Chapter 29

Diesel

"Did you visit Iván yesterday?"

Dropping the boxes I was carrying and wiping beads of sweat from my forehead, I groaned from the suffocating heat.

"Yeah, I did," I said, turning to look at Shay-Lee, who was slumped on a pile of cardboard, fanning himself with a folded newspaper. This time, our task was to clean a part of the school's basement from old junk left by the drama club. Because it held one of the school's boilers, it was sweltering down there.

I groaned as a drop of sweat slid down my neck underneath my soaked shirt. "Shit, it's hot." I glanced at Shay-Lee, looking like a princess as he fanned himself. "Are you going to help or not?"

"Nah, I hate sweating, and I'm lazy," he huffed.

I rolled my eyes before I slumped my ass beside him and shoved his shoulder. He lost his balance for a quick second, and I took advantage of it to steal his DIY fan.

"Hey, that's mine," he whined, trying unsuccessfully to get it back.

"Be quiet."

"You're a pig."

"Fuck off." I side-eyed him. A moment later, we both snorted a laugh, and I began fanning both of us.

Our arguments were becoming ridiculous. Since the night at Kai's place two weeks ago, we'd somehow become friends,and I say it with caution since calling us friends was a stretch. Mostly because I wanted to shove my cock down his throat way too much for someone I considered a friend and, well… because of our history.

The only times we hung out were those few hours after school we had to stick around and clean. Since we were forced to be here, no one suspected a thing.

Not that there's anything to suspect.

"So, how's Iván doing?" he asked, cutting into my thoughts.

Being stuck in detention for a month, we used the extra time to continue our questioning game as we did back at the club. Too bad we weren't back there because my dick wanted him, especially at the moment when he was all flushed and sweaty.

"He's good. Excited about his parole." I'd told Shay-Lee about Iván last Monday when we were cleaning the pool. I also mentioned that I visited him every week.

Shay-Lee smiled. "That's nice. Is he hot?"

"He's straight," I said way too quickly.

He gave me a raised eyebrow, a deviant smile pulled on his lips. "Didn't stop you, did it?"

Standing, I walked to the boxes I had left on the floor and picked them up. "You're impossible."

"Why are you avoiding the question?"

"'Cause it's a stupid question."

"How so? If your brother's nearly as hot as you, I might give him a shot once he's out."

My eyes snapped to his because was he being serious right now? Hell would freeze over before I set him up with Iván. The second the devious grin pulled on his face, I flipped him off.

He laughed, jumped to his feet, picked up some trash, and threw it into the garbage bag he'd dropped earlier.

"I do have a question, though."

"If it's about my brother's dick, you better keep quiet."

He twisted his lips, and his eyes glinted with mischief. "I guess I have two questions, then."

I threw an empty can of soda at him, which he easily dodged.

He laughed. "I'm joking! But seriously, are you gay? Bi? Pan?"

"Didn't we agree that it's offensive to ask that?"

"I broke into your house, threatened your friends, and beat them up. Twice. I think we're way past the offensive phase."

Narrowing my eyes at him, I grunted. "You make it extremely difficult to like you."

"Oh, my God," he gasped. "Did you just admit to liking me?"

This time, I picked up an old wig from the floor and threw it at his face.

He dodged that one, too.

"Just hurry up and clean so we can get out of here."

He sighed as he bent down to pick up the wig. "Looks to me like you're avoiding the question."

"It's a stupid-ass question, that's all. And honestly, I don't give a shit about all that crap."

He gave me a raised eyebrow. "The fuck you mean you don't give a shit?"

He looked genuinely surprised. "Wait, did you think that I was some homophobic asshole or something? That I'd have this breakdown for liking dick?"

Rubbing his chin and looking away, he shrugged. Amazed by his lack of response, I stared at him with my mouth slightly open.

"You little shit. You did think that. You do realize I live with four gay guys, yeah?"

"That doesn't necessarily mean anything."

"How so?"

"Dunno." He kicked some garbage with his shoe. "So what was the point of that rule you had, the no men thing?"

