21. Zero
21
ZERO
“ C an you at least throw on a pair of underwear? I swear, I can practically see your butthole when you bend over like that,” Diesel complained from somewhere behind him.
Zero stood up and closed the fridge door before turning to face his annoying housemate. Co-worker? Mistaken one-night stand?
Argh. Whatever you call a pervy bastard who jerks off while watching you sleep.
A chuckle tried to escape him. The thought of making the stubborn man all hot and horny made Zero all warm and fuzzy inside. This little cat-and-mouse game they were playing was also adding to the excitement he felt building up inside. Was it possible to be annoyed by someone yet also want them around, both at the same time?
“He’s just saying ‘hello.’ Don’t be rude. Give the guy a little kiss and see if he needs anything,” Zero finally responded to Diesel’s crack about his… crack? Hole? Butthole? Whatever.
“The only thing that hole needs is a shot of penicillin and a warning label for those who try to gain entry,” Diesel quipped back without missing a beat.
The corners of Zero’s lips turned upward slightly. No, he was not going to laugh and prove to the prick that he found his comebacks funny. Speaking of cum, he wondered where Diesel liked to take it? On his back? In his mouth? Painting his insides?
The thought of Diesel being covered in cum had Zero’s cock quickly thickening.
Fuck.
He needed to go back upstairs and throw on a pair of underwear. Otherwise, the guys were about to get an eyeful. Or a mouthful. Depending on whether Zero could convince Diesel to open wide.
Shit. Boner. Time to run!
Biting into his apple, Zero gave Diesel a smirk as he walked on past him. Water from the shower he had just taken slid down his bare chest, making him look like the biggest thirst trap or douchebag—whichever you preferred.
He walked past Jared, giving him a head nod, as he combed through some old surveillance videos, looking for clues.
Movement at the front door caught Zero’s eye as he was just about to jog up the stairs.
The doorbell rang.
Turning the lock and pulling open the door, he was greeted by two men: one with spiky blue hair and the other with jet-black hair.
“Can I help you?” Zero asked, forgetting that his boner was set to partial-chub and practically reaching out to greet his new visitors.
“Hi! Wow, holy shi—” the blue-haired one began, his eyes quickly falling on the thick piece of meat reaching toward him from under the towel.
The blue-haired dude’s cheeks flushed red as he stood there speechless.
“Isaac?” Jared’s confused voice called from where he sat in the living room.
Smurf-boy’s eyes darted to the living room seconds before his smile swallowed his face.
“Jared!” the boy shouted, charging past Zero and leaping into the man’s lap.
It took all of two seconds before the blue-haired freak was assaulting Jared’s mouth and face with kisses. It was like watching an excited puppy seeing his master for the first time in over a year. There was no stopping that pup from spraying all over the couch.
“Eww, you guys are gross. I liked it better when you hated each other,” Diesel grumbled as he entered the living room. “Hey, Levi.”
The second man at the door gave Zero a nervous smile before slipping past him with a simple, “Hey.”
Considering that the one hyperactive little gremlin was busy sucking face with Jared, Zero assumed that they were all friends and decided that stranger danger didn’t apply to this situation, so he closed the front door.
“I’m Zero,” he introduced, extending his hand toward the purple-eyed twink.
“I’m Levi, Chase’s—” Then his eyes lit up.
Zero had never seen a small body move so fast. It was like watching a beam of light shoot across the room.
Chase gave an oof when the speedy little twink, also known as Levi, collided with his beastly body.
Could a man that size even hurt a tank like Chase?
A squeal escaped Levi’s mouth as he leapt into Chase’s arms and began making out with the man porno-style.
Was this how everyone got greeted back at La Maison de M ?
“Yeah, it’s about to get very uncomfortable down here,” Diesel said, walking past Zero and heading up the stairs. “Let me know when you freaks are done dry humping,” Diesel hollered over his shoulder at the slobbering hot mess of bodies moaning in the living room.
That was Zero’s cue to head upstairs and get changed.
Thirty minutes later, Diesel announced that the coast was clear, and he could rejoin the living on the main floor.
“Sorry about that,” the man known as Levi apologized, reaching out to Zero and shaking his hand once again. “It’s been two whole weeks since Isaac and I have seen our guys, and let’s just say, our cocks short-circuited our brains.”
Zero chuckled.
“That’s understandable. I hope to be greeted by someone in the same way one day. I’m Zero, by the way.”
“So you’re not seeing anyone?” Isaac asked, sitting on the counter, sipping a whiskey.
Someone should tell the boy it’s only two p.m.
Zero shook his head.
“Neither is Diesel,” Levi added as if Diesel was part of the conversation.
“Don’t understand why not. With a dazzling personality like his, guys must be lining up out the door,” Zero added, giving them both a sarcastic smile.
“Oh, they’re lining up alright. They just have dirtier, more demeaning things that they want to do with me.” Diesel took a seat at the kitchen table and leaned back in his chair. “So, what are you fuckwads doing here?”
“Isaac’s dick went on strike and refused to make an appearance until he got a chance to play with his best friend,” Levi explained, giving the whiskey-sipping hormone a smirk from across the room.
“Fuck you. It was taking a nap and resting, knowing all the sex it was going to have when someone came to visit.”
“Yeah. I think Matteo’s words were, ‘ Your limp dick is no use to me onstage. Go see your man, and don’t come back until your member has been resurrected .’”
Levi ducked as an avocado flew at his head.
These must be the brothers Jared was talking about. They seemed fun, in that fucked-up and emotionally stunted kind of way.
“I’ve missed you too,” Jared added, wrapping his arms around his man and pulling him into his lap.
