“I’m seeing that now. No, I saw them; I just… wanted to trust him when he asked for forgiveness. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. God, I’m so out of touch when it comes to dating.” He sniffs again and blows his nose with a wadded-up tissue. “Cal?”
“Yeah, Tiger.” I shut my eyes to control my inner rage on Seth’s behalf.
“It was bad. I… passed out. I thought… I thought I was going to die. All I could think about was my kids.”
He passed out? Oh, that fucker’s going to pay. “What’s his full name? I want details. He’s going to face the fucking consequences. It’s not beneath me to make him suffer.”
“Just… let it go.”
“Fuck that!” I boom. I look around to make sure no one is listening in, then I calm my tone. “The asshole needs to be in jail.”
“He didn’t mean it.”
“Ignorance is absolutely no excuse. If you had died, he would’ve faced those consequences.”
I grab my drink and chug back the rest. I raise my glass to my server to order another. It has to be my last one.
“Did you go to the doctor?” I ask him.
“Yeah, the skin is bruised. So is my trachea. But there’s no lingering damage.”
“Maybe physically you’ll be fine. But what about psychologically?”
“I… I don’t know. I’m not doing so hot right now, mentally speaking. It was terrifying. I was so scared.”
“No fucking doubt. That idiot. Does he have any idea how dangerous breath play is?”
“I don’t know, and I don’t care. I’ll be happy never to see him again. If it makesyouhappy, the hospital had to report it to the police. I toldthem everything, but I have no idea where it goes from here. I don’t want to press charges. Not just for his son, but for me. Let’s let it go. Please.”
“Only because you asked nicely. That fucking bastard. I can’t promise I won’t say or do anything if I see him again. He’s fucking lucky New Orleans and the surrounding areas have nearly a million people. Otherwise…” I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose. These feelings coursing through me are unusual. I don’t get like this. I can’t remember when I got protectively enraged. All I’m seeing is fucking red. “Didn’t you say a friend of yours set you up?”
“Yeah, my friend, Edmundo, thought we’d make a good match. I don’t think he would know that about Leo.”
“You need to tell him.”
“I will.”
Seth digs the tip of his finger into the corner of his eye and sighs. “Cal? A part of me feels wrong, like… I’m vanilla or something. Like I’m overreacting.”
The server sets my glass on the little table next to me and takes away my empty one. I wait for her to leave before responding.
“Don’t start gaslighting yourself. There are enough crazies in this world to do that for you. This isn’t about vanilla or kink. This is about consent, respect, and communication, or a lack thereof. No matter how you look at it, he assaulted you.” I used to tease Seth in my head about his vanilla ways, but there’s nothing wrong with enjoying those things. “Besides, sometimes vanilla is nice. You like a little missionary there, Tiger?” I waggle my brows at him to get him to smile, even though I’m still raging inside.
It works. He smiles wetly, but it’s there. “Yeah, sometimes.”
“Vanilla can be as good as chocolate. Just sprinkle in a few nuts, and you’re good to go.”
He snorts a laugh, but there’s no humor in his eyes. “You’re so weird.”
I chuckled. “So you keep saying. I think you secretly like it.”
“I do.” He doesn’t even hesitate when he says that.
There goes my stomach, doing that weird dipping thing again. “I wish I’d been at home when it happened. You’re always taking care of me. I would’ve done the same for you.”
He smiles again, making me feel better about his state. “I know you would if you were here. It’s fine. Take care of Braeden. He needs you more than ever.”
“Yeah, he’s had a setback, but we knew he would.”
