Page 2 of Dark Thirst (The Scandalous Novellas)

T his transmission is fucked, I think to myself as I stare at it.

This is a huge job, and I’m sure the owner won’t want to pay to get it fixed.

Great. Another waste of time, and not to mention, we won’t get paid nearly enough for all the time I’ve spent on it.

I throw the wrench I’m holding onto my bench and run my hands through my dark, sweaty hair.

“Adam!” I call out to the junior tech on staff.

“Yeah?”

“Call the owners of the red Jeep and let them know their trans is gone. It needs to be replaced.”

“On it!” he yells back over the sound of the air compressor filling the garage.

“Mike, I’m going on lunch. Be back in an hour,” I tell my boss who’s working on a pickup next to my bay.

“Alright,” he calls back without looking in my direction. Cool. He doesn’t give a shit what time it is as long as I’m back in an hour to get through the rest of the cars in my bay.

Most of my work days consist of me getting in before anyone else is here and staying long after everyone leaves for the day.

Rent is sky high in Chicago and I need to work as many hours as I can to make sure I don’t have to move back in with my dad and step-mom.

I moved out 2 years ago, and I never want to go back.

Being a mechanic was always something I dreamed of doing. I love working on cars in any capacity. Breaking them down and putting them back together like a puzzle is fun for me. I’ve always enjoyed working with my hands and would often watch my grandfather work on his cars as a kid.

I went to tech school straight out of high school and have been working in garages ever since. But when I’m not busy working on cars, I’m home creating online content for my subscribers.

Movies and games are my jam, so a lot of the characters I do are from those. But I think my favorite one is Anubis: the protector of graves and guide to the Underworld. It was a custom mask my ex-girlfriend, Anna, got for me last year. It’s been my most well-received cosplay character.

Anna and I used to create content together, and we did pretty well money-wise, but since I started doing solo videos, my subscriber list has grown immensely.

I guess girls prefer to only see me. The extra income helps, and it’s something I enjoy doing.

Keeping my face hidden, but showing the rest of my body makes me feel so good.

Plus, all the comments and attention I get keep me coming back for more.

It’s a cool, early spring day, and the weather is finally cooperating.

All the snow from winter has finally melted, and the ground is warming up.

I’ve been in Chicago since my dad got remarried seven years ago.

We lived in Florida before that, and I really miss the weather.

Nothing is more depressing than winter in the Midwest. It’s my dream to go back to the Gulf Coast someday, but for now, I call Chicago home.

Walking out to my black Mustang Boss 302, I admire the beautiful race car.

She sure looks pretty sitting in the parking lot, and she’s my favorite possession.

I got her last summer and just started bringing her back out after the snow finally melted.

I’m looking forward to another summer of cruising in the city, especially at night.

As I sit in my car with the windows rolled down, I scroll through my page and I see that I have a new follower that has spam liked all of my videos.

Interesting. I look up this new follower's profile and it’s empty.

No profile picture, no posts, not following any other content creators.

Could be a bot or someone that is trying to stay anonymous.

Whatever, as long as they pay for content, I don’t care who they are.

My inbox is filled with message requests from my subscribers, but I ignore them. They’re mostly requests to talk to me outside of my page or asking for personalized content. I make enough doing my regular videos; I don’t want to dive into making more.

It’s Thursday, so I will make a ‘Thirsty Thursday’ video when I get home tonight. The girls always go wild for those.

I snack on my lunch while doom scrolling through social media. More or less the same shit from the people that I follow online. But then a text pops up from my dad, reminding me of the family BBQ this weekend. Fuck. I don’t want to go to that shit.

I always feel awkward; like I don’t belong, which technically, I don’t. I was a teen when my dad remarried, so it was hard to fit into this new family. I want to tell him I won’t be there and blame it on work, but he knows better.

The only good thing about these family gatherings is seeing my step-cousin, Michelle. She’s a year younger than me and in college. I wonder if she’ll be there this weekend. We don’t talk much, but there’s something about her I like.

She’s quiet, observant, and has a great sense of humor when she does talk. She doesn’t take shit from anyone, and I admire that about her. The family is loud, intrusive, and just plain annoying. Even Anna thought so the handful of times I brought her around.

Letting out a deep breath, I text my dad back confirming I would be there on Saturday. Maybe I’ll muster enough courage to say more than two words to Michelle this time. I post a photo I have saved on my page, reminding my subscribers that a new video is coming tonight.

Likes and comments come in immediately. Even if I’m not appreciated in real life, my online persona is wildly popular, and it feels good.

Once the workday is over, I head back to my apartment to film a quick video. I’ve been feeling kind of burned out lately, but I don’t want to lose any followers by not posting new content.

I think I’ll use my Ghostface mask with a pair of fitted gray sweatpants to show off my cock. Tomorrow’s content can include some shots of me jerking off after today’s video. Those are my favorite to film, and only select subscribers can see those since they pay more.

My apartment is dark and empty when I arrive home.

Anna and I broke up a few months ago, so the place is always dead quiet now.

Opening the fridge, I take out a prepped meal I made earlier in the week and heat it up in the microwave.

As I stand in the kitchen waiting for my food to warm up, I scroll through my messages and notice my newest follower sent me a message:

Unknown: Nice masks, my favorite is Anubis… I see you’re from Chicago. So am I.

My fingers hover over my phone, and I want to respond. The urge is there. I don’t know why. I never answer direct messages from fans, and that’s because I was with Anna. We set up boundaries prior to making our joint account, and I always respected those boundaries.

Unfortunately, Anna did not. I caught her messaging some guys right before we broke up. Her denial of meeting anyone in person couldn’t repair the broken trust between us.

The microwave beeps, taking me out of the thoughts of my failed relationship. And instead of ignoring the message, I respond,

Ghost: Thanks. I’ve lived here for 7 years now. I’ll never get used to the cold lol. Hope you enjoy my content.

Shit, I immediately regret sending that stupid message, but there’s no turning back now. Eh, it won’t hurt to send one message to someone, I think to myself as I eat my dinner. The days are long and lonely lately, so I keep up my online presence. As I finish, another message pops through,

Unknown: I am enjoying your content. I just found your account, glad I did. You remind me of someone…

Interesting. I wonder who I remind this person of.

I’m sure they’re just referring to another content creator.

Most of us guys look alike, shirtless and in a mask, especially if we have ink as well.

My chest, back and arms all have ink on them.

A mixture of waves, shipwrecks and some portraits of my favorite movie characters adorn my body.

I’ll respond later. I have work to do, so I hop in the shower to clean up.

The warm water feels so good on my skin.

I have to use soap with some grit in it to clean up all the oil on my hands and arms from work.

That’s my least favorite part of my job, working on dirty cars and coming home drenched in motor oil.

Even the salt on cars during the winter here gets pretty annoying. I rinse off and stroke my cock a bit to prepare for my video. I don’t make myself come, but I’m hard and ready to film some content.

Finishing up in the shower, I get out and dry myself off. I grab my tripod, camera, and the Anubis mask and head into the living room. Making sure the background lighting is right, I don my mask and start recording.

It’s showtime.