Connor put down the newspaper with a satisfied huff. The coffee gargled in the coffee machine which told him it was almost finished. Just right in time.
From the next room, he could hear the squeaking of his bed. Another satisfied huff. He would have never thought he would have a chance with Joe, given the fact that Joe was out of his league and five years younger than him, but he got proved wrong within the last six dates.
He didn’t plan for Joe to stay at his place but it happened somehow. The well known soft tingle Connor always got around Joe crawled all over his body as his guest came around.
“I hope this is coffee I smell. I will kill mercilessly without a proper coffee.”
“You really think I let you drive to work without coffee?”
The though amused Connor and for a moment he contemplated to try it.
“Well, you have a mean bone in you sometimes.”
“But not when it involves poor animals. I can’t let my favorite vet go without coffee. What will you do to the poor animals when you are still asleep?”
Joe shot him a dirty look over the rim of his coffee mug.
“You don’t even have a pet.”
“I still can like animals.”
With a nod, Joe poured himself another mug and downed it like it was a shot. A delighted smile appeared on his face much to Connor’s surprise.
“That is true. But it is also true I need to get to my place and change clothes. My receptionist is a nosy woman who will ask questions I don’t like to answer today.”
“Why?”
Slowly Connor folded the newspaper with a curious glance. It had a nice side effect that he had a good view of Joe’s naked upper body.
“’ Cause I have no idea where this here is heading to and I am surely not ready to make you meet her. She will chew on your ear till you get murder fantasies.”
Both chuckled at that statement.
“Yeah, these people are a pest. What about I drop you off at your place when I head to work?”
“Wouldn’t it be a detour?”
“Only a small one of a few minutes.”
“In this case, I gratefully accept your offer.”
Joe dropped a playful bow. It was this playfulness that made Connor interested in him in the first place. A trait he loved and cherished about him.Â
When Connor hung around the bar two days later he only felt small remorse because Joe wasn’t there with him. On the other side, it would have made a lot of things complicated and Connor hated it when the thing he planned to do got complicated.
He eyed his target from the corner of his eye. The guy in an expansive suite laughed too loud and the way he behaved towards the woman next to him made Connor sick to the bone. All of his research told him suit guy was a suitable target and deserved what was coming multiple times if this would have been possible.
A deep sigh escaped Connor. Sometimes it exhausted him to have a codex. The guy in the newspaper seemed to have none that made him angry. Killing just for the thrill always made him nauseous.
Hours later suite guy left the bar, but only after he grabbed the waitress’ ass multiple times, didn’t tip her and if someone would have asked Connor, there was only a small step from suit guys behavior and rape in a public space.
Connor sneaked after him and waited till the woman sat in an uber. This was his chance. Slowly he strolled behind suit guy and waited for the moment he could act. He took his time to be sure they were alone. Then he acted. It was fast and skilled. This wasn’t Connors first rodeo.
An hour later he already had suit guy hanging up from chains in the empty storage facility. The headphone canceled the whining from suit guy so Connor could think in peace. Some men really didn’t know how to die in honor. On the other side there was never a single drop of honor in suit guy's body anyway.
A few minutes later he had an idea of how to begin. This will be a delightful night. He straightened his back and put the music on the speaker. In the end, he saw himself still like some kind of artist and only a few knew the art of killing well.
When the cops will find suit guy it will just look like he ran into the wrong kind of people and no one ever would expect it was Connor. A satisfied smile appeared as he took the first utensil.
This will be fun.
The date with Joe a week later was exactly what he needed to calm his mind. Too many victims and not enough time. It was important to him to keep the cover as a construction worker which meant he could follow his passion only every now and then.  But Joe made the wait worthwhile. Seeing him between his creative nights became a source of light in Connor’s life he never expected.
“What are you thinking about?”, Joe sneaked up behind him with laughter in his voice.
“Just how lucky I am to met you.”
“Oh you are a lucky bastard, my friend.”
As Joe moved around him and into the light of the streetlamp Connor noticed some blood on the collar of Joe’s shirt.
“Bloody day, huh?”
For a moment it seemed like Joe felt...caught? A short breath later Connor threw the thought away while Joe examined his collar with serious interest.
“Damn, that was a wild kitty. I didn’t notice that.”
“Wild kitty?”
“Yeah, a young cat who managed to cut herself while outside. She fought against me and the vet technician like we were the culprits. The whole examination room looked like murder just took place.”
Connor stifled a laughter. Memories of his deceased cat who hated veterinarians from the bottom of her heart came into his mind.
“Yeah, some seem to be possessed as soon as they see your kind.”
“That is a fitting description. So shall we?”
Joe dropped a bow with a mischievous smile. One of the few honest smiles appeared on Connor’s face as he walked past him.
“If the fettuccine isn’t as good as you said I will hold you responsible for it.”
“Oh believe me, they are to die for but what is that scratch?”
Before Connor could react Joe touched the small cut on Connor’s face he got while dealing with suit guy. In the end, the moron proved himself stronger than expected.
“Oh that”, Connor shrugged it off with an easy-going tone, “Sort of a work accident. A guy working above me lost his tool and it nicked me.”
“Damn, I think we both need a break.”
“You have no idea...”
Just right in time, Connor stopped himself from sighing.
Time flew by. Dates and his passion took turns like the tides. Connor felt like he found a good balance between both and the first time in years he thought he could be happy without the need to give up his hunts.
