Sex & Mayhem 02 The Devil's Ride (30 page)

Lucifer crawled under the comforter, still in his
shoes and all Tooth could see was the
trembling of the bedding. Tooth could only hope it
was too much alcohol that got Lucifer so out of control. He pulled
off his pants and shirt, and covered himself with the comforter but
lay so he could keep watch over Lucifer. As badly as his body
craved to crawl to the mattress, hold the boy, and tell him it
would be all right, he knew now wasn’t the time for such weakness.
The soft, silent sobs were like a violent pull on his skin, but
even when they finally stopped, sleep would not come.

Luci was too embarrassed to crawl out of bed. He’d
been awake for over an hour, but facing Tooth was so cringeworthy
he could barely stand breathing. Maybe they could just pretend
yesterday never happened? His confession was a failure on a scale
so epic he doubted anyone ever got burned like that. But even a boy
with a broken heart needed to pee, so eventually his bladder was
what forced him to uncover himself.

He avoided looking into the direction of Tooth’s
bed and walked over to the bathroom. His head hurt from the amount
of crying he
’d done
yesterday. Yet another cause for embarrassment.

He stirred, and his stomach became light when his
eyes met Tooth’s. Tooth was
lying in bed, with only his bottom half covered, the bare
torso like a carrot Luci could never eat. He looked so sexy with
his hair still a mess from sleeping. “How are you feeling?” he
muttered groggily.

Luci guessed it was about being hungover, not about
his squashed feelings. “I’m thirsty,” he muttered and fled to the
bathroom. What a fucking cock-up. And how was he supposed to think
properly with the numb pounding in his head. He relieved his
bladder and washed his face to feel a bit fresher. The mirror
wasn’t responding well to him today, but he took a deep breath and
walked out to face Tooth.

He was greeted by a large glass of water. Tooth
was just in his jogging bottoms, which left Luci staring at his
gorgeous torso, needing, wanting. He
’d actually gotten to touch it yesterday, and it
was heaven.

“Do you need some painkillers?”

“
Um, yeah, that would be helpful. Sorry for
yesterday. Got a bit carried away,” he muttered and played with his
hair
so it would hide
some of his face.

Tooth’s chest expanded before his eyes like the
sweetest candy he just wanted to lick all over. “You were drunk,
don’t worry about it. I’m surprised you even remember any of
it.”

Luci remembered too much for his liking. He had been
a pathetic, desperate pup whining ‘love me, love me’ and humping
Tooth’s leg while at it. “Yeah, I think it’s the mix that did me
in.” He swallowed the painkillers with the water, making not
meeting Tooth’s gaze his job.

“
I’m gonna feed Bell some chili peppers for pouring
all that into you.” Tooth folded his arms across his chest
and
paced around the
room with a deep frown.

“
It’s fine, I asked for it. It was his birthday
anyway.” The small
talk
was slowly killing Lucifer’s will to live. Each meaningless word a
nail to his coffin. Only appropriate. He took off his T-shirt after
a bit of hesitation. He was definitely not something Tooth wanted
to look at, but he needed to change, and it would be even weirder
to now, all of a sudden, go change in the bathroom.

Tooth sighed and walked over to the kitchenette. The
sound of water heating in the kettle was so familiar Luci was
already expecting the scent of coffee to soon fill the room.

Luci took the opportunity of Tooth turning his back
on him and stared at the muscular back he would never get to touch.
He could shower later. “I was thinking… Maybe I should get my own
room,” he mumbled.

Tooth froze in the middle of putting coffee into the
mug. “Yeah?” he asked after a moment’s silence, with the spoon
still hovering over the packet.

“
Yeah… I mean, I’m gonna be twenty in two months. I
can’t have a never
ending sleepover here.” Luci kept pondering what it was
that Tooth didn’t like in him. He did say he liked young and
pretty. Maybe he only had a thing for black guys? Or did he really
just think of Luci as a brother, and it made him feel awkward? Luci
shouldn’t have bounced around the room naked so often.
Fuck.

The sound of the spoon clinking against the mug made
him slouch. Tooth cleared his throat. “I get it. You want some
independence?”

