"Congratulations on your engagement, Dan," Vincenzo handed Danny a bouquet of flowers with a soft smile as we were leaving school for lunch. As much as I wanted to speak up and punch him for even thinking about gifting Danny anything, I wasn't about to lose face for him. Still, I could believe the sheer audacity of this move and the bravery he had to smile as he did this.
"Vincenzo! Thanks!" Danny took the bouquet, not knowing that they'll just be thrown away as soon as he takes his eyes off of them. I just had to distract him from the flowers and replace them with ones that I bought for him. "These are nice! Why aren't you in uniform though? Are you skipping school today?"
"Yeah, I just needed a break today. I'm just getting some exercise anyway," he said. "Plus I have all the credits I need to graduate, so I really just have to show up for the final exams."
"You shouldn't neglect your studying Vincenzo," Danny scolded.
"I'm also having trouble with my leg."
"That's right, you must still be getting pains with the weather being so cold."
"Totally, it fucking sucks but it is what it is. I'm just glad that I'm not crippled," Vincenzo put his head down and avoided both of our eyes suddenly. "Listen, I'm sorry, for literally everything, and for not respecting your relationship before. I was being a psycho. Thank you for being graceful with me and I really am just happy for you now."
"Yes, that, well-"
"VINNY!!!" I saw a red headed tiny kid running towards us. He was nice to look at, but no where as beautiful as Danny was, whoever he was. "What the fuck? The shop got so busy, I almost drowned in the crowd." The kid latched himself onto Vincenzo's arm and glared at Danny with a disgusted face. "Who the fuck is he?"
"Oh, this is Danny," Vincenzo said. "Please be polite. He's my friend."
"Why'd you give him flowers if he's your friend, asshole? Are you two timing me already?" The kid snapped. I noticed that he had an accent, maybe Spanish, I wasn't sure.
"To congratulate him on his engagement. Right, Danny, this is Rocco Lombardi, my boyfriend, Vincenzo said. "Rocco, this is Ashton, Danny's fiancé."
Suddenly I felt as if I could fly into the air and do sixteen backflips over the Empire State Building. I put my arm around Danny and broke into a huge smile. "Glad to hear that you're dating someone, Vincenzo! I'm happy for you!"
"Don't be a dick, Ashton," Danny warned.
"I'm happy for him! I really am!" To be exact, I was happy that he wasn't going to come after Danny anymore. I also knew that Danny could see right through my fakeness. "If you're skipping, what're you doing here? I don't think you're just here to congratulate-"
"That's literally what he just did, Ashton. Don't be like that." Danny sighed in frustration. I tried to give him my best pout but he just shook his head. "Drop the face, you mug!"
"No, it's ok, I did super fucked up things before. It would be weird if he was nicer to me," Vincenzo brushed off my blatant criticism. "Besides he's right, there is other reasons why I'm here. Other than just congratulating you, I felt I should introduce Rocco to my best friend."
"I honestly forgave you a while ago, Vincenzo," Danny gave him a big genuine smile. "But I really wish for you to be happy with Rocco. He seems tough enough to keep you in line and kick your ass into gear."
"Rocco is really good at that," Vincenzo joked. I've never seen him so damn relaxed before. In fact, Vincenzo seemed to be in better shape than ever. The dark circles under his eyes had lessened and that depressed look he always wore nowadays seemed no where in sight. This actually may be the first time in months that I had seen him smile.
"Good! Don't you dare go down the wrong path again! I don't want to have worry about you!" Danny went to poke his chest but his finger was caught by this Rocco character.
"You don't have to worry about him anymore. I've got him," Rocco smiled. Thank God! "Just know where to stick your nose."
"Ok, ok, my bad," Danny chuckled. "Can we treat you guys to lunch to celebrate the occasion? We can literally eat anything."
"Only if it's expensive!" Rocco challenged.
"Rocco, don't-"
"Nonsense, of course it'll be expensive," I spoke up. "Lovebug, let's take them for Italian food."
"You are aware Olive Garden isn't really Italian food, right?" Rocco said sarcastically. I think he was making a joke at my expense, but I wasn't sure.
"What's Olive Garden?" I asked. The three of them looked at me as if I had just said the dumbest thing ever. Well, excuse me for not knowing these things! "Fine don't tell me! I just know a nice Ristorante uptown, right on the water. The new owner is from Venice and so are all the cooks and waiters. I've been waiting to go with an Italian since the staff are all Italian, but I guess Vincenzo is ok as well."
