Salvatore had told the guard on duty that if Felix came, he was to be told to go home. Salvatore wasn’t available. He was sleeping. Whatever Felix wanted could wait until tomorrow.

He started to feel annoyed at the sight of Felix because he knew what the man was going to do. He was tired of saying the same thing over and over again.

He had never realized that Felix, whom he knew to be usually calm and quiet, could be so persistent.

But if he expected the man to back down tonight, it seemed he was wrong.

He was on the sofa in his room with a glass of wine and his phone when the knocking started.

He sighed.

He didn’t look up from his phone.

The knocking continued.

He turned a page in whatever he was reading and said nothing.

The knocking came again, three more times, evenly spaced.

He set the phone down. The guards knocked once, maybe twice. He knew this was Felix.

That crazy man.

He exhaled. "Come in!"

The door opened. Felix stepped inside with a black bag in his hand and a smile. He was aware he wasn’t welcome and had decided not to care.

Salvatore looked at the bag and then looked away. He knew what was in it.

"We can talk tomorrow," Salvatore said. "I’m tired."

"You’re not tired." Felix closed the door behind him. "I know you’re avoiding me."

"Felix."

"I’m not leaving until you give me a chance tonight."

"I’m serious. I’m tired. Go home." Salvatore picked up his phone again.

Felix walked across the room toward the bed, past the half-curtain that separated the sleeping area from the sitting area.

Salvatore closed his eyes in annoyance but stayed on the sofa and listened to the sound of the bag being set down on the floor.

"I will not sleep with you," Salvatore said, loud enough to carry past the curtain. "I’ve said it. I’m not saying it again."

"You haven’t tried."

"I don’t need to try. What’s wrong with you?!"

"Just once."

"Felix." His voice was flat. "No."

He heard the zipper open, then the sound of clothing being removed.

He stood up from the sofa and looked at Felix.

Felix was standing beside the bed without his pants, unbuttoning his shirt, completely unfazed.

Salvatore sighed. He glanced briefly at the ceiling, then looked back at Felix. "Don’t."

Felix continued.

Salvatore stood there for a moment, watching this unfold. His expression calculated how long he could tolerate it before his patience ran out completely.

Salvatore looked on in disbelief as Felix stood naked beside the bed. He was silent for a moment before resigning himself. "You know what, I’m done. You want to sleep here? Go ahead!"

He turned around and walked out of the room.

Felix was stunned, shocked. He hadn’t expected the man to leave him like this.

"Sal—"

Salvatore closed the door behind him and walked quickly to the living room. Anywhere was better than his own room right now. He still respected Felix as his friend; otherwise, who knew what he might do.

The living room was dark except for the light from the hallway. Salvatore sat on the couch and pressed two fingers against his temple.

He had his wine glass, but he’d left it in the room, which meant he had nothing. He sighed in frustration.

After a while of calm and quiet, he heard footsteps from the kitchen corridor.

He turned his gaze. The shadow slowly came into clearer view.

It was Milo.

The young man appeared barefoot. He was in his pajamas.

Milo saw Salvatore and stopped completely. He looked terrified, as if he’d been caught stealing.

They looked at each other.

"Sir," Milo said. "Aren’t you asleep yet?"

"Why are you walking around at this hour?"

Milo swallowed hard. He wasn’t good at lying. "I... I was hungry. I took some cake from the kitchen. I’m sorry."

Salvatore looked at him. He realized Milo had a big appetite for his thin frame. "Eat as much as you want; I’m not so poor that I’d go bankrupt because you took some cake."

Milo started to say something about replacing it, or paying for it, or something along those lines.

Salvatore wasn’t really listening. He was looking at Milo and thinking. An idea suddenly struck him.

He’d better give Felix a wake-up call, to make it clear he was serious about his feelings.

Salvatore looked at Milo. "Come here."

Milo stopped explaining about the cake. "Sorry?"

"Come here." Salvatore stood up from the sofa. He walked over to where Milo was standing and took him by the arm, not roughly, just firmly enough to guide him in a certain direction.

