Page 90 of Back Room Host

“He’s been gone since Tuesday.”

Hector raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Did something happen? You sound down.”

I stared a hole into Hector’s face, but all I could see was him, naked, fucking Juri from behind. And it made me so furious that I couldn’t keep my mouth shut any longer. “You knew Juri before, didn’t you?”

Hector paused and narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. He placed the beer bottle on the table and crossed his arms over his chest. “How did you come to that conclusion?”

The words stuck in my throat, and I shook my head tiredly. I could hardly believe it myself, but the emotions were getting to me. “I saw you guys,” I choked out. “I was home early that evening. But don’t worry. Juri never … He would never … He has always been discreet and never talked about you.”

Hector nodded, keeping his eyes on me. “Let me guess. You screwed up?”

“Hm … How did you know?”

With a gesture, he pointed to my battered face. “You’ve never been this ugly. Besides, I’ve known Juri for a long time. He felt comfortable in your presence, otherwise, he wouldn’t have accepted your help.”

“He had nowhere else to go.”

“The guy has enough money set aside to stay in a luxury hotel in Dubai for six months, but his fears of existence make his life difficult.”

“Damn, man,” I cursed in disbelief. I had so many conversations with him, but I never talked about money. Of course, when I first asked him to be my muse, he told me his price. But I never calculated what that could mean for a monthly salary. Maybe because I didn’t want to imagine how many clients he served per week. “I screwed up.”

“You like him,” Hector remarked, taking another sip of his beer.

“I don’t know.”

“Oh, come on. It’s so obvious.”

“He said he had feelings for me and in the same breath called what was between us a farce.”

Hector laughed. “Yes, that sounds just like him. You must have really pissed him off.”

“How well do you guys actually know each other?”

“Well enough. But …”

“You’re married and have two daughters,” I interrupted. “Do they know that you … I mean … callboys?”

Hector gave me a stern gaze, his lips pressed into a thin line. Something flashed in his eyes that I had never seen in him before: discomfort.

“Of course, my family doesn’t know. What do you think? And I’d prefer to keep it that way.”

“But … You’re a good-looking man. Why pay when you could have it for free?”

“Exactly for that reason, so I don’t end up in a situation like you’re in right now.”

“Touché,” I sighed.

“What do you want to do now?”

“I have no idea how to fix this.”

“Just call him. He’ll surely tell you,” Hector suggested.

“Provided he still talks to me.”

“You’ll only find out if you try.” Reaching for his beer, Hector winked at me and disappeared into his office.

He was right. Besides, it was the only sensible thing to do. I had to get knocked out to realize that Juri meant more to me than I was willing to admit. What had happened between us in the last two weeks was not just pleasure. It was in no way comparable to what I had with Matteo. What I had with Juri went much deeper. Too deep. I had taken him into my heart, and it hurt.

---