"I'm Italian too!" Rocco snapped.
"I thought you were-"
"ANYWAY!" Danny quickly put his hand over my mouth. "Why don't we-"
"Was that motherfucker about to call me Spanish?!" Rocco started to speak more animatedly in Italian, completely losing me in the process. Still I could tell that I had somehow offended him by making this mistake.
"Nothing wrong with being Spanish," I defended.
"I'm not-"
"Rocco, Ashton is a country boy, he wouldn't know anything about Italians," Vincenzo said. "And, Ashton, it doesn't have to be too expensive, we can just go to the noodle spot a few blocks away. It's reasonably priced and-"
"My stomach is too weak for processed cheap foods, hop in the car with us," I insisted. My pride had been challenged and Vincenzo's new boyfriend was a rude little shit to my lovebug. The least I can do is remind them of their place by throwing some money around and show off a better quality food, right?
"That place is $40 just for the bread," Danny whined. "Isn't that a lot?"
"Baby, when has that ever been an issue? I'm just glad we don't have to have dinner with Mickey tonight." I forced a smile. "And I've been wanting to take you on a date anyway. It's been too long."
"It's been a day."
"Which means I haven't spoiled you enough," I purred much to his amusement.
"You can have dinner with Mickey?" Vincenzo gasped. "He didn't threaten to kill you? Or beat you up?"
"Of course he did, but he's Danny's uncle so I have to deal with him. I did have to fight him for his approval though and I might have to again in the future," I explained. "But it's gotten easier now that he's accepted me as a part of the family."
"Why is someone named Mickey so scary?" Rocco asked.
"My uncle is in a motercycle club, they just aren't used to his ways," Danny explained. "Mickey doesn't like Vincenzo very much so he threatens his life a lot. Mickey thinks it's a game, but I guess people really take it seriously since I can't even tell when he's joking. He won't threaten you anymore though since he likes messing with Ashton now."
"The Hells Angels isn't just a motorcycle club, Dan." Vincenzo countered. "They are a violent motorcycle gang."
"So they say. They're a bunch of lame old guys with motorcycles who occasionally engage in criminal activity. And Mickey is just a quirky guy and he's harmless, so there's no reason to be scared," leave it to Danny to downplay how truly terrifying Mickey actually was. He was the only person that I feared, and he used that fact to mess with me.
"Well....It doesn't matter," Vincenzo brushed it off lightly.
"I think that's called stoic indifference," I pointed out. The three of them looked at me. "He's indifferent to external things, indifferent to wealth, indifferent to pain, indifferent to winning, indifferent to hope and dreams and everything else. You hear it enough times and it starts to sound like these people don't care about anything."
"Who the fuck is this guy? Fucking Socrates?" Rocco glared daggers at me which I returned as we reached my car. Once I unlocked it, Rocco dropped his glare and watched as I ran around to open Danny's door for him. Vincenzo attempted to open the back door for Rocco but was pushed away in frustration and had the door slammed in his face. I watched Vincenzo sigh and limp over to open his own door before getting in the back next to Rocco.
I started my car and looked into the backseat through my mirror at Vincenzo being extremely docile while keeping a side eye on Rocco. To me he seemed blindly optimistic, like him and us being treated rudely was ok. But like Danny had told me, he was very new to being a genuine person, so he's going to be awkward for a while. I had no choice but to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Still this was kind of a lot. Why can't he be awkward about this somewhere else on someone else's time? Why do I have to treat them just because they started some relationship? I'm regretting that I insisted on taking them for expensive food to satisfy my own ego.
"Why would you just blurt out to him that we're dating?" Rocco snapped.
"Because we are, so I just said it." Vincenzo said simply. "Why would I keep it a secret?"
"And if you get insulted?"
"Can't say that I care about anyone throwing insults at me behind my back. It's not like it's not being done everyday anyway."
"I thought we'd just be meeting Sam today. Who knew I'd end up going to lunch with you and your ex?" Rocco pouted.
"We never dated," Danny and Vincenzo said simultaneously.
"I still don't like it!" Rocco huffed.
"Then I'll happily drop you two off somewhere else so I can have a private lunch date with my Lovebug," I gritted my teeth, trying my hardest not to snap at his rudeness. Who the hell cared what this pompous brat liked?
