Episode 2

Chapter 02

Sergeant Eduardo Santos. Thirty-two years old. Six foot one.

I commanded a police team that fought the trafficking of stolen goods.

Knock. Knock.

The world was spinning, and the sound of someone knocking at the door seemed to be coming from inside my skull. Little by little, I woke with difficulty and managed to open my eyes. The bitter taste in my mouth told me I had drunk far more than I should have.

"Fuck! Fuck! What did I do?"

Panic hit me when a distant memory of what had happened surfaced in my mind.

I jumped out of bed completely naked. In that moment, I could see this was not my room, and it wasn't any of the rooms where I was used to sleeping either.

Thoughts crashed through my head.

"Where am I? What am I doing here?"

Knock. Knock. Knock.

The knocking came again, insistent. I found the sheet thrown on the floor, wrapped it around my waist, and walked to the door. I needed to know who was knocking on that damned door.

"Good afternoon, sir."

A young man in full uniform stood right outside.

"Who are you?"

I asked because I needed to figure out where I was.

"I'm the housekeeper for this hotel. I came to let you know your time is up, and we need to clean the room," the young man answered seriously, looking at me.

I glanced from one side to the other without any idea where I could possibly be.

"What time is it?" I asked him.

He looked at the watch on his wrist before answering.

"Sir, it's already six in the evening. Your room was paid for until this hour."

"Someone paid for the room?"

"Yes. A man left the room paid for," he answered as naturally as anything.

I thought I must not have heard him right. He had really said a man had paid for the room.

"Okay. I'm almost leaving."

I practically shut the door in the guy's face, I was so embarrassed.

My God, what had I done? How had I ended up in this room? And with a man?

I looked back at the room. It was completely destroyed. I walked through the mess, searching for my clothes, then hurried into the small bathroom. I needed to see the state I was in. The image reflected in the mirror wasn't good at all. My body was covered in marks and scratches all over my chest. I really must have been drugged. How could I have reached that point? I didn't remember anything. I ran a hand over my ass, and it didn't hurt, so I hadn't been the passive one that night.

I threw myself under the shower. I needed to clean my body and the smell of sex from my skin, along with the memories of the night before.

As the water poured down my body, the memory came like a video: a guy approaching me at the bar. I remembered a dark-skinned man with black eyes and a closed-off expression.

Then I remembered what had made me end up alone at a bar, drinking myself stupid.

Hours Earlier

"I'd like to know how long we're going to keep dragging out this engagement, Eduardo."

Once again, I was arguing with my fiancee, Lisa. We had been engaged for more than two years. I knew her family, and she knew mine. We worked in bed and out of it. But I had never stopped to think about marriage or having children the way she wanted.

That had been the reason behind our constant fights over the past few months. Lisa was twenty-eight. She wanted to get married and have children. I wanted the opposite.

I ran from both things like the devil ran from the cross. I saw some soldiers with wives and children, and I knew how painful it was for them when they left for work. I had grown up watching my father live that routine. Every time he left for any police job, my mother cried around the house. That wasn't what I wanted for my wife.

"We've already talked about this, Lisa," I reminded her.

The conversation was annoying, but it needed to be said.

Lisa was holding a suitcase. She didn't live here, but she already had several pieces of clothing and personal things scattered around my house.

"I think we should take some time, Eduardo."

Her voice was very serious.

"Time? You're asking me for time, Lisa?"

I thought I had heard her wrong, so I asked her to repeat it.

"Yes. I don't want to grow old dating. All my friends are already married or engaged, and they already have children."

"Baby, but... we're good like this."

I tried to hug her, but she pulled away from me.

"I'm going on a trip with some friends, and I hope you think hard about what really matters in your life."

She grabbed her bag and left, slamming the door. She didn't look back, and I didn't go after her the way I did every time we fought. If she wanted time, then I would give her time.

But today was not my day. Earlier, I had been informed that I would have to work with an army sergeant. According to the information, he was an excellent soldier, but also a ticking time bomb. I knew he had taken part in several missions both inside and outside the country, and his record was enviable.

There was no photograph of Sergeant Benjamin Santiago. But it didn't matter. When he showed up to introduce himself, we would meet face-to-face. What I needed was a cold beer to cool my head. After all that, I needed to be alone.

I changed quickly and put on a cap to disguise my long hair and unshaved beard.

I chose a little bar away from the condominium where I lived. The place was busy. Whenever I was alone, women started circling me. I was calm about it. I didn't cheat on Lisa. That night, all I really wanted was to relax.

Almost an hour later, a beautiful woman appeared with a drink in her hand. She came in all seductive, trying to start a conversation, but I wasn't in the mood to talk that night. To get rid of her, I took a sip of the drink she offered me. She stayed there beside me for a few minutes more and then walked away. Within minutes, my head began to spin, my body grew heavy, and drowsiness started taking over.

I don't know where he came from, but a guy appeared beside me with a rough voice and started talking to me. I remember saying I wasn't gay, and him confirming that he wasn't either.

Everything blurred. In flashes, I remembered leaving the bar while he pulled me along.

It all happened fast. In minutes, we were in the room, and I was shoving him against the door hard, taking control of the situation. I shook my head several times, wanting to get the images of that night out of it. Everything had been madness. I had completely lost control of my body and let myself be carried away by the emotions of the moment.

Reality

I began dressing in a rush, hoping I would never cross paths with that guy again in my life. I kept repeating it in my mind.

"I'm not gay. I'm not gay. I'm not gay."

It had all been the drink's fault. I wanted to believe that so badly, but it wouldn't have happened otherwise.

I found my clothes scattered around the room and got dressed. I left suspiciously, pulling the cap down over my head to cover my face. I passed reception without even looking that way. I just wanted to get out of that hotel as fast as possible.

I was lucky there was a free taxi driver in front of the hotel. Now all I wanted was to get home, take a serious shower, and sleep.

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