He was a resourceful little shit, and I was too hot and too tired for it. Walking toward him, I threw some garbage into the bag he was holding, then flicked his forehead. He flinched, closing his eyes and rubbing the spot, but before he whined about it, I grabbed his chin and forced his face up. "I was never interested in men, yet I think your cock's fucking gorgeous, and I could die happily buried deep inside your tight little ass." I leaned closer and darted my tongue to wet my bottom lip, and his eyes followed the action like a curious kitten as he swallowed hard. Smirking, I ghosted my breath over his lips, getting his attention back. "There you have it. I'm gay for your perky ass. Since it's what you wanted to hear, can we move the fuck on because my balls are melting into my boxers, and I'm a second away from having a heatstroke."

Still shocked, Shay-Lee remained frozen, and I had to admit it was an adorable reaction. If it weren't for the shreds of sanity in my brain and that I really was about to pass out from the heat, I would have pinned him against the wall and shoved my tongue down his throat five minutes ago.

Letting go of his chin, I stepped back. "Vamos, Princesa. Get back to work."

He blinked several times while brushing the back of his hand over his flushed cheeks, trying to erase the evident red.

"I hate you," he muttered under his breath, making me snort a laugh.

After pouting some more, he started to actually work, and we wrapped it up after twenty minutes. The brat. I knew that if he'd moved his ass faster, it would've taken us half the time. I swore that each day, he worked slowly on purpose, extending our time together, and each day, I pretended it bothered me.

"What will you do tomorrow?" he asked after we threw all the garbage bags into the dumpster outside.

Cleaning my hands over my pants, I looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"Today was the last day of my punishment, meaning tomorrow, you're all alone."

I forgot that I had another few weeks of doing this shit for beating that idiot dickface in the hall.

"I'll finish faster, that's for sure."

"I can come and help you."

"You don't have to."

"I want to." He stood a bit closer to me. "Besides, it's the least I can do after you kicked Kamper's ass. I hate that guy."

"It was my pleasure."

He grinned before pinching my side. "I'm starving. Wanna go grab dinner?"

"Shay-Lee…" We were going too fast.

Ignoring me, he continued. "There's this Thai restaurant I love. They have vegan dishes. I already checked—"

"Hold on," I said.

He turned to me with a big smile on his pretty lips. "What is it?"

He looked so happy right now that I hated what I was about to do next.

"We can't hang out, you know that, right?"

His brows knitted close as he dropped the smile. "How so?"

I was about to tell him why us hanging out was a terrible idea when a group of students stepped out of the main building. The two of us moved fast and got off the main path, then hid behind some bushes until they passed us, and the coast was clear.

"Because of that." I pointed in their direction. "We both know we can't be seen together, Shay-Lee. Us talking… it's fucked-up, you know that. Right?"

He stayed quiet, his eyes pinned to the ground.

"Hey." I poked his cheek, and he nudged me away.

"So I'm not supposed to see you anymore?"

"I didn't say that."

"You did," he hissed.

Shit, he was angry.

"The less we're seen together, the better."

"So, can I come to the club? No one we know is there."

His question took me by surprise. Ever since the night I found out who he was, he hadn't returned to the club. I was still working there since quitting wasn't an option. The first few days, I kept waiting for him to show up so I could beat his ass, but as days turned to weeks and he still hadn't come, I realized that it was all bullshit and that I simply waited for him because I missed him. Whenever I danced, it was his eyes I searched for. When I met with a client, I secretly yearned it would be him. Whenever I had to touch someone, it was his body I imagined underneath mine. All those reasons and more were why he shouldn't come to the club. I couldn't allow myself to get lost in him. It was a disaster waiting to happen. At the very least, it would be the last straw between Andrei and me.

"I don't think it's a smart idea." My words felt heavy, and I nearly whispered them out.

Hearing me just fine, he nodded. "I guess you're right."

So far, detention was an easy excuse because we had no choice but to spend those hours together.

Bullshit.

Since when did I ever do something I didn't want to do? Realizing that, I pinched his cheek, and he frowned. Fuck. I loved his blue eyes, which held the fucking world captive inside of them. "So, that Thai restaurant… you say they serve vegan?"

A huge-ass smile spread on his lips, making me all fuzzy.

"Yes, they do."

"How about you bring some tomorrow? Help me pass the time while I clean the gutters or some shit?"

He nodded enthusiastically, and once again, my heart missed a fucking beat at his priceless smile.

