Rowdy Boy

He frowns and looks away, conflicted. “I always did, but I couldn’t deny it anymore when you told me your story.”

My heart sinks into my shoes as all the pieces fall into place. He found out the secret I’d buried for so long, and it made him care. Not just superficially, but on an emotional level. Deeply.

“And I didn’t send that fucking picture,” he says with an honest voice. “You have to believe me. I don’t know who did, but it wasn’t me, I swear.”

“I believe you,” I reply, and I place a hand on his chest. “Let’s play a game.”

“I’m done with games,” he says, clenching his jaw.

“The truth. No dares,” I say.

He eyes me for a moment while his thumb brushes across his lip. “Go on …”

“You care about me as more than just a friend,” I say.

He raises a brow. “That’s not a question, Mo.”

I point at his chest. “But you don’t deny it either.”

He narrows his eyes at me. “Is that what you came here to tell me? Because I think I can figure that out myself.”

“It’s why you pushed me away when we were in the shower, wasn’t it?” I ask.

He bites his bottom lip and sighs. “Don’t fucking thank me with a blowjob.”

“Lesson learned,” I retort.

“And it’s not just a fucking blowjob … not to me. I don’t … want that from you,” he adds, swallowing.

“But I thought …” I don’t even know how to respond. “I thought you were genuinely mad at me.”

“I’m not, and I never was. Not at you, anyway …” he says, and his hand rises to caress my cheek briefly. “I don’t want you to give me what I want when it isn’t what you want. What you need.”

I understand him now.

He wasn’t mad at me. He was mad at himself for letting go.

Almost as if he thinks he tried to use me too.

This boy … God, this boy is so unlike everything I thought he would be.

“Everyone always told me you were a cheater. A liar.”

He snorts. “What a surprise.”

“Is it true?”

His eyes narrow underneath those dark lashes. “How do you think they got that information? Think hard.”

I swallow. There’s only one answer to that question. The person he’s hated the most since the very start. The person who always got in his way. “Ariane.” He nods. It’s all I need to know. “But why would she do that?”

He smirks. “To ruin my reputation and my name … because she wanted to be one step ahead.”

“But you two were an item, right? What was in it for her?”

“To keep her dirty little secret safe.” He cocks his head. “Don’t you see? She was the one who was cheating on me.”

I gasp in shock. Fuck. This explains everything. No wonder they were constantly at each other’s throats, why he was so angry when I called him an asshole. She spread those rumors about him and made him look like the devil.

“She hurt you …” I mutter.

“To protect herself from my fans, she threw these lies out into the world. And you know how the world works. Once the lies are out there, people believe them, no matter what I or anyone else said. So I played along,” he says, and he shrugs. “Why do you think I pushed you away?”

“You wanted me to hate you,” I say.

“She forced me to. Because she’s your goddamn cousin, and she wanted to protect you from me. Because she’s jealous and afraid.”

“Afraid of what?” My brows furrow.

A smirk forms on his face. “That you’d make me fall in love.”

My heart flutters. Does he mean that? Is this for real?

“I thought she wanted to protect me because of my past…” I mutter, completely shocked by what I’m hearing.

He shakes his head. “She’s a snake. But she’s also your family.”

I straighten my back. “Fuck family. Fuck Ariane and fuck Michael. They deserve each other.”

That same devilish smirk spreads on his lips as his hand sneaks up to my waist. “You know, they said the same thing to me about us.”

“Us … You say that like you mean it,” I say as he inches closer.

“Haven’t you noticed? I always did,” he says, looking down at me. “Why do you think I fought so hard to stay away from you?”

I suck in a breath at that admission. “But I always thought you were only interested in quick fucks with random girls?” I lick my lips. “And I never wanted to be just another notch on your belt.”

“Look at me.” His face darkens, and he tips up my chin to make me look at him. “You’re not just another girl. Not to me. It just took me a while to get there.”

I should’ve known all along.

The rock star. The playboy. The asshole.

He wasn’t a bully because he hated me.