Danny took my hand in concern and rubbed it with his thumb. "If you two want to go, that's fine? I'll put your address into the GPS." At least he took my side this time and realized that Rocco had no manners since the beginning.
"We're already in the car," Rocco mumbled in defeat.
"Yeah, with a bad personality," I muttered back.
"You like my bad personality," Danny said in response.
"That's because you're cute when you get upset-"
"WHAT THE FUCK?!??!" Rocco screamed suddenly making everyone in the car jump in surprise as I slammed on the breaks. When we looked back to see what had happened, he was staring in awe at me then Danny, then to a magazine that Soyoung had left in the car, back to me. "Why are you two on the cover of a magazine?"
"It's a stupid tabloid, ignore it," I quickly covered.
"Why didn't you throw it out?" Danny went completely red. "I didn't want to see that trash again! It's such a sham!"
"I did throw them out! Soyoung must've left it there when we dropped her off at home! I didn't know it was there until just now!" I lied.
"Is that why your car is this expensive?" Rocco asked.
"It's not that expensive," I pointed out.
"It's a fucking G-Wagon!" Rocco argued.
"Yeah, it's still not much money at all," I insisted. "In fact, this is the cheapest car I own."
Vincenzo looked at Rocco with a face that pleaded with him to just cooperate for a bit. I had to say that he looked increasingly desperate trying to calm him. I tried hard not to look at it for a long time, it's been there since he walked up to us earlier.
He reminded me of me and I hated it because it humanized him to me. The actions of someone who feels like they're nothing inside and needed help spoke to me. Just like me, Vincenzo has always been able to figure out the best answer to things right away. Just like me, he was fine tuning himself to other people's taste while not knowing who he was himself. But in the end, so what if in return you never received praise and people talked about you? Nothing was there that really mattered.
We both took paths that were available to us since birth, and we're both expected to do it perfectly. Sometime along the line of doing that, you convince yourself that you just have to meet the expectations of headstrong people, but in reality, you end up never making decisions for yourself. You always look tirelessly for the emotions and feelings that should be there, but there was always nothing except a need to feel loved and needed.
The truth about it is that you end up clinging to a hopeful dream that'll never come true. A dream where people loved you, even though you felt like nothing inside. That's why you end up trying your hardest to make the new person feel everything you can't. It's because I was aware of this trait I had that I still went to therapy, just to make sure that I wasn't using Danny to fill up my own emptiness.
Knowing this might be the case, that didn't change the fact that I wasn't keen on being able to understand Vincenzo as a human being! I hated the fact that we were probably a lot more similar than I'd like to admit.
"Forget it, we're almost at the restaurant anyway, so let's just get the food," I turned back around in my seat and continued to drive towards the restaurant. "We should celebrate this happy occasion."
Danny looked confused but ultimately didn't question my sudden change of heart. In my head, whatever business they had together, at least it left him too occupied to deal with Danny, and that much should be celebrated.
"Are you still doing tattoos, Dan?" Vincenzo asked.
"Yeah, Mickey has been having me tattoo a lot of members of the club, and I was able to do a few more on myself as well," Danny gushed. "I've gotten a lot better and I've moved onto doing some color tattoos. Pretty soon, I'll be able to get a license."
"Cool. I'll have to get one myself soon then." Vincenzo said.
"Definitely!" Dan agreed.
"You're rich and you do tattoos?" Rocco asked in a rude tone.
"I'm not rich, Ashton is, and I like doing tattoos," Danny brushed off the attitude.
"On another note, have things calmed down at school?" Vincenzo asked.
"Of course, no one will mess with him now," I asserted.
"It was a pretty good day today after all," Danny agreed with me. "Even Sam noticed that people left me alone when they saw you back in school!"
"I thought you would've gotten expelled after putting Ronnie in the hospital like that," Vincenzo chimed in. "It looked like a brutal beat down on video."
"The school wouldn't dare to expel me, and my dad made me pay his hospital bill, and I took myself off the wrestling team, so I don't see why I need anything more than a suspension," I told them.
"Had it been anyone else, they would've been kicked them out of school and the newspaper would've made a big fuss," he pointed out. "Just how rich are you? A multi millionaire?"
"Better than that," i said.
"Billionaire?!" Rocco screeched before collecting himself quickly. "You hang out with a billionaire?"
"No, he hangs out with a soon to be billionaire, Sam. Me and Vincenzo don't hang out," I corrected. "We're not friends at all."