Shay-Lee

After parking my G-Wagon at the school parking lot, I snapped a quick photo showing the bags of food I bought and hit Send. While waiting for Diesel to reply, I looked at the selfie I sent him from when I waited in line to pick up our food. There was a No Smoking sign, and I thought it would be funny to take a picture next to it. Diesel hadn't replied to that photo, but he did reply to the one I'd just sent.

Camilo: What's that?

Me: Food.

Camilo: For how many people?!

Me: What do you mean? Just the two of us.

Camilo: Ain't no way we can eat all that.

Me: You're a big, big, BIG, boy. *eye-wink emoji* bet you'd have no problem finishing up.

Camilo: …

Me: Send me your location. I'll be there in 5.

After Diesel shared his location, I shoved my phone into my Prada pouch, grabbed the bags, and got out of the car. Diesel probably had a point about me buying too much food, but I bet he was starving after repainting the walls we had covered less than a month ago. It was sick how fast the graffiti returned, completely covering the white walls.

Diesel was probably cursing up a storm at the school right now, expressing his hate for this stupid institution. Thinking about his hot temper and how quick he was to get angry sent bolts of excitement through my body. I was obsessed with the fire that burned behind his eyes and how fierce and dangerous he could get in seconds.

Diesel mentioned more than once that we shouldn't cross the line to keep things between us as low-key as possible. He had a point, considering how our being together was dangerous and would cause nothing but heartache. Yet, being fully aware that Diesel having anything to do with me would fuck things between him and his family and would put him under my dad's radar didn't stop me from coming here today with the sole intention of making him mine.

Smiling to myself, I checked my phone for the time. It was nearly 6:30 p.m., which explained why the school stood empty. Good. It would give us more privacy. Maybe after I fed him, he'd let me suck his cock. I mean, who the fuck knows? Some men get softer on a full stomach. Maybe he was one of them.

I was almost at the back parking lot, where Diesel was supposed to be. Nearly skipping my way to him, I stopped at once when I heard a woman's voice.

"It's been quite some time since I last saw you alone," she said.

Who was that?

"Maybe if you hadn't put me into two months of detention, I would've had more time."

That was Diesel. By now, I knew his voice better than I knew my own.

"Are you mad?" Her seductive tone had my body going rigid as my temper sparked. I took a few quiet steps toward them to see who Diesel was talking to. The moment I saw Mrs. Morrison standing next to Diesel, playing with her bleached hair and leaning way too fucking close to him, anger spread through me like wildfire, and my vision turned fucking red.

What the actual fuck?

Taking a step back, I leaned against the wall and swallowed hard as I tried to quiet down my raging thoughts to focus on their conversation.

"What do you want?" Diesel asked.

"You know exactly what I want," she purred.

I bit my bottom lip so hard that I tasted blood to stop myself from going over there and yanking her the fuck away. But hold the fuck on. Focusing on her, I was completely missing the big point. Are Diesel and Mrs. Morrison screwing?

"I need to finish this job," he said.

"Leave it."

"Nah, I want to finish and go home."

"You're so cold. Is it because I neglected you?"

Neglected him? What the hell?

"You know, I wouldn't have punished you this hard if it weren't for that despicable boy. I wish I could expel him, trust me, but my hands are tied. You know who his father is, don't you?"

My heart stopped as my body turned cold.

Was that what they were doing? Fucking and then talking shit about me? Feeling sick from anger, I threw the food on the ground and ran away from there like some loser.

I was fucking embarrassed with myself for ever wanting that idiot and humiliated for acting like one. There I was, trying to treat him right and with respect while he was messing around with the school principal. Talk about double standards. Being with me was a problem, but fucking a fifty-something cunt wasn't?

I wanted to kill him, but first, I would start with the bitch.

Diesel

After saving the selfie Shay-Lee had sent me into a private folder, I pocketed my phone and looked at the finished wall. All I had left to do now was pack up the tools, put them away in the storage closet, clean up because I had paint smeared all over me, and then Shay-Lee and I would be free to eat. Maybe it would be better to take him somewhere else, like the shore? It would be nice eating there.

I was so lost in thought about Shay-Lee as I gathered the tools to put away that I didn't notice anyone approaching. I froze, reaching for a paintbrush on the ground, when I saw a red stiletto heel stepping way too close to my fingers.

Glancing up, I saw Mrs. Morrison, looking extremely pleased with herself. Great, and here I thought I would have a nice evening with Shay-Lee.

