32. Zero
32
ZERO
R ubbing his eyes with his thumb and index finger, Zero still didn’t like what he was seeing. There were too many unknown variables. He didn’t like working a job without having all the information he needed.
Even when pulling cons, he always did his research. The area he chose, the flow of traffic, location of exits, whether or not there was police presence, who were his intended targets? The more he knew, the better his chances of success.
Hey, perhaps that’s why Marc chose him to be part of his team.
“I still don’t like this,” Zero said, folding the large floor plans he had been studying for the past hour. “There are too many things we don’t know about this job.”
Next to him, Jared picked up the floor plans and began scanning them himself like he hadn’t been for the past twenty minutes already.
“It is what it is. When I was in the army, we had to go into buildings and compounds without all the information as well. You do the best that you can with the information that you have. And you need to be able to adapt to the situation as quickly as possible.”
“You were in the army?” Zero asked, surprised by this little tidbit of information.
Jared’s eyebrows scrunched together as if deep in thought. “Uh-huh. Was kicked out after a few years. Was having difficulty… coping with the environment.”
That was code for pulled out before he went all loco on everyone and started doing things the British frowned upon. Zero knew better than to continue asking questions.
“Sorry to hear that,” Zero responded. “I can’t imagine being in a war.”
Jared’s lips thinned, and his jaw tightened. “I went to some scary dark places when I was released. But Matteo found me and helped me work through some of my darker issues. The man literally saved my life. And now, I have my boy, Isaac, to comfort me and hold me when I have one of my nightmares. That man really is the sweetest.”
Zero leaned back on the couch and placed his foot up on the edge of the coffee table.
“You’re lucky to have so many people who care about you.”
Jared placed the floor plan back down on the table and turned to face him. “Yeah, I really lucked out meeting Matteo and the guys. I couldn’t ask for a better family.”
The front door jerked open seconds before Diesel’s face appeared in the living room doorway.
“Oh, hey, guys. What are you up to?” Diesel asked as he toed off his shoes and took a step into the room.
“Not much. Just trying to come up with a plan for this party the doc’s got going on this weekend,” Jared answered.
“Any luck?”
“Not yet. Too many unknowns for my liking,” Zero answered, running his gaze over Diesel’s body.
The man was tall and lean, not in that bodybuilder, hit the gym six days a week type of way, but in an I keep active to stay in shape kind of way.
He still wore his black sweater—even though it was fucking hot outside—but at least his hoodie was down around his shoulders, which meant that Diesel was feeling uncomfortable or didn’t want to be engaged. So it appeared that Diesel was in a half-decent mood this morning.
Good-mood Diesel was much more pleasant than stormy-cloud Diesel . While both were fun to be around, Zero much preferred good-mood Diesel —that one gave him blow jobs.
“Well, you guys will figure it out. You’re both smart blokes.”
Was that a compliment?
“Thanks, man,” Jared responded, kicking back his legs and placing his feet on the coffee table as well. “Where have you been?”
Diesel shrugged. “Had my appointment with the head shrink, then stopped for a bite to eat. Here,” Diesel said, tossing a brown paper bag to Zero.
“What’s this?” Zero asked, opening the bag and pulling out a sandwich.
“Tuna and cucumber. I bought three sandwiches, ate two and didn’t want the third. I’m going to go shower.” He turned and jogged up the stairs.
“Mmm, my favorite.” Zero moaned to himself as he turned the sandwich over in his hands.
“Want half?” Zero asked, turning to face a smirking Jared. “What?”
“Nothing,” Jared answered in that teasing tone of his.
“What’s with the jackass face?”
“Man, you really are dense,” Jared said, sitting up and grabbing the floor plan once again.
Zero was so confused. “I don’t get it?”
Jared chuckled. “Diesel hates tuna. There’s no way he would have bought himself that sandwich if he wasn’t intending on giving it to you.”
Glancing down at the sandwich, Zero tried to remember if he had ever seen Diesel eating tuna before. Had he ever mentioned to Diesel that he loved tuna and cucumber sandwiches?
Pulling back the wrapper, he opened one half. “Well, that was really nice of him. You sure you don’t want some?”
“No thanks.” Jared paused and turned his gaze toward him. “You do realize what this means, right?”
Zero shrugged, not sure where Jared was going with his train of thought.
“Diesel buying something for someone else is huge.”
“It’s just a sandwich,” Zero noted, taking a bite and watching Jared’s face contort into something that resembled a parent who just realized that their child does not know what a rotary telephone is.
