Explosive Prejudice

Chapter 19

Diesel

Iarrived at the club earlier, thinking it might get me to meet Llorón sooner, only that it didn’t. Two hours later, I was still waiting for him to show up. The first room you saw as soon as you entered was the lounge, so that was where I was, taking the main stage to perform my regular dancing routine. With my eyes fixed on the door, my heart stopped for a second each time it opened and closed, hoping it might be Llorón entering the room.

Throughout the day, I had doubts that he might not show up, doubts I tried to ignore. But after sleeping with him, the idea of never seeing him again sounded impossible. I wasn’t sure I could get over it. Last night wasn’t only the best sex of my life but the closest I had ever felt to a person, and even though he might not want it, it was time to finally meet one another. Unlikely as it was for me to wish for it, I wanted the two of us to take whatever was going on between us outside the club, and for that to happen, we needed to take off the masks. Llorón might be scared at first, but I’d calm him down, as I did last night, because there was no reason for him to fear me. I wanted him, and that fact wouldn’t change.

After dancing for what felt like a double shift but was probably only fifteen minutes, the door to the lounge opened, and the man I was waiting for with bated breath walked in. As soon as he did, the whole room lit up. It wasn’t just his beautiful appearance that made the dark space shine so bright, but his aura. Speaking of beautiful, tonight, he wore an open white blouse that showed off his chest while a matching pair of slacks sat loosely around his slim waist. I adored his style, even more so when he looked like an angel.

As he walked in, I waited for our eyes to meet, only it didn’t happen. Usually, we’d track each other before one of us could even take a breath, but not tonight. Rather than glancing up at the stage and searching for me, he looked over his shoulder at the person who walked right behind him.

Dion.

If it wasn’t bad enough that the two walked in together, Dion also placed his hand on Llorón’s waist as he leaned close to whisper something in his ear. I had no idea what he’d just told him, but from how Llorón nodded and allowed Dion to lead the way, I had my guess, and it was enough to make me see red. Gritting my teeth, I jumped off the stage and ran in the direction they’d disappeared.

Stopping at the beginning of the long hall, I saw the two walking toward the elevator at the end. “Llorón,” I said, swallowing hard and clearing my throat.

The two turned to look at me, making me feel pathetic, not that it mattered. Right now, I only cared about Llorón not getting into that elevator with Dion.

“Don’t do that.” My voice came out hoarse, and I continued to stay put and watch him as the elevator arrived and its doors opened.

While Llorón continued to stare back at me, Dion walked into the elevator, one hand keeping the doors open while he offered the other to Llorón to take.

“Mon péché, you coming?” Dion asked.

“Llorón,” I said again and stepped closer, but suddenly, there was this invisible wall between us that forbade me from getting any closer. A wall that hadn’t been there before, not even the first time we met.

Still holding his stare, I saw the shred of remorse behind his eyes a moment before he turned around and walked inside the elevator. He refused Dion’s hand but still stood close enough to him that their shoulders touched. Then, he looked down at the floor right before the doors closed.

I leaned against the wall with my arms crossed over my chest as I waited in the hall for him to return. I’d been in the same position since he got into that damn elevator about three hours ago, and I had no intention of moving, not until I saw him again and made sure he was okay.

All this time I waited, what I felt wasn’t anger but worry. Llorón didn’t even try to be subtle about going to sleep with another man, and here I was, worried out of my mind that he’d be okay.

He isn’t okay.

The concerning thought made me clench my jaw, mostly because I couldn’t, for the life of me, figure out why. What had changed since we parted ways last night, what turned him this toxic? I knew he’d panicked, but we made that promise. After confessing his fear that I might hate him, I promised it would never happen and that all he needed to do was show up today. Of course, the idea that he’d show up with Dion hadn’t crossed my mind, and now that it had happened, it left me concerned. What was going on with him? Why was he pushing the self-destruct button all of a sudden? What the fuck had changed?

Looking to my sides to make sure no one was around, I removed my mask and rubbed my face. This whole mess was exhausting, and my body ached with the need to see him, to have my arms around him, and to erase every mark Dion might leave on his body.

