“Talk about her how?” Fallon asked.
“Like she’s just some hookup. Our sex life is none of your business.” It was nonexistent currently, but that was beside the point.
“So you did fuck her!” Fallon shouted.
“I didn’t, okay!” I shouted back. “I felt like she wanted me to come inside but I just kissed her good night and drove home with a raging hard-on.”
Fallon stared at the ceiling, letting out a deep breath. “A-man, if she was giving you the signs, you should have just gone for it.”
“There’s nothing wrong with taking things slow,” Cyrus said.
I sighed. “That’s the thing, though. I don’t think she wanted to take things slow.”
“Well, then, why did you?” Fallon asked.
“I don’t know! Maybe because I’ve spent the last fourteen years fucking the same person like it was an obligation.”
Fallon stared at me wide-eyed. “Wait—”
Cyrus grimaced. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize things had gotten that bad.”
“I mean, it was fine. Just not anything mind-blowing, ya know?”
“I wish you would have told us sooner. That is a giant red flag, my friend,” Fallon said, like he was some sort of sex therapist.
“I know,” I groaned. “I know I should have done something sooner, but I thought it was going to pass. I mean, we were together for fourteen years; I thought it was normal for things to get a little stale.”
Fallon whistled. “You dodged such a fucking bullet with that one, man. I hope this new girl lets you be all feral in bed. Taking your knot while you—”
Hot, possessive anger tore through me. As usual, Fallon was taking it too far.
I growled, showing my teeth. “Don’t you fucking talk about her like that.”
Tegan taking my knot didn’t need to be the topic of the conversation. Not now. Not ever.
“Easy,” Cyrus said calmly.
I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths, letting the tension slip out of my body. “Sorry,” I grumbled to Fallon.
“It’s all good, man. I overstepped.”
As usual.
“So”—Fallon cleared his throat—“you’ve met her friends. When do we get to meet her?”
“Soon, I guess.”
“She would be down to hang out with us?” he asked.
“Why wouldn’t she be?”
“Jade never hung out with us,” Cyrus pointed out.
Fallon nodded. “She’d always come up with some lame excuse to avoid us.”
“I really don’t think she liked us very much, which is fine because the feeling was mutual,” Cy said.
“Yeah,” Fallon agreed. “There were a lot of red flags now that I think about it.”
