Page 33 of Sinister

“I wouldn’t believe him, but you should be safe while he eats. I’m Deacon and that animal you’re about to sit beside is Alistair La Croix, captain of the Bulldogs football team,” Deacon says as he climbs into a seat on the other side of the table.

I place my plate down and step over the bench seat, planting myself beside this Alistair guy.

“Hey, I’m Tristan and this is Oliver.” The guy sitting next to Deacon introduces himself and the guy sitting next to him. “And those douchebags down at that end of the table are Baron, Henry, Dalton and Quinn.” Tristan throws a piece of his bacon at them.

They all look up. “Hey,” they say in unison and go back to their conversation.

“Hi, I’m Monroe, but you all probably already know that.” I grab my fork off my plate and spear a piece of crispy bacon, shoving it into my mouth, my gaze catches part of my new ink which hides the red marks underneath.

“We know who you are.” Deacon sips his coffee.

“Right.” I chew slowly, imagining all the bullshit stories Sin has told them all.

Alistair leans into me, his huge bicep presses against my arm, his face angled down toward me. “And I don’t listen to that fuck stick brother of yours. If you need some breathing space, come and find me.” He straightens back up and turns his attention to the back of the house.

I catch a quick glance from Deacon before he too diverts his gaze to the back of the house. The rest of the guys who are sitting here with us continue chatting amongst themselves while eating, not bothering to glance where these two are looking.

I follow their line of sight to see Sin, Chaser and Rome heading toward us with breakfast food piled high onto their plates. Rome’s wide grin as he heads straight for me makes me happy and I can’t help but grin back.

“Morning, babe.” He kisses the top of my head before he climbs over the bench seat and sits beside me, fist bumping Alistair over my plate.

“Hey.” I smile at their cute bro interaction and want to say something smart ass but think better of it.

“Hey.” Chaser ruffles my hair as he passes behind us and sits himself next to Rome.

“Morning.” I run my hand over my hair to flatten any mess Chaser made. My gaze lands on Sinisa as he so casually sits himself right across from me. Last night’s conversation not affecting him in the slightest. “Where’s the side piece?” I bite off a large piece of bacon and blink at him innocently.

Alistair nearly chokes on his food and requires a sip of coffee, which he takes from my cup. I’m not sure if it’s a mistake or a purposely executed move to piss Sin off, but it has the effect regardless.

I know the guys at the other end of the long table are staring between us but I ignore the stares and continue chewing on my mouthful of salty bacon before washing it down with some coffee Alistair hands back to me.

“Jealousy doesn’t suit you, dearest sister.”

“What’s there to be jealous of?” I smile sweetly at him and shovel a mouthful of eggs into my mouth. The explosion of flavor has my eyes going wide. I moan quietly knowing exactly what I’m doing and it has the desired effect. The guys sitting near me all stare and adjust themselves in their seats. Sin’s caustic gaze could burn through an ice storm as he trains it on me.

“Do you really think you should be eating that much? I mean, didn’t you say you’re on a diet to lose some weight so you can lose your v-card?” His evil smirk has me reeling.

“Fuck you!” Standing up, I want to run into the lake and never resurface but I climb over the bench seat and storm back inside instead.

“Fucking hell, Sin. Can you quit it!” I hear Rome say as the table falls silent. “Monroe,” he shouts after me.

I don’t turn around, I beeline straight for the front door and burst through it nearly in tears. I realize I left my bag behind but at this point I don’t even care. Why does he have to humiliate me in front of the guys I have been forced to live with for the next year.

“Fuck, Monroe, stop!” Rome calls from behind me as I head down the long driveway. His pounding footsteps get louder until he catches up to me, gripping my arm and hauling me to a stop.

“What?” I pull my arm out of his hand, and he’s surprised by my sudden anger toward him. Obviously unaware Sin spilled their little secret of sharing Queen Charlotte between them.

“Don’t listen to him, you’re perfect the way you are. He’s just a vindictive cunt and I can say that as his best friend.” Rome takes both my hands in his and pulls me into a big bear hug.

I pull back and glare up at him. “Don’t listen to him? What about how he’s the only one telling me the truth about Charlotte?” I shout at him.

Rome looks at me, his eyes dance between mine. I can see he has something he wants to say but won’t.

“Fucking own up to it, Rome. Why didn’t you tell me she was living on the same floor with you all?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think it was important,” he says in a world of confusion.

“You didn’t think it was important to tell me you guys are all seeing the same girl at the same fucking time? I know the purpose of these queens. My fucking best friend is one. Didn’t you think she’d tell me everything?” I seethe. I’m more upset than I thought I’d be.

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