ADRIAN"Carlos!" I gasped, eyes widening in shock. "What happened? Why are you crying?"I rushed over to where he was standing by the window, grabbed his shoulder and turned him around to face me. His eyes were swollen with tears."Did you hurt yourself? Why are you crying?" I asked, frowning when he wouldn't stop crying.I grabbed his face in both hands, turning his face sideways to see if he hurt himself. But to my surprise, there were no traces of injury or bruises on his face."Is it your Dad?" I asked, confusion plastered on my face.Carlos shook his head, his shoulders trembling as he tried to stop his tears."I..." He sniffed, pushing his body against mine and hugging me tightly. "I thought you left me. I thought you're not coming back.""What?" I chuckled, rubbing circle on his lower back. "Why wouldn't I come back? This is my home.""I know." He grumbled, rubbing his face against my chest, refusing to let me go. As if I would make a run for the door if he did let go of my bod
GIOVANNIAs the call abruptly cut off, a gut feeling hinted that Adrian had silenced something or someone on his end, a sound he probably didn't want me to hear. I wanted to dial him again, but decided to let it be for now.Right now, I had to deal with my nutjob brother and I would be fucked if I didn't address what he saw at my place before the daybreak.Marcelo might have been my brother, and he might have loved me so much but even his loyalty to me has its limits. If he noticed anything that could be of help to the family, he would go for it without a second thought.If he thought, which it was true, that Adrian's life might bought our brother's freedom, he wouldn't be able to keep it in to himself, he would tell father. And if father should know about Adrian's existence in my life, I would be forced to kill him."That's never going to happen." I cursed under my breath, tightening my grip around the steering wheel.I slipped my phone into my pocket and shifted my gaze out of the c
ADRIANAfter what happened last night during dinner, I can finally say Carlos was into me. Or maybe he just wanted to get off last night and didn't know just how to go about it.When I walked out of the bathroom, he was standing there in nothing but panties. His erection was trying to force its way out of the panties. The sight did turned me on which made me feel uncomfortable.As if seeing my best friend in just panties wasn't enough torture, he also had to rock a boner?I might not know what Carlos was trying to archive by seducing me, but one thing I was sure of was that he was mad at me when I told him to go put on clothes.He disappeared into the bathroom and didn't come out until I had retired to bed."Fuck." I groaned out, blinking my eyes several times to check the time.Realizing it was about time I go get ready for my shift at Berry Hour, I grumbled and stepped down from the bed. I hissed when my feet landed on the cold floor.Carlos wasn't beside me in the bed when I woke u
GIOVANNI"Giovanni, I swear to God, this is a bad idea." Adrian whined beside me as I started the car.I grinned, not taking my eyes off the road. "Take out my cock and start sucking.""You really want to get us both killed, aren't you?" He grumbled but I didn't say anything. I wanted to feel his warm mouth around my cock and I would make sure I get my cock sucked before I would let him go.I watched Adrian bit down on his lower lip through my peripheral and that little gesture made my cock throbbed in my pants.The bastard didn't make any attempt to work my fly and bring out my cock and we were already getting closer to the smoothie shop. I stepped on the brake pads and pulled the car to a halt in front of a fire house and I knew it would only take a matter of minutes before someone come knocking on my window to move my car.Adrian was aware of the sudden halt of the car and looked out of the window, his eyes widening in shock as he turned to stare at me."Are you kidding me right n
ADRIAN Tucking my cock back into my brief, I zipped up my shorts and pulled away from Giovanni. I had never thought I would have my cock jerked off by this bastard again this morning, but here we are. "Thanks for the ride." I groaned, refusing to look at him as I picked my backpack from the car carpet and slung it over my shoulder. I opened the door and stepped out of the car. Just when I thought I would make my way into Berry Hour without any more hassle, Giovanni stepped down from the car and whistled, making me stop on my track. Turning around to face him, I glared. "What is it again do you want?" There was nothing funny about my question, or with the way I was glaring at him. But Giovanni Marino would always be Giovanni Marino. He chuckled and rounded the car to meet me. "You asked me what else I want?" He asked, tapping his lips. "A kiss. I want a kiss." "Fucking hell is wrong with you?" I groaned, glancing around to make sure neither Tobi nor Grace was watching.
