I blink. Did I just say that out loud in front of someone? To the wrong person? The guy's eyes widen with joy.
"No. No fucking way. This is real?" His voice is shaking with excitement. "This is ACTUALLY happening?! BRO!"
The fuck? He spins in a slow half-circle.
"I swear to GOD—this is better than sex. This is cinematic. This is historical. Gio, right? You just walked in here and said that?!" He points to the floor where I stand, jaw clenched.
"Bro. I can leave. I will. I'll walk out right now. Do whatever you want to him. Break his spine. Fold him. Shatter his dignity. Make him cry into the sheets, I don't care. End him with love."
I step back. I swear I don’t even know if I’m breathing.
"Who the hell are you?" I ask.
"Oh. Right. Introductions." He steps forward and puts a hand over his heart.
"Noah. I'm Noah. Best friend, life coach, emergency contact and tattoo therapist of your very pretty boy."
Oh.
Oh.
The tattoo guy. So basically this guy…has touched him. Sat with him for hours. Created art on his skin. Had access to his body before I even knew it was mine to crave. But I can’t say anything because I'm covered in tattoos even more.
I don't know if I want to hug the bastard or strangle him for making this masterpiece on Rava's body.
I look at the bed. "You're…staying here?"
"Duh. Guest room was boring." Then he claps again.
"Dude. DUDE. You don't understand. I'm the reason he even made a move on you. Me. Me! I told him to go for it. I gave him the speech. I prepped him. I said, 'if you don't kiss that man, I'm calling immigration'."
He is walking in circles around the room, arms flailing, face lit up like a drunk saint. "And now here you are! You said you've been hard since forever?! I've never been prouder of anything in my life! I've nearly had an aneurysm watching this slow-burn mess unfold like a Netflix series. You're real. He's real. AND YOU'RE IN HIS ROOM WITH THAT VOICE."
"You're insane."
He points at me. "And you're fucking iconic."
The door creaks open behind me. It's Rava. "Damn…seeing you two in the same room…"
His voice is calm. "…feels illegal."
"Oh it's illegal alright," Noah jumps in immediately. "He walks in, drops the most pornographic line I've ever heard in real life and means it, and I'm just here, spiritually ascending in the corner!"
Rava looks at me, suspicious. I turn to him with both hands in the air. "I thought you were alone, you idiot!"
He just stands there. No reaction. One eyebrow up. Noah? Laughing. Literally clapping. "No no no, don't blame him. He thought it was just you. He came in full horny mode. Like, 'door's closed, time to sin.' It was BEAUTIFUL. I'm honored to have witnessed it."
I groan and drag my hands down my face. "I will kill you in your sleep," I mutter toward Noah without even looking at him.
"Do it. I swear, as long as Rava's crying into your shoulder afterwards, I'll die a proud man."
Rava walks deeper into the room, finally closing the door behind him. "So…this is how you greet me now?" His voice drops half a tone. "Hard since forever?"
I shoot him a glare. "Shut the fuck up."
"You said it."
"I DIDN'T KNOW THERE WAS A THIRD PERSON IN THE ROOM."
