Chapter 11 #2
Several dots began to fly across the screen.
Felix
We’ve been worried sick. What the fuck. Would a text have killed you?
Lake
Are you okay?
Cree
What happened?
Silas
How’s your mom?
Arsen
Is she still in jail?
Ever
Are you okay? Where are you?
Nico
Holy shit. Where have you been?
Levi
Yeah, man, we were worried.
Shiloh
Tell us you’re okay. Do you want to come over? Do you need a place to hide?
Mal
You’re with Enzo, right?
That last message took him aback. Seven always forgot that Mal and Enzo were…friendly? How much did Mal know about them? It was crazy to think that their friend circles converged at the Mal axis as he and Shiloh were the newest in the group.
Seven
I’m fine. Yeah, I’m at Enzo’s. My mom’s at Mama’s. Someone tipped off the press and now they’re everywhere.
Felix
Oh, we know. They were outside my townhouse when we came back from daycare with the boys.
Seven
I’m so sorry, Felix.
Felix
What? No. Shut up. That’s not what I meant. It’s not your fault the press are leeches.
Zane
Hey!
Felix
Not you, baby. I love you
Zane
You better.
Lake
Why are they saying your mom embezzled millions from the non-profit? We know it’s a lie, but who would want to set her up?
Cree
It’s not your dad, is it?
Felix
Shit. It’s not, right? Your mom wouldn’t let your dad do that. I don’t care how much she loves him. She doesn’t love anyone enough to go to jail, right? Well, except you.
Zane
Is it true your mom is dating Enzo’s uncle Rocco? Does that mean she’s done with your dad for good?
Arsen
I did not know that Enzo’s family is like Mulvaney family. So charitable that people say they must be secret criminals.
Ever
Yeah. They say Rocco is kind of a mobster. The whole Conti family is like mafia.
Seven
Just because my boyfriend’s family is Italian doesn’t mean they’re in the mob.
Though, to be fair, the more he learned about Enzo’s family, the more he was pretty sure they were the mob. He hit send, then read back what he’d written, only then comprehending what he’d said. His heart rate skyrocketed.
Fuck. They were not going to let that slide.
Cree
Boyfriend?
Felix
Since when?
Ever
Squeeeeee
Shiloh
daslkfjds;lkfjds;lkjfls;dkfjs;ldj BOYFRIEND?
Arsen
Wow. I thought you would hold out longer than this. Weak.
Seven
Fuck you, smurf boy. You wifed up your boyfriend six seconds after you yanked him out of the closet. I’ve known Enzo for eight months. That’s like five years compared to how fast you all move.
Nico
Maybe we should just ixnay the oyfriendbay conversation for a while? Someone’s a little sensitive today.
Seven
My mom was just arrested. Excuse me if I’m freaking out a little.
Levi
Do not invoke your mother’s name to keep us from prying into your love life. It won’t work, especially since we know Enzo volunteered to take care of his “future mother-in-law” pro bono.
Seven
How did you know about that?
Had Enzo said it to Jericho? Had he called Neith his future mother-in-law?
Was there something stronger than butterflies?
Because something was swarming in his belly, but it felt much more aggressive than butterflies.
He wanted to strip off his clothes and join Enzo in the shower, go to his knees for him.
Seven sighed. He was pretty sure no amount of sex would be equal to the amount of time and money Enzo would lose helping his mother.
Shiloh
So if your mom marries Enzo’s uncle, then would that make her his mother-in-law and his aunt? God, you think the press is in a feeding frenzy now, wait until that happens.
Nico
To be fair, this is pretty juicy. Like honestly, our friend group isn’t in the press enough for all the ties we have to famous people.
Seven
Did you guys play tonight?
Lake
We tried but the trolls were trolling. They even invaded Shiloh and Ever’s feed, spamming them with questions and nasty comments.
Cree
We would have kept playing, but we didn’t know how you wanted us to respond. Or even if you wanted us to. We figured we’d wait for word from you.
Silas
We missed out on the Paladin live D&D night, too. The tickets sold out in seconds.
Oh, right. That was today. The voice actors of Paladin 4 were playing D&D live as their characters for one night only about two hours away from them. They’d made it clear from the beginning that there would only be a thousand tickets for sale. It had been a longshot from the jump.
Felix
I could try to pull some strings but I’m not sure even Thomas could snag us the amount of tickets we need.
Seven
It’s fine. We can all just gather at someone’s house and watch the livestream. Jericho will probably even let us use his place and their television is stupid big.
Cree
Maybe they’ll do it again next year.
Lake
Or add on shows.
Arsen
I think Seven has other things on his mind.
