Their Aussie friends were, for a change, flirting with some VIP chicks. Though Ethan, their lead guitarist, seemed more interested in Shell, their blonde guitar tech.
And here were Marc and Chris, leaning on a wall with a beer in hand. The bassist was engrossed in a conversation through WhatsApp with his family. Meanwhile, the other was watching everyone like a hawk. Especially James, an Absolute Zero’s roadie.
This hadn’t happened since Buried Alive had been hanging out after one of their last rehearsals back in Germany. Marc had all his needs more than satisfied, but the sound tech was hot, and not only because of that messy French crop hair and arms covered in tattoos. There was something in the way he moved that was alluring by itself. Chris didn’t know what, because this guy was the complete opposite of the bassist—bright summer and dark winter—but he had something. Something that had definitely piqued his interest.
They had made some small talk throughout the days. However, he’d never struck up a conversation with a dude out of plain physical curiosity and didn’t know where to start. Not that he was considering fucking him without including Marc, but the simple idea of hitting on a man like he so easily did with women was weird, scary even. Not to mention asking his friend to add a third dick to their kinky games. That was just messed up. Though, it didn’t really matter; the guy hadn’t tried anything either, so maybe all the sneaky glances and apparent interest was in Chris’s head.
“Look at this,” Marc said, bringing Chris back from his delusion as he put his phone in his face. A picture of his new niece, smiling with the typical heart-melting smile babies have, was on the screen. “She’s the most fucking adorable shit machine.” His tone was almost an octave higher—like every time he talked about her.
Not that the guitarist could blame him. Even if was completely uninterested in having kids of his own, he had to admit Arya was super cute—yes, Mom and Dad were Game of Thrones fans.
“You’re so dying to see her again,” Chris stated with a grin.
“And actually get to hold her.” Marc smiled. “I already got the train ticket.”
“When are you going?”
“The day after we land in Munich.”
“I thought you’d take some days off to rest?” Chris sounded whiny, though he hoped the desperation wasn’t too obvious in his tone.
The last thing he wanted was to have Marc teasing him about how needy he’d become. Which sucked. The guitarist had been a slave to sex since he could remember, but never a slave to sex withthe sameperson. A person with a dick. Still shocking how he had gotten here, from not entertaining the idea of jerking another dude to being obsessed with his friend’s body.
The fuck even?
“And I will, but at my mom’s.” Marc tossed his empty beer can into the wastebasket beside them. “If I take a week at home to rest and then go to Hamburg, I’d have Daniel and Bruno looking after the stores by themselves for too long. I can’t ask them and Julia to keep putting out fires for me. It’s my responsibility.”
“But you’ll have to do it at some point if the band blows up like Angie and Gunther say.” Chris shrugged.
“I know. I’ll have to raise their salaries when the time comes, but for now, I can’t afford that. So it feels wrong.”
“Yeah, I get it.”
“Anyway…” A shit-eating smirk tugged the bassist’s lips as he crossed his arms and rolled to the side to face Chris, leaning his shoulder against the wall. “How’s the eye-fucking going with James? Have you made any advances? Has he?”
“What?” Chris’s jaw dropped. “The fuck are you talking about?”
Marc’s right brow hiked high. “Seriously? You think I haven’t noticed the way you look at him and vice versa?”
“I-I didn’t mean to… Offend you?” Chris cringed, fixing his gaze on the bassist’s leather cuff bracelet. He had forgotten how to talk and interact with his partner in crime. Probably didn’t know how to human right now.
“The fuck you talking about? He’s hot. I’d be offended if you lied and said otherwise.” Marc laughed. “Wanna bang him?”
Chris turned his face and stared at the bassist, gaping like a fish. Brain completely bugged. He knew his friend was okay with this type of stuff; jealousy was not part of his vocabulary, but his bluntness was still staggering.
“You okay with that?”
“Fuck me if I’m not.” Marc bit his bottom lip, visibly holding a grin back. “I’ve seen you looking at other dudes a few times, but I didn’t want to put that pressure on you. Wasn’t sure if you’d ever be ready to jump on that train. But I think you are now…” He wiggled his brows.
“Am I that fucking easy to read for you?” Chris rolled his eyes and huffed.
“Yes.”
“Fuck you.”
“So, you wanna do this alone, or do I get to play?”
That simple suggestion was like a punch in the throat. Did Marc want a one-on-one with someone that wasn’t him and that was why he didn’t care if Chris did it, too?
