“No!” I barked. “No. I haven’t seen him.”
He took a deep breath. “Scott, I don’t know what he’s doing, but I don’t trust him, and neither should you. Do you understand?”
“We’ve been through this before. I know.”
“Then why is he sending you flowers?”
“I don’t know, Grayson. I didn’t even know they were from him.”
“If he comes near you, call for me.”
“Why?”
“Do you have to question everything?”
“I just don’t understand. He seems alright.”
“You don’t know him.”
I shrugged.
Gray snarled, “You need to listen to me on this. Stay away from him.”
“You can’t tell me what to do,” I said.
The light fixtures shattered, and I jumped, raising my arms to protect myself.
“Gray! Stop!”
“Then do this one thing!”
“Fine!”
It would be fair to say that I’d slipped back into avoiding Gray again. These days, we couldn’t seem to stop ourselves from getting into fights, but I didn’t have the energy to keep doing it. The lab work was piling up, and I’d decided to try with Matt. We went on dates, and I stayed with him a few times in the past few weeks. When I crawled into bed at home, I’d call him, but the fact remained… We lacked a spark.
The problem only got worse when we went toMurphy’sand Gray lived behind the bar. On those nights, I struggled to keep my eyes off him. Jeans hanging low off his hips and t-shirts stretched tight across his chest, he made casual look like something you’d devour in private.
It was meant to be a one-time thing, but I couldn’t stay away from him and with the threat of others finding out, it felt safer to end things.
A Saturday night in September, I pulled Matt early fromMurphy’sand took him home. Gray was working, and the house was empty, so I led him into my room. I pushed the window open and let in a gentle breeze before approaching Matt again.
Sex with Matthew was different. He focused on himself more than on me. Selfish was the adjective that often came to mind. Gray wouldn’t allow himself an orgasm until I had at least one, most of the time more. I was his priority. But that wasn’t the case anymore.
Matt also handled me with great care. He treated me as if I’d break, and even when I tried to show him what I liked by biting and letting my nails sink into his skin, he reminded me to be careful, further dousing the already precarious flame.
So, with Matt above me now thrusting into me, I lied. I faked the pleasure because a relationship didn’t need to have great sex. A relationship was more than physical.
“You’re amazing, babe.” He rolled off and laid beside me on the bed.
I wished I could say the same about him.
“I’m going to grab a glass of water. Do you want anything?” I asked.
“I’m good.”
I leaned over and kissed him chastely before getting out of bed. I picked his hoodie up from the floor, pulled it over my head, and left the room.
In the kitchen, I grabbed myself a glass of cold water and drank deeply. When I turned around, the glass fell from my hand when I saw Gray standing in the shadows. His aura caught the glass, keeping it from shattering and causing a scene.
