”
“I know, but still…” He was aware he was racing without brakes towards a monumental catastrophe, but his heart was already completely invested in this relationship. “It just feels weird meeting with someone like that after all the time we’ve spent together.”
Chris offered a faint smile as he stepped forward. “You say you don’t, but I think you need this.” He grazed Marc’s wrist with a finger. “So go talk to him, close that door, and then come back to me, yeah?”
A shiver snaked through the bassist’s spine. “Okay.”
Moving his guitar to the side, out of the way between their bodies, Chris leaned in and touched Marc’s lips in a slow, sensual kiss, gently sucking on the bottom one before he pulled away. Sky-blue eyes plunged deep into his soul.
“Now, let’s go give them a show.”
He had never done this. Not in public. Sure, they were in an almost empty corner backstage, but there were people. Several of them fluttering around, working. The only time Chris had done something similar was the previous week, right before their first gig in Auckland. He had helped Marc sweep his hair away so he could readjust his wireless pack, planting a chaste kiss on his shoulder while doing so. But even then, he’d been anxious, especially when he caught Leah grinning at them like a loon. Today, however… He seemed unbridled and free. For once, meeting him halfway to the same reality.
22. Viscera
October28th,2017
Adelaide, Australia
With everyone cleaned upand looking decent after sweating like pigs during their performance, the crews were hanging out backstage, finishing getting ready before going to the nightclub nearby.
Erik and Leah were grinning like two idiots while being interviewed together with Joel. But who could blame them? The harsh vocalist of The Amity Affliction was something else, on and off of the stage, so down to earth and humble.