GIOVANNIAdrian usually visit a pastry shop every day after his shift at his second job. I wasn't at all productive today at work, I was busy thinking of the best way to get Price Russell off my family's back for good without having to kill him.So, when I couldn't come up with any plan, I decided to go get donut at Adrian's favourite spot and maybe wait for him till he got there."So, tell me what you do because you seemed to know much about books." Leah, the old woman selling donut asked. Her wrinkled face smoothened when she attempted a smile.She seemed to be genuinely tired, but I could tell it wasn't from attending to lots of customers I had met in her shop when I got here an hour ago. She seemed to be battling with internal stress. "I'm not actually in the literary field," I confessed, folding my arms across my chest as I held her gaze. "I just have a passion for collecting books... they're like treasures to me. And whenever I can, I love to get lost in a good read."Leah smil
ADRIAN I could describe Giovanni in just two words. He was a cocky bastard. A fucking cocky bastard.I didn't know why I had to follow up with his damn game when it was so obvious he was doing that to mess with the old woman. But did I really hate it? I didn't.I could tell that woman was trying to hook me up with her gay relative. I noticed the way she was so interested in me the very first day I walked into her shop with Noah.She had asked if we were boyfriends because we looked cute together. Noah got a little uncomfortable so I had to clear the air by telling her Noah was my friend. And that I was gay.Because I fucking am.Having no reason to hide who I am since it was so easy for me to chose myself over my homophobic family. Coming out to a stranger shouldn't be a big deal.The woman wasn't bothered by my sexuality, instead she told me she had a boy who was also gay that I was going to like him.No. I wasn't sure if I was going to like him because I wasn't looking for a partne
GIOVANNII watched Adrian jumped into the taxi as if he couldn't get out of here fast enough. Something was definitely wrong with that little shit and I could tell he was hiding something from me.Not like I expected him to pour out everything going on in his life to me, but I had a gut feeling whatever he was hiding had to do with me."What could it be?" I pondered, tapping my fingers against the wheel, staring out of the window. Staring at the street the taxi had disappeared to.I thought so hard about why he was acting so weird and strange and what the problem could be."Could it be he's working as an undercover for his father?" I scoffed at the only thought that found its way to my head. I fastened my seatbelt and drove out of the parking space of the donut shop.I pulled out my phone and sent a message to Dominic to check if Adrian had been communicating with his father these past few days I had been seeing him. I rolled up my shirt sleeves as I shoved my phone back in my pocket.
GIOVANNI The car came to a stop, and I wasn't sure if I had parked properly. I pushed the door open, rounding the car, and I yanked the passenger door open. I glared at Adrian, who was still visibly shaking. He slowly moved his gaze up to stare at me. Lips parted slightly.Having Adrian here with me, but unable to wrap him in my arms and rock his body like I had wanted to was such a hard pill that I had to force down my throat.Without a word, I grabbed his hands and pressed his wrists together before pulling out a handcuffs from my pocket. Snapping it on his wrists.“What are you doing?” Adrian whispered, his eyes widening in terror as he stared up at him.Maybe he understood his situation now. The last time I had a handcuffs snapped on his wrists, it was to fuck him without having anything in my way. But the case was different now, and he knew it."Don't struggle against the cuffs if you don't want to get hurt." I warned. The words came out of my mouth, but I felt detached from my
GIOVANNI I hate coming here. But what I hate most is driving Adrian here. Dad must not know about him, but what can I do when that bastard keeps finding every opportunity to run away? I could have dropped him off at my apartment first, but what if he had already left before I got back from Dad's?I tightened my grip on the briefcase's handle as I walked over to the elevator and pushed the button. It felt as if an invisible thread had been tied around my neck, cutting off my airflow as I entered the elevator and watched the doors close.Today, I'm going to meet my brother after he's been imprisoned for the past year and some months. He's going to be freed, and I wonder how he'll feel when he sees me. As for me, I'm kind of nervous, and I couldn't help but stretch my neck to help me stay focused.I had done something outrageous for Dad, just to get my brother out of prison, and I wondered if he would even keep his end of the bargain in the end. That old geezer was a damn sly bastard; h
ADRIAN I was in my fucking head.The entire drive I felt agitation flowing through my body. Every flicker of Giovanni's gaze that came my way, every little smirk he pulled, felt like he was holding some inside joke that I was on the outside of. The sleek leather seat of his car was cool, and it was the only thing that prevented me from melting into a goddamn puddle.I wished I had the courage to talk to him because we had a lot to talk about. I wanted to know exactly what I was to him. He needed to define our relationship so I wouldn't mistake it for another.I needed to know why he got so angry when I said he wasn't even my boyfriend. Did he want me like I wanted him?Was he under the impression that he was my boyfriend, and did he wish it to be true, just like I did?Fuck!I am so confused!Taking a quick glance at Giovanni, I felt my breath catch in my throat when I saw the fire in his eyes. Fuck, it turned me on even more.The rush, the danger, and not to mention the hot as fuck