"Sir?" Milo looked up at him, worried. "What—"

"I need you to help me with something."

"Yes?"

Five minutes later.

Milo hadn’t expected something like this to happen.

He was in Salvatore’s bed! Together with the man!

He was sitting on the edge of Salvatore’s bed in his pajamas, trying to figure out how he’d ended up in this situation.

Salvatore had pulled the curtain back so the bed area wasn’t visible from the sofa.

Felix was on the sofa now, wrapped in the bedsheet he’d apparently pulled off the bed, too shocked to react. But he sat still anyway.

His clothes were on the sofa beside him, along with his bag.

He could hear everything behind the curtain, his face bright red.

"Sir..."

Milo’s voice.

Felix clenched his hands tightly. His face was stiff. How dare Milo use that seductive voice on Salvatore?

He knew he should leave, if he had any self-respect. But he couldn’t move. He could only hold back his overwhelming emotions.

He knew he was pathetic, but he just couldn’t help himself.

Inside, Salvatore was sitting on the bed next to Milo. He hadn’t done anything inappropriate. He just stayed there, asking Milo to make some noise.

Milo was so confused. He just tried to call out to the man as quietly as possible.

After a moment, Salvatore just smiled at how tense Milo was.

"Don’t be scared..." he said loudly, but this time he wasn’t pretending.

That was enough for Felix to imagine what they were doing. All his imagination focused on the intimacy between Milo and Salvatore.

Milo gulped, staying still. He just nodded.

Suddenly, Salvatore sat closer to him and pinched his hip.

"Aargh!" Milo screamed, shocked. He grimaced as he looked at Salvatore, who was smiling.

On the other hand, Salvatore was supposed to be pretending to be intimate with the boy, but as he looked at Milo, he felt tempted.

The boy looked so innocent and cute.

"Relax," Salvatore said quietly, just to him.

"I am... trying to relax," Milo said, his voice stiff.

Felix made a short sound from the sofa. "Salvatore."

Salvatore didn’t turn around. He reached out and adjusted the collar of Milo’s shirt with two fingers in a gesture that was completely unnecessary but very visible from the sofa.

Milo froze.

"Your training was good today," Salvatore said to him. "Better than yesterday."

Milo stared at him. He was clearly trying to figure out if there was a normal response to this conversation or if he was missing something significant. "Thank you, sir."

"Don’t call me ’sir’ when we’re sitting here."

Milo opened his mouth. Closed it. "What do I call you?"

From the sofa, Felix said, louder, "Salvatore. What are you doing? Stop it!"

Salvatore smiled. "Why are you still in my room?"

Felix was so upset. His jaw was tight. "You’re doing this on purpose."

"I have no idea what you mean. You wanted to be in my room. You’re in my room."

"You brought him here!"

"He was scared to sleep alone, so I brought him here." Salvatore turned back to Milo and smiled.

Milo looked down, uncomfortable.

Felix stood up from the sofa, still holding the sheet around him. "This isn’t funny."

"Then go home!" Salvatore said.

"No. You brought someone else into your room just to make me jealous."

"You came into my room uninvited and took your clothes off. I didn’t comment on your flirting."

Felix stared at him, his face a mix of emotions.

"Salvatore—"

"Felix." Salvatore’s voice dropped to something quieter and more direct. "Go home. Get dressed, grab your bag, and go home. Sleep. Come back tomorrow and we can talk, and I’ll tell you the same thing I’ve been telling you, and maybe this time you’ll actually hear it." He paused. "But tonight, I’m asking you to leave."

Felix stood there for a moment.

Felix went behind the curtain. There was the sound of clothing. A minute later, he came out dressed, bag over his shoulder, and walked to the door. He stopped with his hand on it.

"Goodnight, Felix."

Felix left. The door closed.

The room was quiet.

Salvatore was looking at Milo. Something in his expression was tired.

"Sorry," Salvatore said after a moment.

Milo just stayed still.