Page 8 of Pursuing the Egoist
Greg gave an innocent shrug.
“No disrespect, Boss. I’m just trying to understand what you see in him. His backdoor has greeted more people than a church on Sunday morning. He sleeps with everyone, yet you treat him like a lover. I never judged your choice of men, but he–”
“He doesn’t sleep with everyone, only people I allow.” Yugo wasn’t mad yet, but annoyance had already clenched his fingers around the ice packs. If anyone else had dared to talk to him like this, he would have already shortened their tongue. But it was Greg. To speak his mind in such a disrespectful fashion, he would have had a solid reason. “He doesn’t belong to anyone, and I like that.”
“A correction. He sleeps with everyone, but he belongs to Patrice.” When Yugo narrowed his eyes, Greg continued, “What can he possibly give you except syphilis?”
“Greg?” With his patience thinning, Yugo lowered his voice. “You’d better get to the point, or I will get mad. If your goal is to bitch about Noah and trash his name without proof, stop right now.”
“He met with Patrice a few days ago. They spent the night in a hotel.”
“So what? They are family.”
“He’ll never be one of us. He belongs to Patrice, and that’s not going to change. I don’t trust him.”
“Good. Then watch him for me.”
“Why take such a risk?”
Irritated, Yugo grounded out, “I don’t know. Maybe I enjoy fucking someone Patrice holds dear. Is it a good enough reason? He is awesome in bed. Also, he doesn’t want anything from me. Just sex.”
“And your money.”
“Don’t they all?” Yugo huffed.
“Not everyone.”
“Why the fuck are you so talkative today? I’ve been seeing him for seven months, and you’ve never said a word. Why now?” Yugo asked, the cogs of his mind screeching, rotating. A second passed, and he laughed as the puzzle pieces clicked together. The white room… the night call… the interrogation. “Of course… Tobias called you.”
“So what if he did? Kuon has returned.”
“I don’t care.” Yugo shrugged, cool droplets, tearing from his fingers, landed on his feet. “Doesn’t change anything.”
“It could. You can try again. It’s an opportunity for a second chance.”
“Greg, didn’t you hear me? I don’t give a fuck.” Grabbing the door handle with his free hand, Yugo slammed it closed, shutting out the overpowering brightness and his past. “Dismissed.”
THE COOL GLOOMof the bedroom welcomed him. The curtain waved as the brisk, spring wind snuck into the room, washing away the stench of sex.
Noah lay on his stomach, arms spread, eyes closed. Even if he wasn’t sleeping, he didn’t look like he was in the mood for talking. Yugo didn’t pressure him. Placing the ice packs over his injured ass, he grabbed a cigarette pack and tossed the blanket over the boy to cover his nudity.
“Of all men… why this trash?”Greg’s words came to mind.
Yugo had never tried to understand why he liked Noah. Usually, this type didn’t appeal; the brat was fickle, wanton, elusive. The frigidity of his gaze, so contradictory to his depraved, arrogant, and slutty personality, was what had piqued Yugo’s interest in the first place. Untrusting and too independent for his age, the nineteen-year-old Noah reminded him of a wild cat that allowed people to pet him, but only on his terms. And just like a cat, in the rare moments when Yugo caught him off-guard, he could see the glimpses of veiled expectation shining behind the void of emotions. Those expectations had always inflamed Yugo’s curiosity. Maybe that was the reason they had lasted for seven months. Or because Noah was everything Kuon wasn’t; not a single trait in his behavior or looks reminded Yugo of his ex-flame.Until today.
Crossing the room, he sagged into the beige, ostrich chair and his thoughts.
Why the fuck does everyone remind me of Kuon today? Even Greg.
Irritation roiled in his stomach as his mind refused to let the incident go. Like a ravenous dog, it dug out the buried bone of his “former relationship”, reanimating every little detail. All those nights Kuon had spent in his arms, breathlessly drinking the air out of his mouth. Every kiss, every fight, every word, and the frozen pier, as if things had happened yesterday.
The wish to see Kuon swelled. He wanted to peer into his dark eyes to see if the silent challenge remained. He wondered what kind of expression Kuon would have when they met again. Would his eyes still blaze with deadly threat, or smolder with liquid lust? Both possibilities sounded equally entertaining.
“Yugo…”
A quiet voice startled him, pulling his attention to the bed. Realizing he still held a cigarette pack in his hand, he put it aside, rose to his feet, and slunk through the gloom. Stretching on the bed, next to Noah, he rubbed his flank with his palm.
“Hmm?”
