Page 6 of Bazooka

I groaned, tempted to hit my head so it would start working, but it probably wasn’t the best idea.

Instead, I took a few painkillers that Baz left for me and tried to relax.

I also told myself I should start behaving more rationally.

Fixating on my savior’s ass was rather dumb, although I was obsessing over that guy for months .

I have been stalking him from a distance, for Christ’s sake.

Someone else in my situation would do something more reasonable, like call his friends, or…

I whined internally, cursing myself for being so thoughtless.

Shit. The Triple Threat. They’re going to kill me.

I grabbed my phone and dialed a number. After a few rings, Alain answered in a sleepy voice.

“Too early, Luz.”

“Where are you?”

“We’re all crashing at my place. Before you say anything else, let me ask you something. When you said you were with Bazooka last night, did you mean Bazooka, Bazooka?”

“Yes,” I replied, biting my bottom lip, only to groan in pain. Shit. That hurt too.

“Did you two fuck?”

I couldn’t help but feel flattered by the question.

“Not yet,” I said, trying to contain my excitement. “But I’ll start working on it as soon as I get better.”

Delusional, much? A voice in my head asked me, but I told it to fuck off.

“Wait, what do you mean when you get better?” Alain asked me, sounding confused.

After I gave him the rundown of what happened, he started shouting at me, of all things.

“Have you lost your mind, Luz? How could you not tell us you were attacked? Why didn’t you call us? We could have come back. We could have helped you. I swear to God, Luz. Sometimes I hate that we’re friends. Sometimes I hate you!”

“And you would have helped me how? By getting your ass kicked?” I said, rolling my eyes. “Besides, Bazooka was there to rescue me.”

“Oh, fuck you and him,” Alain bit out, sounding bitter. “We’re your best friends, in case you have forgotten, you prick.”

“Did you at least have a good time at the club?” I asked him, feeling guilty. “Anyone hooked up with anyone?”

“We danced, we drank, and then we went home. We were angry with you because you ditched us. Shit, now I feel so guilty.”

“Don’t,” I said, closing my eyes because I was getting sleepy. “Everything worked out just fine. I’m safe, and I’ll get better in no time.”

“Can we visit you?”

“Um… maybe not just yet. I’m at Bazooka’s place, and I don’t want to jeopardize staying here. If Baz wants me out of his bed, he’ll have to drag me out.”

Alain groaned. “Fuck, you’re selfish. You already have a plan for how to get into his pants, don’t you?”

I snorted. “Who do you take me for?”

“And the not-so-small problem of him being straight?”

“He’ll change his mind.”

He let out a heavy sigh. “I give up. Just let me know when we can visit you, okay?”

“I promise. Kiss the guys for me.”

“And catch a cold or something? No way.”

After he hung up, I fell asleep. I dreamed about something awful…

drowning, maybe, because I couldn’t breathe.

I was somewhere dark where I couldn’t see anything.

Worst of all, I was alone. No, I was Bazooka-less, which was ten times worse than loneliness.

There was warmth in that man, a warmth unlike any other.

It was hidden behind his gruff exterior, but I could feel it as if I were standing in front of the sun. It was that hot and blinding.

The nightmare went on and on until I woke up with a scream lodged in my throat, sweaty like a pig. And thirsty. And hungry. My bladder was suffering, too, so I limped over to the bathroom. After I was done, I washed my hands, and for the first time since yesterday, I looked at myself in the mirror.

“Jesus Christ!” I exclaimed, staring at my reflection.

Was that me? I could see a faint resemblance, except that I looked like my evil twin from a schlock horror movie.

Countless ugly bruises marred my cheeks, my swollen lip was cut in a few places, and I had a black eye.

To think that people used to tell me I looked angelic, despite my demon-like behavior.

Well, they certainly wouldn’t say it now.

In any case, with a face like that, I wasn’t seducing anyone, so I had to do something about it ASAP. I made a mental note to get myself a face powder or at least a concealer when the front door opened.

“What are you doing up?” Bazooka growled, slamming the door shut behind him. “Get back in bed.”

“Yes, Master,” I murmured, limping into the bedroom before he could hear me.

“Do you need help, pest?” he bellowed across the hall.

Aww, he cared.

“No,” I replied, only to curse myself because I wasted a perfect opportunity to feel his hands on me. Next time.

Just as I settled into bed, he walked through the door. And God, he looked delicious, every muscular inch of him. Whatever was in the bag he brought with him smelled great, too.

“I brought you some food,” he said, giving me a once-over. “How are you feeling?”

I yawned. “Better, actually. Starving, too.”

“Good. By the way, you’re eating here since I don’t have a table.”