"Then why are you treating us?" Rocco sounded suspicious of me at this point. I took a deep breath in and out, practically smelling the fear and envy radiating from his glare and enjoying it.
"Because my baby said we should we congratulate his old friend on his new relationship, so of course I'll make sure we only get the best so he's not embarrassed in front of his friend," I reached over to ruffle Danny's head, knowing he liked what I said but would never try and show it in front of these two. "After all, we have a name to protect."
"In that case, I could've just cooked," Danny offered as if I would agree bringing either of them to one of our houses. "It would be more sincere to them."
"But that's my food!" I whined not wanting to share the delicious home cooked meals full of love with everyone and their mom.
"Does your cooking even have any flavor in it?" Rocco jabbed.
"Well, your man likes it and ate it for thirteen years, so I guess it is very flavorful. Plus I learned how to cook from people who actively flavor their food. Ask him," Danny jabbed back much to my amusement. I knew he could be catty, but it was always entertaining. Rocco huffed again but stayed quiet. From the mirror I could see Vincenzo growing increasingly uncomfortable with the situation at hand. I almost felt bad for him as Rocco was clearly the one in charge here.
"Well, he won't be eating your food today," I chuckled as we pulled into the restaurant parking. Danny quickly hopped out of the car followed by Rocco and Vincenzo. When I stepped out, I straggled a bit and got close enough to ask Vincenzo in a low voice, "What were you thinking?"
"I was thinking my new boyfriend wants to be reassured that I'm not still carrying a torch for Danny anymore," As far as Vincenzo was concerned, he wasn't, but it doesn't seem like Rocco was going to believe it so easily. Not yet at least. For now he felt he needed to bait Danny to feel superior and, fortunately, it wasn't working. Still, those eyes didn't lie. They were spitting fire and it wasn't just anger. "He's not usually like....he's got a different kind of personality."
"Not my problem. Make up some excuse. You're good at that. But please get his attitude in check," I didn't want to be tempted to hit Rocco and then Danny and sharp knives in the same room when he's upset...that could get messy according to Mickey.
We walked in. Danny suggested calamari for an appetizer, knowing both him and I loved it. Rocco didn't look too taken by the idea, but he was outnumbered as Vincenzo agreed to it. The conversation was extremely strained. We all agreed that the weather was nice this time of year, even though it was cold. Vincenzo asked me how the recession has affected the agricultural industry. Rocco wasn't paying attention to my answer. I explained how well my family was currently doing while casually observing the whole table. The look in Rocco's eyes would keep the yogurt cold for a year. I almost let an audible sigh of relief when the waiter arrived to take our order.
Rocco ordered first in Italian. Pasta alla Puttanesca for Vincenzo and Maccheroni with Tuna Ragù for himself. I had to suppress a grin. Ordering for your date was only a power move if you got them something they liked. Danny told me that Vincenzo hated tuna with a passion. A quick glance in his direction told me that he was conflicted. Vincenzo looked as if he wanted to correct Rocco, but he surprisingly kept quiet.
I turned to Danny. "What would you like, lovebug?" I had Italian food with him often enough for lunch to know what he would order, but I didn't want to turn this into a competition. And a small part of me felt like Rocco needed a small win to stop the hostility. I ignored Rocco's smirk. Danny scanned a little but still ordered the usual – Spezzatino di Manzo. "Good choice," I replied and fixed my attention on the waiter, "I'll have the homemade lasagna, please, with light cheese. Light, light, like you've washed your hands and just the residue of previous orders remain." I handed the menu to the pimply teenager with a smile.
Vincenzo and I were exchanging stories about school when the food arrived. After the waiter left, Danny swapped his plate with Vincenzo's. I frowned and was about to say something, but Danny cut me off. "If Vincenzo eats tuna he'll just throw it up and waste the food. This is also one of his favorites," he simply said before taking a big bite of the Pasta alla Puttanesca. "Don't worry, Rocco," he spoke around a mouth full of food, "you'll learn these things with time. Just remember, no olives on the pizza and extra pickles on the cheeseburger." He took another bite.
"Babe!" What the fuck did I just witness?
"What? Don't 'babe' me! This guy started all this hostile shit! What the fuck was that bullshit to try and establish dominance for? And why the fuck is he glaring at me like that? He's been rude since he walked up to us at the school!" Danny snapped at me before turning the heat to Rocco. "You got a fucking problem? Speak on it already, ya pussy!"
