Page 83 of Pure Vengeance

Especially Adrian.

God, I wish I could stop thinking about him.

There’s a knock at the door, and one of the older brothers, Richard, stands there. “Hey Noah.”

“Hey Rich,” I say. “Something wrong?”

“There’s a girl here to see you. Can I send her up?”

Abigail.

“Yeah, you can send her up,” I say, going for my wallet after he leaves. I pull out a hundred-dollar bill.

Abigail walks into my room and smiles. “Hello, lover boy.”

“Hello Abby,” I say. “Here to collect?” I hold out the money.

She takes it and tucks it into her bra. She’s wearing her cheer outfit. Cheerleaders are easy to come by, and even easier to manipulate, though Abigail seems a bit more dangerous thanthe others, and I regret asking her to accept money in return for pretending I’ve slept with her. She comes by a lot more regularly than the other girls, and I’m tired of it. It’s exhausting when someone is that needy.

Abigail sits on my bed and crosses her legs. “I need a date for a sorority dance. You’ll need to wear a tux.”

“Do I look like I wear a tux?” I ask her.

She snorts. “Does it look like I sleep with you?”

I purse my lips. “Fine. But I’m not dancing.”

“You will dance, and I don’t care what you do after that. But you have to dance at least three songs with me. I need to look good to the committee.”

I sigh. “Anything else?”

“Don’t forget my corsage,” she says, standing up and walking to me. “As hot as you are in band tees and ripped jeans, I’m sure you’ll be even more handsome in a tux. If you don’t show up, I’ll tell everyone about your little secret.” She looks up at me and smiles.

I glare at her and grab her by the throat. “Don’t threaten me.”

One of the frat brothers comes to the door, and she leans up and kisses me. I kiss her back because it’s what’s expected of me, but I don’t enjoy it.

Not the way I enjoyed the one with Adrian. The way his tongue rolled over mine, the way he tasted of beer. I still wonder if he kissed me back because he’d been drinking, or if it was because he had feelings for me.

He can’t have feelings for me. That would imply that Adrian Carter had any sort of feeling to begin with, and he doesn’t. He’s just my father’s little robot.

I break the kiss from Abigail, and for good measure, I kiss her nose. “Thanks for stopping by.”

“The event is Saturday. Be there at six.” She leaves.

I look at the pledge standing outside my room who follows Abigail with his eyes, then looks at me, whistling low. “Man, you scored. She’s hot.”

I smile graciously. “Thank you, though I find I’m not a one-girl kind of guy.”

“You dog.” He chuckles.

“It is what it is,” I say. “Listen, I need to get to the radio station. I’m going to be working there most weekday evenings. I’ll catch you guys later.”

“You don’t want some dinner? The guys are having a barbecue.” He gestures behind him with his thumb.

I shake my head. “No thanks, I need to get to work.” I don’t tell him that although I’m here on an art scholarship, I need the money to continue the charade that I’m sleeping with a bunch of cheerleaders. It’s expensive, and I can’t exactly explain to my father why I need the cash every week.

‘Hey Dad, I kissed my stepbrother, and now I pay girls to pretend I’ve slept with them so that no one knows your son is ahomosexual.’ I can imagine my father’s wrath now, and it’s enough to get me out of the house and walking toward the campus radio station. I actually started working here part-time when I was still in high school, but now I attend the university, and I’ve been promoted to DJ.

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