Page 68 of At The End Of The Day

“I’m almost done, baby.”

“No, you’re done now—”

“Just…” In a fit of urgency, I shoved him as carefully as I could, at last getting him fully into the bed. He bellowed and swung, nearly blackening my other eye. “I’m so sorry—”

“Get your fucking hands off me,” he seethed, covering his face as a sob burst forth. “Don’t ever fucking touch me again.”

Clucking my teeth, I stood upright and leaned into one leg, my fingers brushing his damp hair from his brow. “I mean, do you really want that?”

His fingers parted to peek at me and he laughed. They lowered to his chest, and he gulped in a few breaths, closing his eyes. “Goddamn, Vin. You got a nice bed. These some expensive sheets.”

Trying to lighten the mood, I moved to the side to take off his shoes. “Yeah, well, I’m gay, so you know. Boujee, and all.”

He snorted and then grunted, his neck arching to show the veins sticking out. “Yeah, well, you’re good at it, so I suggest you stick to it.”

A chuckle pushed through my nostrils. Tossing his shoes aside, I propped my hands to my sides and huffed, staring down at him. “Don’t worry, I ain’t gonna move you to put you under the sheets.”

His eyes rolling, he held his good arm out and lifted his head to look at himself. “Not that I need it. I don’t think the sweat’s stopped since I left the hospital. I feel fucking gross. What I need is a shower.”

Smirking and wiggling my brows, I once again brushed my fingers along his hairline to sweep the locks away. “Say the word, Dash, and I’ll more than happily give you a sponge bath.”

His complexion darkened and he groaned. “Don’t fucking start with me right now.”

I snickered and headed for the door.

“But don’t necessarily put that idea away,” he added before I left.

Pausing to look back, I winked. “Say when.”

He snickered but then groaned again, trying to get comfortable. “Where you going?”

“To tame that girl. Jesus, what I wouldn’t give to have half the energy she does.”

“That’s my little acorn. Growing stronger every day.”

“Mm hm. Get some sleep. I’ll check on you in a bit.”

When I gazed back, he was already drifting off. For a moment, I lingered, visually tracing every line of his face. Tapping the side of my fist to the frame, I released a long sigh. Yup, definitely in love with my best friend. This could only go wrong, terribly wrong.

Dario “Dash" Mangiacavallo

Sunday 09.15.2019

The gunshots blasting in my ears, my voice echoed as I hollered no when I saw Jackyl squeezing the trigger to kill Vincent. My entire life’s future flashing before my eyes, my heart burst as if it were exploding and I jerked, snorting on an inhale, my eyelids snapping wide. Panting, anguish consuming every inch of my body, I was soaking wet. When I tried to move, I stilled, a weight pressing me into the mattress. Lifting my head, I squinted against the paleness, the first traces of sunlight trickling through the blinds.

Vincent was on his side, his ankle over mine, his arm across my stomach, his cheek on my uninjured shoulder. My pulse racing, I was breathless, all kinds of strange emotions surging through my system. I just woke up in the arms of a man, my best friend, and I felt…relief? What the hell was happening?

He groaned in his sleep and rolled to his back, grunting because he was hurt, as well. His head rolling away from me, his palm splayed over the top of my thigh, near my hip, his fingers curling toward the inside. Despite my current condition, my dick tickled with arousal. How was something like that so damn comforting? I wasn’t one to cuddle, I never had been. I hated when Mary touched me at night, always insisting she stayed on her side of the bed.

Having him against me, feeling his hard body, his heat, his strength, felt pretty damn amazing. I liked it. Like…a lot.

Lifting my head off the pillow, my sight traveled along his figure, pausing at the bulge in his sweatpants. Glimpsing at the part of his face I could see, I hesitantly cupped it and gave a firm squeeze.

“Mm, Dario,” he muttered in his sleep, rolling his face back toward me.

Adrenaline rushed to my head, making me dizzy. Uncurling my fingers, I gave a couple rubs through his pants, adding pressure. His head rolled against my palm, the thickness impressive. At his balls, I paused but then cupped, rolling them in my fingers. Small and firm, not unlike mine.

His hips bucked slightly and he moaned, his dick jerking against my touch. “Dario,” he whispered again. “Mm.”