"Sei un figlio di puttana!" Rocco snapped threw his hands up animatedly. "You're the problem here!"
"Jealousy is an ugly thing, and so are you!"
"I'm ugly?! Have you looked in a fucking mirror, you fucking ghost!"
"Better than being a ginger without a soul!"
"My ginger hair means I have passion and vitality! Something you look like you need an excess of!"
The two stared each other down trying to outdo the others hateful glare. While i wasn't a fan of Danny having to get this upset, I didn't quite understand the hostility Rocco held towards him. It was all out of no where.
Suddenly Vincenzo started choking.
I acted immediately, rushing to him, I pulled him upright by his shoulders and wrapped my arms around him, yanking upwards on his diaphragm. On the third try, the food dislodged and hit Rocco on his cheek. Vincenzo shot him an apologetic look before he rushed off the bathroom, the look of horror on his face evident.
"Well," i said as I took my seat across from Vincenzo's empty one again, "I guess that's it for lunch," i doubted that I was going to convince anyone to go to get along. So much for showing off. "You're not being very pleasant to be around, Rocco. Calm it down."
"Hey now, I was the perfect gentleman," Rocco defended himself. "Besides, I wasn't the one who spat in his face."
"Well, you're not being very nice to my boyfriend," I retorted.
"Neither are you!" He spat.
"Uhm...that was me who just saved his life." I sighed and leaned into Danny's hands caressing my face to cool me down. 'You're a hero. 'Thank you' is the right words to say, isn't it?" We've attracted enough attention from the other diners already. "What's got your tail in a bunch?" His behaviour was unsettling me.
"This is me in action, getting what I want. I don't get why he was so obsessed with you," Rocco looked Danny up and down before rolling his eyes. "You are nothing special."
"He's not obsessed with me, my dad and I were just the only ones to treat him like family and-"
"Baby, take a breath. I don't want you getting too worked up, and you're a bit red," I interrupted before he could dive into a deep discussion of his past.
"He can't speak for himself? What the fuck is wrong with him?"
I guess Vincenzo didn't tell him everything. "He's just been cleared for physical activity so mental stress isn't something he needs. Just stop being a little shit to him because he did nothing wrong to Vincenzo. They've been friends since they were babies, they've never dated or anything, they don't like each other now. We decided to treat you two to an expensive meal because we're happy he's finally able to find happiness and you've just been ruining it. He's probably in the bathroom freaking out, thinking that I might cut off the therapy he and Martin gets on my dime."
"I can handle it, Ash. Just go check on him, please," Danny sighed.
Even though I was highly against it, I made my way to the bathroom and let the two talk. What I didn't expect was to see a calm and collected Vincenzo, staring at himself at the mirror, deep in thought.
"What's got you thinking so deeply?" I asked. "I'm not going to hold it against you because of what Rocco says, so there's no reason to worry about that."
"I'm not worried about that, Rocco just has that kind of personality and I knew you wouldn't misunderstand. I'm actually getting used to it quicker than I thought. Though I do appreciate not being penalized because of him."
"What's bothering you then?"
He looked uncomfortable as he started overthinking. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Of course you can, what is it?"
"Well....I guess it's kind of....embarrassing. You and Dan....well, how do you two do it?" He asked me with a straight face.
"Excuse me?" Was he having thoughts again? Did I need to step in at this moment? Was this a heads up?
"I guess a better question is: how do you get him in the mood?"
"What do you mean?" He was absolutely right when he said this was an uncomfortable conversation. Why would he want to know how I got Danny in bed?
"Ugh, I'm sorry but I don't exactly have anyone else my age, that has experience with a guy, that I can ask this to that will give me a real answer! This is kind of like a first to me, so I'm still not good at it even though I did the research with comics and stuff, but it's not enough and he's obviously disappointed with me, and I'm not even sure why," Vincenzo rubbed his temples. "I have experience with girls, but none of them have ever reacted like he did after. I can't think of anyone else to ask without being embarrassed.....sorry."
I knew exactly how he felt in this moment. I despaired over whether Danny really liked having sex with me after the first time, because my dad put in my head that people could fake orgasms. For a good few hours, I was terrified that Danny would never want me to touch him again. Luckily my fears were quickly put to rest when Danny kept on jumping on me and begging for more.
