Guns n' Boys Book 1 Part 2 (24 page)

“No one expects to be freaking spied on on
the fifth floor.” Seth casually bent down to have a peek. It was
too tempting. Zach was no Mister Universe, but Seth had fucked
chubby guys like him, and it was all right. His gaze moved to
Peter’s smiling face, and that was it. He moved away from the
telescope.

“I could make you some coffee,” said Dom,
already filling the room with swirls of smoke. Seth hadn’t even
noticed him starting.

“Why are they still using condoms? Do you
think he’s ill or something?” Seth paced back to the couch in
annoyance.

Domenico shrugged, opening his mouth and
releasing an elegant swirl of smoke. “Could be anything. Some
people just use them every time, no matter with whom.”

“So… How often did
you
use them
exactly?” Seth leaned down to stroke Dom’s hair. It was so silky
and smooth it was hard to believe he didn’t do anything special
with it. Dom leaned into his palm with a pleased smile.

“Most of the time with strangers.”

Seth gave Dom’s temple a kiss and sat down
next to him. “So when’s the last time you got tested?”

“For what?” Domenico’s arms pulled him closer
for a hug.

Seth cleared his throat. “You know, anything
someone else’s genitals can give you.” He felt uncomfortable at the
thought that Dom hadn’t given him the choice to use them or not,
but he felt like now it wouldn’t change anything anyway.

Domenico closed his mouth and shrugged,
staring at the window, as if there was something fascinating
outside. “I’m fucking healthy people.”

“You can’t exactly see that, you know…” Seth
pouted.

“I feel well though, nothing’s happening to
me. I’m good,” Dom announced, gently tickling Seth’s nape as they
lounged on the couch.

“Could you go for a checkup anyway? I’d feel
better if I saw it on paper.”

Domenico bit his lip. “Maybe, if we have some
time to spare.” His amber eyes turned to Seth like a pleading
puppy’s. He so didn’t want a medical examination.

“You know, ‘cause anyone could have HIV and I
kinda…” Seth took a deep breath. He didn’t like thinking about
these things. The mere idea had him feeling queasy. “I’d rather
know.”

Domenico groaned. “Come on, it’s easiest to
get it with needles. I never use dirty needles, and I’m neither a
junkie nor a whore.”

“Dom, I’m not kidding.” Seth pulled away. “Am
I a fucking joke? You never cared if I had something. I could have
infected you. Fuck. Now I’m gonna be afraid to get tested.”

“Come on, you’re healthy like a young bull.”
Domenico took Seth’s hand and massaged it with his thumb.

“No, Dom, I’m serious now.” He pulled away.
“If you kept avoiding protection like you did with me, then we
could both be screwed and not even know it yet.”

Domenico groaned. “Who do you think I am? I
was using rubbers when I fucked some random guy in the club.”

“Who didn’t you use them with then?”

Domenico spread his arms and moved his gaze
over the room, clearly frustrated. “Friends.”

Seth counted to ten. “Okay, so when’s the
last time you got tested?”

Dom’s arms dropped by his sides and for once,
he looked Seth straight in the eyes. “One, one and a half year
ago?”

Seth took a deep breath. Could have been
worse. “Okay.”

“Yeah?” Domenico’s face relaxed, and he
pulled Seth closer into his warmth, close to the smell of smoke,
skin and cologne Seth could not resist.

“Yeah. It is what it is.” Seth hugged him,
ready to forget the whole thing as fast as possible.

Domenico sighed and pulled him into a kiss.
Since they unloaded the stress of the fight in the club in a dark
back alley, it’d been a bed of roses until Lucrezia’s call. The
fact that he didn’t even know where he and her were supposed to
live made him both gloomy and angry. But he didn’t bother asking
her. It would make the prospect more real.

“So, what’s for dinner?” asked Dom against
his skin.

“I left you two choices in the fridge. I’m
going out for a few hours.” His cell phone beeped, but even before
he had a chance to look at the message, Dom’s body blocked the
light.

“Where?”

“I’m seeing Rob, he’s got my jacket.” Seth
looked up at Dom, raising his hands. “And before you say it,
nothing’s gonna happen.”

Domenico’s nostrils flared, and he shifted
his weight, squeezing his hands into fists. “The fuck? Can’t he
just send it over?”

“Why would he send it when we’re in the same
city?” Seth frowned, already knowing where this was going. “Dom,
you gotta trust me.”

