Page 182 of Toxic

Winter rolled his eyes. "You come here in fighting mode and wanna talk about my gym routine?"

I couldn't help but chuckle; it must have looked really weird from his perspective. "Yup, well. My brain is boiling up. Before I can answer coherently, I just need a minute to calm down. Can you give me some time?"

Winter eyed me suspiciously, but finally reluctantly nodded.

"Okay. Well. Of course, I’ve been working out. With my desk job, no exercise means a gut and a hunchback. And I have a thing for having perfect abs."

"Exercising and staying fit is one thing, but it looks like you’re aiming for an ‘alpha runt’ look."

The term ‘alpha runt’ was used a bit mockingly for betas who bulked up to nearly alpha size, in a visual attempt to change their gender. My snarky remark had to irritate him, but Winter held back, ignoring my jab and keeping his usual cold, aloof expression.

"So, where are you heading? A hot date?"

"None of your business, Skye."

I folded my arms and sprawled out on his fancy couch, propping my feet up on the leather armrest.

"Humor me, please, I need to just talk about shit. I’ve had enough drama for today."

His jaw clenched, and he turned to face the window.

For a moment, the setting sun illuminated his pale face, white eyebrows, and white eyelashes. He and Snow looked so much alike with their fair hair, unlike the rest of our family. Only Sun had light hair, but his was a deep golden color. The rest of us had either red or chestnut hair.

"I’m meeting Finn."

My eyes widened. "Finn Delgado? Wow."

But should I really be surprised? Finn mentioned his ex a bit too often for it to be just a coincidence. "You’re still seeing him?"

Winter snorted irritably, and impatiently looked at the clock on the wall.

"May seem like that, though in fact—I’m not."

"What’s that supposed to mean? You broke up with him over ten years ago, and then you got all pissed about that thing with Storm. I had no idea you still kept in touch."

Winter sighed deeply and turned back to me, his face still haughty, typical for him.

"Well, I hadn’t been in touch with him for years. After what happened with Storm, I was… disgusted. I definitely wasn’t in the mood to renew any kind of relationship with him. But about three years ago, we had this recruitment program for the senior year in the computer science department, and I was giving some short talks to the students at the college. That’s when we met again. I’d just gone through a breakup, and Finn was in the same boat. We weren’t looking for anything serious at the time, so we decided to be friends with benefits."

This was some news. I scratched my chin. "I had no idea. Finn never mentioned it. So, for the last three years, you’ve been meeting up with him just for casual sex?"

"That’s exactly how it was. We were swamped at DevApp, and I didn’t have the energy to look for something serious, so that arrangement worked well for me. But… lately, something’s changed."

Winter suddenly stopped and turned back to the window, staring out at the city skyline. The view from his apartment was really nice; I had to admit he’d done well for himself. Then again, his salary as a director was probably more than decent—he could afford it.

"What’s changed? You’ve got me curious!"

He just shrugged, his face still somehow the same, impassive.

"It’s a weird situation. For some time now, I haven’t hooked up with Finn because someone else has caught my attention—against my better judgment."

"So why are you meeting Finn today?"

"For the past two or three months, I’ve been turning down our hookups with different excuses. I was stringing him along, and it wasn’t fair. I wanted to meet him in person, apologize, and tell him that, for now, I need to end our arrangement. I also wanted to tell him about this person who’s caught my interest. Finn’s always been sharp when it comes to understanding people. He’s a clever guy… I was hoping his perspective might clear things up for me. Maybe help me get out of this stalemate."

I blinked, lacing my fingers behind my head and staring up at the ceiling.

"I can’t believe it… Seriously, what is it with our family and all these secrets? Bay’s been seeing Alex again, and he’s hiding it, too. At least, that’s what I think."

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