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CHAPTER THREE

Cassius

I’m always so hard it hurts.

As I set up my equipment for the night, my eyes keep wandering over to Skylar. I don’t know where the fuck he got his outfit, but I thank all the gods that exist that he did. He’s perfectly edible with his skimpy, sparkly crop top and mini shorts. He skips off toward the exit, probably to bother Butch, and I drool at the sight of his cute little ass wagging. Sure, I’m always watching Skylar, but sometimes it leaves me like… this —horny and weak—for hours. I know he doesn’t try to tempt me on purpose, but what does he expect when he looks like utter perfection?

And like a love-struck horny fool, I can’t get enough.

I groan as I adjust myself, trying to think of the nastiest things to get rid of this hard-on, but nothing works. Now, my mind is wandering. I picture showering with him again, but only with a different ending. I imagine taking his small wet hips in my hands and fucking into him until he cries. Railing him so brutally, releasing every ounce of my frustration on his perfect body. Pulling that purple hair back until he begs me to stop, even though we both know he’d enjoy the fuck out of it. Something rough and animalistic—feral—and oh-so-sinful. A contrast to his beautiful delicateness?—

“Can you stop that, please? You’re kind of turning me on.”

My head whips up when I finally notice Elton standing in front of the stage. I don’t know how long he’s been there, but with the way his eyes are zeroed in on my crotch, it must have been long enough.

He raises his hands and shrugs. “I’m very much in love with my husband, but you’re making me hot right now.”

I yank my hand away quickly and clear my throat. “Sorry.”

“No worries,” he says with the biggest, goofiest smile on the planet. “Knoxy should be coming by to talk to you in a second. I just wanted to see if you had everything you needed for the night.”

“Yeah, I’m good,” I reply, up-nodding him just as Knox makes his way toward us. He throws Elton a look, raising his pierced brow in a question, before smirking.

He wraps his hand around Elton’s bicep and fingers the spot where his little flamingo tattoo is. With a wink, he kisses his cheek. “I’ll be with you in just a second, sweetheart.”

Elton blushes, but that’s the extent of his bashfulness. “Upstairs. Twenty minutes.”

Knox chuckles as he leaves. He watches him go for a few seconds, a lovey grin on his face, before that falls as he turns to me. “Hey.”

“Hey.” It’s not like Knox and I aren’t friends, but he’s always kind of been an ass to Skylar, and even though that’s changed in the last few months, I still haven’t warmed up to him. “What do you need?”

“Elton put me in charge of the music for his next theme night,” he tells me. He winces as he scratches the back of his neck. “Got any alien music?”

I quirk an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“Aliens,” he deadpans. “Elton wants to have an Out of this World night.”

Okay… I’m not too sure how successful that’ll be, but Elton’s a marketing genius. He must see something in…aliens that the rest of us don’t. “I mean, not really, but I can try to put something together.”

He nods, but doesn’t immediately move away. “So, how are you doing?”

I raise another curious eyebrow at that. Again, we’re friendly but not friends, so his question catches me off guard. “Good?”

He nods slowly. Looking behind him, it seems like he’s over this conversation, but my eye catches Elton by the bar. It’s like he’s urging Knox to do something, a pointed look on his face, and I suddenly feel like I’m caught in a trap.

Knox sighs dramatically and turns back to me. “So, yeah, everything good with Skylar?”

My hackles immediately rise. Skylar’s a perfect ray of sunshine, so I do end up talking about him a lot, mostly because everyone loves him. His name coming out of Knox’s mouth gives me pause, and my hands clench into fists. “What about him?”

He rolls his eyes. “Calm down. I’m just wondering.”

“Why?”

“Because Elton and I saw you two sucking face at Rhys’s birthday, and my husband is too big of a coward to ask you himself.”

I blanch. I thought I had secluded Skylar and I enough that the comforting moment between us stayed secret. It’s not that I’m ashamed; I just don’t feel like explaining myself to anybody, especially Knox, but apparently, that’s what I’m about to do. “We’re fine.”

“Do you tend to make out a lot?” he presses, bracing his hands on the stage. “Is that normal behavior for the two of you?”

I narrow my eyes. “Your concern is kind of pissing me off.”

“Tough luck. Elton wants to know, so I’m going to get him answers.”

I think about holding my tongue, but Knox doesn’t look like he’s mocking me. Something else that he doesn’t appear is judgmental. “No. We don’t do that very often.”

He cocks his head. “You’re together then?”

“No.”

“Thinking about it?”

“Don’t think he is.”

“Alright,” he says. He turns and oh-so-subtly gives Elton a thumbs up for a mission accomplished. Turning back to me, he leans against the stage and lowers his voice. “There’s actually something else I wanted to talk to you about.”

I hop off the stage and walk by him, going to get a bottle of water before the club opens. I’m not trying to be a dick, but I have to start getting ready. “What is it?”

“So, a friend of mine is looking at trying to find a good time in the city.” He shoves his hands in his pockets. “Something a little off the beaten track. Something not necessarily…above board. You know what I’m saying? Maybe some raunchy and dirty fun?”

I stop abruptly and whip my head to him. “Are you coming on to me, man?”

“W-What?” he sputters, eyes widening in horror. He lifts his left hand and fingers his wedding ring. “Happily married, jackass.”

“Then why are you talking about ‘raunchy and dirty fun’?”

When he levels me with a look, I shrug, and he continues. “You know somewhere a guy could maybe release some excess tension? Maybe work out a little aggression?”

I take a cautious step forward toward the bar and wave Rhys over. “Um, no?”

When we reach the bar, Knox leans against it and dramatically pinches the bridge of his nose. “Why is everyone such a fucking idiot?”

“Is this prick giving you a hard time?” Rhys asks, already handing me a water bottle.

Knox scoffs. “Why don’t you fuck off where you’re not needed?”

Rhys scowls at him, looking as if he’s ready to leap over the bar top and deck him. Man, they have got to cut this shit out. Enemies or not, I don’t know how much longer any of us can deal with the constant hostility. It’s not my place, though, so I don’t say anything.

Rhys glares at Knox before turning to me. “You don’t need whatever shit he’s trying to sell you.”

“I’m not selling shit,” Knox growls and flips him off. “Jesus fucking Christ, this is why I don’t talk to people.”

Knox walks off in a huff, heading toward the stairs, and I watch him go. I try to figure out what the fuck he could have been talking about, but decide to shrug it off. When I turn back to Rhys, he has a questioning eyebrow in the air. “All good?”

I nod. “Yeah, man. I’m good.”

He reaches over to pat my shoulder. “Well, if Knox bothers you again, just let me know.”

I resist the urge to roll my eyes as I thank him and walk away. This little found family Skylar and I have discovered is always a bit weird, but they all mean well. I go back to the stage to continue to set up, but I can’t focus for long as Skylar walks back in. My eyes find his and his beautiful smile sets my heart alight. I know he won’t come over because he needs to help Rhys open the bar, but just the air kiss he tosses my way is enough to satisfy me.

Even when it’s not, he’ll always be enough.