ADRIAN In my head, I knew I was exactly where I didn't want to be. An hour earlier, I would have jumped at the chance to follow Giovanni wherever he led me, because that was how much I missed having him around. But now my heart was set on being somewhere else entirely. The only place I wanted to be right now was in the comfort of my apartment, with Carlos by my side. I felt a pang of guilt for not being there to support him through his withdrawal. He was counting on me, and I hated that I had abandoned him when he needed me most. This was the one time I was supposed to repay him for all he had done for me in the past, but instead, I had left him to face his struggles alone. I could tell Giovanni was furious seeing me like that, I would too if the situation was reversed. But if I'm being honest, I wouldn't change a thing even if I could turn back the clock. Given the chance to relive the past ten minutes, I would make the same choices all over again. I would still choose t
GIOVANNI "That little shit." I chuckled, dropping the phone next to me on the couch after ending the call with Adrian.My erection pressing roughly against the zipper of my pants. I still couldn't believe he had actually dressed up just for me.Or maybe he hadn't gone through all that trouble just for me, but my flawed, egotistical self refused to accept that it was merely a coincidence."Fuck! I need to see Adrian. I can't stay another second without having him in my arms." I said, groaning out in pain as I tried sitting up on the couch but it was damn near impossible.I looked down at the ugly looking bandage on my stomach. So far, it was clean. No more bleeding through the white shirt. Thankfully, the damage the bullet had done on my stomach hadn’t been deep, but it still ached. I was on my third ibuprofen, and the pain was still there like it was part of me. Maybe it was all in my head, maybe it was all psychological throbbing instead of actual, physical pain.No one in the fami
ADRIAN The taxi came to a stop in front of a modest house thirty minutes later. I let out a deep breath, double-checking the address Lizzy had sent me to confirm I was at the right location. I had envisioned Lizzy's home to be more like everyone of us, but this one seemed surprisingly shocking.This should be the biggest house in Nexus Point. It reminded me of Dad's house in Solaris, but then I shook my head gently.Not today. I'm not going to think about dad today.Walking over to the front door, I placed a light knock on the door. I knew I should have just called Lizzy, but my brain wasn't functioning well at the moment.After the third knock, the door opened from the inside and Lizzy's face came into view. A warm smile spread across her face the moment she saw me."Hi, Adrian." She said, waving awkwardly at me."Hi, Lizzy." I greeted back, waving at her. Didn't know exactly what to say or what do do."You're here early." She said, smiling, opening the door wide for me to enter."
ADRIAN"Hey, Gracie. I have to go." I called out, walking out of the kitchen, wiping my hands with a small towel I had picked up from the counter.I had offered to do the dishes after everyone else had done eating. Honestly, I actually offered to do it just to escape Marcelo and his heated gaze at me.Grace walked over to me and handed me a hand cream. "Told you to let me do the dishes. You're just too stubborn.""It's alright. Since I didn't help out with the cooking the least I could do is help with the dishes." I smiled, applying the hand cream that smelled just like honey and was smooth on my skin like a butter.I handed Grace the small towel and the hand cream. She opened her mouth to talk but closed it back when we heard giggles from the living room."Are you sure that guy is not into you? I swear he likes you." Grace smirked, looking in the direction of where Marcelo and Tobi were playing video game in the living room.Marcelo was winning, and he wouldn't stop giving Tobi shit
ADRIAN My feet hurt so damn bad I wanted to cut them off and toss them into the nearest dumpster. I trudged up the walk to Grace's apartment from the food court where I had stopped to get us some cupcakes, brownies, ice cream sundaes, nachos and wings. For our gossip Sunday breakfast.If I had known five minutes walk on a Sunday morning would make me feel like an expired chicken, I wouldn't have dropped out of Marcelo's car to get desserts.Speaking of Marcelo, I heard a car honk right next to me and I almost jumped out of my skin."Fucking hell? Dude!" I grunted, glaring at the familiar car I had come to recognise against my own will.The car window rolled down, and Marcelo poked his head out, staring at the desserts bag in my hand. "Is it edible?"He gazed up at me with an irresistibly innocent expression that was just too cute to resist, his slow blink making me want to hand over the entire dessert bag to him.But no. This bastard is far from being innocent and cute, and he doesn'
ADRIAN "Hey, are you coming over for breakfast? Tobias is already here, we are waiting for you." Grace asked, the sound of plates hitting against kitchen counter was so loud in the background that I almost didn't hear what she said."Jesus, G. I'm just waking up now." I groaned, rubbing my eyes as I tossed and turned on my bed, stretching my arm."That doesn't answer my question, baby D." She huffed, and I imagined her rolling her eyes. "Are you coming? Or what?"Of course Grace would be the first person to call me on a Sunday morning. Both Grace and Tobi always have breakfast together every Sunday and they always wanted me there."I'm not sure." I grumbled, sitting up on my bed and tossed the blanket away. It landed on the floor. "I'm tired."Looking around my room, it was a little messy in here and I wondered what Giovanni would say about the situation of my room if he should be here. That neat freak.The thought brought a warm smile to my face that I almost forgot about Grace who