Chapter 30
Rude Awakening
Carter
I didn’t know what woke me up. I could hear the traffic noise coming from outside, but it wasn’t that. I could feel the sunlight on my eyelids, which told me it was morning, but it wasn’t that either. I raised my head, blinking the sleep out of my eyes, only to see Tye’s chest under me, which I lately used as a pillow. It was a gorgeous, massive chest, and I was in awe of it. Tye was still asleep and deliciously naked apart from his erection that was wide awake and throbbing under my thigh. I smiled and lowered my head to kiss his chest when I heard a sound. Or rather, a voice.
“Carter, darling? Are you home?”
Was that Vicky? No way it was Vicky. Did she ever return my key? I couldn’t remember.
I was trying to get my brain to function when the bedroom door opened. I looked over my shoulder, only to see Vic standing in the doorway. She was wearing a designer blue dress with a golden belt and matching heels, looking like a million bucks. Her eyes slid down my body, every naked inch of it, starting from my head and all the way down to my bare ass. Then her gaze shifted to Tye, who was equally naked under me.
“Vic,” I muttered, jumping out of bed and reaching for my boxers. I put them on, hurrying after her as she left the bedroom, stumbling slightly on her way out.
When she turned to look at me, my cheeks heated.
“I c-came back to... talk, bu-but… I ca-can’t believe my eyes.”
I rested my hands on my hips, staring at the floor, not knowing what to say.
“Him?” she said, sounding flabbergasted. “You? Have you…? Are you…?”
Finally, I raised my head and looked at her. “It just happened.”
Her eyes widened comically. “It just happened? It just happened that you… you… screwed a man? Or he screwed you…” She buried her face in her hands. “I can’t believe this. This is a nightmare.”
I rubbed my forehead in frustration. “What are you doing here, Vic?”
“I thought we could work things out. I thought…” She paused, looking at me in disbelief. “How…? Why…? I just don’t understand.”
“I fell in love with him,” I said, hoping to shorten the ordeal. “It’s as simple as that.”
She paled.
“With him?” she whispered, aghast. “You love him?”
I nodded. “Yes. I love him.”
She blinked. “Wait… Are you like… like gay or what?”
I haven’t figured it out yet, but I preferred sex with Tye to sex with women, and Tye was a man, so…
“Yeah… probably.”
At that moment, the bathroom door opened, and Luz walked out, buck naked except for the toothbrush in his mouth.
“Whassup?” he said, passing by Vic with his impressively long dick swinging between his legs. “I love your belt, girl. Dior?”
“What the hell is going on?” Vic exclaimed, looking at me wide-eyed. “How many naked men do you have in your apartment, you disgusting pervert?”
“It’s not what you think.” I tried to explain. “He’s an eyewitness.”
“To what? Your debauchery?”
“No, to… You know what? Never mind.”
“Oh, when my daddy hears of this,” she said, laughing bitterly. “You will never work in this town again, and the same goes for that blond backstabber in your bed. Mark my words, Carter. You will regret this. I swear to God.”
Thorsen
“It’s not funny, Tye.”
“Actually, it’s hilarious,” I disagreed, still chuckling after Carter told me what had happened. I slept through the whole thing, but it seemed that Vicky found out about Carter and me the hard way. Of course, it was also when Luz chose to show up naked, because… why not?
I turned off the stove and filled three plates with eggs, bacon, and sausages.
“When did you have time to prepare all this?” Carter asked me, sitting at the table and digging in.
“While you showered.”
He caressed my cheek. “Thank you. You’re the best.”
I leaned in and kissed his lips because I gave up on stopping. “Everything for you, baby. By the way… are you okay?”
When I subtly pointed my chin at his behind, he nodded enthusiastically. “Oh, yeah, yeah. I guess my ass got used to being pummeled by you.”
I rubbed the bridge of my nose, trying hard not to laugh, as Luz joined the discussion.
“I take back everything I said,” he mumbled with his mouth full, pointing a fork at me. “You’re cool, big dude.”
“Redirect that fork, or I will do it for you.” I gave him a fair warning.
“Enough,” Carter cut in. “Eat your food, boys, and play nice.”
“No, I mean it,” Luz said, biting off a big chunk of sausage. “Listen to me, Carter, because I know my shit. Mount Everest here is a keeper. He’s an excellent cook, he likes a rough fuck, and he’s bigger than my high school building.”
“I know he’s a keeper,” Carter said, making me smile.
“Aww, thank you, babe.” I gave him a kiss before looking at Luz. “You’re a walking, talking trouble, aren’t you, you little shit?”
“Of the best kind,” Luz replied with a smirk. “Speaking of trouble, what’s the plan?”
“I have one,” Carter mused, staring into the distance. “But I’m not sure I like it.”
“Let’s hear it,” I said, looking at him questioningly.
“Tonight, Luz goes to Allure and makes his presence known. We follow him from a distance. And then we wait.”
Luz blinked. “Hold on... you want to use me as bait?”
When Carter didn’t reply, Luz rolled his eyes. “Just great. And I put my life in your hands. I’m such an idiot.”
“I never said my plan is perfect,” Carter said, looking grim. “But the killer knows you saw his face, and now, thanks to our chief, he probably thinks you’re our informant. He won’t stop until he finds you. Like it or not, you’re the last thing left for him to clean up.”
“Perfection,” Luz said, pushing away his plate with a grimace of distaste. “I just lost my appetite.”
“What do you think, Tye?” Carter asked me. “Do you have a better idea?”
I made a face. “It’s not ideal. But I don’t have a better idea, no.”
For a few moments, nobody spoke. We all had something to ruminate on.
“Chief Bibb will never approve of this.” I told Carter what he already knew.
He nodded. “I know. That’s why it has to be off-the-books.”
I looked at Luz. “What do you say? Hypothetically, are you in or what?”
Luz shook his head in frustration. “I don’t know where I am, okay? I don’t know if I’m in or out or… In fact, you know what? Let’s just do it. Fuck it! If I die, I’ll die young and be a good-looking corpse, as the immortal Jim Morrison would say.”
“We’ll need backup,” Carter said. “But Shelly has enough on her plate, and I don’t trust Adam.”
It got me thinking.
“I know someone who could help us out,” I said, reaching for my phone and dialing a number.
After a few rings, a gruff voice answered.
“Yo, Tye?”
“Hey, Bazooka! Are you free tonight?”
“What do you need me for?”
“I would like to take you out dancing. Are you in?”