“No. You don’t get it. Diesel is one of the most selfish people I know. He doesn’t think about anyone but himself.”
“He cares about you and the guys at the club,” Zero added, finding it really hard to believe that Diesel was that much of an asshole. Yes, he had first-hand experience with that selfish douchebag side Jared was talking about, but the man wasn’t all bad all the time.
“Yes, Diesel is nice to me and the other guys, but with people he doesn’t know and people he doesn’t care about, he is the biggest prick you’ll ever meet. His buying you a sandwich is the equivalent of him buying you a commitment ring. It means that he likes you and that he trusts you.” Jared smirked and leaned back in his spot. “Guess you’re one of us now.”
Like? Trust? Was Diesel really warming up to him in such a way?
A small smile tugged at his lips. Perhaps he really was worming his way into the little prick’s heart.
He took a bite of his sandwich and let that gooey feeling spread throughout his belly.
Diesel… liking him.
Who would have thought?
Then a thought came to him. He turned toward Jared, hoping he was doing the right thing.
“Do you mind covering for me tonight?”
“Sure thing, man. Why? What are you up to?” Jared asked, eyes asking for confirmation for what he suspected.
“Just something I want to check out.” Zero hopped up from the couch, ignoring the cocky smirk Jared had plastered to his face, and bounded up the stairs.
The shower was already running in the bathroom that they shared. Zero gave a knock, hoping Diesel’s mood hadn’t soured in the ten minutes since he had last seen him.
“Yeah?” Diesel’s voice called from behind the closed door.
Zero tried the knob, and to his surprise, it turned. He pushed open the door just a crack.
“D? Can I come in for a sec?”
Diesel’s half-shampooed head popped out of the side of the shower curtain. “Yeah, man. What’s up?”
He looked worried and concerned, and why wouldn’t he? Zero was asking him something that was so urgent, it couldn’t wait until after he finished his shower.
Zero felt like an idiot. Why hadn’t he waited a few minutes until the man was at least done showering and not standing naked behind a thin layer of plastic?
“I… uh…” Well, this was not off to a good start. “Well, I was wondering.”
Get it out, Casanova. Since when did you forget how to English?
Diesel’s worried brown eyes locked onto him, making him feel nervous for the first time since they had met.
Why was he nervous? He’d spoken to Diesel a thousand times over the past few weeks. What the hell was so different about this time?
This time, you’re leaving yourself open to rejection.
Would he get rejected?
Shit. Was this a bad idea? What if Diesel said no? Would their friendship—if that’s what you could call two people who enjoyed hanging out together and fucking—get ruined?
“What is it, dude? You look like you’re ready to shit a brick,” Diesel said with a chuckle.
That relaxed Zero’s nerves just a bit.
“Well, there is a fair that just opened in the lower part of the town, and I thought you and I could go check it out tonight. Just the two of us.”
Diesel’s smile slowly shrank, making Zero wonder if asking Diesel out on a date was such a good idea after all.
“If not, it’s cool as well,” Zero quickly added. “I can see if one of the other guys wants to go with me some other time.” No, he wouldn’t. This was his way of trying to take back what he said without it seeming too obvious that he had been asking Diesel out on a date.
Something akin to panic and a bit of confusion quickly cut across Diesel’s face.
“No. No. I… yeah, umm, that sounds like fun.” Diesel’s face seemed to relax, taking on a bit of an unsure look before sliding into a bashful smile. “Tonight. Me and you.”
“You sure?”
Now Zero was worried that Diesel was only agreeing to go out with him just to avoid making things awkward between them.
Fuck.
This had been a bad idea.
“Yeah, man.” Diesel shot him a more confident, cocky smile. “I want to see if you got game outside the bedroom as well.” He gave Zero a wink which instantly released the butterflies from his stomach and went straight to his dick.
Zero couldn’t help but smile. Thank fuck.
“If you’re a good boy, I might even buy you a hotdog and cotton candy,” Zero responded, gaining back some of his confidence and swagger.
“I’m more into the sausage than a hotdog. A bigger piece of meat to fill my mouth.”
Fuck. That was a hot image.
Chuckling, Zero pulled the door closed and rested his head against the surface. Fuck. He hoped tonight went well. He was really starting to like the selfish little prick, and if Diesel was starting to feel the same way…
He really wasn’t sure what that would mean, but for some reason, he really wanted to find out.