After Quinn finished completing the first task, he could ghost August and move on, knowing he had balanced the scales between them.
It was childish.
Stupid.
Pathetic.
But damn, the thought of righting the wrong that had been done to him had a certain appeal to it. One that may be too tempting.
August was still attracted to him; the kiss had made that much clear. The problem was, he wasn’t a cruel person at heart, so he didn’t know if he had the guts to go through with it.
Memories of waking alone and the crushing realization of abandonment flickered at the edge of his mind, and Quinn curled his hands into fists.
August had known what that would do to him, and he still tossed him aside like everyone else in his life had. Augustknewthat it would break him.
Quinn was curious because he’d never learned the information back in high school, but he wondered what it would take to breakAugust.
Chapter 12
August
The second the car door was shut, Niko began his interrogation. “Dude, what? Why are you freaking out?”
August peeled onto the street, sweeping his sleeve over his mouth to get rid of the sticky substance that tasted like apples.
“Nothing—it’s nothing.” August knew he was speaking because he could hear his voice, but he couldn’t take control of the words. Everything felt floaty and echoey, as if he were out of alignment with his skeleton.
“Family emergency?” Niko tried again. “Personal emergency?”
The engine roared when August stepped harder on the gas pedal, and Niko yelped in surprise as the car lurched.
He didn’t want to talk about it. He just wanted to go home and go to bed and not think about Quinn Harlow or how his lips tasted like candy apples that matched the green of his eyes.
What had he beenthinking? Why did he kiss him? Nothing made sense anymore.
August didn’t remember parking in his garage or getting out of the car. He didn’t remember answering any of the thousand questions Niko asked him.
He didn’t even remember to take his damn shoes off before he fell onto his bed and buried his face into his pillow.
Kissing Quinn wasn’t logical. August wasn’t attracted to him, and he wasn’t into guys. He had moved past that part of his life when he realized it wasn’t for him, and yeah, he could have handled the situation better back then, but still…
Pain jabbed into the space behind his eyes, and August groaned, pressing harder into the pillow like he could soothe it by applying pressure. His stomach was doing flips, and if it weren’t for the clean scent of his blankets, he would have thought he was on a ship, riding out a storm that was pummeling the ocean.
He didn’t like guys. He had no problem with his friends being gay, but that wasn’thim.
Kissing Quinn should have felt mechanical. It should have felt like nothing.
So, why did it fucking set his soul on fire?
Memories of his night with Quinn crept forward, and August lifted his head from his pillow only so he could bite the heel of his palm until the skin threatened to break.
His mother would be furious if she knew he had kissed a man. His father—