"This....is embarrassing." Should I lend him all the books that I had studied?
"I apologize! I know it's rude to pry and a rude question in general. I should just ask the therapist right? So just forget-"
"Ah, it's really fine, it was just unexpected. With Danny....um," I wasn't sure what to say. The most recent time that Danny had seduced me was yesterday. He led me into the bathroom, just told me to watch so he doesn't fall asleep and then started undressing himself, slowly. First, he took off his shoes and slowly pulled of his socks, one by one. He grabbed the bottom of his T-shirt, slowly took it off and let it fall on the floor. He was moving his hips and rubbing his thighs a little, then slowly pulled down his pants. Then he slowly pulled down his matching red boxers and rubbed his buttocks a little before going in shower cabine. He deliberately didn't pull the shower curtain. He let the hot water running down his body and took soap from shelf near by. He made me watch as he started rubbing it against his chest at first, then slowly slid it down to his thighs and dick. It took only 2 minutes of this teasing for me to lose my cool and jump him.
Then, this morning again, when he woke up and caught me masturbating over his sleeping body, in hindsight I guess was being a bit creepy, he kicked himself free of the sheets and got on top of me. I remember his voice as he pleaded "More, I need more of you please...more...more...." Our eyes never once broke contact as he slid himself down on me, letting me finally enter him completely. Once I was deep inside, and his ass sat on my thighs, I lulled my head back and enjoyed watching him riding me.
After that, we went separately for showers. When I finished mine, Danny was cooking me breakfast with nothing but his apron on, and I had to have him again, which I did. Then I had him again at school. As I sat musing in class, my hand unconsciously had moved to touch Danny to my right, rubbing the sensitive area behind his ear. He smiled back, instead of scolding me and moved his hand to rub my leg, moving his gaze to give me what I assumed was his super sexy attempt at an eye-fuck.
Danny then raised his hand and was allowed permission to go to the nurses office, and I was allowed to escort him there. When we arrived in the nurses office, which was luckily empty because the nurse seemed to always be on break, I was shocked when Danny led me to a bed and drew the curtains before pushing me down. Eagerly, he opened my pants and took my dick in his tiny mouth, moving up and down slowly. I didn't last very long, just because I looked at Danny too much. And as I finished, he swallowed every last drop, releasing my dick, and licking his lips obscenely to provoke me further.
Leaning forward, I kissed him, forcing his willing lips apart with my tongue, tasting him, tasting me on him. I felt his hands pulling in my hair as I entered him, our lips meeting again and again, each one more intense than the one before it. Gasping, he pulled away and leaned back, resting his hands on my knees, allowing me to penetrate him even deeper.
"Fuck me, Ashton," he commanded. Obliging, my hands gripped his hips and began to slam him down on to me, my hips rising to meet each and every thrust of mine. Unable to stop the sensation when it started to build in my pelvis, he let out shredded cries.
"Yeah, you like this, baby?" Even without touch, I could see his orgasm was approaching like a fucking bullet train, ready to crash onto me and send me propelling into the depths of a bliss I had rarely visited. Letting go of his hips, my left hand grabbed his dick and two strokes later, he was practically screaming, coming all over his stomach and my hand as his muscles clenched on me with each powerful crest that washed over me.
"That's it, Ashton! Fill me up more! So fucking hot," he whispered in my ear before sucking on the tender skin of my neck. Seconds later, my dick was pulsing inside him, filling him up as I continued to thrust, one hand on his hip the other on his shoulder keeping him as close to me as possible.
"FUCK!" I cried, my jaw tight and eyes clenched. With heavy breaths, i kept my hold on him and laid back on the infirmary bed. After cleaning him up, I watched him take a nap until the lunch bell rang.
Other than our spontaneous rows, it didn't take much for me to get turned on by Danny just being Danny and vise versa. We did a lot of perverted things almost every free moment that came to us. Not that I could detail that to someone else. I especially can't reveal how sexy Danny could be when he was in the mood, and how he'll talk incredibly dirty to me any chance he got, or his love of being dominated by a bigger body.
"Well, I don't think.....I'll be able to talk about it with anyone really. Rather than asking me, just ask Rocco what he likes and go with the flow. Danny's likes are...well they might not be the same as Rocco's," I said feeling my face heat up.
Besides, I really didn't want to tell this guy that Danny was insatiable.