“I don’t trust
him
,” growled Domenico.
“I have no idea what he’d do to have you again.”

Seth bit on his tongue not to swear. “You
really do think I’m some airhead, who anyone can charm into
bed.”

Domenico rolled his eyes. “No, but what if he
spikes your drink? Maybe I could just go with you and watch over
from afar?”

Seth poked him in the chest. “Are you out of
your fucking mind? Robert? Drug me?”

“You may never know what a person is capable
of. Just think of your uncle,” said Domenico.

Seth’s eyes went wide. “How dare you bring
him up now?” he raised his voice. He could never scrape the image
of Domenico under Frederico Villani out of his mind. And a young
and vulnerable Domenico at that.

Dom narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean ‘how
dare you’? My point is that you’d never suspect him.”

“I’d suspect other shit from him. This is
Robert. He’s normal, okay? Don’t treat me like a baby.”

“Well, I don’t approve of you meeting up with
him alone.” Dom crossed his arms on his chest with an air of
finality.

Seth gave him a malicious grin. “Well,
newsflash, I don’t have to do what you tell me to.”

Domenico’s face reddened as if it was going
to burst, and he stepped forward, pushing at Seth’s chest like the
embodiment of fury. “You will not see him. I’d rather cuff you to
the radiator!”

Seth ended up hitting the wall with his back
and blinked in surprise. He kept forgetting just how strong Dom
was. “You wouldn’t… People don’t do things like that in
relationships.”

Domenico banged his hand on the table, making
the cutlery clatter. “Do people in relationships meet up with their
exes?”

“Sure they do. It’s normal.” He took a step
back. “They’re not radioactive. He’s not even an ex, we just slept
together.”

Domenico gave him an accusatory stare. “That
makes it even worse!”

“How many guys did you sleep with? Two?” He
couldn’t believe they were having this conversation.

Dom drew in a sharp gulp of air. “I’m not
meeting up with them for fucking coffee and cake.”

“‘Cause you don’t want to, not because I say
you can’t!” Seth slid on his shoes.

“Oh, yeah, would you be happy if I were to
meet up with my past lovers behind your back?” insisted Dom,
stepping up as close as if he wanted to push Seth with his own
body.

Seth groaned at the idea, but this wasn’t
about him. This was about principles. “Not behind my back, but I
trust you.”

“Why can’t you just drop the idea!” roared
Dom before Seth even pronounced the last syllable. His eyes were
those of a raging bull ready to put his horn through the matador’s
body.

Seth took a step back, suddenly feeling a
strange clench in his stomach. All of this made him feel sorry
about how he had treated Peter when they were together. He never
imagined he’d be on the receiving end of this kind of treatment in
a relationship. “Stop yelling at me! I have personal stuff I wanna
talk to him about. I can’t just live in this bubble.”

Domenico cursed, and started pacing in front
of Seth, all tense. “What kind of ‘stuff’?”

“Just life stuff, for fuck’s sake! I’ve got
shit going on, changes, a new boyfriend. I want to chat about
it!”

Domenico turned his back to Seth, walked to
the table, and in the most surreal moment of Seth’s life, knocked
it over, sending both the furniture and all the polished cutlery to
the floor with an ear-splitting racket.

Seth yelped and jumped back. “What the fuck?”
His eyes went wide as he watched Dom’s tense, broad shoulders rise
and fall with every deep breath, and he actually stepped back when
Dom moved toward a set of shelves.

A glass vase flew across the room and broke
into tiny pieces where it hit the floor.

“I don’t want you to go!"

Seth couldn’t believe this shit. “Well, you
don’t always get what you want!” he screamed back. “And you better
clean that before I get back!” He rushed for the door, grabbing a
scarf on the way. He didn’t expect being pushed face-first at the
door, but that was exactly what happened.

“Get lost!” growled Domenico.

Seth grabbed his nose, shocked by the impact.
“I’m going, can’t you see?” He elbowed Dom and opened the door.

“Get out of my sight!” rasped Domenico,
repeatedly slamming his hand against the wall.

“Asshole!” Seth yelled at him and walked
out.

“Go on then, go to see your so-called-friend!
Go—” The door was indeed soundproof, as once it slammed shut, Seth
didn’t hear Dom’s barking anymore.

