“Why would I care aboutthat?”
“‘Cause you wanna bang a chick and you think I’m some psychotic cockblock who will fuck it up for you. What would you even tell Cora? That we broke up?” He was getting angrier by the second and now sure he wanted to stay. He’d show Hammer at that party just how much hedidn’tcare for him or his stupid opinions.
He flinched when Hammer appeared behind the fogging plexiglass and knocked on it. “Get over yourself.”
That stung. He was a good fuck. He’d leaned right into Hammer’s needs, into the dirty talk. But he was no doormat.
“Fine. I’m not staying in your bed then!” He poked right back and turned off the water.
Hammer looked back toward the bedroom. “I never asked for it. You can just sleep in one of the sex rooms, or on the sofa.”
Dex frowned, taken aback. “What? So now you’re too good to sleep in the same bed with me? You’re afraid I’m gonna jump you or something? Who needs to get over themself now, huh?” He pushed the door open with enough force to slam it into Hammer.
“Dex, that’s not what I meant. Will you shut up for a second?” Hammer demanded and grabbed his forearm.
Oh, his grip felt so good. Dex pulled back just to test how hard he was being held and found the force behind it so wonderfully steady.
“I’m just commenting on what you said! What, is that no longer allowed?”
“You couldn’t have heard something Ididn’tsay. You’re projecting. You were the one who said it’s hard for you to be here, so I offered a solution,” Hammer barked and shoved him onto the bed, towering over him, still covered with smeared blood.
Dex knew he should want to be around reasonable people who lived their lives within social norms, but he never felt this much desire and excitement pumping through his veins when around them. Hammer, on the other hand, was like a thick dark cloud offering pleasant shade but might also bring hail without warning.
“I’d rather go sleep with the fucking tiger than with you right now!”
A lie, a stupid fucking lie to preserve his ego, because he couldn’t keep his tongue from wagging. Why was he like this? Maybe the pain of being rejected made him itch for havoc? He didn’t even know, because his brain was sluggish yet chaotic like thick soup with random ingredients, and he was getting hungry again. And his ass was sore.
But Hammer was like a rock mocking Dex’s instability with his very existence. “Again, I never asked you to sleep here. You can stay wherever you want, although I think there are many more comfortable places than the cage. You’d be punishing yourself, not me.”
Dex got to his feet and grabbed one of Cora’s oversized T-shirts out of the open wardrobe. What else was he gonna sleep in? “I’ll obviously be taking the bedding from the sex room!” He poked his forehead, squinting at Hammer. “Have you even thought about how the tiger would feel if I disappeared? Rogue would be fine, but Bandit’s dying, and he needs the emotional support. But no, you didn’t think about that, because you don’t care about people’s feelings.”
Hammer squinted. “I’m pretty sure the tiger doesn’t know it’s dying. Cora’s giving him everything he needs, but be my guest, go and hold his paw.”
Dex pulled on the clean T-shirt, and his shoulders sagged. He’d mentioned the tiger because that was the first thing that came to his mind, but a wave of sadness crashed into him as soon as he’d said it. All the cancer-related stuff always brought him down.
“Sure. And I’ll jerk him off while I’m at it,” he barked and walked off without looking back.
“There’s barbs in his dick,” Hammer called after him, once again mocking Dex for existing. Typical. Bastard took what he wanted and now treated Dex like a used tissue that belonged under the bed, where no one could see it!
Maybe this was what Dex deserved for the many times he had ghosted people after hook-ups, but he’d been sure he and Hammer had aconnection. It must have been one-sided and therefore Dex needed to stop caring about Hammer’s opinions because he’d so far tried to impress Hammer and sought his approval like some stupid kid.
The sex rooms used during Cora’s monthly parties were all equipped with beds, so he entered one and grabbed a fresh set of bedding prepared for the upcoming event. He carried it on his back, the way thieves transported stolen goods in cartoons, and since he felt at ease in that role, he took a can of beer and a bag of chips from the kitchen before heading off to the cat house. He didn't want to return to the house this evening if he could help it.
Bandit seemed to recognize him by now, because he didn’t bother to move from his favorite corner of the cage and only opened his eyes, peeking at Dex. The other tiger, who was younger and more curious of its human neighbor, was somewhere outside, so Dex didn’t waste time and arranged a nest for himself on the old mattress, now annoyed that he hadn’t taken any sweatpants, but that ship had sailed.
With hands clenched in frustration, he sat down and shut his eyes, but even trying to steady his breathing didn’t help. The soft pad of massive paws made him look up in time to see Bandit dropping his massive form closer to the bars separating them, and he started licking his leg. His fur was still fluffy, but did that mean he still had a long time to live or that he wasn’t getting life-saving treatment reserved for people?
“I know, I fucked up,” Dex said, pulling a blanket over his shoulders. He should have taken socks too, but all his clothes had been left behind in Hammer’s bathroom, which was a definite no-go zone.
“I pushed too hard, and now the one guy that seems to be on the same wavelength as me hates me. Why couldn’t I just back off? I need him to like me, but now he thinks I’m some insatiable slut with no brain and a tiger lover. No offense.”
Bandit yawned, showing off his teeth. Half his paw rested inside Dex’s cell, barely fitting between the bars, and it immediately reminded Dex of Hammer telling him to hold the tiger’s paw. With the blanket on his back, Dex slid closer to the animal on all fours.
“Maybe you need that though? Some love?”
Golden eyes watched him from the big orange, white, and black face resting atop the other paw, and once the claws that had just been out for a quick clean retracted, Dex was tempted to push his hand in and boop Bandit’s nose.
What could this sick animal do to him? And since Baby was used to humans, wouldn’t Bandit be too? On top of that, he was very well fed and surely satiated after tonight’s late dinner, so he should hardly have interest in becoming a killing machine.