Page 27 of A Treasure To Keep
I swear El’s eyes will end up stuck in the back of her head with how much she rolls them at me. “If I remember correctly, you said you didn’t want to get involved in anything having to do with Luci’s pregnancy. Also, when I asked you to help, you refused. Sooooooo yeah. Bite me.”
“Happily.” I go to bite her neck when El’s phone dings with an incoming text. She turns away from me, jumping out of bed when she reads it. Talk about a fucking cock block.
El’s head peeks out from the bathroom, cocking to the side after I hear the sound of the shower turn on. “Speak of the devil! At least SOMEONE is helpful and let Luci know I’m trying to reach her.” That ‘someone’ I’m sure is Alessandro since I’m supposedly no help.
Andrea and I are left alone in bed for the first time, and suddenly, the annoyance with El turns into awkwardness between Andrea and me. I’ve never been alone with Andrea naked. What do I say?
“So, uhh. I heard it’s supposed to be nice outside today.” The weather? That’s the best I can come up with?
Andrea sighs as he sits up, scooting back on the bed until he’s able to lean on the headboard. “Marco, your dick was just in my ass. What’s wrong?”
“It’s weird without El here. It’s never been the two of us.” Even during my fittings, I’m wearing clothes and in a shop with other people close by. This is different.
“Okay, let’s talk about it. I’m bisexual. You’ve never been with a man before me. Is this some phase? Are you exploring yoursexuality? What am I to you?” Those are good questions. And I know I’m about to fuck everything up.
“You’re someone I enjoy fucking.” There it is. Andrea rips the covers off himself, rolling out of bed as he throws on his pants.
“Don’t you dare say that to El. I know we promised that this would be emotionally casual, but don’t act cold-hearted. The two things are different. We’re people, Marco, not holes.” Andrea has always been the calm one, except when it comes to El. He doesn’t care about what I said; he cares about whether I see El the same way. In reality, they’re not just holes. I’m not sure where that puts them. The two of them are in a relationship. I'm neither of their boyfriends.
I sit up in the bed, facing away from Andrea, with my feet on the floor, when El comes back into the room. Her eyes flick back and forth between us as she tries to figure out what’s happened since she stepped into the shower.
“What did you do, Marco?” I stand up from the bed, taking the few steps it takes to the bathroom doorway where El stands.
“I’m offended, El. How do you know I did something?” El and I are in our typical standoff, only this time I’m naked, and she’s wrapped in a towel. Andrea is the one who speaks up, grabbing an outfit out of the closet for El.
“Marco is unsure of how to handle being around me alone. He’s never been with a man, mon trésor, and he may be exploring his sexuality with me. I’m okay with that. I want to make sure that he knows this can be casual, even experimental, without any of us being insensitive. Especially toward you. Now, I know that text was from Luci, and you’ve been talking about planning her baby shower for weeks. I’m assuming that since you showered, you’re going over there soon. Put this dress on, mon trésor. Tu seras belle dedans.” El grabs the dress out of his hands and kisses him, melting at his words. As quickly as her hair flips, her mood flips to me.
“Don’t you dare treat Andrea as a thing to stick your dick in. If you do, you won’t have a dick to stick in anyone. And trust me, it won’t be any loss to anyone except you.” Damn. That venom lacing her voice is equally terrifying as it is sexy, and apparently, Little Marco gets the memo. Before I know it, my clothes are being thrown at my head, including my shoes, and El is back to yelling.
“Are you kidding me? Why are you getting hard? Get the fuck out! You have about fifteen seconds before I grab those clothes and throw them outside instead of at your big ass head.” I snatch my other shoe from her hand as she rears back to throw it.
“Fine. Fine. Fine. I’m leaving.” I’m racing against the clock, hopping toward the front door while I’m putting my pants on. My fifteen seconds are up when El throws my shirt, wallet, and phone out in the hallway.
“Fuck! Whatever. You need an attitude adjustment, and if Andrea—” She shuts the door in my face before I can finish my sentence.
I quickly slip on my shirt before tucking my wallet into my back pocket. When I scan around, I find my phone face down several feet away. I do the slow reach down and turn over, only to find that the screen indeed has shattered. Fuck. I shove the broken phone in my pocket, stomping my way out of their building before slamming my truck door shut when I climb in.
“And trust me, it won’t be any loss to anyone except you.Fucking El.” I mock her as I drive home, planning to confront her the second she pulls up. I drive up and hide around the corner, hacking into the city’s cameras to know when she’s on her way.
Chapter 29
El
“Andrea, how are you this calm? Marco practically admitted that we’re holes to him. I get it; this is a hookup thing, but I will not be treated like gonorrhea Gabby. The two things are different!” I’m finishing up applying mascara as I bitch about what happened with Marco earlier.
Andrea comes up behind me, gently massaging my shoulders as he catches my eyes through the vanity mirror. “Mon trésor, you could never be treated the way he treats Gabriella. What you know about how they treat her is minuscule in comparison to what Alessandro, Marco, and the rest of the men have told me. She’s a plaything to them. He never holds her after they have sex. He never speaks with her. He’s done both with you. All Marco is trying to do is process the new emotions brought on by being intimate with me. I would never let him treat you that way. Also, you know you shouldn’t call her that. She’s a person and you’ve always said no slut shaming.”
“Yeah, you’re right. That was mean. The clap could happen to anyone. You know, Gabby is a major bitch sober, but she was ata party I went to not too long ago with James. It was her first night out after having Oliver. With enough cocktails, you could convince me Gabby and I were old friends.” It’s not a lie. Hard liquor can be my best friend or my worst enemy. That night, it was both. James, one of my best friends, told me her husband had to peel her off him. That was when the four of us, plus their son, went out for coffee the next morning, trying to fill in the blanks from that night. Sunglasses and the extra shot of espresso in my iced vanilla latte topped Andrea as my favorite thing that day.
Andrea turns me around, kissing me gently as he laughs. “I think I know the night you’re talking about. You tried to tie me up, but couldn’t get a simple knot made. Once you got one of my wrists tied to the headboard, you bolted off to throw up. I’ll admit that one wrist you got tied up was difficult to get out of.”
I reach over to grab my over-the-knee boots, pausing when he mentions the results of said cocktails. “I remember . . . vaguely. Oh! Before I forget, I need you to get the boys out of the house during Luci’s baby shower. I want to surprise Luci with her mamma and nonna. If Alessandro, Marco, or Enzo are there, they’ll interrupt my plans. Now, I need to get going. When I get back, I can redeem myself by giving you the bondage session you deserve. While I wear these boots and the maroon bodysuit. Then we’ll have snacks, drinks, and a movie.” I have one of my boots on and zipped, and I place the other on Andrea’s chest. He zips the other boot, kissing up my leg until he’s inches away from eating me out.
“Oh, mon trésor. If you don’t leave now, you’ll have to let Luci know that she’ll have to wait until later to plan her baby shower.” He swings my leg out to the side, squeezing my inner thighs when he kisses my underwear on top of my clit. The sight of him between my legs practically makes me come right here,right now. I know if I don’t leave now, I’ll never make it to Luci’s house.
I slide out of his grasp, racing to my car and rush to Luci’s house.
When I arrive at Luci’s, Domenico buzzes me through the gate, and I park my car in my usual spot. Only when I get out of my car, none other than Marco himself is heading in my direction.