“So you saw me,” Chris deadpanned.
“I-I thought I was hallucinating. If you’d let me explain—”
“What is there to explain, dude?” Chris stopped moving, side-glancing at himself in the mirror. He looked awful, sick even. “You kissed your ex. End of the story.”
“He kissedme.”
“Mm-hmm… and your tongue just fell into his mouth? You know that thing about two people not kissing if one doesn’t want to?”
“I wasn’t expecting him to be so bold. Viktor has never done anything like that before.”
Just hearing his name now made the guitarist’s blood turn into battery acid. It burned in his veins. “Whatever.”
“Come on, dude. Tell me where you are so we can talk?” Marc’s voice cracked. “Please, Chris. Let me just explain. I… Please?”
Although a part of him wanted to pin that man against a wall and claim him, the chances of Chris punching him instead were pretty high. But he was pussy-whipped, and hearing Marc beg like that had pressed all his buttons.
Mentally cursing himself, he said, “Premier Inn. Room 301.”
“I’m coming right now. Don’t move your ass from there.”
Without saying another word, Chris hung up and left the bathroom, tossing his phone on the desk again before going back to the bed.
Staring at the ceiling as he turned over and over, his mind reeled, trying to put all his pieces together before Marc arrived. He was irritated beyond belief, but he didn’t need him seeing how broken he was, too. The bassist had no idea what he was talking about the day he’d said that he wanted to see all of him. Chris knew he wasn’t a bad person, but there was a dark corner inside of him where all the most despicable human emotions and tendencies hid. Jealousy. Envy. Greed. And the worst, masochism.
No, he didn’t mean in the healthy way, where two adults shared a fulfilling sexual experience in the safety of a consenting relationship. There was a side of him that fed on self-destructive behaviors, and physical pain was one of them. It was a fact. It comforted him, calming the chaos in his head when the noise of his emotions spiraled out of control.
A knock on the door startled him.
That was fast.
Dragging his feet towards the entrance, Chris stopped for a second to look at his phone. It had been twenty minutes since he had talked to Marc. Where had the time gone?
Chris opened the door and there he was, with his face twisted in distress and his body soaked as if he’d taken a shower with his clothes on. The guitarist should have felt some kind of pity, but he didn’t.
“Chris…” Marc stretched a hand out to him when he entered the room, but he turned around and walked away.
Neither of them said anything for a couple of minutes. Chris sat on the bed, looking down as he toyed with the silver chain bracelet on his right wrist. Meanwhile, the bassist took off his boots and coat. The silence was heavy, only broken by the distant bustle of the city on the other side of the window. It felt as if they had crossed some kind of invisible barrier and were stuck in a different world.
“Chris…” he called his name again. “We need to talk.” Crouching down in front of him, Marc’s palms perched on the guitarist’s thighs.
“Don’t touch me,” he said, deadly stoic, without even glancing at him.
Marc sighed but didn’t retort. He simply stood up and sat beside him on the bed, elbows resting on his knees. “Can we talk, please?”
“About what?”
“Why are you here?”
Chris looked at Marc, letting out a sonorous and clearly sarcastic snort. “Are you serious?” His heart thumped in his ears when their eyes locked. He got up, putting some distance between them. Couldn’t be close to him right now. “You’re the one going around making out with other people and you’re questioning why I’m here?”
“I don’t go around making out with other people. It was just a kiss. And yes, I’m curious as to why you came here without telling me.”
Marc’s gaze was full of remorse and pain, but Chris didn’t give a flying fuck. He’d been talking about communication, respect, and trust all along, and in one moment, he had erased it all.
“Oh, excuse me.It was just a kiss,” the guitarist sneered, not even trying to hide his annoyance as he folded his arms over his chest.
In silence, those beautiful, dark eyes stared deep into his.
