“Well, I wouldn’t have objected to a few tears,” I murmured back jokingly.
“Sorry I couldn’t be the swooning maiden to your conquering hero.” She sighed and rolled her eyes, leaning back. “What are we doing here, Cam?”
“Well, I was tryin’ to kiss ya. Not sure what you’re doin’.”
“Do you want—are we together? Is this a thing?”
“A thing?” I asked incredulously, trying to figure out what she was getting at. We weren’t a thing—we were us.
“I just want to know where we stand—alright? Stop getting pissy.”
“Not getting pissy, just wonderin’ where this is comin’ from.”
“I want to know what you’re doing! I want to know if this is—do you just want to have sex? Is that what this is about? I know about the ban on sluts at the club.”
“You’re kiddin,’ right?”
“No.”
I laughed humorlessly and pushed her off my lap so I could stand up. I was fucking insulted. After all the shit I’d done for her when we were kids, after all the shit we’d been through and the fact that she’d ignored me for almost five years because I wouldn’t fuck her—and she thought I just wanted sex?
And then what? We’d just go back to being strangers? I didn’t even know how that would be possible.
“Yeah, Trix. I was thinkin’ we’d just fuck while I was stayin’ here. Convenient, ya know?” I shook my head and grabbed my cut off the back of the couch as I headed toward the front door.
“Where are you going?” she asked, jumping to her feet.
“Be back later,” I called over my shoulder, not stopping as she tried to follow me.
I slammed the door behind me as I got outside, then stomped toward my bike. I froze just as I was about to climb on. I was taking off like a fucking pussy just because she’d hurt my feelings.
I’d almost just left her, when keeping her safe—not getting my dick wet—was the whole reason I was there. Sure, she was probably safe inside her apartment in broad fucking daylight, but that didn’t mean I should run away like a bitch.
I ran my hands restlessly over my head, then turned back toward the apartment building.
Trix was standing on the landing, barefoot, with her arms wrapped around her chest. Watching me.
“Get back inside,” I said, walking toward the stairs. When I reached the top of them, she was still standing in the same spot. “I said to get back inside,” I ordered, pushing her gently toward her apartment.
“Where were you going? Were you going to fuck someone else?” she asked quietly as I opened her door.
“Jesus. You’ve got a real high opinion of me.”
“You fuck anything that moves.” She wrinkled her nose.
“Not quite—I like pussy, not dick,” I said with a smile. I could hear the words coming out of my mouth, but I couldn’t seem to stop them, even though I could feel her pulling away from me. What did she expect? She was acting like I was disgusting—did she think I’d just lie down and take it?
She thought I was dirty? Fine. No skin off my back.
“I just wanted to know if we were exclusive, and you freaked—”
“No,” I cut her off, locking the door before turning to face her. “You wanted to know if I was gonna fuck around on you.”
“Well, I just—”
“When have I ever done anythin’ to hurt you, Bellatrix? Huh? Yeah, you were pissed when you were younger because I wouldn’t put my hands on ya—but that was for your benefit, not mine. I’ve done nothin’ but take care of ya our entire lives. So, why the hell would I fuck someone else knowing that shit would bother ya?”
“You’ve been fucking club skanks for years! You think that didn’t hurt to watch?”
“You shittin’ me right now? You were a kid, Bellatrix! You sayin’ I shoulda been a fuckin’ monk? We were friends. You were sleepin’ with scrawny high school kids. Jesus, what planet are you livin’ on?”
“You kissed me! You kissed me and then went right back to them!” She pointed toward the front door like there was a line of women out there waiting on me.
“We seriously discussin’ somethin’ that happened four years ago?” I ran my hands over my head. God, she was so fucking irritating.
“Yes.”
“You were too young, Bea. Still in fuckin’ high school.”
“I wasn’t too young.” She crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly. “And Abbie was in high school!”
“Who the fuck is Abbie?” I asked in confusion.
She growled, and I waited for her to stomp her foot like a fucking two year old.
“You were too young. You think I didn’t want you then? ’Course I did. But you wanted to go to fuckin’ college. Shit, you were seventeen years old! Poet and Dragon would’ve hung me up by my balls. Kissin’ you was a lapse in judgment—” My words cut off when she rocked back like she’d been hit. I softened my voice. “That whole scene was a lapse in judgment, Sweetbea, because if I woulda waited just a bit longer, we coulda been together. But I was fuckin’ crazy jealous thinkin’ about you with some kid. I fuckin’ snapped. Then you got pissed and stopped talkin’ to me, and it’s taken me four fuckin’ years to find a way back in.”