“Down that hallway. First door to your left.”
I nod, excuse myself silently, and walk fast, not looking back. The world feels too loud, too warm. I need somewhere quiet, a place to fall apart without anyone watching.
Inside the bathroom, I close the door and lean against it. My chest rises and falls like I’ve run a marathon. I don’t look in the mirror. I know what I’ll see. That shaken look that I swore I’d stop letting people cause.
I rinse my face and gently pat it dry. Trying to rebuild whatever poise I had left. I count to ten backwards again and again until I feel the nausea subside.
Then I open the door.
She’s standing there. Right outside. Arms folded, and that same smug, perfect smile on her lips.
Vera.
I don’t move. Neither does she. Her eyes scan me like I’m an exhibit.
“Hi, I’m glad you came,” she says, voice warm and silky. It’s a lie, wrapped in perfume and pretty teeth. “We didn’t get to properly talk earlier.”
Talk?
I say nothing. I can’t. And something about that only seems to delight her.
Her smile sharpens. “Lucas, right?”
The sound of my name from her lips makes my skin crawl. I nod once. Nothing more.
She steps closer, slow and graceful, like a predator trying not to spook her prey.
“You’re the new… fascination,” she says, her words dipped in poison, delivered sweet.
I want to step back. But I don’t. I stand there, heart banging against my ribs, eyes on hers. She tilts her head, eyes raking over me like I’m some fragile little thing.
“You don’t talk,” she muses. “I guess Sasha needs the silence. He’s always had… noise in his life. Maybe he finds you peaceful. Simple.”
It’s an insult wrapped in silk.
And it cuts. I couldn’t help but glare at her. She laughs softly, flipping her hair.
“Oh, Lucas, I’m not here to fight you. I know Alexander’s bisexual, but I didn’t know he was into inexperienced twinks or femboys.”
Inexperienced twinks or femboys? What the hell is this woman talking about? Yeah, I know I am inexperienced with some things, but how does she know?
She must have read my mind because she scoffs and leans in, close enough that I can feel the heat of her breath.
“He chokes. Pins. and likes control.” A pause. “I am one hundred percent sure you’ve never had that before, your innocent look gives it away.”
The hallway feels smaller. The walls are tighter. I don’t step back, but I want to. I want to run, at the same time, I want to punch her and scream in her face. My fingers dig into my palm until I feel pain. I tell myself not to show anything, not to let her win. But inside, something’s unraveling.
She steps back, that same infuriating smile still on her lips.
“I also know you’re with him just for his money, Lucas,” she says with a smile. “Make sure you milk a lot from him before he gets tired of you.”
And with that, she walks away. I have never been as stunned as I am right now in my entire life.
I stand there, alone in the hallway, the taste of shame and confusion thick in my throat.
And I can’t help but wonder if she’s right.
If I’m too innocent.