“
My own space to invite people over and
shit.”
And
not torture myself with looking at you every day
.

Tooth turned around and leaned against the counter.
The frown was still there, forced back but there, most likely a
sign of judging Luci’s silly hopes. “You’d have to talk to
Priest.”

Luci nodded, happy that he had a glass in his hand,
not just stood there like a sack of awkwardness. Sucking dick was
never this complicated. Tooth must have been really uninterested to
refuse that. Would his friendship with Tooth now change? Would they
not go to concerts together? Why did Luci have to mess up a good
thing? “Sure.”

A knock made them both look at the door, which
opened before either of them could say ‘come in’. Priest walked in
with a blue box and a huge plastic bag dangling from one of his
hands. “Oh, you’re up. Good.”

“
Me?” Luci rubbed his face. If he were
with
Tooth, they’d have to lock the
door in case someone thought it was a good idea to just barge in
like that. But he wasn’t with Tooth.

Priest wiggled his demonic eyebrows, dumping the bag
by the wall. He extended his hands, presenting the box to Luci,
proud as a peacock. “That’s for you.”

Luci opened his eyes wider and looked up at Priest
unsure what to make of it. “Is there an occasion?” The box wasn’t
very heavy and had holes on the sides. Luci sat down with it on the
bed.

Priest put his hands in his pockets and started
pacing in front of him. “Not really. Think of it as a late welcome
gift.”

Luci had no idea what this could possibly be, but
when he opened the lid and looked at the
gray, green-eyed ball of fur, he forgot all his
troubles, even if just for a moment. He pulled out the kitten and
it meowed at him but didn’t run away. “It’s so sweet! I always
wanted a cat.” He nuzzled the cat’s ear and melted with glee when
it began to lick his face.

“I know, Asty told me,” said Priest with a wide
grin. He scooted in front of Luci and gently tapped his thick
finger on the top of the cat’s head. Its huge eyes were hard at
work, taking in the new surroundings.

This gift really did make this miserable day a bit
better. “I have to think of a name for it. Is that a litter box, or
do we need to go shopping?” Only after he’d said it, he realized
that he
’d counted Tooth
into the equation without asking him.

Tooth was leaning against the wall and watching
him with his eyes narrowed. Priest shook the bag. “The important
stuff is here, but we’ll obviously get more. So,
what are you calling him?” he asked,
looking at Luci expectantly. “Butch?”

“Oh, come on! He doesn’t look like a ‘Butch’.” Luci
laughed and cocked his head to the side. “What do you think,
Tooth?”

Tooth’s mouth twitched. “So it’s a he?” he asked,
slowly walking over. “How about Manson?”

Luci pouted at him and put the kitten in his lap. Of
course that was what he’d come up with. Tooth was the only person
who knew Marilyn Manson was Lucifer’s secret musical guilty
pleasure. “I suppose he looks a bit like a potential serial
killer.” He looked into those big, innocent green eyes, but when
the kitten gave a loud, pleading meow, it got his heart to
melt.

Priest scratched his head. “Yeah, that might work
too.” His eyes strayed to Tooth. “Hope you’re okay with it?”

Luci looked up at Tooth. “I’ll take care of it,
clean, feed it, and everything.”

Tooth bit his lip, staring at the cat
as if it were a spider
infesting his home. “Yeah, that’s fine.”

Luci knew it would be a good moment to ask Priest
about moving out, but he couldn’t get himself to do it. He already
imagined how much fun they would have with the kitten together with
Tooth. He smiled and let the animal play with his fingers.

“
Thanks…
Dad.”

Priest stared at him and only smiled after a moment,
patting Luci on the arm. “I thought it would be good for you.”

“Teach me some responsibility?” Luci mocked, rocking
his head to the sides.

Priest cleared his throat. “More or less.”

Tooth’s footsteps filled Luci’s mind so completely
he didn’t listen to the next thing his dad said. And then, Tooth
sat down right next to him, and with a hand big enough to squish
the tiny kitten, gently petted its back. Luci half-imagined it
could be him who was getting stroked over his spine. Tooth’s thigh
touched Luci’s, and even that was getting Luci hot all over.

