Page 31 of Take You

“Why are you telling me? I’m the one who set the code. Don’t you think I’m aware of that fact?” He looked pissed off, as usual.

“No. I know you are. I’m more remarking to myself, than anything. It’s clever.”

“And I’m not?” Jesus, he was needlessly hard work sometimes. Scrap that. Most of the time.

“That’s not what I said, or what I meant, and I’m pretty sure you know it. You’re one of the sharpest and shrewdest people I know, and I’m pretty sure you know that too.”

“Whatever. Anyway, don’t forget that Cygnus was founded by my ancestors. There’s nothing about it I don’t know, including the details of the constellation it was named after. Props to you though. I’m pretty sure all the others have used the code at some time or other—well, I know that Drew and Bear have, and you’re the first one to make the connection.”

“I’ll take the props, but to be fair to those two, it’s probably a little beyond the scope of a Humanities major and a Business major.” Which were Drew and Bear’s respective chosen paths.

“Not when the information in question pertains to a secret, and highly contentious organization they’ve joined. If I were in their shoes, I’d have collected every shred of available background information I could before I signed up for something I might regret later, which, given the status of Cygnus around here, and some of the shit we’ve done, is still a distinct possibility.” He was only half joking, and he had a very valid point.

Between the stunts Xavier had made us pull on Rocky, before he did a total one-eighty flip on her, and decided she was the love of his life, and the shit that went down with Honey, who Bear had then lost his mind over, we were building quite a rap sheet. It almost felt like a cliché to be digging out the masks and cloaks again, as they were becoming our ‘thing’ like some kind of trademark, or calling card, or an Eyes Wide Shut parody.

On the other hand, though they were a little tired to us, I had to admit that they were pretty effective when it came to scaring the shit out of people who weren’t familiar with our MO. Not only that, but they were readily available at no cost, and didn’t require me to go out of my way to source anything else, so that was a big bonus.

It was weird, but after years of mentally planning for this situation—being able to atone for what happened to Julian—when it had come to it, I’d been caught off guard by the way the opportunity had presented itself.

“Rose” turning up at Heathcote—as my rival for the same Fellowship, no less—had been a total curveball. I should have learned by now that life was full of them, but I had to admit that I did not see that plot-twist coming. Not even close.

That was another reason why the cloaks worked—though I’d technically had the time to work out something different, I hadn’t really had the headspace. To say that having Rose back in my life was a mindfuck was an understatement, so while I’d taken care of all the complex technical details with Dillon, minor details like costuming and props hadn’t been a priority. Staying somewhat sane had, though Kane seemed to think otherwise. Xavier too, reading between the lines of the things he was saying.

“Okay, so is there anything else you need from me?” Xavier looked impatient, but that was to be expected from him. I didn’t take it personally.

“Actually, yeah, possibly...”

“Okay, well are you going to tell me, or are you waiting for me to say the magic word, or some shit?”

“No, just thinking it through again before I put it out there. I was wondering if Pixie still has access to that warehouse on the wharf?”

“Yeah, I think so. Not that we sit and talk business together, obviously, but I believe it’s his HQ, or ‘office’, or lair, or whatever. Why?”

“It’s just that we need somewhere cold, dark, and intimidating to pull off the final part of the plan, so the Swan club, or the office we have use of here at Trinity Hall won’t work for us like they did for you and Drew with Rocky and Honey. They’re too well-appointed, and not gritty enough. Plus it needs to be somewhere where nobody will hear her scream.”

“Do I even want to know exactly what you’re planning?”

“Probably best if I don’t tell you any more than I already have. You know how it goes.”

“Yeah I do. I just had my dick sucked, then had the best sex of my life with my girl, so I’m in an uncharacteristically good mood. You can thank the post-coital endorphins for my generosity, or stupidity, depending on how you look at it, but that asshole owes me a favor or two, and as much as I hate talking to him, I do like getting up in his face once in a while, just because I can. It’s about due, so this can be my reason. Consider it done. I’ll make it happen. Just know what you owe me three times over for this shit, and I will collect.”

As if I ever thought anything different. This was Xavier Cross not the fucking Pope. He was never going to do a ‘good’ deed without recouping his pound of flesh in return, at some point.

“Yeah thanks, man.” Although I wasn’t sure I really was thankful. Indebted to Xavier was not an enviable position to be in, and could easily lead to a world of trouble down the track. But that was a problem for future Fox. Present day Fox had little other choice than to accept the terms, and deal with the repercussions when they came back to bite him in the ass.

Chapter 18

Rose

I’d been feeling sick to my stomach all day. After a sluggish start, I’d made it to classes, but I was there, but not there, and all the while, I felt like I would puke at any moment. I made it through to my first break of the day, and headed for the cafeteria. I had less than zero appetite, but I figured nibbling something bland might help settle my stomach a little, though I didn’t know whether that worked for nerves the same way it did for a true upset stomach.

The fact was my issue was mental, not physical, so I suspected that a dry cracker wasn’t going to fix it, but I didn’t know what else to do. I was completely at a loss. The events of the previous night swirled around in my mind on a continuous loop, and I couldn’t think straight as a result. No matter which way I looked at it, I couldn’t escape the fact of what I’d done, and it was the shame and regret that were turning my stomach.

Meeting and fucking two guys who were almost total strangers was such a big step back for me, and so much more like something that Tabitha would have done, than Rose. I’d spent years trying to shed her behaviors and attitudes, and had been largely successful, but all it took was one night, and all of that was out of the window. I couldn’t even blame the booze. Sure, I’d been drinking, but I wasn’t blasted, and in no way was I too impaired to make a responsible decision.

The fact was, the guys did it for me, and in the heat of the moment, I went for it with them. They were hot. I was horny, and I already knew how phenomenal sex with Kane was, so it was like I benched Rose, pulled Tabitha out of retirement, and made the decision with my libido, rather than my brain. It had felt unbelievably good at the time, but now I was full of the morning-after regrets. Walk of shame didn’t even begin to cover it. It was going to be weeks of shame, I could tell.

I entered the cafeteria, still turning everything over in my mind—the date, the sex, the sensations, and the gnawing ache in the pit of my stomach that had seemed to be trying to warn me the entire time the scene had played out between the three of us. I hadn’t for the life of me been able to figure out what it meant, but it had definitely been there.

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