Tough Shit (Rejects Paradise 1)

Sebastian shivers his voice a low groan. “Don’t use words like ‘fester,’ man.”

Embarrassment floods Eli and for a moment, I feel kind of bad for him until I realize that he’s only in this position because he fucked some dirty bitch and didn’t use a condom.

Wanting to put him out of his misery, I pull on my big girl panties and move in close. “This isn’t good, Eli,” I murmur, really getting in there and studying every angle.

“Just … tell me it can be fixed.”

I release his dick and pull the gloves off before walking into the bathroom and washing my hands, then arms, and my face just for the sake of it. By the time I walk back out, his pants are back on and he’s pacing the living room. “Well?” he asks, clearly annoyed that my hand washing took too long.

“I need to google it,” I say, dropping down onto the couch and pulling out my phone. Nic sits beside me and his hand instinctively falls to my thigh as the boys start talking among themselves.

I get busy googling and after ten minutes of being as thorough as possible, I look up at Eli. “There’s good news and bad news.”

He finally stops pacing and turns to me with wide eyes. “What? What is it?”

“The bad news is that you have Syphilis and you’re going to have to go to an actual doctor, but the good news is that it looks new and can be treated with a cream … I think.”

Relief has his whole body sagging against the wall “Seriously? So, my dick isn’t going to fall off?”

“Not tonight,” I tell him, always loving to be the one to deliver good news. “But you need to find a doctor, like now before that shit gets any worse.”

His face falls and he lets out a deep sigh. “Fine,” he says, walking forward and plucking his car keys off the table with absolute devastation, making my heart break for him.

Sebastian groans and gets to his feet. “Wait up, man. I’ll come with you.”

The two of them walk out the door and not a second later, Kai is getting to his feet too. “Sorry, pretty girl,” he says, leaning down and pressing a kiss to my forehead. “I have shit I need to deal with tonight.”

I nod, understanding all too well what kind of shit he’s talking about and just like that, the fun night I was supposed to have with my boys is completely gone, though I can only hope that they’ll all be back later. For now, it’s just me and Nic and when his arm falls over my shoulder and he pulls me into his side, I can’t help but be okay with that.

Chapter 27

The sound of the shower on the other side of the wall has my eyes springing open to find that I’m still in Breakers Flats, at Nic’s apartment, and curled up in his warm, familiar bed.

Fuck. I fell asleep. That wasn’t part of the plan but after having dinner and catching up with Nic’s mom when she returned from work, I was exhausted. I didn’t even realize that I’d fallen asleep halfway through the movie, and to be honest, I’m kinda pissed. That was a good movie.

My hand rubs over my eyes and by the time I sit up in bed, the shower is cutting off. It’s only a minute before Nic comes striding back into his room, dripping wet with a towel around his waist. He starts getting dressed and I can’t help but watch the show.

I’ve never quite understood why guys do that. They get out of the shower and instantly wrap the towel around them. What’s the freaking point of using the damn towel in the first place if you’re not going to use it to mop up the water that’s rushing over your skin? It infuriates me to no end, even more so when Nic pulls his shirt on and the beads of water left on his skin instantly soak into his shirt. I couldn’t do it. I’m one of those girls who needs a thorough drying after my shower.

“What time is it?” I ask, watching as he pulls on a pair of jeans. Nic usually isn’t one to get up and dressed first thing in the morning. He usually sleeps till late in the afternoon and fucks around in his sweatpants until his father is demanding his attention, so watching him dress now tells me it’s time to get up and get my shit together.

“7 am,” he mutters, making my heart break. Who the hell wakes up at 7 am on a Saturday morning?

“Come again?” I sputter, dropping back down against Nic’s warm pillow. “Come back to bed. It’s too early.”

“As much as I’d love to climb back in bed with you, we have to go. I have business this afternoon and I want to drive you home first. I don’t want you to take the bus again. Too many dodgy fuckers around here.”