"Rocco said that if I was going to wake him up in the morning, do it with sex. How am I supposed to try anything while he's sleeping?" Vincenzo sighed. It's easy to do, Danny likes doing that to me at least twice a week.
"Well, you just have to give him what he wants somehow. I don't know, wake him up and show him your dick," I suggested. I wonder how Danny would react if I did that to him. "What other hints has he dropped?"
"Doing it on the beach," Vincenzo said. "Ah....why is it embarrassing? He sure is very vocal about it, but this is a lot for me to even handle. I'm not used to any of this at all. I have zero confidence about getting it up in public."
"It's not that hard."
"I'm worried that my ego won't be able to recover if it gets bruised again. Rocco seems to put a lot of importance in sexual compatibility too, so I'm worried that he'll regret it later," Vincenzo sighed. "He's got the loving family and everything going for him at the moment, so what if I become a disappointment for him as well? Really, I'm kind of embarrassed that I still even need to be looked after like this, but I'm just trying to treat him like he's precious, and I'm kind of stupid, what if I end up hurting the him by mistake and-"
"Stop! You're seriously overthinking this entire thing! You're trying out something new, so of course it's different and weird, so just go talk to him about it instead of keeping it to yourself!" I told him, slightly annoyed.
"Be serious!"
"I am! Stop being stupid and just talk to him!" I pushed my hair back in frustration and gave it to him straight. "He likes feeling in charge and like he's on top of the world, so I think if you make him feel worshipped in the bedroom, he'll like it more."
"How do I bring it up?"
"I don't know, why do you have to even bring it up? Just do it!"
"When?"
"I don't know! There's just usually an atmosphere with Danny and I and we just go with it. You gotta understand, I barely know what I'm doing myself. I don't even know how I haven't messed up yet," I started to lead Vincenzo out of the bathroom. "Take it easy and it should-"
"SCREW YOU!!!! YOU PASTY BITCH!!!!" Rocco's voice echoed throughout the restaurant. Danny sat back in his chair watching Rocco, who was doused in some water, with a smug smile and an empty pitcher in his hands. "I don't know if you're rich or what, but don't get it wrong here! You're just sitting in a blessed environment and yet you act like you're so unhappy! Your face makes me wanna vomit!"
"What's your problem?" Danny chuckled, which just seemed to prompt Rocco to try and climb over the table to attack. Vincenzo quickly got behind Rocco and pulled him back into his chair.
"Your existence is a fucking eyesore!"
"What the fuck do you know? Don't fucking mess with me you shit! Get over yourself!" Danny snapped back at him. It was now my turn to hold him back. I wasn't sure how exactly a simple conversation had turned into such a spectacle but it needed to stop right now! Just what the hell was wrong with Rocco?
"Baby, why'd you throw water on him?" I asked.
"He called me Hospice Boy," Danny told me before turning back to Rocco. "I'm actually so over this. Stop with the aggression already! I'm in no way involved in your relationship! You think I haven't dealt with bitches like you before? Try dealing with all of Vincenzo's crazy exs like I have! Your mind is full of nothing but your own selfish bullshit and you think you're better than everybody else! You're sly and shallow with zero substance, just like all of his other exs."
"Dan-"
"Why would you call him that?" Vincenzo asked Rocco. He looked genuinely disturbed enough for me to just let him handle it. "What did he do for you to say something like that?"
"He tried to tell me about....what you like to eat," Rocco explained.
"So you insulted him because he gave you information about me? That makes no sense!" Vincenzo snapped.
"Don't yell at me!"
"Shut up, ugly!" Danny snapped. "I can already tell how you are! You're bitter and you pin your faults on everyone but yourself, shutting you eyes to your own shitty ways, even though anyone with eyes can tell that you aren't making a legitimate effort here. You can't be recognized because you're incompetent and narcissistic as hell. You can only maintain your self respect by clinging onto your infantile omnipotence. A prideful narcissist playing some stupid game, just like Minnie Thompson."
"Who're you calling ugly?"
"You! You're hurt by being called ugly but don't care if you're the one dishing out the hurt? You are just another insignificant bug out there! You act like prey, but you're a predator! You use pity to lure in your victims! That's how you survive! A bear survives because fawns wander off from their parents, and you survive because people think 'Oh, this poor piece of shit, he never gets a break because he looks like a flimsy girl. I can't stand the deafening silent wails of his pitiful soul. I'll guess I'll hang out with him, or date him.' You fucking pathetic loser," Danny finished his rant before picking up his plate of food and finishing it. Rocco looked as if he were fuming with how red he started to turn. Though I also thought what Danny said was a bit harsh, it was absolutely justified.