The last time we fooled around was back in her office when she sucked me off after telling Shay-Lee he was free to go. The repulsive memory made me want to barf. It was beyond me how she hadn't realized that I held zero interest in her. If she had, she wouldn't be here, wearing a skirt that was way too short while trying to show off her long legs. She rambled for a bit, spitting some crap that was supposed to be seductive. I grunted my answers, trying to make my lack of interest clear, when she suddenly said something that caught my attention.

"What do you mean?" I asked, my fists clenched after she just brought up Shay-Lee's name.

"Trust me when I tell you that no one on the school board is interested in that damaged juvenile." She examined her manicured nails with a dismissive and bored expression. "But the school benefits from having him. After all, it's not every day the only son of Christian W. Rogers is a student here, right?" Her red lips curved into a greedy smile. "The money that boy brings… Trust me, it's enough to build ten more schools. And don't even get me started on the publicity. He actually dated my niece, Chloe, for a while. You probably know her. She's also a senior. Thank God it ended. I had been worried the whole time they dated."

Yeah, I knew her niece. I bet being a bitch ran strong in their family. Back when school started, her niece wasted no time before sucking my cock with her friend. She thought it would piss off Shay-Lee, and it did, only for other reasons. He didn't care about her but about me, a mutt from the streets who had the audacity to put up a fight with him. He was mad because unlike the others, I wasn't afraid of him. From the beginning, he and I were the only players in our sick game, trying to hunt each other down from the get-go.

Life was fucking ironic.

"Anyway, thanks to her, I can confirm that he's a lost cause. What a shame. Such a pretty boy but absolutely damaged." She grinned as if Shay-Lee being hurt was funny. "His dad should lock him up in an asylum if you ask me."

That's it. That's the last fucking straw.

"Good thing I didn't."

The hostility in my voice caught her off guard, and she blinked her eyes at me. "What?"

I pulled the cig I had tucked behind my ear, placed it between my lips, and lit it. "I didn't ask you." I blew the smoke in her plastic face, then took another long drag to calm down my nerves.

"My mamá always taught me to be respectful of women. To really appreciate them, you know?" I took another deep drag, the nicotine spreading through my body. "I'm a good kid, so I listen to my mamá. I respect her." My voice turned low and dangerous. "But if you open your mouth about him one more time, I'm going to have to disappoint her so much that she'll turn in her fucking grave." I tossed the cig on the ground and stomped on it with my shoe while locking eyes with Mrs. Morrison. "So shut your mouth and get the fuck out of my face, puta."

Her expression reminded me of a blow-up sex doll, and if I weren't so pissed, I would've laughed.

When she finally found her words, she snapped. "How dare you? I could expel you."

I rubbed my jaw, amused. "Be my guest, but remember all those times you spread your legs and begged for me to fuck your dry cunt?"

She paused, jaw dropped. I took great pleasure in shocking her.

"Yeah, doll. I made sure to keep some evidence. Before you flatter yourself, it's not because I was interested in reliving those boring fucks. I was disgusted each time." I visibly shuddered because knowing I'd ever touched this despicable human sickened me. "I would like to give you another piece of advice for you and your niece. Respectfully, of course. Learn to keep your fucking mouth shut."

She turned on her heels in a huff and walked away at the speed of light. It wasn't about her being a woman and me being a man. It was about her not being a decent human being.

She used her authority in such a vile way, going around and spitting shit about one of her students? Who the fuck did she think she was?

Just imagining what she might have told others about Shay-Lee heated my blood. Entitled people like her only proved to me how different Shay-Lee was. Yes, he was an arrogant, crazy son of a bitch who did bad things, but his heart was fucking pure. Broken but pure. When he fucked up, and so help me God did he fuck up a lot, he did it out of pain and fear. A direct result of living life in the shadows of monsters. Not that it justified things, but after being hurt for his entire life, he didn't know how to function without destroying shit that got in the way, but he was trying to do better. I knew he was. I saw it. Fucking lived it.

Speaking of the kitten, where was he? Checking my phone, I saw it had been almost twenty minutes since we texted. When I tried to call him, I was sent straight to voicemail. What the fuck?

I left the painting tools behind to go look for him but stopped in my tracks not even ten feet away when I found the brown paper bag tossed on the pavement, with Thai food spilled all over the place.

Shit.