Page 108 of Damián

“I’m not his client.”

“No? I kinda thought you were.” She lifts her blonde curls, rolls them in a bun, and stabs one of the pens through the bun, making it stay that way. “Okay, how did he tell you? And use his exact words.”

“We woke up in bed, everything seemed okay, but then he stood up and said a bunch of things in Spanish, like pendejoe or something like that.”

“It’s pronounced pendejo… it means idiot or asshole, or like twenty other things,” she adds, and I nod, half confused that she knows this and half surprised. “What? My Spanish teacher was hot, so I paid a lot of attention… then what happened?”

“He started to dress up and said, ‘I fucked up,’ and ‘this has never happened.’ Nothing else.”

“Honestly, I still think it could’ve meant so many other things than what you are imagining now… what is he saying in his texts? Or is he acting like nothing ever happened?”

“I haven’t read any texts… I turned off my phone the day I came here.”

“What?! You ghosted him for three days after blowing him in the shower? And you didn’t even text him to say you’re crashing here and you’re safe?”

“No… I ghosted him after he said he ‘fucked up’… but yes to the rest. Though I did text him to say I’d let him know about our next meetup, and then I shut my phone off.”

“Ollie! Check your freaking phone!”

“I won’t. I am not in the mood to read the ‘it’s not you, it’s me, so let’s pretend it never happened’ B.S. text.”

“What if it is the opposite? What if he is dying to see you?”

“Look, Z, I know that if I turn my phone on, I’ll have my answer, and it could be the best news in the world, but it could also break my heart… I’d rather wait until we’ve handled everything else. I can’t let my own heartbreak put this family’s life in jeopardy.”

“That sounds… smart. And you are right, Ollie. Let’s turn on the phone after this plan is over and the family is safe. But…” She then bites her lip and swallows the rest of her words.

And I groan, knowing I would probably live to regret my next words.

“…You can ask.”

“Yay!” she claps and sits, hugging a pillow. “How was it? How big? Was it a yay or a nay?”

“It was amazing, Z… and it’s a yay for me in blowjobs, though I definitely need more practice with the pacing and the whole thing… and yes… it matches with the rest of his body… it matches so much I felt like I had to dislocate my jaw to be able to get the tip inside my mouth.”

“I can’t believe you had the nerve to call this a sad story…” she says, and I frown. “It will be okay, Ollie. With how he looks at you, I promise you, it will be okay.”

She stands up, kisses the top of my head, and goes to the kitchen to bring us our next snacks.

“Here,” she passes me a bag of chips and a salad. “Fill up; I’ll tell Kaleo we are almost done.”

“Just be careful what you post,” I warn.

“I’ve always been careful, I know Rafael checks everything.”

“I know, but I am not talking about Rafael. The Harknetts added a pin that sends them an alert whenever you post something.”

“Aww! Are they my followers?”

“Yes… Apparently, most of my intel was taken from your pics… though Damián told me Leif followed you because he likes your nature pictures.”

“Fine, I’ll send Kaleo a normal text.”

— ¤ —

After an hour of working on the damn logistics and fixing anything that could potentially go wrong, Zara and I got ready and took a cab to Purple Velvet, an LGBTQ+ nightclub that’s honestly a bit too intense for my taste, but they rent out private rooms, which makes it the perfect place to pass information to Kaleo without drawing attention.

We arrive at the nightclub where a table is already set for us in the VIP section, and a room is booked. The treatment is top of the top as always; they bring us champagne with those annoying things that make sparkles, so everyone sees we are spending a shit ton of money on getting drunk.