you know I went back to the hotel last night?” I hadn’t answered the door the first time you pounded on it.
You pulled out a cell phone that looked ancient. The screen was just a map with two pulsing dots, one red and one blue, nearly entirely overlapping. It looked like the phone’s only function.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“It’s a geolocating device. You have a tracker implanted under your skin.”
I freaked out a little, especially when you told me I’d had it since I was a little kid.
“Where the hell is it?” I inspected both my arms. You reached over and placed two fingers to the top of my spine and tapped. “The fuck, Henri?”
“It was your parents’ doing. I only found out about it that day you climbed into the tiger enclosure, and after that incident, I thought it was a very good idea.”
No wonder my dad had always caught me misbehaving. What a cheater.
“That’s fucked up,” I said, and you didn’t argue.
Something else was on my mind. Memories had been glancing across my consciousness since our dream share. Some I let go by. Others I paused to study closer. One of them involved a much younger Bruno.
“Bruno was my best friend,” I said. That was how you said you’d met him, through me, and my own memories supported it.
“Yes,” you confirmed.
“Were you fucking him too?”
You squinted as though in deep thought. “No, but there was one encounter… involving the three of us.”
Yes, that was what I’d been remembering.
“And Papa was a hooker?” I asked. You responded with a stern look. “Dios mio, this is like a telenovela. What about Dad? He’d never allow that.”
“Before you came along, your parents’ relationship was fraught with conflict. Our arrangement took place before their union was blessed.”
“Blessed by who?” I asked.
“Azrael.”
I sneered at that. “Who does he think he is, the Don?”
You nodded solemnly. “The Don of Dons, Vincent, so be sure to mind your manners.”
My mind was blown on so many levels, things I’d thought impossible were now part of my reality. I was having trouble merging what I knew to be true now with what I was remembering.
“What is it?” you asked, sensing my bafflement.
“My parents have been so hard on me. My whole life. Talking about what’s appropriate. Meanwhile, they were, like, having orgies and snorting cocaine off of strippers’ asses.”
You frowned. “Your Papa has always been a man of the utmost class and character. And your Dad has always been a pain in my ass.”
“Some things never change.” I decided then to make a confession of my own. “I saw them once. My parents. Fucking.”
Your eyebrows drew together. “Is there more to that story, or did you only want to compare perversions?”
I shoved your shoulder lightly. “First off, it was an accident. I had a nightmare. Second, it was actually pretty enlightening.”
“In what way?” you asked, curiosity getting the better of you.
“Papa is obviously too good for my Dad. Even if he is a rich bastard—and an angel or whatever—he’s still a major asshole. Papa puts up with a lot of shit. But when I saw them like that, I guess I kind of understood their relationship a little better.”
“Did you watch the whole thing?” you asked with a raised eyebrow. Judgy much?
“Yeah, I totally did.” All the way to the finish line. I couldn’t look away.
“The stresses of the day can be smoothed over in lovemaking,” you agreed, all professorially. “And fights that seemed important can become quite trivial in the throes of passion.”
“Right,” I said, suddenly hot and horny. I decided to test your willingness to share your past exploits with me. “So, have you had other lovers? Since then?”
Since… me?
“No,” you said shortly.
“Really?” I shook my head. “That’s crazy. With your looks…”
You shrugged. “I wasn’t interested in that kind of intimacy with anyone else.”
“Oh.” I didn’t know what to say. Well, I kind of did know what to say, but should I? Probably not but what-the-fuck-ever. Let’s clear this mystery up once and for all. “Well, what about me?”
You glanced over and drank me in slowly. I melted in my seat, except my dick, which was rock-hard. A look from you could make me come.
“I find you irresistible,” you said with a broody sigh and tore your eyes away. “Believe me, I have tried.”
So many thoughts swirled in my mind. Mostly the logistics of where and when. Mostly when. I was ready. At least, I thought I was ready. But even with a fuck-ton of horny