Stubborn. I add a second finger, curling them roughly, thumb pressing her clit in firm circles. Her walls flutter around me, but it’s shallow, surface-level pleasure. Nothing like the way Chloe soaks my hand, her body trembling with real need.
“Come on,” I coax, my voice low, laced with false sweetness. “You know you want to. Imagine it—me, you, fucking like this whenever you play nice. No more brattiness. Just rewards.”
Her whimpers pitch higher, body arching off the bed. “Fuck... yes, okay. I’ll... I’ll keep her close. Whatever.”
There it is. The agreement, sealed with her pleasure. I pump faster, feeling her tighten, her breaths coming in ragged pants. She’s close—juices coating my fingers, the scent of her arousal filling the air, musky and sharp. But even as she comes, shuddering around my hand with a cry that’s too loud, too staged, I compare it to Chloe. Chloe’s orgasms are quiet storms, pulling you under. Bella’s are fireworks, bright but fleeting.
I withdraw my fingers, wiping them on her thigh, watching her slump back, flushed and sated.
“Good girl,” I say, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead—patronizing, possessive. She smiles lazily, thinking she’s won something. But it’s all for Chloe.
I stand, adjusting myself, the guilt already twisting in my gut like a knife. “See you around, Bella.”
She waves me off, still catching her breath. “Don’t be a stranger.”
I slip out of the room, down the stairs, past Maggie’s knowing glare in the living room. The front door clicks shut behind me, and the night air hits my skin like punishment—cold, biting, stripping away the heat of the room. Guilt settles in heavy and sour, churning in my stomach. I tell myself it was worth it. Chloe will be safer if the girls think I’ve moved on, if Bella’s got her eye on her like a hawk. There’s nowhere safer for her than that sorority house.
But every step to my car feels like a betrayal. To Bella, yeah, but more to myself. To Chloe, even if she never knows.
I fumble in my pocket for a cigarette, hands shaking as I light it. The flame dances in the dark, and I inhale deep, smoke filling my lungs, burning on the way down. But it doesn’t calm the storm inside. Because now, not only do I owe Jamie the truth—about this, about everything— I owe Chloe a thousand apologies I’ll never have the right to say. And as the cherry glows red in the night, I wonder how long I can keep lying before it all burns down.
20
Chloe
Pariswasadrag.I woke up the next morning, and my mom left a note on the counter saying that she’d be back later. Well, I took that as my sign to get the hell out of there. When I sat on the plane, I realized how dumb it was to go all that way to see her, thinking something would’ve changed. I only received the confirmation I needed that she’s done with me. So when I landed back in the states, I decided that I’m done with her too. I’m only concerned about how Dad is going to take it, but like my mom said, he can’t reach us now. I’m safe, at least for now.
The lecture drags on, Professor Hastings pacing in front of the whiteboard like he’s trying to beat his own steps count for the day. Half the class is on their phones, the other half looks half-dead. My notes blur into nothing. I keep staring at the same sentence—psychological conditioning is cyclical—and all I can think about is how true that feels. Like I’m trapped in one big loop of bad decisions.
When the clock finally hits noon, I shove my notebook into my bag and bolt before he can assign another reading. I’m halfway down the stairs when I hear my name.
“Chloe!”
I turn. Leslie’s jogging toward me, hair flying, face flushed like she’s run the whole way. She’s one of the few girls who’s even bothered to talk to me since the house turned on me. Sweet, quiet Leslie who doesn’t seem to hate me despite the fact that I fucked a guy she actually liked.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
She skids to a stop, breathless. “I was looking for you for days. Have you heard?”
My stomach drops. “Heard what?”
“Bella’s back with Miles.” The words come out in a rush, like she wants to get it over with. “And, um, Maggie and Brielle told me to tell you that the captains decided to ease up on you. You can come back to the team. If you want.”
For a second, everything around me goes muffled—just the echo of back with Miles ringing in my head.
“What?” I say, too sharp. “She’s what?”
Leslie winces. “Yeah. Everyone’s talking about it. I don’t know the details, but people are saying he’s the reason they changed their minds. That he—”
I don’t hear the rest. My pulse roars too loud.
He what? He’s fixing my life now?
All I can see is his mouth on mine, that same mouth on Bella. Why would he even care what was happening or whether I was back on the team or not? It makes absolutely no sense.
And now everyone will think he’s doing me favors.
Before I know it, I’m marching across campus, my boots slapping the pavement. I don’t care if it’s stupid. I don’t care that I don’t even have the right to be angry, not really. I just need to see him. To make him stop.
