Page 57 of Back Room Host

“Not from me, at least,” I replied quietly.

“What does he think you do for a living?”

I shrugged. “Work as a chef.”

Hector nodded thoughtfully. “That’s good.” Again, his gaze drifted to my foot brace. “How are you feeling?”

“I got some painkillers. It’s bearable. But being stuck here is not cool.”

“Make yourself at home. And I meant it. Call me if anything happens. Anytime.”

I nodded. “Thank you.”

Luca stepped out of the bathroom and turned to Hector. “Leaving again?”

“Yeah,” Hector replied, donning the leather bag on his shoulder. “I wish you both a Merry Christmas.”

“You too. Enjoy your time in the mountains.”

Hector raised his hand in farewell and left the apartment. I needed a moment to compose myself. Luca sat down beside me and picked up the remote control.

“Shall we watch a movie?”

“Yeah,” I casually replied, glancing at Hector’s business card in my hand.

“It might not be a bad thing that you have his number,” Luca said, already browsing through the movie list. “You never know when you might need to call him in an emergency.”

I grunted in response and placed the card on the coffee table.

Shit! Why is the world so damn small?

20

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Juri

I had feared that the days would drag on like thick mucus, but as soon as Luca left for his family celebration and I set up an account on a sex chat, time flew by. It was a first for me to offer my services online, but after the first client, I was already confident I’d find my way here in no time. The only downside was that my left hand was unusable. Jerking off with my right hand was quite a hassle.

I enjoyed every minute I had the apartment to myself. I didn’t even care that I was spending Christmas alone. Noé had offered to spend the evening at his new place with Alex and his mother, but I would have probably done him a bigger favor than myself. I poured myself a whiskey from the bar and provided company to a lonely soul online—for which I got paid. After I finished my job, I sat with my back against the bedroom door, hung the scarf tied into a noose on the doorknob, and choked myself until sparks flew in my brain from the high.

As Christmas passed and Luca was mostly home, the daily routine became a bit trickier. I felt watched, which made me quite nervous. But ultimately, I had to admit that it wasn’t just Luca’s presence that almost drove me up the wall. In fact, I was going through some kind of withdrawal, and I didn’t even know exactly what my body was craving.

Maybe it was the drugs I had been steadily consuming. Or perhaps it was the lack of sex; my body was accustomed to being active at least five to six times a week. The online sex chat couldn’t make up for that. And the longer I spent around Luca, the more sexually frustrated I became. But he seemed to be the epitome of willpower—or perhaps oblivious to my advances.

I wouldn’t have minded having sex with him. With each passing day, I warmed up more and more to that idea. When Luca guided me to the bathroom and I subtly, yet quite obviously, offered myself to him, he just ignored me.

The guy was incredibly attractive and knew exactly how to frustrate me, but I had to accept the fact that he wasn’t interested in me. I wasn’t his type. What had happened at Exil was probably a one-time occurrence. Perhaps he wasn’t as gay as he claimed to be because anyone else—and I was certain of this—would have made a move by now.Damn it!I had plenty of experience with that. But Luca seemed immune to me, which was hard to believe.

He behaved normally toward me, became increasingly approachable, and seemed less withdrawn. But the longer I spent with him, the more I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was a loner. He spent more time in his room than I had expected. Of course, he had a final project he was working on, but as he told me on Sunday, he also played video games.

“I need that to unwind. Sometimes everything just gets too much for me, and I’m completely overwhelmed so that’s my way of escaping.”

“Isn’t it the video games that overwhelm you?” I asked cautiously.

Luca laughed. “I don’t play shooters, if that’s what you mean. I’m more into action-adventure games likeRed Dead RedemptionorAssassin’s Creed. And of course,GTA—who isn’t?”

“I don’t know any of them.”

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