Landon shoved his hand back in the drawer and found more hidden lies, a black velvet box that he didn’t even need to open to find what was inside. He recognized the size and shape to know there was a ring tucked inside the faux velvet case. Landon slammed the drawer closed. A picture on top of the dresser toppled onto the floor.
The frame bounced and landed, picture side up, and Landon found himself glowering down at a picture of him and Gregory from when they were in high school. Landon kicked it into the base of the dresser and the corner of the frame broke.
“Lying asshole,” Landon muttered.
There hadn’t ever been anyone important. It had only been convenient. It’s always been you.
Landon grabbed his phone from the nightstand and snapped a picture of the collar, sending it in a text to Gregory.
Me: What the fuck is this???
Not waiting for an answer, he stormed out of the bedroom and shoved his feet into his boots. He should have known better than to give Gregory a second chance. He’d abandoned Landon once, and now here they were, with a drawer full of a side of Gregory that Landon wasn’t privy to.
His phone buzzed with a text.
Gregory: It’s not what you think.
Me: Yeah, I bet it’s not.
For the first time in years, Landon felt ashamed of the way he’d given himself to his partner. He felt embarrassed and deceived. His submission was a fucking gift, and if Gregory couldn’t even be honest with him about the shit he’d done since high school, then he didn’t deserve anything Landon had to offer.
Gregory: You need to settle, boy. You’re mad about nothing. We’re not talking about this over text.
Me: I’m going home. I’m not trying to deal with your bullshit again.
Slamming the front door of Gregory’s house closed, Landon did his best to ignore the deafening sound of his heart splintering behind his breastbone. His hands trembled as he tried to shove they key into the lock and turn it. He realized the collar was still tight in his fist and he threw it onto the porch with a frustrated scream, then got into his car and drove away.
27
Gregory
Gregory testedthe handle of Landon’s front door and found it unlocked so he let himself in. He could see the back of Verity’s head and assumed they were in the kitchen with Landon. He paced down the hallway, and Verity turned at the sound of his shoes. They looked at him sorrowfully.
“Where is he?” Gregory asked, not finding Landon there after all.
“Upstairs. In his room.”
“He’s still mad.” Gregory didn’t ask. He knew Landon enough, even after all these years, to know he had built this up in his head to other than it was.
“He’s mad, but more rational than when he got home, I think.” Verity tucked their hair behind their ears. “It was his collar, wasn’t it?”
“How did you know?”
“You’re pretty transparent when it comes to how you feel about him. It’s not a stretch to assume.”
“Yeah, it is. Well, no. I mean, it would have been. In another life.” Gregory should have thrown the collar out when he’d looked at it earlier in the week. He should have thrown the collar out when he stopped answering Landon’s calls when he was in Florida, and he should have never even bought the ring in the first place. Stupid childish fantasies.
“The two of you,” Verity said, sadly.
Gregory didn’t answer them, instead turning and making his way through the house and up the stairs. Landon’s door was open, and Gregory stepped inside. Landon was curled into a ball at the foot of his bed, the sheets and covers tangled around him.
“Baby,” Gregory said, like he was soothing a skittish horse.
“I’m not your fucking baby.” Landon opened his eyes and glared at Gregory. “You’ve never called me baby before, maybe you have me confused with whoever that collar belongs to.”
“The person that I’d meant to have the collar isn’t around anymore.” Gregory sat on the edge of the bed, not touching Landon.
“That’s a far cry from, ‘nothing serious Landon, it was convenient Landon,’” he sneered, kicking a foot out forcefully into Gregory’s thigh. Gregory scooted down the bed, out of Landon’s reach.
