His smirk is faint, eyes flicking over me in a way that always sparks my nerves.“Relax, Red.”
I push the jacket back onto his chest.
“I don’t need your jacket.”The words come out sharper than I intend.I’m being a total bitch, but I can’t help it.I have no idea how to act around him anymore.Not after everything.
Before he kept his distance, before Aubrey and Noah changed the whole dynamic, I could handle it.I could watch from a distance, pretend he didn’t affect me, let the occasional glance suffice.It felt safe.Controlled.
But now?
Now I’ve let him in… let him fuck me.Now, every second around him feels exposed.
“Keep it,” he says, dropping his voice to something quiet that doesn’t match the cocky version of him everyone else gets.
We remain silent, the space between us humming.Each breath feels too loud.Time seems to stretch endlessly.
I stare at him, and all I can think about is Maya.Her hands on him.Her mouth.Did she make him forget about me?
“I saw you with Maya,” I finally say.
He doesn’t blink.He doesn’t move.He doesn’t offer any slick excuse, and that hurts more than if he had.
I turn to face him, seeking an answer before I can stop myself.
“Why didn’t you tell Jace about the bet?”
“No one needs to know.”
“So it was nothing, right?”I forced the words past the lump in my throat.“Just another fuck.”
His eyes sharpened.“I think you made that clear when you walked away from me, Red.”
“What does it matter, Reece?You screw all the time.”
He flinches.
For a moment, I think he’s about to say something cruel.But then he drops his hands in front of him, and I recognize the familiar motion.He spins the silver ring on his thumb, the one he always wears.I’ve seen that habit a thousand times when he’s anxious, but right now, the sight hits differently.
I brace myself for a brush-off, a cocky smirk, or some bullshit line to smooth over the sharp edges between us.
But it never arrives.
Instead, he slides the ring off his thumb and holds it, turning it over in his fingers.He moves closer and reaches for my hand.
My breath catches as he presses the cool metal into my palm.
“Keep it,” he says, voice rough and almost unsteady.“I had it on that night.When I—” His jaw clenches, eyes darting from my mouth to my eyes and back again, as if he can’t decide where it hurts less to look.“When I fucked you, Red.”
The words hit like thunder, but he doesn’t step back.He watches me, breathing heavily, his next words coming softer.
“Now I can’t wear the ring without thinking about you.About the way you looked at me as if I wasn’t some fucked-up, heartless piece of shit.So keep the ring.If you’re done with me, if nothing meant anything to you, take it.That way, I can try to forget that this ever happened.”
My fingers curl instinctively around the ring, but he keeps going, eyes blazing now, with no smirk in sight.
“But don’t stand around and pretend nothing mattered.Not when you broke the second I touched you, or the way you said my name, because I haven’t forgotten.Not for a second.”He takes a breath and then adds, almost under his breath, “And no.I didn’t fuck Maya because I didn’t want to.”
I stare at him, mouth parted, heart slamming against my ribs like it’s trying to escape.He doesn’t say another word.He turns and walks back inside, leaving me there in this fucked-up mess of air and feelings, still wearing his jacket.
The silver ring rests in my palm, heavy as hell for something so small.Scratched, worn, nothing pretty.My fingers tighten around the ring in my hand.