God, all this lovey-dovey bullshit was going to give him a cavity.
“So, fill me in. What did I miss? Has the new guy tried to murder Diesel yet?” Levi asked, eyes twinkling like that was the greatest thought he had ever had.
Zero chuckled. Okay, these guys were cool.
“No, not yet. But his choice of fashion has me wondering,” Zero answered.
Diesel raised his middle finger.
“Love you too,” Zero responded, puckering his lips and gesturing toward the man.
They spent the next few hours drinking, chatting about the guys back at La Maison and what new death threat their surrogate father, Matteo, had made to his partner, Ares. Apparently, Matteo was now the proud owner of a crossbow, and Ares was on his best behavior.
Zero couldn’t help but steal glances at the moody piece of joy, also known as Diesel, who appeared to be lost in the laughter that surrounded the table. It appeared that Diesel’s standoffish personality only surfaced when he was around people he wasn’t familiar with. Shocking as it was, Diesel managed to keep a smile plastered to his face for the past two hours.
Now, if Zero could only do something about those beady little eyes that kept staring at him from across the table.
To be honest, they were kind of starting to freak him out.
Diesel was wearing a fitted white tank top—yes, the kind often associated with alcohol and domestic violence. It wasn’t the tank top that was making him feel uncomfortable, but rather, the beady little eyes of something staring at him from just above Diesel’s shirt collar.
“Freaky, isn’t it?”
Zero turned to face Isaac sitting to his right.
“It’s like the damn thing is waiting until I close my eyes before it sneaks up behind me and sodomizes me,” Zero whispered under his breath.
Isaac, Jared, and Levi all laughed.
Apparently, Zero wasn’t quiet enough.
“I know! I never turn off the lights when Bruno is in the room. I don’t trust that creepy little perv,” Levi added.
“Bruno?” Zero asked, wondering who else he had yet to meet.
The three men turned to face Diesel.
“You haven’t introduced him to Bruno?” Levi and Isaac both shouted in unison.
Diesel shrugged his shoulders. “Bruno’s still trying to decide whether to murder the man in his sleep.”
Shocked, the blue-haired skater boy turned his attention back to Zero.
“Bruno is Diesel’s comfort tattoo. It keeps an eye out for danger while he sleeps and keeps him company when he’s alone and lonely.”
Diesel raised his middle finger again.
“What? It’s true. That’s why you insisted on bringing him to life by giving him a name.” Isaac turned back to face Zero. “It’s kind of like that killer toy doll that only seems to come to life when no one is watching.”
Zero glared at the suspicious-looking eyes on Diesel’s chest that now appeared to be following his every move.
Fuck. They were kind of freaky .
Finally having enough of this eeriness, Zero shook his head in frustration. “Okay, take it off. Let’s meet Bruno, the murderous tattoo.” Zero motioned for Diesel to take off his shirt.
“No. You’re not getting me out of my clothes that easily.” Diesel huffed, taking another sip of his whiskey.
“Would you prefer if I put on some music and gave you a twenty?” Zero asked, reaching into his pocket, pretending to fish out some bills.
He wasn’t opposed to slipping Diesel a few bills, especially if it meant seeing the tattooed grump without his shirt on. But Diesel and the group didn’t need to know that.
All the guys joined in cheering and taunting. Finally, Diesel let out an exhausted breath before pulling off his shirt in one fell swoop.
There, sitting over his left pec muscle, was a grinning demon’s face. Yup, the thing was definitely giving off an “I’ll wait till you fall asleep, then murder you in your bed” kind of vibe.
Eyes drifting across his body, Zero took in the number of tattoos inked on Diesel’s skin. His body was a canvas of art and meaning.
Running along the right side of his rib cage were realistic-looking stab wounds rendered with intricate details, making it appear as though they were part of his skin. The design only added to the menacing physique that was Diesel. The man really did play into that “bad boy, I don’t give a shit, fuck everyone and everything” attitude.
Finally, Zero’s eyes landed on the cryptic message scrawled in bold, almost frantic script just above his belly button—“Never Again.” He wondered about the significance of the words. Did they serve as a warning or a reminder?
He had noticed something scrawled on Diesel’s belly while he was down on his knees sucking his dick, but it was too dark to read the writing.
Who are you kidding? You were too distracted with that big hog of a cock to care what the fuck was written on the man’s bloody stomach.
That was true. Big dick? Or belly tattoo. He would choose big dick every fucking time.
“Meet Bruno,” Diesel announced, flexing his chest muscles and bringing the evil creature to life.
Zero watched as the damn thing smiled, then winked, then possibly cast a curse upon him and his family. His family? It was just him and his dad—well, a dad he hadn’t spoken to in over five years. Not since his father was arrested and thrown in jail for scamming people out of their life savings. It was thanks to his father that he spent his childhood pulling cons instead of going to school and learning skills that might actually get him a high-paying job. Instead, he learned how to lie, cheat, and scam people out of their money. Always play on their emotions , his father used to say.
Quite frankly, he didn’t care whether Bruno placed a curse on his father or not. Have at it!
But him? He didn’t deserve or have time to be cursed.
Where on earth was he ever going to find a man to give him “true love’s” kiss?
The curse would never be broken, and he would be stuck in hell, being punished, all because he asked to see Diesel’s gremlin tattoo.
“It’s nice to meet your little goblin monster,” Zero noted with a touch of sarcasm dripping from his voice.
He lifted his glass of whiskey and downed the rest in a single gulp. Staring at Diesel without a shirt on and knowing what the man was packing below his joggers was starting to get to his head.
Under his jeans, Zero’s dick began to stir.