Jesus. He’s really pushing it.
“Hmm…” Marc looked up while biting the inside of his cheek, trying to steady his breath and rampant heart. He knew the answer, but couldn’t voice it. “Trust plays a big role in those situations, and I guess our friendship, the connection and all the conversation we’ve had during these years make me feel like I don’t need to hold back. With other dudes in the room, dudes I don’t know that well unless we’ve fucked together before, I never know what they’d want and like to do or get done… There’s a lot of talking and agreeing, and I’m still never fully me. But between us, those lines, what we want and like, are always clear, which makes the experience a lot more exciting.”
Chris smirked.
“Is that enough of an answer to you?”
“More than enough.”
7. Masochist
July22nd,2017
Cincinnati, Ohio
They would normally tryto be in the front row to watch the headliners, but at this festival, it was better to stay in the back.
Dark Omen had a massive fan base in the States, and after being squeezed against the fences the first night, they’d decided it was okay to watch them from a distance. It had actually turned out to be a great way to enjoy their concert. They still got to listen to them, see them on the big screens hanging on both sides of the stage, and get soaked up in the thrilling atmosphere. Better yet, this way, they could also drink without having half of it spilled everywhere, talk, and even sit. Aside from Leah, who still had the most privileged spot backstage with the band’s crew—the fucker.
For a change, the day had gone great. Although the afternoon had been too hot for his liking under the meet-and-greet tent, Chris was feeling a lot better now than he had during the last week. No drama or heartbreak anywhere to be seen.
Here, sitting on their beach towels on the gentle slope with views to the stage, accompanied by Marc and plenty of booze for the both of them, life was good. He fucking needed this.
Seeing his childhood friend truly smiling again had eased his mind. However, it wasn’t only her getting better that had him all positive and pumped.
After the tension and awkwardness that kept them a little more distant than was normal, he and Marc going back to their old selves had definitely helped, too. Though, thinking back, since they had talked two nights before, he had the impression that it had just been a problem on his side. The bassist had acted nonchalant the entire time, making jokes and talking to him without mentioning a word about Chris having gawked at him like a damn creep the day they’d performed in Chicago.
He still didn’t know what the hell had bitten him. He’d never desired or even contemplated the idea of hooking up with dudes, and was clearly straight; the last five women—yes, it’d been two of them in one night—he’d fucked were proof of that. But anyway, here they were now, as if nothing had happened, and he couldn’t ask for anything else.
“I invited Gen to watch the concert with us,” Chris said after taking a swig of his beer.
Marc raised a brow at him, a playful smirk tugging up the side of his lips. “You’re in full force with this threesome thing, huh?”
“Eh, I just asked her to join us after her shift.” He shrugged, then took another sip of his drink, a mischievous grin curling his mouth. “If she wants something else to happen, I might just go with the flow…”
“Sure thing.” Marc shook his head, blowing out a cloud of smoke. “Who the fuck is Gen, by the way?”
“One of the chicks helping at the meet and greet.”
Marc took a drag of his cig. “The blonde with a butterfly tat on her lower back?”
“I knew you’d like her.” Chris flashed him a cheeky smile.
“I’m easy to please.” The bassist leaned back on a palm, crossing his ankles and laughing. “But also, when did you even have time to chit-chat with her and ask her to join usfor the concert?”
“When I went behind the tent to grab the markers.”
“The fuck?” Marc cackled, louder now. “You’re something else.”
“What? I wouldn’t have asked her if her body language hadn’t told me she was interested.”
“Oh, really?” Marc’s expression said he didn’t buy any of the shit Chris was saying, but it was the truth.
Buried Alive had been signing all kinds of things, and at some point, Chris’s silver marker had stopped working, so he had gone to the back of the stand. When he couldn’t find what he was looking for after rummaging through two or three different bags, he’d asked the blonde for help. It had been five minutes of the most trivial conversation, yet the way she smiled at him, sticking her chest out while keeping intense eye contact and touching her hair, had told Chris she was attracted to him. All he needed to do was throw the hook and wait.
Some would say he was a conceited bastard who thought everyone wanted to fuck him. And maybe they were right, but he wasn’t an idiot. Unless his radar was broken, Gen had been trying to get into his pants from the very first second they had shared two words.
“Dude, she offered to help me withanythingI needed while blatantly staring at my mouth and touching my arms and chest the entire time.”
