Page 15 of Faker

“Are you not going to eat?” I ask, before taking a big bite.

He shakes his head. “Don’t worry I will once you’ve had your share.” His voice is low while he keeps staring at me.

“Okay, well, more for me then,” I say, sitting up on my knees to eat the last bite. Half is still in there but I’m full. I lean back and cross my legs while I pet his cat who jumped on the chair next to me. Summer follows me with his eyes while drinking his beer and eating the rest of the food. I take a large sip myself and warmth fills my stomach. There’s an incoming text on his phone and he scans whatever it is. This gives me enough time to stare at the man. His jaw is chiseled and somehow also boyish. His plump lips move down as he keeps reading, and his long hair falls in front of his gaze. He’s hot and dangerous—I need to keep reminding myself of that fact. He rubs a hand over his right shoulder, typing something on his phone before focusing his attention on me again.

We lock eyes and he says, “My clothes look good on you.”

I stare at his long-sleeved shirt I’m wearing, covering the better part of my hands. The man is muscular with those broad shoulders and veiny forearms. Fuck me, I’m a little scared.

“So, the ground rules,” he says, his deep voice doing things to my insides. I place my hands in my lap, and he sighs, running a hand through his hair while he gets comfortable leaning back against his chair and rearranging mine so there is barely any distance between us. “Are you on the pill?”

Wow, buddy, that was direct. I feel my cheeks heat and his lips tip up slightly in one corner. I frown, why does he want to know?

“Because I want to know if I can fuck you bare,” he says, and smirks, challenging me with his cold, hard glare. Is this why he didn’t take it further in the shower?

Holy shit, I swear, the man is serious.

“It’s a normal question.” He shrugs, wiping at the corner of his mouth.

“Yes, I am,” I bite out. “Fucker,” I mutter in Korean under my breath.

He chooses to ignore my insult and scowls at me. “Good, now that’s out of the way I can do what I want. And you only wear my stuff, nothing else,” he grunts, manspreading and crossing his arms in front of his chest.

What the hell? I gasp. “Is this your way of peeing on me?”

He frowns, like he doesn’t understand what I’m asking him.

“Are you?”

“I have no idea what this means. If you mean I’m claiming what I want, then yes.” He nods, sounding smug.

“For a month,” I remind him.

“And?” he begins. “Did you fuck anyone before?”

“How direct are you?” I hold up my hands. And I don’t know why this whole conversation is also a little funny somehow, and scary at the same time.

He shrugs. “It saves time, kitten.”

“It freaks me the fuck out,” I counter.

“Tell me,” Summer demands, dragging my chair back to him. “You’re not a virgin, so what happened?” he repeats.

Gasping, I flip him off, and he chuckles, throwing another shot of soju back, and I do the same, the alcohol burning and taking the edge off. “One time.”

His eyes go big, and he swallows hard.

“I mean…” I take a deep breath as the alcohol courses through my veins, trying to deflect but failing miserably. He’s got me there. “It wasn’t memorable, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“What happened?” he asks, resting his elbows on his knees.

“Nothing,” I tell him, biting on the inside of my cheek.

“Nothing?” he asks, his dark voice making me squirm. “Let’s sit over there.” He motions to the fluffy rug in front of the couch. I watch him sit and stretch out his legs in front of him, clutching at his ribs like he’s in pain.

I take my seat next to him. “I was drunk, I didn’t feel or remember anything. That’s my sad first-time story, happy now?” I grit out, crossing my arms in front of me and looking out toward the water in the distance.

“Very.” He smiles but frowns too, like he’s going over the words I told him. “Means I’m going to be the first you’ll remember.”

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