Chapter 19: Garber's POV

Garber’s POV

“We’ve arrived.” I felt a tap on my thigh as I startled awake.

Groggily, I paid the cabman as I got out of the taxi to take a look at my unfamiliar location—a castle-like building in the middle of an estate.

I was wondering whose invite I had taken when the cabman hit his horn behind me.

“What—!” I asked as I bent toward his window.

“You left your phone,” he was so close to shoving it in my face as he wiggled his hand aggressively with my phone in hand.

“Careful, this could cost you your car,” I snapped as I turned around and left him to take out his anger on his car horn.

“I should have just driven away with it,” I heard him shout before turning around.

“Too bad you’re foolish,” I said under my breath as I was ushered in by a waiter wearing a mask. I put my phone, which had survived almost drowning in the swimming pool alongside me, into my pocket.

The air wasn’t as loud as a usual party would be, and I hadn’t come across any women yet.

I could look later. For now, I just wanted to drink some alcohol. I made my way to the bar and placed my order.

“Something strong to get me in the mood,” I ordered, in desperate need of something that could get me ready to party because my sleep barely did anything to wash off my jumpscare from earlier.

“Sure,” the barman said and turned around. I noticed he had a mask on as well, and it was the same for almost everyone around.

Like that, I found myself looking around, trying to figure out what sort of masked party I had gotten myself invited to—one that didn’t have any women, nonetheless.

It was definitely not an invite from any of my friends, so I kept looking for a familiar face or at least someone who wasn’t wearing a mask so I wouldn’t be the odd one out. That was when I noticed a small ruckus forming at a corner and a familiar silhouette right in the middle of it.

“Sir, your drink is ready,” the bartender called behind me as I rose.

“Thanks.” I grabbed the glass and gulped. It stung at first until my body just accepted it.

The music became amplified as I set the glass down, and I had one goal as I trudged forward—to ask him why he hung up.

To justify my landing in the hospital because I got too worked up after that call.

“Hey, pretty boy, you don’t look like you belong here. How about you come home with me?” Some middle-aged-looking man and two other men were hitting on Luis, who seemed scared for his life as his eyes kept darting around in search of a savior until he saw me.

Our gazes locked.

“What are you doing here?” I asked with my eyes, but he averted my gaze right at that moment.

“I came with a friend,” he stuttered and kept looking everywhere but in my direction.

Was he trying to get revenge by ignoring me now?

I would have done the same if I didn’t see the slimy old man try to touch what’s mine.

“He’s with me, so you better take your hands off him if you know what’s best for you,” I warned as I twisted his fingers to the back until they cracked.

“That insolent boy!”

“You can’t make a scene here.”

But I couldn’t be bothered with the commotion I left behind now that I had Luis’ warm hand in mine.

“Thanks for your help, stranger, but you can let go now,” he said from behind me. I noticed we were in a place devoid of any people, but just to prove a point, I rounded two more corners before letting go of his hand.

“I don’t help strangers, Luis,” I said as I finally let go of his hand, but I gave him nowhere to escape to as I caged him with my body.

My arm ached, but the alcohol and adrenaline numbing my system dulled it.

“I don’t care what you think when I know I’m nothing to you,” he snapped, glaring at me like he was ready to fight. But why did he look so cute—like a rabbit hopping for carrots with his glasses on?

“Is that how you say thank you to someone who saved you from predators?” I asked as he rolled his eyes.

“Saved me from predators? Like you’re any different.”

“I saved you nonetheless, so you need to thank me. Plus, what are the odds we’d meet today after everything we said over the phone in the morning?” I held his jaw and tilted his gaze upward.

His gaze lingered for a moment, but he seemed to snap out of it the moment a smile of satisfaction formed on my face.

“It was you who did the talking. I barely had anything to say,” he added with an eye roll, his gaze staring into the distance to the right.

So cute.

“Is that why you decided to stalk me? Because you had more to say? Then you should have called back. Why did you hang up in the first place?”

“I should be asking you that, because if I knew you’d be coming, I wouldn’t have come!” His gaze shot back in my direction, and he looked like he would spit at my face, so I took a step backward for my safety.

“Plus, what the hell are you doing at a gay party?”

I froze and asked myself mentally—what was I doing at a gay party? I didn’t even realize what sort of party invite I’d taken until he mentioned it.

“G-Gay?” I stuttered and looked around as the memory of the women in absentia came flooding back.

“Or were you just pretending to be a raging homophobe? I thought you were straight!” His jab hit right where he had intended, but instead of gloating, I saw hesitation, disgust, and pain in his eyes.

Why did he look so vulnerable when he was the one who hung up on me first?

He doesn’t have the right to!

“I can be wherever the fuck I want,” I further closed the distance between us. At this point, I’d never been more glad for the few buttons I’d loosened earlier as I felt his warm breath fan my chest.

“No, you can’t! Stop acting so entitled to people’s bodies just because you’re popular. Not everyone wants to be your sex tool!” He spat, his hands on my chest as he tried to push me off. “Now get off me.”

“I meant places,” I leaned in, “but if you’re so desperate for me to get inside you—” My gaze paused on his long eyelashes. I’ve always wondered how a guy could have such long and full ones.

“Get away from me, Garber.” His hands on my chest paused in a fist, gripping my shirt and my already sensitive skin.

I smirked. “Let’s find out how much deeper—”

I caged him between my chest and the hard wall, enjoying how his body melted against mine like we became one.

Luis sighed, his hands falling to the ground like he knew it was a losing battle. Just when I thought he would beg to be fucked like the first time at the alley, he raised his head slightly, his glassy eyes looking straight into mine.

I was distracted by them as I wondered if he could read my soul. If he saw my desperation, how bare I was for him at that moment.

“Garber,” I snapped out of the trance. “Please stop this. I don’t want to play these games anymore. My heart has bled enough.” His voice trembled as he spoke.

But could anyone explain to me why all of my thoughts were occupied with something else?

Like how I wanted to claim those lips as mine until he ran out of oxygen, gasping for breath in my mouth while my hands ran up his shirt.

Oh, how I wanted to leave my bite marks like a tattoo on him.

“You know I can't,” was the only warning I gave before closing the distance between us.