“My da’s a politician,” he says quietly. “Mum’s on the school board. Church every Sunday. Before I came here, I broke up with my long-time girlfriend. I cheated on her. Let a guy blow me on a family vacation. I couldn’t tell my parents or my siblings why. None of them would understand.”
I laugh bitterly. “Catholic guilt’ll kill us all.”
“Not if we fuck it to death first.” He flashes a grin. Licks his lips. Fixes me with those eyes.
The heat between us shifts.
A dare.
Could we be something?
His hand grazes mine where it rests against the counter. I flip mine over, let our fingers link.
He watches me. “Do you want to kiss me as much as I want to kiss you?”
I don’t say yes. I pull him toward me. He cups my face. No hesitation. His mouth crashes into mine, hot and assertive.
We leave the party with a buzz, and not from alcohol.
Linus walks beside me, hands stuffed into the pockets of his jacket, shoulders hunched against the late-night chill. I match his pace, each step syncing closer to his, like I’m already memorizing the rhythm. He doesn’t say much. Doesn’t have to.
Ifeelhim.
We cut through the side alley skirting the cracked pavement near the dumpsters. My rental house glows dimly ahead, porch light flickering. There’s something charged in the quiet between us now. Anticipation.
He hesitates when we reach the steps. “This your place?”
“Aye.” I twist the knob and push open the front door into the warm air.
In the low hallway light Felicity is standing in front of my room wearing a see-through top and a hoodie knotted around her waist. She freezes when she sees me with Linus. Her eyes rake over him, with his hand on my back and our bodies brushing in a deliberate way.
The air turns icy.
“How interesting…” Acid drips from her tongue. “Guess I’m not your type after all.”
Linus pauses beside me.
I don’t flinch. “You never were.”
Her nostrils flare. “Funny, you weren’t complaining last time we fucked.”
Linus shifts his weight but doesn’t step away.
“Ages ago.” I meet her gaze, unbothered. “As I told you, doesn’t mean I want more.”
Her laugh scrapes like glass. “You’re nothing but a sad little fraud who’ll fuck anything to feel something.”
The words land like shrapnel. Sharp, targeted. I freeze.
Her bedroom door slams shut before I can recover sufficiently to reply.
Linus waits until the echo fades. “You’re in a band withher?”
“Gotta love the drama.” I try to ignore my urge to punch a wall and instead lead him into my room. “Full disclosure, we hooked up a couple times. Her idea. Got possessive. Now, I have no choice but to ignore her.”
He glances over at her room. “Is it working?”
“No, unfortunately.”
