Broken Compass

I’m just so fucking pissed that I actually flirt back when Molly the blond trainer hits on me again, and then Sydney shows up at the gym, out of the blue.

Sydney. What is she doing here? I stare at her red curls, her familiar curves, but I don’t pull away from Molly, not yet. I keep up the pretense long enough for Sydney to see.

I’m an asshole, I know. But just for a moment, it feels good to see Sydney’s face fall, her pretty eyes darken as she notices my hand on Molly’s arm on top of the front desk, her head bent close to mine.

And I realize I can’t go through with it any longer. I promise Molly to meet her for drinks, though I have no plan of following through, and watch her as she sways her way to the back of the gym, looking very satisfied.

“Nate.” Sydney is marching up to me, eyes blazing and red hair streaming, her green tank top cut low enough I see the swells of her tits. “Seriously?”

Jesus, man, she’s so sexy when she’s pissing mad.

“Seriously, what?” I pretend not to know what she’s talking about. “What are you doing here?”

“You have a girlfriend?” she demands, placing her hands on the desk, those small h

ands with the squarish nails painted red that held me last night.

I just look at her.

“Oh my God, really?” She glances the way Molly has gone. “When were you going to tell me?”

My fingers curl over the desk, tightening into fists. “What are you doing here, Syd?”

“I wanted to talk to you.”

“Well, you found me. Talk.”

Anger still sparks in her pretty eyes, but pain is a shadow darkening her gaze. “I wanted to tell you that me and West…” She swallows, the flush on her cheeks deepening, and hell if it doesn’t make me wanna push her against the wall and kiss her senseless, shove up her blouse and lick her tits, push aside her panties and sink into her. “We just…”

“You fucked.” My fury and my arousal are one and the same. I can’t pull them apart. I can’t decide if I’m angrier that she fucked West, or that he fucked her. That I saw her with Kash, or that I saw Kash with her. Damn. “Say it, Syd. You fucked like bunnies. And why do you think I give a shit? Go back. He may be missing you.”

“Don’t do this, Nate. And we didn’t fuck. I wanted to tell you—”

“But you didn’t tell me. You slept with West. And Kash. And came close to sleeping with me. Yeah, I know about West. I overheard you last night telling Kash.”

“So you went and got yourself a girlfriend? Or, wait. How long have you been going out with her?”

Suddenly my small act of revenge feels too heavy to bear. “I haven’t, Syd. She’s not my girlfriend. But it doesn’t matter. We can’t be together. You know it.”

“Why the hell not?”

Shit, she’s still pissed.

Still sexy as all fuck.

“You want West. And Kash. Not me.”

“I need you all. You, West, Kash.”

I’m not even sure what she’s saying. Not sure what to say, either. I need the guys, too, but are we talking about the same thing here? Are we talking about friendship, or lust, or what exactly? It makes my head hurt.

“You can’t,” I tell her, making my voice harsh, cruel, because I don’t know what to say. “You can’t have it all, Syd. You can’t have us all. You need to choose.”

But even as I say it I’m afraid of what might happen if she does.

“I can’t…” she whispers.

“Can’t what?”