Vincenzo looked to me for direction but I just shrugged because I wasn't sure what the fuck to do now either. The air was thick with tension that couldn't be cut with a knife.
"Let's just finish up the food?" I suggested.
"Right, the food is pretty good, must be that fillet tuna you told me about. This doesn't taste like it came in a can," Danny smiled at me. "And the chef is really good. We're definitely coming here again."
"I'll give them a good review then," I smiled back at him. From the corner of my eye, I could see Rocco trying to compose himself to not cry and Vincenzo awkwardly trying to soothe him by holding his hand. Strangely, I could sympathize with the awkward position he was put in.
"You sure have a lot of people protecting you. Are you really that bad?" Rocco muttered at Vincenzo.
"There's years of history that I haven't gone into detail about yet," Vincenzo looked a bit beside himself. Like he was tired and ready to give up on lunch today as he shifted his fork through his food a few times. "Just stop being so hostile to my friend. You're doing way too much."
"Are you serious?"
"Yes. They brought us out for an expensive lunch to congratulate us, the least we could do is be grateful for it and act accordingly," Vincenzo finally spoke up. "I'm grateful to them both because they helped me when I was having a hard time and they really didn't have too. They both are doing way more than I actually deserve from them, and I brought you to meet them because they're important people in my life."
"Why's he talking about you like he does then? I swear, he likes you," Rocco stubbornly pouted.
"Of course he can speak about me, I've known him for my entire life, Rocco. He knows more about me than anyone else, including my parents," the vein on Vincenzo's forehead looked as though it would burst at any moment. He was really trying to hold it together.
"Then why don't you know much about him?"
"Because I was a self centered asshole. Look Rocco, this isn't exactly something I want to argue about. You don't have to like him, but for my sake, show some respect, please."
"I don't accept it."
"You should accept things as they are, no matter what happens as a man. With that, there's less to worry about," Vincenzo insisted.
"I didn't think you'd remember anything Mickey told you," Danny said.
"He's the one who kept giving us lessons on how to be men until he went to prison," Vincenzo answered.
"Is this reminiscing normal to you?" Rocco snapped.
"I don't know what normal even is, Rocco! I just want to like someone normally, date normally and fall in love normally. That's it, and it's with you, I just don't get why you're acting like this," Danny and I looked at the two, knowing when to keep quiet. Neither of us could confirm if Vincenzo was willingly ignoring Rocco's god complex or if he truly didn't see it.
"Why would you give flowers to him and accept an invite to lunch?"
"I was going to object, you're the one who said we'll go if there's expensive food. You accepted the meal ticket," Vincenzo pointed out. "Let's just go and talk about it somewhere private."
"Why can't you say anything in front of them?" Rocco mumbled but ate his food as well. "Why couldn't you just say that you didn't like Tuna? Why let him tell me your favorite dish?"
"You-" a loud bang at our table made everyone jump. Danny had taken a knife and stabbed it into the wooden table. He gave us all an innocent smile, but his eyes remained hostile.
Is this that dark side Mickey warned me about coming out? "Baby, Sh-should I get you something?" I asked taking his hand from the knife and holding it in my hands. He was shaking. "Anything I can do for you?"
"Yeah, don't waste your food," Danny said. "Relax, I'm not planning on doing anything, I was just annoyed with all this."
"I'll take you on a makeup date then," I suggested.
"You just want to get laid, you perv," Danny chuckled suggestively.
"You're right," I admitted. "But I can still take you on that date tomorrow."
"Tomorrow we have dinner with Mickey. And we don't need a makeup date, Ash. This is a lot better than watching Sam and Soyoung fight. I even had my adrenaline pumping. In fact, I can't wait for the car ride home," he looked directly at Rocco.
"Like you can do anything to me," Rocco scoffed.
"Challenge accepted," Danny replied. Vincenzo and I looked at each other, obviously at a loss for words at the brewing rivalry that didn't have to happen. Nothing could really be said in the first place as the two were sucking all the oxygen from the restaurant.
"Let's not fight-" I was shut up by a glare from both of them.
Why couldn't we just get along? I just wanted a bit a peace but Danny was clearly choosing violence and there was nothing I could do about it!