“
I have to read up on what to feed him.” Luci
smiled up at Tooth. If he could, he would just crawl under his arm
and kiss for an eternity. Too bad Tooth didn’t even care enough to
have a drunk make
out
session.

Priest kneeled next to the bag and pulled out a
small packet of dry food, some cans and
sachets. “That’s what you need for now. There’s
also some toys inside.”

Luci smile
d and picked up the kitten for a kiss. Maybe he would have
someone of his own after all?

Luci finally took a long bath.
He’d set up the space for Manson with
Tooth and the awkwardness wasn’t all that bad anymore. Luci did get
dressed in the bathroom though. When he came out with his hair
still wet and accompanied by steam, Tooth was nowhere to be found.
Before he knew what was happening, there was warm fluff brushing
over his calves. Mason was such an affectionate creature, it was
sweet how much attention he seemed to need.

For a moment, Luci wondered whether Tooth was
somewhere downstairs, but
the blood drained from his face when he noticed that the
box under the bed had clearly been moved. Luci picked up the kitten
and sat with it on the bed, clenching his eyes hard. He would not
cry. So Tooth wouldn’t want him when he threw himself at Tooth, but
would go out to meet up with some random fuck buddy? Maybe worse?
Maybe Tooth actually had someone he wouldn’t tell Luci about, and
that was why he rejected him. He didn’t know what would hurt more.
That Tooth could have some lover, or that he wouldn’t tell him
about it. They talked so much. Luci poured his heart out to
Tooth.

Mason tried to jump on Luci’s shoulder, but it was
too much for him, and he fell into Luci’s lap with a loud meow. At
least this little thing was interested.

“Maybe he thinks I couldn’t handle his kinky shit,”
Luci said to the cat and gently patted its head. If that was the
case, at least there was something he could do about it. He was
willing to experiment with more than just spanking.

The kitten looked up at him with interest, and Luci
imagined it saying, ‘You should prove him otherwise then.’

“I know, right? I’m a big boy.”

But the truth was his heart kept bleeding every time
his mind strayed to the imaginary man Tooth was most likely fucking
now. It made Luci feel so completely useless. Tooth was one to talk
about guys wanting him. He himself was gay but wouldn’t even let
Luci suck him off, probably afraid he’d get some dirty disease.
God, that had to be it. The only other option coming to his mind
pushed him into yet another level of being upset.

“I don’t have a small dick, kitty,” he said to
Manson with a pout. “You think he saw me naked so many times that
he got bored with me? Or likes them curvy or something? And it’s a
lot bigger when I get hard. He must know that.”

The sound of a Beyonc
é song cut through the silence, making Luci look
around for the source. It was the phone Rick had given him. He
couldn’t change the fucking ring tone for the life of him. He
grabbed the phone out of his bag, and with his other hand pushed
the cat to its back and petted its belly.

“Hey,” he tried to fake some enthusiasm.

“You haven’t messaged me for a while,” said Rick
with an uplifting tone.

“Yeah, I’m sorry, I was just so busy at the salon,
and now school started.” School. The last fucking thing he wanted
to think about.

Rick laughed. “How about a little meetup? We could
eat some pretzels in my car and talk? How about that?”

Lucifer snorted when Manson bit his finger with the
barely-there teeth. “That actually sounds really nice. I got a cat,
I’ll show him to you.”

Rick was speechless for a moment. “A cat? Since
when?”

“Today. My dad bought it for me. We called him
Manson, so I’m pretty sure he’s gonna grow up to be one deadly
killing machine.”

“
Just make sure you wash
your hands after handling him. You know you have a
weak stomach,” said Rick.

“Um, I’ll be fine. You’re not allergic, are
you?”

“Nah.”

“
Tooth’s not here anyway
.” He hoped his voice didn’t sound sour. “So you
can meet me a block down from the club?”

“Sure, works for me. In an hour?” asked Rick, and
there was some rustling in the background, but Luci was distracted
by the cat attacking his finger.