He shook his head, going right for the
elevator. He couldn’t believe this. What was he? Some abused
teenage girlfriend? What the fuck? He could go where he wanted and
when he wanted. Dom didn’t have him on a leash.

Rob had asked Seth to meet him in a small
cafe on the East Side. In the summer, they used to sit by a round
table outside, in the quiet street between former tenement houses,
but with the weather as it was, he went straight inside, smiling at
the pink-haired girl behind the counter. Apart from a young hipster
couple by the window, Rob was the only guest, but instead of waving
at Seth from his spot in the back under a stuffed deer head that
had been dyed pink, like he usually would, he got up and rushed
toward Seth.

“Hi!” Seth smiled at him and gave Rob a hug
the moment they got close. “How’s it going?”

Rob held on a bit too long, but he let go
just before it got awkward and gave Seth a tight smile. “Maybe we
could order first? My treat.”

“Oh, yeah? I’m gonna have two sugar daddies
now?” Seth laughed, and they went over to the counter. It felt like
it was a universe away since they had been here, just chatting
about university stuff before life blew up in Seth’s face.

Rob swallowed, but never stopped smiling. “Is
he
your sugar daddy?”

“Oh, come on, Rob,” Seth groaned. “It’s not
like that at all. We’re still working things out, but I’ve got my
own money as well.”

Rob nodded in acknowledgement, and they soon
returned to the table, carrying two plates of cake. He sighed,
tapping his fingers on the tabletop. “Seth, how long have you
really known this guy for?”

“You know, a while. Since September. He’s
really nice when you get to know him.” Seth slouched over his
coffee. Did he really believe what he’d just said? ‘Nice’ wouldn’t
be the adjective he’d use to describe Dom. ‘Intense’,
‘unpredictable’, and ‘dangerous’ would be more like it.

Rob cleared his throat. “It’s not that I
underestimate your judgment, but he seemed like a very aggressive
type.”

Seth looked at his cake with a pout and lost
his appetite at the memory of their last fight. “He can be a bit
brash, but he means well. I’m sorry he offended you. We’re still
working out boundaries and stuff.”

Rob leaned back in his chair, watching Seth
with a blank expression. “I don’t know what he told you, but with
the way you just stormed out without a word, it couldn’t have been
anything pleasant.”

Seth felt himself flush and hid his nose
behind the fork. It was hard to explain that Domenico lived in a
world with a completely different set of rules. “Yeah, it was rude,
I suppose, but I told him what I thought about it.”

“Why are you defending him?” Rob raised his
hands, but immediately slouched when the pink-haired waitress
brought over their coffees.

Seth looked up at Rob in surprise. “‘Cause
he’s my boyfriend. What goes on between us is a bit different.”

“Shouldn’t he treat you well then? You’re so
early into the relationship, all people watch what they’re doing at
the beginning.” Rob sipped from his large mug of black coffee.

Seth licked his lip. There was no way for him
to explain just what he felt for Domenico. It was so overwhelming
he got out of breath when they were together. He couldn’t tell Rob
what they’ve gone through in Berlin. It was like a wall between him
and his friend that wasn’t there before. “I know… But, you know, I
have a temper as well. We try to make it work.”

Rob swallowed, picking at his cake with the
fork. “I... admit I was expecting you to leave Peter, but this
guy... I’d never think you’d go for someone like that.”

Seth couldn’t help a small smile. “I kinda
like that he’s so intense. Makes me feel more alive.”

“You sure? He seemed so... pushy.” Rob
chuckled, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “What is he, a top
by day, bottom by night?”

Seth paused for a moment, chewing on his
cake. He could lie of course, but wouldn’t that be perpetuating the
macho attitude he was trying to get rid of? “Um… No, I kinda... I
bottom,” he said flatly.

Rob gave him a blank stare. “You?”

“Yeah, me, okay? What’s the big deal?” he
groaned and poked his cake. He wasn’t sure why it was so hard to
admit. Wasn’t he the ‘liberated, modern gay man’, who didn’t care
about labels, and wouldn’t feel emasculated just because someone
knew he was submissive in bed?

Rob spread his hands. “You’ve always been
very... toppy. And I remember you saying you’re not interested in
anything beyond that.”

“‘Cause I wasn’t. I kinda… never imagined
what it could feel like. I thought all feeling was in the dick, and
that getting fucked would be like… I don’t know, serving someone in
a way and only getting a hand job in return.”