On any other day, it would sound weird, but today I just nodded.

Bazooka opened the bag and threw a toothbrush at me before taking out the food.

“Thanks,” I muttered, chiding myself for forgetting that I hadn’t washed my teeth in a while. Incidentally, did the toothbrush mean I could stay here? Should I put it next to his own?

“It’s pasta with chicken and vegetables,” Bazooka said, handing me the food container. “I hope that’s okay.”

“It’s perfect,” I said, only to realize that he had brought none for himself. “What about you?”

“Don’t have the time.”

A man of few words. I would have pressed it, but I was starving. I took a mouthful of the deliciously creamy pasta, unable to contain a moan of pleasure.

“God, this tastes amazing. I didn’t even realize how hungry I was.”

I raised my hand to take another mouthful when a sharp sting in my shoulder almost immobilized me.

“Fuck, can’t I make one move that doesn’t hurt?” I groaned out and tried again, hissing in pain.

“Let me see,” Bazooka said, sitting on the bed beside me and feeling my shoulder. It made the pain go away. Just like that. Poof.

“Hmm…” My human-sized painkiller hummed thoughtfully. “It’s not broken, but you have a nasty hematoma on your shoulder. Probably a microfracture.”

Before I could reply, he took the food away from me. I was about to protest when he twirled spaghetti on the fork and brought it to my mouth. I wrapped my lips around the fork, keeping my cool as he kept feeding me. Yup. No big deal. Nothing to see here. Nope.

He was feeding me, though. The most unapproachable, emotionless man in the galaxy was feeding me. It was mind-boggling.

Get yourself together. Breathe, asshole.

When my brain started functioning again, I spoke.

“Why are you so good to me, Levi?”

Levi “The Bazooka” Bradley smirked at me as if I were the most ridiculous person in the world.

“Why wouldn’t I be good to you, Lucius?”

His words caused another meltdown because he knew my first name, and it shocked me.

“Ah, but why would you be good to me?” I pointed out the obvious. “First, you hate me. Second, I annoy you. Third, you never talk to me—”

When he wiped my mouth with a paper napkin, I shut up abruptly. His fingers were on my lips, after all.

“I don’t hate you,” he said simply. “I’m barely aware of your existence.”

Now that was just rude. No, it was hurtful. And since I was mostly unhurtable, it made me livid. How dare he?

I smiled sweetly, hoping my fangs wouldn’t show. “Were you aware of my existence when we showered together naked?”

There. What do you have to say about that ?

Baz stuck the fork into a piece of chicken and brought it to his mouth. I watched his lips close around the fork before he ran his tongue along the bottom lip to lick off the sauce there. The pink tip of his tongue made me short-circuit for a moment.

“Your point being?” he said, as steely gray eyes found mine.

My point? Oh, fuck him and his tongue, because I had no clue. In my defense, I wasn’t used to looking him in the eyes or being so close to him. My problems kept piling up, getting thicker than the English fog in his gray gaze.

“You saw me naked,” I stated, raising my chin in defiance.

“I didn’t look,” Bazooka said, taking a mouthful of pasta.

I forced myself to unglue my eyes from his full, moist lips.

“Well, I saw you naked,” I stated. “And I looked.”

“And what did you see?”

He looked at me as if he wanted to say: I do this for a living, by the way. Interrogation. Playing games. Just another Monday for me, kiddo.

Well, I wasn’t giving in.

“I saw your big dick,” I replied, blushing. Damn it. Why did that man make me so flustered? I haven’t felt shame since I was three years old.

Bazooka chuckled. “I don’t have a big dick.”

Which was the biggest lie in the world, because I saw the bulge in his pants, and it said otherwise.

“You’re lying, Bazooka.”

“So are you, Luz.”

Before I could reply, he stood up, which told me this visit was over. I glared at him, torn between telling him to fuck off and begging him to stay because I hated being left alone.

“Why didn’t you want to go to the hospital?” Bazooka asked me, and the abrupt change of subject threw me off. It angered me.

“None of your business,” I muttered, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Don’t sulk and answer the question,” he said, sounding as if he were talking to a petulant child.

“Fuck off!” I exclaimed. “I’m not telling you shit.”

He rubbed his forehead as if I were a migraine, not a person. “We have to talk about what happened, Luz. I can’t investigate a crime without a statement from a victim.”

“I’m not a fucking victim!” I growled. “Those assholes attacked me and beat me up because I didn’t let them bully my friend. End of story. What more do you want from me?”

“First, stop cursing. Second, where do you live?”

Shit.

“I’m homeless,” I mumbled, avoiding his eyes.

“Luz,” Bazooka warned me.