I blew out some air and put my mask back on, wishing I had a cigarette right now. Just then, the sound of the elevator caught my attention, and I saw the doors open and Llorón coming out of it, alone. Thank God. Looking at the floor, he didn’t notice me at first, but once he lifted his gaze, our eyes met. The sadness and despair in his eyes pierced my soul, and I thought back on the time I was stabbed and how little pain I felt then compared to seeing him this way.

Peeling my back off the wall, I walked toward him.

“You waited all this time?” he snarled, stopping before me.

“I would have waited all night.”

He bit his bottom lip, then tore his eyes away from me. “I never knew you were so pathetic,” he hissed, but his fake hostility meant nothing to me. He could bark all day long. I didn’t give a shit.

“Llorón.” I tried to reach for his arm, but he slapped my hand away and attempted to move past me. Having had enough of this, I grabbed him and turned us around so he was caged between my arms with his back pressed against the wall.

Rage burned in his eyes, and the look he gave me from underneath his mask was furious. If it wasn’t for how angry I was, I might have found it arousing. Scanning him more carefully, I had to hold myself together so I wouldn’t burst. The disheveled clothes, the bruised lips, the messy hair, and the red marks left on his skin made it obvious he’d just gotten fucked by another man, and it messed me up. Somehow able to push aside my need to break something, I took a deep breath.

“What’s wrong with you? What happened?”

“What do you mean what’s wrong with me?” he snorted, and I then noticed how dilated his pupils were.

“Are you high?”

“Fuck off,” he snarled.

Grabbing his chin, I forced him to look at me. His eyes were bloodshot, while his pupils were the size of coins. “Yes, you are.”

“Sharp observation, Sherlock.”

“We’re going to talk about what you did tonight, but not now. Not when you’re fucked-up like this.”

His lips pulled into a half smile, and his eyes shone viciously. “Oh, you’re right about that,” he sneered. “I am fucked.”

Knowing he was trying his best to provoke and push me away, I let go of his chin and grabbed his wrist. “I’m taking you somewhere else until you sober up.” I ignored his resistance while forcing him to move with me.

“Why?” he laughed. “I was just about to tell you how properly fucked I am… Seriously, Nero, I can feel his cum dripping down my legs as we speak.”

Tightening my hold around his wrist, I clenched my jaw and turned to face him. Right now, looking at him was like looking at a stranger. And although I knew he was acting out to push me away, to make me hate him on purpose, it drove me nuts.

“Why are you doing this?”

He looked startled, and for a moment, he held my stare without saying a word, but then he spoke. “What do you mean why?” A sad smile appeared on his lips. “I’m facing the consequences.”

My heart stopped as his words turned every part of my body to stone.

“What did you say?” I asked, barely able to hear anything but the blood pounding in my ears.

“You heard me.”

Listening to his words was like throwing a match into a field of thorns and standing by, watching the flames spread and grow, burning everything to the ground.

I swallowed hard, then forcefully moved my fingers to his mask. I swear to God, I was shaking, but what I was about to find out not only scared me but angered me. Standing still, Llorón didn’t try to resist as I slowly took off his mask in a second that dragged out forever. The moment it was gone, I felt like the whole world was crashing down.

“Feeling sick to your stomach?” he asked, his intoxicating eyes piercing into my soul like so many times before. Only this time, it wasn’t my Llorón I was facing, but… him?

This can’t fucking be real.

Anger took over me as rage I couldn’t contain spread through my veins until I clenched my hands into tight fists. My vision turned bloodred, my whole body trembled, and the next thing I knew, I punched the wall hard enough to leave a hole in it. My knuckles burned, and my skin tore, but I couldn’t care less. I was too obsessed with the sickening idea that my Llorón was none other than the guy I hated the most in this world.

Shay-Lee seemed shocked I’d just left a hole in the wall, but it was supposed to be his face. I’ve never had a problem hitting him before, like this morning, but all of a sudden, it felt impossible.

I wanted to hit him. I wanted to fucking break him… but I couldn’t. So, instead, I turned around and began walking away.

“I told you,” he said, and I paused. “I told you you’d hate me.”

Moments from last night returned to me. The warmth of his skin against mine, the taste of his lips, and the heaven of his embrace. While remembering how good he felt, I also recalled how broken he’d looked on the floor and how I’d promised him I was there for him. No. I promised that to Llorón.

“You were right,” I said, feeling how those three words squeezed the last bit of strength I had left before I continued to walk away, leaving Shay-Lee behind.