Matt spent a long time in the bathroom, trying and failing to cover his hickey up. Why did Jarmour have to do that? Matt knew it was partially his fault. If he hadn't of wavered in his devotion to Pepe, none of this would've happened.
Matt sighed and put down cold spoon he was trying to use to fade the hickey. It was pointless. Jarmour was one nippy little chef. The hickey was deep and purple, almost black. It was gonna be there for a while. There was no way he could get away with this. Taking a deep, shaky breath, Matt stepped out of the bathroom.
Jarmour was waiting outside the door, filing his long nails. He took one look at Matt's neck and burst out laughing. "Pepe's gonna be so mad at you!" he wheezed, bent over double, "He's gonna send you straight home like the last one!"
Matt blinked. "The last one?" he said slowly, turning to look at Jarmour, "Sent home?" It hadn't even occurred to him that Pepe had had other boys, or maybe even girls, in this house. He wanted to think that he was the first, but Pepe was too sexy for that. He must've had thousands of people in his bed. And the thought of being sent home and losing Pepe was making him sick.
"Oh, you can't be serious," Jarmour said, the laugh dying instantly, "Did you think Pepe was gonna keep you around forever? He plays and then he gets bored and finds a new toy. I'm the only person that's stayed in this house longer than a week."
Matt blinked again and felt his knees get weak. With a groan, he sank to the floor. A week? Is that all he would have with Pepe? What would he do without him? Even though it had only been a day, Matt felt like he would lose a part of himself if he left. A life without Pepe wasn't a life Matt wanted to have. He felt tears start to well up.
"Poor kid," Jarmour said, turning around to go back to the dining room, "You'll get over it. The others did too."
Matt stayed in the hallway crying long after Jarmour had left. Jarmour's words stung. He didn't want to think of himself as a number to Pepe. Pepe made him feel special, but was he really? Or was he just a toy? Just then, Matt heard the door to the house open.
He stood up quickly, wiping the tears from his eyes and trying to adjust his shirt to cover the hickey. Taking another deep breath, he plastered a smile on his face and stepped out to greet Pepe. "Welcome back!" He said happily.
Pepe smiled and ran his eyes up and down Matt's body. He could almost feel Pepe mentally undressing him. Pepe continued to look up and down, then suddenly stopped. He frowned and his face started to turn an ugly red color. His bulging eyes got even bigger. "Matt?" He asked, his voice strangely calm in contrast to his crazy colour, "What's that on your neck?"
Matt started to respond but before he could say anything, Pepe was on him in an instant. He had Matt's neck in his hand and was forcing him up against the wall. "Who did this?" He screamed, "Why? Did you think I wouldn't see this?"
Matt started to sob again and tried to wiggle out of Pepe's grasp, but the grip tightened and he felt Pepe shake him a bit. Matt screamed and cried louder. "Jarmour!" He wailed, "It was Jarmour!" Pepe's hand disappeared immediately. Matt sank to the floor and sucked in air.
"Why?" Pepe asked again, his face still angry and red.
Matt hiccuped, overcome by tears. He had failed Pepe. Slowly, he started to explain all the events of the morning, starting with the napkin incident and ending with the discussion the two had by the bathroom.
Pepe growled, low and deep. Despite Matt's sadness and fear, he thought the growl was pretty sexy. "Jarmour's wrong!" Pepe spat, his voice raw, "Yes, there've been others, but you're different. You're not a toy. You're a human. A human I crave. A human I'll never let go." Pepe bent down and caressed Matt's neck, gently kissing the bright handprint he had left there. "I'm sorry, Matty," Pepe said, "I'll take care of Jarmour. We'll pretend this never happened." Without another word, Pepe took off for the kitchen.
Matt buried his head in his hands. His neck hurt so bad. He knew there would be bruises there. Pepe had terrified him. How could something he loved so much scare him so bad? He heard thuds and a muffled scream come from the kitchen. He quickly stood up and took off running for the bedroom.