While he rummaged in his cellar to the music and watched his latest target slowly coming back to his senses Connor felt strangely at peace. A state of mind he didn’t fell since his first murder.
His eyebrow softly rose as he noted this thought along with the circumstance that his victim woke up faster than thought. He changed the music before he went in to go to work on him. Something special was about to happen to the guy on the ropes before him and it let Connor shiver in excitement. It was the third time he even did this at home. But deep down he had to admit it was a special kind of kick it gave him and with the knowledge, it would be Valentine’s Day tomorrow and Joe would come over made it all perfect.
The muffled scream of the guy on the ropes was covered by the music that made Connor snicker. This was what he lived for. Slowly and skilled he cut the skin on the surface. Just enough to make his victim feel the fear rising in him and getting worked up with his own fantasies what Connor could do to him. It was always fun to see the thoughts run wild in his victims. How each of them reacted to the promise of the things to come.
He was so caught up in his work that he barely heard the music anymore. This partially engrossed state was the thing that gave him his kick. The power he held over his victims and the fact they knew it. It mixed with the excitement of tomorrow’s promise. After dating for months he hoped it was about time to go down on each other.
Another shiver ran down his spine while he cut the skin of his victim in a different place.
“Connor?”
That was Joe’s voice.
“Where are you?”
And it was dangerously close to the cellar door.
Before Connor could wrap his head around the fact and react to the new circumstance, the door opened. The light from the kitchen blinded him for a moment. That was the moment Connor feared since they started dating. He didn’t see Joe’s face but heard the door went shut again followed by another blindness thanks to the sudden darkness.
Footsteps above told him Joe was still inside the house.
In a hurry and swearing under his breath, Connor sedated his victim again to finish what he started as soon as he cleared the situation with Joe. He threw his scrubs aside as he ran after Joe.
The front door squeaked and gave away the location. As fast as possible Connor ran outside. He caught a glimpse of Joe as he ran around the corner at the end of the street. Only a part of his brain admired how fast Joe was.
A few more turns later Connor lost him somewhere in the outskirts of the area close to the park. He was about to go home and decide what to do when he heard a woman squeal and yell in terror.
Curious Connor followed the noise. A few seconds later he noticed she ran around so it was impossible to pinpoint where the thing that made her react actually was. Nonetheless, he wandered around a bit more until he reached the part that leads to the small woods.
A thud next to him made him jump surprised. A closer examination told Connor it was a man with his throat cut open pretty sloppy. He knew this kind of work from the newspapers. The killer he despised was around.
“Ah...”, Joe sighed relieved from close by, “That is better.”
The confusion grew in Connor and he hated it.
He was the one who planned his actions beforehand.
He was the one who stayed always in control.
This was so far away from a plan like snow in summer.
Joe came out of the woods. His clothes were bloody and he cleaned a hunting knife with a kleenex.
“You?”
“Could have said the same”, Joe laughed but shook his head a moment later, “You surprised me there.”
“Why did you ran away?”
Carefully Connor kept a few feet distance between him and Joe. He hated the fact he had no weapon with him.
“Oh, that? Like I said you surprised me and I have to admit my self-control isn’t the best. Especially when I am already worked up.”
“What? Worked up from what?”
Joe let the knife fall forward with the point aimed at Connor.
The complete loss of control made Connor itchy.
“You know, I haven’t killed in weeks. I wanted to keep myself together for the sake of us. Who would know we have more in common than we already know? And honestly, daydreaming about fucking you the whole day and then I have to see you like this...”, Joe shuddered with a smile, “That was a weird combination and I just needed to kill. I needed to feel the hot blood pouring over my hands as life escapes my victim.”
“You really lack self-control.”
Connor took a few steps back. The way Joe behaved lead him to expect everything.
“I know.”
Joe scratched the back of his head like a teenager who got caught jerking off.
“What now?”, Connor narrowed his eyes on Joe.
Why was he still damn attractive?
“It is up to you.”
“To me?”
“Yeah...”, Joe nodded and put the knife away.
Now Connor knew where it came from. It was hidden in the back of Joe’s belt.
“Will you sell me out?”
Joe started to laugh. He walked past Connor like the last half an hour didn’t happen at all.
“Hell no. Why should I? Besides that, I have a different idea of what to do.”
“That would be?”
With big steps, Joe was in front of Connor and bent forward.
“Why not finish what you started and then I’ll make you scream my name the whole night until you are finished?”, he whispered into Connor’s ear.
This time it was Connor who shuddered.
A partner in crime was nothing he ever considered. This was too good to be true.
“Under one condition.”
“Whatever you wish.”
“I’ll teach you self-control. Something like this...”, Connor nodded towards Joe’s victim, “… can’t happen again. You will get caught soon.”
“Deal.”
Connor felt the smile against his ear and Joe’s hand on his crotch.
“Oh and one more thing”, Joe started again.
“What?”, Connor snapped in a whisper.
The roller coaster he had been put through made him bitchy.
“Ever thought about exsanguinating a victim? You have a perfect set up down there.”
The shiver that went down Connor’s spine was epic. His mind went crazy with mental images of him and Joe doing it together followed by how they fucked the whole night long.
“We should go home. The cops will be here soon”, Connor stated as he regained his composure a moment later.
“At your service.”
Smiles full of anticipation appeared on both faces as Joe got rid of the bloody shirt and stuffed it into his pants pocket as good as possible. Connor watched him with a nod.
Yeah, this will be fun. In more than just one way.