Seven
It’s okay. After being hassled by the news people, I’d rather talk about literally anything else.
Felix
Dealing with those vultures sucks. *Not you, baby*
Zane
Silas
Actually, maybe Zane’s the press you should be talking to.
Seven
What do you mean?
Silas
I mean, they’re not going to stop harassing you. Maybe Zane could be your public facing voice. He knows how to spin things in a way that’s just truthful enough to keep the public on our side. It could be beneficial.
Seven
I’ll ask Enzo.
Ever
You mean your boyfriend Enzo?
Nico
You folded like a cheap card table. You’ve been bitching about Enzo every day for the last eight months. Enzo this. Enzo that. And now you’re throwing around the word boyfriend.
Seven absently noted the water shutting off, but still attempted to defend himself.
Seven
It was just a slip. I didn’t mean it. I’ve had a trying day. Don’t be mean to me.
Movement from the corner of his eye snagged his attention. Enzo, his hair wet and wavy, a white towel slung low around his hips. Water droplets still clung to all that ink and muscle.
Seven
Gotta go. Don’t wait up.
He closed his phone to a dozen dancing dots, swinging his legs over the side of the bed to sit on the edge, eyes roaming greedily, trying to take in every bit of skin available to him.
Enzo’s ink was a canvas of contradictions—all sacred relics and sacrilege.
The last time he’d had Enzo this bare, Seven was too far gone to appreciate his beauty. But not this time.
From his throat to his ankles, saints mourned and martyrs burned, painted in bold lines and vivid colors.
In the mirror behind Enzo, Lucifer curled down his spine, beautiful and broken, wings spanning his broad shoulders as he watched over a ribcage lined with thieves and saints, their eyes hollow, their halos cracked.
A sacred heart flared over his real one, pierced and blazing beside the Virgin Mary, who clutched a rosary made of tiny skulls.
Even the few bits of negative space felt deliberate, like they were simply waiting their turn. Enzo looked less like a man and more like a gothic cathedral, but it suited him.
“My eyes are up here,” Enzo teased.
“But your tummy’s down here,” Seven shot back, reaching out and pulling Enzo in by the knot of his towel.
He recognized some of the famous religious works.
Unlike Nico, Seven had excelled in art history.
And Enzo was a living, breathing museum.
Michaelangelo. Caravaggio. Hieronymus Bosch.
They were all there, their broken saints and fallen angels splashed across his skin.
On Enzo’s body, religion didn’t look like salvation, but the opposite.
Seven couldn’t stop himself from reaching up to trace his fingertips over the words written in fancy script across his side.
Coram Deo, in tenebris.
“Before God, in darkness,” he murmured. “Very dramatic. Very villainous.”
Enzo chuckled. “Of course, you speak Latin.”
“I’m a law student. It comes in handy,” Seven said. “And don’t change the subject. Why are all your tattoos so…dark? Did you have an emo phase or something?”
He laughed a little at the idea of Enzo in all black with guyliner, a lip ring, and scene hair.
“Are you laughing at me?” Enzo asked, though he seemed to be enjoying the attention.
“With you,” Seven corrected. “But this does seem kind of broody, even for you.”
Enzo huffed out a laugh of his own. “After I found my fiancé in bed with my only friend, I went a little off the rails. She hated tattoos. I got the first one to spite her. Then I realized tattoos really are addictive. They’re also good for hiding scars…and stretch marks.”
Enzo pointed to a spot over his hips. Seven could just barely make out the striations in question.
Seven ran the flat of his tongue over them, then kissed them for good measure.
One day, he’d force Enzo to lay there so he could kiss every perceived imperfection on his body. “I think stretch marks are sexy.”
Enzo caught Seven beneath his chin, tipping it upwards until they were locked in on each other. “Is it possible you just really like me?” he asked, sounding amused and a little breathless.
“Maybe,” Seven said with a cheeky little shrug. “As long as you keep being this version of yourself.”
Enzo gazed down at him with a sincerity that had Seven fighting not to squirm. “There’s only one me. But you’re the only one who gets to see this side of me…so it would be great if you don’t tell our co-workers that I’m a giant insecure nerd outside of a courtroom.”
Enzo had no idea how coveted his type really was. Maybe Seven should keep that information to himself. The older man already had a big head. Nah, he needed to hear only good things about himself.
“Do you have any idea how your stock value would soar if people knew you were a hot nerd? Those are the most coveted of all the classes and I have no interest in competition. You’re all mine,” Seven said, planting a chaste kiss just below Enzo’s belly button.
The ding of the elevator had Seven gasping in excitement, rubbing his hands together like a cricket. “Food.”
“Want me to grab it?” Enzo asked.