“Needless to say, we found no donuts,” I continue on with my story. “And Jacob was on a warpath. He dragged me along to the control room and burst through the door, demanding to see the footage of the break room. Also, a cool field trip to another place no inmate had ever seen. The control rooms were super-duper forbidden territory for prisoners, so I was just excited tobe there. But it was even more exciting when I caught a look at the secret eye candy they had hidden away in there.”
I smirk at Alex, who waves me off.
“He’s not my usual type,” I add, and he frowns. “But still obviously hot,andhe oversaw everything. Like a pretty, gay Wizard of Oz. I had hit the distraction mother load!So,I decided to bust out some of my best moves of seduction…”
“Meaning you got on your knees and unhinged your jaw,” Byron snickers.
I gasp. “Rude! I’m agentleman…”
“You’re right, I think your exact words were,‘You’re cute. Wanna bone?’” Alex jeers. “Meanwhile, I’d worked there for like three weeks, and was in the middle of being harassed by a certifiable lunatic raving about donuts.”
“I still say you helped cover it up!” Jasper yells.
“He politely declined my offer, and I respected that,” I hum.
Alex laughs. “Okay!You called mestraightlike it was an insult—”
“It is…”
“Andaccused me of queer-baiting you by dressing like a‘twink top’.Thatwas the insult, by the way,” he mutters.
“Yea, turns out he’s an enthusiastic bottom, so it never would’ve worked,” I sigh. “Anyway, we passed each other in the halls a few times after that, exchanging casually bitchy looks, which is how bottoms befriend one another in Manhattan, so naturally I was intrigued. Never one to hold a grudge, or be anything less than completely calm and rational at all times, the next time I saw him, I backed him into a corner.Literally. He thought I was going to kick his ass.” I giggle. “Butinstead, I told him we should be friends. And I kid you not, he looked so excited.”
“That part’s true,” Alex sighs. “But how do you saynowhen Alabaster Pen’s Prom Queen wants to be your friend?!”
“You don’t.” I smirk. “We hung out a few times, I vented to him about my massive crush on Lex, and he casually grilled me about Josh Peters, being about as subtle as gonorrhea,” I snicker, poking him in the dimple. “And we’ve been close ever since.”
“That’s so sweet,” Dash croons.
“Is it?” Byron chuckles.
“Very.” Alex smiles at me fondly.
“So, thanks to my darling Alex Carson here being thoroughly uninterested in fucking me, I found a lifelong friend who feeds me gossip from his hand like I’m a goat at the petting zoo,” I tell Angel, who grins.
“But you kept it a secret?” He asks. “I mean, you had to have, right? Otherwise, your source would be compromised…”
“Ah, very perceptive.” I nod. “You are correct, I couldn’t expose our friendship. It’s all part of being a hoarder of secrets. You have to be as good at keeping them as you are at doling them out.”
“And here I thought you told me everything…” Lex pouts.
Slinking my hands around his waist, I mirror the expression. “Love of my life, you held plenty from me during our formative years.”
“Like what??” He scoffs.
“How about the fact that you’d wanted to stick it in me since you bumped into me in the hall five years ago?” I hum, inches from his face. “Actually, I see that as an unconscious revelation, don’t you? That our first ever interaction consisted of you ramming into me from behind…”
“I can’t believe I’m in for a lifetime of this madness,” he gripes. And yet, he’s smiling.
Of course, he is. Because he knows I’m right.
“Well, I think that’s cute,” Angel rasps, peeking at Alex. “But I still want to know why you helped me. Not that I’m not grateful,it just… seems like something you could get in a lot of trouble for.”
“Oh, trust me, I did,” Alex huffs. “I don’t know why I did it, honestly. I think I was just… getting so sick of the mundane. So much of that job was robotic. That’s why I always loved watching you guys.” He looks around at the group of us. “You all aren’t like the rest. You were nothing but pure drama, even in your most mundane moments.”
We share a pleased look; me, Lex, Dash, Byron… Even Felix, who has pattered his way over, just observing, as he does.
“It was refreshing. You guys were like a twenty-four-seven reality show,” Alex goes on. “The barely good, theverybad, and the hot as fuck.” He chuckles.
