Page 53 of Tempting Him

She pushes a curly lock of hair behind her ear. “Uh, no. Why are you asking me this?”

“I just wanna know,” I say, the words stringing together. “I know I wasn’t always the most romantic, but—”

“Jay, you were fine,” she says, confusion marring her face. “You were always nice. Just because we weren’t in a relationship doesn’t mean you were a dick. I was aware of the situation we were in.”

“Yeah, but did you feel used?”

“Did you?” she says with a laugh. “We used each other for sex.”

I sigh. “I know, but it was different.”

She touches my knee, her fingers giving me a little tap. “What’s going on?”

I wave a hand through the air. “Doesn’t matter. Never mind.”

We end up chatting for a few minutes before she disappears and another one of my fuck buddies shows up.

“What is this? Ghosts of hookups past?”

Aiden, someone from at least a year ago, furrows his brows before letting out a chuckle. “What?”

“Nothing. What’s going on, man?”

“Not much. Just checkin’ on ya. You look like you’re pretty wasted, and you’re not out there having fun like usual.”

I groan. “I’m fine. Let me ask you a question. Was I an asshole to you? Make you feel like shit? Used?”

He laughs nervously. “Uhh.”

“Just be honest. I wanna know.”

“You were never mean. We had some good times.”

“I feel like there’s abutcoming.”

He snorts. “I mean, I think I liked you more than you liked me, but that wasn’t on you.”

“Sorry, man.”

“Don’t be. I’m fine. It was a long time ago, but why are you asking this?”

“I don’t want to be the guy who made people feel used and dismissed their feelings.”

“Well, I never told you my feelings, so you didn’t have the chance to dismiss them,” he says with a laugh. “And I never felt used. I mean, I guess I wanted more than what I was getting, but that was probably because I liked you a lot. It was just unrequited.”

“Hmm,” I murmur, scratching my head.

Am I only upset because I actually do have some sort of feelings for him? If I had none, I wouldn’t

care as much, right?

“Are you in my position now or what? You like someone who doesn’t like you back?”

I scoff. “I hate him.”

Aiden laughs. “You sure? Whoever he is has caused you to get drunk and be sad in a corner while reminiscing about past relationships. Doesn’t seem like hate.”

“Well, it’s definitely not love, and I’m not sure if it’slike. Maybe lust. But mostly, he’s a selfish prick and I hate him.”

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